Mrs Downs Diary December 15 2005

Holly is also responsible for the duck we are planning to have tonight.

While out on a walk, she plunged into the pond and swam vigorously after a flock of mallards. Normally dogs do not have any chance at all of catching a duck on the water.

Whenever the dog gets remotely near them, the ducks just dive and reappear ten yards behind a rather puzzled looking hound.

John thinks this duck might have been clipped by a shooter as some of its wing feathers were missing, so it was not as agile as it might otherwise have been.

"I kept calling Holly back as I did not want her to disturb the ducks," John explained.

Holly feigns deafness on these occasions, and then relies on a sloppy grin and the bird to get her out of trouble.

She does not have such a soft mouth as Meg, our Labrador, so by the time the birds are brought back they have usually expired. So what can you do? Shame to waste a good meal.

Mrs Down's Diary appears every week in the West Sussex Gazette. To read the full version of this article, see December 15 issue.