Great news SwampDonkey (intrigued to know how you came up with that name!) I am so happy for you, good for you having a good spend
Hey there, so sorry - I'm just now catching up on this thread and seeing your post. Bad me! I've actually been thinking I should start a thread about what it's like to travel in by plane with a very big dog and just have been too busy lately - still on the radar, though. LOTS of people are curious and I still get questions about it. And of course fun for me to talk about as I love talking about Brogan in any capacity. But short answer, no - I flew normal old steerage (aka economy) class. In fact, dogs are not allowed in exit rows ("door seats") for safety issues - if you actually had to exit in an emergency, it doesn't do to be tripping over a large dog. Brogan flew under the seat in front of me - you know, where you can in theory put your hand baggage (but then there's no place for your legs). He was trained to crawl all the way under the seat and then stay there, so I would only see his butt the whole flight. And yes, I had to (carefully) use him a bit as a footstool as there was no other place for my own legs/feet otherwise. There is no cost for flying with a service dog - they fly free. No, we didn't have to sit in a certain part of the plane. Though I could tell some stories about where they stuck us at times. About Paris, it used to be very big dog friendly. When I lived there in the early 90's I saw a ton of Rotties and GSDs. BSL (breed laws) changed things and pushed the bigger dog owners (especially certain breeds) out toward the bandlieues. To be fair, I've not lived in Paris for over six years now. Things change. However, six years ago with Brogan it was not dog-friendly and the dogs we did see were the most stressed out of anyplace I've visited. I still love Paris, but for dogs...not so much. If you mom has good suggestions for new places I could discover in France that ARE dog friendly, I'd love to hear them. I know they are out there!
me and my dogs were christened collectively as the swampdonkeys by a close friend after a really good muddy filthy dogwalk . Doug was always the swampdonkey so I now use it. We are often filthy and muddy giggling swamp donkeys
Ohhh I'm a bad mam Stanleys ran out of food - I realised on Thursday and OH was supposed to sort it on Friday and he nearly chopped his finger off at work - so Stanleys food got forgotten about. You can only get it from one shop near us at the opening hours are something like 10-4 so I couldn't even go after work. Stanleys fuming - I passified him last night with a chicken dinner but breakfast is his favourite meal of the day and the peanut butter kong I've given him just isn't cutting it. He's looking at his bowl like
Best get on the phone to PuppyLine, Stanners! This is just not on! Maybe there's some leftover chicken coming your way?
The Isle of Man is currently sinking under the weight of visiting motorbikes - we're slap in the middle of TT fortnight. I've just come back from a lead walk with Coco, and we were passed by streams of big, noisy bikes - very close with the narrow pavements and roads. Coco didn't bat an eyelid. We just had the best loose lead walk (no cat/dog distractions), with lots of games along the way. And the best bit - the woman from the bottom of the road who uses the anti-bark collar & lead jerks drove past as Coco was behaving impeccably - I gave her a cheery wave. Thank you Coco.
Holly is in the dog house. This morning she dashed off into the woods. I assumed that it was just another roll, but when she didn't come back I went to investigate. There was a tent, and the occupants had left their food outside. Holly was half way through her second bread roll. When I approached she grabbed a packet of ham and dashed off under the trees. By the time I grabbed her collar it was an empty packet. By this time one of the occupants had got out of the tent and was standing there in his underwear and bare feet. I apologised and he took it in good grace. I suggested that leaving food outside in a wild boar area was not a good idea. Holly will be getting a much smaller meal tonight.
Generally - you have to drive with eyes in the back of your head - it's a bit of a nightmare on the busier roads - but it's less busy in the south where I am. I park my motorbike in the garage for 2 weeks - I'm too chicken. A lot of the visitors drive like total a*ses with no regard for anyone else on the road. They hear that there's no speed limit and assume that means everywhere! But on the plus side, and it is a big plus, the island comes alive, that atmosphere is amazing.
I have a tent and animal story. I was brought up in South Africa and we always camped for holidays. We went on holiday to a game reserve called Kruger National Park. We had a 'hanging fridge' to keep our food cool, it worked very well. One night we heard scrabbling and our butter pot being crunched - hyenas! My Dad shouted 'foetsack' (meaning beep beep off) and they ran away. I was 7 years old and had no fear - my Dad was there to protect us! .
Nell is being spayed on Monday , oh dear . I`ve had several bitches spayed, but for some reason , I am more apprehensive this time , maybe its because she is such a tiny little dot ? I know its for the best , an accidental mating would be a disaster , given her size , but I do feel quite sick with worry . I have a feeling she is going to be a little so and so to try and keep calm ! x
