A time of change; as all things turn, there is
always a return made, an apparent centring to what has been a slow created
essence of one’s being! Quite why I scribbled down that opening line, I’m a
little uncertain but, I am aware that certain changes, so rapidly, assimilate
to one’s sense of place that they swiftly seem as if they had always been!
We have swiftly adapted to the revamped home,
following the many weeks during which the extension work, chez nous, took
place. Somehow it seems as if the adaptations had been made to accommodate our
family’s latest arrival. As yet we await confirmation that we will be able to
adopt our foster boy ‘Piper’.
Piper is a beagle and (assumed) Labrador
cross, he certainly has many of the traits that are typical of beagles, always following
scents of potential prey wherever he goes, and he has an insatiable appetite
for food. The beagle trait is unmistakeable in the head and his colouring is
quite like a less saturated version of a red fox Labrador.
Having spent five years in a pound in Spain, where he
was bullied and attacked by other dogs, he has a slightly nervous disposition
but, has settled in wonderfully into our household. At first he seemed to have
a wariness of homo sapiens males, much preferring the female of the species but
I was surprised how quickly he accepted me. Piper is definitely a people dog,
and has swifltly re-organised the days for ma belle et moi. He’s just so
endearing!
Ma Belle generally takes him for morning walk
before he has his first meal of the day, so she’s getting the most exercise she
has had in quite sometime, sometimes I accompany them both, for at least some of
the time, in the evening! Thursday evening I actually managed the longest walk
that I’ve had since 2003, and only had minimal payback in terms of a minor
degree of shatteredness. Admittedly the back support came into play last
evening, as I’d sprained the muscles on the left hand side of my back, probably
caused when competing for space in my favourite armchair!
In the morning it’s wonderful to be greeted by the
bounding energy ball, that is Piper, as he races upstairs and pounces upon the
duvet, expressing his joy in being here
to share my life. Usually a quite boisterous greeting but, this morning, as if
acknowledging my back-aching jadedness, he just flopped beside me, forepaws
placed gently over my arm.
We are fortunate in having a reasonably well
secured, sizeable garden which he always enjoys exploring, in his preparedness
to see off any trespassing felines. Just like us he enjoys a reasonably
sustained chilled out flop, between bouts of exercise and/or feeding.
In the eight / nine days he has been with us I’ve
not needed to resort to wrist, elbow, or shoulder supports, nor have I needed
to increase my pain-killer intake. If being part of our family is as
therapeutic for him as it is for me, we are both well and truly blessed. My step-daughter
Beth who lives, with her four cats, across town is totally smitten with the boy
and happily proffers her dog walking services for Piper.
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