| My Blog Entries 27 Apr 2007 14:17 Friday was ghastly...I had to leave a man behind! I went on my afternoon walk with 5 dogs. Two of them are a scottie & a westie from the same household - naughty little scamps! They went running off chasing something, 20 minutes later the westie returned but not the scottie. I called for another 10 mins or so and then phoned the owner, because although she often runs off, I'd never known her to go missing for that long. We agreed that I would have to take the other dogs home and then come back to search for her. The owner also prepared to leave work to come and help search. Fortunately she knows how naughty her two can be so there was no element of guilt involved. Leaving the heath without one of my charges was awful. I dropped off the others and then returned to Kenwood car park. As I pulled into the parking space I spied her walking tiredly up the path into the car park!! I burst into tears and hugged her madly. (I don't think I sent out the right message about how naughty she was...!) I never realised just how fond I am of her until that moment. I don't know how she managed to travel so far across the heath without someone stopping her - she must have looked very purposeful. All's well that ends well. 0 Comments 14 Apr 2007 22:46 I must have the best job in the world (in good weather) - proffessional dog walker. The heath is stunning in all seasons and the company of dogs never palls. They keep me amused, frustrated, intrigued and beguiled all the while. Last September I took a leap of faith, packed in my job, and decided to become a dog walker. Life is really too short to keep doing stuff that doesn't makes you miserable, but it is only the surprise success of my little business that has made that decision a brave one rather than a foolhardy one.
I have some fantastic dogs in my entourage, I will try to post some photos but most of them are more than 250KB's. I'm also a little obsessed with filming them whilst we walk so will try to upload some video footage too.
Shepherds (German & Belgian), Pugs, Tibetans, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Flatcoat Retriever, Weimeraner, Staffies etc. etc. They are all fantastic and it is so gratifying that they're always so happy to see me! What's not to be happy about, the sight of me guarantees them an hour and a quarter of frolicking, freedom, playing, smelling, running, tug of war, catch, more smells and lots of cuddles and attention from me thrown in.
There is a real camaraderie amongst the professional walkers on the heath, and we have certainly been brought closer by the threat to our livelihood that has been posed by proposed new legislation regarding the number or manner in which dogs may be walked. i.e. 'Up to four dogs at a time' or 'Dogs only on a lead' Still no definitive answer, but we are all waiting to adjust our businesses according to what is finally implemented.
Meanwhile, I continue to enjoy the company of my gorgeous dogs, and occasionally I proudly share them with friends who join me on one of my walks. Did I mention that you have to pick up a LOT of poo...? I also spent the winter in wellies, perpetually wet and covered in mud. No job is perfect but mine comes close. 0 Comments |
