My Puppy And His Paws

My dog loves to chase his ball, and will bring it back for us to throw to the point of exhaustion (his and ours ;) Usually we do this in the back yard, where he's running on grass. Yesterday we were talking to neighbours in the front yard, and our mutt was doing his mad retriever act on the street.

I could hear the scritch scritch sound of his nails on the pavement, but not for a second did I stop to think about the pads of his paws. He, of course, was so intent in playing ball that he didn't pay attention to how he felt.

Today I noticed him walking gingerly across the lawn. I stopped him and inspected his feet, and sure enough, the pads were worn almost raw in some spots. Poor pup!!

Needless to say he won't be running after his ball for a few days...