A Very Special Anniversary!

Well done to Cecilia and to Paca! You both guessed correctly in your comments on my Monday post.

Today, 26th September 2024, is indeed the 25th Anniversary of Gail becoming a dog owner for the first time in her life.

It was just 4 months after she'd moved (for work) from London to Aberdeen, and from an upstairs flat to a house with an enclosed garden less than a mile from her office, and she decided it was time to satisfy a life long yearning and acquire a dog. 

As a child, her only pet had been a much loved guinea pig called Arthur. Friends and relatives had dogs and Gail thought she knew quite a lot about them, but really she didn't! 

She saw an advert for a three year old Westie in the local newspaper, phoned the owner, a farmer from near Fraserburgh whose accent Gail found impenetrable but was too embarrassed to admit it. She did figure out that the dog's name was Hamish and he was staying with the farmer's brother in Aberdeen, and she arranged to go to see him. 

This is Gail's diary entry for 26th September 1999 (you can enlarge the image).

For those of you who can't decipher Gail's handwriting, the short version is that Hamish came to live with Gail there and then. Yes there were some 'challenging' moments in the very early days, but Gail says she never regretted her decision. 

Here is Hamish in November 1999, down in Nottingham for a visit to Gail's parents (both sadly no longer alive). I wonder if  her Dad, then a youthful looking 78 years old, was entirely happy to have Hamish plonked on his lap?

Hamish lived with Gail for over a decade, and in his later years started a blog called, of course, Hamish the Westie, which is still live on the internet.

He had a calm temperament, a good 'starter dog' Gail says, albeit one with a hefty dose of that Westie stubbornness so typical of his breed.....

In 2010, when Hamish was coming to the end of his life, Gail could not imagine she would ever be able to find space in her heart for another dog. But after he was gone, she realised that a dog-shaped hole in the house badly needed filling, and in fairly short order there came a new puppy, Bouncing Bertie, whom many readers will remember well.

And after Bertie, in 2022, me! 

Three dogs, one raincoat

Hamish the Westie, January 2010

Bouncing Bertie, October 2015

Nice Nobby, October 2022

The background story: 

Gail's first ever dog, Hamish the Westie, was aged fourteen when Gail decided he needed a new raincoat as his existing one was ragged and distinctly porous. Hamish's furs had all the properties of a sponge and as a result he definitely preferred wearing a waterproof jacket in wet weather. Gail saw this fine item of dogwear on the Land's End website and, in an uncharacteristic burst of extravagance and sentimentality, decided to pay an additional sum of money to have Hamish's name embroidered across the back. 

Sadly, Hamish only lived for a couple of months after the smart red raincoat arrived, and the nearly new garment was folded up neatly and consigned to the back of the 'dog things' cupboard. 

It wasn't until Bouncing Bertie was about one year old that Gail decided to see if Hamish's raincoat would do for him too. Although fox terrier Bertie was quite a different shape from Hamish, this flexible coat fitted perfectly and indeed looked very handsome on him. Unfortunately there was a problem, as young Bertie did not react well to the noise of the velcro fastenings being pulled apart, and Gail eventually found him an alternative, a blue coat with a silent plastic clip. In time Bertie did get used to the velcro sound, and occasionally wore the red jacket, but his glossy furs were intrinsically quite water repellent so he had less need for an extra layer in wet weather. (He did wear home-knitted sweaters in the snow and frost, but that's another story.)

So although the 'Hamish' raincoat is twelve years old, it is still almost as good as new. I, Nice Nobby, am now nearly fully grown. We have had some very wet weather this week, and my furs are not as thick and glossy as Bertie's were, and so Gail decided I should wear the jacket for my early morning walk a couple of days ago. At first I thought she had given me an exciting new item to chew, but it turned out that was not the idea, and pretty soon I reconciled myself to the novel experience of wearing clothing and trotted happily round the park feeling quite suave.

I have noticed that what looks like the very same jacket is still available on the Lands' End website. Who thinks Gail should order me a brand new one - perhaps for a Christmas present this year - and have it customised with my name embroidered across the back? 'Nobby' or 'Nice Nobby'? What do you think?