11/03/2026
Every walk with Cornflake, my rescue Lurcher, is unique, because she is a unique dog with a unique background that we’ll never fully understand. Today was especially interesting: a windy, bright morning where I could tell we were in for an adventure. Windy days make dogs more on edge and sensitive to sounds and smells, especially for a sighthound with those huge ears and a slight frame that almost looks like it’s swaying in the wind. Sometimes she’ll suddenly stop and stare at something in the distance, and I’ve learned that I need to stop and look too. As a sighthound she can see far further than I, but as her trusted guardian and dog walker it’s my duty to make sure I don’t enable a situation that might retraumatise her — or, perhaps even more unforgivably, rob her of the chance to track her prey.
Of course, there’s no actual catching involved, but as a working breed I do believe she deserves the opportunity to at least start the investigation… it would be rude to interrupt the thought halfway through.
At one point today she stopped and stared down a drain, then launched into her nervous-excited stance — legs all flayed out like she’d suddenly transformed into a daddy longlegs. I actually yelped. Because what on earth did she see down that drain?
We’ll never know. And that is for Cornflake and her friends to discuss in doggy heaven one day.