Happy Birthday, Islay

Ten today!
Well, today is her official birthday, like the Queen. We have no idea when her real birthday is, as she was a rescue dog. All we do know is that she was about 7 or 8 months old when we first met her, so May 1st seemed like a good date to choose.
She wasn't originally our dog at all. We used to know an antique dealer known as Scotch Annie, who lived above the launderette. She kept cats. Fergus, the ginger tom, was known for attending all the concerts at the neighbouring chapel - he just sauntered in every time he saw a queue forming. Heather was a tiny Korat cat - and it was Heather who ruled the roost.
Annie's friend convinced her that what she really, really needed was a little dog who could go with her in her van on buying trips to keep her company. Reluctantly, Annie agreed, and went to Brecon Hunt Kennels, where local strays are taken. When she told them what she wanted, they just showed her one dog - Islay.
We met her on New Year's Eve - so it was inevitable that she should get a whisky name. We were drinking Laphroig at the time, but all agreed that it wasn't a girly name, or one easy to call when you wanted the dog to come back to you.
Islay loved her new home, but Heather took umbrage - to the extent of a roof top protest, when she started to live in one of the hot air vents of the launderette. It was clear that this was a case of "the dog goes, or I go".
By this time, my ex husband and I had fallen in love with her, and we couldn't see her go back to the Hunt Kennels, so she moved in with us and our two incredibly tolerant cats (Cathcart still lives down the road at a previous address, but Malkin was sadly run over on the road a few years ago).
It wasn't long before she found her niche in Hay life, as a shop dog at the Children's Bookshop. There were times that we thought that we only existed in order to look after Islay so she could brighten up other people's lives! Now she's also a re-enactment dog, and much loved by school children when they spend a day being Vikings at my friends' farm (see the Drudion link, if you're interested in what they do).
Everyone knows Islay.