Rosie, now grown-up, has been staying with us in France for almost two weeks. Her stay started when she was left by her owner – our youngest son, Ollie – as he went on his way to the Alps for a walking holiday. We know Rosie well, she has often stayed with us over the years, indeed she was with us for several weeks as a puppy – but that was in London. 

Now it is all very different, this is her first trip abroad and for her, our Tréguennec house and garden and all the walks around are completely new. And if the challenges of this new environment were not enough, coping without the comfort of Ollie has given her something else to deal with. Indeed, predicting her need for reassurance, Ollie brought for her from London her basket and with it her ‘Donald’, a new favourite toy (see illustration). 

This blog is about Rosie’s stay, and particularly about how well adulthood suits her. I had expected to find a dog who was more bouncy and impetuous than thoughtful, considerate even amusing, and apart from the occasional lapse, this is indeed the endearing adult that Rosie has become.

By the time she arrived, she was familiar with what to expect. As always, Rohan, who loves dogs, has the main responsibility for looking after her, while my role is very different. I am no ‘dog lover’, and generally all I offer our canine guests is to help out if needs be. Overall, my involvement varies depending on my other everyday commitments and on the dog’s needs. Importantly, this time I have found myself involved in Rosie’s care much more than usual.

One thing I discovered by being with Rosie, was that she is very inquisitive. She inspects and sniffs and then contemplates everything she passes and for a dog who finds herself in a new house and garden or walking along new hedgerows or on a beach, there is much to inspect with things too important to hurry. Indeed, the length of time she has taken on her walks, at least those that were new, is double what we would have expected.

Other discoveries were how very quick-minded, quirky and protective she has become.

We have just put a fence round our garden with its strategically placed gates and tiny passage-ways designed to keep the likes of Rosie in, wild boar and badgers out and to give our hedgehog a free passage. On one occasion, when Rosie found herself on the wrong side of a locked gate, I watched with amazement as in seconds she had run round a tree and a hedge to use a gate that she had obviously remembered had been left open. And that was within days of her arrival. And there was more. Rosie, like many dogs, is terrified by thunder and when outside and a clap boomed overhead she rushed back into the house and without hesitation went straight to where it was quietist – the downstairs, windowless shower room. Presumably she had planned for this contingency!

Her quirky side is wonderfully amusing. Her basket from London is downstairs on the floor of the main room just next to a sofa and three comfy chairs. We soon discovered that since sleeping in her basket on the first two nights she has rotated through the chairs and sofa on each night since. If that is not quirky what is?  And there is another idiosyncratic piece of behaviour: several times on some days I have spotted her rushing back and forth at breakneck speed with Donald held tightly in her mouth down the 50 metres between our house and the furthest garden gates.

Now to her ‘protective’ side. In the first few days after Ollie had left for his holiday, Rosie was obviously sad and listless, searching for him and his smells everywhere. Then, as things settled she would instead muzzle up to Rohan or me, wagging her tail and asking for a pat. Then, something very special happened; she decided that the house was hers, that we were part of her ‘family’ and we needed protection. Accordingly, a week after her arrival she started barking at anyone who knocked or rang at the door or came up the garden path. She had decided that, having adopted us as part of those close, her responsibility was to keep us safe.

Despite her new maturity, there was a moment when she erred but, of course, to  err, occasionally, is normal – at least for human beings! One morning when we came down to breakfast we discovered that she had tipped over a tin of biscuits and eaten the lot. She looked suitably guilty.

Rosie’s stay with us, which I was not looking forward to, in fact brought great pleasure. Discovering her sense of fun was a particular joy. Odd as it may seem, through her holiday with us, Rosie and I have become close friends.

The illustration shows a photo of Rosie who, as always is overflowing out from her basket. Between her legs is her chewed companion – Donald.

For helping me write this blog, I would like to thank Ollie, Rohan, Vivien (and Rosie).

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