Jack and the squirrels

Jack is still scared of the squirrels: he gets very excited when he sees them - does a little 'Wuff', & then starts trembling & whimpering. He gets very agitated when he knows they're around but can't keep an eye on them, & my windowsill is too high for him to see out of (unless he's on my bed); so he now has his own stool in my room, to give him a better view out of the window! With a pane of glass between them, the squirrels aren't in the least afraid of Jack - in fact they taunt him: the chief taunter had been sitting on the closest branch having a staring contest with him, but by the time I'd put new batteries in my camera it was scampering off along the fence.

Posting early today as I'm off to the dentist this afternoon. The tooth identified by the hospital as the worst offender has decided that it won't wait; it started hurting yesterday, & judging by the swollen neck glands, slight fever, & general 'crap' feeling, I have an abscess; I tried to get an appointment yesterday but was too late - you have to ring at 8.30 (no later!) to get a same-day appointment. I wonder if the same rule applies to private patients, or just to us NHS paupers? The dentist told me last time I saw him that NICE in their wisdom have banned the prescribing of antibiotics for dental work; he said there are no exceptions, so I knew there would be no point in trying to get some out of him today. However, my GP surgery have a refreshingly different 'two fingers up to NICE' approach, so a quick word with the duty doctor, explaining that the MS & generally pathetic immune system mean that any infection can get quickly overwhelm me, & ten minutes later hubby was picking up a weeks' worth of antibiotics. They are no doubt adding their bit to the rubbishy feeling, but I'd rather that than end up with a full-on MS attack. And the funny thing about agonising toothache is that you positively welcome the prospect of having the culprit removed, which is a lot easier to deal with than the vague background dread I've been feeling at the thought of having all those teeth removed in cold blood! Maybe I should just wait for each wobbly/dodgy tooth to become infected, & get rid of them all that way? Either way, I suspect that I'll still be a gibbering wreck by this afternoon!

Things we've learned about Jack:
He makes a good post dog: yesterday he got to the mat before hubby, then trotted up to me with a letter held proudly in his mouth. And funnily enough it was a letter from the vet, welcoming him/us to the practice!
He does not like his crate: we've tried coaxing him into it by putting treats right at the back, but he nips in & out of there faster than you can say: "Jack, stay!". I suppose it's too reminiscent of his cage at the rescue centre, & it will probably take quite some time to accustom him to it. We wouldn't dream of leaving him in it until/unless we were sure that he'd stay calm (he may damage himself), so we're just going to have to trust him to one room whilst we're out this afternoon.
Insuring Jack's health is going to cost a lot less than I'd initially thought (and we get Tesco Clubcard points!)
According to the brochure, his vet's surgery has better facilities than any GP surgery I've heard of - and probably better than the average hospital. I wonder if Tesco insure owners, too?