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Polly
Dog Blog 2017
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Sunday
1st January |
Happy New Year everyone.
Can't say I am very keen on all these fireworks going
off. All around us are explosions and loud banging. Boss
Woman says not to worry and that when I wake up in the
morning it will be quiet again. Hope so, they are scaring
me and Amber to death. Apparently Boss Woman has signed
us up for a 1000 mile challenge walk. We have to walk
1000 miles during 2017. Not sure if she is trying to wear
our legs out or what but I think she forgets that me and
Amber are no spring chickens anymore. Boss Woman is touting
around for sponsorship for us, with the money going to
our friends at www.sbtrescue.co.uk, if you would care
to sponsor us then please do. Not
many dogs are as fortunate as me and Polly so we want
to try and help other unfortunate dogs if we can. Even
1p per mile would be very very welcome.
|
Tuesday
3rd January |
A
lovely walk today from Caversham, but a bit muddy on the
paths though. Passed some nosey cows that were looking over
the fence at us and of course Boss Woman had to stroke and
have a conversation with them. Her gloves were filthy when
she had finished stroking their heads, serves her right
for being so chatty. Same when we saw some horses, she had
to have a chat with them as well while me and Amber were
sat waiting patiently for her on the muddy freezing cold
ground. When Boss Woman stroked the nose of one of the horses,
she felt a big massive rose thorn stuck in it, so she pulled
it out. The horse did look suitably grateful. The horse
kept sniffing Boss Woman's glove, it probably could smell
the stinky cow smell on it. While
Boss Woman was speaking to another horse further down the
lane, it leaned right over the fence and started trying
to pull my fur out on my back. I was very good though and
I didn't growl or anything, I just stood up and walked away.
I wasn't scared of it, even though it was about 20 times
bigger than me. It really ought to learn the difference
between my brown fur and green grass though and I don't
think I look a bit like a bale of hay. |
Friday
6th January |
Jesse
the very handsome French Bulldog caught us up on our walk
in the woods today. He is still a bit annoying but nothing
like as bad as he used to be. Anyway, after me and Amber
growled at him a few times and chased him around a bit,
he soon got to learn who is the boss and then he walked
nicely with us. |
Monday
9th January |
2
dodgy looking people knocked on the door so me and Amber
ran out to see who they were. They were TERRIFIED of us.
Apparently they were collecting for some charity and wanted
Boss Woman's Bank details so she could give a regular donation.
The little guy was saying to Boss Woman "How many dogs
do you have" and the dodgy woman asked if we were guard
dogs. Well Boss Woman saw them off and we helped her by
glaring at them. I didn't like them one bit and even Amber
didn't wag her tail at them. Boss Woman said that if she
had any money spare she would give to the charity of her
choice, not to some strangers knocking on the door asking
for Bank details. Seriously? Yes they
were scared of us so I don't think they will be back in
a hurry. |
Saturday
14th January |
We
went into the local pet shop yesterday and Boss Woman asked
the lady there if she would sponsor me and Amber for our
1000 mile walk challenge. Honestly, you would think Boss
Woman was asking her if she would rehome me! Take that as
a NO then. LOL. Met some interesting people today in the
woods. Man had 5 (or was it 6?) spaniels, all vying for
attention from MY Boss Woman to chuck sticks for them. Cheek
of it. He also had a Jack Russell puppy that he had taken
off some 'travellers', apparently the kids there were swinging
it around by it's back legs so the man paid £20 for
it just so he could rescue it from a life of cruelty. What
a nice man. Another man had 2 dogs, 1 of which was a Wheaten
Terrier. Boss Woman was making a right fuss of the Wheaten
Terrier but I wasn't very impressed, he looked a bit grumpy
to me. Further on we saw a woman with 2 dogs, 1 of which
was a Dalmation that had a muzzle on because it bit people.
Really not sure why they are called
'travellers'. All they seem to do is move from one park
to another making and leaving a mess everywere, they don't
seem to travel very far. Me and Polly do more travelling
than they do. |
Monday
16th January |
Had
a lovely walk on the Ridgeway at Bury Down and met 2 friendly
lively young Collies who I had a good run around with. One
of them was a little bit naughty because it kept trying
to jump up at Boss Woman. Their Boss Woman said that she
was walking near Newbury recently and in the distance she
saw 2 women one of which had white trousers on and her very
friendly jumping up Collies ran towards this woman with
the white trousers. Well, it doesn't take Einstein to work
out what happened next. I mean, WHITE trousers! What sort
of person goes walking with WHITE trousers on anyway???
|
Saturday
21st January |
Had
a really busy morning. 5 powered gliders set off
from the field next to our garden. I tell you, it took a
bit of persuading from me to make sure they didn't come
over MY airspace. Anyway, after I had run up and down and
round the garden a few dozen times, barking really loudly
at them, they decided not to land in my garden but went
over by the river instead. Grrrrr |
Friday
27th January |
Saw a little bad mannered
Chihuhua down the road today that was snarling and barking
at me and Amber as we walked past. Pffft. I growled back
to tell it to shut up but Amber just ignored it because
she thought it was stupid.
What I find very
strange is that today on our walk, we saw about 6 or 7
people all walking around carrying their cardboard costa
coffee cups like trophies. Like ... look at me, don't
I look silly ....... Why can't they just be like me and
have a drink and that's it until next time I feel thirsty?
They all look the 'type' and all carry their stupid cardboard
coffee cups around while they are walking the streets
but I never see them drink. How very odd.
People look at me and Polly and say we are that 'type'
of dog, well me and Polly look at them and think they
are that 'type' of people. LOL
|
Sunday
29th January |
Not
sure how it works exactly BUT if me or my 'type' of dog
kill, maim or threaten anyone then we are put to death,
usually immediately and then humans call for a total ban
on our 'type' of dog. Well many hundreds, if not thousands
of car drivers are killing, maiming and threatening people
every single minute of every single day and what? We live
in a 30 mph speed limit apparently and probably 75% of drivers
of cars/buses/lorries/vans and even police cars are speeding
as they pass us, many on their phones and NOTHING is done.
Do you know just how difficult it is to cross the road and
how dangerous for us dogs and our owners it is?
Doesn't seem right somehow that humans are supposed to be
superior to dogs and yet they can't even understand a simple
30 mph sign. Me, Polly and Boss Woman have had to run fast
across the road many times to avoid getting run over by
speeding drivers. Today we were half way across the road
and the speeding idiot driving up the road round the bend,
didn't even try and slow down. |
Monday
30th January |
There
I was, minding my own business in the field by the river
when suddenly about 100 geese took off from the next field.
What a racket they were making. So, I did what any self
respecting dog would do and I chased them, barking at them
to let them know they had better keep flying and not land
in the field where I was. You can see it HERE
on You Tube if you want. Near the end of our walk we saw
a man with 3 rescue dogs, 1 was a Lurcher sort of German
Shepherd type cross and the other 2 were Greyhound types.
They were sooooo fast, they were like streaks of lightening.
They ran like the wind. Even I, and I am a pretty fast runner,
would have no chance of catching them. Well impressed I
was. Polly tried to catch the geese
but they were flying too high and too fast. |
Monday
6th February |
Big Guy is doing a lot
of work on the house and he had to dig a massive ditch
because apparently we need a new electric meter and cable.
The 2 men that came in the morning to put the cable in
made a right big fuss of me and Amber. One of them had
a Jack Russell and he said he particularly likes Terriers.
Then in the afternoon a man called Vince came to put a
new electric meter and he said he had seen us on the television
last year, when we went down to Golant in Cornwall. He
made a right fuss of us as well. I think he said he had
a dog called Charlie. When we went for our walk in the
afternoon to the woods, we met a man and woman who were
out for a walk and they didn't like us at all, in fact
the ignorant woman almost stood on Amber's
leg. She was horrible.
|
Wednesday
8th February |
Went
right to the top of the fields today and then through the
woods. In the field we saw a sinkhole. Last time we saw
a sinkhole was when we walked on the Ridgeway near Chinnor
and that one was massive, the one today was only about 4
ft. deep and 5 ft. wide. Me and Amber kept walking around
it like puzzled, wondering what the hole was for. It
was a good hole, much bigger than me and Polly could ever
dig. |
Friday
10th February |
So
there we were minding our own business, going for a wak
in the woods, when a pack of dogs off lead, came towards
us on the path being followed by 2 paid dogwalkers. We have
seen these dog walkers before and what occasionally happens
is that some of the dogs approach us, sometimes for a sniff,
sometimes to play (annoy us) or sometimes to tower over
us, which is normal for a pack of dogs. Well one of the
dogs, a German Shepherd approached Amber and towered over
her. She did NOT like it and so she told it off. THEN one
of the dog walkers reacted towards Amber because she did
not like Amber telling her dog off. Instead of keeping an
eye on her charges, for which she gets paid for, she would
rather blame Amber for her perfectly normal reaction towards
a dominant or annoying dog. Someone told Boss Woman it is
because the woman is not keen on Staffies. Pffftt
..... stupid woman. She really ought to keep her dogs under
control. I NEVER go up to her dogs and pester them and so
she should stop her dogs from pestering me and if they do
approach me and I react, well she shouldn't be surprised.....
Simple ..... Obviously even though she is a dog walker,
she has little undersanding of doggie eqiquette. We often
walk with other dogs and as long as the other dogs are calm
and not annoying or aggressive, then we all get on fine
and can walk for miles. We don't have any problem with other
paid dogwalkers and their dogs, just these 2 and their pack. |
Sunday
12th February |
|
Sunday
19th February |
Went
past the sink hole on our walk this morning and it has sunk
even further. Boss Woman said not to stand too near the
edge in case it sinks some more while I am stood over it.
On the way back we saw the big brute that is a Boxer x Amstaff.
He is a bit of a bully and towers over me and Amber when
we see him and further on we saw some people with 3 Jack
Russells, one of which would not stop barking and hid behind
it's owner when I looked at it. Just as we got nearly home,
Boss Woman saw a someone called David and his very nice
Irish lady girlfriend, so they took me another 5 mile walk.
Tired now .... zzzzz The owner of
the thug dog made a fuss of me and then the stupid thug
dog tried to nip me because it was jealous of the attention
I was getting from his owner. |
Monday
20th February |
Had a good walk on the Thames path today. Loads of people
were discussing with Boss Woman about the local landowner
blocking a path that has been used for 40 years or more.
Apparently if there are enough people who complain about
it, then the footpath man at the Council will put a case
forward. Unfortunately not many people have formally complained.
A lot of people moan about it all the time but not many
will get involved and write to the footpath man, the excuse
being "well it is too late now" and "what
can I do anyway". Pfffftt apathy is a shameful disgraceful
attitude. There are many footpaths being closed or compromised
and no new ones being opened up. Us dogs and our owners
have fewer and fewer places to go walking, especially near
towns and villages. Needles to say, Boss Woman has been
vociferous in her condemnation of the footpath closure and
has made her stance very clear to the footpath man. Pity
more people can't have the same attitude because ANY of
the local footpaths are fair game for greedy landowners
to close at any time. Unless people take a stand against
against footpath closures, then they have no right to complain
about it when there no footpaths left. Honestly
some people are so lazy. It takes no effort at all just
to drop the footpath man an email or letter and they really
can't be bothered. It's very easy for people to moan a lot
and then expect other people to object on their behalf.
Not impressed at all by some humans. Shameful it is. SAVE
OUR PATHS !!! |
Friday
24th February |
We
had to walk by the river yesterday because storm Doris was
blowing a hooley and Boss Woman thought it was too dangerous
to go in the woods.The river was very turbulent and looked
like it was boiling and branches were flying off the willow
trees all over the path. In fact, on the way through the
woods today, there was a MASSIVE rotten tree that had fallen
right across the path that must have got blown down by Doris.
There was a notice on the fence saying that 2 little Jack
Russell type terriers, Eddie and Alfie had run away and
got lost in the woods yesterday while out on their walk.
They both had zap collars on which apparently did not work. |
Monday
27th February |
Some
good news today. Alfie the missing red and white Jack Russell
has been found wandering near the car park. Bad news is
that his brother Eddie, the ginger brown Jack Russell is
still missing. A very patronising woman (who doesn't like
us dogs) power walking on the Thames path, wearing nice
clean clothes and LIPSTICK!! was looking at Boss Woman walking
at a steady pace with us and with her very muddy boots,
well worn trousers and dog walking jacket on and was telling
Boss Woman what a good walker she was, implying that Boss
Woman was not. LOL, ha ha, it was VERY funny. Let me tell
you that my Boss Woman has walked the Lyke Wake walk (41
miles in 19 hours), 3 peaks challenge walk in under 12 hours,
Dales Way (81 miles), Great Glen Way (79 miles), West Highland
Way (96 miles), Ridgeway (87 miles) twice, Inca trail, Everest
path trail, Annupurna path, besides walking to the top of
most of the highest mountains in the UK, walked in the high
Atlas, Andes, HImalayas, Pyrenees and Dolomites and literally
walked thousands of miles, so she hardly needs a lipstick
wearing snob who power walks for 4.5 miles once in a blue
moon, on the very easy Thames path to tell her just what
constitutes a good walker. Boss Woman just looked at her
with sympathy :-) |
Wednesday
1st March |
Sad
news. Eddie the little ginger Jack Russell terrier that
was missing, has now been found dead. Boss
Woman has just realised looking at the photo, that the horse
that tried to eat me alive only had one eye! Explains everything
then. LOL |
Tuesday
7th March |
So
we have a little person staying with us for a short time.
I like her a lot and give her loads of kisses. I really
don't mind her looking in my ears, in my eyes, up my nose,
poking my toes and asking Boss Woman how I am made. She
likes cuddling me all the time and she IS funny when she
thinks I need to go to the bathroom so I can go to the toilet.
My fur is so shiny because she likes brushing me all the
time and she never gets tired of chucking the ball for me.
We also get to stay longer in the woods because when she
goes for a walk with us, she has to examine every leaf,
look at all the insects, pick up every stick and climb every
fallen down tree. Boss Woman keeps an eye on us though and
when I get tired of all the attention, then Boss Woman gets
me out of the way. She said I have
to scare the T Rex away if we see it in the woods. |
Monday
13th March |
Had
a lovely sunshiney walk in the fields and woods today. Spring
is well on it's way. The primroses and daffoldils are now
in bloom and the blossom on the trees is nice and stinky
(Boss Woman likes the smell). When we were walking through
the woods, someone told Boss Woman that they had looked
at my website and they thought it was cool and asked Boss
Woman who had made it for me. Well Boss Woman has made it
for me of course! No one else understands me as much as
Boss Woman and they could not put into words all that I
was thinking and doing as well as my Boss Woman can. Yes,
Boss Woman takes all the pictures as well. :-) |
Friday
17th March
|
Boss
Woman's birthday today. Had a house full of people and 2
little people here and it has been very noisy and busy.
I didn't think much of the happy birthday song but Boss
Woman seemed happy with it and she got some nice presents
and loads of chocolates and a big chocolate birthday cake.
Me and Amber weren't allowed to share it, all we had was
pilchards instead. I took myself off
to my bed. I don't like it noisy and busy. |
Sunday
19th March |
Had a very nice walk through the woods from Caversham and
over to Pangbourne, 6.83 miles. The primroses were all out
and Boss Woman took some photos of me sat on top of them.
We didn't see one squirrel or a single rabbit though. Except
for an ignorant woman who glared angrily at me and Polly
and deliberately walked into Boss Woman on Whitchurch bridge,
we met some very nice people who made a right fuss of us
and we met 2 pug puppies were a bit lively so Polly told
them off. |
Tuesday
21st March |
The
slimy stuff in the pond has now turned into black squiggly
things called tadpoles. Boss Woman has told me to keep out
of the pond and not to go poking my nose in them, OR ELSE.
They don't look very edible. |
Thursday
23rd March |
Saw the very handsome
Prince, the lovely white Samoyed down the field today
with his Boss Woman. He is still a bit annoying but we
have good fun chasing him. Amber always tries to grab
is fur and I side swipe him, but he still comes back for
more. I got into big trouble on
the way back. There was a man on his hands and knees laying
some blocks on a driveway and he had just put a layer
of lovely soft sand down to bed the blocks on. Well, I
walked up to him to say hello, only thing was, I walked
on his newly laid sand, then I walked back to Boss Woman
on his sand, leaving even more paw prints, then I went
up to him again to say hello because he didn't acknowledge
me the first time, leaving loads more lovely deep pawprints
in his sand. He was NOT happy. The other workman went
..... OOOPS !!
|
Wednesday
29th March |
A
Heron flew very low over the garden this morning, obviously
eyeing up our wildlife pond. Luckily Boss Woman put some
mesh over where the tadpoles are to protect from the greedy
birds. Safe for now anyway, until they start hopping off. |
Sunday
2nd April |
Just a little word to
say that as I am getting older I am much less tolerant
of annoying dogs than I used to be. I never go up to other
dogs and annoy them, it is only if they approach me and
jump on me or try and dominate me that I growl. Anyway,
we had a lovely walk today, almost 5.5 miles. On the way
back there was a fussy old woman with 2 terrier types.
Apparently one was on lead because if they were both off
lead they would both run away and she reckoned if one
was on lead then the other one (off lead) would stay close
by. That was the theory anyway. One of the terriers was
jumping up at me so I growled at it, I didn't try and
bite it, I just growled to tell it off. The woman shouted
at me but Boss Woman told her that mine was a normal reaction
to an annoying dog and that her dog needed to learn some
manners. Pfffft the woman was not impressed, then she
told Boss Woman that once she tried to take a rabbit off
her dog that it had caught and that the dog had growled
and went to bite her :-( I seriously think that the woman
needs to train her dog properly otherwise it might have
to get put to death if it bites a random person and it
would be HER fault, not the dogs. Yes,
imagine if a Staffie had growled and gone to bite someone,
it would more than likely get put to death without any
further questions. Some people just have no idea at all
how to look after and train us dogs.
|
Wednesday
5th April |
Had
a lovely walk by the Kennet and Avon canal and saw the big
fat black and white snuffly nosed bulldog which belongs
to one of the people on the canal boats and we also saw
a grumpy hissy faced swan and some beautiful butterflies
that kept flying around my face. Luckily Boss Woman had
taken plenty of water for us because it was very warm. We
could have drunk the canal water but Boss Woman said it
is very dirty and polluted so best to stick to bottled water
she had taken in her rucsack. Sometimes
me and Polly go and say hello to a lot of the boat people
and one time, someone even asked Boss Woman if they could
take me and Polly on their boat for 5 minutes (we didn't
like it actually because Boss Woman was still on the bankside
and me and Polly were worried in case they sailed off and
dognapped us). Well today I went up to say hello to some
people on a boat but what I hadn't realised was that it
was just setting off. I had the shock of my life! I was
just about to step on board when it floated away. The people
on the boat nearly fell overboard laughing. Pffft it wasn't
THAT funny. |
Friday
7th April
|
interesting
5.95 mile walk over to Ham Bridge on the Kennet and Avon
canal. Boss Woman was talking to this man who worked for
the canal people and he said that him and his colleague
every single week, walked the whole length of the Kennet
and Avon canal between them to check on the state of the
canal and the people on the boats that were using it. Boss
Woman said he should get a dog to walk it with but the man
said that some of the boat people had grumpy dogs so he
thought it would not be a good idea to have his own dog
in case it got attacked. He was telling Boss Woman that
the boat people should have a licence costing £1000
per year to use the canals but not everyone buys a licence.
Boss Woman was telling the man that
for the next few days we are going to do a few days of walking
by the Kennet and Avon canal. |
Saturday
8th April |
7.42 mile walk today from
Benham Marsh, where Big Guy dropped us off and we walked
back to Thatcham. Not really liking this walk much because
of all the cyclists whizzing past at high speed and not
being very careful about me and Amber at the side of the
path. They don't seem to care or even think about that
if they caught us with their wheels, they could easily
break our legs or worse and some of them were even doing
trick cycling. It is quite shocking that a public footpath
is shared by idiot cyclists who are actually very dangerous
for us dogs or small children and they have the cheek
to be rude to Boss Woman because she deliberately stands
in the middle of the path with the intention that they
have to manouvre around her to force them to at least
slightly slow down. What these fools (some of them lycra
clad) fail to realise is that first and foremost it is
a public FOOTPATH only shared by cyclists AND they are
supposed to show consideration to walkers (which they
didn't). Honestly they are the first to complain if motorists
don't show them consideration, drive too close to them,
are rude to them and almost run into them. Anyway, as
we walked through Newbury, there were 2 women one of which
was from South Africa and they made a right fuss of us.
I think the woman from South Africa said she used to have
a Staffie but now has 2 Sausage dogs. What? How could
you prefer Sausage dogs to Staffies? Pfffft. The
very nice woman from South Africa had white trousers on,
so of course I had to leave a few paw marks on them just
to remind her of me.
|
Monday
10th April |
Big
Guy dropped us off again at Benham Marsh and we walked 5.66
miles into Hungerford and we were going to catch the train
back to Thatcham but it was cancelled (apparently due to
signalling problems) so Big Guy had to pick us up. Lovely
walk and not quite so many cyclists but still we met a few
stupid ones. We stopped for a few minutes in Kintbury where
Boss Woman chatted to a young lad who told her about the
horse drawn barges that were due to start working again
this week. I think we might be doing
this walk again in the near future because Boss Woman was
saying that she wanted to get some photos of the horse drawn
barges. |
Tuesday
11th April |
Bit of a longer walk today,
8.59 miles and me and Amber were very tired when we got
back. I think Boss Woman is forgetting that me and Amber
aren't young dogs anymore and we get tired after long
walks these days. It was a very lovely peaceful walk from
Crofton up to Hungerford and then we caught the train
back to Thatcham and luckily the trains were running today
so Big Guy didn't have to pick us up. Soon after we set
off, we passed some boat people who lived on their boats
permanently and of course Boss Woman had to stop and chat.
A Staffie type black dog ran out to greet us from one
of the boats, which me and Amber weren't keen on, so Boss
Woman shouted to the owner to get her dog away because
it was pestering us. Another boat person had a very grumpy
bad tempered Staffie type dog tied up to his boat and
it had a muzzle on because the owner said it had a tendency
to bite other dogs so he was ordered by the Police to
muzzle it or it would have to be put to death. Boss Woman
seemed to like it even though me and Amber didn't. It
was growling and barking and making a right racket as
we walked past. We saw (and chased)
a few Herons and we saw a sparkly green/blue coloured
Kingfisher.
|
Wednesday
12th April |
Tonight I heard shooting
so I shouted at Big Guy to go and have a look and when
Big Guy went into the garden he heard someone someone
shooting as well from the field at the bottom of the garden
AND they were shining their very powerful lamp into our
garden. Boss Woman called the cops and they went to speak
to them to check their gun licences. Apparently the men
were shooting rabbits and foxes, in the night, in the
dark, near our fence and the cops didn't even arrest them
because the men had permission off the local landowner
Venner and they claimed they were only shooting rabbits
and foxes, because apparently there is a rabbit problem.
Well that is all very well, but the deer come into our
garden for safety because people are often shooting in
the fields behind AND we haven't seen the deer for about
3 weeks now, so we can only assume that they shot the
deer as well even though they said they didn't when Big
Guy asked them. The field where they were shooting also
backs onto a railway line so it isn't exactly the safest
place to be shooting anything, especially in the pitch
black. After the cops had gone, one of the men who had
been shooting came to our door to explain himself to Big
Guy and Boss Woman which they thought was a very weird
and very intimidating thing to do. There the man was,
about the height of a garden gnome, dressed in combat
clothes, with his gun still in his car, trying to justify
his actions. Me and Amber went to check him out and we
didn't like him at all and we didn't even wag our tails
or greet him. He was horrible. Boss Woman reckons if he
wants to go shooting, he should join the army, but being
a nasty horrible coward he would rather shoot something
that wouldn't shoot back at him. The
man said that he had shot a dog fox just outside our garden
fence, so if me and Polly had been stood in OUR garden
behind the fence, we might have been shot as well. What
the dangerous fools don't appreciate is that by shooting
the foxes they make the rabbit situation worse. Last year
when the fox was feeding her young, the foxes were busy
all day hunting and catching rabbits to take back for
their babies. Makes no sense at all what they were doing
except that they just like killing for the sake of it.
They were shining their powerful lamps into the trees
as well, which was worrying for Boss Woman because we
have barn owls nesting around here and they could be shot
along with pigeons or anything else the murdering idiots
decided on.
|
Thursday
13th April |
Beautiful peaceful walk
(with only one stupid cyclist) from near Pewsey up to
Bedwyn, 8.78 miles, where we caught the train back. Again
at the side of the canal as we have done all week. The
paths were a bit narrower on this section and some of
it was a bit near the side so Boss Woman had to be a bit
careful so she didn't fall in. On the way past some boat
people there was a ginger cat that didn't like me chasing
it and tried to scratch me and further on by some more
boats we saw a Persian cat that looked evil so I left
alone and didn't chase it. Boss Woman saw a green snake
swimming across the canal but she wouldn't let me and
Amber inspect it, just in case it swallowed us up like
a Python would. We passed the Bruce
Tunnel 459 metres long but we couldn't go through
it because there was no towpath so we had to walk over
the top which was just as well because it looked dark
and scary. Further on we saw the first swallow of the
year, skimming the canal for flies, or maybe it was having
a drink from the filthy canal water, I am not sure. As
we got near Bedwyn, there was a posh talking man with
3 not very posh dogs. There were 2 long haired pointer
type dogs and a dopey brown spaniel. Anyway the long haired
pointer type dogs went mental as we walked past and tried
to attack me and Amber and because they were so strong
they almost pulled the man into the canal. Actually
it would have served him right if they had, he should
have trained them better, they were VERY badly behaved.
|
Monday
17th April |
Nice 5.83 mile walk up
to Ham Bridge and back on the Kennet and Avon Canal and
we saw loads of stuff going on. First of all there was
a Canal Trust boat which had slipped it's moorings and
was blocking the canal, so some people had to push it
back and tie it up again. Then we saw a teenage guy on
a black skatepark type bike, lurking about near the lock,
he was laying on the floor and retrieved something from
under the lock workings. After that we saw an Albanian
man who was pulling his boat with a rope down the canal,
he said it was because the boat had no engine and he needed
it moving further down the canal. Then we saw a stinky
woman who smelled of cigarettes and booze - she was a
bit loud and a bit drunk AND she was in charge of 2 adult
huge huskies and a puppy husky. She was telling Boss Woman
that one of them had bitten someone and they had to have
17 stitches. Seriously? Not put to death apparently, because
she rehabilated it. There was a man with a lovely miniature
dachshund, no taller than about 6" and as he passed
the stinky drunk woman on the narrow path he picked his
dog up because he said his dog might rip the throats out
of the huge huskies and he couldn't risk his dog hurting
them. LOL He also said the woman was pissed, whatever
that means. Further on then we met a gang of people walking
together, all strung across the path, none of them moving
out of the way, so Boss Woman had to walk right at the
very edge of the path to make way for them. I REALLY do
think that a lot of humans need to go on a training course,
just like I did as a puppy so they can learn some manners
and discipline. it's just appalling the way some humans
carry on. Then, just as we got to the lock and about to
come off the canal walk, we sat watching some farmers
and their cows. Apparently the farmers were tagging the
cow's ears with a number of some sort on it and putting
some elastic bands around their testicles to make them
drop off so they turned from bulls into bullocks. The
animals didn't half squirm and it looked like it was hurting
them. What was really funny though was that they had a
little French Bulldog following behind the cows to help
herd them. I could have done a better
job actually.
|
Tuesday
18th April |
All
the lovely Bluebells and Cowslips are out now and Boss Woman
keeps making me sit on them to take loads of photos. Good
job it is a bit cold so there aren't so many bees after
the pollen, otherwise I could get stung :-( Just walking
down from the woods this morning, on the narrow path near
the gate and I was faced with a stupid little twerp of a
kid, probably about 10 years old, pointing a toy gun directly
at my face. Boss Woman was NOT impressed and shouted at
the kid DO NOT DO IT, the kid just ignored her so Boss Woman
shouted again and went marching up to him, just as the kid's
mother appeared and is like .... Billy ..... duuuuuhh ....
doooooon't dooooo it. I mean, it could have been a pellet
gun or anything, I didn't know what sort of gun it was.
It's a good job I am a well trained, well behaved dog, otherwise
I might have reacted and growled at him. |
Thursday
11th May |
Very warm day today walking right to the top of the fields
and through the woods. I was glad that Boss Woman had taken
some drinking water for us. Met a very nice young couple
who were being followed by a man with a camera. Apparently
they are getting married in 3 weeks time and they were having
hundreds of photos taken so when they get old, it will remind
them of before they were married. Yes,
they won't forget me in a hurry either. They were making
such a fuss of me that I jumped up at the woman and left
some lovely paw prints all over her clean trousers. |
Tuesday
16th May |
Had
a lovely 6.46 mile walk today. First of all we saw Nim and
his Boss Woman, Monica. Monica and my Boss Woman were comparing
their tattoos. Sigh ... Then we walked down the road towards
the meadow and we saw the dog trainer guy who told Boss
Woman that his new puppy had broken his leg because his
big adult German Shepherd had jumped on it. He also complained
that he had read my dog blog and that he hadn't seen any
evidence of himself on it! Then we walked over to the meadow
and saw Daisy the little pug puppy. She was panting and
very thirsty so Boss Woman gave her some of our water and
she drank loads of it. Then Daisy's Boss Woman got chatting
and we all ended up at the local cafe (where us dogs are
welcome). We got to share most of Boss Woman's panini because
she said it was horrible, tasteless and dry. |
Friday
19th May |
Loads of bags packed ready for going away. I am keeping
very very close to Boss Woman and am absolutely NOT letting
her out of my sight. Everywhere she goes, I am there, like
velcro, stuck to her side. I want to make sure that the
purple bag with the paws on that is packed with my stuff
in, is going as well. I don't want her sneaking off anywhere
without me. it looks like we might
be missing the wedding of the year, just down the road,
but I am sure there will be plenty of flag wavers without
me and Polly joining them. |
Sunday
21st May |
Well here we are in Glastonbury.
I have been before and I love it here. The climb up to
the Tor is good even though it is always windy on the
top. There was a guy playing his guitar and singing and
loads of people stood around. Apparently they were celebrating
the life of someone called Gemma who had been killed by
a van in Tasmania and with her being a hippy, they thought
it was a good way to celebrate. They also released loads
of balloons as well, which Boss Woman thought was a rather
stupid thing to do, considering all the unnecessary litter
and pollution that would have caused. A
little boy was running around and he kept making a fuss
of me. He was a bit clumsy and he tripped over and fell
on me and told me I was a naughty dog. Boss Woman told
him that I was a very good dog and that I had broken his
fall and saved him from getting face planted on the floor.
|
Monday
222nd May |
Avebury today. Been here a few times and I like it here
as well. Boss Woman didn't go hugging the stones or anything,
we went for a lovely 6 mile walk instead. We met a man from
London who was walking the Ridgeway and Boss Woman told
him that we had also walked the whole of the Ridgeway, twice
and he seemed suitably impressed, then we met woman called
Lisa who said she was a busker and that she lived in a campervan
with her friends some of the time. She was very nice and
she said that I smiled at her with my eyes.
It was very hot and I was glad that Boss Woman took plenty
of water for us. We had to go through a field of cows and
Boss Woman was scared. |
Tuesday
23rd May |
Been on a steam train up to Minehead today on the West Somerset
Railway. We went from Bishops Lydeard up to Watchet then
walked over to Washford and then caught the train up to
Minehead. We had a walk around Minehead and then caught
the train all the way back to Bishops Lydeard THEN on the
way back to Glastonbury, Boss Woman had to stop by a railway
bridge to take a photo of the Flying Scotsman steam train.
She has loads of pictures of the Flying Scotsman so not
sure why she needed some more. The man in Washford station
was very nice and he let me and Amber go in his control
room and he even let Boss Woman operate some of the levers.
Very odd as well because we saw Monica,
Nim's Boss Woman up in Minehad. We heard someone shout out
for my Boss Woman and there Monica was, on the station platform.
The ticket collector on the train was not very nice and
he stood on Polly's paw. Boss Woman reckoned he was a nasty
self important little man who looked and behaved just like
Captain Mainwairing, whoever he is. |
Friday
26th May |
Went
down to Durdle Door today. Never been here before and it
was very nice. The beaches were dog friendly and me and
Amber had a great time in the sea. We walked over the cliff
tops to Lulworth Cove and then back on the beach to Durdle
Door. It was very very hot though so we didn't go for a
very long walk like Boss Woman had planned because me and
Amber were struggling with the heat. We were helping Boss
Woman look for fossils. She didn't find any and neither
did we because me and Amber didn't know what fossils looked
like anyway. So far this week, we have climbed up to the
top of Glastonbury Tor, 4 times. Hey,
guess what? When Boss Woman got herself an ice cream in
Durdle Door, she bought me and Polly an ice cream as well.
Not just any old ice cream, this one was Apple, Banana and
Carrot and made especially for us dogs. Mmmm it was very
nice and cooled us down nicely. |
Sunday
28th May |
It's
meet the Moron day today. A stupid little man in the woods
lost his black and tan dog because apparently his dog had
got the scent of a bitch on heat. Mr. Moron told Boss Woman
that he was annoyed because people were insisting on walking
their bitches on heat which then made his dog run after
them and get lost all the time. Boss Woman asked him why
he hadn't had the dog's nuts taken off and he replied that
he took it personally and didn't think it was a manly thing
to do to his dog. Pffft what a clown!! |
Wednesday
31st May |
A
lot more than usual squirrels in the woods today but not
managed to catch one yet. A grumpy black and white Collie
was being held on a short lead and fed treats as we walked
past it on the top path in the woods. Boss Woman thought
it was because it was going to kick off and attack me and
Amber, but no .... There was a family with some little children
walking behind us and the dog lunged at them and growled.
Further on we saw a little black and white Staffie X that
was running about looking worried. 2 women were speaking
to Boss Woman and one of them suggested that Boss Woman
caught it and put it on a lead, so she did. We walked further
on until we found the owners. Things is, the man owner didn't
even seem bothered that Boss Woman had found it and never
even thanked us for taking it back. Boss Woman took it off
lead and handed it over and the man just let it run away
again, he said it was running to find it's Boss Woman. When
it did find it's Boss Woman, she just stood there looking
at it and didn't make a fuss of it or anything. THEN she
looked at Boss Woman accusingly and asked her where she
had found it. Honestly, some people just ought to learn
a few manners. I thought we did a good job in returning
it. The Collie was a nasty untrained
dog and the owner was stupid. I love little children and
I would have never ever growled and lunged at them. Other
dogs I sometimes react to, but not children. It's a good
job it was on a short lead, otherwise it would have bitten
the children. |
Sunday
4th June |
Had
a lovely 5.4 mile walk through the woods and over the meadow
today. The paddle in the river Pang was well needed with
it being so hot today as well. On the way back near the
river Thames, there was a man that had fallen in the river
while him and his wife were mooring their boat. Boss Woman
went to help and held the mooring rope while his wife and
another man helped pull him out. He hurt his back and his
legs and he couldn't stand up. Further on we passed a macho
group of 6 guys, all strutting their stuff, chests puffed
out, swaggering manly down the lane and when me and Amber
went past them, they got out of our way because they were
scared of us and one of them nearly had a heart attack when
Amber went up to him. What a bunch of girls!!!! Pfft. I
went up to the man who had fallen in the river, while he
was laid on the floor and gave him some licky kisses to
make him better. I don't think he much appreciated my efforts
though because he pushed me away. |
Thursday
8th June |
Usual
walk over to the river Pang and had a quick dip in the water
before continuing over to the meadow. On the meadow we saw
a boat moored up called the SeaCelia and the old woman from
the boat went over to the bushes to do her toilet. I never
saw her take a poo bag with her, so I assume she just left
it for someone to stand in! Coming
back by the rich Arab's house and there were 2 women in
a pony and trap being followed by the black labrador and
dogue de bordeaux, which are guard dogs for the house. Well
as we walked over the field on
the perfectly legal public footpath, the dogue
de bordeaux came charging down the field towards us and
then at the last minute, ran back to the women. Boss Woman
was a bit worried and got her phone ready to ring the Police
in case it came any closer and attacked us. |
Saturday
10th June |
Lovely
9 mile walk around Didcot. It was a good job Boss Woman
took plenty of water for us because it was thirsty work
walking in the heat. Went past Fulscot Manor but it was
a bit difficult walking on the public footpath across their
fields because the first wooden stile had barbed wire attached
to it and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th stiles were steel and they
had an electric fence fastened to them THEN an electric
fence was strung right across the footpath so Boss Woman
had to crawl underneath it. Me and Amber managed fine because
it was above our height THEN the footpath in his field at
the side of the road was completely obliterated. Apparently
the farmer had received nearly 600,000 euros since 1999
in subsidies, in which case then you would think he would
be grateful for all this free money paid for by the taxpayers
and keep the public footpaths clear for people to use. Further
on we saw 3 drunken men on the old railway track path and
they tried to sell Boss Woman a miniature staffie and a
pitbull. Boss Woman told them that she already had 2 very
nice well behaved dogs and a third dog would spoil the pack.
Also she told them that even though she liked pitbulls,
they were actually illegal to own so she thought it was
stupid and highly irresponsible to get a dog knowing it
was an illegal breed and could be taken away and put to
death at any time. Then further on still on the same path,
there was another drunken man offering to sell Boss Woman
a pitbull as well. Pffft Boss Woman was not at all impressed
and doesn't like all these people that make a lot of money
by breeding their dogs without any thought for their welfare. |
Monday
12th June |
Today
has been a very bad day for me. Boss Woman took me to the
vets and left me there most of the day. The nasty vet not
only gave me an injection but he made me sleep for a long
time and then when I woke up, my foot and my neck hurt AND
I couldn't stand up straight, I kept bumping into things
when I tried to walk. Boss Woman took me home eventually
but I was so tired that I just wanted to sleep all the time
and didn't even want my dinner. Boss Woman told me that
I had a lump taken off my foot and my neck and they had
been sent away for analysis. I am not sure what that meant
but it sounded serious. I didn't enoy
my walk at all today. I was sad that Polly wasn't with me
and I kept looking around for her but she wasn't there.
When Boss Woman took me in the woods, I kept expecting Polly
to jump out on me from the bushes, like she sometimes does,
but no and when we got back home after the walk Polly was
still not there. I was glad when Boss Woman went out later
in the afternoon and came back with Polly because I missed
her. Even though I was sad and missed Polly, I was still
hungry and ate all my tea. |
Tuesday
13th June |
I
feel a lot better today, although my foot hurts and so does
my neck. I can't believe how much I slept yesterday, like
MOST of the day. I was well hungry and ate all my dinner
this afternoon. Polly chased a Red
Kite down the garden, barking at it like mad, so she is
back to 'normal' now. |
Saturday
17th June |
Boss
Woman rang the vet on Thursday and got the results of the
lumps that were on my foot and my face. The vet said that
he had to cut a big hole to take out plenty of tissue. Apparently
the lumps were cancereous but because he cut out a bigger
chunk out than necessary, the surrounding tissue didn't
show cancerous cells. He told Boss Woman that the cancer
might not have spread and to keep a close eye on me. Well
personally I didn't understand all that stuff but what I
do understand is that my Boss Woman has been very upset
AND not only that, I have to wear a stupid black thing over
my head to stop me licking the wounds (which is making me
itch by the way and driving me mad) and I can't go in the
woods off lead chasing squirrels just yet. |
Sunday
25th June |
Boss
Woman has decided that she is going to start looking after
other people's cats. They won't be coming to stay with us,
we have enough with our own evil cat, nooooo, she will be
going to their house to feed them. She used to do that before
when we lived in Scotland AND she said that she would consider
letting another dog stay here while it's owner is on holiday.
That's okay. We like having friends
to stay, unless they are a big bouncy dog which would just
annoy us, especially black labradors. |
Monday
26th June |
Feeling
a bit better now. In fact I felt so much better that I chased
2 squirrels. I didn't catch them though, I must be getting
slower in my old age. Boss Woman has been feeding me beetroot.
Apparently beetroot has special compounds that can reduce
cancer tumours. She is giving me beetroot every day now,
which I like actually and she is going to put a couple of
fresh blueberries in my dinner every day as well. She said
she is prepared to try anything to help me. Phew, well at
least she cares enough to give me a chance, I have many
places to go, many people to meet, and many things to do
yet, before I go. I still have quite a few lumps all over
me but the vet checked them and said they were just fatty
lumps. I AM NOT FAT. I get beetroot
in my dinner as well. I am glad Polly felt a bit better
today, it's better if both of us chase the squirrels, it's
more fun. |
Wednesday
28th June |
So
today we found Lola the Beagle. Nice little dog but it's
owner was a bit of a halfwit. Apparently Lola had run away
in the woods and where we found her was across the road
from the woods and in a small housing estate. Boss Woman
clipped her on lead and then we went to find the owner.
Not surprised Lola ran away the owner didn't even ask where
we found her or anything. Pfffftt NOT impressed one little
bit. Actually it was MY lead that
Boss Woman clipped onto Lola, I just hope she didn't have
any germs or fleas or anything to pass onto me. |
Friday
30th June |
We got joined by Hector the Defector again today, as we
did yesterday. He seems to like our pack more than the one
he was with. The pack he was with was led by a really loud
mouthed 'professional' dog walker. It would appear that
Lola, the Beagle that ran away on Wednesday was also part
of the same pack. Apparently the 'professional' dog walker
is fully insured, according to the instructions on the side
of her van. Well she would need to be at the rate at which
the dogs in her charge defect or run away, she would need
pretty good insurance. While she was busy shouting (really
loudly, like for 10 minutes) for Hector because he was following
us and ignoring her, the spaniel in her pack legged it into
the woods so she started shouting at him as well. Seriously?
Glad I am not in her pack that is for sure. |
Monday
3rd July |
Doggers!
Whenever we go past the car park at Sulham, there are a
few cars that are regularly there, with lone men sat in
them always on their mobiile phones and always eyeing up
other men sat nearby also in their cars. According to Boss
Woman they are called Doggers. Seemingly Doggers meet other
likeminded weirdos, go off into the bushes for sex, usually
near where people are walking because they like doing stuff
like that when there is a danger of being caught by 'normal'
people. Well you know what? They need a bucket of water
chucking over them AND castrating. If any dog is a nuisance
with his sexual urge, then they get their nuts taken off
and the same should happen with these weirdos as well. Easy.
My vet does stuff like that, so they could soon be taken
down there and seen to. Quite a few
times we have seen a dodgy man sat in his blue car, just
looking across the car park at other men sat in their cars
as well. Boss Woman is going to take their photos next time.
|
Tuesday
4th July |
Well
surprisingly the car park was quiet today, with hardly any
cars at all. So .... if you see any men on their own in
the cars, usually on their mobile phones, occasionally looking
at the other sad men also sat alone in their cars, then
wave to them, say hello to them and acknowledge them. Obviously
they are very sad lonely men who are needing help with their
sad .... I mean ... lonely lives. Let them know we care.
Weird peverts I would call them.
|
Sunday
9th July |
Well
it was very hot in the woods and luckily Boss Woman had
taken plenty of drinking water, which I didn't mind at all
sharing with Nelson the big black labrador BUT did he really
have to slobber quite so much into the water? |
Friday
13th July |
Been
raining a bit this week so it was a bit cooler on our 3.92
mile walk today, which made it more bearable. When we got
back, Boss Woman picked some tomatoes from her greenhouse
and me and Amber had one each. I wasn't very keen on mine
and spat it out so Amber ate that as well as her own. We
also had a freshly laid egg from our hens as well. Mmm |
Monday
17th July |
So Keira the evil cat
went out on Saturday night as usual and when she got back
in Sunday morning, she was injured. Her tail was all covered
in blood and half of it was hanging down. Anyway she had
to go to the vets and they chopped off her tail ~ she
will look even more evil than usual now!
We had a lovely 4.98 mile walk back from Basildon on the
Thames path and met loads of interesting people. There
was one dodgy man coming towards us blocking the path,
that we didn't like, and me and Amber didn't even wag
our tails at him, he was dead dodgy. He asked Boss Woman
if we were okay and she said "sort of ...."
LOL which seemed to scare him off enough to leave us alone.
Further on we saw 2 men on a boat called Clara so while
Boss Woman had a chat with them, me and Amber sat under
their chairs in the shade to cool off and then further
on still we saw a man who had been in the Thames for a
swim, so me and Amber went in the water as well. He was
fascinated watching me splashing, because what I do, I
make a splash and then try and catch the water splash
in my mouth, which he thought was very clever. He said
me and Amber were water dogs. Then even further on, nearer
home, we saw a group of Nepalese people and Boss Woman
exchanged 'Namaste's' with them. We
have seen these people before, when they shared their
blackberries with us. Well this time, they gave Boss Woman
an orange and they shared their digestive biscuits with
me and Polly. We do like these people, they are very generous
and also they like me and Polly and unusually are happy
to share their food with us, even though we are dogs.
|
Monday
17th July |
Lovely walk on the Kennet and Avon canal towpath today and
we saw the massive barge pulling horse again. He was a bit
naughty though, he kept stopping to pull branches off the
tree to eat. It's raining now and I am not liking the noise
coming from the sky at all, I keep barking at it to try
and make it stop. Boss Woman was taking
some pictures of a GIANT steam train called Union of South
Africa, it was massive and puffing loads of smoke out and
making a right racket. Polly didn't like it and growled
and barked at it as it went past. |
Wednesday
19th July |
Met
Dolly in the woods today, a lovely friendly 6 year old black
and white Staffie X. Her owner got her from the rescue and
she looked VERY pleased to be rehomed. She was dashing about
all over and she wouldn't stand still. Boss Woman made a
right fuss of her. Polly got into
major trouble today. Boss Woman called her a disgusting
animal. A bit harsh I think, but she did eat something in
the woods that she wasn't supposed to, so it served her
right. |
Thursday
20th July |
Boss
Woman found a car key on our walk today, so if any local
followers of my dog blog know whose it is, then can you
let Boss Woman know? |
Sunday
30th July |
Just
come back from a lovely holiday in Solva, Pembrokeshire.
It was so nice to be back at the seaside because I love
the sea and going swimming. We went on a few lovely dog
friendly beaches near St. Davids, where most of the dogs
got on just fine, except for maybe a couple of incidents
when a bouncy dog came too close to us and then there was
another couple of dogs on the far side of the beach that
had a bit of an argument but other than that, it was fine.
Little person came with us on holiday and she wanted me
to sleep in her bedroom at night, which I was very glad
to do so i could watch over her. She is my favourite little
person in the whole world. We had
some very nice walks on the coast path as well. |
Monday
31st July |
On our walk in the woods today we met 2 little girls and
a little boy with their mum and grandma. The little girls
were frightened of me and Amber, and started crying but
the little boy liked us and he spent ages chucking my ball
for me to fetch back to him. He was a little bit nervous
in case I nipped him, but that didn't happen of course and
neither would it unless he got his finger in the way of
me holding onto the ball and then I accidentally might have
caught his finger with my teeth but I was very careful with
him because I love all children. I
even did a high 5 for the little girls but they still continued
to cry. |
Tuesday
1st August |
Happy
Yorkshire day everyone! Apparently it is Yorkshire day today.
Not me, I was born in Edinburgh but my Boss Woman is a Yorkshire
lass. |
Thursday
3rd August |
Bit
muddy in the woods today on our walk. A little boy of 15
month came staggering towards me with his arms out, ready
to give me a cuddle, so I duly obliged and gave him some
licky kisses which he liked. When it was time for him to
go, he made a right fuss and was screaming and carrying
on. Actually worried me and I put my head down and I was
very sad because I thought I had done something wrong. The
child needs more training. Boss Woman did our training with
a piece of cheese, maybe it might work for him? |
Friday
4th August |
Had
a really lovely walk by the river today. I love the water
and jumping in and swimming. Bit sad walking back because
down Mapledurham Drive where there used to be tumble down
chalet where we often saw an old woman sat in her porch
in her chair reading a book, but ever since we had some
floods in 2014 we haven't seen her and now they have pulled
her house down. As we were walking
back we saw a man stood by his navy blue little car with
a learner sign on the roof, with his hands fiddling about
in a very rude place. If I was a human, I certainly would
not have wanted to get into his car, I tell you!
|
Saturday
5th August |
My
birthday today, I am 10 years old. Steak for tea. I really
appreciated Boss Woman singing Happy Birthday to me, although
she was a bit out of tune! |
Sunday
13th August |
Very nice 4.24 miles walk today over by the Flint Church.
On the top of the hill we met the ubiquitous slack jawed
half wit who had a big fat labrador that came charging towards
Amber at high speed. So Amber being only 15" high and
the labrador being about 3 ft. high, me and Amber stopped
it in it's tracks (as we do) before it could flatten her.
The half wit shouted out "He only wants to play ......"
. THEN he went off at Boss Woman for having that 'kind'
of dog being out of control. Seriously?? So Boss Woman told
him, very politely, to keep his dog on a lead.
Some people just are not fit to have dogs, any dogs, as
they obviously are totally incapable of understanding basic
doggie behaviour.
If the big fat labrador
had run at little Ted, the loony little whippet puppy we
were walking with yesterday, it could have broken his legs.
Then who would the owner have blamed? |
Monday
21st August |
Evil
cat was making a right racket outside the door this morning,
so much that Big Guy thought she had hurt herself again.
He opened the door and she walked in, cool as anything and
dropped a dead mouse on the floor. Big Guy soon chucked
her and the dead mouse out again. Pity, I could have had
the mouse. Ever since I was a tiny puppy I have eaten mice,
dead or alive. Even now, I am very good at catching mice
and swallowing them live before Boss Woman can stop me.
A little girl called
me the cutest little dog EVER this morning. I would agree
with that ..... |
Sunday
21st August |
A few people have been
enquiring about me, so just to give you an update on myself.
I have been getting a bit more tired than usual recently.
Boss Woman has been really worried about me because I
have started lying down a lot more on our walks when she
stops and putting my head on the ground like it is hurting
me. If I see a squirrel or rabbit then I can find the
energy to chase it but I have lost the ability to catch
them anymore, but then again, I am almost 11 years old!
When Boss Woman has a sit down, then I have taken to lying
right at her feet, just so I can keep an eye out in case
she runs off without me. Auntie Tracie at the rescue said
to Boss Woman that she shouldn't fret so much, and that
life is about quality not quantity and I must say I have
had a very good life here with Boss Woman looking after
me, even if she does get cross with me sometimes (usually
when I eat stuff I shouldn't!). I have no more lumps appearing
on my foot BUT I have quite a few fatty lumps all over
me that the vet said to keep an eye on. When people ask
Boss Woman how I am, then she looks very sad but she has
no need to worry, I still have some life left in me yet
and I can still do 7 mile walks when necessary. Which,
I might add, we have now walked a total of 963.5 miles,
with 36.5 miles left to go, of our Viewranger 1000 mile
challenge, but I think we will exceed this easily and
go for about 1200 miles. We have a few people sponsoring
us and the money is going to my friend at the Staffie
Rescue, where Boss Woman helps. It
has been a bit hot these last few days and so me and Polly
were glad that Boss Woman took us for walks near the river
Thames and the river Pang, so we could jump in and cool
down.
|
Wednesday
6th September |
Crikey, that steam train
that just went past blowing it's whistle really loud,
didn't half make me jump
|
Saturday
9th September |
Had
a lovely interesting 9.4 mile walk today. We had a sit down
by a Trout Fishery pond and it was lovely and peaceful.
We didn't go fishing though. The sky was busy. First of
all, there was a lot of leaves falling down from the sky,
then there was so much rain coming down that it was like
walking under a waterfall, then later on there was so much
crashing and banging from up in the sky that Amber was really
worried. We called at the Greyhound pub and shared Boss
Woman't steak sandwich. The woman who worked there made
a right fuss of us and said she would bring me and Amber
a treat out, but she never did. Pffft I went up to this
woman to say hello but she totally ignored me and almost
kicked me out of her way. Ah well. Her loss. Being a therapy
dog, I could have given her therapy. She certainly needed
it. I got attacked by a giant German
Shepherd dog today. We were walking on the public footpath
and this gormless dog just ran out from behind some buildings
and attacked me. I wasn't hurt but it shook me up. Boss
Woman gave me a check over to make sure I was alright. The
Boss Man was very apologetic and kept asking Boss Woman
if she was sure I was okay. I might only be little but I
am brave and tough. |
Monday
11th September |
WE
DID IT !! We have now completed the Viewranger 1000 mile
challenge. Today the total was 1000.8 miles. We will be
walking plenty more miles before the end of the year though
so perhaps we will end up walking about 1200 miles altogether.
My legs are a lot shorter now as well, with all that walking. |
Wednesday
13th September |
Not
been feeling very well this week. |
Thursday
21st September |
There
we were, minding our own business walking by the railway
line and things started falling from a massive Horse Chestnut
tree. Conkers apparently! |
Tuesday
26th September |
Those
grey squirrels have been ever so busy in the woods, there
are big holes everywhere, where they have been digging to
hide all their acorns and nuts. There was a reaslly MASSIVE
hole, that looked so big it was like the squirrel was trying
to bury the whole tree and not just the nuts. It
was really prickly on our feet as well because of all the
sweet chestnut casings falling off the trees. |
Friday
29th September |
Very
happy today to see my old friend Nim is still on his feet
and looking happy. He has been really poorly recently and
had to go the vets for one of his kidneys removing because
it had a big cancerous tumour on it. Well apparently the
cancer is now spreading all over the insides of Nim, but
meanwhile he is still enjoying chasing after his ball and
his lovely walks in the woods, totally unaware that sadly
his life is going to end fairly soon. We
almost got killed as we were trying to cross the road. We
were well within the 30 mph zone and this less than normal
retarded halfwit in a white mini came hurtling round the
corner up the hill, losing control on the corner sliding
to the other side of the road, absolutely flew past us at
least 60 mph BUT what was scarier still was the absolute
blank gormless expression on the face of the driver. Thing
is, as I have explained before, if me or Polly or any of
my other doggie friends (especially Staffies) give any indication
at all that we are going to hurt or kill someone, then we
immediately get taken to the vet, maybe by the Police, and
put to death immediately. Makes no sense to me as a simple
honest, friend to all, canine companion how these dangerous
humans get away with all this bad behaviour. |
Sunday
8th October |
About
15 little kids in the woods with their parents today. We
could hear them from the other side of the woods and they
were making a right racket. As we went past them (they were
blocking the whole path) some of them reached down to stroke
me and Amber and some of the others screamed when we went
near them. Anyway, Boss Woman kept us walking straight through
the middle of them and wouldn't let the kids touch us. Honestly,
some of them needed to be on a lead and the others needed
more training, they were a bit of a chaotic bunch. Fortunately
me and Amber like little kids and were not scared by all
the shouting and screaming they were doing. They
were VERY noisy. |
Saturday
28th October |
Just
come back from the Dordogne in France. It was really very
nice and we had some lovely walks in the forests there.
We had a paddle in the Dordogne river and the Vezere river.
It was VERY hot which made it difficult to walk in the day.
One day we went over to Les Eyzies de Tayac and had a very
nice walk in the Gorge d'Enfer. Apparently there were some
Roman soldiers died in mysterious circumstances a long time
ago and they found their bodies at the bottom of the lake
there. Well, we had a nap by the lake and we never saw any
ghosts or anything and we walked on an ancient Roman road
that was carved out of the rock. On the way back Boss Woman
and Big Guy picked up loads and loads of Walnuts that had
dropped on the floor. As we got nearer the car, there was
a MASSIVE thunderstorm, thunder and lightening and monsoon
like rain. We got absolutely soaked. The place where we
stayed was a bit of a miserable cottage and the woman there
with a watery face pretended to like us, but she didn't
really. When we went to the vet to be checked over, he pulled
my leg straight and made it hurt. When
we went walking in the forests, there was a lot of shooting
and I was really scared. Honestly over there, they shoot
everything that moves, luckily they never spotted me and
Polly. There aren't any birds singing and there are no rabbits
or anything for me and Polly to chase. I was glad when we
came out of the forests and onto the roads, then at least
we were safe there from the gunshots. |
Monday
6th November |
Lovely
4.36 mile walk through the woods, over the meadow and back
home by the river. it was a bit frosty this morning but
we soon got warmed up chasing after the squirrels. There
was a really dodgy man in the woods and he asked Nelson's
owner which was the way to the car park where he had left
his car, because he had lost his way in the woods. Further
down over the meadow and on the lane called the Moors in
the local village, there was a big tall guy over 6ft tall,
and he was walking down the lane looking in everyone's car
but when he saw me and Amber and Boss Woman, he headed back
down the lane the opposite way. I
think both the dodgy guys were casing the places with a
view to some burgling or something. Very odd. |
Sunday
12th November |
4.4
miles walk today by the river Thames. Boss Woman kept telling
me NOT to go swimming in the river because it was too cold.
I was just lying there, minding my own business, rolling
about on my back (like I do ...) when this couple went past
with a baby called Bethany. Well baby Bethany was laughing
her head off at me, she thought I was really funny and when
I went up to say hello and give her a licky kiss, she laughed
even harder. So, just to show how clever I am, although
Boss Woman said I was showing off, I did some more back
rolls, which made the baby laugh some more. I do like an
appreciative audience to the tricks I can do.
I did a high 5 for the baby but she didn't even laugh at
me. It was stupid Polly she was la at. |
Monday
13th November |
Ha
Ha. The cat caught a mouse in the garden and while she was
eating it, she got divebombed by 4 red Kites. The Kites
were trying to get the mouse off the cat and were diving
really close to her. She kept flinching as they attacked
her from four sides, but then she swallowed it quick and
ran into the field to hide. Me and
Polly are quite good at catching mice and we like eating
them (dead or alive) as well. |
Sunday
19th November |
I
was walking through the woods with a giant stick in my mouth
and a little girl thought it looked like I had wings. Mmmm
|
Tuesday
21st November |
MY
BIRTHDAY TODAY. I am now 11 years old. Steak for tea. She
is getting bossier as she is getting older ... |
Sunday
10th December |
Snowing
today. We had fun in the fields trying to catch snowballs
with our friend Nim, but it was very cold. Amber was really
scared yesterday because of all the shooting over the other
side of the valley. the shooting went on for about half
an hour and it sounded lilke at least 12 guns going off,
doing their usual mass slaughter of the pheasants. I wasn't
bothered but Amber was terrified trembling like a jelly
and Boss Woman had to put her on lead to make her feel safe.
I got into BIG trouble today. I heard
shooting in the fields again, like I did yesterday, and
I was so very very scared that when Boss Woman wasn't watching,
I ran off trying to find my way home to safety. Luckily
for me, just as I was about to run across the main road,
Boss Woman shouted at me really really loudly so I slowly
and reluctantly went back to her. She told me that I was
a very good girl BUT then she clipped me back on lead so
I wouldn't run away again. I was trembling for ages because
I was so scared. I don't like the loud noises of the guns
going off. |
Tuesday
19th December |
Had
a lovely walk over the wildlife meadow today. We met a man
with a silly Springer Spaniel that kept running around me
and Amber and then I got all silly as well and the man said
that he thought it was good that I should behave like a
puppy at my age. Mmm. Amber was not impressed though and
got grumpy with me when I tried to pinch her stick. The
man told Boss Woman about a big dodgy looking guy hanging
about in the woods we were going to walk through, so he
told Boss Woman to be careful. Well when we walked through
the woods we never saw anyone. I think the dodgy man must
have seen me and been really really scared. THEN near home
we saw a silly little man who lives up the road from us.
He said there had been an attack recently by 'those kind
of dogs' pointing at me and Amber. Ill informed idiot. Actually
it was an attack by Pitbulls AND it was in America. . Anyway,
there are loads of attacks by men raping and attacking women,
all the time you read about them. My Boss Woman doesn't
go around pointing her finger at all men and blaming them
for what a tiny tiny majority of them do. He
was a horrible man and I didn't like him at all. I thought
he looked a bit mad. |
Friday
22nd December |
Went over to Stonehenge
to see the sunset on winter solstice day. It was amazing.
We had just walked about 3 miles and were stood in the
field the other side of the stones, when all these hippy
type people came to join us, blowing their horn and banging
their drums. Boss Woman sat on the muddy floor and took
loads of pictures and Big Guy stood to one side, watching
them. Me and Amber joined in the ceremony. As they were
stood in a circle, Amber walked round saying hello to
everyone and giving a licky kiss to all those that wanted
one and I just sat in the circle, very calmly watching
everyone. Well, that is until they started chanting and
then I barked at them to stop it. There were quite a few
of us dogs, all off lead and we all got on fine without
any growling or arguing. I am not sure what calmed us
down, whether it was the calm atmosphere of the whole
group of people or the fumes from the cannabis spliffs
they were smoking. We stayed until the sun went down and
then we walked back to the car in the dark.
We walked down the very ancient Cursus path towards the
stones. Well ancient path or not, I found a rabbit hole
and was digging it deeper. Everyone seemed to like me
and Polly and not one single person shied away from us
or told us off for giving them licky kisses. They were
very nice people, even if they did smell a bit funny.
|
Sunday
24th December |
We
have the little person staying with us this week, she is
always giving me and Amber kisses and cuddles and covering
us with a blanket because she thinks we need keeping warm.
We love her to bits. She seemed to acquire a flashing magic
wand yesterday, so today we have been magiced and turned
into Princesses about 10 times. Someone
was turned into a toad. |
Monday
25th December |
Merry
Christmas everyone! Yes,
Merry Christmas x |
Sunday
31st December |
Well
we finished our 1000 mile challenge walk today. 1400.6 miles
altogether. I used
to be just over 15" in height and now my legs have
been worn away with all this walking I'm sure I am only
12" now. |
|
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