After Toby's passing in August 2018 it took us a while to get over losing him. It took just one year, in fact. By Summer 2019 we were ready to take in a new puppy.
I narrated subsequent events — the acquiring and naming of our new family member — in my November 2019 Diary.
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Our first picture of Basil, on the back seat of the family car being driven home. |
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Basil's second day in his new home. Rosie calls this the Simba Picture. |
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Basil with Dad, three days later. He was such a tiny thing, I could hold him in one hand. |
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Two weeks with us now, and quite at home. |
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The Christmas picture. My photo software has red-eye correction, but nothing for blue-eye. |
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Now six months old, Basil has asserted staircase privileges. From here he can keep an eye on both the living-room and (through the living-room window) the street outside. |
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He has also made friends with the little girl next door. "Friends" is putting it mildly; they play together for hours. |
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Basil does not treat his toys gently. Should you lead a wicked life, then die and be committed to Hell, you may end up as one of Basil's toys. His particular delight is to disembowel a squeaky toy to get at the squeaker, which he then pulls out. |
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Relaxing with Mom. |
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Basil among the leaves, 7½ month old. |
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For his eight-month birthday, Basil's Mom assembled a little movie album of pictures. |
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Early September 2020: Coming up to his first birthday, ready to assume adult responsibilities. |
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Basil's first birthday party. Note the candle. Also the spiffy new doggie door — his birthday present from Dad. This replaces the door I installed for Boris in (I think) 1996. Twenty-four years, three pooches: We got our money's worth out of that door. |
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Early February 2021: Basil l-o-v-e-s the snow. Notice his tongue hanging out — that's Basil's way of indicating extreme happiness. |
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First days of 2022. This little pooch loves to be cuddled and stroked. |
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The great snowfall of January 29th, 2022. Basil is taking it in his stride. |
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Basil in a state of total relaxation: sprawled on his back in Dad's lap, Dad stroking his belly, tongue hanging out loose. This dog could teach courses in relaxation. |
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A Wordsworth moment: Basil and the buttercups on a mid-April morning in 2022. |
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Domestic harmony. After some unpleasant incidents with growling (Basil) and hissing (Mimi), by October they have settled down into a wary harmony. Each has claimed one piece of living-room furniture: Basil the sofa, Mimi the armchair. |