Smilin' on the Highway

I saw some clever new signs on the Swiss motorway today as I drove Grady to yet another surgery follow-up appointment with his vet in Zurich. There was quite a bit of construction along the way, which means there were also lane shifts and slow stretches. All of this makes for not-so-fun driving. During one of the bad stretches, I noticed a new sign that said "Noch 5 km", meaning 5 more kilometers (presumably of the same mess), and underneath that was a frowning face. Like one of these :( . A bit further, there was another sign that said "Noch 3 km", giving me hope that it was almost over. Unfortunately I can't figure out a way to type the face that appeared at this point, but it was with a straight line (something like this :/). Keep on driving, and soon I was greeted with a smiley face :) that said "Noch 1 km"! Something to be happy about it! It's almost over! How thoughtful of the Swiss motorway people to be concerned about our well-being.

As for Grady, his vet was pleased with his progress despite still having a limp. It looks like he will always have a limp, but it doesn't seem to stop him from acting like a crazy puppy rather than a 9.5 year old. I was proud to hear that he successfully lost 1 kg since our last visit! Not that he's fat, but the vet wants him to lose 4 more kgs within the next few months to help reduce stress on his bad elbow. Do you know how hard it is to limit a lab's food intake? I'll say this much, as much as I like this vet (the best we've ever been to), having a sick dog in Switzerland is a real rip-off. We left this visit a few hundred dollars (I mean francs) poorer after buying more medicine and a new type of food for Grady that's supposed to be good for his joints. It's all about you, Grady...