My friend Ruah!

Ruah is the smallest member of my family. She's a Blenheim Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy from Fife.

For months, Heron's Flight is very quiet and during the rest of the year it buzzes! Often my animals have only me for company, and later that day there may be several strangers wandering in and out. 

Ruah suits me and the rest of my family beautifully!

As her breed goes, Ruah is going to be at the top end of the scale, height wise – still not very tall! She also loves to station herself on the couch in the livingroom and dare us to turf her off!

She's full of energy, even now that she's more than a puppy. She loves playing with balls and will 'worry' a bone forever before burying it for another day. This was a soup bone  before I gave it to Ruah, and it was thoroughly 'done over' before this photo of a very satisfied dog was taken!

She's been no problem at all to date. It has helped to have the fencing renewed, so that both front and back are safe. I can now open the doors, as I used to, not worrying where the dog is!

She's a very friendly wee soul and just wiggles with delight when acknowledged! The Edinburgh Family quite often refers to her as 'Miss Wiggle'!

She is perhaps not quite as desperate for food as she was... she'll sit and stay till I tell her to "eat it". She has NEVER left any of the very boring dry food uneaten, however!

Ruah's tail is long and it wags from morning till night. She loves other dogs and is fortunate to have little Meacha (a miniature Jack Russell a month younger) at the top of the lane.

My best acquisitions for Ruah have been her crate for the boot of the car and her house crate. The latter she goes into willingly at night and I can also leave her in it if I go out in the evening.

Ruah also loves sleeping on her beanbag, which Sponge and she share.  During the summer she'll probably mostly have a busy morning, with guests to attend to, a bone to really enjoy, a walk to the shop and some playtime with Meacha. She quite happily accepts that Sponge is The Boss - though in early days this did require a number of tests to authenticate!

She enjoys taking selected guests on walks through the village. She's already become more sedate than her wild times as a young puppy - but not too much so, I hope.

I'm sure that you've got the message long before now. Ruah is a little dog and a big success!

She's got a hard act to follow. I wonder what Yarrow would have made of Ruah?

Of course Ruah is not a substitute for him, she's an essential member of my family now and much loved by her numerous two- and four-legged friends.

But Yarrow'll never be forgotten by me and others who loved him.