On July 29, I had extensive foot surgery, a major battle in my war against arthritis, which hopefully corrected a crunching, grinding bone-on-bone condition inside my foot. When all is said and done, I will have been on basic bed-rest for two weeks, while bones re-knit, and wires and plates settle into their new homes. Meanwhile, my Cavalier King Charles mix, originally a rescue from Bellwether Harbor in Fremont, MI, has been promoted from pet to Prince. Prince Frankie is unaware that in a few short days, he will again be demoted to companion dog. My 50-pound, seemingly concrete cast will be removed, and I will be allowed to get up and about, without bearing weight on that foot for another couple of months or so. I am afraid the change will be a jolt for his royal highness, who presently spends most of his time with me on my bed, instead of at his usual post on the sun-porch, guarding the yard from squirrels and chipmunks, which our resident barred owls reduced considerably in the last year.