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.

Do dogs play tennis?

Yesterday Leo and I played with my Moon Dog that I got at Crufts. It squeaks, which makes it one of my favourite toys, and it has bits we can grab and play tug of war.

Leo had one leg and I pulled on the other. It was fantastic fun, we did it for ages. But eventually, we moved onto tennis balls. This was largely in consideration of the welfare of Moon Dog.

These weren't ordinary tennis balls but doggy tennis balls, complete with paw prints decorated on the side (I guess so you can tell the difference before you go out for a game). These are interesting because they are absolutely useless for bouncing, which to be quite honest is the best part, so Leo and I proceeded to take them apart instead, as this is the most fun you can have with a ball that doesn't bounce.

So anyway, if they really think dogs are interested in tennis, then they have to start making balls that bounce. If you don't make for dogs tennis balls that bounce, then they are never going to play tennis are they?

Oh yes, and also, they should make balls that Leo and I can't dismantle in a 15 minute sitting.

Summer time!

Last night the clocks went forward which means instead of it being 5pm right now it's 6pm. This is so we get up earlier and don't waste the daylight. They call it summer time! Unfortunately, no-one told me so it just meant that I slept in very late today.

Apparently in Australia they call it daylight saving.

That makes it sound like it's all about work. How much time can you bank in a day? I like the name in the UK - summer time - it sounds fun and festive like summer should be. See you in the park!

Gosh, is that really the time???

Daffodils

I am now officially 5 months old! Happy birthday to me. I am also now 25.6 kg. I'm not quite sure how tall I am, but I am much bigger than Leo these days. I can't believe how small I used to be. I could drive Leo's car! (Look at me on the right when I was about 9 weeks old). Now I can't fit in it at all. But he doesn't really want me to these days since I chewed it underneath ... just a little. He was not happy about that, but it's being fixed!

This morning I watched "Bewitched" on the television and I am certain that the dog that was on today was an Otterhound or cousin. He was smaller than the Otterhound grown-ups I know, but his tail went up in the air like a flag (like mine!) and he had long ears, and a wiry coat. But I'm sure he was an Otterhound or an Otterhound relation, because he could also talk. He said "I want Perfect Pizza too."

I am growing out of collars as well. So I got a new one for my "birthday" (well, 2 collars actually). I have a new brown rolled collar (so it doesn't mess my hair) which I don't quite fit yet so I have a black one in the meantime. But I don't wear my collar all the time, just when going out, like to the park. Speaking of which, Leo and I were in the park today smelling daffodils. I met a very nice lady on the way who wanted to know what sort of dog I am. Leo gets a bit irritated by this as he used to get all the attention and now they ignore him or call him a poodle, which I think rather infuriates him (or worse, they call him a Labradoodle). But he is a Bedlington!

You can probably see that I am quite a bit bigger than he is now. But he is still much faster so for games we are pretty evenly matched. The good thing about the park today is that there has been a bit of rain, so it was really good and muddy. There was also such a large puddle I could get my paws properly wet. I fell over loads of times when we were chasing, so now I smell like a pot plant. Yummy!

But I did get to smell the daffodils. They are my first daffodils and apparently it means spring is finally here. That sounds promising. I've heard there's a dog pond in Hampstead Heath so we are going to investigate soon!

Anyway, after lots of play we met a very handsome 12 year old Afghan Hound called Max and his friend. I'm embarrassed to say I don't know his friend's name as I was distracted at the time by a group of teenage boys standing in a circle talking about the girls at school (not very nicely! I think girls are much nicer than that!). So I went and sat in the middle of their circle as they seemed like the sort of people I could convince to be my followers in a pack. But I don't think they got it and I was "retrieved". I do like things that stand in circles though.

On the way back we met some more dogs and chatted again for a while, including a very pretty Corgi who really wanted to play ball. I really wanted the Cardigan Corgi to win at Crufts. She is an endangered breed like me! And she really was rather beautiful.

Anyway, on the way back we met a lady who knew Leo was a Bedlington and fussed over him. Which seemed to make him very happy indeed. And then we bumped into two of his favourite neighbours (two little Miniature Schnauzers), and they had a little play.

We got home just before it started to rain and rain, so I settled down with some doggie treats and continued to eat my family out of house and home. It's amazing how tiring running around after Leo in the park can be. All I want to do now is snooze!