I am the proud owner of a small independent pet shop, situated in the beautiful city of Ripon, North Yorkshire.
I am lucky to have 2 part time ladies helping me in the shop, as well as 2 mischievous cocker spaniels called Archie and Dexter. The boys seem get up to allsorts but never fail to put a smile on my face! Follow our blog to share our adventures, watch us review new products and get helpful pet tested tips 😀
We are so lucky to have many wonderful places for walkies in Ripon. Down by the river has to be one of our favourites, but when time is of the essence – mum frog marches us to Paddys Park and we charge round chasing ball after ball!
Sometimes we run around so much, we need a quick lie down to recharge our batteries!
Dexter always plays the cute card, to try and get us extra treats!
We had a fantastic day at Redcar Beach recently. The weather wasn’t up to much and the humans were dressed for winter – but we still had a ball.
I’m enjoying watching Archie do all the digging!
So much running and digging to be done – we just didn’t stop all day! In fact it’s probably a good job it wasn’t very warm, or we would have been flagging in the heat very quickly.
Where did this sand come from?
Why does the sand seem to get everywhere?
Sandy nose, sandy eyes, sandy fur…..
After an awful lot of digging – there was time for a few games of ball, before a very sleepy journey home!
We love walks in the sun. Today we ventured out quite early, before it got too hot! Can’t believe I’m actually saying that…(I wonder if I’ll be able to say ‘too hot’ again this year?).
The boys had a ball. They are like spring lambs at the moment – full of fun and mischief!
Erm….I appear to be stuck..
Someone, namely Dexter, managed to find himself stuck at the other side of a fence. Archie had to go and rescue him and show him the way out. Such a clever pooch!
Come on…..HELP me get out of here!
After a good run about, it was home for lots of water and rest time in the shade (?) Why do dogs sometimes insist on lying in full sun. I ended up going indoors, so they’d follow and cool down! Doh!
Haircuts were greatly needed! The boys were beginning to resemble sheep! Even the local sheep looked at them questioningly, wondering how they’d escaped from the field!
Enough was enough, the appointment was made with the lovely dog groomer Kath and hey ho off they went to be shorn.
Before…..
After….
This belonged to Archie and Dexter
This was the amount of fur taken off! A few woolley jumpers worth! It’s just a shame the weather has become rather confused…..they could do with some of it back at the moment, it’s so cold out!
Dexter was our first furbaby. It was love at first sight and it made us wonder why it had taken so long to add a dog to our family. We were smitten, so in love and totally devoted to this four legged, stinky and totally mischievous little pooch. Therefore it made so much sense after two years to add another adorable dog to our family!
We didn’t set off to try and find a matching one to Dexter, but when Archie cheekily trotted out of his pen towards us – the decision was made there and then….he was the one! Dexter with his mini- me Archie
Archie adored Dexter from the start and Dexter adopted his role of big brother immediately. The bond between them was amazing – which made everything so much easier for us!
Me and my shadow!
We often get asked if the boys are related. They are actually not related directly, but somewhere down the line they have the same grandparent!
They are both orange roan and have similar markings, however, Dexter has very soft silky fur, whereas Archie’s is courser and curlier!
Happy Birthday Archie – 6 years ago you looked like this!
Archie was 6 this week, which means we’ve had the pleasure of him in our family for almost that length of time.
Love them both dearly – they have enhanced our lives for the better and I can only hope we’ve done the same for them ❤️❤️❤️
Finally, the sun made an appearance yesterday and blue skies appeared. What a difference. Everyone seemed so cheerful, everywhere looked quite beautiful and there was a glimmer of hope that Spring was round the corner!
We all had a lovely walk down by the river at lunchtime, then strolled round our beautiful little city, admiring some of the lovely features we have – taking a few pictures with the glorious blue backdrop!
Ripon market – held every Thursday
Market day in Ripon was especially lovely yesterday…
Victoria Clock Tower in Ripon is steeped in history.
The Victoria Clock Tower looked superb, as we walked down North Road in Ripon towards the River Ure.
Our favourite place to spend lunchtime!
Our lunchtime walk wouldn’t be complete without a paddle in the River!
Our simply stunning Cathedral
Finally a picture of our iconic Cathedral, making Ripon one of the smallest cities in England. Well worth a visit sometime.
We’ve certainly had our fair share of rain, cold, more rain, more cold, even more rain and even more cold recently! Roll on some lovely sunny weather….please!
During one lunchtime walkies this week, the boys (and me) got rather wet. We came back to the shop, and none of us could get warm – despite the heater being on. This called for drastic action – work fleeces for everyone!
Staff members now!
The boys snuggled up together, proudly modelling their new work wear. Does this mean they are now ‘proper’ members of staff, which means wages and more treats!