Chapter 42 Summary and Analysis

Whenever possible, Herriot likes to take his beagle, Sam, for a walk by the river at lunchtime. There he sometimes encounters Mr. Potts, a retired farmer who loves to engage the veterinarian in conversation as his elderly sheepdog, Nip, romps with Sam. Mr. Potts always wants to know what Herriot is doing, which farms he's visiting and what kinds of animal diseases he's combating. On their last encounter, Mr. Potts, wheezing and weak, talks about the time when Herriot, as a new veterinarian, helped a Clydesdale mare foal at his farm.

Mr. Potts asks Herriot whether those weren't good days, and he responds affirmatively. After not seeing him walk his dog for a while, Herriot learns of Mr. Potts' death. He visits Mrs. Potts to express his sympathies and to ask whether he could walk Nip, since the dog wouldn't walk...