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So I haven’t been leaving the house by myself, not even to walk Rudy because . . . snow. He has to wear boots because some sidewalk salts are toxic and can dry out paw pads, and because he likes to walk in . . . snow. He’s good about wearing boots, but not so good about putting them on. Or maybe I’m the one who can’t put them on properly because one or more of them always comes off when I walk him!

Another reason I haven’t done much walking is because my right hip started bothering me last October, and grew worse. For a while it was excruciating to walk, even in my own home. I saw my primary care physician about it, and we tried different anti-inflammatories, none of which helped. I had an x-ray done and the hip looks normal except for…