It's a Management Perk (apparently)

Dear anonymous greenkeeper, I am an assistant at a golf club in the north of England.

I've been here a few years.

I like the club, I like the job, and generally speaking, like the people I work with.

There are eight of us in the greenkeeping team.

Head greenkeeper, deputy, first assistant, assistants, and an apprentice.

Pretty standard setup.

And until about three weeks ago, I would have said that we were a fairly happy team.

Not perfect, but what greenkeeping team is.

There are arguments over who left the sprayer dirty, who didn't fuel the rough mower, who has mysteriously lost the 13mm socket again, and who managed to use the last of something without telling anybody else.

Normal, standard stuff.

But recently I've managed to fall out with my head greenkeeper over something I genuinely never imagined could become an issue.

A dog.

More specifically, my dog.

Although technically, I suppose it's my parents' dog.

Or was.

They've had him for about four years, but recently things have changed at home and they were struggling with him.

Nothing sinister.

He's not aggressive or badly behaved.

He is just quite a demanding dog.

He needs walking.

He doesn't particularly enjoy being left alone.

My parents are getting older and they've eventually admitted that having him was becoming too much.

So I've taken him in.

And that's where this story starts.

Because dogs aren't exactly unusual at our golf club.