After the vet visit on Monday, we got busy and did some searching. We quickly established the presence of a canine hydrotherapy unit, and that our pet insurance would help with the costs, which is good news. Caroline, our lovely KC classes tutor, had recommended the clinic she uses, so we gave them a call, and yesterday, after some fiddling around getting forms signed by the vet and various pieces of paper sent to the insurers, we took Booty for her initial assessment. You can see the website here.

Aqua Dogs is in the industrial estate behind the steelworks, but is easy for us to get to. Plenty of parking outside, and we made sure Booty also had a sniff about before going in. The first half of the appointment, Angela the therapist asked us lots of questions about Booty, her background, health, condition and so on. Then she was given a very thorough physical exam, including measuring limbs to check wastage, stretching, massage, a trot up outside to view her gait and weighing. Then her own lead and collar were removed and she was fitted with an adjustable harness, ready for her first session. We went through into the treadmill area, which is a kind of giant glass tank with a treadmill on the bottom of the floor. Booty was persuaded up the ramp into the tank and once she was in the glass door was shut and the tank gradually filled with warm water. Once the water was above her feet, she was given a little go on the treadmill to see how she reacted to it. To start with she obviously found it a bit strange but she soon got the hang of it. Gradually, the level of the water deepened and it was fascinating to watch. As the water gradually bore more of her weight, it was clear how much more freely she was moving. We kept watching and encouraging, and Booty seemed very happy. After what seemed like a very short time, her first session came to an end and the tank gradually emptied of water. Then the door opened, and Booty could walk down the ramp and onto the waiting towel for a dry off, her harness to be removed and a celebratory biscuit. Then it was back on with her collar and lead, and time to book her next session.

Angela the therapist has given us some instructions on massage to do in the meantime, and said that she might be a bit tired after her first session. Last night, she snoozed contentedly, but of course that's not much different to a normal greyhound! Today, we were keen to see how she'd be. She was lively this morning after a peaceful night in our bedroom, and keen to go on her walk. On the walk we could see no signs of any problem, in fact she seemed more energetic than usual, though that might be because today was cool and damp, much more pleasant than the hot, muggy conditions we've been having. Initially, she'll be having a series of 12 sessions, probably weekly to start with, and then, if all goes well, a maintenance programme. For future sessions, I'll take a camera, so will be able to record her progress. In the evening, I gave Caroline a call, who'd been asking about how she'd got on, and we ended up having a good long chat, which was lovely.

Today the dogs have been spending most of the day snoozing. Boola is on the floor behind me, as I've been working on the computer. Booty has been lying upside down with her legs in the air on one of the beds, and Andy has rotated between one of the beds and the landing where he can look out of the window down the street and keep an eye out for cats.