Happy birthday, Sam!

They say that dogs are man’s best friend. There’s lot of reasons for this: we are loyal animals and give humans unconditional love. There are plenty of heart-warming stories to illustrate this, including dogs who have stayed faithful to their owners when they have been injured, canines who have worked alongside their handlers in war zones, police dogs who obediently carry out dangerous searches, and pets who have walked thousands of miles to be reunited with their families after becoming separated.

Mostly, we are affectionate companions and good at sniffing out kindred spirits of the human kind. I was therefore very pleased this week to meet Sam, who was celebrating his birthday. Sam loves dogs, especially Spaniels, but does not have one of his own so his parents invited me to tea on his birthday as a treat for both of us.

As it was a sunny afternoon and Sam does not live too far from us, we walked to his house. This was exciting as there were new places to sniff out and different things to see on the way, including a horse rider, a cyclist and an engineer down a big hole at the side of the road. He was as surprised to see my furry face as I was to see his head in a hard hat bobbing around below the pavement!

At Sam’s house, there was tea and biscuits for the humans and, to my considerable delight, doggie treats which Sam had got specially for me. I was so excited I forgot my manners at one point and put my paws on Sam’s knees, but he didn’t seem to mind, and stroked me, which was very nice. I also had a good run around Sam’s lovely garden, which has lots of flowers and three ponds, one of which is Sam’s very own.

All too soon we had to make our way home, but I left Sam with a birthday card with a Springer Spaniel on it in the hope he will remember me and count me as one of his friends from now on as I shan’t forget him – or being with him on his special day. Many happy returns, Sam!