Black Doggerel

This week I am looking after Downstairs Neighbour Couple's little yellow dingo mongrel Buster. This is both fun and heartbreaking - fun because Buster is fucking adorable and I love spending time with him. Heartbreaking because the combination of volatile dog personalities in confined spaces and Buster's cat issues means I can't feasibly put all the animals together; so Buster is spending a lot of time in the downstairs flat all alone. And when I have to leave him he stands up and holds onto me with his paws - not humping, just clinging, and panting with distress. Even if I didn't understand dog moderately well, the "Don't leave me!" would be clear as a bold-printed speech bubble. And I keep having to leave him, and he's so sweet.

I've not been trying to walk all the dogs together singlehanded; my own two are often at least a third of a dog too much for me by themselves, and I'm not quite insane enough to try it with three. But my mum and niece came over today, and I decided that one well-behaved dog, one well-behaved toddler, one Squish and one Buster wouldn't be too much for two responsible adults*.

There were a few near-misses, of the "toddler knocked flying by dogs" and the "Buster's flexi-lead vs. Squish's longleash" variety, but no actual disasters, and we all had a blast. Buster's owners love him and look after him well, but they have limited mobility and I have a shrewd suspicion Buster doesn't get many opportunities for active bouncy play. I did love seeing him enjoy himself.


( Dogs in park madness - four pics under the cut )

*...well...