Sadly on Sunday night Rolex still did not want to mate with Shadow. She was sniffing round the kitchen and he was curling up trying to go to sleep. I had every sympathy with him, but I’m not sure that expressing that view was popular. They decided to give it one last go yesterday morning before resorting to a second dog. There was just one small problem with that plan…
Monday morning they got up early and packed the car up in temperatures of minus fourteen. It was so cold that Shadow was finding it hard to stand on the ground and was walking three legged, alternating which foot she kept off the ice. They were ready to leave the hotel at 7.30 in the morning, but the car would not start. They tried again, and it still would not start. They went back to the room and left it for 10 minutes. My Mistress rang Rolex’s human and explained, in German, what was happening. They tried the car again and it still would not work. That was the point at which my Mistress rang the breakdown company and called for help. She went outside again to wait for them and the lovely hotel owner came and tried to jump start the car from his, but it didn’t work. The breakdown people in England called the breakdown people who cover Europe, who called the people in Switzerland, who called the local garage who called my Mistress and then could not find her. It was 10.15 when the garage arrived, but they could not jump start the car from their vehicle of their booster pack either. So they called in another car that towed my Mistress’s car down the road and they jump started it as it was moving. However they said she should not stop for some time once it was going at the low temperatures they had. It meant when she got to the stud dog she had to say they would have to carry on driving and not go in as it was still minus 9. Then they drove 450 miles and eventually got to their hotel at 8.20 last night, tired and ready to stop. However one thing happened to cheer them both up. When they got to the hotel there was a bed in the room just for Shadow. None of us has ever had that in a hotel before. She felt very special, but then my Mistress said she deserves to feel special as she’s been a little star on this trip and has not complained once, however hard things have been.
Alfie’s Diary – the Book is available at Amazon UK –https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00583ZGSA
You can find short stories to read at www.alfiedog.com