Million Miles Trog!

The end of the world! The red-and-white-striped shop had NO bones! This is utter disaster! What am I going to do?

We cruised again, working locks and swingbridges on the way. The last one got us a serious soaking. The sky did huge leakies on us. I whimpered my most pathetic whimpers but there was no shelter. We just had to stand and endure it while the lock emptied to let our home down down down. As soon as Mum had finished pushy-pulling the the huge gate and Dad had chugged our floatyboatyhome out, the leadiesky stopped!

After Dad had finished tying up the boat's leads, we headed off to the train station just up the road. We went to Newbury where I had to workywalkies all across town - including to the red-and-white-striped shop. Then off for a million miles trog around Sainsbury's. I am pretty sure we went up and down EVERY blimmin aisle! I did try my bestest to alleviate the tedium but Mum told me to get my shnozzle out of the fridges! Humph!

Freerun.

zzzzzz..... Lazy snoozy day today.

Mum says it was appropriate to rest and recover from the last couple of days. Well, I've rested now. All recovered. Can we go out now for a nice long freerun?

Waddyamean that little freerun earlier was enough? It was nice. Agreed. It was just sufficient to prepare me for more snoozing in the human yummyery (with humanfriends Val and Oliver :) ). But....but....but.....I could very happily go for a few miles now......

Oh....OK.....sofasnuggles will do then!

Workywalkies - and then some!

Phew! Back aboard floatyboatyhome! Bone and bed! I am one pooped pooch!

I have worked my paws off today in that insanely busy London place! I have guided Mum for many miles of workywalkies around those oceans of human legs. I have endured (didn't like it at all!) a trip on a weird noisy growly bright yellow beastie thing that growled around lots of streets and then drove straight into the river! I had to climb up a really steep set of steps to get into that monster too! Getting off again was no problem though. I was VERY glad to leap down those steps again!

We then did some more workywalkies around the streets and along the pawmenade thing, then went into that big bubble that took us up in the sky and back down again. That was just a nice snooze time in a cool place for me.

Next, after yet more workywalkies around the streets, we went into a big building with lots of narrow corridors and kind of rooms with see through walls. Mum got a sort of talkybone thing and kept standing there with it stuck to her ear. Apparently it was telling her all about all the stuff behind the glass walls. She says it was very good Audio Description and that place was called the Commonwealth War Rooms; something to do with some bloke who used the rooms to direct some big argument a long time ago. I just thought it was really boring. I took every possible opportunity to lie down for a snoozelet while Mum was listening to her talkybone thing. I mean....when it is all behind glass walls, it isn't even vaguely sniffable to make it interesting! Mum and Dad clearly found it very good though. I did manage to absorb some fusses and admirations from lots of the gazillions of other humans in there.

Finally, we left there, workywalkiesded back to the humankennelblock where we had stayed, I got my dinner there, and then we set off to catch a bus, workywalkies a bit more, then catch a train back to home.

It has been great! A really welcome challenge to guide Mum through all those places and all those crowds. I am glad to be back though. My bone was waiting for me (well...Mum got it out of the cold cupboard for me anyway). I have enjoyed a bit of a relaxing gnaw on it, but it will have to save until tomorrow.....I just cannot keep my eyes open any longer! zzzzzzzz.........

6 photos

Me lying down on the big yellow growling DUKW Bus/Boat ting, behind the seat where the manhuman was doing all the yacketying into a black lollipop.

Posing in front of the Bus/boat thing with Mum and Dad.

Posing in front of the Bus/boat thing with Mum and the lollipop yacketyman.

Lying down inside the big bubble on the London Eye. Lying in front of Mum.

Close up of me lying down watching out of the see-through walls of the bubble.

Nah! Not worth staying awake! Eyes now closed but head still trying to stay up.

Tiny Kennel

We seem to be in this crazy busy London place again. I have worked my paws off weaving Mum through oceans of human legs! I did manage to weave her to meet a colleague for a brief sniff on the way! Heehee! She was a golden labrador whose name I didn't find out. She and i just did doggy sniff greetings. Well, it would be just rude to bypass a colleague without a greeting wouldn't it?!

To start the day, we did some cruising and some locks and some swingbridges, then Mum and Dad did some frantic packing of stuff into a wheeliecase, then we set off workywalkies to the station. It was mega hot and we arrived at the train station just too late so had to wait a while for the next train.

The only shady place with a seat for Mum and Dad was out in the car park (except for the one inside the station but that was pongy - human weemails are not nice!). So, to while away the the time, Mum got me to 'hup' onto the bench and she attacked me with a grooming session. She just happened to have it in the wheeliecase! It was a bit cooler on that bench because it had holes in it to let the air circulate so Mum let me stay up there as there was nobody else around who might have wanted it. I just couldn't keep my eyes open! Well.....Mum calls us hobos as we are of 'no fixed abode'. Hobos sleep on park benches. So I was doing the right thing!

Soon enough though we were on a very crowded train and I had to crawl under the seat to get out of the way. We then had to change to another train, via a bit of a workywalkies and a ride in two of those magic world-changing boxes. The second train brought us to London. Then it was more workywalkies and bus-rides to a humankennelblock.

Our kennel is tiny. Mum calls it a pod. Dad says it is a Premier Inn Hub. It is OK though. I got my dinner in the pod! In fact I got it early! Then, after Mum and Dad had been in the warm rain box and I had enjoyed a bit of a snooze under the cool hufferfufferthing, we went off out again! This time, we did a combination of workywalkieses and bus rides, and then we found Debbi! She led us to a human yummyery, then on to a big old building. Once inside there, I got to abandon Mummy and I went off into a room with some of the workyhumans to get ooooooodles of fuss and admiration for the evening while Mummy, Daddy and Debbi went into the big room with seats up steps to watch something called a show.

Then it was workywalkies again, byebyes to Debbi and then bus ride and more workywalkies back to our pod kennel!

Photo of me asleep on a blue metal mesh park bench type seat outside Midgham Station.

Proper Day!

Proper Sunday
 
Workywalkies to church. Carpet to snooze through all the humanhowling. Workywalkies home again. Wonderful 4 and a bit miles FREERUN with plenty of swims on the way. Then a big juicy bone!

Proper happy Oakie!

Skyfuzz

Yayhayhayhay! Oakleyworld is finally the right way up! This is the life I am supposed to be living!

We have cruised. We have walked the towpath. We have worked locks. We have moved to a new mooring. I have snoozed the afternoon away on the towpath. I have meeted and greeted many passing pooches. Yesssss! This is what Oakleys are meant to do! Well... this Oakley anyway!

Well......OK..... I suppose in true Oakleyworld the walking the towpaths bit should be workywalkies in harness. Today, though, and probably only today....Mum has let me enjoy freerunning the bits we have walked because it is all VERY familiar territory for her and the fireball was high in the sky but tempered by a bit of skyfuzz, so just perfect lighting for her. I even got to sneak in a quick cooling swim on the way! That meant that, when I got back aboard the back deck of floatyboatyhome, I washed the deck too. I do like to be multipurpose!

One of the passing pooches that I meeted and greeted was a little 11 week old Springer Spaniel puppy named Morgan. The photo shows her lying down beside me and me looking down at her. I was very gentle. She was very soft and fluffy.

Kanoodle Time!

Coffee Morning. That's what Mum called it.

Kanoodling Morning. That's what it was! Heehee!

Workywalkies to the bus stop, then workywalkies on new territory - a road with no pavement into a place called Thatcham Garden Centre. That was vaguely familiar. We've been there before but not via that route in. It was a good challenge. As we crossed the car park, I spotted my pal Harley, fellow black lab Guide Dog. Suddenly I was a bit faster guiding Mummy! Ahem! There were some familiar humanfriends there too - but most importantly Harley! We are expert kanoodling buddies!

After a little while another colleague arrived too. A golden lab x retriever named Daisy. She is only a youngster at just 2. We did a fair bit of kanoodling between us. It really is the best way for any self-respecting Guide Dog to pass the time under the table while our humans do all that yacketying. Daisy is a bit of a goody-4-paws though. She didn't do the commando crawling under the table that Harley and I have perfected to overcome our humans' insistance on pulling us apart from time to time. (Apparently this coffee stuff is supposed to stay in cups but kanoodling causes it to cover table tops!). So what we actually ended up doing was that Daisy and I were able to lie next to each other and have a good old ear-and-jowl-chewing session and Harley commando crawled over to join in whenever he got the chance. It was a happy morning of furry-fellowship!

Near the end of the time, Daddy arrived to join in with the yacketying. Then, when my buddies has gone, I had to go back into work mode guiding Mummy around that garden centre place. There were so many trees and bushes that really needed watering but Mummy wouldn't let me! I had to save it all for the big tree in the car park! After that we then went to a place with lots of those big white homes on wheels before returning to floatyboatyhome.

After my dindins, it was back into uniform and off on another workywalkies. Daddy had disappeared again, but we found him at the end of the walkies - at a human yummyery called the Old London Apprentice. They are doing good stuff there - raising shinydisks to sponsor a puppy and call it Ola. Ken the nice workyhuman there remembered me and I got to 'hup' at the bar again to greet him!

Now, back home again, it is most definitely sofasnuggles time. 

 

Me kanoodling with Daisy - just our heads visible with our noses smooshed together.

Harley joined in too - two black heads and Daisy's golden head all with noses together.