Wayward Teal Seals Dom's Reprieve

Archie Gillespie’s springer might have been in the doghouse, but he later redeemed himself with the retrieve of his life

Have you ever been woken up by heavy breathing right in your ear? I thought I was in luck. Until unfortunately I woke up to find it was just a terrified springer spaniel lying there, trying to get my attention. During a thunderstorm in the afternoon, a flash of lightning had been followed almost instantly by a boom. A direct hit to the roof shot down the aerial, the television screen flashed white and all the power in the village went out. Dom — full name Domino, because of the large, black spots on his back — was not living up to his nickname of Geronimo. He had peed on the kitchen floor.

It could have been worse, I suppose. On his latest visit to the vet, I needed a shovel to clear up after the big wimp. He’s never forgotten coming out of there, many years ago, two “stones” lighter.

Even after the floor was mopped, the power supply was reconnected and everything was working, apart from the television, which was well and truly fried, Dom hadn’t calmed down and sat all evening, panting heavily, at the dog gate that separates the kitchen from the living room. I thought that wild fowling dogs were meant to be fearless. Obviously, I was mistaken. Shortly after going to bed, I heard furious scraping at the kitchen door and found the spaniel had scratched the paint work and the adjacent wallpaper. To say I wasn’t amused would be an understatement.

Shrieking wind

To get some sleep before morning flight, I had brought the spaniel through to the bedroom and made him lie down on the floor beside the bed. Bramble, my newly acquired black Labrador bitch, who hadn’t batted an eyelid all day, remained snuggled up in the kitchen. With the wind still shrieking and heavy rain battering against the bedroom window, the springer never settled. I eventually dozed off, but it must have been only minutes before Dom had climbed up beside me.