My boy has always been a bit skittish, but was finally allowing me to pet him a bit and even jumping up on the sofa.... at the far end from me, of course. But it was progress and I was very hopefully.

Then, I went and broke my leg. I spent almost a week in the hospital, came home with a cast and walker - completely non-weight-bearing, moved some furniture around and had a bunch of people coming in to help me out. Shadow wouldn't come near me.

After the next six weeks, the cast was removed and I got one of those big, ugly walking braces. Shadow came and sniffed the boot when I wasn't wearing it and came a little closer, but still no sign of the earlier progress.

Last week, I decided the boot was doing more harm than good and after a nice chat with the doctor, we decided that Doc Marten's or other good boots would provide the necessary support, less pain, and much more manageable.

I was thrilled to think Shadow would come close to me, but no deal. He runs in terror when I'm walking. It got me to thinking that maybe he doesn't recognize me because I'm limping and my pace is off, plus I have to do the stairs like an old lady bringing both feet to the same step before going to the next.

Just a thought.