We’re off to see some magic! Er, maybe disappearing acts …

Hogwarts! Here we come!

Except it was no magic we saw.  It was George doing a disappearing act! Yup! Just another adventure with George.  More about that later.

First, we arrived early at Kings Cross Station. The usual queue for the 9 3/4 platform has not quite formed. So we took advantage of it.

The staff at the Harry Potter shop dressed on Hogwarts uniform were so delighted to see us.I know I am irresistibly cute, but do please stop strangling me!We wanted to have our photo taken with the trolley and George thought we were running into the wall – so he said, “No! No! No! I’m not going!” LOL! Silly Georgie!

Kings Cross Station is one of the busiest London train stations – we see people come and go in a hurry but no matter how much of a hurry they’re in, they always have to wait – and wait and wait till they’re told which platform they need to go to.

We’re at the station going off to see Lola and Sam in Oakham.We had a play in her well-fenced in back garden Yes, George was trying to get out but couldn’t. Yes!

Then we all got into the back of the car and off to lunch at The Olive Branch.When we got there Mummy wanted to take a photo of us sitting on a bench at The Olive Branch when suddenly, in a flash, George disappeared. See, I told you, we were off to see some magic. But it wasn’t magic really, as you know by now.  George just jumped off the bench and he did a runner. Except we were not in a field. We were in a garden by the roadside – actually at a dangerous road bend where motorists had to slow down in case there were cars coming from around the corner. So maybe that was a blessing. Unknown to Mummy, George had ran across the road to the fields!!!

Mummy spent a few seconds looking for him in the small car park and when she couldn’t see him, she feared the worst. She saw a car driving past, having slowed down. She hurried out on the sidewalk to see if George was on the narrow pavement that bent around – and just then she saw that rascal George running towards her from the fields across the road.
Heart in mouth, Mummy prayed that there were no cars coming. He ran across the road towards her – and she didn’t even think as she stepped into the road towards him. As he approached Mummy, George knew he was in trouble so he started to walk sideways away from her. Mummy stepped on his drenched leash and grabbed him.

George, just when we thought you’re making progress – you gave us a real scare.  It was not magic, it was not funny and it scared us all.

May’s comment: It could have been a complete disaster. But thankfully someone must have been watching over George.

We had done some training last weekend on recall. And we did some exercises to break his sudden change of interest but that was fine when he was on the leash. This time he was sitting to pose and he has learnt to pose very well – I must add. But the new environment was way too intriguing for him that he darted away in a nano second when we least expected.

I don’t think I can ever trust him to be off the leash in a new environment especially one as enticing as wide open fields and interesting smells. There’s a chip in his head that makes him react in such a way. He did come back – that’s a plus because for a moment I thought – where do I even begin to look for him? It was fields and fields as far as the eye could see.  He must have instinctively ran and then he thought to himself, “Oh! what am I doing here? Better go back to Mummy.”  He came running back to where we were and when he saw me, but he also knew he had done something wrong and tried to walk away from the confrontation.

Never again, George. I am starting to believe that it is deeply ingrained into his psyche. He just has this habit deeply ingrained in his mind. Maybe someday he might but I am not taking chances. Always a challenge that George.