After a couple of depressing attempts to adopt a dog from Dog Rescue centres we were quite exasperated. The procedures at some of them appear to be designed to prevent the dogs finding their forever homes. For example, we saw a dog of the same cross breed as Kevin, which was Collie/German Shepherd, through a charity operating in this county. We rang up to fix a time to see her and hear about her history. We could see her at the foster home, but if we liked her it could be weeks before a home visit took place – as we are on the edge of their area. I explained that we’d been inspected by our local dog rescue but that wasn’t good enough – they want to inspect themselves. With the price of petrol and administrative costs I’d have thought the results form a well-known charity would be good enough. So we regretfully cancelled the visit. Suppose my heart went out to this dog and she was going to stay in foster care for another month?

Our next step was to go back to the breed-specific rescue organisations: none had any dogs in this area.

Then, in desperation, I searched to see if there were any fully grown Welsh Terriers available. This has always been a favourite breed of mine, and I decided to have a quick look online to see. I am against buying puppies as I feel this encourages puppy farming. Well, I searched and could not believe my eyes when a pic of a cute little Welsh Terrier bitch appeared on the screen, with a rehoming ad. from her owners. I rang the phone number immediately to see if she was still looking for a home and offered to take her. One small matter – she was living near Manchester and we are in Sussex, but there are so few opportunities to find a nice dog like this that we decided to make the journey. We have some family living nearby, so that made the trip more sensible.

The Portuguese Water Dog – is it the right breed for you?

So, the Obamas have finally added that new puppy to their family, and his cute little face is staring at you from every newspaper/magazine/website you come across and suddenly you find yourself thinking “Aawww… he’s so sweet. I want one of those”

But wait…. just because the ‘First Family’ has one, it doesn’t mean YOU should! Every dog breed is different, with different needs, behavior, and requirements – and every home is different too. Read more »

If you live anywhere in the UK you will be aware of the chaos that has resulted from this week’s snowfall. because we are not accustomed to very cold weather we do not have much of the equipment that snowy lands use to ensure business as usual. The snow arrived here in Sussex on Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday most airports were closed, and trains remained in their sidings.

Trixie’s owner was booked to fly back from Belfast on Tuesday evening, and as I write this on Friday he has still not been able to get a flight to Gatwick. So Trixie has stayed here for another two days, lapping up the attention she receives! This well behaved Jack Russell has been a star guest at three of our Christmas church services, and is enjoying herself playing snowballs. Unfortunately I have to take her walking in the cold, but that is the responsibility of caring for dogs, I guess. When we took her to the beach shown in this photo, my hands were so cold that I went to the ladies’ simply to warm them up using the hand dryers.

Tomorrow Trixie is due to leave us, and she will be sorely missed.

To The Dogs

I don’t know what I would do without my dog. The unconditional love that she gives is something I cherish. It truly makes the heart sing. Then there are those big brown eyes, elegant muzzle, wagging tail and eager demeanor. What’s not to love? Read more »

Toy Dogs are the Hottest New Fashion Accessory

There is a hot new fashion accessory that is gracing the arm of top celebs and the covers of many fashion magazines today. This fashion accessory is a one size fits all. What is this great fashion accessory that you must have now? It is a toy dog in your arm. Read more »

As the anniversary of losing our dear Kev loomed, I wondered how deep the pit of mourning would become as I recalled the anguish of allwoing his life to end.  But in the event we had a very lucky break, after a chance meeting at a party.  A man with a Jack Russell was also invited, and of course I could not resist getting to know the cute animal.  It turns out that he adopted the dog, Trixie, a couple of months ago but he had plans to travel to Belfast for Christmas.  The procedures for taking an animal across the water are long and convoluted, and Trixie did not possess a pet passport.  I could not resist offering to care for Trixie over the holiday, and she arrived on 16th December.  As she sat by my desk and I looked at the photos of Kev on my custom mouse pads the pain was just a little bit less than it has been through the whole year.