Nearly there

Toff is on the threshold of a leap into the back of the car. She’s not quite there, but the temptation of a treat has almost persuaded her to make the hop required. She did it a few days ago, then immediately hopped back out again. Once she’s been lifted in, she’s happily travelling a mile or two. Perhaps it’s still the unfortunate memory of being persuaded to jump in, and then being whisked away to an unknown place by relative strangers. It’s all good progress though in just two weeks from when she first arrived. Today, she was confronted by the stairs to the first floor in the old part of the house, she was baffled as C disappeared upstairs, and didn’t know how to follow her. Nearly everything is new, and she is doing so well.

We found out during the week that she had been with K since she was 8 weeks old, living in kennels outside a remote farm house with a lot of other dogs for company, but primarily only K and his wife. Clearly they were much more fond of her than K was prepared to admit, and K kept her well beyond the point when it would have been apparent she wasn’t going to make it as a working sheep dog. We have a theory she was an outdoor pet, who accompanied him when he was working outside or visiting friends and clients. She was allowed into the house on occasions when K was having his lunch.

Meanwhile the weather today warmed up enough for most of the ground frost to melt away. It has been remarkable to see the difference a few hundred feet of altitude makes to the weather here. On the wold top, snow was still lying yesterday, and along minor roads it was embanked on both sides and ungritted roads were covered in black ice.