Doggy Tale

Here’s a doggy tale I heard the other day which made me laugh. I was in conversation in the local watering hole with a chap who is now in his senior years.

Meet Eric

Eric is a very nice man, one of those guys that if you were in a bar on your own, you wouldn’t mind him coming over to you and having a chat. Which is what happened! Apparently, Eric’s been living in the village for nearly twenty years. After the usual ‘Hi, I’m Eric, who are you?’ introductions, he started to tell me a very funny doggy tale. Well, it had me rolling about the place, laughing like a man possessed.

Cost Appraisal Surveyor

In a former life, Eric told me he held the position of ‘Cost Appraisal Surveyor’ for a painting and decorating company. I think it’s a fancy title for an estimator. At the time of his ‘fancy titled’ employment, his company were working mainly in high-end properties in the centre of London. Think Holland Park, Swiss Cottage, those kinds of residencies.

Meet Chipper

At one appointment, he was met by a very well spoken lady in her early 40’s. The house was a huge 3 story Georgian property that the owners wanted decorating from top to bottom. Armed with his clipboard and pencil, (this was long before the iPad), Eric rang the doorbell to be greeted by a maid. The maid invited him in whereupon he was met by a large, over welcoming slobbering Boxer dog. Eric wasn’t impressed, but as he was visiting a prospective customer he didn’t complain.

Paint It Black

A while passed before the lady of the house turned up, introduced herself and then took Eric to the first of many rooms that needed his professional appraisal. She had everything planned out for each room, the colour schemes, wallpaper patterns, plasterwork and so on. As they passed from room to room, then floor to floor, the dog followed giving Eric plenty of slob on the way. It was becoming very awkward, to say the least, but being the true professional he was, he never complained.

Bewilderment

It was while coming to the end of the appointment, somewhere on the third floor that the lady of the house turned to Eric and asked, “Do you always bring your dog with you on your appraisals?” Eric, somewhat bewildered, looked at her aghast. “It’s not my dog!” he replied. To which they both simultaneously let out an “Oh my goodness.” Eric said he wanted to say something else, but his better judgement decided against it. Luckily the dog had a tag around its neck with an address which was only a few doors away.

Here’s a link to the Dogs Trust