The pup, Sadie

A wee Schnauzer. Gorgeous little thing. Jet black except for her shaggy white paws and goatee.

She went missing in the garden for a few frantic moments today. We didn't actually notice she'd disappeared til Claire cried out, "Where's my dog!!". We all leapt into search mode, despite being three sheets to the wind (due to today being Canada's birthday).

A sorry search party we were. Spluttered whistling, rather high pitched trilling, stilettos sinking deep into the beds as we searched beneath the shrubbery.

Then there was a bit of a ruckus under the deck and someone shouted "Raccoon!" and we all rushed into the house, cos the last thing you want is a rabid raccoon nipping at your heels on a national holiday.

All of us except for Claire, that is. No, Claire found a decent stick and turned into a bit of a mad women, while the rest of us trembled indoors. She marched around the perimeter of the deck, slapping her stick, stopped dead, looked up at our noses pressed against the windows, smiled and said, "Here she is!".

PHEWWF!