![IMG_0604](https://alfiesdiary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IMG_0604-scaled-1-335x381.jpg)
Well yesterday turned out to be a little more exciting. We bumped into a distant relative of hedgehog crossing the road. My mistress, in a better driving moment, waited patiently for him to cross whilst I jumped up and down and begged to be let out to say hello. He didn’t know hedgehog personally as his family have lived in Switzerland for some generations and he looked a little taken aback when I mentioned the millions from the forest bank that hedgehog has got stashed away here but he was very polite and asked that I passed on his best wishes before he scurried off into the undergrowth. I was going to ask for his address but he had gone before I had the opportunity.
Even more exciting than that we saw another entlebucher. He was the other side of the park and I waved madly but he didn’t come over. It was odd because he didn’t have a long tail like mine which perhaps made it harder to wave back. He was the first one I have seen other than my mother and brother and sisters. I wonder if he was a relative? For all I know he could have been my dad or my granddad, I would so like to get to meet them.
Staying in a hotel has been quite fun and I have probably been a bit spoilt with lots of people saying how lovely I am. Although in fairness that is just a guess as I can’t actually understand the words, but as it is usually accompanied by a pat or a tummy tickle I am taking it that they are being friendly. It has been hard having to be on the lead quite so much though. I really prefer to run free and sniff and eat what I like before someone can stop me. We did go for a lovely hillside walk yesterday so I had a good romp and ran round in circles just to prove I still can but it will be nice to get home to the forest and the freedom of the places I know.
Now you can call me naive if you want to but somehow it hadn’t dawned on me that my excitement at the prospect of going home was going to be completely spoilt by the thought of a large number of hours in the car. In fairness I don’t think the mistress is all that keen either but short of abandoning the car here she doesn’t seem to have a lot of choice. As long as she doesn’t insist on listening to those language cd’s again and trying to practice out loud, maybe it won’t be quite so bad. I have asked if we can stop at places other than motorway services as I didn’t really like them very much. Let’s just see if she has been listening to me