Following in Big Paw Prints

I loved the Boss. He accepted me into his life at the point when I most needed him. As the incumbent Border Terrier, he had the casting vote, and he welcomed me, if not with open paws, with very little in the way of senior grumbling. True, he made it clear from the outset who was in charge, but after all, it was his family, his kitchen and his garden. He pinched my bed, my toys and my food, but in return he taught me the fine art of disobedience and saved me from being a 'yes' fur. He didn't expect me to be like him; but he celebrated my individual subversiveness, like my bid for the big bed, my obsession with Ben, the Leonburger next door, and my talent for noxious emissions of an eye-watering, building evacuation strength.
          He was a very senior fur when I first met him. His walks were very short and I would wait for him as he read the peemail and pootled about. He loved his buggy and I would accompany him as his outrider on our morning walks. He showed me who to tap up for treats and who to bark at, very important things. In return I like to think that I helped him out a bit. I could hear things he couldn't, so I could signal when to bark. I was also his bodyguard and I defended him against other dogs, plastic bags blowing in the wind, anyone who looked a bit funny and other such grave dangers. I also provided him with a furry towel to dry his face on and a source of additional food, particularly at the outset when I was pining for my previous humum, Sandra.
          At the end, after his final visit to the Vets, 'Them Indoors' brought him home and put him in his bed in the kitchen so that I could say my final goodbyes. He was a great fur, a subversive role model, and he gave me everything he had, 'Them Indoors'.
          He also left me his literary legacy, but he understood I was my own fur. So although I inherit his magazine column and our half finished book, 'A Dog with Two Tales', I feel I have the artistic freedom to strike out for myself. I'm not the Boss, but I carry his proud legacy forward. I'm a bed loving, people focused, Leonburger hating, Campervan liking Border Terrier, and I hope you will follow me on my journey and make my blog as popular as the Bosses. It should be fun...!

Me and the Boss

I just didn't have his staying power.....

On walks together

The Boss's amazing books - if you haven't got them, why not?

The Boss, pinching my bed!

And me, settling in my own bed