I decided that as the winter was colder than expected and going to get wetter over the next few weeks that it was time for Lilly the Collie to have a warm water proof coat. Now this is a big step for a collie and though she was very gentle, tolerant and compliant in the pet shop as we fitted her with a coat, she gave me the look that said, “what do you think you are doing? I will put up with this because I love you, but know this I am not happy.”

Now a week on she is used to it and once the trauma of putting it on is over she is just a happy dog enjoying the outdoors and the possibility of chasing the ball.

Our walk takes us up to the silver birch wood, where I have set up a feeding station for the birds that live there. It has been particularly popular during this very cold spell, and there are regular visitors, robins, blackbirds, chaffinches, blue tits and great tits. There is usually a robin waiting for us to refill the feeders and to scatter seeds and fruit on the floor. The wood is also home to magpies who roost there and gather in numbers around 4 pm as the weak winter sun fades away.

This morning there was a dog racing through the wood chasing a rabbit. The dog gave up, I guess it was well fed and the chasing was an instinctive reaction, just as it would chase a ball or a frisbee or a stick if thrown for it.  

While I potter around the feeding station, refilling, readjusting, wondering if I should get another feeder, Lilly the Collie is exploring the various scents and smells, searching for the ones that are fresh or different from the scents and smells that she smelt yesterday and the days before. Her rabbit chasing days are behind her, and though she shows interest in a ball, deafness and  declining sight, leave her with her nose as her main way of understanding the world around her.

So walks are slower and take a little longer than normal, and sometimes she will wander off and greet another dog, or chasing a ball, suddenly get distracted and wander off to explore a new scent. The rabbits and squirrels are safe, and cats given a wide berth. But she enjoys the walks and secretly, deep down, I think that she even likes perhaps even loves her coat. Of course her collie pride will never allow her to admit it. But she is entitled to her dignity and pride.