 |
| Gunner - 23 March 2008 (Easter Sunday) |
Easter was early in 2008 and we had a great deal of snow. Gunner was just over a year old. We had two other spaniels, Lancer and Pilot, but it was Gunner who was always with me. Even at such a young age I think he considered yard duties part of his remit!
This gate marked the entrance to a sheltered courtyard garden when we first moved here. When we rebuilt and extended the outbuildings the garden became the Carriage Yard and the gate was moved to provide access to the poultry premises. (The same gate later became infamous as the one on which Jaunty became suspended en route to retrieve a duck from the pond!). Gunner loved the chickens and ducks. At a very young age he witnessed the 'marvellous' sight of Lancer retrieving (and bringing to me) a wandering duck from another part of the yard. It was the thing in all the world which gave Lancer the greatest joy! From that moment on, he was transfixed. Whenever I was doing anything near the poultry, Gunner would 'guard' them and if they were 'in the wrong place' he would conscientiously fetch them and return them to me! They soon learned to scarper or fly off at first sight of him..... not always successfully... he could be fast when the occasion demanded!
On this Easter Sunday morning I had let the poultry out of their Palace and the ducks were making their best efforts to get to the pond. Some of them, as ever, decided the fastest way was to fly but, with the pond being submerged under a heavy layer of snow, they were misjudging their landings with hilarious results. In the midst of laughing at them I turned to see this very serious young face staring solemnly through the gate! He remained motionless until all the ducks had landed. What was he thinking?
You can tell everything you need to know about a dog from the look in his eyes.
No comments:
Post a Comment