Foreword What a response ! Thank you to all …
Thank you so much to all you very special people who have taken the time and effort to write for this first issue Dinky Dog Mag . I have been amazed and taken aback by the enthusiasm and effort shown and can only hope the magazine reflects that valued input . So here ’ s a huge thank you and looking foward to working with you more in 2021 .
And … huge gratitude to my wife , Anne and son Aidan , for their endless patience , help and enthusiasm for the magazine .
And … last but the real stars of the show and the inspiration : Frosty , the late Bobo , and all their little doggy friends :)
My wife Anne , has an idea in the winter of 2009 about buying a small dog . As a couple , with the exception of my sons ’ gerbils , we hadn ’ t owned any pets since Pud and Fluffy , our two adorable cats , had passed away in 2000 and 2004 respectively . Being perfectly honest , I was skeptical about my comfortable domestic existence being upended by what I regarded then as some type of rugrat , having been brought up in a household that owned large German Shepherds . However , Anne was enthusiastic and had spotted what she regarded as her perfect dog named Mr Frosty , a pearl white Havanese and in December 2009 , the first step was taken .
Frosty was what I had thought a small dog should be . he wasn ’ t vastly keen on walks , instead prefering the basket . Over the next 12 months , we sometimes felt a little sorry for Frosty and thought that maybe he would like a companion to keep him company and because we loved Frosty so much and adored the Havanese breed , who better to go back to than the breeder . She informed us that she had Frosty ’ s brother .
So a year later in Dec 2010 , we once again drove to the wilds of Lincolnshire , accompanied by a somewhat bewildered Frosty , presumably asking , why am I back here ? The breeder emerged with a slightly browner replica of Frosty through the door and announced , “ Here ’ s Rupert .” Well , the reaction between the two dogs had to be seen to be believed as through instant recognition and whirls of tail wags , they were at last reunited . What I hadn ’ t realised at the time is that I ’ d met my little soulmate and Frosty was delighted to rediscover his brother . My son Aidan renamed him Bobo and again it would be my job to walk him . However , where Frosty was reluctant to walk , Bobo was very enthusiastic . In fact Frosty and Bobo were chalk and cheese on almost every level in a way that only added to their charm .
Therefore we started to walk far and wide , all over Cambridgeshire and Suffolk , never doing the same walk in a week and setting up our East Anglia Dog Walks page on Facebook containing hundreds of our walks
It was the perfect scenario , the dogs were extremely content , I was really interested in discovering new places , so many beautiful walks in the countryside , along unknown public footpaths and coming up against unexpected sites . We went to country parks , castles , mansions , forests and even airports where Bobo and Frost would happily munch on grass while a screaming F15 jet took off just 100 metres away !.
It was a truly unforgettable eight years of discovery , enjoyment , contentment and most of all , a chance to clear the mind of all the junk and worry that the day had placed upon it . The walk got me through family problems , business turmoil in the aftermath of the financial crash , friendship issues and a 101 other items .
It also gave me the time and space to analyse matters and think of new solutions to problems , and all whilst lapping up some of the finest scenery and wildlife on offer – it was truly magical .
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Issue 1 : Winter December 2020 2020 / 21
Bobo loved walking , Frosty didn ’ t . Bobo loved chasing a ball , Frosty didn ’ t . Frosty was picky with food , Bobo woofed it down . Bobo was chunky , Frosty was slim and so on .
What I didn ’ t expect , was the extra dimension of added quality of life a dog walk would bring . Frosty ’ s walk usually consisted off a lunchtime stroll around the town . However , Bobo had much more energy and so the walks became more extended and Mr Frosty not wanting to miss out on anything and forever needing to leave his marker over Bobos , he was more enthusiastic too .
All good times come to end though and at one minute past midnight on Jan 4th , 2019 , Bobo died in my arms having succumbed to liver disease , aged just nine . Pet bereavement is something we will cover in future issues of Dinky Dog but for now my very own fitting personal tribute to a remarkable little dog named Bobo , is this magazine , and why his ‘ forever ray of sunshine ’ laughing face is on the cover .
I ’ m more than glad to say that Mr Frosty , despite all the health issues thrown at him , still begrudges the daily walk