Had I tried, I do not think I could have picked a worse night Saga to the pub culture. Saga arrived yesterday at Heathrow and my friend Terry and I went down to Her Majesty's Animal Reception Center to get her. The day had been pretty cold and dreary all day.
Around 13:00, right after lunch, I got the call that she was clear to enter the country and I could come and get her. We met her at one of the out buildings of Heathrow. She was incredibly happy to see me. She was also happy not to be in the company of strangers any longer!
We made our way back to The Villa. The weather had caused problems on all the roads and a trip that should have taken around thirty minutes took more than an hour. At attention, and watching everything that was going on outside the car the entire way, Saga sat in my lap most of the way. Upon arrival, Saga took off exploring the ground floor and smelling everything that she came across. I've set her kennel-up in the back vestibule; behind the dining room, so that she can have a place that she feels is her own. She immediately went into the kennel and took a nap.
At about 16:15 I tried getting a cab to take us to the King's Arms around 17:00 - They said that it wouldn't be ready until half five. So I decided to walk it. It had stopped raining. Unfortunately, the rain and wind built-up again when we where half-way there. The winds, never calm yesterday, at one point ripped my umbrella from my hands and blew it into the Mole River.
Saga kept looking at me accusingly. "Why are you making me walk all this way in a downpour in a strange land? And why is it dark when it should be mid-afternoon?" We eventually arrived, windblown and dripping, at the pub. We took a table by the radiator and Saga snuggled-up to me, more interested in the carrots I was feeding her than in my friends.
After a while, I called a cab to take us home. Saga, when we arrived went straight to her kennel. She slept the night through and met me eagerly this morning. She is probably still in her as I write this.
Tonight, the company is having its Christmas Party so she will not be dragged to the pub tonight. She'll have the chance to rest and get acclimated.
I hope that wherever you are today, you have the time to spend it with some of your friends!
Don Bergquist - 08 December 2006 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, UK
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