Picture of Harry

Hi. My name is Harry, I'm a Guide Dog Puppy in Training and this is my Blog.

Atherton Appeal

Harry supported Guide Dogs' appeal to equip the brand new training school for the North of England at Atherton. He was keen to help as he was to be one of the first puppies to train at the new school.

Harry was at the launch of the appeal on 7th October 2008 where he got to meet the Press. One of the newspaper articles can be seen here.

May 22, 2008

Commuter Pup – Part 2

Despite having had a bit of help the first time he travelled by train, Harry still has a distinct wariness about the whole thing. So today we enlisted the help (yet again) of his good pal Goldie to show him how it should be done.

Harry spends much too long looking at the gap between the train and the platform before deciding that he really doesn’t want to make the jump. Goldie is a seasoned rail traveller and was already on our train as it pulled into our station. Once the doors opened and Harry saw Goldie on the train there was just no stopping him from jumping on, and he was all, Gap? What gap?

Getting off wasn’t a problem today either. They both waited patiently for the doors to open and once Goldie had alighted Harry was eager to follow, totally oblivious of the gap. As we were at the end of the line and the train wasn’t going anywhere we asked Harry to jump on and then off again.

If there’s one thing Harry loves more than Goldie, it’s showing off in front of her.

Harry and Goldie on the train

May 20, 2008

Supermodel Pups

Harry and Bracken had an important appointment after they’d been for coffee yesterday. Their presence was required at a photo shoot organised by Guide Dogs.

Harry is quite used to having a camera waved around in front of his face and looking cute, but this was different, this was a professional photographer, and he didn’t have any treats. Harry doesn’t always need a treat to pose for the camera, most days he does it for free, but it always helps to be prepared.

Yesterday, however, Harry was an absolute pro, and so was Bracken. Without any fuss or treats they both posed beautifully for the photographer for about 15 minutes, and when it was all done and there were no more photographs to be taken, they got to share a refreshing glass of ice cubes.

Bracken and Harry pose for the camera

May 9, 2008

Commuter Pup

Harry has been to the local railway station a couple of times to see the trains, but today was a big adventure – his first ride on a train. He was pretty laid back about the whole thing until it actually came to getting on. Having thoroughly examined the gap between the train and the platform he was just about to jump on when the booming voice of the internal speaker system gave out an automated announcement. Harry immediately decided that maybe commuting wasn’t quite his thing. The guard was very patient and waited while we tried to coax him on to the train but Harry still wasn’t sure. Eventually he had to be picked up and carried on – no mean feat considering his mighty 19 kg weight.

Help was at hand, however, at our destination. His best friend Goldie was waiting for him on the platform, and because she understood Harry was nervous, she obligingly jumped on and off the train a couple of times to show him how it was done. As Harry is desperate to do everything Goldie does he immediately jumped on the train after her, looked around and pretended there’d never been a problem in the first place.

When we got home he tried to show his appreciation in the only way he knows how.

Goldie and Harry

May 8, 2008

Hot Dog

The last few days have been really warm, almost hot, and Harry has been feeling the effects. He has been lying on the wooden floor instead of his bed and munching his way through lots of ice cubes which have helped to keep him cool.

Late in the afternoon when the temperature hit 23ÂșC we decided to take him down to the river for the first time. The idea was that Harry could have a paddle and maybe a bit of a splash around in the water to cool down. Harry loves to splash around in puddles but the river was maybe a step to far. No amount of encouragement could get him in the water. It was just so big and he didn’t really know quite what to do. Besides, there were these strange creatures called ducks and they were sitting on the top of it, and even worse, they were watching him.

Now a Guide Dog puppy has to be pretty confident about almost everything, and Harry certainly wasn’t about to let those ducks know he wasn’t too sure about the river, so he turned is attention to the sand and began to dig. He made out that his sole purpose for being there was to dig and dig and dig some more. After a while the ducks lost interest in his digging and swam off, so Harry wandered over to the edge of the river and stuck a paw in. Then he turned round and was all, OK, I’ve done it, I’ve been in the river, so can I please go back to digging now?

Checking out the river

May 1, 2008

Champagne Harry

Harry, along with Guide Dog pups Bracken and Teddy, was invited to attend a fund-raising Champagne reception at lunch time today, so we donned our best outfits and tagged along.

Naturally Harry had a great time and charmed all the ladies, but he didn’t really much care for the taste of champagne.

Champagne Charlie

He has, however, now acquired a taste for the high life.

April 29, 2008

When Harry met Harry

This morning we took Harry for a free run so he could burn off some of his excess energy, as he was off to meet his sponsors in the afternoon. It seems Harry knew today was a special day, because he found the biggest, dirtiest and muddy puddle on the nature reserve and splashed right through the middle of it. Then because it was such great fun, he did it again. And again.

We spent the next two hours brushing the mud out of his now black fur. Finally with his coat back to its natural colour and his face freshly washed, we set off to meet some of the wonderful people who raised the money to sponsor him.

Harry and the gang

Harry had a fabulous afternoon and loved all the fuss. He was so excited to meet lots of new people and to see working Guide Dog Daisy and his pal retired Guide Dog Alma, who were also there. Best of all though, he got to meet Harry, the lovely gentleman who he is named after.

So, Harry would like to introduce Harry…………

When Harry met Harry

April 24, 2008

Freedom!

Harry had a huge adventure today – his first free run. It took us an absolute age to get him the 50 yards or so down the lane to the open field, there were just too many interesting things to smell on the way. Every blade of grass had to be investigated, every stinging nettle sniffed and every rock and pebble had to be checked out. Then there it was, a wide open space for him to run about in.

Harry’s a cautious little chap, and it took him a while to realise that he was allowed to stray more than 6 inches away from us. When he did, he only wandered a short distance before he came hurtling back, bouncing like a spring lamb, with those ears flying, eager to get back to the humans and a place of safety.

If only it was always going to be this easy.

Flying ears

March 31, 2008

Yuppy Puppy

It happened over the weekend.

One minute Harry was there, the next he was gone. Without any warning Harry had decided to go mountaineering. It seems that Number 58 is now home to a Young Upwardly mobile Pup.

Halfway up the stairs

Harry set off eagerly on his climb towards the top of the world, quite beside himself with excitement at the prospect of all the delights he might find when he got there.

Looking back on the stairs

Eight or nine steps up and his bravery started to fade, he took a quick look over his shoulder just to check that reinforcements had arrived. Hmmm. Maybe all those exciting things up there can wait for another day.

I need help

Oops. Stuck. Maybe being a brave and inquisitive little pup isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Looks like we’ll be getting the stair-gate out of the attic a little earlier than planned.

March 28, 2008

Mine’s a pint

Friday night and a trip to the local pub was in order. After Harry had charmed all the locals, he decided that going to the pub was no big deal, so he did what he does best, and fell asleep under the table.

Under the table

March 25, 2008

When Harry met Thomas

Harry had lots of fun over the Easter weekend but he also did a little bit of work too. Guide Dogs were fund-raising at a local railway station and we went along for a short time to support them. This time Harry wasn’t the star attraction – Thomas the Tank Engine was. Harry did get to see Thomas but he wasn’t that interested. He didn’t have a tail. And he didn’t want to play.

Harry with Thomas the Tank Engine