Come with me to Saturday morning.  The normally dusty car park is transformed into a vibrant, colourful market.  Stalls piled high with organic fruit and vegetables, bread, cheese, olives, cakes, wine and all sorts of delicious indulgences.  The smells of fabulous food cooking and coffee roasting fill the air.

Our eyes meet across that market.  Transfixed.  We only have eyes for each other.  Everything else fades from view.  I move slowly forward.  My smile gets bigger and bigger and bigger.  Faster and faster and faster she wags her tail.  She loves me!

Woof!  Woof!

Hello human people.  My name is Malacara.  You can call me Cara.  I was born on 9 April 2014, so I’m over 21 in doggie years.  You might think my name means bad face in English, but that can’t be right, can it?!.  You humans think I’m gorgeous.  Hello, gorgeous girl, you say.

In fact, I’m named after a coffee bean from El Salvador.  You see, my human daddy, Lawrence, is a coffee roaster and runs the coffee stall in the market.  I’m his favourite coffee and can you blame him.  I’m gorgeous!

I even look like coffee with my coffee-coloured fur.  Right now, I’m just back from the groomers, so I look like coffee-coloured, crushed velvet and you humans all want to stroke me!

On Saturdays, Lyn the human comes to the market and we go out to play together in the local park.

In the early days, Lyn was worried that I might forget her from one week to the next.  But, I’m not stupid, you know.  My mummy’s a field spaniel and my daddy’s a poodle, so I’m pretty clever.  Unless she was planning some kind of smell transplant, of course I would remember her.

When we first went out together, Lyn used to keep me on the lead.  I think she was scared I might run off and do battle with the traffic.  Fortunately, it was a very long lead so I could chase other dogs and play happily, but Lyn could never quite keep up.  I can run quite fast, you know.  In fact, I sometimes fancy myself as a greyhound or a whippet.  They have long legs that help them run really fast.  I only have little legs, so I have to be a little bit canny.  When we’re running round and round in circles, suddenly, I cut across the circle and create the illusion of being as fast as they are!

Lyn loves me.  She thinks I’m gorgeous.  And I try to make the most of that.

When Lyn first arrives at the market, I give her my bone.  Isn’t that nice of me.  It makes her feel very special while she holds it firmly for me so I can easily lick out all the yummy bone marrow.

In the park, Lyn throws the ball for me.  I run and fetch it.  We play tug of war with sticks.  She throws the ball again, I fetch it.  When I get tired, I hang onto the ball.  Lyn thinks I look gorgeous, sporting a pink or purple ball, clenched firmly between my very strong teeth.

When I get thirsty, I don’t have to share a water bowl with all the other doggies.  Lyn fills a bottle with lovely cool water and hand feeds it to me, as I lap the water from her paw.

As soon as I see Lyn put her hand in her pocket – that’s where she keeps my treats, I sit nicely, butter wouldn’t melt!  My big brown eyes gaze up at her and I know she’ll give me a treat.

When I’m tired and I’ve had enough, I head off towards the edge of the park and Lyn knows it’s time to go.  We go back to the market for coffee and bones.  Lyn’s good value really … she holds my bone, throws the ball, feeds me water and gives me treats.  And then it’s a final cuddle and she’s off.  I gaze after her as she walks into the distance.

Woof!  Woof!  She loves me.  She thinks I’m gorgeous!