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The Guest Sept 25, 2003 Last week a couple we know asked us if we would be able to look after their Golden Retriever for them for a couple of weeks while they took a trip to the USA to show off their new baby to the proud grandparents. We have a large back yard and two dogs of our own so we could see no problems with the idea, assuming that the dogs would get on well together. We arranged a trial meeting so that the dogs could get to know each other for a couple of hours before the extended stay commenced. Tuva, (the name means tussock, or tuft of grass in Swedish), the visitor is a female and both our dogs, Sam and Wally are males. Wally has been de- sexed so we didn’t anticipate any problems there, but Sam is a fully intact pedigree German Shepherd who is the boss of the back yard so we were a little apprehensive as to his reaction. However, all went well – the boys behaved themselves and Tuva appeared to be happy in their company. We should have had a few warning bells ringing, however, when we found that Tuva was able to squeeze through the sheep netting fence that had proved effective in keeping Sam and Wally safely confined. That should be no problem, we said casually. We’ll just put some chicken wire along the inside of the fence to keep Tuva in during that daytime. So the next week I spent attaching two rolls of chicken wire along the inside of the existing fence, watched with interest by Sam and Wal. Then came the big day. Tuva arrived with her bed, food bowl and a large container with her supply of dry food. After a walk down to the lake and through the forest with the boys to get re-acquainted, we gave Tuva some food and then brought all three boys inside for the night. Of course they were all excited and there was a lot of rushing around and much sorting out of the hierarchy. Eventually we were able to get to sleep – Sam and Wally in their usual positions on the sofa and beside the bed, respectively, and Tuva on her blanket just by the front door. The next morning, the fun began. We took the three dogs outside before allowing the cats downstairs (regular readers will be aware that we have three cats, Toulose, Picasso and Cornelius, who spend each night upstairs while the dogs are inside downstairs). Before I had time to get back indoors, I could hear panting and running feet behind me. There was Tuva, grinning happily and looking back so proudly at the hole that she had clawed in the chicken wire. An old wooden door was found and we repaired the chicken wire as best we could and placed the old door over the damaged area of the fence. But again, before there was time to get indoors, Tuva had made a new hole in the fence and escaped again. Three large sheets of roofing iron, a couple of outdoor tables, two wardrobe doors and a side from the packing case used to ship my belongings from Australia later, the whole side of the fence was blocked off. But I had forgotten the gate! It took Tuva maybe five minutes to bite off one of the gate timbers and crawl underneath through the resulting gap. This was too much, so we finally resorted to a running line, some twenty metres long, across the backyard, positioned so that Tuva was able to get inside the dog house should it rain, but not be able to reach the fence or gate. Finally she settled down and the next few days she was happy to lie in the sun and watch the goings on in the neighbourhood. But Murphy had another trick to play on us. Living out in the country, we are not connected to the mains sewerage system. Instead we have a soak-away septic system comprising of two holding tanks, which need to be emptied by tanker once every year. As luck would have it, our annual pump out coincided with Tuva’s holiday visit, so we had to hold back the dogs and open the gate to allow the tanker to reverse into the dog yard and attach the suction pump to the holding tank and begin the emptying process. All was going well – the dogs were watching events closely but behaving themselves – until we watched with horror as a split spread across the suction hose, slowly at first. Then with a loud hiss the hose detached itself from the truck and the contents of our septic system began to spread out across the grass in the dog yard. The pump was quickly stopped, the hose repaired and the emptying of the tanks completed. We hosed down the affected area as best we could after the tanker had gone, but the smell lingered on despite our efforts. When Tuva arrived, she had been newly bathed and brushed and her blonde fur shone in the sunlight. The first thing she did after the truck had disappeared was to roll on the deliciously wet and smelly grass, turning her fur a delicate shade of brown in the process. Sam and Wally were more cautious, but joined in the fun. The next hour was spent in the bathroom as all three dogs were shampooed at least twice each and towelled dry until they could once again rejoin society. Hälsningar till nästa vecka, ------------ About the author: Robin Alan Bell is an Englishman by birth, but migrated to Australia back in '72. Married and divorced there. Spent the last 3 years living by myself on a remote farm in rural New South Wales with no mains electricity, water etc. All power, heating was from natural resources (solar, wind, wood). "Met" a Swedish girl on the internet, came to Sweden for a holiday, loved the place (and the girl), moved to Sweden permanently Christmas 2001 and married the girl in Easter 2002. Living happily ever after... Email Robin Alan Bell: sosoft@ozemail.com.au Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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