Wednesday November 5th 2014 - A new little camping friend

For several weeks now I've been tentatively exploring the possibility of getting another little dog and my thoughts have veered wildly between ''No, two's enough'' and ''Yes if the right one comes along''. The reason for my thoughts is Sugar. Since the beginning of the year she has slowed down considerably with age and as she turned 16 in July I can't expect her to live for ever. Although she still likes going for walks it now takes more time and the slowing down has been accompanied by a gradual reluctance to play, which for some reason has been more evident since coming back from California in September. Sophie however is still very much a live wire and while off the lead on walks she loves to run round and explore, which she is increasingly doing on her own.

With this in mind, and as I don't want Sophie to end up as an 'only dog' when anything happens to Sugar, I've spent the last few weeks checking out rescue centres and the internet for another little friend. After finding a couple of 'possibles' and a few 'maybes' I came across Poppie, who seemed to satisfy most of my personal criteria, so last Thursday I drove all the way over to Grimsby on the east coast to see her. She's six years old and wasn't quite what I expected, having a very short docked tail which is no more than a bob and slightly longer legs than Sophie and Sugar, but she was a sweet little thing so within half an hour she was in the van and on the way home with me.

For the first few days she seemed very timid and shy but that's only to be expected when everything is so new  for her, however she's getting on fine with Sophie and Sugar and is eager to go out for walks. This morning when I got back from work she actually came to greet me so she's gradually coming out of her shell; I think she has the makings of a great little friend for both me and the other two, and I'm now looking forward to eventually taking her on her first camp.