‘So, does Hercules want to go out?’ All of a sudden, there’s Daniel standing next to Caroline.

‘Yeah, he’s making it as plain as day. Not that I blame him. The weather is really great outside; it’s much too nice to spend the whole day hanging around in the workshop. I’ll go out to the park with him in a couple of minutes. It’ll do me good as well.’

Daniel nods. ‘You’re right. Would it be all right if I tagged along for a while?’

Oh no! That’s not what I had in mind at all. After all, I’m doing all this in order to find a new man – with an emphasis on new. Bringing another man along is sure to get in the way.

But no one’s asking me what I think anyway, so when Caroline finally clips my lead to my collar, Daniel also reaches for his jacket, and the three of us head out of the workshop together. Once we’re in the garden, we walk past Beck, who has positioned himself to tail me.

‘Hey, what’s going on here? He’s coming along? You don’t take beer to a bar!’ he whispers to me.

‘You think this was my idea?’ I whisper back. ‘Tell me what I could have done to prevent this from happening!’

Beck shrugs his shoulders and seems to be about to say something, but by then we’re already past him.

While we head to the park, I think about whether my plan has any chance of success under these circumstances. Will Caroline even notice other people if she’s talking to Daniel the whole time? It’s enough to make you want to tear your hair out – I can’t mimic a sick dog because Caroline is here, and watching Caroline’s reactions to the men isn’t going to accomplish anything, because Daniel is here. Grrr!

‘It’s kind of odd – here I work right next to such a beautiful park, yet I almost never come to it.’

Exactly, Daniel, I’d like to say, so why did you have to pick today?

‘Yes, we don’t come nearly as often as we should, although I must say that since I’ve had Hercules I spend much more time outside than I used to. I have to admit, though, that recently I’ve been criminally negligent to him, and I feel so bad about that. Just now he even came up to me with his lead to remind me of my duties as his owner.’ She leans over to me without breaking her stride, and strokes my head. ‘Isn’t that true, Hercules? You haven’t had an easy time of it with your mistress lately, have you? But wait and see – everything’s going to get better now. I hope you’re not wishing you were back at the animal shelter.’

Me? Wishing I were back at the animal shelter? Perish the thought! Even if the quest for a master is not exactly running smoothly, Caroline doesn’t seem to understand how uncomfortable it can get in a ten by ten cage with guys like Bozo and Boxer.