Lifesaver

I am bursting with pride this evening.

While we were having a walk up the hill at lunchtime, Bean signalled that there was something really interesting on the top of the roadside bank. I assumed it was a dead possum or somesuch and we carried on our ascent.

On the way back down she once again stood over whatever it was, pointing. I decided I’d better check it wasn’t a sick cat. To my amazement what I discovered was a huge fissure in the bank, at the bottom of which was a calf; still alive, but stuck a metre down.

I didn’t have the farmer’s phone number, nor did my lovely neighbours, so we drove round to the neighbours on the other side of the farm who supplied me with his contact details.

Within 10 minutes I was showing him the spot, which was invisible from the road.

A little while later using a tractor and some carefully-placed strops the poor beast was gently lifted out of the ground. It’s legs were wobbly, but the grateful farmer thought it would be okay. He took it back to the yards for some serious tlc.

He had no idea how it had ended up there, nor for how long. But we agreed that it would never have been found if it hadn’t been for Bean.

She got some really delicious dog treats for being such a very good dog, and I lavished her with strokes and praise.

She took it all in her stride.

And then she spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Tilda while I helped the lovely neighbours put the plastic onto their renovated tunnel house.

Needless to say it was rather more complicated and fiddly than the instruction video suggested, but it’s done now and they are excited about the fabulous crops they’ll be growing there this summer.