Andy meets a dog with a well rehearsed party trick! 

Posted on by vauclusedreamer

So often we find ourselves chuckling about the odd things involving animals that we’ve seen over the years whilst in Provence including a horse in a flat cap……

The tweed-capped horse at the Caromb Fig Festival

…… the sight of a piglet being walked on a lead in Lourmarin……

Not sure if pig-walking licences are required!

…….or the cat at Roussillon who delights in stretching out & rolling onto its back encouraging visitors to stroke it’s tum under the sign that asks people not to touch!

The Roussillon cat and his sign

Nothing comes close though to my hubby (Andy) and his recent encounter with a particularly canny, quick-witted little dog that suddenly seemed to become his best friend on a trip to the local supermarket in Apt.

Cycling to markets & to do the shopping has becone the norm this summer thanks to the trailer

Andy had cycled down to pick up a few necessities & parked the bike opposite the shop, walking to the marked area to cross the road. As he waited for the cars to pass he realised he’d been joined by an apparently sensible, scruffy little dog, which sat beside him waiting for an opportune moment to cross. 

The dog, who, for the sake of this tale, we’ll call ‘Scruffy’ waited patiently with Andy for a break in the traffic & trotted across the road with him – quite intelligent really & clearly a safety-conscious pooch! 

Andy thought that was it & ‘Scruffy’ had simply used him to get safely across the road and that he would now potter off to have a happy sniff around the nearby park! 

However that turned out not to be the case & it quickly became clear that ‘Scruffy’ had other ideas. As Andy wandered through the automatic doors into the main part of the supermarket he heard the tell-tale ‘tick tick tick’ of claws on tiles & suddenly realised ‘Scruffy’ was back at his heel & looking very pleased with himself.

Now we all know that dogs & Supermarkets don’t really go together and before Andy could do anything ‘Scruffy’ seized his chance & ran straight to the left, taking a flying leap, landing perfectly on the nearby ice-filled counter, packed with beautifully displayed fresh fish .

OK this isn’t the actual fish counter, but one from a local market – just to help you picture the scene

In the moments it took for anyone to really realise what was happening he managed to assess the stock, picking up a particularly plump fish in his mouth, before flicking his tail and hopping down with his prize & scampering off.

Now things like this always seem to happen in slow-motion & it just seemed that time stopped for the instant that ‘Scruffy’ committed his daring crime, with everyone drawing a collective breath, hardly believing what they were seeing. Suddenly though the spell broke and pandemonium was unleashed!

With a second flick of his tail ‘Scruffy’ leapt from the counter with his prize catch & started to run around the store, dashing between shoppers’ legs & bashing into trolleys as he tried to make his escape, with the fish flapping either side of his head! Staff members were chasing him & yelling as he skidded around the aisles trying to find an escape route. 

In the midst of all this, attention turned to Andy, surely it was his dog as it had walked in with him? 

How could anyone suspect a man willing to carry Miss Daisy’s basket of doing anything wrong?

Andy found himself being yelled at by the Security Guard who asked if it was his dog – now this is a sign of how much Andy’s French has improved this summer thanks to Marina at http://www.franci-discendum.com/ 

Not only did he understand what he was being asked, but managed to shout back in perfect French that it wasn’t his dog at all, whilst leaping out of the way to avoid being slapped across the back of the legs with a wet fish as ‘Scruffy’ ran past again, clearly having a wonderful game!

After what seemed like minutes of chaos ‘Scruffy’ saw his chance and dashed out through the doors as they opened to let another customer in. He certainly didn’t look back as he scampered out across the carpark with his ‘lunch’, leaving a trail of destruction & bewildered customers and staff in his path!
Calm quickly returned to the store, although Andy felt he was being kept under a close eye by the security guard who still seemed convinced it was his dog & was clearly looking for evidence to support his theory (perhaps Andy would put a tin of dog food in his basket?)

One thing for certain is that ‘Scruffy’ ate really well that day & to be honest you can’t really begrudge him his meal after the efforts he went to to get it. 

However I think next time Andy goes shopping there he’ll make sure he isn’t used as an accomplice to such a daring heist again & ‘Scruffy’ will have to look out for a new partner-in-crime!

You have been warned! 

Sharing this blog via this month’s #AllAboutFrance on the Lou Messugo blog http://www.loumessugo.com/en/blog/entry/all-about-france-link-up/ 

sharing this blog via this week’s #AnimalTales on the eco-gites.blogspot.fr page
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 Our own dog doing her best to look ‘hard’ & failing miserably!

43 thoughts on “Andy meets a dog with a well rehearsed party trick! ”

  7. Ha ha! A great story. I loved reading it – and enjoyed the photos too. Your shopping trolley trailer is a brilliant idea. I’m a big fan of strange signs and will often stop to photograph something that catches my attention, so I particularly liked the cat sign.

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    1. Thanks – I have a feeling Any will be looking over his shoulder next time he heads to the local Intermarché- just in case! The trailer has been so useful & during the summer it was certainly quicker to cycle to the shops than drive!

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  11. What a funny story! Some animals are so clever! I wonder if the dog uses this trick in one shop after another, picking out an unsuspecting “mark” and just walking in like he belongs to someone. Thanks for the laugh. I also enjoyed the photos of the other animals too.

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  12. Great story! We have often been followed by hopeful dogs in France. A few years ago we went for a long walk along a particularly lovely stretch of river. Right at the start, a hunting dog greeted us and then walked with us the whole way. When we stopped for a picnic halfway around, she got very agitated, since she wanted to continue. We walked past a couple of old boys who said, “Is that your dog?” – probably knowing perfectly well that it wasn’t. At least this makes a change from dogs who rush out from farmyards and attack your car tyres or – worse – you when you’re on a bike.

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    1. It certainly was a dog looking for an opportunity!! We have a French Bulldog living in the hamlet & when I got back from a cycle today she followed me into the house, up the stairs & waited till I found her a biscuit!! Slightly good-obsessed I think

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    1. Thanks and hello back – hope the weather is as nice there with you as it has been here today! Unfortunately the dog isn’t as gorgeous as she looks – living on Dartmoor she tends to be wet, very smelly & constantly trying to eat sheep poo!!

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  15. Brilliant story, can just imagine it happening! Think I’d have ended up looking very guilty, just by association with the dog. I like the photo of the cat under the sign too, would love to know the full story. #allaboutfrance

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    1. Thanks – pleased you enjoyed it – I think Andy did look guilty too! I think the cat probably just gets pestered a lot as it is in the centre of Roussillon, which is always busy with tourists, but not sure

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  16. Oh this is absolutely brilliant and I have a strange feeling this is not the first time that “Scruffy” has done this! #AllABoutFrance
    PS – blatant plug coming up – I host the #AnimalTales link up every other Tuesday on my other Blog (A Green and Rosie Life) and I would LOVE it were you to join up with this post.

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  17. Haha what a brilliant story! Hilarious!! I love the way you told it, and your accompanying photos too (especially the horse in a flat cap!) #AllAboutFrance

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  18. Good on Scruffy – his daring escapade certainly made me laugh! Made me think about the time a little ‘Scruffy’ dog followed us home on a walk and sat barking at our front door until my hubby gave in, put him in the car and took him home!

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