Number58

Harry’s week started off really well – he survived another Christmas lunch. This time there were 24 of us in a private room and at times the noise levels were pretty high, but Harry behaved impeccably. All the months of training have really paid off as, when we were leaving, quite a few people said to us that they hadn’t even realised Harry was there. We were so proud of him, and thought he deserved treat, so we took him to his favourite place, the pet shop.

Harry checking out the different dog foods

Harry loves browsing in the pet shop, he especially enjoys checking out all the different kinds of dog food available. He always pays particular attention to the bottom of the bags, ever hopeful that there may be  a small hole from which he might get the chance to sample what’s on offer.

Not long after this trip, Harry’s week went downhill as the human members of his pack fell victim to one of the winter cold viruses and Harry couldn’t figure out why suddenly no-one could be bothered to play with him. To add insult to injury, there was a strange smell in the house, and he didn’t care for it very much at all. Whenever he tried to coax one of us to play with him he was immediately put off off by the overwhelming smell of eucalyptus and menthol.

Harry still had his training walks in town and free runs, but somehow they just weren’t as exciting as usual. He didn’t get to visit any new shops and he only got to travel in the car, and no-one was asking him to pose for photographs!

Still, Harry didn’t really mind, suddenly he was getting extra large chewy sticks.

Harry with an ectra large chewy stick

Last week it appeared that everywhere Harry went he was surrounded by Christmas events. This week he hasn’t even seen a bit of tinsel, but he has seen snow.

Harry’s training walks went out the window the day the snow arrived, he was much too giddy and excited and it was so slippery underfoot, that even he was having trouble staying upright.

The week hasn’t all been about play though, Harry’s also managed to squeeze in his regular trips to town, attended both a Pilates class and a Girl Guide meeting and travelled on the train a few times to visit his favourite coffee shop.

Harry would probably say that the snow was the highlight of his week, but he also had a great day at out the laying of the foundation stone at the site of the new Guide Dog Training School in Atherton.

Harry behaved perfectly as he met all the dignitaries, although he was a bit disappointed that they didn’t seem to have a hard-hat in his size.

Harry loved all the fuss and really enjoyed meeting some working Guide Dogs, especially Kemp who was there with his owner Geoff Cope. As usual, as soon as a press photographer appeared Harry adopted the perfect pose and looked straight at the camera.

Next thing you know, he’ll be wanting us to hire him an agent.

Earlier this week we visited the North East, and no trip up there would be complete without a walk on the beach. Harry’s nose had been twitching as we approached the coast, and by the time we were parking the car his nose was pressed flat against the rear windscreen of the car.

It was late afternoon and the light was beginning to fade, but that was of no consequence to Harry, he raced off towards the sea but didn’t actually make it to the water’s edge. He met a new friend, a lady friend, and the sea was immediately forgotten.

Harry has always been a sucker for the ladies.

On Friday Harry had a very special appointment. He’d been invited to attend the official Foundation Stone laying at the site of the new Guide Dog Training School in Atherton, near Bolton.

The site is still under construction and we were all required to wear high visibility jackets and hard hats, except they didn’t seem to have one in Harry’s size.

This is the Training School that Harry will eventually attend and where he’ll learn all the skills necessary to become at qualified Guide Dog. Hopefully Harry will be one of the first pups to attend the new centre.

The Foundation Stone was laid by the Culture Secretary, the Rt. Hon. Andy Burnham, MP.  Harry, never one to miss an opportunity to have his photograph taken, was more than happy to pose with him (pictured right) for the press photographers.

And Harry’s fee for all this hard work?  He had a new, well deserved, roasted bone when he got home.

Harry loves to have the occasional bone or some other goody to chew on, but when faced with a whole shelf of them, in all different shapes and sizes, it can be really hard to choose.

Sometimes life can be tough.

This morning the promised snow arrived and when we opened the back door for Harry he got the shock of his life. He stopped dead in his tracks, the look on his face was a mixture of horror and amazement – similar to Scooby Doo when he sees a ghost.

It took him a few moments to collect himself, then he bounded out to see what this white stuff was that had invaded his world.

Everything that was familiar to him suddenly looked different and needed to be fully investigated. As he nudged the branches of a small tree, a lump of snow fell off and landed on his nose. Harry was outraged.

Harry had a great time with the snow and spent ages playing in the garden, slipping and sliding around. By the time it came to go out to the shops he’d figured out how to walk on it and trotted down the street like a Siberian Husky.

Harry’s had a busy week this week, and it seems to have been Christmas themed all the way. Apart from his regular training walks he’s been out for his first Christmas lunch, complete with exuberant diners, party hats and Christmas crackers. He also attended Guide Dog puppy class which was the annual Christmas party for the pups.

On Saturday we took Harry to the village Christmas market where Guide Dogs had a stand. Harry is always happy to attend these fundraising events as his favourite black Labrador, Alma, is usually in attendance. He always puts on his best behaviour whenever she’s around and we swear, if he could, he would flutter his eyelashes at her.

After having a short rest at home, we went back to the Christmas market in time for the village Christmas lights to be switched on. By then it was really busy, with hundreds of people milling about and lots of interesting bits of food lying on the ground to tempt a hungry puppy, but Harry did well and showed great control in not scavenging.

Harry managed the huge crowd really well, but he did get a little surprised when he came face to face with a noisy diesel generator as we tried to take a short cut round the back of one of the stalls. When we eventually got him home we laughed when we realised he’d been walking around with a dollop of pink candy floss on his nose that someone must have dropped on him by accident.

Harry also came across Christmas wreaths for the first time, which he insisted on examining very closely. Something he probably won’t do again, as he got up a bit too close and personal with the holly.

Harry’s favourite bit of the week had to be the small snow flurry we had on Monday, he had so much fun chasing the individual snowflakes in the garden. No doubt he’s hoping the forecast is correct and that he’ll wake up to lots of it tomorrow morning.

Yesterday morning we had a small snow flurry just as Harry went outside for his first toilet break of the day. But far from concentrating on the task at hand, he completely forgot about it and instead stood watching the snow fall in the garden.

Harry was so excited and started chasing individual flakes, he even managed to catch one on the end of his nose, which made him sneeze. He did eventually remember why he was in the garden in the first place, but he couldn’t wait to finish his business so he could get back to the important job of playing with the snow.

Harry has, of course, seen snow before, but it’s so long ago that he probably doesn’t remember – he was only 10 weeks old at the time.

We’re hoping that the forecast is correct and we’ll see more snow before the end of the week. We’re pretty sure Harry is too.

Harry loves going for walks in the woods, especially when his best friend is around. They both love to splash around together in muddy puddles or the stream.

Unfortunately, the weather was so cold at the weekend, all the puddles had frozen over. There really wasn’t very much mud to play in and so the competition to see who had the muddiest feet had to be declared a draw.