Throwback To The First Annual Schnauzer Walk
This weekend sees the Peak District hosting the 7th Annual Schnauzer Walk at Dovedale. We wish everyone going along a fabulous time, we’re sure it’ll be great for dogs and humans alike. The very first occasion it happened in May 2012 was Susie-Belle’s first experience of being among so many people, it was in fact a weekend of firsts for her as I wrote on my blog at the time
It was a weekend of many firsts for us:
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first camping weekend away
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first time in the Peak District
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first time we met many of the people we did
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first time Susie-Belle seemed to let go of her need to be at the back of everyone on group walks…..some of the time.
I have so many happy memories of that weekend, it was a special trip indeed and one that made it into Saving Susie-Belle
Chapter 18, Saving Susie-Belle
Chapter 18, Saving Susie-Belle
Chapter 18, Saving Susie-Belle
Chapter 18, Saving Susie-Belle
As I looked back at my original blog – which you can see eventually shaped up to be published in Susie-Belle’s book – I also came across what I believe to be my first reference to Schnauzerfest on the blog, way back in 2012, two years before it finally came into being…
Who could have guessed that a casual mention of Schnauzerfest would lead a few years later to around £85,000 being raised for dogs like Susie-Belle who need serious care when rescued from puppy farms? Amazing what her four short years with us has led to when we think back through it all.
We took Twinkle along in her first year, in fact she’d only been with us just under three months when we threw her into the hectic fun of a mass walk! You can read my blog at the time here. She was more than happy amidst the dogs, despite being so far from a happy dog 99.9% of the time, at that time she was completely untouchable and I remember swallowing a lot of my own nerves to be there for the weekend with her.
Twinkle and Renae at the 2013 Annual Schnauzer Walk
I know there are several dogs with similar backgrounds to Twinkle and Susie-Belle who are heading to Dovedale this weekend, some for the first time and I know they’ll have a lot of fun. It will be a great weekend of socialising for them and they’ll learn, like my girls did, that life is definitely worth living, however confusing it may seem to them at times in their bright new world of freedom and love.
Have fun everyone, we’ll be thinking of you all.
If you’d like to read more about Susie-Belle and Twinkle’s experiences, their books are available from good bookshops (just ask them to get you a copy in if they’re not on the shelf), or online, The Book Depository offers free worldwide shipping:
