My two dogs seem to be undergoing some kind of identity crisis. I am sensitive to the fact that, in this progressive day and age, we are encouraged to be more accepting and receptive to individuals identifying themselves in surprising and sometimes unexpected ways, but I must admit that transitioning to sheep, which is what the dogs seem to be doing, has caught me completely off guard!
As soon as the two dogs are let out of the gate on their leads for a walk, rather than pulling my arms out of their sockets and charging off down the road as they used to to, they trot across the path and start nibbling at thin stalks of the long grass that have sprung up everywhere following our recent rains. This goes on for a while before their brains eventually unfreeze and we can do our daily rounds of the quiet tracks in the campo that surround our house.
Both dogs are black labradors. Paris, being the elder, should really know better. Sable can be excused on the account of being young and relatively less worldly-wise. It was Sable, you may recall, who failed her apprenticeship as my prospective fishing companion by charging into the reservoir and scaring the bejaysus out of the carp I had been carefully stalking. Since those blank fishing forays, she has had a growth spurt and is now the size of a horse. I am reminded of this when I get home from work and she jumps all over me and the experience is something like the Christians might have endured when being thrown to the lions.
After their most recent episode of grazing, I had words with both dogs. I pointed out that it should not be for me to explain to them how to be a dog. There are certain protocols that they are expected to follow, most of them disgusting or annoying, and these include, but are not limited to: drinking from puddles, chasing rabbits and cats, sniffing out and then rolling around in the foul-smelling carcasses of goats and, whenever possible, walking around with the nose inserted in another dog´s rectum.
Thinking about it, maybe in their new incarnation as sheep, the dogs may be significantly improved!
This baloney, if you have got this far, is being written in the airport in Málaga. Soon the gate will be announced and I will have a chance to fly off to join family for Christmas.
Before I go I would like to send out best wishes to those who have followed and, in particular, commented on the blog. Many new viewers have appeared this year which has been really nice and I appreciate that people, with a lot of other things to be doing, take a few moments from time to time to see what is going on over here.
Have a great Christmas!
fishydreams 