Dogs are an absolute blessing
Ihave to admit that I never set out to get another pet – after years of various rabbit disasters; the escapee, the prolific humper and the ‘were rabbit’ (Wallace and Gromit), I had opted out. My wife however had very different ideas. For a long time she has craved a Great Dane. Now, we already have four children and so my thinking was that this would be too much on top of general life (and just imagine the dog mess everywhere).
My wife is quite petite and I had visions of this dog sending her flying down the road uncontrollably – less than ideal, but quite funny.
So, in the end, and after a lot of discussions, we went for a mid-size (and more manageable) dog.
As I say, I wasn’t keen at first, but surprisingly the dog and I very quickly bonded.
The time that you spend walking together in the beautiful countryside and the loyalty that they show you is just incredible, and I can honestly say owning a dog has been an absolute blessing over the last couple of years.
I’m not suggesting that it hasn’t been without difficulties. Within the first month, we had various trips to the vets as our puppy proceeded to eat everything in her path; she ate grapes (poisonous to dogs) along with plastic cups, plasticine, paint and then we’ve had the heartbreaking injuries – a trip to have her leg stapled up from a cut out in the woods with me carrying her for half a mile like a baby.
Thankfully last weekend we managed to avoid her eating the children’s Easter eggs, which are also poisonous to dogs.
So whilst the vets’ bills and additional stresses are far from ideal, they are clearly part of the journey.
I appreciate that a lot of this is not new to seasoned dog owners, but to me it was surprising and intense.
Strangely, I cannot imagine life now without dear Tuppence who helps me regularly when writing this column – see the picture.
From a local view, aside of all of the spectacular places to walk, from the beach to the South Downs Way, the Goodwood Estate has recently launched an exciting new event which I am positive will be done to the usual fantastic Goodwood standard.
It’s called Goodwoof, and that’s not a spelling error.
It’s a dog event unlike any other, its spectacular new event dedicated to canine companions, Goodwoof will feature a fantastic line-up of activities to entertain dogs and their humans.
At the event, you will have the opportunity to see many things from top canine athletes; wellness workshops; behavioural and veterinary experts taking on topics from anxiety management to the secrets of your dog’s body language; celebrations of pop culture canine icons and heroes from history alongside trails, treats and plenty of play.
For a truly unique experience with or without your dog – head to www.goodwood.com/goodwoof to get your tickets for May 28-29.
Dogs are welcome and go free.
What fun it will be to see many of Chichester’s dogs all in one place!
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