Posting days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Wednesday

On Sunday we meet Milo, a handsome poodle and a favourite boyfriend of Ellie (my last dog).

Isis is unimpressed. The sun is very bright and she wants to go home.

She vaults the fence and retires into the shade.

We haven’t been to the park for two days now. The sun has been very bright and the paths which Isis merrily skipped down a few days ago in the rain, she now refuses to set paw on. The tall trees in the park are very menacing and after a quick scuttle through the undergrowth next to the car park, she wants to come home.

All day, in her own garden, her joy knows no bounds. She skips, twirls, scrambles and hunts.

For the first few days she is constantly on the move. When I insist that she stays inside for an hour after her breakfast and tea, she lies by the back door looking mournful. My food-focused little dog now defers her breakfast for an hour because she prefers to play outside.

Despite long walks and my best efforts to entertain her at home, I think poor little Isis must have been very miserable confined to the house over the winter. She is a different dog now. I hesitate to be over optimistic, but she hasn’t had a a rage spin for days and I am thinking of removing her plastic cone.

Isis came from the Aeza cat and dog rescue and adoption centre in Aljezur, Portugal. For information about adopting an animal from the centre, contact kerry@aeza.org or  www.dogwatchuk.com