This blog wouldn’t be an honest representation of myself without acknowledging that I may have a problem… I am OBSESSED with furry creatures!

Growing up we had a cat, she was gorgeous and a fluff ball but grumpy as hell. Not helped by the fact I was a kid who didn’t understand cats at all. My only other real experience of pets was my grandparent’s dog, a staffy cross, who in hindsight was not at all scary. But as a kid i would sit on the stairs to escape him.

I didn’t really find my love of animals until I met my husband’s family dog when I was 14. Cassie, a tricolour border collie who was absolutely mad but a good girl. I visited on the caveat that I was scared of dogs and he needed to keep her away from me…

In my intro, I mention that my husband is always pushing me to try new things… This was my first experience of that. He held her collar as I came in and until I got my feet up on the sofa; but then let her roam free! If I’m honest, I was annoyed! But true to his word, she didn’t hurt me, nor did she put a foot wrong due to his time and effort in training this clever pup.

So Cassie and I became friends ☺️

By the time I was 16, I was living with my husband, his mum and his little sister. So when they announced they were getting another dog, I was anxious. Cassie was an exception as far as I was concerned. ‘Ollie Collie’ was a rescue at 4 years old and had his issues, but over time he chose me as his human! And so created my love of dogs.

As is the unfortunate way with pets, Ollie passed away when he was 8. Cassie stayed with us for a while longer and helped us introduce Heidi into the world, a Great Dane! She was mine and my husband’s dog, rather than a family pet, and she knew it. She was attached to us at the hip and while she was a royal pain when she was younger, grew into a dosile, gentle giant.

Heidi moved with us into our first home, a 1 bed flat… Ridiculous I know, but we loved our not so little family. Heidi cemented my love for animals, she was funny, loving, obedient, calm and kinda stupid. During her time, we looked after a Pug called Paddy for a while for a family friend and she took her under her wing. Paddy would sleep on Heidi’s back in the arm chair ❤️

Soon we had bought our first house together, just before we moved my husband surprised me with Bagheera; an 18 week old black kitten. He was of course mad, but eventually all was harmonious, Bagheera would groom Heidi and Heidi would provide snuggles when Bagheera came in from the rain. Then came Mowgli…

Mowgli was an accidental kitten from a friend’s cat, we got her at 7 weeks old (a little too early as the mum had some health issues which needed treatment). She was bold and adorable and once Bagheera had made clear who was boss, he tolerated her playing with his tail now and again. Mowgli was a terror as an adolescent, anything you don’t want a cat to do, she did! But I wouldn’t have her any other way, and nowadays she has mellowed significantly.

Now, this was getting silly, we were still only in a 2 bed house… No more animals…

Then I left my husband unattended. A stray kitten in a state, made her way into the house and he was besotted. In no time, we had gone through the process of handing her over to Cats Protection to find the owners and when unsuccessful, obviously, we adopted her and called her Shanti (are you seeing a theme?).

Sadly, a few weeks later, before Heidi really had a chance to work her magic on Shanti, Heidi got bone cancer in her front leg. It was heartbreaking but we knew she was too old and too heavy to be put through surgery. After a few weeks of pain management, we had to let her go. It was heart wrenching and honestly I don’t think I’ll ever find a dog to fill that hole.

Months went by, a house full of cats, a different kind of energy and different relationships were forming in the new dynamic. Mowgli was really affected by Heidi going, she seemed to lose all her confidence and became terrified of Shanti. It’s taken over a year for the two cats to find their places again without Heidi around. Bagheera, as always, was unphased. We decided we would wait to get another dog until we had a bigger house, also not wanting to ‘reppace’ Heidi.

Then one night, we were sitting on the sofa, having a frank conversation about my mental health and what we could do to improve things. And my husband says, “Do you want a dog? If you could cuddle a dog right now, would that make you happy?” To which my answer was of course yes, accompanied by some guilty tears for missing Heidi.

In no time, we had Josie, a Border Collie cross Miniature Poodle. About as far from a Great Dane as you can get, by design. She is 11 months old now and so clever, training her has become a hobby and I am hoping to take her to agility when she is a little older.

So there you are, I told you I was animal mad…

Thanks for reading 😁 Your thoughts are welcome, let me know in the comments if you relate! Also, whether it would be useful to share some training tips?