STYLE | Feature
Tribe and tide
N AV I G AT I N G I S L A N D FA M I LY L I F E By Em ma Elobeid Pictu res Ti m i Eross
The big news is that we have a dog. And though she’s only a baby, even at four months old her black panther paws and supermodel legs are more gangly giantess than petite pup. Life with Rosie is a Wonderfully Great Adventure; full of boundless energy and infinite affection, she makes everything, well, rosier.
I
t’s true what they say: having a puppy is as close as it gets to having another child. Only this time, I have happily outsourced the night shifts to my husband, who spent seven weeks sleeping downstairs to settle her in. In fact, the day before Rosie came home, our household was triply blessed with the arrival of three new baby guinea pigs, which we named ‘Posy, Pudding and Pi’, in a nicely rounded finale to the flock.
Boy and dog in perfect step
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Family walks now take twice as long. Not because Rosie is slow – quite the
contrary, her gallop gathers at pace, ears flailing in the sea air, four white socks blurring as one – but because everyone wants to stop and comment; a phenomenon I can only imagine will increase as she grows (and grows). Remarks are chalked up on our ‘Great Dane bingo’ card, with ten points for ‘She’ll be big!’ and ten for ‘Have you got a saddle yet?’ She seems to love the attention though, and I have a feeling she’ll grow into her eventual ‘Biggest Dog in the Village’ badge with pride. And though it’s been a year of daily
