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Bear Necessities of Life

Musings of Teddy Bear Necessity's Household
to Whom It May Concern
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Posted by ¥¹¥Ý¥ó¥µ¡¼¥É¥ê¥ó¥¯
- / / - / -
Dog summer
Roses are in bloom and bright sun shines everything that was grey and gloomy before.  It's the beginning of the glorious summer season in England.  



 
Sakura has found a new set of friends who'd tolerate her quirkiness (= barking out of excitement) and so is thoroughly enjoying the park life these days.  Sakura lost 50% of her oomof after Louie died, which ironically helped her to be able to mingle with other dogs like a normal dog.   Having friends has lifted her spirits up tremendously, and so it is a both good and welcoming change.



Sometimes she gets into a trouble with her pesky behaviour,
(here ↓ she is being scolded by an ordinarily extremely patient Ridgeback friend) 

 
but for the most part, she is able to play with all dogs great and small and is just loving her play time.




The length of sticking out tongue equals the amount of fun she's had.



Life is good.

 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 17:39 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
A Walk in the Country
On one Sunday, we decided to go for a country walk in East Sussex with a dog friend, which was about 1.5 hours away from London.  We chose a walk that took us through the Winnie the Pooh's 100 Acre Forest and Poohstick Bridge from the website of a walking club, and faithfully followed the site's very detailed directions. We thought maybe we'd do the "short" walk of 14­Ò which was supposed to take about 4 hours, but well ... . 

We started out in high spirits.

It was blue bell season, and wild blue bell fields were found everywhere.

We trekked through grassy fields,

dreamy blue belle forests,

pastures,

and greeted many farm animals.

Over countless stiles,

sometimes stopping at historical sites,

we walked and walked.

The dogs were very excited about being in the country.

They chased one another, 

and tackled one another 

to their hearts' desire.

By the time we reached the Poohstick Bridge

and took a little break at a pub in the nearest village of Hartfield, we had walked for about 5 hours.




"Are we there yet?"

Even the dogs looked a bit tired at this point. 
We went back out again to do the last leg of the journey,

through more forests

and more fields.  

At this point, we had been walking well over 7 hours.

Dusk was falling rapidly and so were people's footsteps.  

Here, our faithful friend Trey was concerened that the team was being left behind by the trek leader.  What a nice boy.

We had made it to the car just in time before nightfall.  If we were 20 minutes late, we would have been wondering around in pitch-black darkness.  Not a very good idea in the wilderness where we had no sense of directions.

↑ This was the map of our trek.  

We left the car at the train station of Ashurst on top right and came down the right red line to the green line through the 100 Acre Forest, going up though the town of Hartfield and back to the station.  It was about 20­Ò long and took us 8 hours!

By the time we got back to London (which was of course another 1.5 hours later) and washed the muddy dog, it was already 11p.m..  Perhaps not the best way to spend a Sunday, maybe, but on the bright side, English countryside sure was glorious and we certainly enjoyed it thoroughly.


Pooped Sakura

 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 13:44 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
A Snapshot from the Past
The Kerries are beside themselves for being excluded from the fun with the big cat.  

"Tobey is just taking a little break from you. Calm down!"

The Kerries always always always want to be included in anything we do.
They are the neediest animals on this planet, LoL.

 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 16:36 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
A Snapshot from the Past
Sakura (left), Louie (right) and Zoey (below)
taking a nap on one afternoon.


 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 10:28 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
A Dog Friendly Afternoon Tea
A few months after we stayed in the dog-friendly Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel in London with our Kerry Blues, we went back to have afternoon tea in the hotel restaurant, of course with the Kerries again.  

Gorgeous Christmas tree in the lobby

It seems having 2 Kerries is quite memorable, so as soon as we walked in, a staff welcomed us with a friendly remark, "You were here before, weren't you? Welcome back." 


We had never taken the dogs to a restaurant in UK before, so we were a bit nervous as we walked into the restaurant, 


but it was a needless concern as a staff immediately brought us a dog bed and a water bowl and made us feel very welcome.

The bed was mostly occupied by Sakura


We've had afternoon tea in several hotels in London, and I'd say afternoon tea at the Chesterfield Mayfair is one of the best.  The scones and sandwiches were nice and moist and the sweets were just delicately sweet, not overly sweet.  On top of that, the staffs are friendly and attentive, which you'd think is standard but not so much in reality even in 4 or 5 star hotels.  


"Are we coming back here again?"
Oh yeah.


 
The Kerries are used to accompany us to pubs and cafes, so to them this experience was no different.  They were very well-behaved and sophisticated like the city dogs that they are. ;-)


 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 10:52 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
A Dog Friendly London Hotel
Let me introduce a very special hotel in London.  It's called the Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel, and it is a super dog-friendly hotel. Dogs are allowed not only in rooms but also in the restaurant and bar. (Public area photos are from the internet.)


Why stay in a hotel in London while living in London?  That was because my loving hubby booked it for a wedding anniversary last year, and of course the Kerries had to be included in the celebration.



Our lovely room was equipped with a dog bed and bowl
although the Kerries do mostly human bed (so we cover the bed with a sheet from home).
 

We ate out for dinner but still had to try the hotel's famously dog-friendly facility, so we had a night cap in the bar.  
 


Louie asking to go to sleep.  He was not much of a night owl.

Although Louie may not have appreciated having to stay up late, it was still nice to be able to be with your dogs and not worry about how they were doing in the room.


 
In the morning, we walked in Green Park, which is a 5 minute walk from the hotel.  Green Park is the smallest of 8 Royal Parks in London, but it is still 40 acres big.  There are lots of squirrels so squirrel hunter Sakura had to be leashed here and there, but gentle boy Louie could romp to his heart's content.  He was such a good boy.

The Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel is located in the heart of Mayfair, near the Berkeley Square.  It is not a very small hotel, but its cozy atmosphere and super friendly staffs make it feel very homey and comfortable.  We left the hotel wanting more, and so we would absolutely go back, maybe to try the restaurant next time.  


 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 17:14 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Snapshots from the Past

Louie nuzzling up to daddy


Louie after his "work" looking a little tired, LOL

 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 18:34 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
A snapshot from the past
"Pay attention to meeeeeeee!"
Louie trying to get Sakura's attention on the beach of Genêts, France.

 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 04:03 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Nikki-Sakura
Sakura, aka Nikki, is doing fine although I'd say her power had gone down by 50% overnight.  

She used to lead our pack on walks but now walks slower by our side and often looks at us as if to check if she's going the right way.  
 
She doesn't take off to look for squirrels as much as she used to.  She hangs around us more, which was the role Louie had.  

Even her favorite game of fetch doesn't last very long because there's no Louie to chase after her.  

 
Sakura never acted that attached to Louie when he was alive, but it seems that Louie's dependable presence and attentiveness gave her a great sense of security.  Since she came to live with us, she's basically spent every second of her life with Louie, so losing him was of course just as traumatic to her as it was to us, if not more.


"Louie, where are you?"



Our big cat Tobey hangs around by the front door more lately.  Perhaps he is waiting for Louie to come home.  

 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 15:17 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
100% loveable
Louie was the sweetest, kissiest, and cuddliest dog we have ever lived with.



Loved people including babies and children.





His love really had no boarders.



He was always ready to cuddle with you in bed or sofa.
He never skimped on giving out huggies. 



Our sweet little boy. 
There are no days that we don't think about you.
 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 16:05 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)