Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a.......

Wednesday, March 25th approx. 3.10 pm. North Devon. While staying at a friend’s house, witness saw creature in friend’s garden, running across the lawn with what looked like a dead rabbit in its mouth. It was big. It was black. It went hurtling across the lawn, jumping over the garden walls across the rose beds and proceeded to go round in circles. The witness said it looked as if it was really enjoying itself. He described it as being as big as his friend’s dog – a border collie.

Ah, wait a minute. Did it have four white socks and a white tip to its tail? And, on closer inspection was it not, in fact, a cuddly toy rather than a dead rabbit?

Yes folks, Biggles had his first run in the garden in the sunshine yesterday. Richard F suggested it might be a good idea to see what happened. It was the first time out of the house without a lead so he could run around and burn off some energy. Trusting in your relationship with your puppy so you can let it off its lead and rely on whistles and calls to call him back, is one of those rites of passage during which every dog owner takes a deep breath and hopes that their charge does not run off into the sunset, without the merest hint of a look back to see the concern etched across its owner’s brow.

I have been looking for a suitable field - in which to let him off the lead - for quite some time, but unfortunately there is always at least one gate open, either allowing access to a road or to another field in which sheep graze contentedly while their offspring gambol in little groups like schoolchildren in the corner of the playground. So, to know that he can be let out into the garden – albeit still under supervision – is a great relief as it does give him a release to the spurts of energy he has throughout the day. He has, of course, yet to discover fully the fences around the perimeter of the garden, but for now he seems content to play within their confines.

I am sure the day will come when the thought ‘that grass looks greener over there’ will cross his mind, but we shall cross that one when we come to it.