OLD FRIENDS

It was a lovely surprise to see that Fran had dropped by my blog and left a message in my Guest Book. She is working and studying so it has been difficult for her to find the time for a long blog read. We had not heard the news about her dog, Sam, and I must admit that for today I have allowed my self to shed a few tears. We have known Sam since he was a puppy. In fact he was originally called Samson. He belonged to Leanne but as she had two small children and, with Samson being a German Shepherd, she soon realised that she was unable to give him the walks and exercise that a dog of his size needed. When you have one toddler toddling and another in a pram long brisk walks and runs are quite impractical. Fran and my sister were only too happy to take him into their lives. Fran lives just outside Jedburgh and her house is surrounded by fields and woodland. A haven for a dog like Sam. It was a difficult goodbye at the time for Leanne and the children but she knew that he was going to a wonderful caring home and that he would get all the walks and runs he needed.

I think part of the reason Fran's news has upset me so much is because I have so many happy memories of the times Mick and I went to Scotland and the walks through the glorious countryside that I would give Sam while Fran and Mirry were at work. He had a wonderful nature; he had always been good with Leanne's children and had a very forgiving nature - a big pussy cat in fact.

He was a real character; I'll tell you just one story about when we were visiting. Mick and I would sleep on a sofa bed in the front room of the cottage and in the morning Sam would come trotting down and whine at the front door; intimating that he needed to go outside for a toilet. I would get up and open the front door for him but the cheeky boy would immediately rush back into the front room, jump up on the bed and sprawl out and lick Mick's ear until Mick woke up; and being a large dog there was no room left for ME to get back into bed!!!

I can't believe how upset I've been; I have to keep sneaking out into the kitchen for a wee sob; I guess having this cold has weakened my emotional resistance a bit. Also it's made me realise how much I miss Mick's strong arms around me when I'm upset. He always made everything better no matter how upset I was about anything.

Anyway enough said before I start blubbing again. I wish I had a photo handy so that you could see what a beautiful animal Sam was. Unfortunately any that I have are so tucked away in a cupboard upstairs, behind goodness knows how many other pieces of furniture, that I have no chance of finding them easily.

Otherwise the day has gone pretty smoothly. Mick woke quite late this morning and has been relaxed and eaten well. Lynn got home safely though she is still suffering from this bad cold. I am a little concerned that Manda is coming down with it now and she, like me, is usually pretty immune to illness. It certainly seems to be travelling round the family so please make sure you wash your hands after reading this as I would hate to spread our germs to any of my blogger friends.