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Almost famous

Today started with my usual trip to the park, but it was really really busy. Of course that meant that there were dogs everywhere (YES!!) and I dragged politely took Mum round to see them all. I am a good boy.

At lunch we went to the seafront, via the pet shop. Outside the store was an RSPB man who was promoting the charity with various leaflets and props, including a toy otter…which I stole off the table while he wasn’t looking!

A nice lady saw my stealth skills at work and came over to give me a cuddle because she thought it was funny. I put my paws on her shoulders and gave her face a big lick. It worked. She loved me. Another heart conquered.

After getting some free snacks at the pet shop (they keep a bowl at the counter for me – oh, and the other dogs), I managed to persuade Dad to get me an ice cream on the promenade. It was the best one ever…I even ate the whole cone!

Could you possibly hold that up a little bit and maybe a centimetre to the left? Thanks Dad…you’re the best.

As if that wasn’t enough action for one day, Dad took me on a special tea time cat patrol. As an added bonus, there was one of the furry critters right outside the front gate. Got him…almost.

H x

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Molls on hols

Those of you who know me well, or are regular readers of my blog, will realise that I’m quite a happy chappy. In fact, every day is an amazing adventure. But this weekend has literally been the BEST THING EVER! Granny and Grandad have been away visiting Uncle Matthew and Auntie Katie, so my best friend Molly (note from Hector’s Mum: not sure the relationship is entirely reciprocal, especially when the face barking is at its most intense, but hey) has been to stay with me for two nights. It’s been awesome!!!!!!!!!!!

On Friday, Mum took us both to the beach and we pulled her into the water with her favourite new shoes on. Brilliant. Then we both scoffed loads of sea water and promptly had upset tummies all over the promenade. That gave Mum a chance to show off her fancy new polka dot poop bags, so I’m pretty sure she loved our presents 😀

I’ll let Molly go first, that’s what gentlemen do. What? Who said ‘wimp’? I resent that accusation. Chivalry is not dead.

Let’s get a little seaweed facial while we’re here…

Next stop was the pet shop, where I chose a fluffy football…well, I pinched it off the shelf, carried it round the store and covered it in slobber so Mum had to buy it for me. I also negotiated a huge new dog duvet for myself. Who can resist my puppy dog eyes?

But when we got home, it didn’t turn out quite as I’d expected:

Still feels a little lumpy. One more super loud scratching session should get it perfect.

So, Molly has been sleeping on my new bed for the last two nights. But it’s OK. I let her because I love her. And she lets me waggle my bum at her and bark really loudly in her ears when I want to play…just like I did at 8 o’clock this morning. It’s a match made in heaven.

Not sure why Molly was wagging so much when we took her back to Granny and Grandad’s today though. But then, she is only a cocker spaniel. She doesn’t quite have the brainpower of Bordoodle. Simple minds, simple pleasures.

Ah, what it is to be me!

H x

How I made an old lady’s day

May 31, 2014 | Hector’s house

As it was such a scorcher, we all went to Dover beach today. It was amazing – lots of people, bikes, dogs, smells…you name it. Naturally I was desperate to go in the water, but it was so busy with swimmers and windsurfers that Dad thought I might make a nuisance of myself (shocker)! Thankfully though, there was another treat in store for me:

Can I get any closer to this cone?

Sat at the end of the bench where I was scoffing my ice cream was a lovely old lady who kept watching me and smiling. Just as I finished off the cone, she said “that’s made my day”. It turns out that she, now 90, grew up with dogs. More than anything, she missed having dogs around the house, she said. So I went over to her, put my feet on the edge of the bench and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. Awww.

Perhaps there is a career for me in visiting retirement homes? Well, as long as they have plenty of insurance in place ☺

H x

Dover Beach

December 30, 2013 | Hector’s house

More great pics from the location immortalised in Matthew Arnold’s poem:

I just can’t keep my feet on the ground!

Think I’ll just stay behind Mum…you never know what scary things are round the corner. Besides, I can nip her ankles better from here!

Hmm…I’d better check out that big dog from afar. Clearly Dad needs me to protect him anyway.

Phew! Time for a rest!

The sea is calm tonight.

The tide is full, the moon lies fair

Upon the straits; on the French coast the light

Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,

Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.

Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!

Only, from the long line of spray

Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,

Listen! you hear the grating roar

Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,

At their return, up the high strand,

Begin, and cease, and then again begin,

With tremulous cadence slow, and bring

The eternal note of sadness in.

Sophocles long ago

Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought

Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow

Of human misery; we

Find also in the sound a thought,

Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

The Sea of Faith

Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore

Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.

But now I only hear

Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,

Retreating, to the breath

Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear

And naked shingles of the world.

Ah, love, let us be true

To one another! for the world, which seems

To lie before us like a land of dreams,

So various, so beautiful, so new,

Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,

Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;

And we are here as on a darkling plain

Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,

Where ignorant armies clash by night.

A day at the beach

December 30, 2013 | Hector’s house

Let’s start on a positive note for people who appreciate a cute looking Deputy Dawg. This is Eleanor’s favourite right now:

He’s getting big – all legs like a young gazelle. Kind of hard to believe he’s just 16 weeks old. This is most noticeable by how far he can reach when he jumps up at the kitchen counter – and not noticeable at all in this picture at all so I’ll try and take one later. Pretty soon, I’m going to have to put some shelves up or one of those Victorian things that’s on wheels and attached to the ceiling.

Still, he’s healthy and happy which is all you can ask for. There’s a line in the Alice Cooper song Eighteen that goes “I’m a boy and I’m a man…” which is pretty much where we find ourselves with Mr Meltdown. Life seems to be two steps forwards, one step back with him right now but that’s a better result than one step forward and two steps back I guess.

Here’s a comprehensive list of things he does that we’d rather he didn’t:

Biting

Apart from this, both of us could probably handle everything else because the rest is nothing more than him being four months old. It’s not just a nip to the hand either – an ankle is a good target, as is a good looking calf. If neither of these are attractive enough, he’s not beyond jumping for your tricep – and that one really hurts. It’s like some kind of doggie martial art but I’m putting it down to 90% teething/10% being young.

It’s not aggressive biting though – sometimes he absolutely knows where your sock ends and your skin begins but all the same, we might need to get some professional advice on this. I suspect it might be part of his herding mentality – then again, if you look at it with dog eyes, it does look like a pretty fun game to play. Let’s see how it goes for the next couple of weeks. If it is teething, we have plenty of socks soaked in water and then frozen to make ‘who cares if they get destroyed’ teething toys if you’re interested.

I make it sound like it’s all under control but every now and then, he can really take you so far to the brink of your patience, you can look over the edge and see it smoking. It’s not all doom and destruction though – far from it.

•••

Yesterday, we went down to the beach to see what he would make of the sea. That’s my cue for a video clip:

Seems pretty obvious to us that the beach is going to be a great place to go. He was so tired when we got back, he slept for hours and best of all, he smelled like a dog that had been in the sea instead of a dog that accidentally on purpose fell in the pond over at Eleanor’s folks house – but as I write this that’s where they’ve gone right now, so we might be back to square one again in an hour or so.

More later… I hear the car pulling up.

Hector's House

The adventures of a cheeky Bordoodle (and his humans)

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