OK so a "Day at the Beach" might not be appropriate at this time of year, but a day out with a ride in the car, a nice long brisk walk on a crisp day, followed by lunch at a local pub and a snooze by the fire would be very welcomed by our kennel dogs! Don't laugh ... this is just what happened this weekend when two of our volunteer walkers offered to take Jess, our Labrador X Staffie out for the day! And it's not the first time they have taken her out either. Here is their account of their day:
"Another lovely day with Jess - we are so lucky to get to spend these nice days together.
We went a nice jaunt down to Queen Elizabeth Country Park and spent a couple of hours walking around in the woods. She was a little pully at first but I didn't mind as she was very helpful in getting me up the hilly side of the park! We came across quite a few dogs off leads today and she was very well behaved with all of them - she has developed this habit of laying down when she comes across other dogs, but no other reaction from her.
She soon settled into the walk and was trotting around smelling everything she could and after a while started rolling around wiggling and wriggling - very sweet to watch and an invite for a chest rub. Jess LOVES having her shoulders and chest rubbed, if you get her at the right point her eyes will close and one of her back legs will start tapping, its very funny to watch.
We walked for quite a way and then we popped her back in the crate in the car. This lady has clearly travelled in one of these before - as soon as we opened the boot she jumped in and settled down. We were driving for around half an hour and no signs of travel sickness or any anxiety and we have become very confident she's happy travelling as long as she can see out of a window at whats happening around her.
We popped back to our local pub again and she settled down quickly this time - we are sure she remembered where she was. It was much quieter this week and we managed to get a table in a little alcove which she went straight under and popped her head up to rest on the table. Very, very, cute!
She leaned up against our legs with us stroking her head and her eyes began to close and she looked like the most content dog in the world. It was lovely to see her relax and confident in this atmosphere - she even laid down for a little while in the end, something she very rarely does.
We took her back to the kennels having all the usual thoughts of wishing we could take her home with us but we know the perfect owner is out there just waiting for her. We can only hope they will come and get her soon - until then we'll just have to get as many cuddles as we can".
So do you fancy a day out with a doggie for company? Please get in touch if you think you could alleviate the monotony of kennel life and give a dog a break.
