2nd March

It's early college drop off on Friday mornings, Chance, Boycie and Sapphire came with me, after daughter disembarks we head down to the ponies and bring them in.
Each dog has a game of ball. Chance and Boycie with the ball thrower, Saffy without because she grabs it.
At the end of Chance's game we were a little distracted by the men collecting the rubbish and a lady with a young Whippet, who she told me she had taken Whippet Racing, fascinating.
Then I headed home, as it's Friday and Steven comes to walk dogs with me.

After lunch I returned, this time Angel was with us too.
I looked for the ball thrower but couldn't find it in any of the places I normally leave it. I kept coming back to the car, I was sure that's where I had it last, but there was no sign of it. I lost another one a few weeks ago, I had thought that would turn up but it hadn't. That one was blue, this time I got a red one so it would show up better, but it wasn't helping now. Then I remembered ... there had been a funny noise as I pulled out of the drive this morning, oh surely I hadn't? Could that noise have been a ball thrower falling off the car roof? The more I thought about it, and remembered the startled looks on the faces of passers by when I heard it, the more certain I became that that had been its fate.

I explained to Jessie when I collected her, 'So as we pull out of the drive, see if you can spot it.'
We did ... there it was lying near the golf club entrance, difficult to see if it was intact, but there was worse, it was not alone, lying near it I recognised the blue lead, one of two of our most useful leads, the easy ones you always want to have to hand.
We pulled into the golf club and went to retrieve them, or what was left of them. Both lead and ball thrower were smashed beyond repair.
Is that where the other ball thrower ended up? How many other lost items have met the same fate?
I have done it with my handbag, a set of keys and a cheque book in the past, Val did it with her daughters birthday cake!
I do apologise and promise I will try to be a better steward of rescue equipment in the future ... you would have thought a red ball thrower would show up against a blue car ... wouldn't you?

Pictures of Lexus, courtesy of Lindsay Stewart, taken when he first came in to rescue in February 2008

We have just had the reminder for his yearly vaccination so that would be right.