I’ve been helpin’ out a bit in the last week or so. Obviously he doesn’t appreciate it but I guess I should still try. Firstly, I’ve been helpin’ out with young Eric. Young Eric is a very cute black Labrador who lives with Auntie Sue. Why I couldn’t have got someone like Auntie Sue instead of him I really don’t know. Anyway, Eric is only 11 weeks old so he’s still learning about life. I’ve been teaching him things like how to pull on a lead (he isn’t allowed out yet because he hasn’t had all his jabs, but he needs to be ready when he is!), how to bark for no apparent reason, which toys are mine and out of bounds (very important!), how to sniff a bottom and all sorts of other stuff. He isn’t allowed outside yet so I can’t teach him about how to go to the loo. Auntie Sue was very embarrassed when he did a poo on the carpet but, quite honestly, it wasn’t even enough to be classified as a ‘one bagger’ so I don’t know why. I managed a ‘three bagger’ when we were out the other morning! Now that’s something to be proud of!!!!
You won’t believe this but he moaned when I had a lay down in the sunshine whilst we were out for a walk!!!
The weather has just been getting better and better all week. He claimed to be doing that work thing that he claims he does again on most days. Frankly, I have serious doubts about it. Every day when he comes home he stinks of Cush or Roxy or Ronnie or Reggie or Radar or some other dog that even he isn’t brave enough to mention! He‘s even got so brazen about it that he talks about them when he gets home. Cush this or Radar that, how very dare he!! I’m going to have to warn Eric about this trait that some humans have of cavorting with other dogs. Eric is learning human(English) too at the moment. Mostly it goes well. I think he’s got “no” pretty much cracked now and Auntie Sue has been trying to teach him “sit”. Well, it was hardly his fault now was it? I mean there is very little difference between a “s” and a “sh”!! I’ve offered to lend Eric my doggy:human(English) dictionary. I would offer him some of my others but I don’t want to over load him. He’ll need to understand human(English) before I can teach him about the swarthy human(Spanish) or how to perfect the ‘gallic shrug’ for the human(French) version.
The bluebells were absolutely stunning!
On Friday Grandma came and we all went out to Auntie Lorraine and Uncle Bernie’s house to see the bluebells. There was Grandma and Nana and Granda and Auntie Zena and Uncle Simon and Daddy Richard and, inevitably, him. Auntie Lorraine and Uncle Bernie have a fabulous garden there are two lakes and woodland between them where there are owls and woodpeckers and mandarin ducks and all sorts of other things. I had to be very well behaved but I didn’t mind because it was all so lovely. I did pull him along a bit but that’s understandable, isn’t it?! Auntie Lorraine made everyone a cup of tea and I noticed that Grandma had even had a piece of home made cake! She didn’t walk up through the woods with us but stayed in the main garden and chatted to Uncle Bernie. Grandma has a spot of trouble walking any distance nowadays, so she tends to sit down and watch the world go by instead. She enjoyed the trip out though and said she had had a lovely afternoon. When we went home we dropped Grandma off and Auntie Zena went along with him to see Grandma’s room. I stayed in the car thingy with Uncle Simon because I couldn’t be bothered to get out, go all the way to Grandma’s room just to turn round again and get back in the car thingy!
There’s stuff in here that I cannot imagine he would ever know what to do with!
I don’t know if seeing Auntie Lorraine’s garden inspired him or it was something else but on Saturday he decided the time had come to clean out the greenhouse. Frankly, it did need doing and he had been threatening to do it for ages. Daddy Richard did help a little bit but I did most of the helpin’. I picked up loads of plant pots and moved them around the garden. I crushed an old seed tray and managed to get that into several thousand pieces! I even cleared out some of the cobwebs with my nose! I don’t think he had cleaned out that greenhouse for ever – there was stuff in there that I cannot imagine what he thought it would ever be used for. We found more Hoselock connectors than even Hoselock would know what to do with – I did try chewing one of these but they really aren’t very nice at all! Honestly, every time I moved helped out by moving something to another part of the garden, or tested something for chewability all I heard was him grumbling! “Nigel wouldn’t do that” and “Nigel doesn’t chew all Monty Don’s things”. I don’t even know who Monty Don is. I suppose he’s half OK because his first name is Monty but who on earth Nigel is, I really don’t know!
All this helpin’ out is blinkin’ tiring! I’m cream crackered!!!!
Actually, talking of Don’s, it was Uncle Don’s birthday the other day. I don’t know how old Uncle Don is but I think he’s pretty old because I read the birthday card that Daddy Richard found for him and it was very rude! Something about “If life is a journey, yours is taking a long time”. I don’t think that was very kind!!!! After all that helpin’ I have to admit that I was pretty cream crackered so I decided that I’d have a little lay down on the (now clean) floor of the greenhouse and push out a few ????s. Obviously, I got absolutely no thanks whatsoever for all my help and I got moaned at that I was in the way! It really isn’t fair but what can a dog do? Today we went out for a very long walk this morning before we then went and picked Grandma up to go to a garden that was open. Grandma is then staying for dinner with us before she goes home this evening. I’m not absolutely sure but I think that today was probably the best day of my life! But then, I think yesterday was the best day of my life. But then I think that the day before might have been the best day of my life. Then again, I think that tomorrow might be the best day of my life. Oh, I don’t know! It is all very confusing – I’m going to have to give this some serious thought so, for now, must paws … ????
Hi Monty, would you thank Daddy Alex & Daddy Richard for the rude card which I’ve not yet seen because I left home when I was still only 77, to dog sit for my neff Barny, who has gone off swanning around the States in a Winnebago with his wife & 2½ year old son.
I am very pleased you are having fun and refusing to get trained. The doggy I am looking after is called Ruby and she is 4 next month (I think). Like you, when called, comes in her own time and still thinks she should get a treat! However, she doesn’t pull on the lead anymore (unless she sees a dog or human she knows, or a cat).
She doesn’t steal socks and glasses but, being a Labrador, she would steal food at the slightest opportunity but is no trouble at meal times.
Uncle Don xx
Hi Monty, would you thank Daddy Alex & Daddy Richard for the rude card which I’ve not yet seen because I left home when I was still only 77, to dog sit for my neff Barny, who has gone off swanning around the States in a Winnebago with his wife & 2½ year old son.
I am very pleased you are having fun and refusing to get trained. The doggy I am looking after is called Ruby and she is 4 next month (I think). Like you, when called, comes in her own time and still thinks she should get a treat! However, she doesn’t pull on the lead anymore (unless she sees a dog or human she knows, or a cat).
She doesn’t steal socks and glasses but, being a Labrador, she would steal food at the slightest opportunity but is no trouble at meal times.
Uncle Don xx