I woke up this morning and was greeted by my sausage dog Chester. He’s a lovely dog and always cheerful. He makes me smile and he reminded me that I’m lucky to meet so many other fluffy canines in my day-to-day work.

From big and small to yappy and placid the dogs I meet generally enrich my working day.

I had a very odd day on Monday. I turned up at a property and the vendor showed me the gas meter under the stairs. The house itself was not in the best order. For example, the bay window being held up by acro props…but that’s a story for another day! Anyway, I smelt gas, but the owners advised me it was just furniture polish. They did not generally seem the type of people to use furniture polish and so I was not convinced. I called the gas board and the gas engineer straight away said they had a gas leak.

What I find interesting is that you would imagine that the homeowners would have been pleased that the gas leak had been discovered. This was not the case. They were very upset as their gas had to be capped off and their gas fire was condemned. I was glad to conclude my inspection as the atmosphere throughout was quite uncomfortable. However, my day was enriched by a beautiful little labrador puppy that was being walked out on the pavement. Its owner was very proud of Poppy, and she was more than happy to show off the little dog. Even on days which don’t go to plan I find small things can cheer up your day and Poppy was one of them.

 

I did not feel like laughing at the time, but I can laugh now! Another surveying day was not quite so enriched by Douglas, a springer spaniel. He was so happy to meet me that he peed all up my trouser leg and foot. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I had not got two surveys booked for that day and if it hadn’t been so hot! I didn’t smell all that fragrant! However, Douglas was an old boy, and I made time, mid-way through survey to stop and give him some fuss. He looked at me in a way, with big dopey eyes, which said ‘I’m sorry’.

Two days ago, I met Sylvia, a ‘yappy’ terrier. She was very jumpy but after chatting with the vendor I came to learn she was a rescue dog and had been ill treated by her previous owners. I managed to make friends and come the end of my visit she was following me around. I really liked Sylvia.

Sylvia lived at Dunkeswell. I drive through this place, on the Blackdown Hills, but never stop. However, today I did because being a West Country Surveyor is also about loving the area of the world we work and live in. Dunkeswell is known for having a busy small airfield, which was initially established as an American Navy air base during the Second World War. I took 5 minutes out of my day to reflect and see the war memorial which has a large propeller attached.

The final gorgeous doggy I made friends with this week lived at a house in Watchet. He was large but very docile and reminded me of Eeyore in dog form. As it was hot his owner gave him some dog ice-cream while I was there. This made me want ice-cream! I stopped and bought a large ice cream with cone and flake in this little coastal town which has an active Marina. It’s a very sweet little place in Devon, and as I sat and ate my ice-cream, I watched the tourists milling in and out of the little independent shops. It was a good day.

BIO:

Erica Bond is a residential surveyor at West Country surveyors and her bio can be found here