I took Sherlock to the vet today because he just hasn’t been himself. He wakes up so stiff he can hardly move and has trouble jumping up on things. Last night out at the property he was running up the hill, then he just stopped and started walking really slowly like he was totally out of steam.

The vet looked him over real well, listened to his heart (which can be a problem with boxers), checked him for heartworm, Lyme’s disease and some other things and declared he is in perfectly good health, so it must just be his arthritis. She sent us home with pain relievers that we can give as we see fit. We’ll wait until after we get home, because I don’t want the dog-sitter to have to deal with that. Plus, he’ll be fine when all he has to do is lie around all day. Dad even said he’s going to leave the air conditioning on for him, since it looks like it will be hot when we are gone.

I can’t believe he’s getting old so soon. Plus I just learned that boxers are very susceptible to cancer. But the vet says he looks really good so far. We just have to stay vigilant. All that cost me $118.00. But he’s definitely worth it.  I hate to think of being without him some day.