Short Break at Kirkmichael Perthsire - lots of photos

There had been a significant birthday in the family and one of the gifts received was two nights away at the Dog Friendly Nae limits Cabin in Kirkmichael, Perthshire.  The sun shone and it was a fabulous wee break. The hotel itself could do with a bit of investment but it was very dog friendly and even served breakfast in the bar so that dogs and owners could sit together as the only place dogs weren't allowed was the restaurant. There were lots of walks on hand including one up through the other cabins (it did say dogs on lead there) down the track from the hotel into the village and the dog friendly Stathardle Inn which was excellent for a meal and had a fabulous beer garden. Or down the track and through the field down to the river bank and the playing field.

We also visited Fortingall where the oldest tree in Europe and possibly the world is stood - The Fortingall Yew. (dogs are not allowed in the church yard where the tree is but it is still a fascinating piece of history) We took a trip to Aberfeldy and found a small ice cream shop (Coffee and Cones) where there was a fridge full of flavours to choose from Whilst trying to decide what flavour to have we were told Roscoe was very welcome to come inside and help us choose.

We then headed to Pitlochry and sat in the sun at The Old Mill Inn where there were water bowls outside and umbrellas to provide shade, this was followed by a walk at Queens view just outside Pitlochry which is another beautiful piece of history.

It was a weekend filled with good food (especially at the Strathardle Inn) swims in rivers, long walks, sunshine and comfy beds. Whats not to like for a lowly Rescue Staffie!!!

Lying peacefully in Starthardle Inn whilst humans enjoyed steak and lobster! Yes he got a bit of steak!!

In full flight to catch frisbee at Kirkmichael

He caught it this time

Beautiful scenery - Down by the riverbank

cooling off in the river

The Old Mill Pitlochry - pitstop for cold water for Roscoe and cold beer for the humns!

Enjoying Ice cream from the friendly Coffee and cones in Aberfeldy

A walk in the shade at Weem forest 

The old yew at Fortingall

Queens view outside Pitlochry

Nae Limits Log Cabin

Dads watching the football so won't notice if I just have a wee sleep on the bed!!

Raising Funds for Street Dogs in Romania

Saturday saw a beautiful sunny day and an outing to a local park for a fun dog show hosted by Dapper Dogs Dundee the purpose of the show was to raise funds for Petrosani Dog Shelter which rescues and rehomes street dogs in Romania and gives them a 2nd chance.

This 2nd chance was all to evident in the faces and eyes of some of the lucky ones who have made it to a home here in the uk who attended the show. The best in show was a beautiful Rommie dog called Donna, her tail never stopped and she was a character. So pleased for her

Roscoe got 6th place in Best Veteran Class and 4th place in Best Rescue :-)

The sun shone and we raised £712 for the shelter a fabulous day out rounded off by a cold beer in a dog friendly local :-)

Here is Roscoe in the ring

Roscoe with his Auntie Kirsty(the lady who did her 1st transport run with Roscoe when he was known as Harry and when he made his way to his Staffie Smile foster home in Scotland) and his best bud Caesar - 2 male rescue staffs together - who says they are a dangerous breed

The reserve best in show (Dizzy the Lab/retreiever) and Best in Show Donna the ex Romanian Street dog

Well winter is over and Summer is nearly here again

Ok There has been a distinct lack of posts on this blog! Sorry!!

So as the song says "The dark days are over" Just as well you can't hear me sing. Winter is over and we have just about reached the end of Spring.

Roscoe's 1st Gothcha day has passed and we celebrated in style with walks biscuits and cuddles :-)

We have also been on a couple more holidays or as Roscoe calls the pawlidays.

This was our little adventure to Invercoe Hobbit house which we enjoyed in May we were very lucky with the weather and enjoyed walks around Loch Leven and in Glen Nevis (at the foot of Ben Nevis) and we found a fabulous dog friendly pub - The Gathering which provided great meals for us and a bowl of water and pigs ear for Roscoe.

The next photo shows Roscoe enjoying his trip in a mountain gondola at Aonach Mor Gondolas a very dog friendly attraction and if you have a fit dog (and owner!) there are many good walks at the top with spectacular viewpoints. We opted for a leisurely half hour stroll and a panini and beer at the Snowgoose cafe (dogs are not allowed inside but on a good day there are plenty outdoor seats)

Then it was back to the hobbit house to dream about the days adventures

Short little holiday at Bridge of Cally

As the nice weather continues we decided to make good use of the nights Bed and Breakfast we won at The Bridge of Cally Hotel so as I had a full weekend off we set out on the 40 minute journey to Bridge of Cally. After check in to a lovely room with a huge bed we set off to drive across the Moulin Moor to Pitlochry so we could have a look round and a walk.

The sky was blue and the sun was breaking through as we took a walk through Pitlochry, over the swing bridge and up to the Fish ladder at the Dam

Roscoe happier on the swing bridge than I was!

The river at the Power station

After our walk it was a hard earned ice - cream

Back to the hotel where we had a lovely steak dinner and wine and Roscoe was allowed to  sit in the bar area with us as we ate, he behaved beautifully and was happy to make friends with anyone who would speak to him!! Including several people walking the Cateran Trail - a lovely trail that takes 3 - 5 days to complete and takes in some lovely scenery

The Cateran Trail is far too long for Roscoe (and me LOL) but our morning walk we walked along part of it so we can say we have been on the trail

Our break was over  too quickly but before heading home we turned North and took a drive up Glenshee past the ski slopes and down the other side into Braemar where we had another wander and headed out to the forest beside the Linn of Dee. Sadly my phone died at this point so the only photo I got was the river in Braemar!

A lovely break was had by all and I think it is safe to say Roscoe enjoys his travels with us :-)

A lovely summer's day out at Kenmore

Summer has been here to stay and we have made the most of long sunny days.

Following our lovely day out at St Andrews we headed North and West the last weekend in July to Kenmore. We left an overcast and cloudy home and drove off to wards the sun and blue skies

We had a wander round the village and along by the river then we had lunch at the Kenmore hotel. Dogs are allowed in one of the bars where food is served but it was such a lovely day we opted to sit at the tables out the back over looking the river and the ducks. Roscoe as usual was oblivious to the ducks and other dogs and lay quietly in the sun.

After lunch we headed back to the small beach area and had great fun paddling, Roscoe seems to really like the water.

Here is the view from where we ate lunch

And here is Roscoe enjoying cooling off in Loch Tay

Summer continues

Well what a fabulous day we had last Sunday. The sun shone the sky was blue as we headed off to St Andrews (Where Prince William and Kate Middleton went to university and met). It is a beautiful little town with amazing beaches, there are 3 to choose from. We headed to the largest of the 3, and the pictures show just how quiet the beach was considering it was the 2nd hottest day this year. It was lovely, some dog walkers, some swimmers and some families enjoying a day out but still plenty beach to enjoy

Here are some photos of Roscoe enjoying the sea, i had gone in for a paddle and he came too!!

After the beach we had a lovely stroll round St Andrews and headed to a little pub for lunch we sat outside eating freshly made baguettes and drinking ice cold drinks, Roscoe enjoyed some water with ice cubes in it and a piece of my steak baguette and a bit of his dads chicken and bacon baguette.

We then headed out along the sea wall towards the cathedral for an afternoon wander here are a couple of photos from the walk

And our week was completed with the delivery of two lovely pieces of art work from our wonderful friend Pat Elliot she is an extremely creative and artistic lady and she kindly sent us two pieces of art of Roscoe. The 1st of him with his Best in Rescue win at Camperdown fun show, and the 2nd of him running through the wild flowers on Orkney

I think you will agree she is fabulously talented. More about Pat and her work can be found HERE

Hopefully today's sea harr will lift and the sun will come out to play as we both have a weekend off and want to go off on another adventure with Roscoe 

Summer is here

Well with the exception of a couple of days we have had glorious weather since our return from Orkney, warm sunny days. Such a shame work gets in the way of beach walks. We may head to the beach tody though.

Last weekend we visited a local horse sanctuary which had an open day to raise funds and Roscoe had great fun trying out the agility. He enjoyed it much better than the last time we tried, but I guess he is probably a little more comfortable with us now as he has been with us longer.

Here are a couple of photos of him at the agility

He will do anything for a teensey bit of chicken!!

Love this photo

He spent a fair bit of time at the Staffy Rescue Scotland stand and he was a fabulous ambassador lying down for tummy tickles and making friends with everyone including one lady who had always been too scared to even walk near a staffy before and she walked away from the stand saying she would look differently at Staffies in the future. A job well done.

There were carriage driving displays and sheep and goats in a small petting zoo area and Roscoe was completely unphased by all the noise sights and smells. Because he was such a good boy we had to stop for ice cream on the way home :-)

Hope the summer weather continues and remember never leave your dog in a car in this heat not even for a short while with the windows open as your car quickly becomes an oven