Our Dogs

By Ian Stewart

This is 'SIREADH' (Shee-rach) or, to give him his official Kennel Club title, 'Pollham Quest', investigating his new surroundings the day after we brought him home from the breeder.

Now, you may well be thinking,
'he looks awfy big for a pup'.

When we got him, he was a seven month old 'pup' who, because of his slight overbite, was never going to make it as a 'show dog' as the breeder had hoped !

So he's now become a family pet with his own Pet Passport and he goes with us on all our European jaunts. He loves travelling in the motorhome with us and has been as far afield as Italy, Slovenia and Poland.

I'm sure there must be something really interesting at the bottom of this river but, so far, all I've found are stones !

Do you mind ?

I'm trying to have a quiet snooze here and the flash from that camera is really putting me off !

Talk about a dog's life ?

Are you really trying to tell me that all the biscuits are finished and that the shops are closed till tomorrow ?

This is no way to treat man's best friend !

OK, if you're telling me that this photo is for my Auntie Elaine in Colorado, I'll sit here nicely.

I really like her a lot, she's very, very good at scratching my ears you know !

This was our previous Black Labrador, 'JET', who, typical of the breed, would spend as much time as possible playing in his favourite element . . . muddy water !

Jet's favourite area was where there were reed patches growing in the mud at the edge of a river or pond. Needless to say, he was never so keen on the clean stuff which normally followed.

This was 'RUDI', our Golden Labrador Retreiver. We got him from an animal rescue shelter when he was (we think) about five years old. He hadn't been mistreated in any way, just found at the South end of Loch Lomond, having been either abandoned or lost. He was a very strong swimmer and loved deep water. On one occasion, he tried to swim across the River Tweed at a point where there is a very strong current and, on another, during what was a bitterly cold Scottish mid-winter (it was early January), decided to have a swim in the sea at Troon when the waves were about four foot high.

This was 'LASSIE', a cross Sheltie / Whippet. I got her as a pup but left her with my mother when I got married. When she was around 12 years old, my Mum decided she was unable to exercise her properly and we got her back. We had her for 17 years. Unlike the three above, who all loved water, Lassie hated it and would walk around a puddle to avoid getting her feet wet.