Well this past week we said good-bye to two of the four-legged ankle-biters. I’d like to say that I shed a tear but the two youngest of Jill’s brood were whiners. Smokey and Junior (you can be assured the new owners will change those names pronto!) left Thursday and Friday respectively. Can’t say that I knew they were leaving, nor did I have a chance to say good-bye, I was out earning a crust, literally.

The two biggest, fattest pups, good-doers in the truest sense when it comes to food consumption didn’t seem to miss their siblings one little bit. All the more food for them I guess. They aren’t named but I call one Yap and the other Yappy. You can tell the difference. Yap is the first born with a white front, a bit too much snow for my liking, brown and tan are the true kelpie colours which makes me wonder (yet again) who it was that actually led my half-sister astray in the first place. Still he does have the makings of a dog. He has that swagger which I like to think comes from Jill’s side of the family (and as she and I are related it makes sense) and his strong jawline and slight head tilt suggests intelligence. Thank heavens for that. I was beginning to fear that Jill had cuddled up to a real no-hoper and that said pups would be lay-abouts, or worse.

Yappy is a touch more reticent, but with only two left in the fold I’m a little more prepared to show them a few of the ropes. The biggest problem I have is not falling over them when I take them out for a walk. They have a bad habit of getting under my feet and I’m in trouble right quick if Nicole sees me with them when there are vehicles about, so I do it on the quiet and lead them out the back fence through a small hole I found. They go under, I go over.  Perfect. Next job… teaching them to dig holes. Yes, I know I shouldn’t really but they’ll soon grow out of the habit and a pup has to have a bit of fun. What’s that over there? Oh look, Nicole’s been doing some gardening (now that’s an event that happens few and far between) and the soil is nice and moist. Hey Yap and Yappy, come and dig your little paws into this…