The Other Harry Dog - Harry Buxton

 Back in 2000 we got a puppy and called him Harry, and at the same time, unknown to us, our relatives in Hull, also got a dog and called him Harry. Sad to say that the other Harry passed away earlier this year, and Thomas, my nephew, made a collage as a Birthday present for his sister - which made her cry.

Thomas has also got a tattoo of the Other Harry's poor print as a lasting reminder.

Harry could one day be a ring bearer

We met a dog trainer at the Abingdon Wedding fair. She said that people often want dogs to take part in weddings.  The most popular request is for the dog to walk down the aisle off the lead by themselves. They can also be dressed up like flower dog girls or as a ring bearer. Anything is possible with time, and a little training.

Harry and the ageist remark

It sometimes takes a bit of time to rouse Harry these mornings. The old "Walkie Harry!" does not always see him spring into action straight away. He would sometimes like to lay there a bit longer.

This morning we were walking in the Albert Park and this lady approached with her young Labrador pulling on the lead, obviously wanting to play with Harry.

Then she said of Harry "That dog doesn't want to play. He is quite elderly."

Harry would have loved to have played. Such an ageist remark!

Harry gets a new owner

Lisa suggested we swap dogs.  Lisa sometimes finds Noah, her dog, a bit of a handful , and thinks that Harry's calm temperament would make life much easier. So we have swapped for a trial period.

Just to say to anybody who is worried about the change - Lisa is one of the nicest people you could possibly meet and will take very great care of Harry. I will be able to visit him anytime to do the blog.

Happy start of the new month to everybody.

Harry The Blog Dog and Pushkin the Facebook Cat

First time I have seen Harry quite so close to Pushkin. Harry yawns on waking with his head resting on Pushkin.

Pushkin has a facebook page where he says things like "Debating on differnt (sic) ways to get away with hitting the little brother Harry..." but actually he is not that bad. I think he just says things like that for show.

Harry dodging the daffodils

This the moment before I managed to get Harry's stick.

This is the moment when I throw it again. Harry was very good. He dodged round the daffodils as he went after the stick.

Harry at the Pub

We took Harry to the pub and rather than just curling up and relaxing under the table he was full of nervous energy. He was trembling. There were two other dogs in the pub, a white curly dog, and a black Labrador. Harry wanted to go and play but we were not too sure.

Harry's golf ball has gone under the sofa again.

If Harry knocks his ball under the sofa then normally it can be got out with a stick - kept for that purpose. But on other occasions when the golf ball is unreachable,the sofa has to be lifted so Harry can get the ball.

Snow cat sniffed at by every passing dog

This snow cat has become a scent post for every passing dog. I'm sorry to say that even Harry joined in.

Harry and the Big Footsteps

First snowfall of the winter. Not the light fluffy stuff that drives Harry wild, but plenty of trails to sniff, and lots of big footsteps that need investigating. He is probably trying to work out which are mine.

Harry and the big dogs

I just missed a nice photo opportunity. There were two large dark dogs, and Harry was looking between them at me. But the camera takes a second or two to turn on and point. I caught Harry a moment later when the big dogs had moved away. Harry is far more interested in big dogs than dogs his own size. He even drops his stick to follow them.

Harry Lost and Found (again)

Harry and me had a nice walk in the frost. Me taking photographs. Harry sniffing.

A man and a dog came by. There is a picture of the dog sniffing Harry as Harry sniffs one of the many scent posts put in by the local council.

In the next minute or so I took a few more pictures.

This is a detail from the final picture before I realised Harry was no longer with me. In fact if I'd looked at the final picture I would have seen that Harry had followed the man and dog and gone under the bridge (red circled).

I started looking around, calling 'Harry!'

By the time I did get to the bridge he was no longer in sight. I asked a couple of dog walkers. But they hadn't seen Harry as pictured in an earlier image on the camera. So I started looking round more this side ...

After 10 minutes searching I ran home to get the bike to explore the other side of the bridge.

Before leaving home I checked the answer phone and was relieved to hear that Harry had been found and somebody had read his tag and taken him to the vets. A few minutes later I met a very trembly Harry at the vets. He hates the vets. (He had tagged onto a big group of dogs and people and followed them down the river to Abingdon Lock, and then the people realised Harry wasn't with any of them.)

Harry and the fallen branches

High winds have blown down a bumper lot of branches. There is more than enough to keep Harry going this year. Happy New Year.

Wishing you all a Harry Christmas

Harry watching the baby

Just a week to go before Christmas, and Harry visited the crib on the Market Place in town.

Harry looking like a mole

Harry looks a little like a mole with his tiny paws in front of him. He often lies on the top step looking dreamily down like that.

Harry very close to a horse

Today on a walk round Marsh Baldon Harry got very close to a horse. We had to cross fields with horses grazing freely and one horse came right up to Harry and sniffed him. Harry did not seem to even notice the big animal towering above him. It might as well have just have been another pair of tree trunks rather than horse legs.

Harry pounces on the green ring

The picture shows Harry pouncing on a toy he has just found - a green ring that has been broken and left behind, or lost, by another dog. But Harry did not give up his stick for the ring. The stick is still best.

Harry has carried hundreds, possibly thousands, of sticks

Harry will often carry a stick in a rather uneven way - perhaps because it is easier to pick up near the end. Then after a while, unaccountably, he will drop the stick and forget about it. He has carried hundreds, possibly thousands, of sticks, and there is often a little collection outside our front door - sticks of all shapes and sizes.

Harry is a Hot Dog

Harry is being watched through  a thermal image gadget on the market place, and as you can see he is a hot dog.