A Letter from England 5

Plenty to go at!

The English have been described as a nation of gardeners; well many of us are, but I have to confess to being about the worst gardener in the world, even though I have plenty of land to practice on. Whatever the opposite of green thumbs may be; I am that.

Still, am I downhearted? Not a bit, because I do fit that other description of the English; as being a nation of dog-lovers.

Now that Spring is showing all its promising signs over here, with snowdrops and crocuses faded and daffodils blooming in gardens and along the country lanes that surround us; getting out and about is my goal again and one of the joys of my life is having a dog or dogs around the place and their companionship on walks.

Some of them have had their wild moments though, I can assure you.

Like the time when I was a small boy and our family dog ate the Christmas cake while we were all out and there was the one that tore all the curtains down under the same circumstances.

Not forgetting the one that took a dislike to my dad and I and wouldn’t let us in through the garden gate.

They were isolated incidents though, and as an adult, dogs have enriched my life for many years.

Our first dog Jay was a mixed breed, family loving, rescue dog.

Barney, who shared his life, was a totally eccentric and unpredictable Border Collie, also from the rescue centre, who entertained us for 10 years when he wasn’t running away.

He went missing for as long as two weeks on occasions before being traced to one police station or another, or to a local kennels; which charged me a packet to get him back. Once, after being missing for two or three days, he was discovered living with a neighbour, having taken over their own dog’s bed!

Our second Jay was a fantastic, family loving Doberman, brought home at ten weeks of age, and still much missed by all of us.

Dino – “When’s the next walk due?”

My present dog is Dino; a Rhodesian Ridgeback, a wonderful family dog and constant companion who was collected from the breeder and was obviously delighted to be rescued from his three overbearing female siblings.

Now he is a 4 year old 121lb heavyweight and a great watchdog.

And let’s not forget the newest generation. The next picture is of Little Mac, now 18 weeks old and the latest Border Terrier to join the other two; Ben and Polly, in the household of @JoneseyN. Here he is being taken care of by big sister Polly. Nice work Polly! Sorry Ben, we’ll picture you next time.                              Click here to read Letter from England 4

This is the life says Little Mac