I think the following tale of our walk with the dogs is a Dastardly Dog story!
Emma and I take Mutley, Spike, Dooley and Harley up the field
today, leaving the new dogs that arrived today to settle in.
We leave Mutley in the car whilst we walk the others planning to come
back for him later (he and Rocco aren’t getting on too well)
All is going well the rain has stopped and the sun is out, that is
until we reach the river.
Spike and Dooley launch themselves in
obviously not realising that after recent rainfall the river is
flowing at a 100 mph.
Rocco who is usually first in the river is much more suss as he has looked at it and thought “No way Hosea”
They refuse to come out and are last seen at this point not actually swimming but
flowing backwards whilst barely holding their own.
Total panic!!
I race back down the field and realise that i need to get into the next field
to get to them.
So I climb up onto the fence, hop over and land in a ditch up to my knees.
Fight my way through nettles from hell that are chest high,
run down to the riverbank and can hear frightened squeals coming from
the river.
I realise that I may have to go in so throw my mobile down
and rush to the bank.
Harley and Rocco are behind me (don’t have any
idea how they managed to get in after me as the fence was high)
Emma is close on my heels.
Dooley and Spike are still swimming backwards and I call to them to
encourage them to swim towards me.
Dooley does and I pull him out but Spike doesn’t,
so I run further down and yell at him to come several times.
The little bugger then leisurely swims to me and pulls himself
out.
Emma also landed in the ditch and her wellies are squelching with each
step.
Then we realise that we have to get out and are surrounded by
nettles, we don’t fancy the ditch again as I have seen leeches in the
mud before.
So our only course of action is to battle our way round
the riverbank through the nettles to get out.
Off we go with the dogs following, after half an hour we reach a fairly clear bit and realise
that Dooley and Spike have gone back in the river, this time luckily by
the reeds.
We get them out and Spike disappears.
No amount of calling brings him back so back I go the way we have come
only to find the rascal has given up on the nettles and gone back to
the field, refusing to go any further.
You can imagine by this time I am thinking
“Your on your own mate either follow me or stay there!”
I get back to where Emma and the other dogs are and continue to fight our
way through to a piece of fence that doesn’t have 6 foot nettles on
the other side tunnel our way under the barbed wire and finally get
out. Of course Spike appears too.
Back to the car put Rocco in and bring Mutley out,
head back to the riverbank to get the lead I left there.
What does Dooley do but launch himself in again and off he goes having swum out to the middle.
NOT AGAIN PLEASE!!
Emma holds the dogs I battle my way back through the
nettles into the next field run to the river just as he hauls himself
back out.
Emma and I are soaking, covered in mud and our hands and legs are
throbbing from the nettle stings, what are the dogs doing ?
Chasing each other round the field without a care in the world
and completely ignorant of our ordeal!