Having signed up to THS there was, of course, the expected hesitation - what had we done, would we manage other people's loved pets as they expected, had we taken on more than we could chew ? Cautiously, our first 'sit' was a local one - close enough to home in Somerset that we could dive back to our house for anything we had forgotten or overlooked. It would let us dip our toes in the water and test the system out. So, attracted by a week away over Christmas, we met a gorgeous 2 year old retriever who we swear had a language all of her own and was a dab hand at flushing out pheasants. We had some lovely walks around the village and across the countryside beyond despite much of the land resembling the trenches in the Somme a century ago. Being Christmas, our goose was cooked - well, turkey then to be precise. El poocho was very impressed for a day being treated poultry-wise but was so well behaved. As the days went by it felt utterly normal to find her patiently waiting at the bottom of the stairs for our descent from the bedroom. We very quickly got into the swing of the morning walk (often to the village store for supplies), then breakfast followed by the main daytime walk over several miles and a last evening stroll before dinner. A favourite stop on our walks a couple of times was the down to earth local at Barton St. David, a mile or two from where we were staying. Great beer, very dog friendly and, depending on the day, decent grub and entertainment. We were even invited to take part in their annual panto (beware the slightly deranged villagers !). And, not to miss, the chapel and weir a couple of miles east at Lydford on Fosse, a village with a long history dating from the Domesday and straddling the ancient Fosse Way. The week was over all too soon and we quickly realised the biggest downside of house and pet sitting - it can break your heart ! Having to leave our charge behind was a bit of a wrench but we hoped we might see her again in the future. Coincidentally her owner is a member of the same tennis club as Bobby so one never knows . . .
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