We’ve a new arrival in the house. A super cute 11 week old labradoodle puppie called Leia. Yes, she’s named after the Princess in Star Wars because she’s got gorgeous ‘puppy-like’ eyes, and looked great next to Jabba the Hutt in  ‘Return of the Jedi’

The Previously Unvisited Supermarket Aisle

It’s weird, but for years I’ve never really checked out anything to do with the dog section of any of my local supermarket. Now I have a dog, so there’s a hole new part of Waitrose and Sainsbury’s that has been revealed to me even though familiar and well explored by so many others shoppers..

You can only do something new once. You can only visit a country for the first time once. So, you can only discover a new section of the supermarket once. So it is, the new world of supermarket doggy land. And with new things, comes new words like ‘Poo Bag’ and ‘Denta Stix’ which give you a glimpse of what lies ahead.

The dog section is like listening to ‘Woman’s Hour’ on the radio. As a man, it gives you a glimpse into a new, mysterious world that you knew was there yet remained unintelligible and mysterious for so long.

I have a lovely woman and now I have a wonderful dog. Somehow, life feels more complete than ever. I’ve got a perfect excuse other than the pub to leave the house, fellow people other than beer drinkers to connect with, and a whole new vocabulary to learn. How exciting!!

You just want to see some photos don’t you? Not my ramblings..

OK, I hear what you are saying. There’s a billion familiar stories I could tell you of what it is like to get a puppy, like how funny it was when Leia didn’t know that duckweed on a pond cannot be walked on (and I discovered that puppies know how to swim without being trained!). Or the fun of discovering your shoes aren’t where you left them.. But here’s the photos you want to see.

Coming soon. Walkies! How dogs are the perfect excuse to talk to strangers…