Posting days: Sunday and Wednesday and, sometimes, maybe, extra ‘news flashes’!

Sunday February 21st 2016

Well, thanks to Kerry, Sarah, Bev. and Graham, two possibilities have been seriously reduced: first, Isis wriggling out of her harness again and meeting some unthinkably bad end and, second, my left arm being removed unceremoniously and at great speed from its socket.

Although it is not the most exciting image in the history of photography, the photo below shows at their actual size the latest two additions to Hairy One’s collection. It occurred to me that this might be useful to some other dog owner if it were reproduced in large format.

Here we have, at the top, Exhibit A, a Halti security strap for those dogs who, not surprisingly, wish to escape from their Haltis, and, below it, Exhibit B, a bungee lead extension which is designed to assist dog owners who prefer not to add to the case load of their local A&E department.

For Isis, the Halti strap is threaded through her harness and then clipped to her collar. Even though her harness has been tightened three times, she still manages to wriggle out of it. If it is tightened any more she will look like a trussed white hairy sausage, and, I think, might suffocate. Three times since the strap has been used she has wriggled out of her harness but now she is safe: as she cannot get out of her collar she can be reeled in.  Gotcha Isis!

I had hoped to use the bungee extension on her Flexi retractable lead. This is fifteen metres long so you really feel it if she suddenly takes off. I’m sure it would be brilliant for more sedate dogs but it doesn’t work well for Isis. The weight of the bungee makes the Flexi cord droop and it becomes tangled round Hairy One’s legs. I’ll just have to concentrate consistently when she’s racing around and pre-empt sudden tugs.

The bungee works very well on her ordinary walking lead: it reduces the stress on my arms and shoulders when Isis jerks away without warning. Nowadays she seldom does this on dry days. But as yet I have little control over her when the rain flies come. She is ecstatic and jerks up, down, forwards, backwards, and sideways  continuously, rhythmically clicking her castanet teeth. And this can go on for the duration of the walk.

Hopefully, the bungee will reduce the pain for both of us. Not that Isis registers any discomfort, of course.

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