Springer spaniel went missing at a friends BBQ and was found with his arse hanging out of the scraps bin having eaten everything except a banana skin and some paper napkins….. wasn’t given dinner that night but was given a trip to the vets on a Sunday, at emergency callout rates ( dog was fine, my wallet and pride in him being such a ‘good’ boy was not’)
Thought we had cracked recall…. Until a low flying plane made a shadow on the beach, like a huge bird… he chased that shadow for many kilometres ( spaniels that are bred for duck hunting get very excited about anything bird like) well that was fun trying to get him back
We were having the new fence built and the electronic gates installed having just moved in so bit of chaos in front garden ( eye off the ball) Boxer puppy slipped out and up the street to the retirement village, frantic search only to find her Ladyship snuggled upside down on Petula’s floral sofa complete with the t bone from a steak that Petula had taken out of the fridge and given to ‘ the well mannered but hungry puppy’ that had arrived on her deck ….. the humiliation mixed with relief…. After that episode every time we walked past the retirement village Boxer would veer to the left wanting to go to see Petula ( Petula would often appear with a choice lamb bone or special doggie soup - that was highly nutritious and made from the best cuts of meat) . Petula became our dog sitter for many years, although the dogs always needed to go on a diet after she sat for them because Petula would ignore the food left for the dogs and the choicest cuts of meat from the organic butcher would be purchased and in large quantities! Dogs even attended Petula’s funeral … we miss her ….
The first indication that DH was ill he let the teenage pups out of the car and spaniel knocked his leg and sent him crashing to the ground, they made a bid for freedom… Springer and Boxer make beeline for the school and are found sitting with some Y5 students while they were eating their lunch outside ( not in the UK) quietly being hand fed bits of crust, crisps chocolate etc… I get an email from a colleague in my office saying ‘ I think your dogs might be onsite’ I break the land speed record to the playing fields and find spaniel is covered in a daisy chain, and regally and gently accepting hand fed treats, boxer having her head in the lap of a child enjoying being stroked in the warm spring sunshine. My blood runs cold … lawsuits, worried/ furious parents etc etc get dogs back home, sort out injured DH, barge into heads’ office to explain and head off trouble … to be told ‘ stop being so English, the kids enjoyed it, the dogs enjoyed it, where’s the harm’ no one complained ( except the kids who thought I was mean hastily removing the dogs) in fact bumped into the parent of one of the kids and it was laughed about….. but I was mortified and tbh had I been a parent I would NOT have been impressed at all
both dogs are now elderly and I promise we do feed our dogs, they are just exceptionally greedy ……