:: dog's life

When I first got Bertie we were walking through the marina when we met a family that also had a greyhound, a black female. The family has a boat moored there, and the dog goes sailing with them. Bertie was scared to death of the children & deeply suspicious of the rest of them, including the dog.

Then last year, we met them again. I'd forgotten about them in the meantime, but they remembered us. Bertie was a bit calmer by now, but still nervous about the children.

For some reason, on Friday as I walked Bertie through the marina, I thought of that family for the first time since last year.

Guess who we saw yesterday?

This time it was just the mother, who rushed up with a huge smile. "It's Bertie, isn't it?" He greeted her just as enthusiastically -- he's become ultra-friendly lately -- and she raved about how he's improved over the years. She pointed out her family heading along the pontoon to the boat, with the dog in its red jacket.

Does everyone have such a good memory? I couldn't remember her dog's name if you put a gun to my head.

It was good, though, to get confirmation that Bertie has improved since I've had him. I tend to think he's the same scatterbrained nincompoop he was back then, which he is of course. But he's also a lot more confident and more obedient too (when he feels like it). I took him to Holyrood Park yesterday, and he had a whale of a time and didn't get into trouble once. We met a group of people with a bunch of dogs, including two puppies, and he behaved himself perfectly.

Yeah, I think I'll keep him.