Handsome, Healthy Dude!

BBBBEEEEAAAACCCCHHHH! YAYHAYHAYHAYHAY!

Freerun! Zoomies! Miles and miles of sand! Buddies to play with. A ball to ....errr.... borrow....??? (The other dog's humans didn't seem to want to share though!!)

This was all rather super after a day of workywalkiesing around this old stomping ground of Bournemouth, snoozing while Mummy and Daddy did loads of yacketying with the fixer-upper manhuman at GrannyGrandpa's old flat, and a trip to the vet. I also enjoyed a de-stressing run around in the parky gardens on the way to the human yummyery. There I met a shrunken version of me! She looked just like me - only on shorter legs! Apparently she is a Labrador x Basset!

Apparently the vet trip was just for a routine check up and I passed! She said I am a handsome healthy dude! I had to get up on the table (Mummy hefted me up!) so she could admire every inch of me. I showed her my softee side when she came at me with her scary shiny disk-with-tubes-in-her-ears thing. I gave her a good biff on the nose with my paw when she attacked my chest with that monster!

3 Photos - 2 of me at the vets and one of the strange shrunken version of me that i met in the parky gardens.

Wetherspoons.

Old stomping ground and old, long missed humanpals - and a fellow Guide Dog to kanoodle with at church!

We went to our old church - Bridge Church in Newbury! That meant meeting and greeting ooooodles of long-missed humanpals and some good ear-rubs in return! My buddy Guide Dog Dory was there too! That was even gooder! We Guide Dogs are always super happy to meet up and compare notes! A bit of mutual ear chewing and jowl-chomping just adds to the camaraderie!

After all the inevitable human yacketying after the humanhowling, I got to strut my stuff guiding Mum on an old favourite route - into town to 'Find the Office' (Mum says that is officially known by most people as Wetherspoons pub). It was great to cover old ground again. There was a lot of pooch gossip to catch up on and I did manage to persuade Mum to let me exchange a few weemails at strategic places. At The Office, we met up again with Daddy (apparently he had brought the car to nearby), and with humanpals Rob and Trish (fellow floatyboatyfolk). I was happy to snooze on the carpet under the table and provide a back-paw warming service for Trish too.

Eventually the human-noshing finished and we left for a bit of a wander along the towpath to Rob and Trish's floatyboatyhome. This was, of course, another time of going-on-forever yacketying but I did get a bit of a freerun back again along the towpath; a proper chance to exchange lots of weemail messages with the locals! This took us back to the car and so to another longish journey.

Now we are in another human kennelblock - in Bournemouth! I smell BEEEEEAAAAACCCCHHHHH! I guess that may not happen tonight though so I will content myself for now with this yummy bone Mummy gave me for being a good boy! NomNomNom!

Photo shows me with fellow Guide Dog Dory, a yellow lab x retriever, and her human charge, Craig.

Pawbanging.

Cor! Phewy! What a day!

First of all,I had to take Daddy walkies to fetch a car. It's a posh car - all black and shiny (just like me! Oh...I'm not posh though am I?!!). I got to ride in the ginormous boot back to floatyboatyhome. There, I got to play a great game of fetchball with Mummy while Daddy loaded wheeliebags and all sorts of other stuff into the ginormous boot. Then I had to hup up onto the back seat (on my big towel). Of course, this means I have to wear my car-bra and that gets attached to the strappything, but I do rather like riding posh on the back seat! It means I can sit up and watch the world wizz by, or I can curl up in comfort and snooze away the journey! It's a tough life sometimes!! Heehee!

The journey took us on big zoomy roads and landed us in some place called Richmond (I think it might be some part of that big beastie London place - the buses are all red!). We had a bit of a walkies first and Mum asked me to 'Find Costa'. Yep! No problem! Job done. Inside there, Daddy's big bag made a great chin rest! Next came another bit of a walkies - this time to a white building I recognised. It is one of those lots-of-seats places with a big high-floor at the front.

Up on the highfloor was one of those big boxes with black and white teeth. Behind that was my humansister Debbi! There were lots of other humans doing all sorts of yacketying and humanhowling on the highfloor too, and Debbi was tickling those teeth all the way through it. There was also lots of yummies on the highfloor. Sadly, I didn't get anywhere near though. I'm sure I could have done a great job of hoovering it all!

Half way through, we went out to the front area (I think Mum called it the foy yay or something). There we found Papa! Then we found Ryan too! Oooooh! my tail went berserk!

In the second half back in the lots-of-seats place, a ladyhuman came to our seats and dragged my Daddy up onto the highfloor! I tried to follow, but Mum wouldn't let me! Huff! I could have done the hoovering!

After all the humanhowling and then the pawbanging stuff, we went outside again (Oooh! I needed that tree!). A brief workywalkies took us to a human yummyery. Papa was the only one kind enough to drop me a morsel under the table! I had to wait for my dinner and then finally got to eat it from my picnic bowl - in a shop doorway of all places!

We said bye-byes to Papa and Debbi & Ryan before I got to take Mummy and Daddy for a very gladly needed workywalkies before getting back into the car. This time the journey was shorter and we seem to now be in a human kennelblock. I recognise this area too - Mum says it is called Aldermaston - very familiar territory!

 

3 Photos:

 

In Costa - me resting my chin on Daddy's big one-eyed-clickybox bag.

Daddy up the highfloor with all the other people who did all the humanhowling. (Daddy didn't howl but he did yackety into a big black lollipop - and he got to eat some yummies! Not fair! I should have been allowed to help!

Mum and me outside the white lots-of-seats building.

Jessica

Daddy's fluzzybuzzer spied on us!

I took Mummy for a nice long workywalkies along the looooooong straight towpath. It was a walkies just for the pleasure of a walkies - well...and Mummy burbled something about blowing away cobwebs, but I didn't find any of them - whatever they are!

As we set off over the bridge, there was a bzzzzzzing beside us that stayed around us for a little distance before leaving us to get on withour walkies.

Back home, my girlfriend, little fluffy pompom pooch Jessica, came and called for me. She didn't just call from outside, she came right aboard our floatyboatyhome to find me! Well....it would have been rude to not go outside for a playtime wouldn't it? The same again when big Isaac the husky x collie came calling for me a bit later!

I do like this mooring!

Video footage, taken by Daddy's fluzzybuzzer of me and Mum on the first bit of our workywalkies over the canal bridge and then along the beginning of the very long straight Tame Valley Canal.

Click here:

Miffed and Double Huffed!

Another toy I'm not allowed to play with! Miffed and double huffed!

First of all, Daddy was playing with his Fluzzybuzzer and I thought I would just give it a quick sniff. It buzzed and fluzzed off! It seems I am not allowed anywhere near it! Mind you, I am not too sure about it anyway. I really don't like buzzy things.

The other toy seemed much more promising though; a pointy-ended ball! Now I DO like pointy-ended balls! Especially the ones that I can get my fangs into! I was not allowed anywhere near this either! Harrrrumph! This one has lots of squiggles all over it. Mummy says the squiggles are all-toe-graphs or something. She say they were all done by the big manhumans that we met in London a while ago. Manhumans called the All Blacks (good colour!). Mummy says this ball is going on something called eBay to raise more shinydisks for Guide Dogs. Well, that bit is good of course, but I'm sure it would be much better if it had my fang marks in it too.....

Instead, I got to play a great game with Mummy and my boomerball. I do like this mooring place for that. The big hard-surfaced garden is fantabulous for playing boomerball.

Mummy says you can share the link to the eBay listing of this pointy-ended ball. Please do this - please share it to anyone who might be interested - especially anyone who might appreciate the addition of a set of fang-marks! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rugby-Ball-signed-by-members-of-the-All-Blacks-to-raise-money-for-Guide-Dogs/222946698664?roken=cUgayN

The pointy-ended ball signed by the All Blacks.

Here is the video that Daddy says was got by his fluzzybuzzer:

https://www.facebook.com/GuideDogOakley/videos/2120580957956593/

Fluzzybuzzer!

Oooh! Daddy's got a new toy! It's a fluzzybuzzer. It makes weird bzzzzzy noises and goes fluzzing up in the air! I'm not too sure about this......I've never been a fan of bzzzzing things and a bzzzzing thing that fluzzes is really worrying......

I did enjoy the looooong walkies taking him to get it though - even though the sky was all leaky and yuck. That got me a lovely towelrub when we got home again!

I also enjoyed a bit of a playtime with my buddy Isaac too when he came to call for me, although, I have to admit that I was maybe a tad on the tired side after escorting Daddy just over 5 miles!

Crunchy White Clouds.

Bonus!

A workywalkies that leads to meeting a colleague is always a bonus!

Today, I took Mum and Dad to the bustrain thingy and we rode into Bumingham. It was fun to be back on old grounds again, guiding Mum around town. First of all, we went to a big building with lots of desks in it. We went into a little room there where I got to sprawl out on the carpet under the table while Mum and Dad did a load of yacketying with a ladyhuman. Then we went to a little shop-type place right by where we used to be moored. Next was a wander into the busy main shoppystreets. We were on a mission but I managed to divert this mission when I spotted a fellow Guide Dog with her ladyhumanmum, sitting at a human yummyery outside table. Well....it would have been a crime to pass by without stopping to greet wouldn't it? I think I diverted Mum very deftly! Anne the golden labrador was a lovely surprise to meet up with. Of course the humans got into some yacketying, which gave us dogs a few minutes to kanoodle and play as much as we could get away with while both on harness!

Next stop was one of those big dark places with lots of seats, a noisy moving picture wall and little crunchy white clouds. Another bit of a snooze opportunity - in between hoovering duties!

The journey back on the bustrain thingy was nice - I got several fusses from the manhuman with strange toys hanging on leads around his neck. He kept walking off down the length of the bustrain to take shinydisks from people and give them little flappy rectangles in exchange. Then he kept coming back for a 'dog-fix'. I am happy to serve out dog-fixes to good ear-rubbers!

Photo shows me with Guide Dog Anne and her ladyhuman plus friend ladyhuman too.

Crisply Dried on Perfume!

Ooh! I do like such enthusiastic greetings! Especially when I get the fusses and ear-rubs before Mum or Dad are even acknowledged! Heehee! That was the greeting when we went workywalkies to churhc this morning. It was the church we have been to a few times here in Tipton. While Mummy and Daddy were occupied drinking their little bowls of hot brown water, I managed to sneak under a table for a quiet lie down on the carpet. It was a nice little hidey-hole!

After all the human howling and yacketying, we set off home again. I made sure we went the correct route - not the boring one via the roads - the proper one - via the park and towpath! Heehee! Welll..... it is Sunday! Sunday is supposed to be day off day isn't it?

There were a few doggypals to meet n greet in the park. One was a very enticing smelling girlie but I wasn't allowed to play with her. Her human dragged her away saying something about seasoning or something. Daddy hoicked me off in the opposite direction! Huff! There was another poochpal - a set of long legs with a tiny body on top. She ran so super fast! There was no way I could even dream of playing chase - so I didn't even bother to try!

When we got to the towpath bit of the route home, I found a delectably icky bit of black gooey muddy water. I just had to take a dip! When I waded back out again, Mummy and Daddy backed away from me! Huff! No success with the bigshake! I was just settling nicely into my crisply dried on perfume when we got home and Mum attacked me viciously with a cold squirtysnake! That was soooooo mean Mummy! I was not stinky! I was beautifully aromatic!

Photo shows me tucked away under the table at Tipton Christian Church.

Not for Oakleys!

'Oi! Buggalugs. Quit hoovering. Mind on your job please!'

Oh...but...MuUUuum...How can I quit hoovering and concentrate on anything else but the feast of white squidgy yumminess that is scattered everywhere on the towpath? It is all going to waste....the quacking featherballs and honking featherballs and hissing white featherballs are all ignoring it and there is just sooooooo much of it!

Waddyamean 'It's not for Oakleys'? It is on the ground and within my reach so therefore it is mine ... all mine!

Ooh! meanie meanie Mummy!

Twitsticks.

Two lessons today:
1 I can't walk on water
2 I know my left and right better than a wheeliewizzer manhuman did today

Daddy was fixed to his seat doing loads of clicketyfingersing so I took Mummy out for a walkies. She didn't bring my harness though. Just my lead and her twitstick.

She wanted to practice using that long white stick with a ball on the end (the one she won't let me play with), so that meant I got to FREERUN!! Yippeee!

We went out of the cage where our floatyboatyhome is in prison, then up and over the bridge and long the looooooong straight towpath. I did keep close to Mummy - especially as she kept jabbing herself in the belly when twitstick got caught on the rough ground. I did rather enjoy the freedom to sniff and run about though.

I spotted a bottle that needed to be rescued from the canal. It was stuck by the edge of a patch of green tufts beside the towpath edge. I strode out to rescue it and went down in a big splosh! It seems that green tufty stuff was NOT solid! Oops! I got Mum with a superb bigshake when I scrabbled back out onto the towpath! Heehee!

Shortly after that, a manhuman on a wheelywizzer yelled out from a way ahead of us 'Keep your stick over to the right darlin. I'm coming'. And he whizzed towards us. Mummy did as he said and moved a little to her right (towards the canal edge), but not too far - the towpath is really wide. He came juddering to a stop and did a really big wobble - right on the edge by the water. He then got all growly at Mummy. I shoved myself by her back legs - between her and him. I wasn't going to let him get my Mummy! I think he was barking some nasty things at Mummy, but then she politely pointed out that she had moved to the right as he had called out. He then kind of hid his face with his front paws and laughed. He burbled something about 'My right, your left'.... and 'I'm sorry darlin'.... Then Mummy's mouth turned up again at the ends, so my tail wagged again too and I got on with my sniffings around.

Humans are so daft and confusing sometimes!

This afternoon, I got doggypal visitors! Isaac the husky x collie and Marley the choccy lab x something huge (maybe mastiff) came to play! It was great fun! We all had a good romp around inside floatyboatyhome cage!

Photo shows me sitting on the hard ground with Isaac and Marley.

Something Big and Slobbery!

Yayy! Team Towpath back in action! Happy day!

 

17 locks, cruisy-snoozy-time and a chance to give my big bone a bit of attention while waiting at the locks. It was a bit heavy to carry all the way down the flight but it was worth it. A bit of mud adds nicely to the flavour.

We have finished up back at a favourite mooring - the one where my humanpals Lindsay and Tim are, along with pooch pals Marley and Isaac. I got to kanoodle with Marley this afternoon. Marley is a huge chocolate lab x something big and slobbery (maybe mastiff). He is a BIG boy but I think we will get on well - especially if we get to do what I think I heard Mummy suggesting - a freerun together with Isaac too, (Isaac is a husky x collie) sometime soon in that pooch paradise they call Worley Woods. I am liking the idea.....

Me with my bone on the brick surface of a lock top.

Lying on the cool grass with my bone between my front paws.

Me guiding Mummy (I still look after her even when I'm not on harness) along the grassy towpath between locks.

On our new mooring - I am showing humanpal Lindsay what to do with a big bone.

Gnawing...

Back to reality today. That is most certainly not a complaint though. Well.... I certainly can't complain when a shortish workywalkies gets me a hugenormous gigantuous BONE!

Visitors Tim and Lindsay were nice to welcome too - but I simply had to get to grips with this gnawing task.

🍗🍗🍗🍗

Now, If you will excuse me, I have some serious work to do.......

... And Relax!

Home again

Workywalkies - train - workywalkies across that big beastie London place - train - another train - workywalkies to floatyboatyhome

And RELAX

Wheeliewhizzer!

Well...I was wrong! I thought it was going to be a boring day. It started off seeming that way - dozy snoozy lazy - that would have been quite acceptable....but....it didn't continue that way! No complaints though.

We set off in Papa's car (this time I had to wear my car-bra and sit on the back seat with Mummy). We went to the big blue puddle place where I got to look after the nice workyhumans in the office while Mummy, Daddy and Papa went to watch minihuman Hallie having something called a swimming lesson. Another doggy supremacy thing - we don't need lessons to swim - we just get in and paddle!

Next was a bit of hoovering under minihumans in seats-on-sticks, then off to the car again. We went to Rosie's home where I could smell a hissing furball and hissing furball food, but couldn't actually find either. Huff! Daddy did some twiddly things with a shiny toything. When he had finished he presented Hallie with a tiny wheeliewizzer. She nearly ran me over with it! (see video). Very soon after this, we set off in Rosie's car, where I got to ride in the boot. Everyone else was squished into the seats.

This ride took us to a fabulous destination: We went to visit my PuppyMummy, Sue! Not only PuppyMummy but also Guide Dog Puppy Chrissie (who is as big as me now) and a new puppypal Poppy too (black fluffy Labradoodle with a lot of woof!) It was a fantabulous afternoon of ruff-and-tumble and chase and chew and zoomies and fusses and more zoomies........ Happy Happy Oakley!

Visiting a human yummyery with minihuman Hallie is much better than just with Mummy and Daddy. Minihuman Hallie showered me with little green balls and a few other morsels too! YummyScrummy!

Now, back at Papa's home, I have had my dinner, a wander around the garden and now, it seems the carpet is dragging me down and making my eyes rather bleary.......zzzzz

Video of Hallie on her tiny Wheeliewizzer, click here.

 

Below are a selection of images from my day!

 

Pawsome Walkieworkies!

We did it! We did it! We blimmin well smashed it!

It was a pawsome workywalkies! There were gazillions of very noisy humans all along the way - all shouting and cheering and whistling and whooping as we walked by! I got a big cheer for watering a tree on the way too! After the long route, we came to a long straight bit and something very strange but exciting happened: Even though we had walked super fast all the way, Mummy said 'Come on, let's go Oaks. Huppup' and we ran the last bit! We have never done that before! It was fantabulous! Mummy says that she had hoped we would complete the course in about two and a half hours, but we did it in 1hour 47 minutes. She seems super chuffed with that!

The rest of the day was spent in further bliss: a big white flappywalled place with loads and loads of Guide Dogs and Puppies to kanoodle with!

I now seem to be having a little difficulty in keeping my eyes open so I will leave you with all the photos Daddy took. These are all shots of Mummy and me strutting our stuff on this Brighton Marathon Tenkay thingy. The last one seems to be of a very sleepy me in Papa's car on the way home. I think there will be some of the puppy kanoodling time that Mummy will share later for me.

Posh Parping!

We had a big posh train carriage all to ourselves. Daddy says that was probably because I gassed everyone else out! I have no idea what he means! There was something tickling my botty from time to time though!

That train took us to a long workywalkies through the streets of that big beastie London place. It has been a while since I had a good challenging job to do. I think perhaps I was a tad enthusiastic - Mum kept telling me to 'Steady. Stop pulling'. Ahem! Oops! Well....I love a good challenge from time to time.

This workywalkies took us to another train ride. This one landed us in another familiar place. As we came out of the station, Mummy said 'Let's go find Papa'. Well I needed no further instruction. Off we set - just with the interruption of waiting for the cage to go up and let us across the train-sticks. Oh...and a brief stop for a very necessary doggy download. Mummy murmured something about 'That should be the last of the bonebum offerings'. Hmmm!

I do love being at Papa's home; a garden to water and he always has a good supply of yummies for me too! Heehee! Shhh...don't tell Mummy!

5 photos:

 

Waiting at Langley Green Station - looking right.

Waiting at Langley Green Station - looking left.

On one of the trains getting some admiration from fellow passengers.

Mum and me posing by our big posh train.

Inside our posh carriage - the one we had all to ourselves.

Follow me on Talkbone this Sunday!

Hmmm....Strange goings on.......

That nice GuideDogs workyladyhuman Pauline came again and stole Mummy from me. They both came back all soggy and drippy though - maybe staying home wasn't so bad today.....

Now, there is a white stick with a very tempting big ball on the end of it... Mummy won't let me play with it though. She says it is not an Oakleytoy, it is her new Twitstick. Huff!

I did get to take Daddy for a nice long 'screenbreak' walkies after the sky stopped leaking. Then, later this afternoon, I got to take Mummy for a bit of a training workywalkies too. That was all good. And even gooderer - I got to munch my way through a whole bone today! Numnumnum!

Other strangeness - wheeliebag packing is going on again.....and Mummy says we are heading down south ready for our Tenkay on Sunday. Now that sounds good to me!

If you would like to support us then please just click on the link at the top of my page.

Mummy says you can download an app on your talkybone if you want to follow our progress on Sunday. She says it is https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/active-experience/id1343144011?mt=8 for iPhone, or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.active.endurance.experience&hl=en_GB for Android talkybones.

Why Do People Park on the Pavements!!!!

Oakleyworld is all good again! I was needed again today - a lot! Just over seven-and-a-half miles of workywalkies (good practice for Sunday!). It was all on new territory too so a good challenge. I like a good challenge! Some of it was VERY challenging! Lots of naughty cars and vans and lorries parked on pawments. Mummy had to ask me to 'Go ahead' several times because the gap was too narrow for us to get through. Even then, she bumped her shoulder and front leg several times on the sticky-out-car-ear things. Still, that was safer than going offkerb on those super busy-whizzy roads!

We went to a little room upstairs where I made a spectacular job of splattering the floor from my drippywet belly and paws! Oops! In there a nice ladyhumanpawvet did some zizzy things and clippety things to Mummy's back paws. I kept mine well tucked out of the way! I didn't want my paws zizzed!

Next, we went to a talkybone shop but came out again. It seems they didn't have the talkybone yet that Mummy was there to collect. Next was a 'Find Costa'. I did just that! No problem! This was followed by a stop off in a humanyummyery. I watched very carefully while Mummy and Daddy both munched their way through a box full of long worms. Not a morsel came my way! Huff!

Then we went to a sillymar place. On the big wall at the front there were lots of those bouncy bum-puff things with long ears. They were wearing human-like fursubstitutes on their top halfs and doing human yacketying! In the seats there were lots of minihumans and they were all laughing at the stuff going on on that wall. There were also dropping loads of little white crunchy clouds. I managed to get to hoover a very few but Mum kept telling me to 'leave' - even the big pile on the way out! How mean! That pile was so desperately in need of being hoovered!

Next stop was a human fursubstitute shop where I had to wait with Daddy while Mummy went into a little box with a flappy wall on the front. She came out with different back legs! Apparently these are especially for our tenkay on Sunday.

The final call before 'Find the way home' was back to the talkybone shop. This time, they had a parcel for Mummy. That made her mouth go up at the corners. Apparently this should be a much better talkybone than the one she has been getting all growly at. 

My close supervision of Mummy munching worms.

Pawment parking; There is also a lamppost hidden by Mum that made the gap very narrow.

Big van where Mummy bigbumped her shoulder on its stickyout ear.