Gillys Blog

21 Aug 2009 - Honeymoon dog Zara.

I'm highly chuffed to report that I've been asked to become a Patron of Animal Concern Cumbria – and needless to say I’ve accepted with great pleasure.  It means I join a very esteemed list of Patrons – including Sir Chris Bonington, Eric Robson – and Paragon’s Managing Director David Black, so I’d better watch my p’s and q’s!

As well as having great admiration for the work Aimal Concern does in Cumbria – I also have personal reason to be grateful to them – because we got our senior dog Zara from them nearly nine years ago – instead of going on honeymoon!  My very much beloved Old English Sheepdog Digsby had died earlier that year, leaving me dogless for probably the first time in my life.  I had freedom, I had a dog-hair free house, I had the sofa all to myself when I watched the telly – and I absolutely hated it.  I agreed to put up with this entirely un-natural state of affairs until after the wedding, but not a secondmore.

We got married on the Saturday – and two days later we went to see David Harrison at Animal Concern.  Knowing what I’m like about dogs (and indeed most animals) my new husband gave me a gentle lecture on the way there.‘Don’t go falling in love with the very first dog you see,’ he said.‘We want to get a dog that we both like, so just give this a bit of time.  If we don’t see the right one here, we’ll go to one of the other refuges, and if necessary we’ll wait till another time. There’s no rush.’

As it happened, we both fell in love with the first dog we saw – and little wonder since that dog was Zara – a big, bouncy German Shepherd/Retriever who came bounding up to us with tail wagging, eyes shining and a great big irresistible doggy grin. Fortunately she fell in love with us too – and made it very clear that we definitely weren’t going home without her.  Bonding was pretty much instantaneous– she was around a year old when we got her and she settled into our way of life as though she’d never known another.

Over the years she’s made friends with a succession of cats, proved entirely trustworthy round small children (somehow managing not to knock them flying with her ever-wagging tail), chummed up with visiting dogs large and small – and become the perfect trek-dog, trotting alongside our horses, never disappearing from sight, no matter how great the temptation of other interesting smells. And now – somewhat to her bemusement, she’s become a kind of foster mum to a certain daft Black Lab pup.  Considering she’s pretty much had the house and family to herself all these years (apart from the cats, horses and visiting dogs that is) she’s been amazingly good about welcoming this little whirlwind into her life.  It’s absolutely lovely to see the two of them together – and although Dixie sometimes gives her the most outrageous cheek, it’s obvious she adores Zara. She certainly couldn’t have a better role model – so if she grows up anything like our lovely Zara – I’ll be very happy.