We've just got back from Devon where we spent a couple of days at my mate Andy's house. Kai just treats it as home from home. The fire was lit, and he just crashed in front of it straight away.

The kids (Jonathan, Oliver and Emma) fell in love with Monty. He seems to have that effect on people. And he latched on to Oli straight away.

The journey down was a bit traumatic; Monty just couldn't hold it in, and we had a boot full of greyhound poo on the M42. Not pleasant. A pit stop at Hopwood services to clean dogs and car (Gill used Chanel No. 5 to make the car smell a bit better!!), and we were on the way again, with no further accidents.

Like Kai, Monty soon discovered that in front of the fire was a great place to be, and soon chilled out, having of course explored the whole house.

Justin (Peggy's mate) turned up with Tess, a collie/cocker spaniel cross. She fancied Kai big time, but he played hard to get. Considering the three dogs had never met before, it was amazing how well they got on.

One of the great things about Andy's place is that Thurlstone beach is just down the road. Kai loves it there; charging up and down it like a mad thing, and going rock hopping with the boys. On the first visit Monty wasn't too sure about the sand, and the sea was a definite no no. But by the second day we were ready to go for it, and he tried a bit of rock pooling too.

A minimum of four walks a day, plenty of love and food, and an open fire ensured that all the dogs were totally knackered. So despite the long journey and different surroundings, Monty decided that this was an OK place to be, and started to come out of his shell and went to anyone that called him. It amazes me that dogs that have obviously been badly treated are still prepared to trust humans.

The journey back was totally uneventful, except that Arsenal scored at Newcastle just before half time, much to Gill's pleasure (she's a Gunner).