A day in the life of "Lucy" 

I look up and cock my head. Watching. My owners’ lips twitch, their hands move upwards over their head. Still not the signal. Must wait. Must be patient.

‘Fetch!’ And off I run, darting across the field in search of the ball. There it is! I zone in to scoop it up, all while still running and loop back to gallop towards my human.

‘Good girl Lucy,’ my owner yells, jumping up and down. I run faster to return to them. Dropping the ball at their feet, I immediately feel their hand ruffle my ears. I lean into the pat and rub my nose on their leg.

‘Now sit,’ they say. I sit, lay down and roll over, watching my humans hand signals intently. I sniff, could it be? It is! The treat balances on my nose and I wait… Wait... Wait... Go! I chew and wag my tail; my human is happy.

My human turns and starts to walk, slapping their leg twice and I trot to catch up and walk beside them towards the car. We get closer and what is this? A stranger and their dog a few metres away. I move closer to my owner, hugging their leg tightly as my hackles raise and my lip begins to curl. My human.

‘Stay Lucy,’ my owner says, and I sit, watching the strange dog closely. As soon as they pass I follow my owner again towards the car, then wait patiently as my human opens the door and I jump on in. Time for home.