Well, then, that's done. We took little Riley for his regular annual physical. Our veterinarian of choice operating out of his co-owned modern new veterinarian hospital a veritable stone's throw as the car drives from our home, who has looked after his health needs all our little dog's 13 years of life, and before him, our older little companion dog, Button, proclaimed him beautifully healed from his late-September surgery, presenting an altogether different profile from the last time he was examined.

It wasn't he who performed the surgery though doubtless he is capable of removing most lipomas. Instead, a veterinarian who has made his practise of specializing in that kind of surgery, and who travels from area veterinarian clinic to another for that very purpose, and who had operated six years earlier on Riley to remove a baseball-sized lipoma from his toy-breed body, had removed this time around almost two pounds of lipoma (inert, invasive fat deposit) that had invaded his little body and grown spectacularly.

Riley is almost impishly frolicsome at times now, a clear departure from the lethargy that had slowly overtaken him. Apart from his puppyhood though, truth to tell, he has never been an adventuresome or extremely energetic little dog.

He was none too pleased at our visit to the clinic. Even as we drove up to the clinic entrance, sensing where we were, he began trembling and voicing his doubt. But he behaved himself very nicely despite his discomfiture at being there once again, and only emitted a sound that appeared very like a growl when he was inoculated with his three-year rabies vaccine.

Happy he was to be removed from the examining table and ensconced safely in our arms again.