Jairkingsly Labradors

Our new family was settling in nice. The three girls had formed a bond and a new hierarchy was established, with mum , Poppy, reigning supreme as the top dog! Poppy and Lottie still went out each morning to “work”, while Tilly, now nearly 9 years old, had decided to take early retirement. I had taken a part-time job, working just three days a week. Somehow, quite early on in this new routine, Tilly had figured out which days I worked and when I stayed at home. The conservatory/puppy nursery had been converted back into a habitable room, freshly decorated with new sofas. Our new rule was “no dogs on the sofas”, but as any dog owner knows, this rule rarely lasts long! In our case, it lasted until the delivery men left, and Tilly decided to inspect their work and our choice of sofa. So, each day I was home, she would hide between the two sofas until she knew the coast was clear. Overtime she stopped hiding and would just completely ignore being asked to leave. If the truth be told, my husband stopped asking her because he knew it was a waste of time!😂😂

Part of my new work routine involved local deliveries, of grease, oils or manufactured items made from plastic, with Tilly as my copilot. She was always happy to come along and received plenty of fusses from the customers we visited. She even came food shopping, sitting in the car, weather permitting, of course. For a Labrador , she was very trustworthy with food bags!

Her arthritis was getting worse, but swimming was still happening up to three times per week, along with her little sidekick, Lottie, who had taken a real shine to her aunty Tilly. Tilly was quite content spending her days as home, chilling and generally pottering around the house-until one sunny afternoon. On this particular day, I decided to valet my car. Nothing out of the ordinary, you might think. I knew Tilly was trustworthy and wouldn’t simply wander off if the doors were open. The gate was ajar but not complete closed. I was happily on our drive washing my car when I went back into the house TIlly was sitting on the sofa, so I continued with my task. Whilst , I heard a lady talking to someone or something, saying “Oh, have you decided to go for a walk, and aren’t you a lovely girl?” I didn’t think anything of it-Tilly was in the house, so why would I think it was her? I went back into the house, and sure enough, there she was. Then it happened. I went to check on her, and she was gone! I ran upstairs shouting her name. Nothing. I looked all around the house. Nothing. I stood on our drive , looked down our road, and there she was in the garden of the couple at the other end of our road. I called her. She looked up gave me a stare, and then continued sniffing! I called her again. She stared at me again and very reluctantly started to walk back very slowly, sniffing as she went and checking I was still watching her! She tried to escape again a short time after this, but I caught her on the drive. The little madam came over to me wagging her tail as if to say “I was coming to see you !”

Each night when Poppy and Lottie came home, the routine was the same: tea and then chilling. Lottie’s ideas were slightly different. She would love to follow Tilly everywhere, nudging her to play, much to Tilly’s annoyance. I must add, she was very patient, but there were off occasions when enough was enough, and she would have to put Lottie in her place. Poppy, who was usually sleeping, would open one eye, look, and go back to sleep as if to say,”I’ll leave it with you!” Or sometimes not even move.

Looking back, I wish I had enjoyed the Tilly-Lottie situation more.