Those of you who remember our lovely dog Harvey will be sad I'm sure to hear that at the grand old age of 15 we had to make the heartbreaking decision on Easter Saturday to say a final goodbye to him. Over the last few years his arthritis and a recently discovered heart condition had made his life more and more difficult. In spite of all of that he still hobbled out to see guests each morning after breakfast (even on his final morning) and is very sorely missed by all of us here.
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| Our "Harvey" ... a long and happy life in a place he loved |
I can't tell you how horribly empty the house felt without a four legged friend in residence and having lasted only two weeks without one we spotted a lovely looking chap on the Dogs Trust website at their centre in Ilfracombe. We went straight along to meet him and immediately knew he was the dog for us.
Dudley was a picked up as a stray so we know very little about his past but they had assessed him at the center to be very friendly with people, comfortable meeting strangers and reassured us he had shown no aggression to either other dogs or kennel staff during his stay ... all really important in a dog who's home is a busy guest house.
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| "... so where are all the guests then?" |
As a collie/spaniel cross-breed he's a real character, very intelligent and quick to learn. He's also incredibly fast!!! At just under two years old he needs lots and lots of exercise... something that's taking a bit of getting used to especially as Harvey needed so little of it as he became old and his joints got stiff and sore.
Already a winner with guests who have met him Dudley has fortunately proved himself to be very well behaved indoors. Once he's outside however and we let him run "off lead" on The Downs he reverts to the young and very active dog that he is. In his eyes all other dogs out there are friends for the making and unfortunately he believes their tennis balls are his to play with too! He's certainly going to keep us fit as we run around trying to keep up with him and he's a huge supporter of the power nap after a long walk :)
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| "who knew learning to be a good boy could be so tiring?" |
Harvey had arrived here with a full set of manners already nicely in place and if we could ask him what he thinks of our newest family member I think he would probably say "this youngster's OK ... but he has a lot to learn".
Bude's a really brilliant place for a dog to live and with a footpath along the edge of the golf course that runs right outside our house all the way down to the beaches, daily strolls are great fun. There's so much open space nearby with The Downs and Bude Canal providing some lovely walks not to mention the South West Coast Path ... although for his own safety, our new boy will definitely have to be on his lead up there for some considerable time to come!
