Number58

It won’t be very much longer before Harry goes off to the new Atherton Training School, so we took him on a last trip to see his best friend.

When the two of them are together, an outing to somewhere involving water is deemed to be essential. This time it was a trip to the beach.

Only mad dogs and six year olds would be brave enough to paddle in the North Sea in what seemed like freezing temperatures, but paddle they did.

Harry paddling with his best friend

Harry continues his love affair with public transport so this week we have taken him into town at every available opportunity, usually on the bus. He really enjoys his bus rides, but most of all he enjoys all the hustle and bustle of the bus station.

Harry used to be fascinated by the pigeons that frequent the area, but now he’s learnt to practice self control and ignore them. He doesn’t want to chase after them anymore, but he still insists on giving them the hard stare, trying his best to intimidate them. And it usually works.

Harry at the bus station

Although Harry is older now and has much more stamina, he still sometimes needs to grab a little power nap whenever and wherever he can. He has perfected the art of snoozing in some of the strangest of places, but earlier this week we think he found what looked like one of the most uncomfortable positions ever, but he didn’t really seem to mind.

On a visit to a coffee shop he quickly settled himself under the table as usual then propped his chin on the wooden bar at the bottom of the table so that he had the perfect view of everything going on. A few minutes passed and then the low rumbling noise started, it seems Harry was so comfortable that he’d fallen fast asleep and was snoring very loudly just to prove it.

Harry asleep under the table

Harry has come across sheep on a number of occasions and up until now he has always been very wary of them.

This one though was different, very different. It wasn’t in a field, it wasn’t eating grass and it certainly didn’t smell like the others.

Harry decided it needed a very close, personal inspection.

Harry and the stuffed sheep

Friday afternoon was cold but sunny, so Harry found the sunniest spot in the garden and sneaked up on to the garden bench to bask in the sunshine.

No doubt he was dreaming of the warm summer days still to come.

Harry basking in the sunshine

There’s a new word been added to the English Dictionary here at Number 58……

Blaze (verb). To bother persistently, to be pestered to the point of distraction.

It happens to Harry a lot. Especially when his good friend Blaze is around.

Harry and Blaze running in the field

Harry always enjoys his trips to town and if given the chance he would much prefer to travel on public transport. He really enjoys travelling by train or bus – it’s so much more interesting than travelling in the back of the car.

Harry gets to people watch on public transport, something that he loves to do and on a bus there’s always plenty of interesting people to keep him occupied.

He always attracts lots of admiring glances and there’s usually at least one elderly lady on every bus that falls totally in love with him and wants to take him home. Harry’s response is usually to turn up the charm a notch or two and look adoringly at her, whoever she may be.

Harry riding on the bus

This post is quite a mile-stone because tomorrow marks the anniversary of Harry’s arrival with us here at Number 58. It’s hard to believe, but he’s been with us for a whole year now.

Harry on his cushion aged 7 weeks

When he first arrived he loved to spend time on his small cushioned pad. He used to watch everything that went on in the kitchen from this vantage point. Now, he still has the same pad, but it’s only big enough for him to use as a pillow for his head. Quite often he carries it through to his favourite spot in the front room and settles down there for his afternoon nap.

One year on - Harry using his pad as a pillow

This week Harry’s been to puppy class where, along with the other older Guide Dog pups in the area, he was put through his paces with some new exercises. Not only did he have to concentrate what he was doing without being distracted by all his pals, he also had to ignore lots of different soft toys which were dotted about the floor. Soft toys are Harry’s favourite kind of toy so it took all of his self control to ignore them, but he managed to concentrate and walk straight past them.

Harry’s highlight of the week was definitely his free run on Friday. Not only did he get to play in the river for the first time in a long time, but he also made a couple of new friends that day. Two Labradors called Harry and Rolo that were just as pleased to be playing in the river as he was. When it came time to call him out, both Harrys came running out the water together, closely followed by Rolo. They had become such great friends that we thought we were going to have to take all three of them home.

Harry, Harry and Rolo in the river

Harry has always been fascinated with wild life programmes on the TV. He will gaze intently at the screen if any kind of four legged creatures appear, but last night he was in heaven. We were delivered some particularly close up shots of a most unpleasant looking creature in the name of entertainment. Harry couldn’t get close enough.

Bugs, insects, critters, creepy crawlies, call them what you like, but nothing will make me love them the way Harry does. The more legs they have, the more exotic they are, then the more passionate he is about them.

And the more nose prints we get on the TV screen.

Harry up close and personal with the TV screen

Harry has always been one for the ladies. Most of his best friends are girls and he just loves to flirt.

On a recent trip to a local market he took things one step further though and made a bee-line for the stall selling ladies underwear.

We wondered if he was shopping for anyone in particular.

Harry heading for the underwear stall

It’s been a long time since Harry played in the river as the water has been so cold, so today he was making the most of the opportunity. When it came time to go home he just didn’t want to know and stood there with a very stubborn look on his face, daring us to go in and get him.

We didn’t.

Harry standing in the river