You may be wondering why I, a Labrador no longer in the first flush of youth, should want to write this book. In fact, my people said they would take me with them, for their two weeks afloat, providing that I wrote the holiday diary. Only close relatives of my people would read the finished manuscript, so there’d be no pressure. There were to be several occasions when I regretted my decision.

However, some of my readers felt that the diary should reach a wider audience so here it is, complete with photographs. And, since I often act as a sort of unofficial ‘Hearing Dog’ (I was never able to take the exams) for my Mum, I thought it would be admirable if a portion of the profits from this slim volume could support the work of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.