Patience is a virtue.

Arms crossed, waiting patiently, Oscar sits by the kitchen door.

We've just returned from a short walk, but he wants me to take him somewhere where he can really stretch his stubby little legs. Possibly chase a deer even.

Oscar is the nicest dog I've encountered since my own dog, Hamlet, died over 30 years ago. If I believed in reincarnation I would swear it was he, come back to console.

Sadly he has now returned to his owner, Terry, but as she lives just a few hundred metres away, we'll keep in touch.

The saddest will be Harvey J and Ollie, my grandsons, who've overcome any fear they might have had of dogs, and have both, quite understably, fallen in love.