How Life Has Changed With A Dog By My Side
A New Year heralds a new start – we make New Year resolutions and often we find ourselves setting those same goals as last year… to lose weight, to get fit, to stop smoking, to fulfil dreams….
If you’ve had a bad year, we hope and pray that things will be different, things will be better and this time we’ll stick to those resolutions. We hope that our dreams will come true.
Sound familiar? Yep, we’ve all been there!
However this year, I really am making changes and one such dream has finally come true… all thanks to a little bundle of fur called Roger.
As a little girl I always dreamed of having a dog, but it never happened as my parents wouldn’t have one and they never caved in to my puppy dog pleading eyes and whining ‘but, why nawwwwt?!’
So at the grand old age of 36, I finally made my dreams come true as just a couple of months ago Roger came into our lives. He’s a beautiful mongrel: a Jack Russell Terrier with some Whippet and Lhasa Apso in there too (so we’ve been told). He is approximately 2.5 – 3 years old and I’ve known him for 18 months as he was my Gran’s dog. Unfortunately she was no longer able to meet his needs and care for him, so I jumped at the chance to have him as I couldn’t bear the thought of him going into kennels and being re-homed. Luckily Mr TJG came round to my way of thinking without too much persuading and Roger is very much ‘our’ dog now, not just mine. He really has changed our lives, bless him!
Those resolutions I made to get fitter and healthier are already happening and being stuck to as every day I’m out walking him. As a result I’m steadily losing weight too (another of those pesky resolutions I made). Roger has been a godsend in so many ways. Just looking at him makes me smile and my family have said they’ve never heard me laugh as much. Then when he curls up next to me, his head on my lap, my heart just bursts and I sigh in deep contentment. In just a few short weeks I can’t imagine life any other way.
He’s also helping me fulfil my travel and blogging goals too by getting me out discovering new places to walk as I get bored walking the same route every day. I’ll easily be able to fulfil my intentions to explore more of the local counties where I live, those of Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside.
So here’s just some of what we’ve gotten up to in our first two months together…
Local Rambles
Walk just 5 minutes from our house in Warrington and there’s a number of places to let Roger off the lead which is great as he loves to tear around and run off some energy. He clocks up about 20 times more mileage than me I’m sure! From the local parks to the local beck, there are numerous wooded paths winding through the area just perfect for dog walkers.
Jump in the car and within 10-15 minutes drive there are endless opportunities. Beyond that… well, the world is our oyster!
Snowy Days
The first week Roger was with us, we met up with some friends who have a dog – a Staffy cross called Bonnie and we went walking in the snow around Goostrey in Cheshire, discovering Garnets Lake and a delightful little woodland oasis called The Bongs.
For a dog that has always turned his nose up at the rain and getting wet, Roger managed a 2+ hour walk in the snow, with snow falling for a good hour of it. Bonnie wore him out chasing him around and for a good 24 hours afterwards, Roger slept a lot and even his favourite toy couldn’t tempt him into a game of catch!
Beach Living
Roger had his first experience of a beach when we took him to Formby on the Merseyside Coast. It’s a gorgeous stretch of coastline with neighbouring pine woodlands which have colonised the rolling sand dunes and are home to red squirrels. Managed by the National Trust, the woods have a great network of well maintained paths and information boards, but please note dogs need to be on a lead in the areas designated as squirrel woods.
The beach however is all theirs and we got to try out one of those ball throwing devices (not my finest moment). However Roger loved it, but then he’s transfixed by anything ball shaped, even satsuma’s. You get one of those from the fruit bowl and he thinks it’s a ball especially when Mr TJG absent-mindedly throws it from one hand to the other. Expect an uncomfortable few minutes as you decimate the ‘ball’ while Roger stares at you in anticipation of ‘fetch’ games!
Trying to get a decent photo of Roger at the beach is awkward as he flashes around so quickly, my camera can’t keep up. He has not yet learnt the art of posing, something we definitely need to work on!
Fast forward a month and he’s starting to redeem himself…
On our latest jaunt to Crosby Beach, just down the coast from Formby, I managed to get him to stand still and ‘stay’ long enough for me to back away and take a photo with one of the iron men that make up Anthony Gormley’s ‘Another Place’ installation. He even managed to turn and look at me on calling his name without running straight to me… just long enough to snap a shot! We’re working on it…
You can read all about Walking amongst the Iron Men at Crosby Beach here. It’s just perfect for dog walks as they can be off lead from the moment you clear the car park.
Holidays
Roger has already had 4 holidays in the last couple of months. One was with us and the rest were to stay with my parents in Macclesfield.
He got his first taste of the North East and North Sea on our New Year trip to Hartlepool to stay with family. I think we can safely say that Roger’s favourite place is the beach, although he’s not a fan of the water; mind you I wouldn’t be either in the North Sea in winter. He literally runs for miles and will chase a ball and bring it back every time for as long as you keep throwing it! We tire long before he does. I can see many more trips to the beach in our future that’s for sure.
Roger also got us out exploring paths we’ve never used before up there and I finally discovered Summerhill Country Park, which isn’t far from my mother in laws, yet I’d never visited. There are some excellent views from the high point of the park and some intriguing (and rather large) boulders strewn about too. Note: dogs have to be on lead in this small area as it’s a picnic site and the boulders are used for rock climbing. They can run free everywhere else though.
Roger’s hols to stay with my parents were a result of the 3 short trips Mr TJG and I had already booked before we knew we were getting Roger and unfortunately they were all ones where we couldn’t take dogs. While it was shame we couldn’t take him particularly on the Lake District trip just before Christmas, (gosh he’d have loved the lakes, and I can’t wait to return next month with him in tow) he did however get to experience lots of my old childhood haunts as Mum and Dad took him round various parks and outdoor venues in and around East Cheshire.
He had a very special day out with my Dad who took him to one of my all time favourite places – Alderley Edge, a beautiful and picturesque area of woodland rising above the Cheshire plain and giving way to dramatic views of Manchester and the Pennine hills. It’s managed by the National Trust and has miles and miles of footpaths through the woodlands and surrounding countryside. Both Roger and Dad came back completely covered in mud and spent the following hour in the bathroom getting clean!
The Muddiest Walk EVER!
I think the muddiest we’ve all got however was on our walk along the Bollin Valley.
This was one Cheshire walk I joined Dad on when I went to pick Roger up and I’d not done it since I was a teenager. I have to say it wasn’t the best idea I’d come up with for a winter walk. The valley could only be described as a quagmire, and I stupidly didn’t have the best footwear on. It started out brilliantly but then the path was paved. The troubles set in as paths gave way to fields and a stupid amount of mud which was rather deep in places.
Against better judgement, we kept persevering and somehow I managed to make it from Macclesfield to Prestbury without losing my trainers or ending up on my bum. Twice one of my trainers was sucked into the mud but luckily I always managed to retrieve it. By the time we reached Prestbury however, my trainers were a mud bath, my socks were welded to my skin and I was not relishing the return walk. In fact, all I was ready for was a lift home.
Not to be defeated though, I called mum to the rescue, who drove to meet us with a spare pair of socks and her muck boots (luckily we have the same size feet). I don’t find wellies the most comfortable for walking any distance in, but these were in a different league. I definitely need to get myself a pair.
Walking through fields of mud on the way back was surprisingly enjoyable in comparison to the outward walk. On the return journey we met a cyclist traversing the mud who said he cycles there every week and he had never seen it as bad as that day. Typical ay?! Next time I go, I’ll make sure it’s in the summer and following a drought.
It may have been semi-disastrous for me, but Roger found the whole experience fabulous, lolloping through the mud at speed (I wish), though I’m so glad he doesn’t take to rolling in it. You may have thought he had though judging by his appearance at the end of the walk.
Where To Next?
As I conclude my first couple of months with Roger, I can’t help wondering where we might explore next. Certainly the Lake District will feature next month where we’re hoping to walk some of the Ullswater Way. I’ll be travelling down to West Wales with him to visit family at some point in the next couple of months, so more new beaches to check out there. Have a peek at Mwnt Beach – it’s one of my favourites in Wales!
I have plans to tackle a couple of peaks with him in Lancashire or the Peak District and perhaps head back to Ingleton to do the Waterfall Walk again.
If you can recommend any walks in the Cheshire/Lancashire area for me to take Roger on, please let me know in the comments below. I’m always looking for new ideas!
For now though I’ll leave you with an image of Roger with his current favourite toy!
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Margaret Cooper | 15th Dec 18
Wow! Inspiring post! I have no puppy but your post inspires me to be the dog owner. Thanks for sharing such a valuable post!
Tilly Horseman | 19th Dec 18
Aw, thank you. The addition of a dog to my life has certainly changed it for the better! 🙂
Lois Cordelia | 6th Aug 18
This is such a heartwarming read, Tilly. Perhaps Roger will accompany you on a visit to “Snowdogs Discover Ashford” in Kent this Autumn? 🙂
Tilly Horseman | 6th Aug 18
Ha ha… I was supposed to be taking him with me to Bristol to see Gromit Unleashed, but unfortunately I had to cancel my trip. Its perhaps a blessing in disguise as he isn’t the most patient of dogs when out and about and I can’t get him to pose at all… I have not got him fully trained yet! I think juggling him and a camera may be a tad awkward! lol…