Is that person afflicted with alopecia areata or universalis? Oh, that dog is limping.... is it the right or left front... hmm, let me see, oh, it's the left, no right front limb, definitely the right front (I wonder if the owners think it's the left front). Could it be an injury? Osteoarthritis? Post-op? OCD?
And the occasional dog wearing an Elizabethan collar (cone): was she just spayed? Maybe she swallowed a sock and just had exploratory surgery? Maybe much simpler: a small skin wound that she shouldn't lick?
Across the street I see an older miniature poodle with a large, pendulous abdomen, symmetrical hair loss along the back - it's gotta be Cushing's. Definitely. Do the owners know? Was the dog diagnosed? Treated?
I'm always tempted to talk to these pet owners, but decide against it. I'm sure they know what's going on...
Or maybe not?!
The person riding the motorized wheelchair, doing 30 km/hr down Queen street in Leslieville, morbidly obese, and smoking: What's your spot diagnosis?
Not a poodle, but definitely Cushing's.
