Posting days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Wednesday

Tomorrow it will be a year since Isis came. She will celebrate her first adoption ‘birthday’! On Tuesday I go to the pet shop in Kings Heath to buy her a present. I can’t find any balls with bells on the stands and am directed towards two very large boxes on a bottom shelf. They are full of all kinds of toys and as I search through them they emit loud squeaks and grunts in a number of tones and decibels.

Eventually I find a net of toys with bells in them. Then I spot a large vinyl  Oreo biscuit with a loud squeak. It bears the legend ‘for frequent use’ so it may last longer than the squeaky newspaper I bought her a week ago.

Well, it is her first adoption birthday. I decide to take both. But then I come across a giggling dumb bell. It makes delightfully foolish and very loud gurgles when it’s shaken. Isis loves shaking things. It is also very hard, tough looking vinyl, I think, hopefully. I leave with all three.

I give her the giant Oreo biscuit today since she now has nothing squeaky to play with. She squeaks it joyfully off and on for about an hour. Then all is silent. Yes, it’s died all ready. What’s the definition of ‘frequent use’ ?

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.co.uk