Alopecians

Last year when the new headmaster came to the primary school he tidied out a big storage area and one of the more attractive items thrown out was a sheet of 3mm aluminum. I tried putting it out for the dog to lie on last summer, but he didn't like it at all. Aluminum is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity, so it feels cool to the touch and I thought it would help dissipate the heat from the cooked canine very quickly. This year I got the sheet up from downstairs again, now slightly diminished in size and immediately I had put it out the mutt came over and flopped straight on it. I am not sure whether wisdom came across him all of a sudden, the weather just wasn't hot enough last year, or the passing of time has imbued the metal with a sense of place it lacked before. Whatever the reason it is good to see the animal able to lie still without panting his guts out to try and stay cool.
Aside from the general lack of newsworthy material the reason for including our Bob today is that I devoted a few minutes to clipping him down to a more sensibly level of hirsuteness this afternoon. He now looks like he has suffered a bout of alopecia as I concentrated my efforts on the underside of the vessel, which seems to be the area he uses most to regulate the internal temperature.
The cat has developed a pink area on his underside, which seems to serve the same function, but perhaps that is just because he has grown so much the hair coverage just can't keep up with the pace.