Dan Q
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I am not a “dog person”. I’m probably more of a “cat person”.
My mum has made pets of one or both of dogs or cats for most of her life. She puts the difference between the two in a way that really resonates for me. To paraphrase her:
When you’re feeling down and you’ve had a shitty day and you just need to wallow in your despair for a little bit… a pet dog will try to cheer you up. It’ll jump up at you, bring you toys, suggest that you go for a walk, try to pull your focus away from your misery and bring a smile to your face. A cat, though, will just come and sit and be melancholy with you. Its demeanour just wordlessly says: “You’re feeling crap? Me too: I only slept 16 hours today. Let’s feel crap together.”
So it surprised many when, earlier this year, our family was expanded with the addition of a puppy called Demmy. I guess we collectively figured that now we’d solved all the hard problems and the complexities of our work, volunteering, parenting, relationships, money etc. and our lives were completely simple, plain sailing, and stress-free, all of the time… that we now had the capacity to handle adding another tiny creature into our midst. Do you see the mistake in that logic? Maybe we should have, too.
It turns out that getting a puppy is a lot like having a toddler all over again. Your life adjusts around when they need to sleep, eat, and poop. You need to put time, effort, and thought into how to make and keep your house safe both for and from them. And, of course, they bring with them a black hole that eats disposable income.
They need to be supervised and entertained and educated (the latter of which may require some education yourself). They need to be socialised so they can interact nicely with others, learn the boundaries of their little world, and behave appropriately (even when they’re not on camera).
Even as they grow, their impact is significant. You need to think more-deeply about how, when and where you travel, work out who’s responsible for ensuring they’re walked (or carried!) and fed (not eaten!) and watched. You’ve got to keep them safe and healthy and stimulated. Thankfully they’re not as tiring to play with as children, but as with kids, the level of effort required is hard to anticipate until you have one.
But do you know what else they have in common with kids? You can’t help learning to love them.
It doesn’t matter what stupid thing they’re illicitly putting in their mouth, how many times you have to clean up after them, how frustrating it is that they can’t understand what you need from them in order to help them, or how much they whine about something that really isn’t that big a deal (again: #PuppyOrToddler?). It doesn’t even matter how much you’re “not a dog person”, whatever that means. They become part of your family, and you fall in love with them.
I’m not a “dog person”. But: while I ocassionally resent the trouble she causes, I still love our dog.
This checkin to GC8DQ39 FYI 292 - The Battle of Cropredy Bridge reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Surprisingly easy find! I got up earlier than most of the festival campers this morning to do the canalside series and then, figuring I had time, decided to tackle this multi too. Little did I know I’d end up retracing my steps to find this one – I’d passed the final coordinates twice this morning already!
At the GZ I first thought I’d have no chance – that the cache would be too well-concealed among the foliage. But despite the container’s camo I caught sight of it almost instantly. Easy peasy! TFTC.
This checkin to GC8Z1EE Church Micro 13671...Cropredy ⛪️ reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Think the bench must be inside the marquee pictured, based on the coordinates. I got my festival breakfast in the yesterday but didn’t think to look for the bench – whoops! All sealed up this morning as the festival campers have a post-party lie in and Cropredy life begins to pivot back towards normal. Never mind!
This checkin to GC9GK2V Mr Impossible reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Finding the cache while avoiding strange looks from the boaters using the lock was relatively easy: I just sat down and did some stretches to give me an excuse to peep into the likely hiding places. Retrieving it while in stealth mode was harder, but luckily I’m wearing laced shoes. TFTC!
This checkin to GC9GK2C Mr Happy reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Took me an embarrassingly long time to find dis; GPSr threw me a few metres to the North and it was only while expanding my search that I spotted the bleedin’ obvious.
Log full, unable to sign. TFTC.
This checkin to GC9GK2J Little Miss Whoops reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
My, that’s deviously tiny and tightly fits its hiding place! Glad I was out here without the thronging mob of festival footfall or I’d have looked a right wally searching for it. Wouldn’t have stood a chance without the hint! Greeted ducks as instructed. TFTC!
This checkin to GC9GGK7 Little Miss Sunshine reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Like other recent finders, I’m here for the festival. Unlike some of them, though, I’ve had the foresight to come out shortly after dawn after the last night of music to be able to walk and cache without the crowds!
An easy find – I almost stood on tree cache while reaching deeper than I needed to into my first assumption about its hiding place! Love finding proper-sized caches in sensible hiding places like this: not those endless micro-in-a-hedge affairs you sometimes see. TFTC!
This checkin to GC9H105 Mr Nonsense reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
While free rest of the festival nursed their hangovers or simply enjoyed a much-needed lie-in after staying up late singing “Meet on the Ledge”, I got up early and came out for a walk. And, I figured, given the relative quiet of the canalside for the first time in a few days, an opportunity to find a geocache or two.
Comong among the road from the East – where I’ve camped – at first I was stumped as to where this could be hidden. As soon as I changed to a different path I immediately worked out where to look. TFTC!
This checkin to GC9EXX4 The Bisected Footpath of Blackditch Fields reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Geopooch and I checked-up on this cache as it’s not seen much activity this year. It’s in good condition and ripe for finding, so we left it be.
This checkin to GC8MZ4G Don't Bate Me Up reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
No luck for me here. Hunted around the obvious host but even with the hint I wasn’t seeing success. Turned on my ANT gear to try to find the Chirp but couldn’t pick up anything: does this cache actually have a beacon, per its attributes? If so, it’s probably missing ‘cos I couldn’t pick it up.
Also, very disappointed that a previous visitor took it upon themselves to vandalise the GZ with graffiti (pictured). Boo!
This checkin to GC3WYMN Tactically Clever Placing reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Solved the puzzle long ago – helps that I have a Universal Drive for Perfection and know my numbers. But came by the GZ today and had no luck. Hunted in and around the obvious candidate – my shoelaces must be super loose! – and then its two friends without success. Maybe I’ll revisit when it’s less busy here.
This checkin to GC9GKJA A Fine Pair # 1625 ~ Eynsham reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Following a recent DNF log I cycled by the cache this lunchtime to check up on it. It’s still in-place and healthy! (And it’s possibly even slightly visible in my attached picture, though perhaps not at the resolution it’ll appear on the Web!)
After talking about impulse control, our “puppy school” OABT half-jokingly issued homework to photograph our dogs waiting patiently next to their initial, written in treats. #holdmybeer
This checkin to GC8W7QW Forgotten Bridge reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Quick maintenance visit/check-in while out walking the dog. All is well!
