Teasel

This is 'my' dog. She adopted me about three years ago but still belongs to my neighbour, although she lives with me permanently, through choice.
My neighbour also had another dog - in the photo. His name was Robbie. He was a very troubled old soul who had been slinking through my garden for years while regarding me warily from the corner of his eye. He never came near me.
One day I was on my hands and knees weeding, when this little bundle of fun rushed up to me and licked my nose. I was bowled over as my last dog, Tumble, had died in 2010. She, along with three other dogs in the area were poisoned by someone out to kill badgers, or so the story went. I was in deep mourning for ages and decided not to look for another dog unless one found me!
After a day or two I went looking for her owner who turned out to be my neighbour's son. He told me her name was Diesel and that he'd tie her up if she didn't stop coming to see me. I begged him not to and fortunately he didn't.
Teasel utterly transformed Robbie. He fell totally in love with her and followed her everywhere. Within weeks he was putting his paws on my chest and looking me in the eyes with trust, because he realized I wouldn't harm him. Teasel and he would play together all the time; their favourite game was run and try to catch. She can run at 40 mph and over, (I know because she used to chase my car up the hill), so she'd run circles around Robbie and he'd stand, wagging his tail, until she got  close, and then pounce, but she was always too quick for him. In the photo above she's taunting him with her 'toy' bit of cloth; you can see the look in her eye. It was a joy to watch.
Then I got an email from my neighbour to say she'd run Robbie over in her car and he was dead. After that, Teasel started wandering at night, barking continuously and annoying my other neighbours. They soon approached me to ask if I would keep her in at night, but as she wasn't my dog, I had no right. They went to her owner who then rang me to ask if I would, and that was the turning point in Teasel's and my life together.
We miss Robbie, but it's comforting to know that the last year of his long and lonely life was a very happy one.