Confessions of a Free Range Prolapsed Catholic

How can you resist such cuteness and talent? If only I could!

Regular dog walkers who live in our street plan their journey past our fence, sometimes in twos, as HRH Lexxi the dachshund barks like a Rottweiler, scaring little children, waking babies in their prams and completely infuriating the neighbourhood. She’s nearly 2.

As the only other female in the home now, we are soul sisters. She knows the routines of the home and garden. Heaven help any member of the house who is not positioned, sitting, standing, lying, exiting a room at exactly the correct second of the day!

She is not the first pooch we’ve had as a family member. They’ve all been loved. Our first pooch was a beautiful golden labrador when our first two children were little. With the arrival of child 3, we returned her. When asked by a friend of mine ” do you have any pets” his sad little reply was ” we did have a dog but we got a sister. I suppose that’s better. ” The same child refused to come out from the dining room table at my mother’s home when it was announced ” it’s a girl!”

“I will leave this home if you think for one minute, she is going to sleep in our bedroom” was the edict I issued when the other two occupants of the house thought she might sleep better in our bedroom.

Oh well!

Here she is preparing for her morning nap, on our bed, snuggling into her snuggle rug while being serenaded by this author, with a lullaby I used to sing to my fourth child. There’s only one song accepted! Where am I? Above the covers for my Nanna Nap!