Walkies...

Alfie, Mr and Mrs Noah’s delightful little puppy, who now weighs over 30kg, has so much energy that even his daily walks of over 5 kilometres along the beach never seem to tire him out.  Every day, Mr Noah finds time in his busy schedule of doing the DIY around the Ark, and tidying his den (aka the garage) to take Mango and Alfie to the beach for a long walk.

In Mango’s case, it is just that - a walk.  Now that she is grown up, she is more than happy just plodding along beside Mr Noah carrying her stick or a large stone taking in all the sights and sounds of the seaside.  No charging about for her!

On the other hand Alfie has only two speeds: asleep or 100mph!

Therefore, the beach is the perfect place for him to run as fast and as far as he wants.  And he does!  The problem is that upon their return to the Ark, both Mr Noah and Mango are ready to collapse on to their beds and rest their weary legs, but Alfie carries on tearing around the place –as if he has never been out!

So it was that one day, as Mrs Noah was trying to revive Mr Noah with a nice cup of tea, she came up with a brilliant idea.  “I will take Alfie running with me,” she said.  “That will surely wear him out, as it really tires me out,” she said.

As we all know, Mrs Noah is known locally as The Plodder of Pearly Beach, and can be seen on most days wending her way around the village, training hard for her next big race.  For anyone who doesn’t know, Mrs Noah, The Plodder, has recently completed the London Marathon (all 42.2kms of it – or  26 miles 385 yards) - in a record time for anyone from Pearly Beach.  “Well done, Mrs Noah,” everyone said.

So, the next day Mrs Noah was all kitted out in her best training clothes and  Alfie was introduced to his new halti (headcollar) and lead.

Mr Noah and the other animals – Mango, Sid and Chilli, watched with interest from the front balcony as Mrs Noah and Alfie set off down the drive.  “Alfie, sit still!”  “Alfie, slow down!”  “Heel, Alfie!”  “Alfie, wait for me!”

“Oh dear,” woofed Mango.

Sid and Chilli looked at each other.  “Ooh!” meowed Chilli.

And with that, Mrs Noah and Alfie disappeared out of sight along the beach road.

“Well, I suppose we had better go and wait on the driveway for them,” said Mr Noah to Mango, Sid and Chilli, “because I don’t think they will be very long!”  So, they all trouped downstairs, sat at the bottom of the drive and spent a pleasant few minutes watching the sea and trying to spot the newly arrived whales.

5 minutes went by, then 10 minutes.  Then Mr Noah looked at his watch and saw that 30 minutes had passed.  By this time, Sid and Chilli had decided to wander off and find somewhere warm and sunny under a nearby bush.  Eventually, after about 50 minutes had gone by a slightly worried Mango woofed, Do you think we should go and look for them?  They’ve been a long time.”

“Well...” said Mr Noah, but before he could finish he spotted them coming up the road together.  “Look,” he cried.  “Here they come!”

A few minutes later, Mrs Noah huffed and puffed her way up the drive with Alfie trotting beside her.

“Well, how was that?” said Mr Noah to Mrs Noah.

“Just...” (huff) “wait...” (puff) “a moment!” (huff) “I need to catch... (puff) “my breath.” (huff) “I’m exhausted!” (puff)

“How was it for you, Alfie?” woofed Mango.

“Brilliant!  5 kays is nothing.  I want to go again – now!” replied Alfie, excitedly wagging his tail, and who was as full of energy as he was before he went out!