And so it was to be…

Brin was finally coming home to us.

Seven days were left after months of driving down through all weathers, three times a week.

In a way I would really miss these times.

Brin and I had built up such a relationship within four walls and I had managed to form a bond with a dog who had tolerated massive changes in his short life without complaint. We had sat together for hours on end and I have to admit to crying many times due to the pleasure of seeing him learn to play and enjoying being just a dog that had nothing to fear ever again.

Everyone who came in contact with him adored him. There was something magnetic in his personality that had borne him well through so many difficulties and so much hardship. No one could resist his earnest gaze, his warmth and joy at just being alive. He had wanted for nothing but took such pleasure in his gifts of toys and the comfort of his bed. Stories would come out from the girls who, on their nightly rounds, would watch him arrange all his toys in a circle around his sleeping area as if placing them on guard to watch over him while he slept. Sometimes the girls would creep into his kennel and fall asleep next to him, just to give him company and I loved them for that.

When the snow came and I couldn’t get down to visit I rang to ask if they could place a pice of snow in his kennel as he would never have seen this before. They did and this photo was sent to me

His love of routine was evident and you could almost tell the time by him. I bought in a harness to see what his reaction would be, having never worn one before, and he coped extremely well but it would also be one of fourteen he would chew through in his first month of being home!

At home I had purchased a large crate for him to sleep in for to allow him free access to roam around at night would probably cause a few problems for a dog who had never stepped in side a house before.

I had also sold my car to re-fence our garden as I did not want to use a penny of the money raised for my own purposes.

So we were ready…at least as ready as we could be.

There were big changes coming up for Brin, and indeed my family, but we would now take it one day at a time and see what the future would bring.

The clock was ticking…

and the reality of living with a dog from Afghanistan was just around the corner…