As August fades away, I cannot help but think of Jack, my amazing Lurcher boy. It is still painful for me to think he is no longer with me, we went through so much together that his memory will, I suspect, never fade.
He was such a loving boy and so well behaved that you would not know he was there most of the time. He had such a bad start to his life, but he had an amazing life after he came to me. I know he was a very happy boy.
Jack was not my usual “type” of dog, I had been for many years a gundog person, having had my first gundog at the age of 14, and this dog was my introduction to the gundog “type”. I had for many years pestered my parents to let me have a dog – this was after they assured me that a pet dolphin was not going to happen. I had had a couple of cats, this was them trying to satisfy my urge to be a pet owner, but whilst cats are still part of my life, my main love was dogs.
Once my parents had talked me round from wanting to have a dolphin (that would of course live in the bathroom), I got my first cat, the first of many, but there was something missing: the going for walks, going to training classes, and of course the show world; it just was not the same with a cat. I knew having a dog was the only thing I ever really wanted, so the search began.
I was friendly with a lady close to our house, and she had gundogs, Labradors and English Setters. I spent many hours after school round their house, learning all about these two breeds, walking them, cleaning out the kennels and grooming them. As a 13-year-old, I lived and breathed all things dog; in my school holidays I would take all the dogs out for walks, just taking a couple at a time, as to take all 6 or 8 at once would have been impossible.
One day when I came in from school my mum told me that Janet had been round, and that her English Setter, Tammy, was having puppies. I was so very excited that I went running to see these puppies, but was disappointed to see that there were no puppies there. Janet then explained that Tammy was expecting, and that the puppies would be here in just five weeks; I was like a whirlwind, running back home to tell my mum.
I spoke to my mum over dinner about how beautiful these puppies would be and that every one of them would be ordered well before they arrived, so there was no time to waste if we wanted one. Mum just looked at me with that “yeah, yeah” look on her face and when my father arrived home that evening, I went through the whole thing again. Eventually they told me they had asked Janet if I could have a puppy, and she had said yes – I was the happiest person in the world!
When Tammy had her puppies I was there and saw them being born. I picked Toby the second he was born – a lovely big boy, he was a Blue Belton, black and white, and had a lovely head. I fell in love there and then.
Toby came to live with us when he was 10 weeks old, and he was so funny and cute that no matter what he did he made us all laugh. My mum was so proud of her back garden, lovely lawn and tidy bedding plant areas. After about 12 weeks, it looked like a mine field: Toby had dug holes all over the garden, and the plants, well they were history. The only survivors were the roses, maybe because they fought back.
My dad had a plan: “Let’s flag the whole area,”he said, so there was no chance of him digging up any more. Mum had turned her ankle a few times while putting the washing out, as the holes were like craters, so it was a plan, and dad set about flagging the whole back garden, leaving a few borders for mum’s roses. This stopped the digging up of the garden, but then Toby turned his attention indoors to the décor.
One day that sticks in my mind was when mum had gone for a bath – Toby had been out for his walks and been to the training club so he was tired and fast asleep. Mum thought she would pop up and have a quick bath, she crept out of the lounge and he was sleeping. She had given him a chew stick, and this was touching his nose in a certain point. She came down only about 20 minuts later and Toby was still asleep in the very same point she had left him so she goes and makes a cup of tea and returns to the lounge. As she sits down, she felt something stick in her hand. As she looked at her hand, she had a splinter – all mum’s chairs and the sofa had wooden parts, sticking out from the arms, and every single chair’s arm and the sofa arms had been nibbled, with all the splinters of wood in little piles at the foot of the arms.
Mum was totally amazed: how did he have time to do this and how did he think to stay in the exact same position? He was indeed a very clever boy. Another time that springs to mind was when we were at a big dog show, it was summer time and it was very warm, so the show was outside and the rings were surrounded by seats for the crowds.
I was in Open Dog with Toby, we had been seen by the judge and were watching the other dogs being judged. As Toby was so laid back, he promptly laid down and fell asleep, I was all consumed with the other dogs. All of a sudden, I heard a little girl say: “Get off, it’s mine, get your own!”
I turned and looked at her, and to my amazement, Toby had wriggled under the ropes and was sharing this little girl’s ice cream. He was on a lead and I never felt him move once, I apologised to the little girl and offered to replace her ice cream as soon as the class finished – this all happened so fast, and I was amazed that he could move without getting up.
Gundogs are a fantastic breed to have, they are fun and have great temperaments, they live life to the full but they also make great pets. They love the walks and also the cuddles, and one thing is for sure, if you own a gundog, you will have many fun times. All dogs give us comfort and happiness and no matter if you have a pedigree or a mix breed, you will certainly have many stories to tell.
Until next time my friends, happy cuddles.
By Sue Ogden
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Sue Ogden is a professional dog groomer living in the Algarve. In her regular column, she provides readers with information on how best to care for their pets. Trained in the UK, she studied nursing, breeding, grooming, nutrition and kennel management. 910 851 140
