cheap ticket: My Dog: Oscar

Oscar

My tweets fall into three distinctive categories: total vacuous nonsense; the odd comment on politics/ current affairs; and those relating to my dog. Given I haven't been unfollowed by <all> my followers for talking about Oscar and posting about 17 pictures of him an hour, I'm assuming someone at least will be interested to read what I think about him. So here goes.

I grew up in an army family. Mutti somehow managed to move home 20 times in 19 years with three kids between Germany and England (repeatedly) and Hong Kong. I went to 10 different schools (one was for just under three weeks). In the days before 2001 when the EU introduced the Pet Passport scheme, there used to be a 6 month quarantine period for bringing a pet into the UK. It was therefore absolutely impossible for us to have a dog. We had a guinea pig, budgies, a hamster, a rabbit. They were sometimes passed between service families as families moved on.

Davy: my "childhood" collie

A dog was a dream, but finally when we moved back to Hampshire, and when I was 15, we got a little rough collie puppy called Davy. He was a highly intelligent dog who ruled the roost. He was quite the brat and had odd habits like coming in and nipping anyone who sneezed. Certain words were forbidden (like "water" or "bath"). I loved him enormously, did a full 2 years' dog training with him, and when he died I remember sitting at my desk at my law firm (aged 27) shaking and crying uncontrollably. My poor colleague. Davy was never my dog though - he was my parents' fourth boy, after we had all left home. He would have been 25 years old last month on 24 August.

Oscar on the other hand is my dog. I've had him since he was 11 months old. He had been treated badly by a prospective owner as a puppy and returned to his breeder. As a result he had no "puppyhood" but instead lived in a kennel and a run. He was called Ozzy when I got him (yep, after Ozzy Osbourne - the name was changed by me within approx 0.24 seconds of purchase...). He is by no means a "rescue dog" (he has a very good pedigree and his breeder's reputation if nothing else would mean she would never have mistreated him) - but he was completely prepared for life outside his run. He screamed (almost like a death shriek) when he was carried out of the gates of her property and into my car.

A very frightened 10 month old Oscar

It took a good six months for him to calm down and to trust me. Everything terrified him. Collies are highly strung as it is - one treated badly as a pup is a total mess. He eventually realised I wasn't here to hurt him but to look after him. They say a rescue dog will go through fire for the person who saves it and gives it a new life. My bond with Oscar is similar to that. The loyalty is sometimes almost overwhelming. He worships me (best friend Dominic calls it "an unhealthy co-dependent relationship".) I don't give two stuffs, frankly - I love him as much as he loves me and we've found our equilibrium :)

If I'm not working abroad, I spend every day with Oscar. He comes with me to work or sleeps in his basket if I'm working from home. I've taken him all across Europe on holiday with me - we go camping together and he's been to a total of 16 countries with his little EU dog passport. He's been up to Denmark and down to Croatia and across to Spain. He's even been to Andorra and Liechtenstein. He is the best travelling companion imaginable. He sleeps in my tent next to me and is just happy to be with me. To say he is non-demanding is an understatement. Food, walk, cuddles - and he's in heaven. I took him to London one evening recently just for the ride: not a squeak - he was happy as larry to snooze and have the drive there and back.

Anyone who has been close to an animal knows the emotional benefit they can bring. Oscar is so utterly in tune with my moods. When a snake came into my kitchen last weekend we were like a scene out of Scooby Doo - him up on the sofa, shaking, cuddling into me. I don't think he even saw the thing: he just picked up on my fear - I *hate* snakes with a passion. When I'm down he hops up next to me and just pushes into me with his snout. Every morning he greets me with the most incredible joy at being alive. No matter what my concerns, it lifts me up. There hasn't been a morning in over 9 years I don't look forward to seeing him. He is simply superb company: my home is full because he is about.

It's a snake, Shaggy!

A dog is so "in the moment". They are full of appreciation for the now. Oscar is so happy to be outside walking with me: everything is exciting. There is the deepest almost primeval bond between an owner and his or her dog. This is particularly the case where the pet is not a family animal, but a one on one dog. I often think of the amount of time humans have spent with dogs over the tens of thousands of years when the first wolves were tamed.

Oscar is such a good dog: so calm, so affectionate - he's not as bright as Davy was, but he's so much more loving. He always wants to be good: he gets scolded once about every six months and then is so upset, I have to cuddle him for an evening to get him over the upset. He required virtually no training: he just likes to please and picks up exactly what he's supposed to do. He's also suitably OCD that he hates rain, puddles, mud and getting dirty: *perfect* for me! He drinks like a cat lapping - unlike his Spaniel best friend Brunswick who dribbles half his water all over the floor. He eats delicately; he's never had a bath in his life; just a brushing every day. His fur is sensational as a result.

I love Oscar. His 9th birthday is on 23 September. Rough collies usually live to about 12 or 13 and I'm aware he won't be around for ever. Rupert Everett wrote something like: a puppy is like a child; then he becomes like a best friend; and as he gets older he becomes like a wise parent to you. He looks at you knowingly: he's seen it all before. Whatever the pain will be at losing Oscar, it can never mean that it was not worth it having owned him. Every single day is a pleasure having him around me. Having had a dog has changed my life and enriched it immensely.

Here are a few of my favourite pictures of Oscar I've posted from time to time including some from his travels: