Hill Walk to the north of house

Thursday 22 November

We had a lovely morning today, we decided it was high time we went for a walk to the rear of the house. We have seen the road from the house and watched in interest as cars and vans have chugged their way up the very steep hill. In light of this we travelled very light only taking a small bottle of water.

We set off about 10.45 and started the climb. Once we were past the now empty Turkey farm (not for long we think) we were rewarded with fantastic views of the mountains, valleys and properties on the way. There are some huge houses with views to die for. We kept climbing for what must have been 5km and eventually reached the top. We were again rewarded with the most stunning views. It was so peaceful and quiet, sunny and warm you could easily fall in love with the place and we can see why people would choose to live there. 

The route is in fact a recognised walk called the Ruta los Tajos (Route of the cliffs) and in total stretches 6.9km It ends at a very impressive volcanic plug range called Sierra Tejada, Sierra lanan and La Atalaya. We see this range from the back of the house and on the way back fro Velaz Malaga where we do our shopping. It is a very impressive sight to see and we will be going on this walk as often as we can.

Picture of Casa Perro Con Pan from up the hill to the rear of the property

Captains Supplemental

The Stray Dog

Following the dreadful storms we had on Friday and Saturday last week we awoke Sunday morning and thankfully, the storm had moved on. Not that it was a particularly nice morning but at least it wasn’t tipping down with rain. At about 11am were sitting at the table having our Brunch when we heard something sniffing at the door. When we opened the shutter we saw a large brown dog that we hadn’t seen before. He had probably smelt the cooking bacon and thought he would investigate.

Now, we’ve had dogs visit us on several occasions in the past and if they are left on their own they wonder on about their business and that’s that it they go home. However, once we had washed up and Kev went outside, the dog was still there. it came bounding over to him and proceeded to jump up and in a matter of seconds I needed a change of clothes. It then decided to throw up all over the terrace!

The Dog-

Was a large, aged, male, chocolate coloured Labrador. Physically, it was in good condition (not at all thin) but otherwise, it was in a bit of a state and was very unkempt. It had sore crusty eyes and had had mange or fleas at some time as it hair loss to it’s mussel. The most striking thing about the dog was it stunk very much indeed not only of wet dog but dirt and drooled a disgusting substance from its mouth. As it walked around the property it was accompanied by a swarm of large flies which landed on its back and made its scabby ears twitch.

Regardless of my past this was not a nice dog to be around and the last thing we wanted was to take responsibility for a dog no matter how bad it’s condition, besides there are a thousand dogs just like this one probably not that far from here and where does it stop. No those days are behind me and I feel I have done my bit.

Another issue is we already have 5 cats that we were not expecting to look after and we certainly didn’t want this poor stinking, drooling, scab ridden creature to stay a moment longer than was necessary. We decided to carry on ignoring it in the hope that it would go hungry and wonder back to its owner/ home. Not a chance, the sun came out and it made itself comfortable of the terrace drying itself off in the sun. It continued to vie for our attention but we continued to give it no notice all the rest of the day and in the evening after we locked the doors and it lay on the door mat in front of the front doors. It stayed there all night, we know this because as it turned over in the night it made the metal doors rattle which kept us awake most of the night! 

One thing we were very worried about was the wellbeing of the 5 cats, in the morning it was clear that none of them had been to the food hopper on the window ledge as no food had gone from it. As the cats are feral they wont let you get near them to them pick up so as long as the dog was there it was unlikely we would see them. Also, as one of the females is almost certainly pregnant, we didn’t want any stress for that cat. Finally, goodness only knows what diseases the dog is carrying. Anyway, for the time being the cats were keeping a very cautious distance. 

In the morning at first, there was no sign of the dog and we thought it must have gone home or moved on but as soon as I opened the door he came bounding around the corner and nearly knocked me over. He charged all over the terrace like a puppy and genuinely, it seamed, very happy indeed to see me. 

It had now been 24 hours since it’s arrival and the poor thing was searching for food. There was nothing for it but to give it some food which it eat veraciously. As it was clear this dog was not going anywhere we contacted Sue and Mick to ask for assistance in trying to find the owner. As we don’t speak a word of Spanish I don’t know what we would have done without their help. 

In the morning we walked down to Riogordo and was surprised to find that the dog followed us on our route. We got over half way to the village and looked around and found the dog was no longer with us and had disappeared. ‘Eureka’, we thought he must have found his bearings and wondered off home. We sat in the bar feeling quite relieved. We did email some photos of him to Sue for the local Facebook page in an attempt to find it’s owner. Unfortunately, our euphoria was short lived as when we arrived back at the house in the late afternoon the dog was loyally waiting for us on the terrace. Again was so pleased to see us. It was now clear that the dog was going nowhere and we assumed it must have been frightened half out of its wits by the thunder storm making a bolt for it getting lost somewhere on the way. 

In the afternoon I took the dog for a walk around the neighbours houses that were in and included the turkey farm. Obviously the language issue was a problem. Had  I been able to have a conversation I might have been able to get to the bottom of who's dog it was. Anyway it was all to no avail and no one knew who's dog it was and besides the dog had had enough of my company and wondered of with another dog. I knew he would be back. We fed him again and he spent the rest day on the terrace and he lay by side festering and trying to bite flies. Sue put us in touch Diane the local animal help contact. She came to look at the dog, she took some photo’s said she would try to find the owner.

It turns out that the dog had a smashing temperament and I feel sure it was a super loyal and friendly dog without a single morsel of aggression in it. You could tell it just wanted to serve its master. It is such a shame that he hadn't been looked after better in his old age. As we sat on our loungers the dog was plagued with flies and I sat swatting them for the dog which didn’t bat an eyelid he was quite happy to let me slap away. With every tap a cloud of dust arose from the creatures coat. It was difficult not to let your heart go out to the poor chap.  As we sat swatting flies something truly amazing happened involving two of the cats.

Two of the cats, a ginger and white and a very very timid black and white ventured to come up from their hole under the tree where they live to get some food. Not surprisingly, they must be getting very hungry indeed by now as they usually have unfettered access to as much food as they can eat. The ginger and white cat slowly walked across the terrace from the low wall opposite the food. It looking at the dog all the way up to the window and in full sight of the dog it jumped up to the metal window grates and the hopper on the window ledge. The black and white cat was having none of it and sat on the other side of the low wall from where the ginger and white one had come from. It sat cautiously watching what was going on but you could tell it was very scared. It has always been scared of its own shadow and will bolt at the slightest inclination. The dog, too long in the tooth to care, simply watched the goings on and took not the slightest interest in them.

After the ginger cat had eaten only a very small amount it jumped down and walked over to the black and white cat. Amazingly, it somehow persuaded it that it was safe to follow him and if he did follow him he could eat. He did this by walking in front of his friend and rubbing his whole length along the front of its chest under its chin and as it moved forward it wrapped its tail around its neck. It weaved its path all the way to the window. It was a truly wonderful thing to see and extraordinary that this young cat would be so concerned for his frightened little friend that he would go back to fetch him and encourage it follow him to food. Surely no friend could do more?

We had some good news on the phone in the afternoon that the owner was known and would be contacted to collect it. The evening came and there was no sign of the owner so we fed the dog again and as before the dog settled on the mat for the night. In the morning the dog was not to be seen and we hope that the owner somehow had come and collected his dog without telling us. In any case he has gone and that was a real relief.

Well not quite as at 13.30hrs and it appeared again large as life and twice a happy to see us. Goodness only knows where it had been but it would appear we still have a stray dog. We were a bit down about this as you can imagine and simply shut the door on the house and went to Riogordo. We ignored the dog and did not feed it again that day. We also ignored it again when we came back at 4pm and shut the door on it. Hopefully, if the owner collects it all well and good otherwise, it will have to be put into a pound very soon. 

The dog hung around us for several more days but in the end we got up one morning and it was gone. it didn’t appear all day which I have to say was a real relief to us both. We found out that at some time the owner had come and collected the dog. We have no idea when he came or who he is or where he lives. All we know is that he is a local. Any way that would appear to be the end of what has been a sorry saga for us and more importantly the dog.