Hobbly Walking...

Mum's talkybone walkiesrecorder thingy says we have done over 12 miles today! About 4 of them were on the bus, but the rest were workywalkies. Some of it was true workywalkies along all new routes and in places that we have never been before, a few bits were slightly familiar. It was good to be strutting my stuff looking after Mum.

I did get to enjoy freerunning down the towpath beside the gigantic locks here where we are moored, and back up again at the end of our outing. That was nice - just a chance to run and sniff and catch up on some weemail gossip. I think I am learning the local lingo now!

We walked along beside a very busy road to a huge building neat the bottom of a rather huge rock sticking up into the clouds. Mum says this rock is called Ben Nevis and the big building is a whiskerstillery or something. I had to guide Mum up steps and down steps and between some enormous pongy round things, following a crowd of other humans and a manhuman doing loads of yacketying. We also went to an outside bit where there were loads of big round wooden boxes with fat tummies. I gave them a bit of an inspection but wasn't too keen on the smell of them. I tried to leave a much better scent on one of them but Mum told me 'No'! At the end of all the yacketying and going around this place, Mum and Dad both got a tiny drinking bowl with some stinky water stuff in it. Mum let me sniff her one - it made me snort! Yeeeuuuugh!

After that, we walked on further along the busy road and I had my drink from a yummy big puddle. That was much more pleasant and tasty! We were walking along the pavement on the right hand side of the road, which meant I was right next to the kerb. Along came a huge lorry that made a big loud parp noise as it came past me. It scared me and made me jump. This in turn, made Mum jump too and she went splat on the pavement. She got up again and fussed me to tell me she was OK. I was worried about her. She doesn't belong at my height! She pulled up her leg-cover and I kissed her scuffed up knee. She did a bit of a hobbly-walk the rest of the way. She is OK though. Just a bit duffed up, she says.

After a bit more walking, including a brief visit to some strange chunky bits of walls without roof, we stopped and waited for a bus. Mum's paw had told her 'enough'. The bus took us into a town we have walked around once before (Fort William), where we had a bit of a wander around and then went to a shop called Morrisons. We caught the bus back again to the bottom of the huge locks. Then it was a lovely freerun back to our bobbyboat.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a hurty mummy to snuggle with and there is a perfectly Oakley-sized slot on the sofa with her. I shall leave you with some photos of today's adventure:

Workywalkies along the pavement of the busy road.

Checking out a round wooden barrel standing on its end.

Checking out a whole pile of these round wooden barrels, all lying on their tubby bellies, stacked on top of each other.

Tiny Bobbyboat!

Hollibobs = happybobs! I rather like this bit of life!

A lie in (would've gone on for longer if I hadn't squeaked Mum and Dad into wakey-wakies! I needed a weeeeeee.....and my breakfast!).

Lazy time.

Freerun with a little bit of workywalkies built in (just to make sure Mum is still in-practice!). This included a bit of play with a passing pal; Alfie the golden Labrador.

Yummies on the sofa with Mum. (This bobbyboat is tiny so I have to get on the sofa to get out of the way! Heehee! It's so tough being me!)

Towel rub.

Cruising on the high seat on the back deck - with my head out of the window to watch the world go by.

More lazy time......

More sofasnuggles time.......

Photo -

Action shot of me playing chase with Alfie the golden lab.

Bobby Boat!

New floatyboatyhome! This one is a bobbyboat. It seems to bob about a lot more than our one!

We started off with a car ride to a sort of carkennel place. Then a manhuman got into Dad's seat, Dad got into Mum's seat and Mum joined me in the back. Mr manhuman drove us a little way then we got out with all our wheeliecases and bags, and walked a little way to a buskennel place. A short wait there, then we got onto a big busthing. Dad says it is a coach doing a bus's job. I had to guide Mum up some big steps to get inside. Because of me, Mum and Dad got to sit in the very front seats. That made their mouths go up at the corners! I'm glad to be of such multiple benefit! I got to sneak out into the middle bit as we were going along. That gave me the best view and it turned up the mouthcorners of Mr Driverman. 

It was quite a long drive and it ended for us in a muddy place beside a road in the middle of nowhere. I then had to guide Mummy (and Daddy and all the wheeliecases) along a bit of this road with no pavements, then down into a trackroad which led us to a floatyboatykennel place, and so to our new holibobs home.

This bobbyboat is white and pointyshaped. Nothing like our narrowboat home. I like it: I have a big bed all of my own (with my duvetbed on it), and, when we were bobbing along, we were inside (so didn't get soggy from the leakyskies) and I got to sit up high on a seat with Mummy looking out at the huge water.

This evening, I've taken Daddy out for a long walkies to explore the surrounds. Now it is all cozy snuggly in here so I think I need to check out my sleeping arrangements....

Two photos:

Me lying on the floor in the middle of the coach looking through the windscreen!

Me on the high seat next to Mum on the boat.

What a Mess!

Huff! My aroma has been readjusted! My eau de pongy poisson was clearly not approved of. First stop this morning was a Tesco where Mum got a pack of pooch wipes. Next stop was one of those shops full of frothmonsters. While Dad fed one of the monsters with human fursubstitutes and my bed cover, plus my car-bra too, Mum attacked me with the wipes. She says I am now acceptable. Hufff!

After that, we did a big long workywalkies around a bit of a place Mum says is called Inthemess. Well, I was in a delightful mess until she 'sorted it out'!

Time to snooze off my dinner now before setting off to find a human yummyery. I hope Mum is a messy eater tonight.....

Perfumery.

Eau de rottingfish. My new perfume today. Mum seems unimpressed. She has no taste! it is utterly delectable! I made sure I applied it liberally.

It was a bonus to a superb freerun. We set off in the car with Dan our humanfriend (that meant I got to share the back seat with Mum again!). The destination was a longish walk down a rugged path that took us to a beach. It was a very crunchy beach - all made of white stuff. Apparently it is called Coral Beach and the white crunchy stuff is bits of shells. It was absolutely fantabulous! I had a wonderful time running and sploshing. It was a bit too rough and cold to swim but paddling was good. We went right up a steep rugged bit too. I raced with Dan and found a chunk of log to play with.

It was on the way beck when I found the wonderful fur-perfume. I managed to get in a pretty good session of rolling as hard as I could before Dad spoilt my spa experience by hoiking me off.

We said goodbyes to Dan after that and left that kennelblock. Now, after a long drive with a few stops on the way, we are in yet another kennelblock. I think I have had a lucky escape - the warmrainbox has a high-up fixed warmrainsquirter. Mum is miffed because that means she can't attack me with froth. Phew!!

2 photos of fun at Coral Beach. on the left is the blue ocean, lapping onto the almost white 'coral' sand (fragments of shells), with a line of seaweed along it. Mum and Dan are standing on the beach and I am at the water's edge.

 

 

Wild Haggis!

Crazy zoomies on a hugenormous mountainside today. Didn't find any of those wild haggis that everyone tells us about but it was great fun anyway!

New Kennelblock!

Just a quick update tonight as Mum says we have very little interweb here. Her talkybone won't work at all either.

We have done oooooodles of car-riding today, mainly on twisty-twirly-jiggly-joggly roads up and down and round big lumpy hills. We also went on a tiny little furryboat. It only had room for 6 cars maximum. Actually, there were only two on our trip, plus a few walkyhumans. While we were waiting for it to arrive at the slopydownramp, I took Mummy walkies and spotted a strange dog-with-no-ears in the water. It made me rumble a bit but Mum told me to shush. It had a kind of dog-like little head but a body rather like a huge slug and it bobbed about and then disappeared under the water.

We are now in a new humankennelblock. It is a little one in a place Mum says is called Edinbane, Isle of Skye. One of the workyhumans here is a manhuman we know from Worthing; Dan. We meeted and greeted him and then he took us to our kennel, helped Dad with wheeliebags and then left us to it for a while. I then took Mum and Dad walkies before I got to enjoy a bit of peaceful snooze while they went downstairs to eat with Dan. Dad then needed another walkies to help his dinner down! I was happy to assist!

On the way here, we suddenly stopped at the roadside when Dad spotted a huge home-on-wheels. We all got out of the car and......Oh Joy!....there was Terry and Tracey - humans that we know from Newbury......and, much more importantly......Rusty the Briard and Brodie the rescued hound. It was great to spend a few moments kanoodling with them inside their wheeliehome. They share it with 4 hissing furballs and grey featherball that yacketies like a human! We couldn't stay long because we had to get to destination but they were good moments! It would have been fab to have run and chased and played in all that open countryside but the humans said it was not safe - too rugged and a busy road close by. Huffff!

Now I am struggling to keep my eyelids up. They seem to be very heavy, so I will just leave you with a photo of Mum and me in our new kennel. It shows Mum in pink leg-covers and a top with pink and blue butterflies on, and me standing at the foot of a white covered bed, on a brown squared-patterned carpet.

Stinky Liquid!

A brief freerun started the day, then a long twisty-twirly-jerky-joggly car ride took us to the ocean. We waited a while (waiting always includes a good sniff around - right?), and met a fellow black lab for a bit of a meet n greet - with added lead-tangling twirling about!

Then a big floatyboat arrived with a huge mouth that opened onto the slopy-down-to-the-sloshystuff-ramp. Some cars entered the big mouth first, then I had to guide Mum in. The huge mouth closed behind us very soon afterwards. Gulp! I found the 'upsteps' for Mum and led her up there - they were blimmin steep and all see-through rectangles. No problem though, I whizzed up them far quicker than Mum could! She gave several 'Steady' commands!

The upsteps took us to a deck with seats. I found Mum a good seat and then she very kindly removed my bra and noseband. Time to settle down for a bit of a rest. The floatyboat did a huge and very loud bottyburp noise though! How very rude! That disturbed my snooze! The cruise was nice - the hotball was in the sky and it was all calm and smooth - a bit like our canals! When we approached land the huge mouth at the other end of the floatyboat opened and allowed us to walk off onto the slopey-up-ramp.

Apparently we were in a place called the Isle of Mull. It was very colourful! All the buildings are different bright colours. I worked hard guiding Mum all around the town - and that included some mega-steep hills! They were no problem to me but Mum was really really puffy when we got to the top!

One place we went to was called a whiskery-sillyary. There were some very nice workyhumans in there. I got to stay and look after them while Mum and Dad went on a tour - apparently it included lots of walking on those nasty open rectangle floors that hurt paws. I'm glad I got to stay with those nice workyhumans! When Mum and Dad came back, I got to go with them into a little room where a manworkyhuman was doing some yacketying and pouring some very stinky pale-brown water into tiny drinking bowls. A ladyhuman let me sniff at the stuff. It made my nose explode and I had to back away! Euuuuugggghhhhh!

After loads more workywalkies around town, and a bit of a lie down by the table outside a yummyery, while Mum and Dad noshed, I got my picnic tea before getting back on the furryfloatyboat. This cruise was very slightly bumpy but still a pleasant rest time. Then came the return car-ride......I was very glad of a little freerun when we arrived back!

 

 

Clickety-clack. Huffety-chuff. Clickety-clack. Huffety-chuff.......on it went......on and on and on and on......

Apparently, this was all very exciting and super special. All I know is that there was a huge black monster that huffed and puffed and hissed and chuffed, and we spent forever inside the train carriage. I just snoozed it away! Under the table was a good place to be - human back paws make good pillows! Dad was like a humanpuppy! He went berserk with his one-eyed clickybox!

When the huffety-chuff stopped and let us off, we did go workywalkies and explored the town. Apparently it was called Mallaig. It had lots of big floatyboats (not like our floatyboatyhome though). It also had a human yummyery where I hoovered all the little green balls that Mummy managed to drop on the floor - then I got my dinner in my 'picnic bowl'. Another brief workywalkies wander took us back to the huffety-chuff to do the return journey.

I had to wear my 'Dogwarts' bandana. Apparently it was something to do with some dude called Harry Potter and we were on the huffety-chuff that he supposedly rode on - across a huge bridge over a giant puddle...... The bandana is comfy - I can snooze in it - it is OK.......

Mummy said I was a superstar not only for being good all the way on the train, but also for guiding her in yet another new and unknown town. She said I deserved a good 'let off steam' session. So, we stopped on the way back to our kennelblock and I got a wonderful freerun! I met a super playmate - Sula the golden retriever pup. We enjoyed a fantabulous game of chase, roll and chase again up and down the steep hills beside a huge canal. Oooooh! that was good stuff! Uncoiled my springs perfectly!

 

Trossachs!

Cor! I like this kennelblock! Our kennel has a supply of Bonios! Also, there is a pair of resident buddies - two Golden Retrievers! (I haven't met them yet but they sound and smell like potential great playmates!)

This morning, I took Mum and Dad workywalkies through very leaky skies to find their breakfast. Then it was back to pack bags. I then took Daddy walkies again while Mum stayed and looked after all the bags and wheeliecases. Dad and I fetched a posh car. It seems this is our car for a few days! First stop in it was Pets at Home! Yippee ..... or so I thought ..... we did get me some food, so that bit was good but then a nice ladyhuman workyperson was enlisted to fit me with a new and different bra. It seems I now have to wear this in the car - and it gets attached to a tether thing so I can't hop between the boot and the back seat! Hufff! I think I can get used to it though - it seems that I shall be travelling on the back seat (on my bed of course) while all the luggage goes in the boot. This means I get to ride in comfort and I can sit up and watch the world go by the side windows!

We drove forever today - across some very big hills and round some very twisty roads and past some enormous rocks and mahoosive puddles. We stopped a couple of times so I got to sniff about to try to find these haggis things I've been told I need to catch. I didn't find any...... I also got to paddle a little in one of the mahoosive puddles. Mum says they are called lochs-with-an-aitch. They don't have gates or windy-uppy-windy-downy kit on them though.I have no idea what an aitch is! So they are nothing like the locks I am used to! The one I washed my paws in was apparently called Loch Lubnaig.

This evening, after arriving at this BeeanBee kennelblock, we went walkies across the road and then I got a lttle freerun down a path across a field. I then had to guide Mum into a human yummyery. There were some manhumans in there throwing little shinyspike things at a round pad on the wall. I kept out of the way! After that, the freerun continued to another of these locks with no gates. It was good to stretch my legs and relax!

Photo shows me and Mum beside Loch Lubnaig with mountains in the background

Foreign Parts!

Weemails smell different around here! Mum says it is because they have a Scottish accent! I think I just need oodles of opportunity to sniff and learn this dialect!

It has been quite some day! It all started with a whole new spending area for me as our floatyboatyhome was in a new floatyboatykennelblock. Soon sussed out all that though.

Next came a time of close inspection of Mum's activities. I stayed approximately a nose-length away from her at all times as she went here and there and back again in the boat. She was doing all that 'packing' stuff into wheelie cases, and then doing quite a lot of that peculiar stroking stuff with wet cloth and various other 'domesticals'. Finally, it seemed that all was done and, when Daddy came home from driving his big black bus, I took Mummy away for a workywalkies. We went into town. I got a bit ploddy on the way. Newbury is a tad boring now. We have trudged those streets soooooo many times. When Mum said 'Let's find the bank' it gave me a purpose and made my paws work a tad faster and more enthusiastically. I got a very happy 'Good boy. Good work' from Mummy as soon as I took her inside the bank. My bum may have bounced a little as it hit the floor for my due reward!

Next came workywalkies to the train station. We found Daddy there with all the wheelie cases. A longish train ride took us to that uber-crazy London place. Then we had to find a bus to ride to another train station. Then it was a loooooooooong train ride. I curled up under the table the whole way.

The humans all sound different here. They yack with a funny accent. I don't know if I would understand commands from them! Mum says this is 'Ed in burger. (I wouldn't mind getting my nose in a burger!).

After getting off the train and finding a very welcome tree, we set off into the city. It is all very big and grand here! We didn't have to go far, but it seems we did anyway! We went a way along the big road then turned back and found the humankennelblock right opposite where we started! Oops! The kennel we have is huge! The humanbed is ginormous! (I'm sure it is plenty big enough for three......).

After checking out our kennel, and leaving all the wheeliecases behind there, we set off to explore the streets. I didn't half have to work hard dodging Mummy around all the humanlegs and across loads of crossings, and along lots of streets. I did get a wonderful little freerun in a park in the middle of town. Mum says it is called Princes Park. Well, I am happy to be a prince if it means I can do zoomies around there!

Mummy says I have been her little star today. She is super gooey over me! She even asked me to 'find the shop' (Sainsbury's) where she got me huge juicy carrot! Yummmmmm!

I sense there are more adventures to come but, for now, I am rather in need of my bed...zzzzzzz

Attacked! Somebody Help Me!

I've been poofed! Hooooowwwwlllllll.......

Froth attack. Warm rain attack. Froth attack again. Warm rain attack again. Hufferfuffer assault. Then a massive session of fur-scraping! I'm sure I should have shrunk, shrivelled and now be bald! Mum says I smell and feel amazing and gorgeous.....now where is the nearest stinky muddy puddle?

Chrissie

I is one very happy pooch!

I have had the most fantabulous day:

A workywalkies, a long drive - but then the fun began!

We had arrived at the home of my PuppyMummy Sue and PuppyDaddy Mike. As if that in itself wasn't fab enough (they still make my tail go megawaggy), PuppyMummy Sue was holding my 'step Sister' Chrissie in her front paws! She is tiny! She didn't want to stay in front paws for long; there was a great expanse of garden that just needed puppyplaytime going on! It was fantabulous. I think I became a puppy again! 

I did pause just long enough to realise that Papa was there too! It was, of course lovely to see all these humans but Chrissie needed far more of my attention! She has so much to learn at just 8 weeks of age!

Mum was super impressed with me for being super gentle with little Chrissie. I accept the praise of course, but why would I want to be anything else but gentle with her? She is so diddy!
Talking of diddy - after a little while Rosie and little minihuman Hallie arrived too! Chrissie and I did our best to provide plenty of entertainment for all!

Eventually, Chrissie was too tired to play any more and so we all left her to recover from our funtime. We then drove a little further and went to a human yummyery. Now this is where Hallie IS good to be with. She provided plentiful hooverings - a few of those crunchy-squishy yellow sticks, a couple of bits of fish, and a lot of tiny green balls! All absolutely delectable! Well....I really couldn't leave them to get squished into the carpet could I?

Next, we went to Rosie's house for a while where I got to explore the garden and then to snooze awhile through some yacketying and some Hallie-adorations. Then, after I got my dinner there, it was time to say goodbyes. Papa went off in his car and we began the long journey back to floatyboatyhome.

A quick walkies with Daddy to the train-station to collect some little rectangles from a machine was quite enough to uncoil the spings before a very welcome sofasnuggles time.

Big Leakies.

I sense there is something going on.

We've done a couple of little workywalkies today - the first one just into town to lie under a table while Mum and Dad did a whole load of yacketying with Peter and Lin, humanfriends. They had yummies and hot yuckybrownwaterstuff. The second was into town and then to Lidl's. That was all fine and quite enough in the hot.

Mum seems to be doing some of that peculiar sorting and clearing stuff - including some of what she calls packing....... She has even taken everything out of the chillywhitecupboard and given it all away.

This evening, we went out for our usual Tuesday evening stint on the Bus of Hope. I got oodles of fusses and 'goodbyes' and there seemed to be lots of extra yummies around for the maximinihumans. None of it came my way though. Huff!

On the way back the sky did big leakies. I managed very successfully to sniff lots and lots of little details on the way back home along the towpath. Well.....Mum said she wanted a shower!

Oops. Caught on Camera...

What NO beach? Again! Huffffffffff!

Bournemouth trip again today. A visit to GrannyGrandpa's old flat again. Workywalkies into and around town. That included a bit of a freerun through the clifftop park (lots of weemail gossip to catch up on!). I tried my bestest to direct Mum and Dad to the beach. I tried to get them to follow me down the steps leading from the clifftop down to the pawmenade. They failed to follow my direction. In fact, on one occasion, I had almost made it to the bottom when Mum blew that blimmin whistle! I had to run allllll the way to the top again - just for a tiny little bite of yummy!

As it was rather hot, Mum took pity on me and didn't put my noseband on. (I can only open my mouth a little way to pant when I am wearing it). This meant I did manage to sneak in a few sniffs on the way around town. I can't do that when I am nosebanded coz it gives Mum too much control over my sniffer!

The manhuman at the human yummyery was nice. He brought me a huge tub of water to slosh about. Mum says I was supposed to drink it but it was a good job we were outside. I did quite well in creating a lake around me! It is fun sloshing water about like that. A nice big flat tongue is a very effective paddle! He also threw a yummy on the floor for me. I don't think he meant to. I think it was supposed to be on top of the bowlful that Mum had. It was yummy though - a kind of orangey coloured crispy but squidgy little stick. Mum thinks they are lovely but Dad says he prefers proper chips. I like both!

Photo of me workywalkiesing Mum through Bournemouth town centre. Caught red-nosed mid sniff! Oops!

Speckled Trousers!

Wowwee! What a Sunday!

Started off with a pleasant workywalkies, then church-chillout-through all the humanhowling etc. Then back to floatyboatyhome briefly. Next came a workywalkies along to Victoria Park where I met up with Ellis, my Guide Dog Pup-in-training buddy who is way bigger than me. We had a great kanoodling session while all our humans did a load of yacketying.

Next, came the bestest bit of the day - a proper freerun! Yippeeeeee! A wonderful five miles of sniffing and running and sniffing and weemailing and running back to sniff again and swimming and paddling and running and.........Ooooooh! It was fabbydabbydoo! I got Daddy with a few good bigshakes too - that was a bonus as his leg-cover-fursubstitutes were pale coloured! Heehee! They and nicely speckled now!

On the way back I met up with another Guide Dog pup - little Grace! So that meant another nice little kanoodle before heading home for a well needed snooze. I slept through my dinner time! Thankfully, Mum sorted me out and I survived!

This evening, we have been out again to humanfriends' house where I have enjoyed a bit more snooze on their nice cool floor whiel the humans all yackety-yacked.

Now, if you will excuse me I think I really need to inspect the insides of my eyelids.......

 

Me and Ellis (black lab x retriever), nose to nose with grass and human back paws around us.

Me sitting, in harness, beside a strange knobbly tower with a sticky-out sink plunger and whisk. Apparently it is something to do with some Humanvet Who bloke.....

Slightly Peed off...

Grumph! I got told off! I was only trying to communicate with my people......It was a very important information hub for weemails. There was quite a puddle. I had read all the incoming messages. I was poised to transmit my reply and Mum yelled "NO! Oakley NO!" But that is so unfair. Pets at Home is the one shop where all doggy pals are welcome. How come THEY are allowed to weemail up the corner of the shelf and I get such a shocked reaction from Mum? !!!! Huff! Humph! Harrumph! and Huff again!

Aside from this total injustice, it was a good workywalkies. I had taken Mum into town where she stopped at one of the flappy-roof shops in the middle of the street. It was all loaded with those strange bundles of megalong multicoloured tails and some of those clickysticks that some humans seem to use to wiggle the long tails into flat sheets......I didn't really take too much notice of all Mum's yacketying with the workyladyhuman there. I had found me a little doggybuddy under the table! It was a very gentle meet and greet but it whiled away the time nicely!

Next, we went the long way around town and ended up going through the tunnels (Mum still gets all disorientated down there so I have to direct her). This led us to the wait-forever-bleepy-crossing where I get to do 4 lots of hup-touch to find the buttons for Mum, but then we have to wait ages for the cars to stop whizzing. It was worth it though because Mum actually allowed me to take her into Pets at Home. Apart from the telling off, it was a productive visit. Mum got me some big yummy chewies but she says I can't have them until we are on our long journey. I have no idea what she is on about but I hope it is soon. Those chewies looked and smelled worth having!

Next call was Lidl's where did my bit getting Mum around all the crowded aisles. She only needed a couple of things so it was quite quick. At the checkout, we found my holibobs-mummy Julie! To begin with, I was a very good boy and didn't rush to her as I was in harness, but as soon as Mum gave me permission, I got myself a good old fuss! It was tail-waggy nice to see her again!

This afternoon, I got to take Daddy for a walkies into town. We went into the manhumans groomroom where we found Jeremy who normally puts tufts of Dad's headfur all over the floor. He didn't do that today, but Dad gave him a present and yacketyied with him for a while. Next came a little jaunt to Sainsbury's before a little car ride to a house where I stayed in the car (Dad only called in very briefly to collect a big wheeliecase), then back home again.

The sofa has been a comfy snuggle-rest for the rest of the day whilst Mum has been wiggling one of those long tails on a little shinystick......

I Love you, Mummy!

Forgiveded!

Workywalkies, sofasnuggles, carrot and a largely chilled out day doing some serious work on a new big juicy bone all add up 'I love you Mummy'.

Actually the bone is no longer very big. It has shrunk! I swear I haven't eaten THAT much of it.......

Fizz Pop!

Right! That's it! I'm putting myself up for adoption!

I have worked my paws off for Mum today - about 8 miles worth of workywalkies - to Lidl's, then to the bus, then all around Reading - and back again. I have done loads of 'finds' - 'Find the door', 'Find the loo', 'find a seat', 'find upsteps', 'find downsteps'....... all faultlessly. I have endured the utter boredom of Dad shopping for paw covers. I have tolerated a session in Hobbycraft (well....OK - that came with some megafusses from the ladyworkyhumans in there!), I have put up with a very loud session in the big dark room with strange little yellow blobs with weird eyewindows bouncing all over the big wall - and no little crunchy clouds to make it better! I have spent forever on the bus.......and the reward I got? Dinner 2 hours late and an offer of a drink of water that tickled and popped up my nose!!

HOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLL!

Mum bought a bottle of water and offered me a drink in a poobag (she has done this before when she has forgotten to bring along my travel drink bottle-trough thing. That is OK. But the water hissed when she opened it and it really tickled my nose when I went in for a drink! She says it was a blinkie blunder - she got the wrong water! I found a puddle and had a good guzzle from that!

I have just had a nice big carrot......I think I might still love Mummy.......

Mum and me working in Reading town centre - on the bridge over the river, with lots of flowers on top of the railings.

Me taking a power snooze in Decathlon - in the middle of the aisle with all the manhuman's pawcovers.

A snooze is the only way to deal with an hour-and-a-bit on the bus.

 

Towpath Team in Action Again!

New bra!

OMOE Wayne came again this morning and he brought me a new bra. It is a slimline design - all soft and comfy. Mum says it is hopefully going to withstand our rough and tough workywalkieses better. She says it can be put into the frothmonster sloshermachine. She also says that I have to make sure to tell everyone that it has been issued by Guide Dogs UK, therefore it is an official uniform for me, but it is NOT standard issue and therefore will NOT be issued to other Guide Dogs unless it is needed for very special reasons. Does that mean I am very special? Heehee!

A bit later, I got to try out my new bra when I took Mummy workywalkies to work the lock and swingbridge. We like it! I like the slimline strappiness of it - much less of it to cover up my glossy fur! Mum likes it because she says she can feel my every movement through it. She says she also likes the idea that it is made of something called webbing, which is washable. The white leather of my original harness is lovely but it does suffer a lot from our grubby grimey gritty muddy tough towpath world.

After doing the swingbridge and lock, we cruised a tiny little way to the other side of town and to the floatyboatykennels where the squirtysnake took ages to squirt the tank full up.

We are now moored on the towpath side, so a change of scenery. No more huge garden - but that means lots of walkies around this end of town again. It will make a change!

Two photos of me in my new bra.

Shows me and Mum beside our floatyboatyhome (burgundy narrowboat with blue gunwhales and a silver grey cratch cover - that is the tent-type thing on the bow deck) Mum is standing beside me. I am in a sit, facing the camera, with my smart new slimline bra on.

A closer up shot of me standing - sideways on to the camera, showing the super slim straps of the new harness. It has a reflective yellow strap over my shoulders, and one across my chest, with a flash on my chest saying 'Guide Dog Do Not Feed Me'. (I really must find a way to get rid of the 'Not' on that!

 

Sloshy!

Teddy came calling for me this morning! My little bestie! He is a pocket rocket but I do my bestest to keep up with him! He came to floatyboatyhome and Mum let me out to play! Then Oscar came to join in too! It was the bestest start to the day. Woohoooooo! Mum was glad too because it meant that I was all exercised and ready for the rest of the day.

The rest of the day has been much less fun, but it has been OK.

We went on a long car ride on sloshy roads with big leaky skies. Normally, this makes me all scared and whimpery and distressed in the car, but today, Mum squirted some stuff all over my bed in the car. I gave it a good sniff and I felt all calm and OK.

The car ride took us to GrannyGrandpa's flat in Bournemouth. The flat was all different and strange inside. New carpets to roll on - that got me a great face massage! The walls are now all white with no patternstuff on. No furniture. No stuff. Mum and Dad went around checking everything and then we went upstairs in the magic box that changes the outside when the doors shut and open again. We went into a flat with a nice lady and little minihuman in it. I just got to lie down while the humans did a load of yacketying. Then Sarah and minihuman came back into the magic box with us and it delivered us back to GrannyGrandpa's flat. They came in and had a look around. Of course, there was more yacketying to be done. The minihuman helped me to empty my toybox though! That bit was fun!

The journey home was even more sloshy but another good spraying of that stuff made it all OK. I was really miffed though - Bournemouth ......beach!.......But we didn't go beach! Hooooowwwwwlllllll!

Back in Newbury, we didn't return to floatyboatyhome. First we went to a human yummyery, then to the Bus of Hope. There, I got my picnic dinner before we set off to find all the minihumans and maximinihumans that visit the bus. This evening, they were NOISY! How can such small people make such big noise?! I did get some fusses though. They were nice. Mummy was occupied with making lots and lots and lots of hot brown drink. She also had lots of supplies of something called biscuits. She was a bit messy witht these so I had some rather yummy hoovering to do! A worthwhile chore!

Now, having arrived back at floatyboatyhome very soggy, after teh long walk across the huge field, I had a lovely towelrub session from Mum. Now I am ready to finish the drying process on my bed. Those blue leg-covers that Mum is wearing will dry me well I think........Mum shove over a bit!

Huffy-Puffing!

Woohoo! The bestest start to the day!

My old-time buddy Bess came to visit, that got me the perfect opportunity to do a 'Houdini'. Heehee! (Actually, Mum opened the door so I could barge past her to go greet Bess). I meeted and greeted Bess, but she is a bit old for playing, so I took myself off for a wee (it saved Mum having to come with me!). Then a new buddy arrived and Oh Boy! Did we have fun! Oscar is a fox-red Labrador, 15 months old and a superb sport for running, chasing, rolling, chewing, swimming and ball-games! We had a fandabbydoozee time! Then Poppy came along and joined in too! It was a pawtastic riot!

I was quite glad to then lied down on the grass to dry off while I had a good bone-chomp session.

This afternoon, we set off for a car ride. It took us to a pointy building where we found Debbi and Ryan. Debbi tickled the black and white teeth of a huge black noise box while several other humans did a load of human howling, one tooted on a tootyparpystick, and another used a long thin stick to stroke across a big curvy noise box with long whiskers stretched on it. The humans on the chairs banged their front paws together. I just snoozed - it was super hot in there!

Next, we went to DebbiRyan's house. I aaaalmost caught one of the hissing furballs, but she escaped. I pleaded for the gate to be opened so I could follow but the answer was 'no'! Hufff! I had to content myself with just hoovering up a bit of their food that they so carelessly left on the floor!

I kept safely out of the way when Ryan filled a big black bowl on sticks with black blobs. He made it go all stinky-huffy-puffy! Once that huffy-puppying died down, I ventured out to investigate the yummy smells but the humans had munched all the sausages! Meanie lot!

We are now back home aboard our floatyboatyhome after the car journey and then a workywalkies back through town and along the towpath.

3 photos of this morning's playtime with Oscar

1 - a wide shot of the big park area with us running together

2 and 3 - rolling, ear-chewing and doggy-wrestling

 

Barkday!

Apparently today was Mummy's barkday. She didn't get any bones or meatystrips or rawhide chews though. But I did! I got a big juicy new bone! I think I like Mummy's barkday! 

 

This morning we went to church then workywalkies back was via the full expanse of Goldwell Park AND Northcroft Park. That meant FREERUN! Yippeeeeee! That is a lovely lot of park to do zoomies around! It is interrupted by a short walk on lead where the road so very rudely crosses through, but I survived that!

When we got back to floatyboatyhome, we were all hot and so the only thing to do was to take a cooling dip in the river! Heehee! Oooooooh! that was lovely! Even Mum sort of joined me by standing with her back paws in the water. She said something about the little tiny swimmy-under-water things were a bit tickly.

This evening, I managed to sneak in another good swim session and a game of ball-launcher fetch too - a welcome break from all the yackety-yacking of the humanfriends who came to sit and yack and nosh with Mum & Dad.

Mum didn't get bones etc, but she did have carrots and cucumber - and she shared some with me! Yummmy!