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Soggy doggies and no sausages …

The Great British Weather strikes again  - and we get wet.

Traditionally Sunday is a day for taking a stroll, having a nice sunday roast and then falling asleep in front of the fire whilst dad watches yet another film repeat.

All started well, the overnight rain seemed to have passed over and the clouds were brightening, so Charlie and I started to play up.

Dad we want to go out and play, come on dad here are our leads, you know the kind of thing.  After a while, down to about 5 minutes now, we got our way and mum and dad put down what they were working on and put us in the car.

It seemed as if heading west was best, as the clear sky was in that direction, so Silloth was decided on.  Silloth is great because we can go for a walk on the grass or on the paths and stay reasonably clean.

As we travelled the clouds grew darker in our direction and what seemed like a good idea started to seem like a mistake.

Pulling into the carpark, alongside the lifeboat station all we could see was a rough sea, some grounded seagulls and rain

We needed to investigate and so, once mum had put on her hat, gloves, scarf and buttoned up her coat we emerged into the bracing icy wind.

We soon came to realise why the seagulls were staying close to the ground as the rain started.  It was freezing cold and soon soaked the outer layers of our coats.

We spotted a shelter on the hill, above an empty locked paddling pool, and raced towards it to get out of the rain.

The wooden hut didn’t have any glass in the window frames so the wind whistled through a bit.

Charlie soon worked out that he could stand on the bench seats and look out onto the sea and because he has short legs only his head was in the wind and rain.

Our walk was not as long as it normally is but we managed to have a few sniffs and a good run about.

Making our way back to the car we past by the hot sausage shop. It was closed.  So not only did we get soaked, we didn’t even get something warm for our tummies.

The weather had the last laugh because as we pulled away from the sea the sun came out and we saw a couple of fantastic rainbows on the way back home.

It stayed dry all afternoon and we curled up in front of the fire drying off.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie

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First signs of spring and a Twitter

On our walk today we have spotted the first signs of spring.

A number of snowdrops have started to appear standing proud above the muddy grass in our park.

These small flowers, in groups of 5 or 10 flowers stand only 15cm or so above the very dirty grass and are a sure sign spring is on its way.

We found the plants on the banking next to the tennis courts in Bitts Park.

The white tennis blister is still lying in the ground after it deflated following the recent windy weather.

The recent rain has made big puddles in the folds of the plastic which, if the weather forecast is to be believed, will possibly turn the tennis area into a new ice rink for the city tonight.

Twitter

 Dad has been playing again and has now organised a Twitter feed for us.

For those of you have not heard of this service it is called microblogging and dad says it is really cutting edge stuff.

The idea is that we can just let you know what we are doing or if we have updated the site very quickly without creating a big post.  It is a sort of headlines service….  

Our username is ablogfrommydog  if  you want to keep an eye on us.

 

Must go now as sausages need to be kept an eye on in the kitchen.  Mum is cooking some for dinner and, well, need we say more.

 

Until next time

Charlie and Buster.

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New video – Dogs for the Disabled – Assistance Dogs

Our latest video from the web features a charity called Dogs for the Disabled.

They train specially selected dogs to carry out a range of practical tasks to assist disabled children and adults in order to achieve greater independence and are the only assistance dog charity to train dogs specially for disabled children.

Since 1988 the charity has trained over 350 partnerships.

Every dog is trained to help with simple everyday tasks such as opening doors, picking up the morning post, emptying the washing machine, even retrieving dropped items such as a TV remote, keys or a wallet.

Puppy Sponsorship

Sponsor a puppy and you’ll be helping Dogs for the Disabled to change lives. Just like any pup, our young labradors and golden retrievers are soft and cuddly, but they’re also inquisitive, cheeky and full of mischief.

As a Puppy Sponsor, you can help Dogs for the Disabled give your pup and others just like them, all the love and support they’ll need before they start training to become an assistance dog. You’ll receive a Welcome Pack with puppy pictures, as well as regular updates about your pup’s progress.

More details …

Volunteering Opportunities with Dogs

Everyone loves a puppy, but imagine being able to offer one a home for a year, giving it all the experiences to start off on the road to becoming an assistance dog. Unlike pet dogs,  pups in training go to all sorts of different places such as shopping centres, supermarkets, the local school, train stations or even the hairdressers.

By introducing a puppy to all these different environments at an early age our pups become confident and used to the many different sights, smells and sounds they will encounter as a working dog.

No experience is necessary, however Puppy Socialisers are required to meet a few simple criteria.

More details …

Want to know more about Dogs for the Disabled ?

If you want to know more about Dogs for the Disabled, how you can donate time or money, leave a legacy or even how your company can get involved then click here for more information.

The Assistance Dog Blog

Follow the adventures of   Henry, an assistance dog, as he helps his disabled partner Andy. Note blog does not seem to have been updated for a while.

Video – Dogs for the Disabled – Assistance Dogs

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_yZGCNWCFk

Further information

Let us know about your dog related charity work

If you are involved in a dog related charity or you do exceptional things for your human then let us know via the contact us form at the top of this page.  We can then feature your hard work on the site as inspiration for others.

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The Carlisle bubble deflates – again

It was great to get out on Tuesday and get a walk alongside the river with the sun casting long shadows on the ground.

The recent bad weather caused many of the rivers and streams to flood and it seems the wind may have damaged the tennis blister, as it lies on the ground all flat and limp.

We also noted that the bulbs seem to be starting to peep through the ground in our garden.  

So it not be long until the daffodils will be adding their golden colour to the currently grey garden. 

Oh how we look forward to some sunshine. …

A quick update today as Dad needs the computer for other things.

So until next time

 

Charlie and Buster

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A frosty start to 2009

Happy New Year from Charlie and I.  We hope you had a safe night and were not too scared by any fireworks overnight.

We have been out this morning for a walk by the side of the River Eden.  

The frost has made the ground very firm so we kept quite clean and as the river was no doubt very cold we were stopped from going for a paddle.

Dad said the light, due to the low clouds, gave the photos a very early morning quality although it was around lunchtime.

As it is a while since we last came to this park, due to the muddy conditions during the winter, we were curious to see a new visitor.

 

Standing high above us was the biggest bird you ever did see.  He had his wings outstretched and was stood atop an old tree trunk about 3m in the air.

You can see the bird from quite a distance and he looks huge.  Charlie commented that his beak did look far too big for his body.

We tried barking to see if he would fly off,  but mum said that he was a carving made from an old tree and if we were not good boys this year,  we would be turned into wood and put high away from sniffs.  

I sniffed around the base of the tree and without being scared by the frogs and beasties watching me from their place carved into the the stump, I anointed the work .

Mum did a bit of research when we returned home and it seems as if the artwork has been made by a local artist called Alistair Neville.

Commissioned by Carlisle City Council as part of an improvement scheme, the six metre high piece of artwork has been chain-sawed into a Horsechesnut tree. The totem pole style artwork is themed on the nearby River Eden and includes a kingfisher, an otter, fish, frogs and other locally found wildlife and plant life.

Alistair started on the work in late October and has spent several weeks perfecting the sculpture.

The sculpture, along with three new ornate iron Kissing Gates installed at the entrances to the park, are part of an overall £40,000 project that will soon include other improvement and access schemes within Kingmoor Nature Reserves and the Kingstown Wildlife Pond. The money was given to the City Council from Barratt Homes following a land sale (to allow one of the developments to be completed).

The Kissing Gates were produced, on behalf of the City Council, by Brunstock Engineering and are also themed around the flow of the River Eden and activities within the park.

We will see if mum or dad will let us see the gates soon and we will report if we get any pictures.

Thats all for now.  

Happy New Year

Buster and Charlie

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