Jeffrey...

This old boy breaks my heart.
 
He pops in to see us every day, sometimes twice a day or more.  From what I can gather, he spends his time wandering between wherever home is and the other houses that form part of this tiny little hamlet.
 
He came and joined me this afternoon while David, Jordan and Alan took Ally to Bristol airport for her flight home, and to pick Christine up from her flight down.
 
I was in the kitchen making a curry for dinner when he made his first appearance.  I know he's coming as his feet make such a distinct sound on the path.  His legs appear to work completely independently with no coordination whatsoever.  When he sits down, he gingerly lowers his backside to the floor, puts his right leg then his left leg in front of him and slowly slides them forward one at a time until his underside is fully on the floor.  To get back up again he repeats this sequence in reverse only with less elegance.
 
His nose had obviously brought him along and as I sat chopping veg for the curry, he wiggled his head under my arm and onto my lap.  He is such a charmer!  I was so pleased that David remembered to buy him some treats from Tesco this morning.  Some beefy chewy treats and some biscuits.  I gave him a chewy one wondering how he would cope with it given he has lost a lot of teeth.  I needn't have worried, he wolfed it in a second.  I gave him three more!  Then some of the biscuits and a big drink of water.
 
He sat beside me for ages and every so often he would struggle to his feet just to come and snuggle his head against me.  I was actually in tears at one point as I feel so sorry for him.  I hope he is being looked after and fed properly (that said his coat is lovely and shiny and he's not skinny) and that he gets some kind of pain relief as he clearly has terrible arthritis.  
 
He does seem a happy chappy though and his tail is always wagging.
 
David, Jordan and Alan arrived back with Christine, who got a quick tour of the house before it was time to dish dinner.  We sat outside to eat and half way through Jeffrey returned and Christine got to meet him.  
 
Christine is a dog lover too (she is missing her two boys already) and Jeffrey soon had her round his paws.  Like me she is all concerned that he is being looked after in his dotage.  As David says, someone must take care of him or he would never have reached this grand old age (I have no idea how old he is but I reckon at least 13 or 14.)
 
No idea what our plans for tomorrow are.  There's a sculpture garden close by that I would like to visit (here's hoping I don't knock any of the sculptures over with my scooter!!!) but will have to check it's open on a Sunday.
 
   
Couldn't resist adding another shot of Jeffrey in extras :-)