Dash and the Dogs Trust

Where better to take a dog for a walk than the ‘Garden of England’? Faversham in the county of Kent was the location for Dash’s latest promotional outing. We were guests of the Dogs Trust at their Fun Day and Dog Show. This time was a bit different however, since the whole family came along! My wife, Sarah (featured in the book) and son, Freddy (unfeatured since still a twinkle back then), both got a taste of what it was like to share the stage with ‘Dash: Bitch of the Year’. The turnout was fantastic, considering the weather did its best to put the dampers on the day. At one point, during the judging of the dog show, an almighty downpour forced Dash, me and a hundred or so owners and their pooches to run for shelter. Despite the drenching, spirits were high and we all stood under a nearby marquee for quarter of an hour sharing shaggy dog stories. I have to say this kind of camaraderie has been one of the nicest things about meeting other dog owners. People are so ready to talk about how thankful they are to have rescued a dog in need and how much their dog matters to them. One of the most affecting encounters of the day was with a couple in their sixties who had a handsome young lurcher – a whippet-greyhound cross in fabulous nick. It transpired it was actually their son’s dog. ‘So where’s your son today?’ I asked. ‘Still in bed?’ Their son had died of cancer two months previously. He’d adopted the dog, loved it and then left it to his parents. You could see how attached they were to it, and how much they missed its owner, their son. Dogs can do that kind of thing – and it doesn’t matter what breed or age or temperament. It’s their particular gift to receive love and pass it on. If, by some slim chance, you’re reading this and don’t have a dog, well, you don’t know what you’re missing. I guarantee that rescuing one will make you two or three degrees happier in an instant. The dog you adopt, of course, will love you forever: http://www.dogstrust.org.uk

Dash and GRWE

No posts for a while, but that’s because it’s summer … and Dash and I have been getting out and about. In July we were the guests of Greyhound Rescue West of England (GRWE) at two separate events. The first was in the delightful Somerset village of Mark. The second was stretching the definition of ‘west’ a bit, if you ask me, since we were in the village of Stoke Bruerne near Milton Keynes. Both events were ‘fun dog shows’ – fun by name, fund-raising by nature. There were stalls selling all sorts of greyhound-related merchandise, tombolas, lotteries, poo-bag tossing competitions (yuk!), photo competitions, homemade cakes, gourmet BBQ sausages (yum!) and, of course, more greyhounds than you could shake a stick at. Not that a greyhound is interested in sticks, mind you. The main event at each was the judging of the dog show, with categories including ‘Prettiest Bitch’ (Dash was barred from entering in case she lost!), ‘Most Handsome Male’, ‘Dog with the Waggiest Tail’, ‘Best Trick’, ‘Best Irish Brace’, ‘Best (non-Greyhound) Pedigree’ and ‘Dog the Judge Would Most Like to Take Home’. Dash and I even got to judge a few of these categories ourselves (see photo above), as well as dishing out a few rosettes. Much to my surprise, at the Mark show, I ended up choosing a Giant Schnauzer as the dog I’d most like to take home! More important, however, a combined total of more than £2K was raised at the two events. Good for GRWE … and greyt for greyhounds! Our next show is this Sunday (7 August) at the Dogs Trust in Faversham, Kent. Hope to see you there!