Chapter 1: A Triumph of Surgery

The narrator, a veterinary surgeon, was a very wise and tactful doctor. He handled Tricki properly and with compassion, as he understood that the dog was not suffering from any illness. From the dog’s lazy condition, he could make out that he had become bulky due to overfeeding by his mistress. Thus, he did not perform any surgery on him, but rather cured him by altering his diet and engaging him in physical activities. Under the doctor’s supervision, Tricki recovered from his illness within a span of two weeks.

Yes, Dr Herriot was a tactful person as he could convince Mrs Pumphrey to hospitalise Tricki for surgery. He knew exactly how to treat her pet effectively and make him a lively animal. Upon the dog’s recovery, he informed Mrs Pumphrey to come and collect Tricki even though he was tempted to keep her pet as a permanent guest for the luxurious inflow of expensive food items sent by his mistress from time to time.

Yes, Tricki was happy to return home as he loved his mistress dearly, and he missed the comfort of his lavish life. Although he didn’t have any friends at home, like in the hospital, he seemed equally excited to meet his mistress after two weeks. Given Tricki’s laziness, we hope that Mrs Pumphrey will be careful about Tricki’s diet and health going forward and will try to engage her pet to get some physical exercise as prescribed by Dr Herriot earlier.

The story seems to be a blend of fiction and a real-life incident. It is quite natural for rich people to overfeed their pets due to love and affection, just like Mrs Pumphrey did. We have observed how due to her pampering, the dog was overeating and became lazy and bulky. Similarly, it isn’t unusual for rich people who try to provide a luxurious life for their pets and indulge them often. However, it might be unlikely for a veterinary doctor like Dr Herriot who went out of his way and lied about surgery to the owner in order to save her pet from unnecessary indulgences.