Hello lovely people. Russell-the-Relentless here, just popping by to wish all our readers a Happy Valentine’s Day. Truth be told, I’ve been bugging Gillie to let me have another guest blogger spot ever since my last post almost two years ago.
I’m now four years old, which apparently means I’m a mature adult dog, but I try not to let that get in the way of enjoying myself.
What’s my secret? I can hear you asking. Well, corny as it may sound to your human ears, I think it all comes down to love. You see, I love my life. I’ve made it my mission to love everything and everybody (except maybe baths, nail clipping, and travelling in the car).
I consider myself a true village dog, part of the fabric of Wakefield, taking it upon myself to greet all unsuspecting tourists, with as many licks as I can get in. I’ve had to work on that. Gillie and I now have an agreement. I have to sit and wait to see whether the tourists want to meet me, or not. If not, I simply walk on by, giving a polite sniff of the air in their direction, but if they so much as look at me, or show the slightest bit of interest…
Here I am, making myself useful watching over the End of the Line Boutique, ready to encourage tourists to pay a visit.
I still visit Domaine D’Histoire regularly, where I consider myself to be a member of staff. When I’m in residence, I like to serve as the park greeter. I insist on meeting everyone as they arrive at the gate. If they are new, I like to give them the full tour of the park, showing the dogs the best sniffy places, and engaging them in my favourite games — “I have a stick chase me” and “let’s wrestle”. If they don’t quite get it, perhaps being anxious or growly, I find a few good lickings soon encourages them to fall into line. I also like to help out with chores, whenever I can. Here I am, digging holes for Dave last spring so that he can plant some fruit trees.
There’s been a new family member added since my last post. Little Koan. I’ve had to learn to be gentle with the tiny human. He’s great fun though — drops lots of food from his high chair, allowing me to show off my helpful hoovering skills. He still uses four paws, like me, so we can race each other around the house. I’ve also learned (apparently incorrectly), that if I can sneak two licks in I can answer the command “Enough” and get a treat.
I have my own puppies to train though. Here I am with a slobber of spaniels, trying to teach them true spaniel etiquette — lick first, ask questions later.
I love this time of year. What’s not to love about winter? There’s deep snow to walk in, hockey pucks to dig for by the ice rink, Dragonfest with tons of chocolate cake crumbs scattered on the ground, and snowbanks to clamber up and play Spaniel of the Castle. But most importantly, there’s Valentine’s Day.
As we’ve wandered through the village this past week, Gillie and I have been talking about Valentine’s Day and that Tina Turner song, “What’s love got to do with it?”. Gillie is sure it’s based on the unfortunate relationship Tina had with Ike Turner, pointing out the lines “Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?”. Me, I’m not convinced. I like the second line “What’s love but a secondhand emotion?” So I try and tell her that love is a secondhand emotion. It’s that warm fuzzy feeling you get after you’ve given someone a million licks and they’ve decided to come back for more.
Wishing you all the warm and fuzzies on this Valentine’s Day, with special licks for my besties (and their humans): Aiyana, Beau, Bernie, Bruno, Fen, Finnegan, Foxy, Frankie, Gingko, Harriet, Ilva, Jack, Jax, Joey, Josephine, Kaya, Kenzo (x2), Kevin, Kobi (x2), Koda, Jules, Junie, Lena, Lilas (x3), Lola, Luna, Mabel, Max, Munchie, Murdoch, Ollie, Otis, Pedro, Penny, Porter, Rio, Robbie, Rosie, Simone, Snowflake, Sunny, Tasha, Tenzo, Whiskey, Willa (oh my Willa), Winston and all of you whom I may have temporarily forgotten, or have yet to meet!
Until I’m next allowed on the blog, licks to you all,
Russell-the-Relentless, LoL [Lover of Life].
Wandering Wakefield 