SPORT and exercise are good for you, aren’t they?

I should have stopped there because I just know the editor is going to change that first line to ‘Chips, curry and chocolate are good for you…’

Anyway, I press on…

It’s great to get the muscles flexing, the heart pumping and to have a fresh breeze blowing through your hair, (Or not, as the case may be).

It’s the same for our pets. Nothing banishes bad behaviour better than having a fatigued Fido flaked out at your feet in front of the fire. You can’t beat a long run in the park for diminishing the chronic boredom that can lead to a wide variety of anti-social problems.

Aberrant chewing, over grooming and general mischievousness are all reduced when pets are regularly exercised.

But there is nothing in life now that doesn’t come with some degree of risk. Just as the occasional footballer ruins a knee or the odd rugby player fractures something painful, so our pets can damage themselves at play too.

Mostly it is just a broken toe or a cut pad; injuries that debilitate for a short while but which heal rapidly. Sometimes it is more serious ligament damage or a break that can require complicated, expensive surgery with prolonged recovery.

But every now and then, and usually when you least expect it, pet sports injuries can be life threatening.

Take Lubo, for example. This tan Sherman Tank of a Staffie has been happily hanging off the low hung branches of trees as part of his daily exercise for some years now. One giant leap and he grabs hold with his powerful jaws and just swings away to his heart content. Good for the neck muscles but a bit strange, nevertheless.

Never been a problem though, until one day recently that is, when a short, sharp piece of twig pierced the side of his tongue and broke off, buried deep in the tissue. Of course Lubo, being the Staffie that he is, never murmured, just let go, trotted off home and ate his dinner as usual.

And things returned to normal for a few days. He gulped a little when he swallowed and there was a very occasional soft cough when he drank but then the swelling started. First, his neck puffed up a little. Then a lot. Next, his face ballooned to such an extent that the elephant man would have been put to shame.

Finally, his eyes closed and even the flaps of his ears became enormous squidgy lumps of meat.

Eventually, as the abscess grew and matured, he became dull, listless and lifeless. Septicaemia really doesn’t make you feel good.

By this point, even the heavy duty antibiotics weren’t working and surgery was required, at considerable risk, to lance the abscess, locate the wooden foreign body and resolve the situation.

Considerable skin on his chin will be lost forever and recovery will be slow.

Now who fancies a wee walk and a game of throw the stick?