Christmas Catch Up

 We had an enjoyable christmas day yesterday, we ate plenty and Santa bought us all some good presents (we must have been good) including an iPad for me to keep me entertained in the caravan at agility shows in the summer.

The dogs had some new toys and goodies. I think Brian gets the most excited about Christmas, once the presents were put under the tree he wouldn't move away from them and on Christmas morning he helped open every single present! He was soon asleep after all the excitement.

This morning it was time to get some fresh air, the dogs were full of energy so we took them for a nice walk along the river bank. There was nobody about at all so it was a good chance for the dogs to just run. We managed to keep them all out of the river too, although Brian did find a muddy puddle to lie down in. They all had another turkey diner for their tea tonight and have been munching on dinosaur bones for the past few hours so that has kept them quiet.

Tomorrow they are in for some more excitement as my mum and dad are coming up to look after them for a couple of days so that we can go and visit Conor's family in Kent.

Im sure my mum and dad will wear them out though with walks and playing in the paddock, no sure who will end up the most tired though, them or the dogs!

Merry Christmas Everybody!!!

Adventures

Since our last post we have all had a few adventures. Me and Conor have just spent a week in lovely sunny Mexico, although at times it was cloudy it was considerably warmer than here. We have relaxed and enjoyed the sun, sea and sand and done lots of shopping, been scuba diving, doing 2 dives from Playa Del Carmen before flying home today. How I am currently still awake I'm not sure, having been up now for more than 28 hours. I think we'll sleep well tonight!

The dogs have had some adventures of their own too while we have been away. They left us last Saturday and went to stay with Sandra who normally looks after them. They go with a company called Barking Mad who collect the dogs from you, take them to their host (Sandra) and then they get brought back to you at home. They all went off very happily and when Claire brought them back tonight she explained that on the second day of having them, Sandra went to the shop (without the dogs) and fell and broke her foot so the dogs have been to stay with a new family for the remainder of their holiday. They have been to a lady called Lisa who has two daughters. It seems the dogs have had a fab time though, walking in the park and the woods, Heidi has been hiding out under the bed (her favourite thing), Brian had enjoyed dozing on the sofa and Kody has been Lisa's shadow. They all look like they have eaten well for the last week too (think diets might be in order after christmas!) but all in all they adapted very well to the sudden change of families.

They were all so excited to come home, they have had a mad half an hour, had their tea and they all fast asleep. Don't think it will be long before I join them...

When Brian was about six months old and a pretty naughty puppy we decided it was time to take him to training classes. After visiting a few we made contact with Stan Browning at Shrewton DTC, a retired MDP Dog  handler. We joined the club and all of our dogs, with the exception of Kody, attended the puppy classes and Brian continued into the advanced class until we moved away.

We had some very enjoyable experiences with the club and made lots of new friends, in fact Stan was always organising something for us to do in order to raise money for charity. Brian and me we members of the dog display team, putting on shows during the summer at the local village shows and fairs, we took part in a pantomime - 'Snow White & the Seven Woofs', helped organise our club fun dog show each year (where our dogs always seemed to come home with loads of prizes) and Stan also got us into the competitive obedience world and showed us what to do at our first show (in torrential rain I might add!). Stan and Elaine always looked after Brian if we were away or going on holiday, and Brian also went to hydrotherapy at Stan's pool. Also not forgetting the Christmas parities and monthly walks on salisbury plain for club members.

You might wonder the point of this post, well yesterday we received the sad news that Stan had passed away earlier in the day. It was a shock, I saw him last about 18 months ago when we visited the club after attending an agility show in the area. He was always so fit and well and was preparing to take part in a canoe race next year.

Our thoughts are with Elaine, Marie and their dogs and family, and also to the members of Shrewton DTC past & present.


(The photos are some old club photo's of us and other members from over the years we were there)

(The dog display team in 2008)

       

  

Stan & Bouncer