Ends and Beginnings

Although at first glance it is not always immediately obvious, all good tales have their beginning in the ashes of a previous adventure. Every superhero has their own back-story, and the whole “prequel” industry relies on the fact that there is always a journey to get to the starting point. That being said, the obvious questions are often left unanswered; just who built the wall that Humpty Dumpty was sat on and was it supposed to be load-bearing in the first place?

Our own back-story is too long and complicated for this discussion, but suffice to say, after professional careers in Academia and Industry, my wife Jacky and I find ourselves running a B&B in southern Snowdonia, Wales. I volunteer for the local mountain rescue team, and many moons ago promised myself that I’d have a go at training a search dog. With not a lot of mileage left on my knees, the time has come to think about making it happen.

Tess and Nell in 2008; on average they had the right size ears.

The real start of this story is built on the dogs who went before. Tess (2005 -2019), a Border Collie from working parents, was our first family dog. She was no real trouble at all, fooled us into believing we were good at training dogs and settled into a life working in the tourist industry. Her death a couple of weeks back left a big hole in our lives. Nell (died 2008) was a working sheepdog and Tess’s mum. She lived with us for the 8 months prior to her death, was no real trouble at all, fooled us into believing we were good at training dogs and settled into a life working in the tourist industry. Her death left a big hole in our lives.

Kip (L) and Tess (R) enjoying the surf 2019

Kip (b 2008), is a Collie/ English Springer Spaniel cross and very much still alive. She disabused us of any notion that we could train dogs, is a persistent and prolific food thief, and, given half a chance, can be relied upon to rifle through the guest-room bins. Her joy for life is second to none, such that at age 10 she is still mistaken for a puppy, and for all her faults there is not a malicious bone in her body. In the words of Monkey, the nature of Kip is irrepressible.

So the scene is set: a mad-dog in one corner, an empty dog-bed in the other, and the busiest part of the tourist season looming. I think we need a puppy.

#collies #searchdogs