Fake dog

I had some great feedback about owning a dog on my Facebook page, mostly from friends who are dog owners. It has definitely put me off: Everything from the cost of replacing damaged furniture to hiring dog walkers and finding time to take it to the vet, through to some of the more colourful medical conditions they get (swollen anal glands, anyone?)

I bought Marlo a life-size Dalmation for her birthday and I have to say it's pretty convincing. A neighbour saw me arrive home with it on the back of my bike a couple of months ago, but even she did a double take from her garden when she saw it propped up against the window. I'm hoping that potential burglars will see it when they poke their faces over the fence and think it's real. Regardless, the neighbours on the other side are chipping in to buy a security gate for our communal alleyway this summer so no-one will be able to get to our garden gate once that goes in.

But it's not all gloom and doom and dwelling on burglars - I found a wall mounted bottle opener at Oliver Bonas for £8.50 and it's been useful to have in the garden when there are beers to be drunk.

Dog eats dog

We got the official letter from MoreThan rejecting our insurance claim. No idea why it takes so long to get correspondence sorted but considering we were burgled almost five months ago it does seem extraordinarily drawn out. Anyway, their explanation was that they considered the burglary a "walk in". I wrote back explaining that coming down a private road to the last house, scaling a high (locked) gate and jimmying a lock sounds a lot more sinister than a careless, opportunistic "walk in" and pointed out that the forensics expert and PC who came round said they could've picked the lock in under five minutes. Regardless, I feel better for challenging their decision as I'm sure most people don't.

As we have a police monitored alarm on when we're not in the house it's actually more attractive for burglars to strike when we're at home (though they're assuming we don't sleep with it on).

My Plan B was to get a dog. I've mentioned the Boston Terrier in other posts so here it is again (pictured top). Not only is it considered a good guard dog it seems the perfect dog for lazy owners: "This breed of dog loves playtime. However, when it comes to actual exercise, only moderate activity is required. While you could take the Boston Terrier for a long walk, it is not necessary. Typically, a short walk a few times a week would suffice."

Someone, please, talk me out of it before I weaken...