We’ve been walking our neighbour’s dogs. This is while the boat is still in quarantine. The dogs though are clear. It’s got to the point where, when the dogs see us on the opposite pontoon, they begin to whine. They want to go out and smell the neighbourhood. Ok, ok, dogs! We’re coming!

They are a funny pair. Flash the Labrador, is the older dog. He is definitely in charge. He always wants to be out in front. He doesn’t bark much either, except when he decides it’s necessary for the overall safety of the group.

We were walking past the Lighthouse restaurant by the entrance to Harbour Village Marina. There’s a large statue of a person by the front door – a big jolly chef wearing metal glasses. Flash saw it yesterday and, from being a quiet and happy fellow, he suddenly let rip. In fairness, it is a creepy statue. It’s hard not to jump in surprise when Flash barks. He has a huge, deep voice.

We shooed him away. Daisy the Boxer began licking his jaws to calm him down. She generally follows Flash’s lead. She’s only 18-months old and is a girl. Based on this, I think that things might change between this pair. I’ve watched our own Finster go from a carefree young girl dog into a protective older lady. I expect Daisy’s willingness to be led by Flash will also decrease as she gets older. She shows flashes of it now. When Flash doesn’t stop barking, Daisy starts to growl at him. I’ve seen her snap at him on their boat. I wouldn’t like to see a full-on battle between them both. They are both big, powerful dogs.

Daisy the boxer’s owners found her as an abandoned puppy on a lake. She’d been barking for ages on an empty boat. After much difficulty getting Daisy off the boat, they discovered she was microchipped – and tried to return her to her owners. The old owners didn’t want her though. Even their wider family took a look at her and told them to take her to the pound. They didn’t. And now here she is in Bonaire.

Daisy’s a bit jumpy when you walk her. She’s scared to go in certain directions – for example towards the marina cupboard where the bins are. Is she scared that I’m going to lock her in the cupboard and run away? I don’t know. Those big, brown eyes are full of fear. Poor Daisy.

She is such a beautiful-looking dog too. So brown and handsome. Even being a boxer and with the normal slobbering, she looks unexpectedly thoughtful. You’ll have to forgive me. I haven’t had much to do with boxers before. When I took her back to her boat, I told the kids as much.

‘She’s a smart-looking dog. As well as being beautiful.’

One of the kids shook her head while cuddling her. ‘She’s not smart at all. She barks all the time.’

Well, she does bark… a bit. Meanwhile, Daisy licked her human child.