One remarkable thing is that Bobby has grown really long hair this year - perhaps he is expecting a harsh winter!

He's actually not doing too badly for a fifteen year old, and he continues to make us new friends wherever we go.

He even got the staff at the vets trained and calling him their mascot after he had a short spell there.

Anyway, here are a few images of Bobby and his friends during the year.

Bobby has suffered with a few health issues this year, mainly in the second half of the year.

Although he had been panting a lot during the warm summer we didn't suspect too much, but when we took him to the vet in August for some antibiotics to counter a tummy bug the vet gave him a good once over (and an x-ray) and she found that he has an enlarged heart. After Bobby started on the pills to ease his condition it made a huge difference and he rarely suffers from the same level of breathlessness. He is on a light dose at the moment so we have scope to increase the dose if future needs require it.

In September he had a bad case of pancreatitis which left him with some liver damage. He spent six days at the vet on a drip to stabilise him before we took over with a daily dose of magic potion to help his liver. The effect on his liver is measured in a blood test. The very first test gave such high readings that they were off the scale. It was a fraught time for us as the vet warned us that he might not pull through. He surprised everybody and is still making steady improvements. During his time at the vets he somehow trained the staff to run around after him and we keep hearing snippets when we take him back - like the assistant who took to hand feeding him to keep him happy.

We have been warned that another dose of pancreatitis could strike at any time so we are being very careful with him.

Come October we were back at the vets again because Bobby suddenly went lame in one of his back legs. One more x-ray investigation later and we discovered that although we thought he was struggling because of arthritis in his legs, his real problem is arthritis at two different points in his back. The vet thinks he must have tweaked something in one of his many falls leading to his temporary (thank goodness) lameness.

Bobby can't walk far nowadays but he still goes for as many walks it is just that he is carried for the majority of the time. He prefers to be carried and puts on the air of it being his right place. However we do insist on a minimum distance each outing - often pulled along by the lure of a chestnut or other treat.