Polly Pullar takes a lighthearted look at rural life
Renowned nature writer Polly Pullar takes a lighthearted look at rural life.
IN August last year, Pippin, our Border collie, was fifteen years old. None of her predecessors lived this long. She has always been a character, and though we adore her, I cannot say that she has been an easy dog.
She was advertised in the local paper as an eightweek-old puppy, but when my son Freddy and I arrived to see her, we knew straight away she was far younger.
As tends to happen, there was no going back, and though all the puppies had been hastily weaned, none of them should have left their mother so young.
When we asked the owners, they looked a little embarrassed and told us that the bitch had bad mastitis and they had had to wean the puppies in a hurry. They had put them on most unsuitable food when they still needed their mother’s milk.
Pippin was the little one that came forward to talk.
The next months were not straightforward, as she frequently suffered from digestive upsets, and we had to resort to steamed white fish and rice.
Of all my collies, Pippin has been the most destructive. As a teenager, she chewed her way through all kinds of things.
She once ate my chequebook.
I could see the sceptical looks when I tried to explain that the reason I could not pay for various things was that my chequebook was in the dog!
She has always been adept at joinery and will still occasionally tear the bottom of doors or dig holes in the plasterboard.
Not that long ago, she had a nocturnal run-in with the washing machine.
Luckily I discovered the pipes under the sink with excessive new perforations caused by her teeth, or else we would have had a flood.
It took Iomhair most of a day to sort the mess out and replace the pipes and mend the area.
I am afraid to say there was a lot of language I won’t repeat!
As old age has set in, she has resorted to some of her old destructive behaviour, so we have to be careful about where we leave her.
The vet thinks she has a touch of canine dementia.
Collies are highly intelligent, but some have a tendency to neuroses.
Pippin also suffers from jealousy. This has meant that nearly every other animal here, including poor Ruby, and some of the sheep, are at risk.
Several of them have received one of her sly nips.
So, though she never bites people, she is undoubtedly handy with the fangs when it comes to competition for attention. But we love her!
On a walk she is a real joy as she has always been really obedient, and even as a puppy she never pulled on the lead.
She adores swimming and is the first of the trio to head for a dip in the burn.
Now I have to take great care as she is rapidly losing the strength in her hindquarters and I worry she could drown.
However, most days she swims and I love to see how much she enjoys it.
She is a very talkative dog and makes a range of funny noises to greet us each morning.
She also does this when I am out gardening or walking. Once I fell into the burn and she thought this was very entertaining.
First thing in the morning, she bounces like a puppy and even now surprises us with her energy.
As an insomniac, I only wish that I had her ability to nap almost anywhere.
She still comes for long walks, though last winter she did what will sadly be her final Munro.
In a couple of places, Freddy and I had to help her up the steep bits, but she loved it and had a great day, and fell into a profound slumber while we ate our lunch at the top.
Then, after that, she was ready for the off, bouncing along like a two-year-old.
Every grand dame needs a unique celebratory birthday portrait, and this is Pippin’s, taken in August 2020 on one of her favourite walks high above Loch Tay.
I hope you will agree that she looks pretty good for her age! ■