Henry Takes Over
Today I am handing over the reins of Waggy Tales to a little dog called Henry who will be sharing his story with you today.
Yes! you did read that correctly!
Henry is a Border Terrier.
However, not only does Henry have a full-time job training his owner David but amazingly he also has found the time to write a book.
So today I am going to leave you in Henry’s capable hands and go and put my feet up for a little while. (Don’t worry I will be back tomorrow!)
Firstly, here are some interesting facts about The Border Terrier
1 Border Terriers were first bred to clear foxes from their holes and hunt vermin, badgers, and otters.
2 They originate from the Cheviot Hills which border England and Scotland (hence their name).
3 This brave little dog is also known to be intelligent, friendly and agile.
4 There is a Border Terrier in Coronation Street owned by the Barlow family and called ‘Eccles’
If you would like to know more about this fascinating breed or would like to adopt a Border Terrier, please take a look at the following websites which have loads more information.
The Border Terrier Club of America
And now I will hand over to Henry:-
Hello Auntie Lou,
Oh my; isn’t this exciting, little Henry getting his own blog post
I’m in such a tizz I don’t know where to begin.
Well it all started when I was very little. So little you could have put me in a tea cup. OK, a big tea cup. Papa and Mama came to visit us in the north of Germany.
There were three of us looking for a furever home. I had a little brother and sister. The moment I saw him I knew Papa was the one for me. There was something quiet and caring about him. Our first host lady put us on a table and the others were busy Zzzzing so I wobbled across the table to the edge and dropped into his lap. I would have gone home with him straight away but apparently Papa had been pawly and was going on a pilgrimage to find his feet. That’s when I first realised that hoomans are different. I always know where my feet are; they’re at the end of my legs.
I was sixteen weeks old when they came for me. Mama was working in Dusseldorf so it was just Papa and me during the week and I had it all to do.
He needed to go out and meet people so I pretended to want to wee every two hours to get him out of the flat.
Then there was the question of toys. There were lots of books around about how to train a dog and which toys and how many. After I’d chewed my way through them all I took him to the pet shop and picked a wide selection with different squeaks. It’s important to get them to learn the different tones at an early stage.
At first, he wasn’t very keen on going far but I managed to drag him to the beautiful lake we have in Hamburg to watch the tourist boats. He was so busy trying to stop me sniffing all the lovely bums that he forgot his troubles and in the first six months made a great recovery.
The rest was a piece of sausage: teaching him how to throw the ball, driving him to the coast so he could play on the beach. Mama came on those trips but she was a bit slow getting my ball out of her bag so I had to help her.
I made lots of friends and went for rides with Big Arthur and his Papa, the famous ‘Dog Whisperer.’ Sometimes Papa came too and we played in the woods.
I took him on holibobs to Austria and French France where he drank beer in the mountains and wine in posh restaurants.
That all started eleven years ago and I’m pleased to report that he is doing really well.
I get him out on the golf course and sometimes I let him win.
I even wrote a book about how we dogs train our hoopeeps and how to handle the ups and downs of life. Sometimes it’s a bit tricky but Papa is a quick learner. I’ve grown older and wiser. Papa has also grown older but there’s still hope for him.
If you would like to read more from Henry, here is a link to the book he wrote along with his owner David Pipe.
Author Spotlight
David Pipe was born in 1949 in a small Essex village. He attended a local grammar school before studying chemistry at Hull. He worked in the pharmaceutical industry in England and South Africa then earned a PhD in organic chemistry from Imperial College. After spells at universities in Geneva and Mulhouse he joined the oil industry in Germany where aged 53 he gratefully took a redundancy package. Following a period of self-employment he wound down his business, eventually giving it up to scratch the writing itch which produced his first books, Sacrificing Starlight and Henry’s Tale.
When he’s not writing David spends his spare time reading, swimming and jogging. He is married and lives with his wife and their Border terrier Henry in Hamburg.
Sacrificing Starlight is also written by David Pipe.
Thank you so much Henry for taking over the blog for a day. Now you have another talent to add to your long list. I’m sure that David was so glad to have you by his side on all his travels. I can tell how much you care for him and hope you enjoy lots more adventures together.
If anyone else would like to share their doggy stories please let me know in the comments.
Photographs and letter courtesy of David Pipe.
Leave a Reply