With a bustle Cerise starts her day
There’s a bustle about Cerise this morning. She bounced off the bed at 7.30 a.m. as I was still sipping my coffee. She came around and sat herself on the cream sheepskin rug at...
Category: Community
Talking to Anna Webb about the important things in my life
I recently joined broadcaster Anna Webb for an episode of her popular podcast ‘A Dog’s Life’. Anna and I chatted about Schnauzerfest, Susie-Belle, living in France and of course puppy farming and how hard...
My first UK visit since 2019
September is almost at an end and while it’s been a quiet one on the blog, it’s been a busy one in reality. I did something I haven’t done since November 2019, I went...
Sharing the sunflowers
When we arrive at the top of our lane we always pause. The dogs’ heads dip down, busy noses snuffle out scents caught in the thick grassy verge. It’s August, the sunflowers are out...
6 Reasons To Adopt An Older Dog
I can think of about 6 million reasons why adopting an older dog is a great idea, but I’ll stick to just six. I’m going to shamelessly put older dogs on a pedestal, one...
Life ends, but love is eternal
When we bring a dog into our life we know we will experience loss. If we allow ourselves to love, as we should, we will grieve. The greater the love we’ve felt along the...
Creating and keeping memories
I’ve been going through photographs recently. It began as a task to find one for the cover of the 2022 Schnauzerfest Calendar. Having Susie-Belle there has become a tradition. Each year when I’m asked...
Rewriting The Story
After Susie-Belle died in 2015 I received a beautiful portrait of her as a gift. I found it deeply moving. Not only the generosity of someone I had never met, but the thoughtfulness the...
Love Is Not Enough – part 2
Adopting a dog requires thought and planning. Understanding that sharing life with a rescue dog is a privilege, not a right is a good starting point. It can sometimes be difficult to automatically get...
Love Is Not Enough – part 1
When thinking about adopting a dog from a breeding background, it’s vital to keep the dog’s previous life firmly in mind. Adopting any dog involves a number of unknowns but for breeding dogs the...