Seems that "not-so-quick" is our operative phrase of the day. As in wishful thinking won't necessarily make it so. We had assumed that little Jackie had transcended whatever it was that had made him behave so peculiarly, but it seems not, after all. When this whole thing began with him last Monday, it was as though something had alarmed him in the back yard. My husband saw him suddenly leap from a stand-still position, and race madly for the deck, to get into the house.

Once in the house he ran frantically about, was trembling, heart beating wildly and wouldn't be assured that everything was all right. He wanted to be held and comforted, but that didn't stop his wild heart palpitations and trembling. When he finally quieted down, any sound made him jump, he reacted adversely to just about anything.

From then on he tried to persuade us not to take him into the backyard and when we did, he refused to pee or to poop. It got to the point where he emitted one pee over the course of a day, and not by lifting his leg as usual, but by squatting, nervous all the while, seeming to be aware of something threatening that we weren't aware of.

The veterinarian examination revealed nothing amiss, no fever, eyes, ears and throat fine, physical exam of his legs, heart, chest, back-end, all normal. All but his panting, his extreme trepidation. Which diminished markedly over time and was not in evidence when we were at the vet's. We stopped, after three days, giving him the medication the vet prescribed for pain and to calm him down. Pain? He had no problems leaping absurd heights, several times onto the vanity in the powder room, and right into the sink. He wanted attention and he certainly got it.

We decided he was too ill to be taken for walks for several days. He would lift his back right leg and hop along with it lifted and we assumed he had somehow injured himself. He was, in fact, begging to be picked up and carried. Three days ago he suddenly decided to ask my husband on numerous occasions to go out to the backyard. Once there he sniffed about interestedly, going to all the corners including the garden beds with a seeming sense of healthy curiosity. He peed normally, he pooped. We were ecstatic.

We all went out to the ravine for a good long walk through the forest trails. In the ravine he was marking like crazy, lifting his leg everywhere. We felt like celebrating, we were so relieved. His appetite was never a problem, he ate all his meals throughout this peculiar ordeal. And the turnaround saw him playing energetically with his sister once again. But that evening he refused to go to the backyard to pee before bed, and the next morning again. So we put on his halter and leash and took him to the ravine and there he behaved normally.

Since then we've been going for our daily walks, but at first he will limp along as though asking to be picked up, so we ignore him, until he kind of 'forgets' the limp and begins to behave normally, though he seems more inclined to stay closer to us and occasionally behaves as though something has startled him, though nothing is to be seen. He will leap sideways as though to avoid something, then immediately after, trot along normally.

When we came across friends on our ravine walk early this afternoon he interacted with them as though nothing was out of the ordinary. We're beyond perplexed. He's either manipulating us, playing unpleasant mind games, or there is something there genuinely disturbing him. We're hoping, needless to say, that continued routine and the reassurance that comes with it, will help.