• 

There is definitely something about Dylan. A rather brisk efficiency in the mix, a sense of purpose, but also decency I think. If a job needs doing, Dylan will get it done.

But then there’s this: the studio glamour shot.

Oh my word – what have we got here? My first impression is of heart-warming decency and barely tolerable levels of charm and personality. If Dylan were on tv, he’d be a Blue Peter presenter. And I don’t mean as a pet. No, he’d be a genuine presenter. One of the good ones. Deeply, deeply wholesome, but (or do I mean ‘and’?) so likeable. Look at those eyes, that gentle wash of colour, that smile! What a love of a dog. You would put yourself entirely in his hands as he explained how to make an illegal raid on the larder using only a cardboard tube, some double-sided sticky tape and a pipe cleaner.

For I hear from his owner that Dylan can be very naughty. I can’t believe it. I don’t know the details, and haven’t pried (it’s better not to believe all we hear of our heroes). Let’s just look deep into the eyes of Dylan, and be grateful that such decency exists in the world.

And can I also add, before starting, that that ear cracks me up. Does it ever go down?

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Here’s a proper action shot – as befitting a true Blue Peter action hero:

And that’s a close-up of my 1960s Irish Singer industrial machine. I’ll have to give it its own glamour shot one of these days to give a sense of scale. It is a beast of a machine. Goodness knows how we ever managed to get it upstairs!

Back to Dylan:

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Here are the whiskers about to go in.

And finally, Dylan finds his Liberty print dream home.