Confined to barracks ..

I've been stuck in the house today. The hearing aid chap came this morning to check mum's aids ..  and in the afternoon I had my home check by the animal welfare place. They normally come to check if your garden's suitable once you've 'picked' your dog. 

You may remember that I was wondering about getting a huge chicken run thing because it would have been so expensive to dog proof the garden. When I told them that, they said they'd come to give me advice before I spent any money, which was good of them.

I'd been slightly concerned about the foxes, and hoped they keep a low profile while the home check went ahead. Of course there was no sign of them all day - until five minutes before Amy (the home checker) arrived.

Predictably - five minutes before she arrived, four foxes arrived!


I opened the back door as noisily as I could, but they just sat and watched. Fortunately when Amy saw them she just admired them and said how much she loves foxes. 
We walked around the garden - she suggested (which was my own first thought all those weeks ago) that all I needed to do was secure the concrete area just around the back door and not bother with the rest of the garden at all.
She said until I and a dog had got to trust each other I could take it into the garden on a lead .. and when I felt the time was right - as long as I didn't leave it out there alone - it would be fine in the garden without bothering to dog proof it further.
Meanwhile several dog owning friends have more or less convinced me that a puppy is a better idea than an elderly dog. I'm told a puppy will just want to please its 'person' and will fit in more easily with the home routine than an older dog which may be more set in its ways.

A friend has a gorgeous coton de tulear and there may be a litter of puppies in the summer ..  I'm keeping my options open .. but I think the puppy idea's looking rather appealling.

Here's Sweetpea doing his ever so appealling look outside the kitchen window just now.