Sheepies!

Yesterday morning, Duncan and I headed off to Pittsboro for some quality sheep time. We worked on tending, as that lets Duncan decide how much he needs to move, and how fast. It also allows him to sit and rest when he feels like it. Duncan did a lovely job of tending the flock. He would check in with me, but he was obviously watching the sheep, as well. He did lose a couple in the woods, but I think that was due more to him moving slowly rather than poor tending. Duncan was a little hesitant when we were fetching the sheep out of the woods, but that was clearly because he couldn’t find easy paths around them. He had to push his way through some brush, and that’s just not something he likes to do.

Duncan seems to be having more trouble moving as days pass. He’s much better on a soft surface than on the road, no question about that. But if he moves for several minutes, even on grass, he gets a hitch in his gait. Poor boy. The very tentative diagnosis from two surgeons and a PT, based on the video taken by my neighbor Wednesday, is ACL tears in both knees. Our vet isn’t convinced about that, because he didn’t feel the usual ACL tear indications. He did say that it could be partial tears or a chronic injury. John came over Thursday, and while he was here we took another video of Duncan moving. This one was much clearer and zoomed in on Duncan, so I think the vets will be able to get more information from it.