Best in Show!

Yesterday Leo and I went to the special "Dog Day Afternoon" at the Cabbages and Frocks Market at Marylebone. It was such a lot of fun as there were so many dogs there! I saw a Bichon Frise (as cute as a squeaky toy, although quite stand-offish to tell the truth) and a million Border Terriers (I kept thinking it was the same one each time), an Italian Greyhound, a Whippet, and many many more, and of course my new friend Dimple, a Pug/Pom cross.

Soon after we arrived, the newspaper came over to photograph Leo (everybody loves Leo!) and I muscled in on the photo as well. The photographer took lots of photos and our names. So I think we're going to be in the local paper!

And everyone kept asking what sort of dog I am, which was very exciting. One lady even said that seeing me had made her day. She said she had never met an Otterhound in person and had seen them only in the books, and that she had always said that if they ever got a dog she would want it to be an Otterhound. Then she said meeting me had made her decision - Otterhound it is! And then she photographed me with her daughters (I love posing).

We ate doggy treats (from the pet bakery) and got lots of presents, including a squeaky doggy toy that looks just like me.

Anyway, at the end of the day they had doggy competitions. I entered most well-behaved. We had to sit on command and lie down on command. I made it very far, lots of dogs were getting eliminated but I was still there! Then we had to do tricks. This worried me a little, but we did a trick with a treat where I had to wait with it under my nose but not eat it! It was a close-run thing but I did it! And everyone said I was very good and I made it to the semi-finals. But then a very clever Labrador Retriever did a trick where the treat was on his nose! And he threw it into the air and caught it! That was very clever, even I wanted him to win. And he did.

But the big news is that I then entered Best in Show. This was open to everyone, and there were Boston Terriers, West Highland Terriers, Yorkies, Huskies, Labradors, Bichon Frise, and many others, and even an Irish Water Spaniel (also very very rare) called Clancy. He had just been swimming that morning in Hampstead Heath. Even Leo entered. But he usually shuns such things. I'm sure he did it just to give me moral support. Anyway, we had to walk around and then walk into the centre of the ring and tell the judge our story. So when it was my turn I told the crowd that I was an Otterhound, one of the rarest of all the great British dog breeds, that I was so rare I was vulnerable and just one of 51 puppies this past year. And then I said it is my 6 month birthday on Monday.

Anyway, we then walked around for the judge to make her decision and she said "I am going to give it to the most handsome and I'm just waiting for him to walk around to the front," and then she said "I'm awarding Best in Show to the Otterhound!" I was so excited. And I got my photograph taken by the paper again. I won my first red rosette! and I got a hamper of treats and beauty products. I was so happy I couldn't stop smiling (neither could all the grown-ups with me). Here I am taking in the "sweet smell" of success!

So then we went to Regents Park to celebrate with ice creams (although for Leo and me it was the bag of carrot and apple treats we got at the Show - my favourite foods!). One lady stopped to talk to me and she said it was because she couldn't resist my happy smiling face (I was still smiling from Best in Show!). And I got to see ducks, geese, a big swan, paddle boats and all manner of marvellous things. And lots of people wanted to know what I am again. I have to say I love the attention.

Here I am looking at all the pigeons (I love it when they all fly!). I had just woofed here so that they would all start flying. Which is a bit cheeky I know. But then I can't fly and I think they know that.

But it's not just pigeons - all flying things are extremely irresistible - like flowers, tissues, dry leaves (Autumn must be fantastic! I can't wait!)

And here's one of my favourite photos from the day. I am  very clever don't you think, being able to balance this lady on my noble head! Actually, she walked into my photo to take another photo. Isn't that ironic? And that's rather a big word for such a young dog, but I am, after all, "Best in Show"!

And then we walked a bit further and there was a bridge which I walked over. It had lovely flower boxes on it so I stuck my head through to sniff them.

In fact there were flowers everywhere. It was so colourful it was like being in a TV plasma screen commercial.

And there were bees as big as dog biscuits! (they are called bumble-bees - they look sort of soft and cuddly, but I think not). Anyway the smells and the flowers are spectacular. And there were people everywhere enjoying the sunshine.

Here I am on the bridge. I could see many ducks and the paddle boats as well. We thought it might be fun to go on one. Maybe we will try this soon (if they let me, as the insurance might be too high for "Best in Show"!). I don't know if paddle boats are dog friendly, but speaking of dog-friendly things, I've decided I should let you know about as many dog-friendly venues as I can. I visit lots of great places that are very welcoming to dogs, so if I let you know about them, you can go there too!

So after the park we went to review the first of many dog-friendly establishments for dinner. I think this is an important service for me to provide to my readers, and I have received a lot of tips on places to try from the Doggie Pubs website. So we decided to try the Somers Town Coffee House in Carlton Street just off Euston Road (just up from the station where my Bulgarian friend had to catch the train home afterwards - not all the way to Bulgaria though, he lives in London).

Well it is fantastic! Dogs aren't allowed in the dining room, but that's ok as we preferred to sit on the sofas in the bar. The food, so I was told, was absolutely scrumptious, although nothing on the pudding menu took their fancy (they were all just too keen on ice cream after such a long hot London summer day). But best of all, they let me sit on the sofa! I was so tired, that I jumped on it before invited, but the staff said it was ok. It was marvellous. I was so relaxed I started snoring. The only criticism is that the humans were less comfortable as I took up most of the sofa. A second one would be good. Here I am sleeping on the sofa, lounging on the picnic blanket I got as a present at Crufts.

And look how comfy the arm rest on the sofa was!  I definitely want to go there again, so I hope I will see you there!

So for me the Somers Town Coffee House gets 5/5 Finnegan Stamps!

And then it was home in a London black cab (I was very tired, but not too tired to gaze out the window) for a nice long sleep with my new toy, dreaming about winning my next "Best in Show"!

Green green grass

Yesterday in the park, I discovered how absolutely brilliant it is to roll in the grass.

We were playing in the park and one of our friends joined us (he is German, I have friends from everywhere!) and I was so excited I ran and jumped over Leo and rolled in the grass. Although that roll was actually a bit of an accident, what a wonderful discovery (I hear that a lot of the best discoveries are actually accidents) I rolled and rolled!

I also discovered joggers for the first time. These are people who run, but not to get anywhere. Now I, better than anyone, can understand that running is fun, so having no particular destination isn't necessarily an issue. But one of these joggers kept running very strangely - he kept kicking himself in his own bottom. And then, completely without warning, he started running backwards! This was so hilarious that I barked at him. What else could I possibly say?

Then there was a woman walking along nearby, so I ran up and said hello and she gave me a little cuddle. But then she lay down in the grass doing funny stretches with her legs. So of course I jumped on her as of course this was in invitation for a cuddle. Apparently though I had this all wrong, and so I was "retrieved." But she seemed very good-humoured about it all, considering that I now weigh almost 30kg.

There was also a large group of people standing in a circle doing strange movements. One of the people was telling the others to do strange things, and then they all did them. She must have had very special treats in her pocket to get them to do some of the things they were doing. Anyway, we all sat on the nice grass and watched this curious spectacle. But after a while, it got so silly I jumped on my German friend and removed his glasses. So funny.

What a great afternoon.

Spring Days (or) Otterhounds are better than tennis

I had such fun today. Before going to the park we went to visit the pet shop and I got a new ball, a chew toy and some treats! Then we went to the park and it was a great afternoon. First, I decided rather spontaneously to join a football game (that's soccer for those of you reading in Australia or the US). It was such fantastic fun, although I wasn't quite sure which side I was on (it was 2 a side, so I made things a little uneven), but I managed to trip up a player so his son very happily said I was on his side!

Then, after my football match, I went running and running with Leo. He is so fast, I can never catch him, but fortunately he runs back and forth a lot, so that even if I stood still in the same place, I could make it look like I was winning the race, by running ahead while he was on the way back. See, it was a rather effective strategy. I look like I'm really fast!

After we ran and ran we met some girls who really liked me. And their mum thought I was great. I may not be the only Otterhound in central London for long! Anyway, we all ran back and forth, and they were a bit slower than Leo, so I even managed to run ahead at times.  Here I am with my fans. I am really quite charismatic I think, especially with the ladies.

But Leo didn't really feel left out, as he got lots of attention today. Another family came over to say hello because they noticed Leo and they were big fans of Bedlington Terriers. So am I! In fact he got the most attention today, as the place was overrun with Bedington Terrier fans.

Anyway, we kept running around until I spotted a group of grown-up ladies having a picnic. I ran into the middle of the picnic, but they seemed less enthusiastic than my younger fans. So my young fans rescued me (for some reason all the grown-ups I was with pretended not to know me!) and I resumed running back and forth with the girls until they had to leave for their tennis lesson. But if their protests are anything to go by, Otterhounds are better than tennis!

I hope I see them again soon, they were buckets of fun!

Celebrity Encounter

What an exciting week it has been! Leo and I went into Lincoln's Inn Fields again today. We met some friends and all had coffee and cakes in the sunshine just nearby. While we were ordering the coffee, something very exciting happened. Today I met a very famous person indeed ... Judith Lawrence, aka Casey and ... wait for it ... Finnegan! Judith was the puppeteer behind Casey and Finnegan in the famous Canadian television show, Mr Dressup. So she was my namesake!

We met because Judith saw Leo and came to say hello. Judith had a Bedlington Terrier and knew that they are so amazing. While Leo was chatting away, I was introduced as Finnegan. And from there Judith told us who she was. We were all very excited. The really funny thing is that the Finnegan in Mr Dressup looks like Leo! Don't you think? Isn't it a wonderful world?!

I was so happy to meet Judith. Of all the people in the world, I can't imagine anyone I would rather meet. Imagine bumping into Judith on a London street. What a fabulous town it is.

Big Day Out

Leo and I had a big day out today, and lots and lots of fun. We went into the "office" this afternoon. This involved a nice walk into the West End and then a happy time saying hello to everyone. I've been in before, but I was a lot smaller then, and everyone kept saying how much I'd grown. The biggest thing was a new party trick I have with Leo, where he walks under my belly, without ducking!

Here I am relaxing on the shiny floor. I was supposed to help with a bit of office administration, but I ate this box instead.

The other thing I love about the office is the shiny, slippery floor. We stayed a bit late and everyone had gone home, so Leo and I ran up and down the shiny floor, slipping and sliding. Apart from my immediate friends, there was one person left in the office. And so I ran in and visited him! He is very nice and has white boards in his office, which I found quite impressive.

Here I am coming back from his office, playing "Britain's Next Top Model" (practising for Crufts).

It also meant that Leo and I had a chance to pop over to Lincoln's Inn Fields for an afternoon stroll (twice in fact!). Lots of people wanted to know what I was and they were very amazed when they heard I wasn't even 6 months old yet. We said hello to a very lovely little West Highland Terrier called Max. And then we said hello to a Golden Retriever but he rather surprisingly growled and jumped at Leo, so we left without catching his name. I was standing well back as usual (I like little dogs best).

After a while we decided we would all go somewhere for an after work meal. We used to go to Hercules Pillars in Great Queen Street and we used to tell all our friends about it because it was dog friendly. But they have now put a sign outside saying "No Dogs Allowed". Can you believe it? This was the pub where I had my first social meal and I have met lots of lovely people in there (including a man who used to breed Kerry Blue Terriers). One man was so happy to hear I was an Otterhound. He said he thought we had become extinct. Most certainly not! But now that they are dog unfriendly I am very sad. It was the best thing about that pub and all my friends used to go there in support of that friendliness. What is an English pub without dogs???

So, with our former regular now "off our list" we decided to walk in the other direction, and we met a nice couple outside the Citte of Yorke, and they said there was a dog friendly pub somewhere near St Paul's Cathedral. They have a Border Terrier (although she wasn't there) and they were really nice to me. I got lots of pats. Then a Spaniel across the street said hello and I was so excited I bayed. This had quite an impact on the people walking home from work!

Anyway, I have never been to St Paul's so I was very excited. So we walked to St Paul's. Here I am sitting on the steps of this magnificent building. It really was a splendid place. And there were lots of wonderful breezes that filled my nose. I really loved it.

From there we went across a funny bridge called the Millennium Bridge. It is made just for walking, but it makes the funniest sounds when you walk on it. At first I wasn't so sure of it, but Leo was so relaxed and happy I figured it had to be ok. The most exciting part was standing on the bridge, catching the breezes and looking at the water, especially the boats. It was really amazing, I've never seen anything like it.

Here we are (Leo and me) standing on the Millennium Bridge with Tate Modern in the background. Isn't it wonderful? Apparently Tate Modern is the world's largest gallery of modern art. What a fabulous thing it is.

Outside Tate Modern an Irish couple asked what I was. They seemed very pleased to hear I am an Otterhound. And I think they liked my name too.

Tate Modern also has these wonderful silver trees. Apparently they are called Silver Birch and there is a story behind the ones at Tate Modern. They smelt very wonderful and I just couldn't contain my excitement at walking in amongst them. Leo thought they were pretty good too. Maybe it was the fertiliser? Anyway, here I am pretending to "track" through the "Tate" forest.

We also got to walk out on a pier to look at the river. A goose honked at me - so entertaining! And I simply can't get enough of the sound of lapping water. I stared and stared.

We walked a bit further and went to the National Film Theatre where we decided to have some dinner. Unfortunately I don't think I'm allowed in to watch a film, but they did let us sit at the outside tables of the restaurant. Personally, I like this best, as I can watch everyone going past. So we had some dinner and admired the views.

After dinner we walked to the foot bridge to cross the river, but on the way we came across a large group of boys playing on skateboards and falling off a lot. Apparently this is a regular thing but it was the first time I'd ever seen such a thing and I don't mind telling you I found it rather scary. But again, Leo was very brave and unruffled so I followed his lead. He is so amazing, I really want to grow up to be as courageous and wise as Leo. But I don't like skateboarders! Although they do fall off a lot, which secretly was vindicating.

We also passed a man playing on steel. These are called steel pans. I really found the noise quite surprising and unusual, and he stopped when he thought I was scared. But I wasn't scared, I was just interested, really! I am quite intrigued by music. In fact, just after we crossed the bridge, on the other side we came across another band. There was a lot of music in London tonight! A train passed me when we were on the bridge too. I haven't seen a train before. This was such a big day out!

The last exciting thing was that instead of walking home we caught a London black cab. This was really very fun because, although I've been in taxis before, this one had a television! Here I am watching television in a taxi!

London black cabs are wonderful things. They all look so smiley, they are really easy to get into, and they are perfect for two dogs to lie down and relax in on the way home. And the drivers are better than Google maps. They have to study all the streets and they know everywhere

we need to go. It is called "the Knowledge". I love London black cabs.

Just between you and me, though, the first time I went in a taxi I got a little sick. But the taxi driver was so kind, he didn't make me feel embarrassed at all. And of course we cleaned it up with a few tissues and hand wipes. So no harm done!

Anyway, now I am getting very grown up, so this time I admired the view as we whizzed through London. Here I am looking in a shop window. Aren't my eyebrows getting groovy looking? I look like a politician.

Well, now I am a bit tired, so I'm snoozing ... and dreaming about my next very exciting big day out.