My Guiding Shadow

Tags

Guidance, Guide Dogs, Labradoodle, Unconditional Love

My shadow that I have, never lets me feel alone. Solitude is a far distant memory as my shadow is omnipresent and never leaves my side. Day and night, throughout the seasons my shadow comes with me to places that other shadows are rarely allowed to go. My shadow never goes unnoticed by others, as it refuses to blend in and demands to stand out. My funny little shadow knows how to work it for the crowds.The hair of my shadow never looks pristine but takes on a more natural untamed look. It likes to move freely without any restrictions as the free spirit moves merrily through life. The shadow side steps a mundane way of life to search out a more mischievous way of being.You will always find my shadow going a different way than others, as predictability shrivels up the passion that lies within.The thing is, my shadow has more legs than me and a tail whilst I have none. My shadow is a he whist I am a she. I am only bilingual whereas he is trilingual and understands both human and non-human speech. My shadow sleeps whilst I am awake, but we can both come together to have some fun. He craves the attention wherever he goes whereas I love to just people watch even though I cannot see.Munch, my favourite shadow is always by my side and it feels like we have been in each other’s lives forever and not just the three short years since we were paired together. Wherever I turn he is there and feels like my guiding shadow who is never far away. His infectious loving ways means that there is never a moment to feel alone even when we step into the sighted world where I sometimes feel like an outsider.Guide dogs are more than just practical help in life, as they guide us to places within ourselves that we never knew existed. He makes the unpredictable sighted world more predictable as he leads me safely to places that I never would have found without him.With only the requirement of food and non-stop fuss, my shadow gives back the pure unconditional love that would make anyone feel blessed.Wherever you find your guiding shadow, remember to tell it how amazing it really is as without it, you wouldn’t be the person that you are today.

The Judging Sceptic

Tags

Acceptance, Blind, Hidden Disability, Non Judgemental Attitude, Sight Loss

I forget people can see me rolling my eyes. To be honest, I forget people can see.

When you have never seen a face clearly before as everyone is just a blur, you kind of forget that the sighted world sees everything. They especially see the things that you really don’t want them to see, such as eye rolling that I am rather partial too. Ooooops.

With a face that just cannot lie, I let my eyes roll upwards and to the side to try and search for a polite answer to the snappy sounding store assistant that stood before me. I am usually far more patient, but I had just experienced this London Bus Syndrome senario where for the third time in less than twenty minutes those dreaded four words were directed at me. To others, the words “you don’t look blind” may seem like a compliment and it is in a way but when it is said in an accusing tone, it really isn’t a compliment. It was this third London Bus that day that had come along after a drought of these well-meaning buses that had triggered the lively eyes rolling in my head.

Maybe my reaction was slightly more emphasised after she had said that she had “seen a lot of blind people in this shop and you don’t look like them”. A spluttered giggle remained inside of me. A colourful phrase stayed inside my head and did not escape my lips. What was more surprising was, I even managed to not bite back to her curt accusing tone with a crocodile snap of my own. The other two previous people who had stopped to cheery chat and said I didn’t look blind meant it in a positive light but this lady was different. She was like many we had come across in the past, which were the worst kind. The Sceptic.

Walking around with a physical disability feels like you sometimes need to carry medical evidence around with you to thrust in somebody’s face to validate yourself and prove their ignorance wrong. I understand that the primary source of information that many in the sighted world use to make decisions is their vision, but I sometimes wish it wasn’t as looks can be so deceiving. Having a unusual looking striking guide dog does not help with the stereotyping of what a blind person or a guide dog should look like either which she also picked up on. This apparent expert on not only what “blind people look like” but also an expert in the field of guide dogs as her next door neighbours aunt had one, thought that a Labradoodle like Munch was not a guide dog. The ignorance of others can really make your mind boggle. It does make me thankful that I do not use my eyes alone to make judgements on people that I know nothing about. Now that would be living with true blindness.

I really hope that my parting words to her would help her to broaden her narrow outlook on life, but I somehow doubt it. Cheerily uttering the words “we don’t all look the same” filled the silence between us with no reply from her as we bid her goodbye. Whether or not this planted seed will grow a more open way for her to see the world or not, I feel like I did my bit. I am still working on my poker face whilst persuading my overtly rolling eyes to calm down whilst in such situations, so maybe I will get there someday. Until then I will continue to clench my teeth and smile sweetly in my non blind looking way.

Judging will always say more about the person judging than the one being judged.

The Little Things

Tags

Animals, Animals and Children, Guide Dogs, Kindness, Labradoodle, Unconditional Love

It is the little things that we do in life that means the most. A sweet loving gaze given to a lonely old soul can make a person feel noticed in an isolated world. The universal language of smiling will always be welcomed wherever you are in the world so smile away to keep connected wherever you may be. A lively hello can lift the vibration of a person filled with sadness and help them to remember a different way of life. Whatever that little thing you do for someone else will always be the right thing if it comes from a place of love.

Munch always does his own little thing in his own little way whenever he can. The day that the above picture was taken, we had just had a heavy day in work. Working as a counsellor is an amazing and rewarding job but with it also brings a lot of sadness. Listening to children talk about the hardships that they are facing in life is never easy to hear as I just want to wave a magic wand for them to make it all better. Deep down I know that this will pass, and life will get better. but I feel the deep pain that they are carrying around with them which is the worst feeling ever.I may not have a magic wand for the clients to use but I do have a magic weapon that helps them escape from their sadness even if it is just momentarily.

My hairy secret weapon called Munch, gives them permission to feel secure pain in a non- judgemental way. Giving them his hairy body for them to cry into is only one of the ways he likes to help. As they snuggle their faces in him and soak him with tears, he becomes the rock that they need at that moment. He gives them his heart as freely as he gives them his paw to greet them into the world of friendship forever. He raises a laugh from a place long forgotten when he puts on an act that he known will help.

From chasing his tail to preforming the dying fly, he takes them out of their own world and into another where problems don’t exist. He gives them his toy to make them play fetch but makes them do all the fetching just to keep them on their toes. Whatever he can do to lift their spirits, he will do it with passion. The beauty of animal healing never fails to raise spirits as they come from a place of love where nothing, but perfection exists.

As we sat on the floor together that day, with him partly on my lap, it felt like we were both reflecting on a day that we made little differences to our client’s lives. It felt like Munch was born to help others in his quirky little ways that filled his heart with as much joy as the recipients. He would not suit every guide dog owner as his Drama King stubborn qualities do not suit everyone but to me, he is just perfect. His little things in life make up a whole package of perfection that I hope will never be forgotten.

Your little things in life make perfect memories so keep them flowing for a better world.

A Different Way Of Life

Tags

Blind, Children, Disability, Parenting, Sight Loss

I was sure that was his ear that I was lovingly gazing at. Just to make sure I gently traced my finger along his tiny head that lay in the crook of my arm and felt where his baby soft hair ended and his tiny ear began. I wasn’t far off where I thought where his ear was. My double vision of this beautiful blur had led me slightly off course but what did it matter anyway? The miracle of life that had still been inside me just 13 hours before was now being fed in my arms as I stood in my dining room with my other hand resting on his brothers highchair. This feeling of unconditional love that swept through me was not new as I had experienced it three other times over the last six years when my other children were born but it was slightly different. Just hours earlier a lovely student midwife had asked me if there was anything that I needed help with because of my eyesight and that was totally new.

Over the years I had never been asked that question by anyone. Had she not discussed my medical notes with me and enquired with her fresh new mind about what issues Marfan Syndrome gave me I would not have told her my eyes were “not the best”. It was so lovely to see the eagerness of the student to drink in all the information that she knew would help her on her placement. As soon as the caring questions left her lips, I began to think if there was any help that I needed? I had never thought of this before as I had always got on with motherhood in my own way and loved all its challenges. If you know no other way of life, then there is nothing that can ever really be missing from it.

I really wanted to tell this sweet young girl that if I had fully functioning vision I probably would need help to learn to parent all over again but I didn’t as it would sound bizarre. The thing was. It was because I couldn’t see that I found motherhood so smooth. I tuned into my children at such a deep level that I could sense everything about them. My touch told me how they were in themselves, my hearing let me know what their cries needed, and my gut told me if there was anything to fear in the silence. My logical brain told me everything I needed to know to keep them safe and therefore if all of these senses that had kept them happy and safe for the last six years were dampened down and I was given fully functioning vision instead, I would have to unlearn all that I had learnt.

I knew each of their personalised footsteps as they raced around the house and listened for the different materials of their coats rubbing as their arms propelled them forward whilst running outdoors to know that they were safe. Their whispering sleep filled breath that fell on my ears at night assured me that they were happily dreaming away nicely. The freshly smelling bathed baby soft bodies let me know that they were clean in their fragrant newly washed clothes. Most of all however it was their giggles that let me know that even though their mother could not see as well as most, they were doing okay. I am not sure therefore if I ever did need any additional help as I felt that however we all worked together as a team, it worked. My four beautiful children were the best teachers I have ever had in my blurry. “not the best” visioned world.

Thinking back to 16 years ago to this scene of me standing with my son (who is now 6ft 4) in my arms, makes me grateful for my sight loss as it made me fall in love with my children and life in a different way. My beautiful eldest daughter is now an amazing mother to her own sweet daughter and are both a ray of sunshine wherever they go. My second daughter who is only 11 months younger has turned out to be the most thoughtful and caring person you can ask for and is herself a student midwife asking similar important questions to help new mothers in any way she can. My adorably quirky oldest son has achieved things that nobody expected him to achieve and overcome barriers that would have stopped most yet his determination is omnipresent. My youngest charismatic mischief making son, is led by his old soul in connecting lovingly to people he meets and makes them feel valued. They have turned out perfect in every way.

So, when people ask me why I didn’t tell people I could not see or ask for help when I brought up these amazing people, I didn’t feel like I needed to. Maybe the whole story will appear in another book someday but until then I will just say that I wouldn’t have changed anything as these perfect not so little people showed me a different kind of magical life that I am blessed to have lived with them.

2020 Wishes

Tags

Guide Dogs, Heart, Labradoodle, New Year, Unconditional Love, Wishes

They say wishes don’t come true if you tell everyone about them, but I know I can trust you lot to keep my wishes to yourself. It’s not only humans that can have wishes in life. Fellow canine companions and other non- human species have wishes just as much as the two legged less hairy human race. Here is what I am hoping 2020 will bring into my life.

1. More rest

The maid still insists that I must accompany her to work. Some days I am in harness for over an hour in total which mean I am only harness free for 23 hours. I will work on the maid to decrease this and will request a chauffeur (a sighted one may I add) driven buggy to travel in to save my poor legs.

2. More play

For some strange reason, stealing socks and blankets from the humans in the house is not their version of play. They clearly need to rethink how they see play and incorporate more of my version of play. I will encourage Angus the cat to allow me to chase him, but he is not allowed under any circumstance to chase me back. A new play manifesto will be distributed to all to follow my new way of life.

3. More gourmet meals

When I first arrived in this home, I was only allowed the strict diet that guide dogs are meant to be on with only carrots for treats. Slowly but surely, I began to change this and began to use my handsome charm to share some of the food that the staff ate. I have broadened my palate now and am able to encourage the maid to share her meals with me by placing my head lovingly on her lap to let her know I am there and waiting. I have even encouraged the extended family to cook nutritious food especially for me when I visit so I will continue to do this. My boring diet will be a thing of the past.

4. Less shopping.

If there is no doggy aisle in a shop, I am not interested. I have learnt over the years which shops are for me and which are not. I have voiced my findings to the maid and she is well aware of where I will be accompanying her too and which ones she will have to take her long cane too. I can sniff out a clothes shop form miles away which I will not go to as I do not need clothes to make myself look handsome so I refuse to go in. Our shopping trips are getting shorter and I am getting happier so let this continue.

5. More attention

With looks like this how can anyone resists a stroke or 2? I know my harness says do not distract but with a face like this let’s be honest I am the one doing the distracting. I am sociable and so are humans, so it makes sense if we are sociable together. In return they can have a doggy kiss and I will leave them with some of my lush doggy hair attached to their clothing. I am aiming to spread more doggy hair to strangers this year.

6. More ball thieving.

Let’s be honest, why play a one-sided ball game when you can play in pairs. When I see a dog with a ball, it is my duty to run off with it to create a game of chase and keep their loneliness away. I sniff out a ball from quite an impressive distance away so if it is unattended, it is mine. I will give it back if I must, but I go by the finder’s keeper’s etiquette of ball play so be warned. I see more ball possession in 2020.

7. Less restrictions

I am aiming to have less restrictions this year placed on me. Apparently, I am not allowed to sit on the comfy chairs in work but as my previous posts have shown, I do anyway. I am intending to eat more of other people’s food if the fancy takes me (like the time a pupil’s panini ended up somehow in my mouth) as sharing is caring. I intend to leave my snug fitting harness at home more and go out for more free runs with my dog walking buddies and run like the free spirit I was born to be.

8. Give more healing

I know that the world is not all about me and if I see a sad soul, I am the first there to heal them. I lick away tears, snuggle into lonely arms and fill empty hearts with the love they are looking for. My goal this year is to spread the Munch affect on as many people as I can in whatever way I can. A happy world is a happy me, so I will create happiness in places of sadness and help to change as many lives as I possibly can.

9. More travel

I like to explore places with my ever-ready nose and eager eyes. I love to smell the lamp posts of new places to find out things in the local doggy newspaper. Last year we had to travel quite a bit for interviews about the book that I dictated to the maid to write and I hope we will travel more this year. Nothing beats a comfortable hotel pillow that I am not meant to be sleeping on but always do anyway.

10. More paw prints left on people’s hearts.

I hope to leave my paw prints in places I have yet to discover. Not only in physical places where I can leave my yeti like prints but also on the hearts of people that I will meet. We animals are the magic that is needed in people’s lives to help them discover another way of seeing the world. If humans could see the world through our eyes, then their tail ends would be wagging like ours. You too can leave your prints on people’s hearts in your own unique ways.

I know all of these will manifest for me as I put the work in so they cannot fail. I hope your hard work pays off this year for you to get your wishes too. Happy New Year from my heart to yours.

Peace and Love

Tags

Children and animals, Guidedog, Labradoodle, Love, Peace, Unconditional Love

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a Munch.

Maybe it was the stolen ham sandwiches that had lay in his reach, that made his body resemble a peach.

All round and hairy he lay in the way and was too full to even attempt to play.

Until that was, his best friend came along and started to sing him an encouraging song.

His ears pricked up and he gazed at her face, wanting her to come and rest in his space.

A bond like this, warms even the coldest of hearts, especially when their mischievous adventure starts.

Mix the energy of a three-year-old child and a labradoodle together and there is one thing that you will never hear and that is peace and quiet. Their mischievous footsteps that fail to tiptoe through the house means that they are in pursuit of happiness. A thrown ball here and a shared pack of crisps there, makes two beautiful souls come together and fill each other with joy.

My beautiful granddaughter was only nine months old when our almost Shetland pony sized Munch became part of our family and I wondered how they would get on. I need not have worried as it is as if their silent glances to one another communicated that they saw the world in the same mesmerising way. They loved people, loved affection and were rather partial to food. Isn’t that the bases of any good friendship? To them, it was.

The old souls that lived within each of them felt like they have lived before alongside each other in a previous life as they knew each other so well. As Munch lay stretching his long body out on the floor, my granddaughter would crawl with maturely around him not wanting to disturb him. From the first stroke that she gave him with her cute dimpled hand, she was soft and lovingly gentle and never rough. Munch in return was the gentlest of giants with her.

He always greeted her with kisses and would follow her around like a shadow. If she cried, he ran to her to see how he could help and did not leave her side until she was better. He climbed onto the bottom of the bed where she slept when she was older and remained there with Angus the cat to be the pair of bodyguards that every girl needed. The sound of her voice on the phone would set his helicopter tail off wagging in excitement as he heard his best friend. This was just the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Fast forward three years on and their friendship is unbreakable. She calls him her baby boy and ensures that he has everything that he needs. On Christmas Eve she tucked him in and told him to go to sleep early ready for Santa to bring him his present. As she placed his heart pillow underneath his heavy head, she whispered “I love you so much Munch”, to which he gave her a doggy kiss in return. There may never be much peace and quiet with these two around when they are together but there is always peace and love in their own shared world. What else could I ever wish for on Earth?

However, you spent your holidays, I hope that you found your own version of peace somewhere. Love and blessings.

The Show Must Go On

Tags

Beauty, Books, Guide Dogs, Labradoodle, Thanks, Unconditional Love

Being in the company of a sighted person can sometimes feel like I am in the company of a Superhero. They see things that I can only imagine exists, the describe things that are so vivid that it makes my eyes see what they are talking about, and they turn the blurry hazy world into a world of sharp clarity. On this day it was the eager eye of a teenage client that spotted that there was an intruder on Munch’s paw that nobody had noticed up until that point.

Mid-session, she noticed from over ten feet away that he had a lump on the top of his paw. This was a miracle to me as how anyone can see in that detail astonishes me and I was grateful that she picked it up. A thank you did not seem much to say for noticing something that I had failed to do. If it was on his body, I would have picked it up when he had his morning massage (as he obviously needs bless him) but failing to notice this lump on his paw left me feeling guilty. On a positive note it had been found and it reminded me that maybe I needed to include his paws in his daily massage too, so a win-win situation came out of it. A swift phone call to the vet later and we were booked in for later that day for a quick check up. A quick check up of the paw later and it was decided that he may have to have it removed depending on what The Guide Dogs charity decided as although he is whole heartedly a member of the family he still belongs to the charity. We heard three days later that he had the go ahead for the operation to remove the cyst and for investigation to see what this intruder thought it was doing on his paw.

His operation went well and a week later we found out that all was well, and it was just from an exotic sounding infected in-growing hair. The vet who had been practicing for several years had never heard of it before Munch trotted into her office but that day, she had learnt something new thanks to high maintenance Munch. After the operation, for ten days, we tried to rest him as much as possible so that his stiches wouldn’t burst, or an infection wouldn’t set in due to his licking as he wanted to heal it naturally. A cone of shame was giving to us by the vet, but it felt so cruel to put it on him as he kept walking into everything like a drunk dog. With his uncoordinated mobility we just had to keep him under constant supervision not to lick his wound, so I was ever vigilant in the hearing department whilst the sighted in my life were on look-out duty. It also meant that he had a blissful few days off work and I downgraded to my long cane to get around (which was a little less cute to look at).

We were due to be on Radio 4 Saturday Live the day that his stiches were being taken out but due to an infection that he picked up a few days earlier, we were unsure if he would be able to travel to London with me for the show. I prayed to the angels. The universe and any other source that would listen to me that the star of the show would make it with me as his appointment was only an hour and a half before the train was due. The angels, universe and other beauties in the world delivered the best news ever and he was fine to come with me to make his third radio appearance to promote his (sorry our) book What You See When You Can’t See. A two hour and forty-minute train journey later and we were in London ready to appear the following morning on the show with some amazing guests alongside his Lordship.

If it hadn’t been for the sweet client who told me that he had a lump on his paw as she knew I would not have been able to see it, he would not have had it removed and I will always be eternally grateful to her and all of the other sighted people that help us in the world. If it hadn’t been for my loving beautiful daughter Korisha coming to London with us, I would not have been able to appear on such a great show. If it hadn’t been for so many sighted people asking what it was I could see then I wouldn’t have written the book that gives one account of what sight loss is like. Thank you to the sighted world that make the sight loss world easier to live in, you truly are my Superheroes.

Believe And Receive.

Tags

Author, Books, Labradoodle, Media coverage, Thanks

They say there is no rest for the wicked but there must also be no rest for angels such as I.

Over the last week and a half, it has been a little …. busy. I have had requests from different parts of the world to learn more about how awesome a guide dog I am. There have been mentions about hearing about the maid’s sight loss story, but I think that is a pretty insignificant part of our press coverage. I mean who would not want to know more about my handsome labradoodle face. Without me coming into her life there would be no story to tell.

During my guide dog training I learnt to guide and be the sight that the person at the end of my harness handle had lost. I was taught to look out for dangers and obstacles in the way whilst out walking to keep my human partner safe. One thing that I also picked up along the way was how to use my charm and magnetic personality to my advantage and I think this is the reason that I have had people flock to me especially since the release of the book.

After an article was released in The Daily Mail last week, things went a little off the scale in regards of people wanting to know more about the book and multiple media sources covered it. Within 12 hours of the release of the article, the maid and the PR at Hay House were answering queries from places as far away as Austrailia. We had two TV programmes interested in having us on to talk about the book. Unfortunately due to the elections that are taking priority everywhere, our appearance had to be cancelled last minute so the nation missed seeing my newly pampered hairdo on their screens. The article had been translated into Polish, German, Taiwanese and French within hours of being printed. The maid was a little shocked but I expect that they just fell in love with my face and wanted to write about me.

Emails have been sent and answered in a constant flow over the last week and a half in relation to the book and it is now available in stores that it previously was not stocked in. All of this was what I was put on earth for. Dogs (or Ascended Masters such as I) need to have their worth recognised in any way they can. I have changed the maid’s life forever and know that she will be forever grateful for it. Her love for me will never be anything but huge.

To all of you what have been supportive in helping us get to where we are in life, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. The maid never thought that anyone would ever be interested in her story and nobody would want to read the book, but she was wrong (as usual). Your own unique story is just waiting to be heard by eager ears including ours. Belief always believed in you so believe in it too.

Three Year Partnershipversary

Tags

Anniversary, Guide Dog, Labradoodle, partnership, Unconditional Love

Others come into our lives for a reason, season or a lifetime. When they arrive, they can ignite parts of us that have been long forgotten for a variety of different reasons. Having them enter your lives can also make your fears and worries disappear. Both things happened the day I met Munch, or as I knew him back then as Minster.

When the body of a warrior, the wisdom of a sage and the mischievousness of a child manifested before me three years ago in the form of this Labradoodle, I became a different version of me. Stroking his head gently for the first time helped me connect to his loving energy that he filled the room with. This feeling right here, was the feeling of unconditional love that I had always felt within. His strength was a strength that I knew and had used throughout life. His wisdom helped me to connect to the source within myself and everyone else in the world that always knew the answers to their own problems if they quietened the mind enough to hear them. His mischief was my mischief that had always lightened life where others chose to see darkness. Minster really was a soul match made in heaven.

The teeth that had clenched when asking for help in the form of a guide dog was now a distant memory as I wondered why I had not done it before. Keeping sight loss to myself seemed natural as I knew no other way. Being born with sight loss feels like normality as you learn to navigate throughout life in ways that may seem strange to the sighted, so why would you need to ask for help as your way seems to be working. That is until it stops working. I am so thankful for the injuries and mishaps I went through to get me to the place that made me realize that I could no longer live like I was in the sighted world without asking for help. The timing in asking for help was perfect as if I had asked any sooner or any later than I may not have ended up with the perfect match.

As time went one and the professional harness wearing guide dog Minster became charismatic off -duty Munch, I fell deeper and deeper in love with this “once met, never forgotten” hairy soul mate. Wherever we went, people fell in love. He brought isolated people back into this world by being the connection that they so desperately needed to feel. He was not put on this earth to be ignored but he was put on this earth to heal the ignored. Witnessing the effect he has on others makes me feel blessed that I get to see this daily and how much joy it brings to him. He goes into people’s lives for reasons, seasons or the lifetime that he will share with family and friends. He gains just as much as they do from these interactions that can melt anyone’s heart.

Here we are three years and one book later, reflecting on how life has changed for us both over time. For Munch, he has learnt to be the owner in this working partnership which suits me just fine. It feels like I just follow him through life as he leads to whatever adventure he wants to take us on next and I just live my life along the way which I love. He knows the healing power that he has over others which seems to energise him to continue being of service to others in his own unique way. His happiness and freedom to lead us wherever he wishes to go next is what makes life with him so great.

Thanks, Munch, for the most amazing three years of our lives as the family celebrate the universe pairing me with such a beautiful soul. Keep being you even if it is a little dramatically quirky at times, we wouldn’t have you any other way.

World Cup Celebrations

Tags

Guide Dog, Humour, Labradoodle, Rugby, Rugby fan, Sports

It’s over for another four months thankfully. One cannot stand to be in the same room as these screaming less hairy two-legged race any longer without developing a headache. They don’t get this excited when I chase after a ball and run off with it which is a little perplexing as I am the centre of their universe. The humans are such a weird race.

Since arriving at the maid’s house nearly three years ago, I have been subjected to hours upon hours of rugby with her and the rest of the staff screaming at the television and saying words that should apparently not be uttered around small two-legged less hairy race as they are “naughty”. They only seem to get excited by the Welsh team and only watch when they are playing. The ”Come on boys” and “don’t you do that to my boys” that come out of the maid’s mouth makes me wonder why I couldn’t have been placed with a less weird owner.

My mother Hetty was an English black Labrador and my father Pringle was a Canadian cream poodle so when I arrived in Wales where they spoke a funny language, I did not realize that they would expect me to support my new country. I learnt the Welsh commands that I followed whilst in the Welsh schools that we work in, I ate the tradition Welsh cawl that the maid often gave me on the sly and I even learnt to love running through the Welsh countryside that I now call home. When she asked me to wear this hat though, I think she may have been extracting the urine slightly.

Getting through to the semi-finals of the rugby world cup apparently was a big deal and she wanted us all to get in the spirit. Hmmmmm, Did she ask Angus the cat to dress up in Welsh gear or Faith the tortoise? Oh no. They would have probably told her where to go but me? I stayed as neutral as possible by not chucking off the hat in protest or showing her I was impressed. I was hoping my neutral face of being dressed up would show her my verdict on the stupidity of her request but nope she did not take the hint. I think she was playing the blind card again!

When the silence fell around the house as Wales lost to the better team of New Zealand, I thought it was best to humour her and let the hat stand tall. Her plan to make me the mascot for the day did not work but it was worth a try I suppose. Luckily my handsome face and alluring eyes filled the hearts of the staff after the game. I did not find it necessary to let on to them that I was finding the silence that fell around the house so satisfying. A Welsh loss meant a Munch win as I finally took the hat off and they turned their love and attention back to me instead of the Welsh team.

Let’s hope that when the Rugby International starts in February, she will have found something to put on Angus or Faith to make them the mascot and leave me out of it. Paws crossed, it will work.