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Dog & Ephgrave.

I'm starting to feel like a proper dog owner now, whatever that means.

 At first I felt like a fraud, who was holding a friend's dog-lead temporarily with them due to return any minute. Now that Elwood's been with us for over a month and I've taken him out every day there's more of a sense that he's mine; I've got to know how he's likely to act to the world around him and got used to reading his body language; I've also learnt his flagrant disdain for squirrels.

He's even made his own friends, both dog-based and human: we regularly bump into a contingent of people who live on the same estate as us and all have dogs they walk together; they all give Elwood a fuss. and one of the dogs - a very silly, scruffy boy called Sid - lights up when he sees him and gives him a sniff with his tail wagging madly.

 It's lovely that having a pet in common brings people together and makes them talk; I've spoken to so many dog-owners over the past few weeks while Elwood quietly regards their faithful friend. He's fast becoming a bit of a local celebrity; all in all, he's settled in excellently (which, if you could see the legs akimbo position he's currently asleep in on the sofa, would only serve to vouch for this).

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