Bath anyone?

At midday I went up and got changed and came down and put Rodders in the garden, he wasn't interested in having a piddle and wanted to play. So we did for a minute or two. Then I brought him in and explained that I had to go out but I wouldn't be very long, got him a puppy treat and a toy and placed him in his bed, shut the crate and pulled the cover over. He was crying and whining by the time I got to the door and still carrying on as I walked away :-(

I met with the lady at the Job Centre who realised that I am more than capable of finding work for myself but gave me a few pointers - obviously something they feel they have to do. She also looked to see if there was anything suitable on their site, only one in Milton Keynes paying a lot less than I need. We talked about a drop in salary and she accepted that I am already prepared to take a LARGE drop, but there are limits. We also talked about needing to be up to an hour away by public transport, the jobs I have applied for so far in Hatfield and Borehamwood cover that. So I seem to have done enough to keep them happy for this week.

I then did a little shopping, including buying Rodders a new toy, and went to meet with the chap from MRK Associates in Starbucks. He seemed confident that there would be a job out there for me in Hemel, at the right salary, and already has a couple of things in mind. One is a maternity cover 10 minutes from home! The downside is they are looking for someone quickly.

I was 10 minutes over my 2 hour parking by the time I got back to the car but luckily the car park warden had not caught me and I didn't have a penalty charge, phew :-) This meant that I had been away from home for almost two and a half hours. What was going to greet me when I got back?

I walked in the door to silence and Rodders didn't make a sound until I spoke (he couldn't see it was me as the crate was covered) and then he went nuts, whimpering and scratching the crate to get out. I put the shopping down and lifted the cover, he was almost squeaking with delight at having me home. But he was soaking, the crate was wrecked, how much damage can you do with less than an inch of water? Well the pictures show that there is a fair amount! I have shown what it should look like and what it did look like :-( This time the bed pad was still in place and the snuggle fleece was half in and half out his bed so that is a small improvement.

Rodders was under my feet as we made our way to the garden, squeaking and barking, he didn't want to leave my side and he certainly didn't want a piddle. We had a run about and played chase and I threw his squeaky toy for him and gradually he calmed down, but he wanted a lot of fuss and attention. We came in and went upstairs so I could change and then back down to out the kettle on for a cuppa and his lunch before another trip to the garden.

Once Rodders was happy to play on his own I came in to survey the damage. The snuggle fleece was wet, the bed pad was wet, his toy was wet, the puppy pad was drenched, I can't tell if he has had a piddle or if it is water out of the now empty bowl! He came in when he heard me ripping kitchen roll to mop up and inspected what I was doing. I have put the new puppy pad down using the sticky pads and will see if that makes it harder for him to pull up next time I leave him. The snuggle fleece and bed pad are now in the washing machine, luckily we have spares!

He has eaten half of his lunch and has been happy playing in the garden so he must have slept for most of the time I was out, that has to be a positive, right?