CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
June 12th and the following days' awfully tragic events left your Captain so devastated that holding the hem of your liner was just beyond her strengths. The shock wave was so violent that it took the crew a couple of days to start the engine and reach the cruising speed again.
Anyway, whatever the storms and the winds are, we must get ahead and as a famous singer used to sing :
" The show must go on "
This week, we won't have a stopover. Instead, we'll drop the anchor offshore, far from the 'madding crowds'.
To change your mind off things, I'll tell you a dog story, because I really do believe that dogs are often better than humans !
So, ready for a kind of happy note ?
You remember in chapter '' The Case of the Biter bit ", I told you how Dearhubby cured my dog phobia and turned me into a doting dog lover.
Well, actually he was not the only one responsible for the job...
When our first four-legged companion arrived in our place, my husband was working in shifts, and as I was alone in the evenings every other week, I had been wondering if I couldn't take advantage of that spare-time by myself to try to get over my pet fear. Yes, I must tell you that in those days I was not in good terms with cats,either !
Yet, my inner voice was advising me to start small.
A Guinea pig ? A bit too smelly,wasn't it ? And anyway, I didn't speak a single word of Guinean, so,out of question !
After hesitating for a while, I made my choice on a goldfish. That would be my first great adventure in the animal kingdom !
I would teach him to recognize my voice and my face, and swim up to the glass of the tank to eat from my hand !
Cleo (in memory of Gepetto's goldfish in Pinocchio) would soon become as smart as a dolphin (the early days of my vivid imagination...).
On the very day I was about to go to the nearby petshop to choose my sweetheart and buy all the supplies (tank,gravel,mini rocks and greenery) to become a perfect goldfish foster mother, my husband came back home with a big wicker basket and said :
" Here is a surprise for you, Perky, come on, lift the lid ! ".
What I discovered inside was simply breathtaking ! An adorable puppy cocker looking at me in that so special cockerlike way ! Just browse through the comic " Bill and Buddy ", and you'll understand !
My fear of dogs ? Gone with the wind !
Between that cute little guy and me, it was love at first sight ! He melted my heart in a split second !
Although Jolux had an aristocratic surname ( du Roquevent), he was none the better-mannered !
Teaching him to do his business outside took me quite a while !
Yet, that was not the worst !
Telling him not to do a puppy cocker housework while I was at work, was useless !
He was just willing to help.
So, every evening on my way back from the office I was wondering what he would have worked on...
He had some tricks up his sleeve and was just unpredictable !
One day he was a hard-working shoe-maker and turned court shoes into flip-flops. At the time, global warming was not a topical issue and November was not that warm in Paris !
Another day, he was a secretary and ' scanread ' the mail our caretaker had slided under the door. Attending the British Chamber of Commerce with a notification torn to pieces was an efficient stress trigger !
His imagination was as vivid as mine ! My life had become a scenic railway : everyday I had my share of scoldings and cuddles !
I had to face the facts : his naughtiness was beginning to get me down !
Then, one day, a colleague of mine offered to come after work to my place and see what she could do with my little rascal.
Her husband was a dog-breeder, so she could show me the ropes.
We left the office and on the way to my place, she already gave me some tricks to help me when Jolux was misbehaving.
That sounded so obvious and easy !
Sure, some waves of her magic wand would turn my little devil into a puppy a good as gold !
Perhaps, my expectations were a bit too high ...
Once on the landing of my flat, it turned out that we were locked out. Whatever the way I turned the key into the keyhole, no use !
Same result with the caretaker's spare set !
And, Jolux, inside, was yipping and whinning as if frightened !
Jeez !! Sure, there were burglars in and a hostage taking was on its way !
The clock was ticking and it was high time to call for a locksmith.
A forty-five minutes' wait and our saver turned up, and after making sure I was the property owner, he tackled the door.
A few tools and a gentle shoulder push later and " open sesame " !
My little odd-jobber had wanted to get rid of the corridor fitted carpet, had rolled it in front of the entrance door and had ended up sueezed under it !
My colleague, I had put all my hopes on to master my tireless "cleaner", just uttered an amazed
" Waow, what a cute puppy ! Come on, buddy, everything's gonna be allright now, Mummy is back ! ".
Great ! Welcome, dear colleague, to the doting dog owners club !!
Anyway, don't get me wrong. That sweethear made our lives for thirteen years and we still miss him, even though Charlie, Indy,Canaille and Ulysse (and all the dogs we have dogsat) have done their best to replace him.
I hope my adventures as a budding dog-trainer have changed your mind off things and that next week you will be fit and ready for a stopover in
" Funny Fishing Net ".
Make the most of each day and don't forget : be perky !!
