Well we are not long back from the hospital where Tom had to have blood tests to check he will be OK for chemotherapy on Wednesday. This was one of the few times we could jump the queue as people who are having, or about to have chemotherapy, have to keep away from public places so they are not exposed to any colds or viruses etc. Chemotherapy won't take place if Tom has a temperature or if any of his required blood levels as too low. It's a nervous time for him which only stops when the nurse who delivers the chemotherapy checks everything and then the drug is administered. It is all for his own good as to give chemotherapy to a person whose immunity is very low, would be very dangerous for him.

We've had a quiet weekend which is not unusual. Toms appetite is not the best at the moment and as I say, chemotherapy is what he is focusing on. He has listened to all but one of the 5 books I got for him from the RNIB. The one that is left looks to be a very large one, so hopefully it will keep him occupied until I order more from him.

With the weather being not too good this weekend, I have cut down my walks with Skipper and have entertained him another way which he absolutely loves. Skipper is a rejected sheep dog. He wasn't quite a year old when we got him, but the herding instinct is very much in him. That is why he is such a nightmare to take for a walk. He wants to herd pretty well everything that moves. I decided to play to his strengths at home and see if I could have a happier dog. I have hens in the garden and since the day we got Skipper, he has gazed at them through the partitioned fence. So intent was he on staring at them and trembling with anticipation, that I didn't trust him one iota. Anyway I decided to test him. I let him in with the hens and told him to sit and he was happy just to lie and watch them. He never made an attempt to chase or harass them. That was stunning! So I decided to let the hens into the part of the garden that they are not allowed and that Skipper normally has too himself. I tried a few commands that I looked up on the internet on Training sheepdogs. Most of them he ignored, but a few he knew and soon he was rounding up the hens ever so gently to bring them back. He won't do it without my commands, but he just loves it. He may have not been very good with sheep, but he's brilliant with the hens and so gentle. The strange thing is how he will lie and let them walk past him and he just ignores them and they are not intimidated by him. Once he is given reign to work, he stares them out something cruel. I thought they wouldn't realise they were being given the 'Move it now' stare as they are hens, but believe me, they know he means business and he gets the respect. Anyway, I hope I haven't bored you all with Skipper the hen dog. Anyway, I have to say that my hen dog may be a gentle soul with the hens, but he's still a right sod when I'm walking him. I have to think of more psychology now to have him gentle on the walks.

My next blog will be a chemo update. Bye for now.