In the doghouse

The Lancaster family arrived late last night having avoided the worst of the weather in the drive up. While the parents were tired, our grandson was rested and kept us entertained for quite a while.

Our plans for as long a lie in as we could get were shattered as their dog disappeared from our back garden. It is walled and gated but their dog (mainly Jack Russell) is very agile and jumps up with ease onto our raised beds. He might have got onto the wall and into another garden. As he had gone out he seemed to sense a trail and followed it actively. We do often get foxes in the garden.

When they went to call him in he never reappeared. A rush round the garden produced no sign of him and he did not respond to any calls or entreatments. So we split up and went round the roads on foot and in car. He is chipped but has no road sense. Pedestrians and dog walkers were quizzed; the local vet was contacted and neighbours’ gardens checked.

Then he reappeared. It seems he had gone into the herbaceous border (which is still very thick) and had sensed something in the ground and began digging. We later found it was a fresh large bone (perhaps from a food bins which we suspect a fox had found and buriedj. However it had got there it was the prime focus for the dog.

Relief all round, vet etc contacted and we slowly got on with our day which mainly involved entertaining our grandson!

We hope for a quieter day tomorrow when they go off to a wedding. We will just be dog sitting!! No stress then.