“Ruby is now back at home with us after her successful acclimatisation week in the Dogs for the Disabled’s kennels.

She quickly settled in at the Charity’s Training Centre, sharing a kennel with Veto, a Cocker Spaniel of similar age. Each day Ruby was either taken for a visit to town or the out-of-town supermarket. I was also pleased to hear that she was taken on a visit to a potential new socialiser’s home, and remained calm throughout.

The team of kennels staff reported that Ruby appeared to enjoy the experience, and reacted positively to the new surroundings, particularly the busy nature of the kennels with clients, dogs and staff coming and going all day.

Having said that, Ruby certainly looked pleased to see me when I picked her up – although, on arriving home, that greeting was nothing compared to the one she gave my two dogs. The three of them ran round and round the garden together for ten minutes, only stopping so they could sniff her from nose to tail, before setting off on another circuit or two!

In the last couple of days I have been to town with Ruby, where she calmly walked past a huge, noisy tarmac-laying machine and was only momentarily unsettled by the sight of a mannequin in one of the department stores we walked through. I’m not sure if it was the model’s position or choice of clothes, but Ruby gave a most unexpected bark, sniffed its shoes, then decided all was well after all and settled back by my side.

Just to ensure there was no recurring problem, I walked around the store for a few extra minutes, but Ruby ignored all the mannequins we passed and showed no signs of adverse reaction.

Last night I took Ruby to a service in our village Church, where she settled down alongside the pew and barely moved through the 30 minutes of hymns and a short sermon. As always, she was more than happy to pose for a photograph at the end!”