Months ago, long before the advent of Isis, Ch. and I had planned to do a seventeen mile walk over two days in Shropshire, staying overnight at a youth hostel.

My friend A agreed to dog-sit so that Isis would be in her familiar surroundings.

Their first meeting was inauspicious. A put a hand on either side of Isis and Isis warned her off with a sharp snap.

Unsurprisingly, A was concerned that Isis might not like her and that the dog-sit might not work. In response to a request from me for something expendable which would have her scent, A gives us a nice smelly sock with a hole in it.

I give this to Isis who demonstrates her appreciation by ventilating it further.

A arrives on Wednesday evening and Isis responds with friendly wags.

I leave for Much Wenlock at six on Thursday morning, reassured.

When I return on Friday afternoon, I get wags but Isis’s attention is on A. The dog-sit has gone well.