Meet Karvanista, from Lupari. Designated Human: Ruprecht

A not so recent addition to the garden is Karva, a companion for Saxon, Time Lord, AKA The Master.

Saxon (cleverly disguised as a brown labradoodle) has been a resident of the gardens, past and present, since she came to us 14 years ago. She has served us well - chewing sprinkler systems, burying bones, chasing rabbits - and is in constant attendance as we toil away at our garden chores. She has lost some of her Time Lord powers - keen sight and hearing - but has retained her sense of smell, as well as being just a little bit smelly.

Legend has it that a younger companion gives life to an aging Time Lord, so Karva was introduced into the family. Karva is a younger male, past the infancy stage, and although Ruprecht is his designated human, his raison d’etre is to keep Saxon from regenerating too soon.

Karva is a delightful addition to the garden. We spent the first weeks fixing up his escape routes as he was on a mission to return to Lupar. He is much more content to roam the garden now but is still very keen to explore the world beyond our gates.

Karva’s mission in life is to keep Ruprecht from harm. Some could say he’s failing miserably. Where was he when Ruprecht fought with the brush cutter? Brush cutter 1, Ruprecht 0. Karva failed to force Ruprecht to seek medical advice. Betadine and bandaids…. that’ll stop the flow of blood and stop the infection!

To his credit Karva has learnt to adapt to life at Rancho Relaxo quickly, even though it is so very different from Lupar. Although the Lupari are a warrior breed, he respects the sovereignty of Queen Sammi, who only hisses at him occasionally now. His favourite thing to do is to eat and his very favourite food is Natural Cracker Co. Farmhouse Cheddar.

And does Saxon, Time Lord, have a new lease on life? No. She will join in when Karva seeks attention…FOMO….but is more than happy to lie down, sleep, lie down and sleep some more. She vaguely remembers balls are for racing after but looks on benignly as Karva give chase and wears himself out. She does have moments when she forgets she is old (don’t we all) and will suddenly bounce about the garden, doing a mini woohoo around one tree. It used to be 5 laps of the garden, but that’s one for the memory book. 10 years of memories, if you care to follow click here.

Does Karva enrich life at Rancho Relaxo? Yes! Two weird and wonderful dogs and an adorable autocratic cat bring us joy. They are the comic relief in the story of life at Rancho Relaxo, not that we lack the lighter moments of life.