Meet Conan - not the Barbarian warrior played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film of the same name, but a 5-month-old lurcher from Islington.
Conan is adorable and bouncingly happy, like all puppies, yet he already betrays that delicate and languid lurcher charm.
For such a young dog, he showed great manners, and the moment he saw a treat in my hand he dutifully extended his slender paw to me as if to say: "I know that game. Here's my paw, now you give me that treat."
He was to get several more, as I was completely won over by his fabulously good looks and great personality.
His owner told me that, like all puppies, Conan loves food, walks and chewing things; a TV remote control and a couple of credit cards being his latest victims. One cannot help thinking that "less telly and shopping, more walks" could have been Conan's inspiration for this act of destruction. I strongly suspect that Conan was quickly forgiven for his chewing crimes, as he is so impossibly cute and charming.
To read more about lurchers and greyhounds, please see another lurcher, called MacPherson, and a greyhound called Alfie.
