Typical bloody Cancerian

Regular readers might think from the general tone of my posts that I'm a hard-hearted person, grouchy to the core. But that's where you're wrong. Beneath this gruff exterior lies a certain squidgyness, an (occasionally) sentimental individual. One thing guaranteed to make my lip quiver is the !!!Vermist!!!! posters for pets; you know the sort of thing: "Blackie is an adorable ginger tom, and we haven't seen him for 2 weeks. We love him very much so please call this number if you see him!" Amsterdam is full of these, the perils of apartment living, I guess -- leave a door or window open for a brief period and Blackie will make a bid for freedom, hoping to chase pigeons and squirrels, but more likely to be squashed by a car. I've stopped reading these as they make me too miserable, reminding me of the traumas we used to go through when Aristotle would slip through holes in the space/time continuum and disappear for a week or two, only to reappear -- as if by magic! --in our locked house in the middle of the day. How he made us suffer -- and how we miss him!

[Pauses to wipe a tear from her eye.]

Anyhow, I digress. Last week, I did notice one of the Vermist posters on the gates of the Vondelpark, asking for the return of Bo. My heart sank. I recognized Bo from my morning commute. I have no idea what breed he is, but "hairy dachshund" probably sums him up best. At the thought of never seeing him trotting happily along the path beside his owner, I was downcast. For about 10 minutes at least.

But! This morning brought glad tidings! As I cycled through the park, who should I see but Bo! Little hairy legs a-pumping as he made his way for his traditional constitutional. I almost thought about stopping to tell his owner how relieved I was to see him again, but thought it might make me look a bit ... well, weird. A puppy stalker. The sort of person who hangs out in the bushes and tries to entice dogs with the classic line "Want to come back to my house and see my kids?" So I just cycled on, content in the knowledge that Bo was safe and sound and back where he belonged.