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I have a very late night and am still awake at 4.00 a.m. Since she has been released from her protective but cumbersome Elizabethan collar, Isis has resumed her early morning visits upstairs. I do not hear her come up this morning but can feel her beside me on the bed at about 7.30.

At 8.00 she gets up and stretches out on the bedside rug. This is a hint. But I am very tired and don’t want to get up. After half an hour she returns to bed and we both snooze contentedly until 9.30. Then I sit up and we have our morning greeting session. This lasts for about five minutes which is a very long time for Isis to submit to affection.

As I gently stroke her she leans against me, lifting a back leg in a hint of submission. This is Isis at her most relaxed. She will now accept her underside being lightly tickled. In fact, during these morning greetings she allows me to stroke her gently almost anywhere, although her tail is taboo. She has never yet dropped her guard far enough to roll onto her back. But, for a dog who didn’t like to be touched, she has come a long way. And I am fully cognizant of how privileged I am.

It is also very gratifying to see that she now recognises the house as a safe refuge and will run in if she is worried or alarmed.

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