A post should appear every Sunday

Monday September 18th 2023

Friend Y comes round for coffee with good natured Blitzi, who has never been anything but kind to Isis, even, on more than one occasion, protecting her by chasing off another dog who has honed in on her in the park.

Does Isis appreciate this? Is she the perfect hostess when he visits her?

No way! She persecutes him mercilessly from the time he arrives to the time he departs.

She begins by twirling in the hall, uttering gruff little ‘uff’s. I put out a dog bed in the front room so that he can sit close to his person and feel safe, but when Isis comes in, she soon sniffs him out, walks up to him, and utters a menacing ‘WAFF!’

He cringes, and moves even closer to his person’s chair. Sometimes he retreats upstairs and lies on a blanket on the landing, but today she is too quick for him, and positions herself on the edge of the rug closest to the door, cutting off  a potential escape. She places her head on her paws and pretends to be asleep. He lies down but keeps a watchful eye on her.

Every now and again, she stands up and shakes herself, just to remind him whose house it is. Poor Blitzi becomes more and more anxious until, when Isis stands up and walks towards him, he loses his nerve completely …………

and leaps onto a very surprised lap!

His face says it all.

When she is out and about, Isis, of course, is quick to remove herself if another dog approaches her. She only picks on canines who encroach on her territory.

I eagerly await the appearance of the ordered soft toys. When the new multi-squeak creatures arrive, and I place the cow on the rug in the front room, Isis sniffs her, picks her up carefully, trots down the hall and deposits her carefully in her dog bed. When she returns I put down the squirrel which receives exactly the same treatment. She knows they’re hers and where they belong.

Later on, after she’s eaten, she settles in her dog bed, picks up the cow, and squeaks her relentlessly.

She’s obviously very pleased with her gifts.

I pack them with the rest of Hairy One’s belongings before friend Chris arrives on Saturday. Tomorrow she will drive us down to Cornwall to spend a week in our friend’s cottage.

Isis recognises Chris’s scent immediately, wags her tail joyfully and requests strokes and pats. Last year, to our dismay, she trembled and panted in the back of the car for the entire journey, refusing drinks when offered. This time, we’re hoping that when she recognises the car, she’ll relax.

But she doesn’t. She remains hyper-vigilent, and trembles and pants. But at least she drinks when offered water.

Strange dog: as soon as the car stops, she relaxes, and is perfectly happy to walk about when we stop at a service station.

She remembers S., of course, and wags her tail when she walks into the cottage. When N. arrives, a little later, she is very pleased. He has lived with animals all his life and has a magical effect on them. He reared Percy pigeon from a new born chick who was abandoned when his nest was destroyed by a storm four years ago, and until recently, Percy returned regularly to perch on N.’s head and await a meal; on a larger scale, are previously unwanted horses he has rescued and taken in.

Isis adores Nick, and will happily go off anywhere with him, more eagerly, I regret to admit, than she will with me. In places which are new to her, she often baulks at walking; not, however, if N. is on the  other end of her lead.

I think she enjoyed her holiday.

Isis came from Aeza cat and dog rescue in Aljezur, Portugal. For information about adopting an animal from the centre, contact kerry@azea.org or go to http://www.dogwatch.co.uk.