The John Griff Column: When Time Brings an Unexpected Change - for the Better

Away from the noise of jet engines, motorbikes, cars and the hoopla that goes with a presidential visit – and a President in need of statesmanlike brownie points ahead of the next US election – Lois and I have had some long weeks. In truth they’ve been of the regular, seven day variety – we’ve just had a lot packed a lot into them, thanks to a small arrival with a huge effect on both our lives.

If you are a regular reader of this column you might recall that a month ago I wrote of the pain of losing our beloved half-Staffie half-Whippet, Max. Lost all too early to canine cancer, she was a huge and elemental part of our pack – and the gaps in our lives became all too apparent in the instant of her passing. It’s still too soon for that pain to have abated, but we’re being helped to heal by that new arrival from the same excellent rehoming centre that Max herself came from – Animals In Need. It all came thanks to a Twitter posting which Lois saw on the Saturday morning a week after Max was taken from us. Do dogs leave ghostly echoes of themselves? I’m beginning to think they might because Max’s spirit – or essence – seems to have already made itself known. And Max’s successor has many other parallels to her story.

Just as Max did, Ella came into our lives as a twelve-week-old puppy in need of rehoming. Bright as a button – and I do mean bright - she lost no time in becoming the hub around which our lives rotate. My DIY skills were given a great test when it became abundantly apparent that Ella is a confident, gregarious little scrap of a wanderer. Almost immediately I found myself despatched to the local garden centre to buy and install safe plastic mesh with which to Ella-ise the garden – a similarly customised baby gate has now been installed so that we don’t get muddy paws trodden into the carpets too often. There was the process of sorting out a puppy diet and getting Ella to eat in volume. A fast-developing young lady, we’re in the process of getting everything right for her, but the results are encouraging. When she came home she weighed in at 4.5 kilos – three weeks later she now tips the scales at 6.

And then there’s been the house training.

We now have a bale of puppy training pads at home. Having learned their proper use, rather than a more unorthodox and frankly unacceptable repurposing as a cape or raincoat to be dragged, flailing behind her, Ella is now well on the road to indoor cleanliness, for which we are both grateful and a little proud. We’re not there yet, but she’s learning - and so are we, through her.

I wrote a month ago about the deal you make when you home - or rehome – a pet. It is a complete and all-encompassing contract covering every aspect of their entire lives, whatever animal you select, or which selects you. Lois and I have both been at pains to be sensible about the decision to have another dog – you have to be so. Firstly, we both agreed that we wanted another dog in our lives. It’s fundamental, given the interruptions that having one inevitably brings to diaries and schedules. We agreed on having a young bitch and decided to rehome again. Sadly, and for a variety of reasons there are record numbers of animals in need of loving, forever families. It’s not always a simple story – in the past month I’ve watched people having to give up animals because they can’t afford to keep them any longer, not through any lack of love. It’s heartbreaking to witness, but at least the animal gets another chance through the rehoming centre, rather than being dumped on the street and left to fend for itself. There are inevitably costs – and not only direct ones. We’re re-engaging with very early mornings (anywhere between 4.30am & 6.00am) and the ‘pee and poo’ routine that goes with them – you have to pace yourself to deal with that, exercise, and the time it takes to build the trust and bonds which will hopefully see you through a lifetime together.

Ella’s arrival has come rather sooner than I would otherwise have planned – but plans can always be updated and redrawn. I confess I felt a littIe guilty in turning almost immediately from Max to our new canine companion. I worried a little about allowing a proper period of grieving before closing that particular chapter. Privately, I had imagined that we would see the summer out and look at rehoming in the autumn – but a 4.5 kilogramme puppy of as yet undetermined origin and pedigree and in immediate need of a new home decided otherwise, and I’m delighted. Losing Max was perhaps one of the worst moments of my recent life, but with the rapid rehoming of Ella I feel as though I’ve had something of a restart point offered me – and I am in the process of pushing that particular button. In truth 2023 has not been the best of years for me and there are still bumps – or potholes – to be navigated in the road ahead before 2024 arrives. Ella – as perhaps with all pets if we let them – will help steer me through what is still to come, I think.

A week can indeed be a long time in politics. Here, it’s just been 8% of Ella’s lifetime to date and each day long segment of it has been filled with learning, investigation, sleep and playtime - much of it involving needle sharp puppy teeth. We’ll teach her all we can about life, and I have no doubt that she’ll do the same for us - dashing about and giving us her perspective. Nobody knows how long they have to live – but I think that just like the wonderful Max, Ella has a lifetime of lessons to teach us - a lifetime which we will work to make long, happy and settled.