It's my pleasure to be able to dog walk three sweet girls, Lady (the mum), Peanut and Chunky (her puppies.) They are incredibly close and we had the amazing experience of moving as a pack during the dog walking, the rhythm of which they fell into with ease. It is a beautiful sunny day and spending time with three inquisitive and calm pups......what more could you want?
1 Comment
I had the pleasure of this chap's company as part of my doggy day care service. He is a gorgeous boy and very, very sweet. We had some lovely walks in the park and along the river which we both enjoyed very much. Thank you, Nicola, for trusting me with your beautiful boy. :)
I am very happy with the new business card I have designed which advertises my dog walking, cat sitting, dog sitting and pet portrait services, tying in with the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland theme that my business name is taken from. It shows the style of portraiture I produce as well as advertise my pet services. I hope you enjoy it!
Yesterday saw the launch of my new business Fur and Whiskers and we celebrated with a dog party in the park. Tammy came and also a fox coloured Labrador called Burt who is a gorgeous boy. We met up with so many other dogs in the park and tried out my new shock absorber leads for dog walking. The dogs loved them and loved being walked on them as they have the opportunity to move as a pack in unison. I love dog walking this way! You feel as if you are behind a team of huskies and, although you are always in control, the power generated by the dogs is incredible and gives you such a rush. Even little dogs on dog walks have this ability as their combined muscle strength travels in one direction. In total about fifteen dogs came to my dog walking party and it was such a great afternoon. When you are out dog walking somehow it doesn’t matter if the sun is out because you get so much happiness from the dogs around you. Look at the smile on Tammy’s face as she waits for her ball! For her, this is the best thing about dog walking. Burt also loves his ball and it is hilarious to watch them chase each other and the ball to see who gets it first.
We have had Burt and Tammy at ours as their owners have taken advantage of my doggy day care service and they are the most well behaved dogs. Tammy has also had a pet portrait done of her and her owners were very happy with it and I am delighted about this. I will be offering five services: dog walking, dog sitting, doggy day care, cat sitting and pet portraits. I have been dog walking and pet sitting for Tammy for nearly two years and she is a very special girl. We have a lot of fun together, dog walking all over Norfolk. She is a working Guide dog and it is a great honour to be trusted with her. When she walks she is full of concentration on her walk then she turns around and flashes you a huge Labrador smile. It makes you feel glad to be alive!
She also comes to my doggy day care and I do some pet sitting for her. It is wonderful. Because I have the complete trust of her owner we are able to go all over Norfolk and to some really interesting places. This is the best thing about pet sitting - you have so much time to go on adventures together. Tammy would tell you that the best places involve water! She is very cute as she is not a very good swimmer and her paws come out of the water and splash with every paw stroke - as you can see in the picture below! Do dogs have to be taught how to swim? I cannot imagine them with arm bands on. After a while she does get it, bless her, she just needs time to reacquaint herself with the liquid joy that surrounds her. Weirdly enough, she is not to fond of the sea although she loves the beach! We take the doggy day care to the beach quite often and she loves running on the sand and rolling in sea weed. Then you are pet sitting for a very stinky dog. But a happy dog! Tammy is so enthusiastic and it is wonderful because she makes it clear that she loves my doggy day care and pet sitting service and can't wait for the next time we go swimming! Here are some images of the beautiful Freda and some of our walks between 2013 and 2014. I walked Freda daily and then, when I moved across the other side of the city, she would come and stay for two nights a week to give her owner some respite.
As a retired guide dog, Freda spent a lot of time in my doggy day care as she stayed with me for two nights every week. She was an absolute dream! Staying in my doggy day care, Freda never left my side, as you can see, and she was a wonderful companion to have in my studio as I worked (the finished version of the work seen in the corner of the bottom-left photograph can be viewed here.) Being a guide dog she was allowed in shops with the manager's permission and she soon became a superstar at Jarrolds Department Store! Assistants would come around from the cash register to give her a fuss. 'Freda' means 'peace' and this describes the atmosphere that she would generate wherever we would go. One of the unexpected benefits of shopping with a yellow Labrador was that, as we have the same colouring (as I'm blonde), selecting clothes to try on became a whole world easier as I would just hold them up to her fur to see if the colour was suitable for me!
Freda could also count at least to two and she knew when 3pm was as this was treat time and she had two treats. I would give her one, she would eat it with a quiet glee, then come for another. But never a third, which is why I know she can count to two. Once, we were in the cinema and I gave her her chew while I had pop corn and to my horror the second I gave it to her the film began. I thought there were going to be more ads and trailers! Crunch, crunch, crunch, all through the start of the film. I felt terrible for the other viewers. So I took Freda out and sat with her while she finished her chew. Then I gave her her second one and waited again. When I thought she'd finished I cajoled her to get up so we could go back into the cinema and her portable dog bed, but she had an expression of consternation on her face and her mouth was all wonky. I had a closer look and she had hidden her chew long-ways in her mouth! She didn't want to be rushed. So I sat with her during this sacred time while she nibbled her chew and when she had finished in her own time we went back in and she had a siesta. These were joyful times pet sitting for Freda in my doggy day care. For a fortnight in the autumn of 2012 I volunteered at a wildlife area in the Pyrenees and I was trusted with the amazing responsibility of taking the incredible three-legged Peggy out for daily dog walking treks in the mountains. She has so much character! It is impossible not to fall in love with her immediately. Look at her ears! They are so expressive.
And she is so intelligent. Denise, her owner told me that after her leg was amputated when they had guest over Peggy would look at the guest, then her leg, then the guest and then her owner as if to say, "look what she has done to me!" So cute. Especially because she absolutely adored Denise. Having three legs did not stop Peggy one iota and she would zim about with her peculiar rhythm. My job on the mountainside was to clear an area so that wild flowers could re-colonize it and turn it into a wildlife meadow. Firstly, I had to pull out all the baby oak trees that had sprouted and then strim the entire area. It must've been the size of a football pitch. Lots of healthy exercise. And Peggy was with me most of the time. You would think that it would take time for the flowers to come back but within a day we saw their heads coming through and even meadow-loving lizards began to return. Nature is incredible. But the best thing about my time at Denise's, apart from her wonderful company and dinners, was dog walking with Peggy. She stole my heart. Spending time with incredible dogs like Peggy has really reinforced my passion of having a doggy day care, pet sitting and dog walking business. From 2011 to 2012 I lodged with a family and helped take care of their dog, Docken (meaning dock leaf in Scots.) We soon became best friends on our daily walks. I also provided a service as a dog and house sitter when the family was away.
In 2012 a friend and I volunteered on a homestead in Portugal and looked after 5 dogs, 6 cats, 3 horses and a mule. It was an incredible, unforgettable experience. Walking the dogs every day at 6.30 in the morning reinforced my love of dog walking. Looking after the cats was also extremely rewarding as we got to know their routines and personalities. And all of this in such remote and gorgeous surrounds - it was pet sitting at it's best!
|
AuthorElizabeth is a dedicated dog walker with over five years experience. With a a first class degree in Fine Art from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design she is trustworthy, reliable, energetic and loves animals. Archives
December 2016
Categories |