We have a pile of dogs. They range from medium size to very small, not stinky to very stinky, biddable to totally ignoring us. They all go in the cut on a fairly regular basis for a variety of reasons (yes, they all have lifejackets) and none of them like the shower after. All of our dogs are rescue dogs – with the exception of Billy who we fostered and never gave back. Here they are:
Betty the Duchess. Betty is an ancient collie, gentle, beautifully behaved, soft and lovely to stroke. My dog shaped shadow, she follows me around the house and garden, often sitting directly behind me waiting to try to trip me over or get accidentally trodden on. If I am not at work, Betty goes everywhere with me, in the car, to the boat, to the shops, short and long walks, visiting people when we are allowed. Annoyingly she like to hide in corners, preferably behind furniture, the best places being behind the little tables I keep houseplants on so she can knock them over every time she moves. Which is every time someone in the house moves. And yes, I know I should move them but Betty likes hiding behind them so the hoover can just keep on hoovering up soil and the plants seem to be surviving. Betty’s only real flaw is that she intensely dislikes sharp sudden movements and is not keen on small children, so if you see us out and about please check before giving her attention (same for any dog really). Betty will just look at us with her big brown eyes and, frankly, she can have whatever she wants.
Note on Betty – even Keith is smitten, he makes toast for the dogs every morning but Betty gets butter on hers.
Harry. Harry is a jack russell and basenji (I think!) cross around 5 years old. She has lived with us since she was about 18 months old and had spent much of her life in kennels. Because of this, she is quite vocal and does not cope on her own without other dogs – she is absolutely devoted to Alan (see below). Harry is Erin’s dog really and is just boarding with us until Erin buys her own house, although I’m pretty sure that this will mean Harry will be with us until she dies. Or I die. She is lively, very energetic, inquisitive and intelligent. Unfortunately due to our work requirements she doesn’t get the attention she deserves so can get a bit focussed on the wrong thing – like the bins! Harry is great in the car (I always take Betty and Harry on car journeys and let Keith have the other 2) and loves the boat. She especially likes the log burner and will sit with her nose an inch away from it all night
Technically, this is Harry and daughter number 1. But I won’t tell her I’ve put this photo up…
Alan. What can I say about Alan? He is small and blonde. I’ve no idea what mixture of mongrel he is. He is a princess! He has lived with us for about 4 years and we have no idea about his history. We were looking for another dog after losing George (very old grumbly dog) and on a whim decided to visit a local independent dog rescue. They had just picked up this sorry little scrap of a grey thing who was wandering the streets and had not been able to get near him since. He was in a large cage huddled at the back, not even looking up when people walked in, just shivering. After a little while he came to have a look at me and when we left he tried to follow us out. We had to wait a week to see if anyone claimed him – it was a tough week but I dreamed about George who said it was ok for us to have Alan (I know some lovely psychiatrists!). So he came to us and turned out to be blonde, really soft, great to cuddle and an complete attention whore. Sadly, his baggage has left him with severe separation anxiety.
Billy. Our tiniest dog also ancient. In fact, I’m pretty sure that he has actually died and is decomposing from the inside out he smells sooooo bad. The vet thinks he is fine by the way. We had Billy as a young dog from Keiths nephew when they were having landlord issues and he just never went back. He is yappy and annoying but adores me, which clearly is his main redeeming feature (he has been a great little dog actually, apart from nipping my heels when he gets excited). Millie adores him and gives him loads of cuddles despite the smell!
I realise I have added an extra dog, this is Belinda on the right. We sadly lost her in spring 2020 and still miss her very much. She is currently doing a fantastic job of feeding the roses!
Oh and who could forget George!! His ashes are still sitting behind me, I’ve no idea where to put him and I get the general feeling that he isn’t too bothered.
