4 August 2020
Days are lengthening. The News reports snow falling in upland suburbs, cars stuck because drivers are not ‘driving to the conditions’. I’ve launched a second heater: one not enough to hold off the blood-cold of this Antarctic blast. Verna, the whippet puppy, refuses to exit into the rain and cold and pisses on the laundry floor, beside the puppy training mat. I step in a pool of piss in my slippers and swear. She chases my three-year-old grandson through the house and leaps onto her chair to rip the nose and eyes from a grey teddy while he tries to rescue the perishing toy. She tires and crawls under her blanket to sleep, only to be poked awake by the boy - for a hug.
The joy of young children and puppies.
