We spent five days looking after this gorgeous dog belonging to my friends while they went off for a few days. It meant staying in their house in the country and following a fairly strict routine, because she was a rescue dog and they have worked hard to make her comfortable with them. We agreed that it would be best to do exactly what they did, so as not to upset her too much in case it took her back to square one.
So every morning I got dressed and wrapped up against the cold, put on Ginger's coat and lead and out we went. Twenty minutes later I was on my way back carrying a little blue nappy sack full of dog poo to be dropped in the bin before entering the house. Next: disrobe dog and myself; measure out dog food pellets and add a spoonful of goats-cheese yoghurt for her breakfast. After that she could have two bonios which she playfully accepted from my hand, followed by a couple of treats or a tooth cleaning snack. Only then could hubby and I have some breakfast and take a shower or whatever.
At around 2 pm, we went out again, this time for a longer walk of at least an hour, using the extending lead so that once we reached a safe, trafficless area, she could roam more freely. Her evening meal was taken between 5.30 and 6, and I had strict instructions on when to add pilchards, cheese, gravy or yoghurt to her mixture. Finally, just before bedtime, it was outside again for ten minutes, just to make sure she didn't need to pee or something, but she never did.
In between all this she spent most of the time on her couch, with the ocassional burst of energy round the garden, after which we had to hunt through the fallen leaves she had used to cover up the dollops she left behind. If we went out without her she had to be left with the radio softly playing Radio 4. Once or twice she spurned her own beds and made a nest of the living room rug.
And sometimes she would come and beg for some attention and stroking, even getting playful with an open mouth from time to time. I became absolutely besotted with her, adoring the velvet feel of her ears and the spot just behind them. It was a real wrench when it was time to leave her behind and come home.
Original Articles. Constant-Content.
7 comments:
February 11, 2010
Dear Jean,
Thank you for visiting and commenting on my Alphabe-Thursday-post for "D" as in "Dress-up".
Yes, Elisabet loves to dress up, but that photo was taken on Christmas Eve, when we were trimming the tree that I hauled home on an umbrella pram. The fir tree was free because it was so late that it was left behind after the sellers had already gone home. I was going to write a post about this when my modem broke. So I am using these photos any way I can.
I decided to try the Alphabe-Thursday-meme at the last minute and had no time to plan ahead. I chose a subject that seemed to fit the photographic material I had.
Thanks again for stopping by. It's great to be able to visit other blogs that I like again.
Best wishes,
Anna
Oh the pleasure a good animal can give us, so beautiful glad you enjoyed her.
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
Certainly sound like you had a great time with her. It was very considerate and thoughtful of you to keep to the strict routine for her so as not to affect her.
Aw, I know the feeling it's so easy to become enamored with these gorgeous creatures. You can always adopt a pooch for yourself?
She is just too precious. I would have fallen for her too! :-)
You're right Dorothy. My life has been littered with lovable animals. Thye just seem to make life worth living.
BK. It wasn't difficult, just quite a responsibility. In fact, that guidance was very helpful.
Jo - we had our own dog once. Broke my heart when we lost him to cancer at 8 years old. I'm chicken about putting myself through that again.
Accessory Lady - I think anyone would unless they had a heart of stone.
She is beautiful! A dog is a built-in exercise routing because they always show up to take that walk, even when we are tired!
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