Darcy - Birthday Girl

Sunday the 25th January was, as usual, a cold, cheerless and overcast day. As was my wife uponher return from a walk with Darcy.

I knew something was up by the demeanour of both Darcy and my wife - one looking sheepish, the other looking, well, tortured. I then notice Darcy's coat is smeared with mud along her right side and neck.

"Fox poo." my wife says by way of explanation with a wrinkled nose. Apparently the bodily waste of a fox is very, very unpleasant to the olfactory sense of humans, but to dogs it is pure heaven, hence why they love rolling in it, as had Darcy. Mercifully for me, my nose was not working - my sense of smell comes and goes due to trauma suffered through several breaks and a little surgery. Today I couldn't smell a thing. Thankfully.

My wife went through bouts of holding her breath whilst trying to wipe Darcy down, to pulling the most amusing faces when forced to breathe, coupled with rather colourful descriptions of how the foxy aroma manifested. I just smiled, blissfully protected by my defunct nose.

We both decided the best course of action was a full wash of Darcy, and as it was her 9th birthday a trip to Barry Island beach was in order. We could get out into some fresh air, onto the beach and darcy could run, play and get washed in God's bath.

Darcy and her toy choice of the day. Copyright ©2015 Mark Kelly

I did feel for my wife during the forty minute journey, stuck in a vehicle with a stench of fox poo eminating from the tongue-lolling happiness that was Darcy, all excited about our road trip. Thank God for broken noses.

The beach was fully of dog walkers and even a couple of horse riders, all enjoying the cold, brisk day on Barry Island beach, now made famous by the 'Gavin and Stacey' sitcom filmed in Wales, especially around Barry, including the beach.

So cold... SO cold... but FUN!  Copyright ©2015 Mark Kelly

Darcy had a thoroughly great time running in and out of the sea playing fetch with a stick the size of an ogre's toothpick, but that's typical of Darcy; bigger is best. By the end, she was 90% clean. So that evening we gave her a warm bath and finished the task of completely.

Is it really time to go?  Copyright ©2015 Mark Kelly

The thing that always strikes me odd is, throw a stick in freezing sea or river and she leaps in no problem. Place her in a bath of warm water and she shivers and shakes like it's the worst torture ever? Bizarre?

Fun day over. Copyright ©2015 Mark Kelly