Three Days With TOSH

We had another short break between sits in late June, so we headed to Bedfordshire to care for Tosh, an adorable 8 year old Welsh Terrier, while his mum and dad went away on a Fiat Barchetta car club weekend.

Tosh was a sweet, gentle, friendly dog with a few peculiar habits.

For example, there were certain TV shows we needed to avoid, such as cartoons and sometimes adverts, as they would cause him to bark at the telly. Tosh was easily distracted by changing the channel and giving him some cuddles. However, Tosh happily sat on the couch and watched a gardening show and an Aussie Rules football game with Glenn!!

You also had to be careful where you left your shoes, or almost anything else, as Tosh would have it in his mouth before you knew it! However, he would easily give it up when exchanged for a treat.

As a puppy Tosh had the top of the femur of his back leg removed – as such he had no ball & socket joint at the hip so the remaining bone was only held in place by muscle and tendons. This didn’t affect his movement but long walks and jumping had to be avoided.

Tosh was able to be left at home for up to 6 hours as he had a dog flap to access the rear yard. Our primary responsibilities were to walk Tosh twice a day with another short walk before bedtime to do a wee. Of course, playtime and cuddles were also provided!!!

We took advantage of our free time and on Friday afternoon we went to Bedford for lunch and a pleasant walk exploring the town and along the River Ouse that runs through the town.

On Saturday we visited the nearby pretty Georgian town of Woburn where it’s history can be traced back to AD 969. We also took the opportunity to visit a former 17th-century mansion – Houghton House. Built around 1615 and now a ruin now it reputedly was the inspiration for the ‘House Beautiful’ in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.

On Sunday, we took advantage of the sunny weather and went for another lovely walk along the River Ouse near the house.

Jane and Richard arrived home early in the evening and we spent the next 4 hours chatting about their weekend getaway and planned move to France.

We hope to see  Jane, Richard and Tosh again, as house sitters or as visitors to their new home in France.

What the home owners said – “…I would not hesitate to recommend them and indeed when we move to France, if we ever get a holiday, we will see if they are free first....”

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