April is the month of puppies and this year we shall have three; a pug each for Beatrice, Florence and Celestia. Whilst this might sound like canine excess it is actually carefully thought through. After years of lobbying they are finally at an age where we feel (under our supervision) they are capable of investing maturely in little pug-lets. In return, they will receive that mysterious blessing only a canine – appropriately loved and cherished – can bestow. As my wife Sybilla said, what is the point of living in the sort of setting we live in, with all the additional work that it brings (vs a townhouse, say), if you can’t go long on dogs. I imagine our family has had a better than average lockdown, for which we are grateful, but it still tells, albeit subtly, on the children. Dogs are our oldest evolutionary partners. Evidence for the partnership pre-dates the appearance of homo sapiens itself, so I could think of no better medicine. The love I had for my first dog had a certain sweetness to it that I can still catch in the air when I think about it.