Didi

Didi is a registered pure-bred gold schipperke, the colour of a golden fox, with foxy ears and a pointy foxy snout. He's totally alpha, and looks down on any male who gets into his path, preferably leaving them licking their wounded gums from a mouth-battle. He's also the most lovingest of dogs when he wants to be.

He's shy - he won't look you directly in the eye, but does a sorta sideways glance. His tail was taken from him when he was a mere puppy, and you need to look in his eyes to see if he's happy or not. Of course a wiggle-butt and "soft" ears at the down position also betray his happiness.

A year ago I nearly lost him to tick-bite fever. Although not a lap-dog, he was sick enough to lie in my arms, breathing with diffculty, as we rushed him to the vet. A blood transfusion, overnight stays and few thousand bucks later he pulled through. He hasn't stopped being grateful since.

He's also grateful that we saved his life 4 years ago. His previous owners had moved overseas, leaving him and his wife Spinney in the care of others, who didn't. He was so neglected that he developed a huge sore on his back, so bad that the vet had to knock him out to work on it. We contacted his previous owners who said "find a home by Monday or put them down." This was Friday. Not that they didn't care, but cared enough not to want them to suffer anymore. We'd already looked after Spinney overnight while Didi was the vet, and couldn't let her sweet gentle soul go, nor his. So they came to live with us - along with the fence that surrounded their yard - on Sunday morning first thing.

It was only recently we learnt he'd had some obedience training and knows "heel", "sit" and "down". He does it as if it's the biggest joke in the world, wriggling all over and playing around with his paws.

Didi turned 6 on Tuesday the 25th of November. Happy (belated) Birthday, your Royal Didi-ness! You're the best alpha dog ever! May you chase bees (crunchy flying honey-flavoured snacks with a bite), Christmas beetles (savoury crunchy flying snacks) and moles for many years to come.