Posting days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

About ten days ago, Isis popped onto the bed in the morning and, instead of settling as far away from me as she could, snuggled into the back of my legs.

This has continued. She stays snuggled until I sit up. Then she looks up at me, with an unusually trusting expression, leans back and stretches out on her side. Now is her time for affection. I stroke her gently and say foolish things to her until she decides enough is enough and gets up. Next we play ‘putting on the collar’. She enters ‘invitation to play’ mode, planting her front paws firmly on the rug and twisting her head back and forth, dodging the collar. This game goes on for several minutes. When she seems ready, I say, “OK, collar on now”. She then sits still and allows me to collar her.

Then it’s time to pick her up to carry her down the steep stairs. She lies very still in my arms until we get to the hall when she wriggles free, thinking of her street cred. It’s like dropping a child off at the school gates. No more sloppiness, thank you. Just bog off and let me get on with life.

Recently, she has begun checking me out when she comes in from the garden for a drink. But she doesn’t want to be patted. No thank you. Just checking.

At night she comes in when she’s ready, usually between nine and ten thirty. Now she’s very tired and definitely not tolerant of interference. As long as I don’t give her an accidental poke with my foot, or she is awoken by an apparent nightmare, she will sleep  soundly behind her improvised t.v. screener.

Quite often I hear her from upstairs in the middle of the night. There is an ear piercing shriek and then agitated snarls. These incidents do not seem to be lasting as long as they once did, nor recurring as often. Perhaps this is because she is getting so much exercise.

She continues to be very, very happy entertaining herself but I want her to continue to meet other people and dogs. I must be the only person in the UK looking forward to some sunless days!

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