Some pbase folks will have met JD on DM’s pad on Friday of last week. For anyone who needs an introduction this is JD – he’s the new member of our pack.

It would be a perfectly reasonable observation to say that we got him with indecent haste after poor Archie died and we both feel that too – we’ve certainly had guilty moments when we’ve felt we’ve been disloyal to the old fella.

However, think of Rosie. Although no vet has technically diagnosed her to be in remission, there is no doubt in our minds that she has been there for weeks now. The tumours, both the big one on her leg and the others across her back have all-but-gone. They’ve shrunk to the size of peas and Rosie herself was in top spirits and looking as healthy as could be before last week’s sad event. Since Archie died, she’s been pining. She’s off her food – we can’t persuade her to eat ¼ of what she’d normally eat in a day, she’s clingy and naughty. She’s been climbing into our bed in the middle of the night, refusing to get off…..she’s mourning the loss of Archie, of that we have no doubt. We've been extremely worried that her misery will trigger her illness again.

So, David started to look at the websites of the animal sanctuaries. In a moment where fate intervened in our lives, we found ourselves within a mile of just such a place in the middle of last week. We popped in. We knew our needs – a collie, young, a dog and preferably with a different look from Archie.

There was this apparently empty kennel but the sign said that there was a young male collie in there. We couldn’t see him although it was obvious he was there because he was hiding behind a door. We asked to meet him and spent half an hour playing in a freezing cold field with him. When he arrived, we were told he was scared of men and to us it seemed as though he was scared of everything, including his own shadow. He was cowed. His tail was firmly planted between his legs. He was shaking. By the end of half an hour, he’d got a tail curling up over his back and would come to say hello briefly.

He’s what is known in collie circles as a tricolour red. His eyes are pond-sludge green (just like his new Mum’s) and he’s got massive ears.

We um-ed and ah-ed. It was too soon. We were not over our grief. Let’s face it, he was no oil painting – a terrified, fat thing. But we also had Rosie to think of and JD fitted the bill in so many ways. He showed no interest in chasing chickens, was exactly what we said we wanted, a collie with a difference – different looks, young, male…..we reserved him while we went home to think.

We agonised. We agreed to take Rosie to meet him, thinking that she could be our get-out clause if we felt we needed one.

Rosie saw things differently. She was very happy to play with him. They careered around the field together, playing really nicely. JDs demeanour was much brighter. He was happy to come and accept fuss, even off David. He was perky and friendly. We agreed that it would be good for Rosie to have him as a friend.

Somehow, and I’m still not quite sure how, although it was “legal” and agreed, we found ourselves an hour later driving home with JD in the back of the car, along with a crate for him to sleep in overnight.

We had a stranger in our midst. His reputation declared him to be a chewer of shoes, so strong he could pull over a grown-man and terrified to the point of aggression with unknown men. Hmmmmm. Had we done the right thing?

Also declared was that this “pup” of 26 months old had been in the rescue on four occasions in his short life – he’d been homed by them three times before and always returned. My heart went out to the poor little soul, who must be feeling completely lost – why was it happening again, why was he back in the home etc etc….. To be so young and rejected so many times. I was determined that was NOT going to happen again, however hard it was to settle him.

I’m not going to say we were without trepidation. I’m also not going to say that having a total stranger in our home, whose reputation isn’t great, has been totally comfortable.

What I will say though is (so far so good) his reputation appears to be unfounded – we have introduced him to a “strange” man - our friend Iain poppped in and met him to no ill effect. He’s been left in the house with only Rosie for half an hour (once) and he’s fine overnight….well once we realised he hated the crate and allowed him to sleep in the hall.

All-in-all, so far he’s proven himself a lovely chap who has not shown any of the spooks we were expecting. I think we found a little bit of treasure when we found JD. We are still desolate to have lost Archie but to have found JD was a moment of great luck.