Our poor puppy has had his balls removed today. At 11 years old, he’s been bleeding intermittently from cysts in his prostate, we think. Sometimes the blood has shown up in his wee but it’s even more alarming when it’s dripping from his penis and your hand comes away red from giving him a tummy tickle.

The vet recommended castration. We’ve chosen the surgical option rather than a reversible injection which carries the slight risk of Addison’s Disease and which people with much more experience than me have said can change the temperament of a dog entirely and make them timid and fearful. It’s the cone of shame for Oscar for the next 10 days to prevent him licking his wound. I hope this soft cone will suffice for a dog with such a loooong nose rather than the nasty, hard plastic version.

I’m a little concerned as the vet found a growth on one of his testicles and has sent that off for a biopsy. It could well be that having this operation has prevented something much worse. A lesson for men right there: check yourselves!

Let’s hope that Oscar is soon back to his normal bouncy self and that his lack of mandog bits won’t make him a sitting target for more dominant dogs out to prove a point.