I was looking online for an image to use for a Christmas collection box, to collect gifts to give the dogs in rescue when I saw this image – seems a bit harsh to me…. no good will to cats then!
Stan loves parcels
Yesterday we had a parcel arrive just as the dogs were about to eat their breakfast. Stan loves parcels and likes to be involved in opening them so he left his food bowl and headed to the conservatory where he knew I would have put the parcel…..
Stan usually sits on a chair at the table during parcel opening but this time as I was not immediately ripping it open he got onto the table to take a closer look, a bit naughty really …. Tommy fans may wonder where he was at this point – simples – he was eating Stan’s breakfast!
The parcel was from our friends Farm and Pet Place – be sure to visit their website – http://www.farmandpetplace.co.uk/
Farm and Pet Place are Online pet suppliers with over 15,000 products to buy online including pet food (dog treats, horse food, chicken feed etc), pet accessories from rabbit hutches to dog beds and a whole lot more. They had talked to us on twitter (follow @farmandpetplace, we are @stanthedog) and had kindly offered to help us out with some prizes for our tombola table in aid of Border Collie Trust.
Tommy popped in to see what was going on and seeing Stan was fully occupied he nipped back into the kitchen to see if he could nick anything else to eat!
Stan spent a long time sorting the contents and preparing them for our next tombola event which will be at Aquatic, Pet and Garden Warehouse in Swadlincote this Saturday – be sure to come and meet Tommy, we will be there from 10am until 4pm. If you can spare any time to help out on the day then please get in touch we are always keen to have new helpers 🙂
Thank you very much Farm and Pet Place – your gift will be put to good use and is much appreciated. Look out on the blog next week to see how we get on fund raising this weekend.
BCTGB Volunteers have more fun!
Yesterday we had a great day at Just for Pets in Burton on Trent. A group of us went along to meet people and tell them about the work of Border Collie Trust and we had a good laugh with everyone enjoying the day and entering intom the spirit of the event in between the important business of talking to the public and collecting donations.
This is the second Just for Pets store we have visited with our fund-raising table and we will be back – VERY SOON. We were given a warm welcome by manager Richard and his team and Tommy was spoilt rotten as usual. Our next outing with Tommy will be very soon at Just for Pets in Swadlincote – keep an eye out for date if you want to come along.
Tommy showed off his new skills catching biscuits, “giving 5” to small children and chasing his ball and he sold lots of scratch cards where people could win a border collie puppy – (a stuffed one, not a real one!) He then retired to his crate for a rest while the humans took over selling scratch cards and tombola tickets.
Tommy demonstrated how important it is for working dogs to get quality rest after working for a while on our charity table!
Cathy and Lauren worked very hard all day – thank you for the support girls 🙂
Lauren entertained the customers when Tommy took a nap, Cathy even did some juggling!
If you did come and see us – thank you, we raised over £80 which will be used to help the collies. We also had a great time and it was lovely to meet so many people who have given homes to collies from the trust over the years.
If you would like to get involved and help us as a volunteer fund-raiser then please get in touch, you don’t need to commit to giving up lots of time, even a couple of hours every few weeks will be helpful. It’s fun, it’s rewarding and for the collies it is life changing, or even life saving.
In the words of The Beatles – Help, I need somebody, HELP!
Hello blog readers, thank you for popping in for a read. Today instead of hoping to entertain or provide you with information I am going to ask you for your help!
As regular readers know I am passionate about supporting Border Collie Trust and I am determined to do all I can to help the collies they rescue. However I cannot do as much as I want to help them on my own and now I have been given the post of Volunteer Coordinator I am desperate for as much support as I can muster.
The trustees, staff and small number of current volunteers are very supportive and helpful as I search for new members of the team but if I am to begin to build a national team of volunteers I need a much wider group to help me spread the word about how to get involved. That is where my readers come in…. that’s you…. so please “friends…., Romans….., Countrymen…., citizens of the world….. lend me your fingers…..” yep, I did say fingers! Your typing fingers!
I will be using twitter, and to a lesser extent face book, to inform people of the many ways they can get involved and help BCT, but for this to work I need followers for the new twitter account! Lots and lots and lots of followers! So that when I type a tweet of info it is seen by a large group of people across the UK and beyond. I know that lots of the people who read the blog are very good at the social networking thing so please, please help me out here; – do what ever you think may work to get me some more followers and put the twitter name out there –
@BCTGBVolunteers
Feel free to add it to email signatures, on the bottom of blog posts, in tweets, on face book, anywhere that you can think of that may get it noticed and attract another follower to our cause! Where ever you can do to help in this way, where ever you are in the world, I will thank you, BCTGB will thank you and the collies will thank you.
Tommy is hoping all his and Stan’s furpals on twitter will spare a tweet every so often to help get new followers for @BCTGB volunteers 🙂
Fundraisers do it with collecting tins :)
Every time I have visited the BCT kennels there has been another dog that I want to help, another sad story waiting for a happy ending. Every time I have been in the trust’s office there has been at least one phone call with a plea for help. There can be as many as 10 or 15 calls for help on the phone each day.
The trust helps many, many dogs each year. They rehome 400 to 500 annually and more are helped with the Collie Care Fund which helps out with vets costs in exceptional circumstances.
There are generally between 30 and 40 dogs at the centre and there is always a waiting list of dogs that need help. The dogs come from other rescue centres who need assistance homing a border collie or from rescue sites that take in strays and in those cases the help is needed quickly as the dogs are at risk of being PTS. They also come from owners who can no longer care from them, this can be for a wide variety of reasons including ill-health and marital breakdown. Staff at the centre are given the difficult task of prioritising all these needs. When the call comes, as it says on their website, staff go into “serious think mode” as they work out which dog they can take and which will have to wait. Priority is given to any dog in stray kennels as these dogs are PTS if they are not found rescue spaces quickly enough.
A huge amount of fund-raising is done to ensure funds are available to carry out the work that is quiet literally a lifeline for the collies. This fund-raising is done in a variety of ways and includes attending events to spread the word about the work going on and to collect donations or placing collecting tins in shops, vets or anywhere else that will have people there who may pop in a few pennies. Still despite all this hard work going on the staff are still forced to choose which collie to help and when. There are still collies on the waiting list who are in desperate straights.
It is great that the trust does such amazing work. The staff and a small team of dedicated volunteers have been working hard since the 1970’s to achieve the great results they have had so far, results which have seen the trust become a national charity with purpose-built kennels set in a four and half-acre site. Yet still there is the daily need for “serious think mode” which ultimately has to decide the fate of dogs in need. People who know me call me an idealist and a dreamer, and that may be true, as I have an idealistic dream that with enough helpers we can make “serious think mode” defunct and only required to decide what type of biscuits to have with mid morning coffee! In my dream BCT would have the resources to help EVERY SINGLE TIME the phone rings.
I need helpers to make my dream come true – volunteers, lots and lots and lots of them! I don’t care where you live, or who you are, or if you can spare 8 hours a day or half an hour a month! I want you to help me make this dream come true! Help me, and the small band of people already supporting the trust, to form a fund-raising team that is big enough and strong enough to raise enough funds every year to make it so that every time the phone rings with a request for help the answer can be yes.
There are two main fund-raising roles where there are vacancies across the whole of the country, (or if you love collies perhaps even the world !) These are –
Collections Coordinator.
Installing collecting tins in shops, pubs and other public areas and visiting to collect the contents on a regular basis. This is a vital role as although the cash sums collected are low they mount up over the course of a year to become a significant contribution. This role also helps raise national awareness of the work done by the trust as info leaflets are left with the collection tin where possible and the tins themselves are branded and have web address.
To read more about this click here – Collections Coordinator info
Event Host
Friendly outgoing people needed who can run a stand promoting the work of BCTGB at varied outlets – dog shows, fetes, country shows, pet shops etc. Full training is offered and lots of support is available.
Currently most of this work is done by small number of Trustees and Volunteers and as the demand is very high we need more people to take part. The main objective is always to promote the Trust’s work and increase the number of people who are aware of the work done with the collies. The second objective is to raise funds to pay for the work to continue. Methods of achieving these objectives vary depending on the event and the preferences of the person hosting.
To read more about this click here – Event host info
I joked earlier today to a colleague that I would like to see a collection tin in every shop across the country and a stand with the trusts logo on at every event we can think of. Help me go a little way to make this joke a reality. Think of how many more collies we could save if there are enough of us helping out.
Is your church about to have an autumn fayre, your school holding a Christmas market, is there a local pet shop that would allow you to set up a small table one Saturday and raise some funds? Could you hold a dress down for work day, or dress up, or non uniform if you are at school and collect donations? Whatever your idea if it could raise funds we are keen to hear about it and want you on our volunteer team – visit the web site and fill in a volunteer application form TODAY – the Collies need YOU. Once your form is filled in and sent into the BCT office we will be in touch and you will be well on the way to helping us rescue more collies.
Tommy working as a volunteer event host running a tombola at Just for Pets – all puppies need to have a human helper when they volunteer 🙂
Pesky puppy and the fox poo stink!
So it was raining this morning and I am recovering from a cold and still feeling pretty rubbish so I decided that instead of a walkies we would have a kitchen dog training session which then spread to most of the house with the tunnel out and going under the dining room table and a hoop being set up for Stan to jump through and Tommy to step through – Tommy is still too young for jumps. We also had a very fast game of ball that involved running up and down stairs. We had great fun but half an hour after we stopped the boys let me know they were still hoping for their walkies!
I relented as the rain had become just dampness rather than downpour so we set off for the woodlands. We had a great walk before turning for home and it was just as we were leaving that Tommy spotted his chance!
Fresh fox poo – his favourite eau de cologne!
Head down he dipped in a fluffy ear.
Bliss and best of all I had not realised what was happening so he was not stopped – too good to be true.
He dipped the other ear!
Just as I looked around to see what he was up to he went for it – head right down and pressed into the soft mess and then a quick slide to spread it down his back! Lovely!
In the car I was very glad of my blocked nose! When we got home I can only blame the cold for slowing my reactions as he was able to get into the office where there is a new white carpet – there he tried to remove some of the evidence!
The result will not go down well with the family when they return tonight. It was time to implement my disaster recovery plan….
- Put puppy into his crate for a rest and to be out-of-the-way. Stay calm and talk nice to him – it’s not his fault!
Get Stan to stand guard so he is also out of harms way!
- Spread washing powder over the smelly bits on the new white carpet and close office door firmly so dogs can’t get near it! Swear a bit while doing this as they can’t hear me from here!
Use washing powder to sprinkle the smelly new carpet!
- Collect required equipment – just washing with dog shampoo does not get rid of the smell. If you rub in tomato juice first then wash with shampoo you get a sweet-smelling pooch – if just shampoo is used the dog still has eau de fox! I had no tomato juice so I strained a tin of chopped tomatoes!
Rub the tomato juice into puppy – he seems to like this!
When dogs lick their noses it is a sign of stress but in this case it may have been Tommy trying to lick the tomato that splashed onto his nose!
- He confirmed it was taste not stress that had him licking his nose as he stole the rest from the bowl!
Warning doing this in the bathroom is very messy – look at my walls! Looks like a murder scene!!
5. Then into the bath to wash off the fox poop and the topping of tomato!
It does take a while to get everything washed off – especially if your puppy decides to try and play in the bath!
6. Out and dry you now sweet-smelling puppy!
By now Tommy was fed up with the process!
7. Now bath your terrier as you “might as well while the bathroom is so messy!”
Stan was not happy to find himself in the bath water and wanted to leave the room as soon as he could!
8. Take both dogs down stairs to be dried off….
Tommy thought the best way to get dry was to run around very fast!
Stan thought this was a great game and joined in!
9. Sit the dogs down and explain how we don’t behave like that 🙂
They were told to calm down before being given a dog chew each in their crates.
10. Hoover washing powder off new white carpet to leave clean fox poo free space….. oh it didn’t work!!!!
11. Order Hire station carpet cleaner – a good thing as BCTGB get a donation and plan to shampoo new white carpet and then….
GIVE UP and pour medicine into glass – put feet up first and chill out!
for my cold…
If you need to clean a carpet and want to get a cut price and know that Border Collie Trust will get a donation have a read here-
Hire station bargain for BCTGB supporters
The Collies Need YOU!
Volunteers are seldom paid; not because they are worthless, but because they are PRICELESS!
Anon
I have news! Good news! News that makes me feel very happy, gives me a new task to get my teeth into and will give me great satisfaction! I now have an official volunteer role at Border Collie Trust. 🙂
Helping the trust not only gives me something positive to do but it results in improving, enriching and even in saving the lives of the border collies at the centre and for this I will be giving myself a well deserved pat on the back – when I have time! The task I have taken on will call on all my past experience as a project manager, organiser, and motivator. I am the newly appointed Volunteer Coordinator and I have high hopes of the role which I hope will increase vital fund-raising, further raise awareness of the work done by the trust and ultimately secure the future of Border Collie Trust GB.
BCTGB already has a small group of dedicated volunteers and recognises that the work they do is invaluable. I will be working hard to build on the work this small team have done in the past and enlarge the team into a force to be reckoned with. I am hoping that those people who have worked quietly away supporting the trust for many years will help and support me in this and that they can be there to assist the new volunteers we hope to add to the team.
I will be hoping to call on my many online friends and RL friends to help me out in this task, I have already had eleven people step forward and offer their support which is fantastic – even better to know that two of these people came to us via twitter and don’t even know me, yet they want to do what they can to help the border collies.
Over the next few weeks you will be hearing a lot about what you can do to get involved and help out and a few ideas are detailed below. I will also be looking at the many ways the trust and the collies can help you. Do you need to get fit? We can help with the motivation for that either by involving you in the dog walking programme or by inviting you to join our walk of the High Peak Trail, or both! Do you need to have something to add to a CV? Join our happy band of fundraisers and you will be able to show you can work as part of a team or independently depending on how you want to work with us. Do you need to meet new people and get out and about? Getting involved will make you part of a team and could also mean you are meeting new people; which can have a very positive impact on your social life. From a social point of view there will, on occasion, be events that include cake and gossip!!!!
High Peak Trail
On 23rd June 2013 I will be walking the High Peak Trail to raise funds to help support the work done by BCT. Along with me will be several other fit, active people who have volunteered to collect sponsors and walk the 17.5miles of the trail. Ok…. I accept they are not fit or active currently, nor am I! By the time we do the walk though we confidently expect to have the bodies of beach babes and hunks and the ability to stroll the length of the course without breaking into a sweat….. fingers crossed!!!! All the walkers are taking part in training sessions building up to the 17.5mile hike, currently the furthest any of us has walked is 12 miles and that involved some tears!
We welcome anyone else who wants to join us on this challenge as either a walker, a driver (to get people back to the start line car park) or a marshal to help out either at the start, finish or along the route. We also need people who can promote the event and collect sponsors for the walkers. We are hoping this event will raise a significant amount of money for BCT and are relying on volunteers getting involved to make it a success. We also aim to make it a great fun, social occasion for everyone taking part – life is too short to take poart inn events unless we try to make them fun!
The scenery is beautiful on the 17.5 mile long High Peak Trail
Fund raisers
The members of this happy little team work hard to ensure we raise as much cash as we can for BCT and the time committment is very flexible depending on what time you have available and what you want to do. We desperately need more people to get involved and become part of this team – the bigger the team the more collies we can fund the rescue of. There are four main ways to get involved.
- You can organise your own event, perhaps a coffee morning or garden party, a dress up day at work, or a non uniform day at school -we will support you with advice, literature to hand out at your event or perhaps something else depending on what you need.
- You can run a stand at a dog show or fete or at your local pet shop or at any event where there are people for you to talk tom about the work of BCTGB- there are lots of variations on how to do this and we welcome new ideas. If you fancy giving this a go get in touch and I will give you a ring to talk about some of the ideas that we have tried and to see how we can best support you in doing this for us.
This is me with Tommy holding a fund-raising tombola at our local pet shop – we raised around £60 which went straight to BCT to help the collies 🙂 As a bonus Tommy and I had a great day and we have made new friends as a result of this event.
- You can become a collection tin coordinator. Collecting tins in local shops, pubs, clubs, garden centres and vets are a great way for us to get some cash raised and as a national charity we need to spread them across as much of the country as possible. We need coordinators who will arrange for their tins to be placed in a good position, local shop, their pet shop, pub or where ever they like. They will then keep a record of where the tins have been placed and periodically, usually monthly they collect the contents in and send it into BCT. This can be as simple as having one tin in the pub across the road or as complex as having 10 tins spread around your locality. This is one way of supporting that does not require much of your time but brings in vital cash.
- You can attend an event and simply collect funds with a collecting tin. Permission is needed from event organisers and we need to ensure you meet all the legal requirements, such as having ID badges, so if you have an event or location in mind where you want to do this for us get in touch and we will ensure you have all you need and also get some literature to you that you can hand out at the same time. This is a simple way of raising funds and also awareness as you get the opportunity to chat to the people giving the donations and can tell them all about the trust.
Over the next few weeks I will also be looking at arranging a group event but in several locations which you may like to get involved in. This will be along the lines of national coffee mornings organised by other charities although at the moment I am looking for an idea that gives this a doggie feel – let me know if you have any brain waves!
Dog walkers
For anyone living locally to BCT the obvious way you can help out is to spend time with the dogs. This is very important for their socialisation as well as giving them – and you – much-needed exercise when you take them walking. Waking is on site as there is a field for dog walking and you get to meet up with other volunteers and staff while walking. All dog walkers receive training from staff who are always on hand to help.
On line volunteers
I have already had lots of support for the online community helping to spread the word about various events and most recently the special appeal for older or special needs dogs to help find them the right home. I am hoping this will continue and really hope that some of these “virtual volunteers” will turn into actual volunteers taking on roles as part of the fund raising team or joining in an event like the High Peak walk.
To the online community I say – please do continue all you have been doing retweeting, FB sharing, reblogging etc to assist me spreading the word about the help that is needed and keep your eyes open for an online only event we will be trying out as a fund-raiser soon.
Other ways to help and get involved
The list here would be endless – the tasks that immediately spring to mind are ground maintenance, gardening, mowing, driving – either locally or to collect dogs nationally. Making things – dog blankets, things we can sell or raffle or put on a tombola…. You may have other ideas and we are keen to hear them so get in touch!
So how do you get involved and how do you keep up with what is going on? A good start would be to follow this blog as there will be frequent updates on here about what is happening. You can contact me via the contact page of the blog or by phoning or emailing the trust – info below.
Contact BCTGB office for info –
Phone – 0871 560 2282
The BCTGB OFFICEis open for telephone calls – Monday to Friday between 9am and 4.30pm.
(The office is closed on Bank Holidays)
At times the phone can be busy and you may receive our voice mail. We will try to return calls as soon as possible. We would appreciate calls being made during the week, at weekends when the admin office is closed any messages will be dealt with as soon as possible.
Email – info@bordercollietrustgb.org.uk
Sign up for BCTGB email newsletter using the link below – this will keep you informed about everything going on at BCTGB including volunteer information.
http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?llr=ozykbkcab&p=oi&m=1101996057390
Remember – The Collies NEED YOU!!!!
News flash – hire station helps Border Collie Trust
Hire Station are supporting Border Collie Trust with a great deal, which not only will raise vital funds for Border Collie Trust, allowing them to continue their work rescuing and rehoming border collies and border collie crosses across the UK, but will also save money for their supporters every time they hire anything from Hire Station, either from the on-line shop or from one of Hire Station’s branches.
Hire station has branches spread across the UK and you can arrange to have hired products delivered direct to your door or you can collect from a branch. You can hire anything from a carpet cleaner to a rotavator, a cement mixer to a wall paper stripper. Whatever your project, big or small, they can help you out with the right tools for the job. To see what is available to hire look here – hire station.
Border Collie Trust supporters will receive a discount of at least 25% off all Hire Station catalogue prices, across their full range of equipment. In addition to this great discount Hire Station will give Border Collie Trust a donation every time one of the BCT supporters hires anything using this account code –
Border Collie Trust Account Number – Z746921
The more you hire, the more you save and the bigger the donation to Border Collie Trust – a real win for everyone 🙂
Special deal on carpet cleaners for Border Collie Trust supporters!
Even better – as Hire Station know dog lovers need help keeping carpets spick and span they have arranged an even better price for when hiring carpet cleaners! I have tried these machines myself in the past and even though I have a house full of pets and teenagers they can make it look like I have new carpets! They are quick and easy to use – not much more effort than vacuuming and the results are excellent. For more info have a look here – Hire station carpet cleaner
Visit any Hire Station branch and quote the Border Collie Trust Account number and you will receive the discount, to find your nearest Hire Station branch look here – Hire Station branch locator.
Alternatively phone 0845 604 5337 and quote the Border Collie Trust Account number to arrange delivery of your hired items to your door when you need them.
To make it easy for you to remember the Border Collie Trust Account number there will soon be printed leaflets available from Kennels in Rugeley or for you to print off from the website. Feel free to hand these around your friends as the more people use the service the more funds the trust will raise.
Thank you Hire Station for this very generous offer which will help both the supporters and Border Collie Trust.
If you have any questions about this great deal or if you experience any problems please let me know by email – border.collie@vpplc.com
Short story time – A perfect Day
A perfect day
It was a phrase he had heard one of the girls in the kennels use. She had been talking about her day off, how she had laid in bed later than usual with her golden retriever resting across the bottom of the bed before they got up and spent the day, out and about, roaming across fields, enjoying the autumn scenery, together.
He had seen the retriever once, her name was Sophie and she had a gleaming coat that shone with love that she received from Lucy. He had sat in his kennel and listened as Lucy described how they had ran together across the fields before stopping by a stream to share a picnic of dog biscuits for Sophie and sausage rolls for Lucy, washed down with bottled water. His ears pricked up even further when she described relaxing in front of the fire when they returned home in the chill of the evening to share hot buttered toast, a sinful treat for the skinny girl and the much loved dog. His memory stirred – toast had been shared before and he had claimed his titbits in front of another fire but that seemed like another life. No toast in the kennels, no time.
Lucy looked over at Tyler as she worked. He was, as always, watching her; she smiled as she thought it looked like he was eaves dropping on her conversations. She had seen his ears twitch when she told John about the toast she had shared with Sophie the night before. She put down her brush and opened his kennel door. Tyler came straight to her with his tail as upraised as his ears. He pushed up against her legs as she scratched his black ears before running as finger tip down his soft white nose. In no time he was rolled on his back with his legs in the air ready for the daily belly rubs she gave him every time she was at work, she always made time. She worked her hand across his middle while he squirmed happily beneath her gentle touch.
She wondered if he could remember his old life, before the kennels. If he mourned the elderly couple who had doted on him. If he missed walks across the fields he had shared, before the man, who had loved him so much, walked no more. If he thought sometimes of the lady who had cried the day he had come to the kennels, when she was taken to the nursing home on the hill near the fields where he had once walked. He was so worried by new people, was it because he just wanted his people back? Did he understand they could not help leaving him behind? Was that why he growled and seemed so grumpy when she knew he could be so loving? Who knew, who would have the time to find out?
Peter watched Lucy from a distance. He saw her watching the border collie who had been sitting with his head tilted watching her when she had been talking to the other member of her team as they worked. Once the man moved away Lucy had gone into the kennel with the black and white dog and she was now bent over him in what Peter recognised as a regular ritual greeting. He had spotted the border collie when he visited the kennels the previous day looking for just such a dog but he had discounted him when approaching the kennel as when the dog caught sight of him it had retreated to the back of it’s domain and growled long and low at him. The dogs message was plain, “Go away, leave me be.”
Now seeing the dog with this pretty girl he was pleased he had made the time and returned to see him again. He opened the gate and began to approach the kennel frontage. Suddenly the dog froze under the girl’s hand. His head, still at floor level, spun around and his lips curled in an unmistakable gesture of dislike, a warning to back off and leave him be. The girl stopped the movement of her hand but kept her position, bent over the dog,
“Stop walking and stand still.” There was an air of unmistakeable command in her voice.
Peter looked over his shoulder, unsure if she was talking to him but he stilled his approach.
“Good. Now take two steps backwards and turn slightly so you are not facing him.” Peter wondered later why he had just obeyed her commands without question, but she had a way of telling you what to do that could not be argued with, perhaps that was why she was so good with the dogs.
The dog stopped growling and held still under the girl’s tiny, white hand.
“Can you see the bench just inside the gate, the one by the grass?”
A glance and then he nodded.
“Good. Go and sit on it and look down at the floor. I’ll bring him out to meet you but I just want you to sit still with your hands in your lap and your head down. With this one you need to make time to meet him properly.” Peter nodded thoughtfully and turned away to do as he had been bid.
Less than two minutes later the girl was sat beside him on the bench, with the dog sat on the ground at her side. He knew the dog was looking at him, but he was careful to do as he was told and not look at the dog. He looked at the girls legs instead. To begin with he looked without seeing, avoiding looking at the dog. Then he saw how slim they were in tight denim. He swallowed and chanced a glance at the dog, their eyes met with the man’s head still slightly lowered. Lucy passed him the lead and slowly he stood up. As he stood the dog gave a low rumble of a growl but it cut short with a sharp tut from Lucy.
“A walk, I’ll take him for a walk. Then I’ll come back.” Peter’s eyes met Lucy’s and locked into place, he couldn’t help himself asking, “You will still be here?”
She met his gaze. “I’ll still be here.”
Man and dog walked side by side down to the field where they would find they could be friends, in time. They could have a strong bond, in time. Tyler’s coat would gleam after a good brushing, given with love, from Peter, in time. They could go walking across fields with a girl called Lucy, and her retriever, before going home, to share sinful toast, in time. Soon they would be able to have a perfect day as well and who knew what that day would bring.
We had a great day!
Yesterday started early with me and Stan leaving for an early morning walkies on our own. This is something we both love and try to do as often as we can and as I was going to be leaving him at home with Cathy and Steven I wanted us to have some special time first.
Stan and I had a great game of ball on the park early in the morning as well as walking around the ponds to see the ducks. It was a nice start to the day.
Then it was home for breakfast of bacon in crusty cobs with added cheese; Stan and Tommy both got a tiny bit of the cheese which they really love before we set off to Just for Pets in Swadlincote to set up Tommy’s tombola stall ready to raise some money for Border Collie Trust and talk to people about the great work they do.
We love going to Just for Pets as they make us feel very welcome and yesterday was no exception! The team there are all really good fun and always smiling and Tommy loves them all. Stan is also a regular visitor to the shop and enjoys his visits as he knows the staff won’t bother him but they will often give him a biscuit, which he secretly likes a lot.
Yesterday as well as doing the tombola we spent some time doing doggie teeth cleaning and grooming demos which Tommy enjoyed as he likes to be the centre of attention.
I think it is really important to clean your dogs teeth regularly as this avoids problems in later life. If you do the cleaning regularly they soon get used to it and Stan will now come and sit in front of me with his mouth open when he see the tooth-brush out.
Pet shops sell a variety of tooth pastes and brushes – this is a selection at Just for Pets. We like to used a finger brush and these can be bought for around £3 to £4 or you can get packs which have tooth paste and brushes. You can also buy from your vet who can help with advice if you are worried about your dogs teeth.
Tommy loves having his teeth cleaned as he likes the taste of the tooth paste – it’s fish flavour rather than minty fresh like human versions – by the way human tooth paste is not good for dogs and cats.
As we started cleaning Tommy’s teeth when he was so young it was very easy to get him used to it – Stan was a bit more of a challenge but by giving his teeth a very brief clean everyday he soon got used to it – he also loves the taste of the fishy tooth paste – luckily it does not leave a fish smell on his breath which is sweet-smelling due to his extra clean teeth.
Tommy also had a nice brushing while we at Just for Pets and people were surprised how much fur we removed by brushing him with a furminator – these are great at reducing the amount of dog hair spread around your home as they remove loose fur very well. I also use a bristly brush which left him nice and shiny.
We set up outside in the sunshine and met lots of lovely people – many of whom went away happy as they won a prize in Tommy’s tombola. Despite the time of year the weather was great and we got top ups to our tans 🙂
The friendly team at Just for Pets nipped out into the sunshine to spend a bt of time with Tommy.
Tommy thought it was a bit too warm so he went inside to help Sue out on the till….
Tommy gets some till training from Sue 🙂
Then Tommy relaxed in his shady den while we ate a picnic in the sunshine…
The door to his crate was left open but as it was nice and shady and there was a tasty dog chew Tommy saw no need to come out and join us! He loves his crate and often settles down for a rest in there.
Later we headed home where Stan was waiting for me. The great day got even better as Stan reverted to lap dog mode and snuggled up with me on the sofa for a nap while Tommy slept on the rug close by.
Later we headed off out for a long walk with both dogs and Ged had a great game with Stan chasing balls in the field while Tommy and I practiced sitting nicely and recall.
With tired dogs again we headed home to slob in front of the TV and eat pizza cooked by Ged and Cathy. All in all a great Saturday!
My lovely boys!
Stan the dog 