We got back to the UK on 30th September and the plumber moved in two days later. The plan was to have a new boiler and radiators but, as always, snags appeared and we have ended up with the plumbing equivalent of electrical rewiring. Floorboards and carpets had to come up, furniture was piled up on top of other bits of furniture and our huge stack of unopened boxes. Daisy spent the first few days in the cattery, where she was safe and likely to be less traumatised, having already had a long journey here.
Work went on for longer than her stay in the cattery so she managed to find her own little safe cave to escape from the noise and the chaos, in the top of a wardrobe.
Later she caused us a nervous moment when she disappeared under the floorboards through a hole in the floor where the old hot water tank had been removed.
Within a few days of the plumber departing (he was a lovely bloke but I was so glad to see the back of him) Nick fitted a new cat flap in the back door and she now comes and goes as she pleases, to an extent anyway.
So, with the house in complete chaos, today we collected little Hugo.
We had anguished over whether or not to have another dog. Soon after Lulu died we gave away most of our dog related stuff, believing we would never, ever have another one.
The spell was broken one day in January, when we were on a trip to the seaside and rounded the corner to be confronted by a couple with not one but three black standard poodles. From that moment we knew that our lives were not complete without a dog and that the day would soon come when we would have another one.
The timing is not ideal. Soon after we made contact with the breeder we also made the decision to move house, but neither the birth of puppies or the sale of a house can be timed to order. So here we are, having just moved in, surrounded by boxes of our belongings and with plenty of work to be done. It’s complete chaos but it was now or never.
Hugo is twelve weeks old. He was playing with his sister when we arrived to pick him up and he was a bit tearful on the way here, whimpering and making little anxious barks. He and Daisy have met and so far there have been no incidents.
Completely black dogs are very difficult to photograph (one of the great things about Lulu is that she was extremely photogenic) but I won’t let that put me off sharing my photos.
Daisy has made herself at home in Hugo’s new bed. Life is not going to be quite the same again, I think!
