A failed experiment

It was past time for me to be the one who had Joe over here for dinner, so I invited him last night. Told him to bring Georgie, as I wanted to see how Maisie reacted to a dog. (Yes, the notion of getting a dog is still on my mind.)

Maisie was outside somewhere when they arrived. Joe had brought Georgie on her lead as a precaution. No sign of Maisie while we were having dinner. Georgie did enjoy licking the plates.

After dinner we decided to try to find a film to watch. Neither of us had seen Anatomy of a Fall, so we opted for that. Before we started playing it, I went to the door and called Maisie, who came running. Scooped her up into my arms in the kitchen and brought her into the livingroom. She didn’t struggle at first when she spotted Georgie. Unfortunately Georgie’s reaction to seeing her was far from calm. Loud barking and straining on the leash. Maisie did start struggling then. Put her down in the bedroom where she shot straight under the bed.

We started watching the film. A short while later I heard the cat flap.

If you haven’t seen Anatomy of a Fall, I do recommend it, not least for the courtroom scenes. For those like me, who are used to the British trial system, which forms the basis of the US, Canadian and other systems, watching the trial take place in this French courtroom was a real eye opener. No one witness sitting in the box, being questioned in turn by the defence and prosecution. Oh, no. This is a much more freewheeling proposition with the defendant able to state that the witness is wrong, with the prosecutor able to turn to the defendant to ask what they have to say for themselves about the testimony of others. Joe and I had to stop the film a couple of times to voice our surprise that this was really the way trials are conducted in France. When he got home he did some googling and found this article confirming that, yes indeed, this is how French trials are run. After reading the article I found myself thanking heavens that the Wankmaggot’s trial is not taking place in France, where he would be allowed to interject at will. Much, much better to be tried under the US system where he has to sit still, doze off, fart and Shut Up.

Tried calling out to Maisie after Joe and Georgie were gone, but she was having none of it. Lured her in an hour later by rattling the dry food tin and putting some out for her, but she only came in as far as the kitchen, ate some food and took off outside again. Eventually she came in of her own accord, but not for long. Oh, dear.

Happily, she was sleeping on the bed with me when I woke up this morning, so I’m hoping she has forgiven me for this failed experiment.

There may be a dog out there with whom Maisie can happily co-exist, but it ain’t Georgie.