Right now the rain is pouring down outside as it has done for most of the week so I am slightly very worried as today is going to be the first time that Stan goes on a camping trip with us!
There is a massive pile of kit in the conservatory which we got out last night and it is sitting there waiting for me to sort it out and pile it into the two cars that we are taking along with us. We will also be taking four teenagers. I don’t know if I am excited or terrified! I will update you later!!!
Now to get on with the job in hand…. what does a well-travelled dog need to take on camp – I’ll write a list -
Bed with soft throws (x2 in case one gets wet) and cushions (x2 – see throws!)
Crate for car travel and in case he needs to hide
Food bowls – x2 in case it gets broken – we are taking teenage boys
Water bowls – x2 – see above!
Long lead and stake so he can roam close to tent without getting into trouble
Toys for inside tent due to heavy rain expected – teddy, meer cat and rope thing
Toys for outside tent – it will brighten up! (PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!!) – varied balls and throwers
Leather lead we use for road walking although I hope there won’t be any of this – hoping to get away from it all!
Extender lead for tramping through fields and intrepid exploring (in rain!)
Towels – for after intrepid exploring!
Food for three days
Treat pouch full of treats for rewards
Gravy bones for big treats (!)
Poo bags – lots of them!
Brush for removing dried mud – back to the intrepid exploring
Flannel for removing wetter mud – more exploring and returning to tent in rain (!)
Travel water bottle and bowl – essential for long walks in hot sun as it is easy to carry around and the optimist in me hopes that rain will change into a mini heat wave!!
Dog training bag with “mattie” and “search cloth” and other bits for if we need to play games around the tent when the heat wave starts!
Ok Stan fans I am off to prepare for the trip – watch this space for updates, photos and news of my nervous breakdown! Oh – did I tell you -
I love collies and we had one as a much-loved family pet when I was growing up and my first dog when I left home was a border collie cross. When I got out of the rat race and left my job to work from home as a writer I decided that I would get a dog and I knew that dog must come from a rescue centre for a wide variety of reasons which I will explore in a future article. Of course that dog was going to be a collie and that is where Stan comes in…..
“What do you mean I’m not a cuddly and loveable border collie?” says Stan looking confused.
I fell in love with Stan at the RSPCA in Stretton, when he rushed up to the front of the kennel to get a good look at me, and that was that, he was the dog for me. I still hope to have a collie one day, hopefully as a friend for Stan but for now Stan is my Collie in disguise!
When I do add a second dog to our family that dog will come from The Border Collie Trust in Staffordshire where they rescue and rehome around 400 collies a year across the UK. They really do some brilliant work and need all the help they can get, especially as they receive no local or central government funding, they rely very much on the support of caring members of the public. There are many ways you can help them, visit their website to for more information.
Today I want to share Misty’s story to show that not all rescue dogs come with issues…. In fact she is a well trained, happy and loving dog.
Misty getting to know Ged while Stan looks on.
Misty is six and a half years old and until recently she had a very happy home where she was the much-loved and loyal pet of a wonderful man who I am sure she misses very much. Sadly her owner passed away suddenly and his family were not able to give Misty a home so she came to Border Collie Trust where she is being given lots of cuddles, walks and treats to reassure her but she really just wants a new Dad.
It was poignant that we came to the centre to take Misty out for the afternoon on Father’s Day as what Misty wants most of all is a new Dad. She lived alone with her Dad and while she is very friendly to all humans and although she was very affectionate to me it is clear that she really is a man’s dog. When we took her out walking she was constantly looking to see where my husband Ged was and even when I was the one holding the lead she walked alongside him most of the time.
We picked her up at the centre and went straight to the car where Stan travelled in his crate in the boot while Misty wore a dog seat belt and was put on the back seat. I say she was put on the back seat but it would be fair to say that she put herself on the back seat. Misty is clearly no stranger to car travel and she is used to being on the back seat. We had put the harness that fits to the seat belt on her before going to the car and it was just as well, as, as soon as I opened the car door, she jumped on to the seat immediately and was clearly not prepared to move again! She laid down and relaxed so much that by the time we had got ourselves sorted out, settled in the car and backed out of the parking space she was fast asleep. Despite being only inches away from Stan, who was quiet but excited, she slept until we arrived and parked the car.
Misty loves the car and is a VERY relaxed passenger.
Once we got to Shugborough Hall we put both dogs on a lead and began to explore the estate. This is a great place for dog walking so many new sights, sounds and smells and Stan loves it when we visit.
Misty was nose down investigating the smells in the long grass seconds after getting out of the car while Stan looked on in approval.
As we walked we were pleased to see how well she walked on a lead – we used a 4m extender to give her some freedom and she did go to the full length of the lead most of the time but she seldom pulled. When we walked around busy areas she was happy to be called to heel and stayed there with little encouragement, which made her a pleasure to walk with.
When walking in open fields she tends to prefer walking along the hedges and seems a bit nervous in open areas unless she is close by you.
We met lots of other dog walkers and she was very well-behaved and confident when we passed by, seeming to prefer to walk with us and ignore the other dogs. She did greet a couple and the greetings were friendly.
Misty and Stan were unconcerned – even uninterested – when we passed a field of rare breed cattle with impressive horns. The dogs just wanted to get to the next bit of long grass!
There are lots of farm animals on the estate and she was unconcerned by these.
We also met up with lots of people, she was very friendly and wanted to say hello to adult passers by. She was happy to come away from people as soon as she was asked but she did have a tendency to jump up if you were not ready with a calm word of command. We passed several children and she ignored all of them.
Both dogs stopped, briefly, to take a look at the sheep but neither of them tried to go through the fence and they passed by with no fuss.
Misty is a very loving dog and wants to please – she especially likes to please the men around her.
Misty really loves long grass and happily sniffed around in it for ages.
She loves rolling on her back in grass – just for fun or for a belly rub – she does not seem to mind which but she does REALLY love to do it. She rolled in long grass, in short grass, in grass with flowers… anywhere really
She loved running through the long grass with Stan in hot pursuit – as they remained on leads this meant we had to run as well!
Could you offer Misty a place in your family? Do you know someone who can become her new Dad? I like to think that next Father’s Day she will be running in the long grass with her new Dad….
The only negative I could find about this loving and loyal dog is that in the kennels she can be a little defensive of her food. She is already micro chipped, loves people, is not aggressive at all, gets on well with other dogs and could be homed where there is already a dog or where there are children. She is already neutered. She likes to be clean and rolled in the grass to give her coat a shine. I have brushed her and she loved it, seeming to think it was really a good game with lots of stroking! She is a confident girl who is a pleasure to walk and fun to be with.
To adopt Misty or one of the other lovely collies and collie crosses at The Border Collie Trust you will need to visit the centre in Staffordshire -
Note – the lane is very narrow near the top but please don’t let this put you off – it opens out with parking spaces at the end.
Opening Times
The centre is open to visitors 6 days a week
1st April – 30th September 10am to 5pm
1st October – 31st March 10am to 4pm
The centre is closed on Tuesday for rehoming expect by prior appointment
Full info on rehoming process is on the website and should you wish to offer a place in your home to one of the dogs I strongly recommend that you read all the information on there which covers the full process and also includes frequently asked questions. Should you then have any further questions please phone the centre on 0871 560 2282 (Calls can be taken Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm but please be aware the staff may be busy and not able to answer the phone quickly.)
If you are travelling a long distance to see a specific dog that you have read about in my blog or seen on The Border Collie Trust website then, if you phone the centre, they may be able to reserve that dog for up to 24 hours. Please note that a dog featured on the blog, or anywhere else, may not be available when you phone as the dogs they have can change quickly, often on a daily basis.
To ensure they can continue their vital work Border Collie Trust does charge a rehoming fee. The fees vary according to the age of the dog as follows –
Puppy less than 6 months £150
Young dog more than 6 months and less than 12 months
Not neutered £120
Neutered £150
Adult dog from 12 months less than 6 years
Not neutered £100
Neutered £150
Adult dog 6 years plus
Not neutered £80
Neutered £100
I really hope she enjoys next Father’s Day with her new Dad.
Misty just wants to make her person happy – so she needs a person.
A bit special today as it is a UK bank holiday – so instead of a simple quote I have found a poem that really made me smile. I missed the time when Stan was a little puppy but he is still very young so some of this is familiar….. enjoy -
The Life of a Puppy
This morning, I woke up & kissed my dad’s head.
I peed on the carpet, then went back to bed.
“The life of a puppy, oh my, this is great.”
Then I thought about breakfast,” I hope it’s not late.”
Mom took me outside, we walked for a while.
This never fails to make Mama smile.
I sniffed of everything, that we did pass,
I ate something weird – it gave me gas.
I’m sure God loves me, I know that is true.
He gave me so many great things to chew.
Rugs, plants or rocks, I really don’t care.
What I truly like best, is Dad’s underwear.
That obedience book, was sort of yummy.
Though it didn’t sit well on my poor puppy tummy.
I threw up a bit, but that was all right,
When Mom found it later, I was well out of sight.
I made streamers of T. P., while running at full speed.
Mom is pretty quick — but I was still in the lead.
I flew under the bed, and Mom flew past,
She stopped-shook her head, and breathed,
“You’re too fast.”
Mama later phoned Daddy, and said, “It was frightening!”
That afternoon, she was sure I’d pooped lightning.
She’d sat at the computer, while I chewed the cord,
She thought I was mad, but I was just bored.
When Mama had enough, couldn’t take anymore,
That’s when my tushy got shoved out the door.
I love it inside, but outside is best.
Lay in the cool grass, and had a good rest.
That didn’t last long, there was too much to do–
Can’t quite remember where I hid Daddy’s shoe.
I found an old bone, and scratched at a flea,
I watched the dumb squirrels as they jumped in a tree.
I barked at the kids, when they got off the bus.
I can’t figure out why this makes Mama fuss.
I barked at the neighbor, I barked at the wind.
I barked and barked, till Mom yelled, “COME IN.”
The sun dipped in the west-soon Daddy would come!
I sure love my daddy: we always have fun.
I barked at my daddy, then turned on my charms,
I woo-wooed, “Hello,” then jumped in his arms.
Sitting under the table — it’s sooo hard to wait.
Daddy slipped me a goodie right off his plate.
I raced through the house, and scattered my toys,
Ricocheted off the furniture, and made lots of noise.
Mom found her purse – the one I abused.
Daddy let loose a chuckle. Mom asked “Amused??”
I cowered down low, I must be in trouble.
Dad said, “Wasn’t MY boy, it must be his double!”
Mom turned off the TV, and said,”Time for bed.”
Dad said “Let’s go boy,” and patted my head.
I got in my spot, between Mom and Dad,
I thought ’bout my day and what fun I had.
Mama kicked out my bone from the covers below,
Then let loose a sigh — a sigh deep and low.
She gave me a kiss, and snuggled me tight,
And whispered so softly, ‘My darling goodnight’.
What weather do we expect! RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN!!! Hopefully it will brighten up as we still have a couple of days off work for most people so keep smiling and fingers crossed.
In the mean time it is great weather for ducks -
This is the latest batch of little ducklings to hatch on our local pond – these little mites are only a couple of days old and were very keen to stay with their mum and rush away from me with my camera.
There is plenty to look at down by our local ponds – two smallish ponds with a pathway around each located very close to Swadlincote’s park. There are ducks, geese, swans and more…… It is a nice walk especially when it stops raining (fingers crossed) Stan and I walk around there most days.
If you like that kind of thing there is even a geo cache hidden in a hollow tree – find it if you can
The babies soon made it safely into the water and swam away.
This is the newest arrival of the pond babies. The coots are really shy compared to the ducks and it took me around three days to be able to photograph their baby and they rushed for cover seconds after the photo was taken.
There are two families of geese and Stan has been very keen to chase them – when he sees geese on land he usually wants to encourage them into the water. He has been told he is not allowed to chase the goslings.
The geese don’t run away when I approach with my camera but then these guys are much older than the tiny ducklings. I think they are around 3 -4 weeks old now maybe more… you lose track of the time
This picture was taken when they were only a couple of days old and the parents hissed at me and rounded the babies up VERY quickly when I approached.
Regular readers will know that Stan is a nervous little boy like lots of rescue dogs really and I spend a lot of time getting him used to things and building his confidence. Life is all about sharing new experiences and showing my special boy that life is exciting and not frightening. Yesterday's new happening was the visit to the sea.
As the weather is now so nice again I thought I would show our new readers a post I blogged ages ago when we had a lovely sunny spell. This is about Stan's first ever trip to the sea and now summer is here I hope he will get to see this kind of thing a lot more - shame the sea is so far away really.
Yet another of the many stalls at Chase Water on Sunday…. The Retired Greyhound Trust does excellent work finding homes for retired racers. Stan and I have a close friendship with a retired greyhound and know how lovable they can be.
This is Tess who belongs to Helen one of our friends who also visits the local park. Stan loves to run after her and when she picks up speed she is beautiful to watch. Stan is stood close by watching other dogs playing on the park but near his friend ready for if she wants a race – he is always keen to try and beat her but never comes even close.
The stand at Chase Water was there to raise awareness and vital funds for their work and we won several prizes from their bingo style game including a lovely box of chocs that I have been dipping into ever since!
There were lots of people on the stall to help with advice and information on grey hounds – and several greyhounds as well Both the people and the dogs were very friendly – a happy bunch!
Racing greyhounds have sometimes spent their lives in kennels but as they are usually young dogs – they retire at between 2 and 4 years – they soon adapt to the new luxuries that come from being adopted into a family home. They learn very quickly and this is especially true of house training as they have a natural inclination to not soil their living space. From puppies greyhounds are trained to walk on a slack lead so they are a pleasure to take for a walk.
Passersby had to smile at this retired greyhound who found the excitement of the day just a little too much and settled down for a nap in front of the stall. One of the volunteers gave up his jacket to keep the sleepy boy snug.
Well today has been one of those days where I have got loads of things done but have realised I will run out of day before doing all that I had planned. One of the planned tasks was to write the second installment of the blog about our RSPCA walk and I realise now that I won’t be able to do it justice if I try to pull it in now when I would be rushed so bear with me and the second installment will come soon…..
From a scenery point of view it will be worth waiting for this is one of the many scenic views we walked past it the Spring sunshine.
Stan got up nice and early so he could be sure to be ready for the RSPCA sponsored walk and he and I had a wander down to the field near home at about 7.30am before we had breakfast and got ready to go. I made sure there were plenty of dog poo bags in my pocket and that I had his favourite ball. I filled up the dog treat pouch with the treats he likes best. His water bottle was filled and ready. The bottle sits in a small bowl so it’s ideal for taking on walks as you only have one thing to carry. We also made sure we took both the sponsor forms we had been using so we could show them to the marshalls when we got there. I put his crate into the boot of the car and made sure his lead was handy for when we wanted to leave.
We were ready to go, but we had a slight problem which would cause us a delay….
The teenage escorts were not ready…
Cathy and Steven were coming along to give their support but there was an issue with this which would be immediately apparent to any parent of a teenager. Teenagers do not recognise Sunday morning as a valid time frame. To them Sunday starts at around 12.30pm or sometimes later! Add in to this problem that one of the teenagers is a boy and it gets more complex. You see once we had woken Cathy up it would not take long for her to sort herself out and be ready to leave but for Steven it would be a more complicated challenge requiring him to fight against sleep which would try to reclaim him several times as he attempted first to get himself out of the bed and then down the stairs. As he sleeps in a loft bed both these occupations required a risk assessment as teenager boys are not good at working with heights until they have been awake for at least two hours.
Once downstairs he would realise that the bathroom is upstairs and so are his clothes. This is a daily problem for Steven and he has been working towards getting over the issue of having to return upstairs to claim his clothes and wash his body since he was a toddler. The main problem here is that once he has made the error and walked past the bathroom and come down stairs there are important teenage tasks to be attended to before he can go back upstairs again. Obviously he will have to log onto the computer and check to see if he has any messages. Once on the computer he will need to play mine craft for a while as if he does not there could be a total eclipse of the sun and the world will end. Once these task have been completed he will have used up his reserves of strength and so will have to eat before he can attempt to reclimb the stairs. All parents of teenage boys know that they begin to fade away if they don’t have food around once every two hours. More frequent inputs are required if you are camping or visiting the seaside or are in close proximity to a fish and chip shop that sells puka pies.
If Steven does not play mine craft at regular intervals the world will stop turning and plummet into a big dark hole of mud!
Eventually Steven managed to fight all the obstacles and get himself fed, showered and dressed by around 9.45am which is amazingly early for a boy his age – well done Steven, I am proud. unfortunately I had planned on being at the meeting point in Stapenhill (a 15 min drive away) by around 9.30am but still I considered it a positive result that we were now ready to leave and began to put on my trainers.
At this point someone said “Where’s Matt.” I paused and did a mental check….
Children I have
Kenny – left home so didn’t need to be woken up and worried about
David – left home as well so no waking up and shepherding to the car required
Cathy – yes she was stood next to me awake, dressed, ready to leave
Steven – yes, amazingly also dressed, ready to leave and possibly, despite the early hour, awake
Matt – not one of my offspring so unlikely to be hiding under a duvet hoping I had not noticed his failure to get up, so why would I be being asked “Where’s Matt?”
Matt is one of Steven’s closest friends so I had to check if he was sleeping on the livingroom floor. When Kenny and David lived at home I would find a body on the livingroom floor at least once a week and Steven is approaching the age when that began…. No none was there so I had to enquire why we wanted to know where Matt was. The answer came back that both Matt and Chris were coming with us. Now I should have expected this; teenage boys tend to move around as a pack, rather like wild dogs but not as sweet-smelling, so Steven would expect to take his friends with him. Of course the problem with this plan was directly related to the number of seats in the car.
Driving seat – mine and I’m not about to give it up without a fight and certainly not for a teenage boy
Front passenger seat – for husband Ged and again no chance of it being given up for anyone
Right rear seat – Cathy
Left rear seat – Steven
Central rear seat – folded down currently to allow Stan to peep through and see where he is going rather than just where he has been
Boot – Stan’s space with his dog crate and he did not want to share!
After much discussion it was agreed that as Matt had been apparently asked to be here by 9am he was not coming, so Steven then asked if he could call Chris, by now it was 9.55am so he was told yes, but he had to be quick, and if Chris was coming he had to be ready in 2 mins when we would pick him up!
Eventually we were on the way to Stapenhill village hall with our three teenage escorts sitting in the back of the car. When we got there everyone else had left on the walk but we took our map and happily began our adventure. The sun was shining, the teenagers were chatting happily, Ged was holding my hand and Stan was trotting alone at my heel. What a perfect Sunday it was turning out to be.
Our capable escorts began their tasks; Cathy map reading, Steven carrying the water and Chris sorting out the music – more on the music later!
Stan sniffed along the grass verge to check we were going the right way as we headed for the Washlands.
Next installment will show you our adventures on the walk including
Our meeting with Bare Grills and his camera man
A visit from a motor boat
Flood issues
Acrobatics
Dancing
Tunnels
Culture and history
Nature, with giant bread and giant rubber duckies
Geese Mexican waves and much, much more…..
Installment two coming to a computer near you 14th May 2012 – The Fund raising walk – the sequel. Sign up for email alerts to be sure you don’t miss anything!
