Dear Zak,

It’s been a while since I last wrote; by way of excuse I’ve had lower back surgery so haven’t been doing much with Themba. He has been entertaining us though and just after I got out of hospital he did make me very proud.

Marianne had gone out shopping and hired a retired nurse to come in for an hour or two to keep an eye on me as I was not mobile at all and needed help to get to the bathroom, especially as I had a vacuum dressing device attached to my back which had to be carried around with me.

Themba was on the be next to me when the nurse came up the passage. Neither of us had met her before. Themba was not impressed and started barking even before he could see her. It wasn’t aggressive barking and fortunately she was unfazed but he was still not impressed. He even growled when she got me to stand up from the bed. Then Mike the electrician came in to fit a surge protector on the solar inverter and he barked at him too even though he has met him several times. I was so proud of him!

I have only just started getting around in the car by myself so we haven’t been going to ART farm. Marianne has been going to the Wag Zone twice a week with the girls and Themba. They inevitably come back dirty. Tia of course cannot resist going into the ponds and now that they are low they are very muddy.

This morning I had a meeting to discuss the upcoming 100th anniversary of the local Ridgeback Club. We are known as the parent club because Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was known then, is where Rhodesian Ridgebacks were first bred and the club was formed in Bulawayo back in 1922. A gathering is planned on 13th August at the Wag Zone where people will bring along their dogs for a photo shoot and general celebration of the “national dog”. I don’t think such a title exists anywhere in the world though curiously the South Africans like to claim the Rhodesian Ridgeback as theirs!

Lunde, who is owned by the chairman, and Themba got on and played while the rest of us discussed the business. Themba has met her several times before but initially was very defensive of “his” car and took a while to get out. Fortunately Lunde is very friendly and ignored the growling and barking. Later Lunde heard something to bark at and Themba, ever the fierce lion hunter, chose to defend me from the safety of my lap!

Ah well, discretion is the better part of valour.

Love you as always.