The dog was happy, anyone could tell that much. But I wasn’t – the hangover was only the start of my problems. My worst problem was that I had no clue where I was or how I got there.

It was my birthday, the twenty-first one, and I’d been taken out by friends to celebrate. When I came to in the morning my shirt was missing, as were my socks, shoes and underwear. That, and I had this dog staring at me like I was some strange, new form of life.

Worse, when I started walking for the road the dog followed me. I guess I should be flattered that this dog is following me – that never happened to me when I was young enough to appreciate it – but I was getting tired of the questions about the dog.