At long last, here are my photos from my wonderful day out with Harvey and @UncleBob! Harv is rather amazingly photogenic. It's a real joy taking photos of a yellow dog - you all with light-coloured dogs don't know how we dark dog people struggle. As a result, the MUCH larger full album is here and below are my favourites! Having said that, first up is Harv NOT looking his photogenic best. Nonetheless, this was the view had of Harvey for most of the visit. Nice dead stuffie in your mouth, Harvey! Luckily we also took a nice walk and I got to see Harv in action (and from greater than two inches distance from my nose). Here he is in action! Looking regal... Seriously supermodel-esque... Taking in the autumnal ambiance... BAAAAALLLLLLL!!!! DID YOU SAY BAAAAAAAALLL! Harvey takes me on a tour of the English cultural phenomenon of a garden centre. Here is the "garden-y" part. But who knew there were tea and cakes in a garden centre? Harvey is such a gentleman! And on the way out, he had to charm the socks off the nice lady at the till... I think it's safe to say that I was far from the only Harv fan in the neighbourhood. Many, many thanks to @UncleBob , his very kind OH and of course the (furry) man himself, Harvey!
I had a wonderful visit today with @Rosie , her OH and of course...magnificent Pongo. He is not, as other SW Forum members have insisted, the size of a small pony. He is just the right size...right, gorgeous boy? I shall wade through my photos in the next days and get them up, but I just wanted to say a really heartfelt thank you to Rosie, Paul and Mr. P for such a great visit, excellent advice and letting me fawn all over your pup. Sending big hugs from "across the water" in Clevedon!
I'm still needing to go through the 100 plus fun photos I have of Mr. Pongo and stick the best up here - I promise that's coming! Right now, though, I wanted to ask if anyone had advice on best areas to look for cottages/flats for Labratour part 2 (or more accurately #puppyprocrastinationtour)? @Rosie and her OH have given me some good tips, but thought I'd toss it out here as well. So far potential breeder/Lab expert visits in Yorkshire and the Lake District (hoping one location will do for both of these), southern Scotland (not sure if that is the right term, but hopefully that makes sense), and the highlands near Inverness. And all in only three weeks before I head to Germany. And with me working full time during the week. To be honest, I'm not sure how the moving plus any visits are all going to be mashed into what is really only two weekends. I need a Tardis. Or need to quit my job and become a full-time Labratour-er.
@Emily_BabbelHund we stayed in Appleby one year for our Easter break - sort of in between the two. Dog friendly of course, quite snug and cosy, an older property so a little quirky, but best thing is a dog friendly pub right next door with decent food. Neighbours property is adjoining and footpath in front of the sitting room/kitchen windows, but they were not "in your face" and the property is actually not that expensive. Just in case......https://www.sykescottages.co.uk/cot...html#duration=7&calendar=2017-11&changeover=6
Puppies? Was I supposed to be visiting puppies? @SwampDonkey is doing that, remember? She finds us both puppies, and I just go pick my boy up when he's fully cooked. A deal is a deal. OK, all joking aside, the truth is that the Labratour has indeed - so far - been a massive bust in terms of getting any closer to finding my own dog. The breeders I've contacted have either (1) been impossible or nearly impossible to actually make contact with, (2) do not have puppies now or in the near or far future, (3) may have puppies in the future but will not consider me because I don't live in the UK. In addition, I've been absolutely swamped with work over the past month, something that I was not really expecting when I planned the trip. I am discouraged and more than a little down. Seeing as how I still do not have any plans for the north ("Labratour Part Two", as @Rosie calls it), I've even thought about just hightailing it early back to Germany or Spain. Sigh. BUT I only have three weeks in the UK after I return from the US, so as of this moment, my plan is to dig in, hit up the good contacts that I've been kindly given for the north and give it my best shot. If nothing else, I'm still glad that I've come over for these two months as I've had the chance to meet so many nice Forum people and their dogs - even if we do end up renaming this whole shebang "Emily's Puppy Procrastination Tour 2017".
I wouldn't be able to bring a puppy from the US without flying him in the hold, which I'm not willing to do. Plus I imagine US breeders would be even less happy to have a puppy of theirs living in Germany than UK breeders are.
Oh dear, sorry you are finding the puppy searching difficult! Don’t give up hope, your pup is out there somewhere and you two will find each other when the time is right! I wouldn’t just assume that US breeders wouldn’t want their pups going to Germany. Don’t breeders ship their pups all over the country/world? What is your objection to having the pup in the hold?
