We’ve been blessed for the past few days with the presence of Uyu, a gorgeous border collie.
Uyu, which means ‘milk’ in Korean, came to stay on Friday night.
We weren’t sure if she was actually going to come and stay.
She belongs to our son and daughter-in-law.
Our son is a notoriously poor communicator.
So, even though we agreed to look after Uyu months ago, and the date was decided, we needed to wait until she actually arrived before we could be sure that she would come.
Then, when Uyu did get here, things didn’t always go to plan.
I grew up with a border collie. The breed has always been a part of our family in Australia.
My siblings, nieces and nephews have almost exclusively had border collies.
So I had high expectations of forging a deep bond with Uyu.
And upon meeting, those expectations seemed to be met as the good doggo rolled over and presented her belly for rubbing.
But our son left and things took a turn for the worse.
Uyu started whining, then growled violently when we approached.
Then, she mistook our bath mat for her pee pad and took a dump.
I took her for a walk late at night. It was raining and I let go of the lead and she ran off and wouldn’t return, but fortunately I could catch her before any trouble occurred.
It was really late, so we went to bed, with Uyu joining us, but baring her teeth and growling.
Not much changed the following day, but I could feel a bond building through a walk and a feed.
She was still snarly and snappy, but I had to leave her alone due to a prior arrangement.
I left her alone with a deer antler to chew on and hope that she wouldn’t destroy our home while everyone was away.
I had little to fear. She seemed to have waited patiently.
She got another walk, then we came back and had play fights.
Suddenly, we were best mates.
Mrs. Kangaeroo came home from work and we all went on a great walk and enjoyed a cuppa.
Uyu was clearly settling in.
Thereafter, it was walks, play fights, photos, poops, eats and great fun all around.
We walked over 20 km a day every day, even through pouring rain and howling winds. We ate together, slept together and fought together. I suddenly had a shadow. It was sublime.
But having Uyu around was also a grim reminder of how difficult it is to look after a pet. She made me realize I can’t do it permanently…..I haven’t the stamina, let alone the finances, time or wherewithal to care for another life.
Still, it was a magnificent time together, even though every bone and muscle in my body is aching with pain as a result of the exertions involved in looking after the woofer. Thank you, Uyu, and thanks to your mum and dad for giving us this wonderful opportunity. Now it’s back to reality for us all.
