12/15/2023 0 Comments Symphytum tuberosum low pasHow could I risk diverting the fire service from potential life-endangering incidents? I phoned Andrew. but not only was I uncertain they would respond anyway, the road and weather conditions were bad, and drivers on the A9 can be even sillier than ginger cats. What to do? The fire brigade tore through my head…. He had been there all night, and was not able or confident enough to find his way down. He was watching me, making silent (thus useless) miaows, lifting one paw at a time to relieve the cold. And high up – 15 metres up – a spindly tree not far from where he was last seen, was something ginger. Passing the little wood, I scanned the trees from the track – for the fourth time. ![]() Andrew went on to the tangled wood over the dual carriageway. I bumped into Simon and Sarah, friends from the village, who were full of sympathy, having lost two beloved pets this year, and said they’d look out for Jeoffry. When it became clear that old Jed had had enough, and we’d raked the verges of the fast and furious A9 from the bridge through binoculars, I turned to take the dog home. It was slightly milder than the previous week, but still bitter all the tracks were frozen solid and stumbling through the snow-buried ruts of old potato fields wasn’t pleasant. ![]() Then, all the adjacent and nearby fields and the other woods. We both independently searched the little wood again, calling, looking up into the trees the kittens loved to climb and romp in. So Andrew and I spent all morning searching. Nevertheless, I had a strong feeling Jeoffry was in trouble. His twin brother, Lucretius, is a measured stoic, with a kitten face but a wise head, who is more inclined to stay close to home. I should say at this point that Jeoffry is a silly little cat, prone to adventures and worrying people. No sight, no sound, no cat in this wood, I thought. When he didn’t appear for his tea by 9pm, Jed and I went back to the wood with a torch. Jeoffry didn’t emerge, but he was close to home, with multiple route home options, in familiar territory. ![]() Quite soon, Sam lolloped back out and continued his evening. Sam is trained strictly to point at wild birds and not chase things – his master is a wildlife ecologist and that’s Sam’s job. He leapt back off the track into the little wood – followed by Sammy, who proved he could move with astonishing speed. Maybe it was the flashing lights that spooked Jeoffry. Coming out of the little wood on Friday evening as it was getting dark, we met Sam, our neighbour’s bouncy, lolloping pointer, filled with enthusiasm for a snowy evening sledging expedition and wearing a flashing green collar. When Jed dawdles and sniffs too much, Jeoffry stops and waits, runs to him to coax more speed, and won’t return home without his dog. He has thought for a while that this is his job, and that Jed needs a one year old cat to make sure he is okay. Once again, Jeoffry the ginger cat was determined to help walk Jed the old collie. Introduce them to this appendix to the Countryside Code. Let them learn what’s safe to pick and what to leave alone as you do.
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