FEBRUARY 2026

 Dreaming of sunshine…… This was me last summer when I was having a little snooze in the sunshine after running around like a mad thing and rolling in the dry grass.   I remember it was so hot that I had to eventually move into the shade.

 I hesitate to attach any type of animal sense to my playmate Bun-Buns as she is a stuffed toy, but as you can see, she somehow had the sense to lay in the shade from the get go.  The lawn was more like a field of cut hay and was a delight to roll in, scrunching and scratching when I wriggled about.  However the Mrs was not so happy when I traipsed bits of straw indoors with me. Bun-Buns got the order of the boot as well so we both ended up outside again.  I was only allowed in after a good brushing and Bun-Buns received an almighty shaking – poor thing, I am surprised she didn’t lose some of her stuffing, but like me and my playmates – we are made of sterner stuff.

DECEMBER 2025

A warning: the contents herein may be of a macabre nature and cause distress.  If this happens please consult your best friend for some consolation.

You may remember me mentioning that I had a new companion to play with - Teddy.  He was perfect until earlier in the year when he and I went to stay with one of my girlfriends for a few days while the Boss & Mrs went on holiday without me!  My newest girlfriend insisted on investigating the innards of my teddy.  By the time I managed to retrieve him she had destroyed his beauty, removing his glass eyes and instigating an appendectomy.  She was eventually forgiven as she was only young at the time and not in complete control of her exuberance but it rankled with the Mrs who was not keen on continuously viewing a discombobulated teddy.  The Mrs was also perturbed by some of his insides floating around the house, so eventually the Mrs took it upon herself to find some soft velvet material to heal teddy’s hurts and return him to his dignified status.  Hence “Bandit Teddy” evolved and I can play with him again knowing that I can be his guide-dog and his insides are safely contained and not spilling out during our games. 

Since this amazing recuperative needlework the floodgates have opened with the Boss suggesting the Mrs could perhaps resurrect some of his old socks with a bit of darning or turn a few collars on his favourite work shirts – to my knowledge these items have been discretely removed from his wardrobe with a quiet comment on the unlikelihood of this ever happening.  I blame Teddy! 

In this photo I have his foot secured I my soft mouth with my paw holding down his leg so that he cannot escape.  Since wearing his Zorro mask he has become a bit of a rogue so I have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t wander off and also to protect him from marauding girlfriends…. 

NOVEMBER 2025

 

A dog can dream……of strange playmates, friendly girlfriends, exciting ball games, chewy bones, delicious dinners, golden horses…..Wait…Horses?  It’s funny what can suddenly pop up in your dreams – even daydreams. I dreamt of heavy horses being walked past our house dressed in all their finery; of seeing them in nearby fields on our walks, grazing or chasing each other in play.  I am snoozing and dreaming of running through the green grass with my friends, my paws hitting the turf in a rhythm that makes my limbs twitch and my dream seems so real that my bark lets out little chirps and grumbles.  This is when I usually get a prod from the Mrs and my full on gambol through the field stumbles into the reality of laying on the floor in the living room interfering with the hearing ability of the Boss watching his favourite sport on the TV.  “Quiet” says the Mrs with a calming stroke, “you were dreaming, making noises and twitching”.  I roll over, sleepily semi-conscious and find a cool place to rest my muzzle falling back into my dream while thinking to myself, no, I was running with golden horses, streaming through the air, flying in the wind, my ears flapping in the breeze as I chase across the grass………I open one eye as the Boss suddenly shouts “Yes” as the little white ball on the TV rolls over the green, bypassing the guy holding the flag, and falls neatly into the hole…..

OCTOBER 2025

I hope you all had a good summer.  I traveled a lot and swam a lot.  This summer I also sunbathed and as you can see – I have a lovely tan….

It was good to explore my second home again, sniffing all the boundaries and playing with my other toys that I had forgotten about.  I did slip away once as I picked up an enticing scent on the air which my instincts told me belonged to a lady dog who might welcome a bit of company. However, I was not successful and my escapade ended with an impromptu meeting of all the French neighbours in our little hamlet, instead of my dream of a romantic interlude. After travelling around the immediate area with my nose in the air trying to catch that scent I hadn’t gone very far when I heard voices calling. Unfortunately my French is a bit limited and I didn’t understand that they were calling me.   When I was eventually collared by Monsieur Louis and his wife Yvonne who trotted me towards home we came across all the neighbours who had been out looking for me – I didn’t realise I was so popular!  The Boss and the Mrs were relieved to see me and I had to sit and wait while they all had a jolly good chinwag.   Alas I never did find the lady dog with the enticing perfume – that’s why I probably look a bit sad in this photo…….

 

SEPTEMBER 2025

Football – one of my favourite games.  I am very attached to my football, so much so that even when the Mrs plays footy with me I don’t willingly let go of the ball.  She has tried to tackle me when she thinks I am not looking only to be disappointed when I pounce quickly and snatch the ball from her carefully aimed kick just before it makes contact.  Once clenched in my jaws she finds it very difficult to get it off me with the normal rules of football and often has to resort to devious means with another ball to play with, a chance to retrieve teddy from where he has been lobbed or, on the rare occasion, with a biscuit treat……….I must admit I have fallen for the latter on the odd occasion….

Having watched football many times on the TV with the Boss, among every other game involving a ball that he watches, I have learnt some mean moves.  Keepy Uppy is a trifle difficult sometimes but I have finessed the art of throwing the ball in the air.  Sometimes I can catch it and occasionally score a volley, but with others I chase it madly around the garden until I can clamp it with my paw and throw it up again.  The Boss will pass me an assist but then calls me a poacher or fox in the box when I retrieve the ball from the penalty area, namely the Mrs’s flower beds.  Mostly I play defender to stop the Mrs from getting the ball and making a chip shot over my head.  Sometimes she does a dummy run to try and fool me but I’ve yet to see her do a bicycle kick……. 
 

AUGUST 2025

Me enjoying a swim and retrieving my stick.
 

JULY 2025

Just call me a water baby.  I love the water and I love retrieving.  Most mornings include a trip to the lake.  Before my dip I enjoy helping to feed the fish.  I do this by finding and eating all the morsels dropped by the Mrs as she throws it into the water.  For a second I feel empathy with the fish as they go berserk, so excited by the thought of food.  Back on dry land I suspect she purposely drops bits for me to find on the grassy bank so I don’t try to jump in and wrestle the fish for it.  Then we walk round the lake looking at flora and fauna and I wait patiently while she keeps stopping to take photos.  Eventually we return to a quiet section away from the fish feeding station and again I wait patiently while the Mrs does a search for a suitably sized stick and lobs it into the water for me to retrieve. 

If you’ve seen my blog on the square box thingy you’ll have seen a shot of my spectacular diving technique.   Once launched and the enormous splash fades I lift my head above water checking to see where the stick landed, then I strike out to retrieve it.  With my paws extended I boost the webbing between my toes giving me extra pulling power, snatch it from the surface and swim back to shore.  This is the part where the Mrs will stand well back from me.  All I want to do is give her the stick so she can throw it in again but the more I advance, the more she retreats.  Eventually I give up and drop the stick to do my whole body shimmer shake which rids my coat of most of the excess water giving me a lighter running weight.  I look round to find the Mrs and give her the stick but she is standing well away from the droplet flying zone.  What is it with her and water – she’s exactly the same when it falls from the sky.  Me, I love it, the wetter the better……