Here's Storm,
the extremely energetic two year old Springer Spaniel of Louise
Harvey and Rupert Charman of Biddisham, near Axbridge in Somerset.
Storm
loves a good swim, more particularly diving in again and again. Here she
is - kitted out in her 'Medium' life jacket - leaping into
the local lake.
Don't rock the boat!
Bart is the eight month old cocker spaniel of
the McCudden family from Selkirk in the Scottish Borders.
Helen
and Kenny, together with son Lee, took Bart on his first holiday to
Inverbeg Holiday Park, Loch Lomond, Argyll, Scotland.
In
the photo Lee provides the canoeing muscle whilst Bart, wisely wearing his
'Medium' size life jacket, acts as a precariously-positioned
lookout (wrong loch for spotting monsters though!).
From Frome
Five year old Saxon
(left) and 12 year old Pippin (right) are
the springer spaniels of Graham and Nicola Walker of Frome in Somerset.
Both are working gun dogs - although
misbehaviour now restricts Pippin to only 'guest' appearances. (Strange
how when ladies reach a certain age so many of them start misbehaving!)
Photographed wearing their 'Medium' size life jackets
for the first time, Graham is sure that - despite being excellent
swimmers in rivers and ponds - the jackets will give a greater degree of safety when off-shore.
As Graham acutely observes:
"who can doggy paddle two miles?"!
Grateful for Gracie
Philippa
Thompson of Rotherham wasn't sure which size would be the best fit for Gracie,
her eight month old (and still growing) Hungarian Vizsla.
Ultimately,
we agreed the best strategy was a 'Medium' size life jacket for
this year and a 'Large' size jacket for Gracie next Christmas!
After a
bad start as a puppy (five different homes in four weeks and neglected
in most of them) Gracie finally arrived with Philippa when 15 weeks old.
As soon as Gracie learnt to trust Philippa they never looked back.
Which isn't say everything is
now all peace and harmony; to Philippa, Gracie is still "my ginger
hooligan" - but most days she makes Philippa laugh so much she
forgets how much trouble Gracie causes!
Gracie needs her life jacket as - due
to a bad experience as a young puppy with a swan - she's a little unsure
of water at the moment. With a Cowes holiday on the horizon (plus the fact
that when she's indulging her favourite pastime of chasing birds Gracie
doesn't notice anything else and could quite easily go over the harbour
wall) it's safety for Gracie and peace of mind for Philippa.
All right, cock(er)!
Rob and Lyn Pealing,
who live near Plymouth in Devon, bought a 'Medium'
size life jacket for their one year old cocker spaniel Dagen
who was born with a spine deformity. Although he runs, jumps and is an
excellent swimmer (just the usual problem of trying to keep a cocker out
of water!) Dagen's back legs are not as strong as most dogs - he has
occasionally fallen backwards into water when trying to get out.
Rob and Lyn were
worried that, whilst following their other two cockers, Dagen might fall
- or more than likely jump - into deep water with steep sides. So
for their own piece of mind they thought a life jacket was essential.
Without a doubt, the biggest benefit of
Dagen's life jacket is the confidence it gives his owners. As Lyn puts it,
"he can play safely in the water with the big boys now",
without his owners fretting!
Dagen has been having hydrotherapy treatment; Rob
and Lyn have now bought their own pool so Dagen's therapy can continue at home.
The pic above shows Dagen in the pool - the jacket keeps his back end up,
which helps his leg muscles.
The pool is a magnet for all three of their cockers.
Rob and Lyn have realised the pooches would be more easily extracted if all had jackets
with lifting handles - so they're also buying jackets for their two other cockers. (Lucky
me!)
Dress sense
In this
pair of photos Rover, the Border terrier of Jill Langley
of Frampton Cotterell, near Bristol, gets kitted out in his 'Medium'
size life jacket ready to go kayaking for the first time.
Nearly-three
year old Rover is very familiar with being dressed for one reason or
another.
Jill's daughter, Beth, goes out 'trick or treating' at
Halloween with Rover dressed as a devil! And that's besides his Batman and
Santa outfits!
Rover loves being in water; the Langleys
live close to the Frome Valley Walkway, near Bristol - which fortunately
has a waterway running through it. Jill estimates that Rover spends more
time in the water than on the footpath!
Made to measure
Chester,
the three year old cocker spaniel of Jane
Slaymaker from Titchfield in Hampshire, shows the absolutely perfect fit
of his 'Medium' size life jacket.
Chester is, in Jane's disarmingly frank opinion, "a real wimp"
when it comes to noises - like a sail being pulled in or scary boat hooks in unexpected (to Chester!)
places - but he's cute enough to get away with it!
Chester is
photographed during the Slaymakers' sailing holiday on the south coast
of England between Chichester and Plymouth. The lifejacket meant he could be brave walking around the foredeck
unaccompanied (even when the seas were a bit lumpy) and it proved much easier with
the lifting handle to get him in and out of the boats.
It's to everyone's disappointment (not least mine!) that on the one occasion when
the jacket was used no-one had remembered the camera!
Where's Jim?*
Rosie,
the 5 month old English Springer of Helen Chapman of Selkirk, sits in
her 'Medium' size life jacket and wonders what on earth is going
on as the narrowboat on which the Chapman family was holidaying leaves
Bunbury, near Beeston in Cheshire.
This
was Rosie's first narrowboat experience so she was understandably
nervous. Luckily, at hand to hold her paw (so to speak) was nine year
old Welsh Springer Amber - an old hand at narrowboat holidaying -
together with Helen and husband Rob.
Very
clever heading for those readers who are familiar with the 'Rosie &
Jim' series of books which are set on a narrowboat. Wasted on those who
aren't!
Molly (M)alone
In Dublin's fair city
Where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheeled her wheelbarrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying "Cockles, and mussels, alive alive-o"
Apparently Molly,
the six year old springer spaniel of John Kelly of Dublin, can't speak
human (far less sing it) but if she could John assures me her opinion of
her 'Medium' size life
jacket would be as noted on the side of the boat in the photo!
The photos of Molly (alone)
were taken at Dun Laoghaire Marina in Dublin.
Ousing with confidence!
Rosemary and Nigel Marshall
of Grange over sands, Cumbria, sent us these photos of Jenny,
their eleven year old labrador/border
collie cross wearing her 'Medium' size life
jacket on the river Ouse in Yorkshire.
Although Jenny is used to
narrowboat life the Marshall family had not been on a tidal river before
and Jenny was wearing a life jacket for the first time. Rosemary reports
that the jacket was simple to fit and - as the photos show - Jenny was
very relaxed about the whole thing, finding lying down in it perfectly
comfortable.
Water baby!
Sarah and Gordon McConnell of Turriff,
Aberdeenshire took their seven month old beagle Humphrey,
wearing for the first time his 'Medium' size life jacket, for his
very first swimming lesson on Inchmurrin island on Loch Lomond in
Scotland.
(So that's two of our jackets
photographed on Loch Lomond - won't be able to move for them up there
soon!). (I wish!)
There are some fine legs on show in the image
above (and not all of them canine, eh Gordon!) as Humphrey, under
strict supervision, starts to find out what this swimming business is all
about.
Sarah reports that Humphrey is very pleased
with both the jacket and all the attention it brings him. (lonely
hearts plug follows) Sarah also reports that if there are any lady
beagles out there who like what they see, then Humphrey would love to hear
from them!
No prohibition on
looking good!
Tallulah,
shown here wearing her 'Medium' size life jacket bought on the buy1or2.com
stand at the Beale Park Boat Show, is the seven-year old soft-haired
wheaten terrier of Alex Reid of South Stoke, Oxfordshire.
Trivia
Corner:
The name
'Tallulah' was popularised in the film 'Bugsy Malone' - a
pastiche on the the Prohibition period in gangster-ridden
Chicago, USA. For the film's younger target audience, the
production of alcohol was replaced by the production of custard!
The role of Tallulah was performed by (a very young) Jodie
Foster.
Jack's alright now!
Jack was just 6 weeks old
when Rhona Harrington of Upper Brynamman, Carmarthenshire, came across him in a ferret box! It transpired that he
was in the box to protect him from the rats that infested the shed where
he was kept! It was Christmas; it was freezing; it was Jack's lucky day!
As Rhona notes, some people should never have animals, should they?
Jack is now 7 years old; how he has
reached that age is, by Rhona's account, a miracle. The miracle being
that she hasn't murdered him. Rhona has previously always had nice,
friendly, obedient, dogs. Not Jack. He's a typical terrier who, when on
the lead, wants to fight everything.
He
hates anyone who brings anything to the door - especially the postman.
Rhona ruefully reflects that Jack only cost £30 but the metal box
to keep him away from the mail cost three times as much!
But Jack is a character. He loves a cwtch
and has been a tremendous comfort to Rhona in helping her deal with some
of life's recent hard blows. The
rolling countryside around Brynamman offers some lovely walks - Jack
loves it.
In these photos Jack poses in his 'Medium' size life
jacket. Jack's size is right on the borderline
between two sizes of jackets - the 'Small' and the 'Medium'.
Sensibly, Rhona chose the larger size -
which looks a very good fit to us! Well done Rhona!
At the moment, the jacket is just a
precaution; Jack's not a water lover (no fear of him swimming out to sea
from the beach - in fact he won't even go in for a paddle) but there are
a few swans and ducks that hover around Rhona's boat; she fears that
Jack is daft enough to leap in after them!
Over the sea to Skye
Photographed in
her 'Medium' size life jacket is Skye, the two year old
Staffordshire bull terrier of Kevin and Lisa Wells, enjoying her weekly therapy in the pool at Mooreviews
K9 Hydrotherapy in Dereham, Norfolk.
Tina and
Paul Edwards, who run the hydrotherapy centre, have a full set of our Up
Buoy life jackets - make an appointment and you can be sure your
pooch will be in good hands - and in a good jacket! As Tina reported: "They
knock spots off the ones we've had before!".
Live from Newquay - The Beach Boys!
Wes, the
five year old Collie/Rottie cross of Esther and Paul Hanks of Porth, near Newquay
in Cornwall, is photographed on Newquay beach in his 'Medium' size life jacket.
Wes loves
body boarding and surfing but was getting a little tired when the intrepid
trio stayed out too long in the water.
I've checked
on a map and it appears to me that Newquay is lapped by the Atlantic Ocean
- hence its reputation as the surfing capital of the UK, and no wonder the
cold, turbulent conditions were sapping Wes's strength!
He's
picking up good vibrations (groan!) from his life jacket now!
Not too cross to
canoe!
Lauren is the two year old
collie/lab cross of Paula and Stuart MacLaren, and children Heather and
Matthew, of Bawtry, near Doncaster.
Canoeing is a favourite hobby of Stuart and
Matthew and so Lauren often takes the opportunity to go along for the
ride. She's photographed wisely wearing her 'Medium' size life jacket.
Kane is able!
Kevin and Kane,
a Staffordshire bull terrier, of Nuneaton, Warwickshire were enjoying a
day out (if you can be enjoying a day out in that much rain!) at the
Crick Festival 2008 when they happened across the buy1or2.com
stand.
In next to no time Kane was
able to be snug and warm in his brand-new 'Medium' size life
jacket.
Girls just wanna
have fun!
Katie (known
as 'Doodle' to her friends!) is the water-loving border collie of
Nick Hardie of Omagh. Northern Ireland. As Katie was taken in as a stray
her exact age isn't known, but she's assumed to be around 16 months old.
Although Katie is a small
collie, Nick reports that her 'Medium' size life jacket fits
perfectly - but still has plenty of room for a bigger dog too.
You learn something new
every day: Nick tells me that in the republic of Ireland it is the law
that all occupants of small craft must wear a lifejacket or flotation
device. Now there's no need for Katie to be left out!
Sometimes Nick and his
family take their boat out on the sea off the beautiful Donegal
coast.
However, these pictures
were taken on Loch Erne - just half an hour from home! Bliss!
Toy... Small...
Medium...
Sal of Looe in
Cornwall had the classic dilemma of a puppy owner who cares! Sal bought
a 'Toy' size jacket for Django,
her Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla pup; within two
weeks Django had outgrown it!
Sal discussed her problem
with us - with the circumstances in mind we supplied a 'Medium'
size life jacket; everyone was happy! Django - aged just 14 weeks - is
photographed in it on the Fowey Estuary, Cornwall.
Sea Swansea? See
Shetlands!
Shadow (black)
and Whisper (grey) - the two pedigree Shetland
sheepdogs of Mark Oliver - wandered past at the Sea Swansea Festival, pausing just long
enough to be kitted out in our 'Medium' size jackets - and giving
me just enough time to photograph them!
Now try the heading above as a
tongue-twister!
The bulldog spirit
When Alison Hunt bought a 'Medium'
size life jacket for Sophie, her 9 month old English
bulldog, her address was Fareham, Hampshire.
Since then the Hunt family
has moved to Skegness, Lincolnshire, where they live just five minutes
from the beach!
All three of their dogs (that's Bella the
boxer and Bandit the springer spaniel in the background) love the sea.
(So does Luke, Alison's son who's just about to fall out of the photo.)
As bulldogs can't really swim at all, a
life jacket was an essential for Sophie. With her jacket on, everyone
can relax when all three go bounding off into the surf almost every
evening!
A take on Jake
This is Jake, an approximately 18 month
old Staffy/Labrador cross. Here he is on holiday on the Norfolk Broads
doing a spot of sailing whilst sporting his 'Medium' size life jacket
which came in handy when he lost his ball in the water and was
determined to retrieve it!
Jake spent most of the holiday looking for
other pirates and seeing off the ducks.
Jake has lived in Bicester,
Oxfordshire with his family since February 2008 and is well behaved
(when he wants to be), very energetic and playful.
Thanks for a brilliant jacket that Jake didn't
mind wearing!
And my thanks to Adam Giles for the narrative!
Best Buddy's
Buddy, a whippet/lurcher
cross, turned up at the buy1or2.com stand at the Inland
Waterways Association's 2008 National Festival and Boat Show in
Wolverhampton and was fitted with a 'Medium' size life jacket.
Bath time!
Martyn, Rachael and baby Leo Raynor from
Bath were enjoying a day out at the Inland Waterways Association's 2008
National Festival and Boat Show in Wolverhampton when they discovered
the buy1or2.com stand. Minutes later Hollie,
their eight-and-a-half year old collie/whippet cross was photographed
wearing her new 'Medium' size life jacket.
Olympian ideals!
Marco and Anna Parma of Aosta Valley in
Italy (top left, between Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn, you can't miss
it) bought a 'Medium' size life jacket for their very large beagle, Gordon. Marco can now easily lift 22 kilos (when
dry!) Gordon from the Mediterranean Sea.
Marco reports that although beagles are
notoriously hopeless in water, when wearing his jacket three year old Gordon
turns into the canine equivalent of Michael Phelps (and, unlike Gordon,
on his way to a sackful of gold medals young Mr. Phelps didn't have to
contend with the choppy waters of the Med!).
No, don't! I'm shy!
Kimberley and Edwin Rasche of Letchworth
Garden City in Hertfordshire bought a 'Medium' size life jacket
for apparently-camera-shy Rusty, her 14 year old Shetland
sheepdog cross, before venturing 'up north' to the Lake District for a
spot of canoeing as part of their honeymoon!
Rusty
has arthritis and swims weekly to stay fit and mobile. He finds being picked up an
uncomfortable experience; however, he's happy to be picked up by the
life jacket handle as it supports him underneath.
This makes lifting him
in and out of the boat so much easier - and is even a benefit on dry
land; just climbing a bank is easier when you've got a handle on your
back!
Looking at the photo above,
taken on Windermere, judging by the
distance away from the canoe that Rusty has swum it's clear that Kim and
Ed
(and Rusty!) trust his life
jacket!
The
keen-eyed among you will already be penning letters of complaint:
"Dear
Sirs, I wish to bring to your attention that the photograph of 'Rusty'
sitting atop a yellow cabin could not have been taken in the Lake
District; the species of reed shown in the background is only present on
the Norfolk Broads."
It's
true about the photo, which was taken on an earlier holiday. But not
about the reeds!
Borderline
sizes
Here are Vanessa Hubbert's two Border
Terriers. One of them is wearing a 'Medium' size life jacket.
The other is wearing a 'Small' size
life jacket.
Now then Vanessa, give us a clue what's
what and who's who!
Going up in the
world
Photographed at the 2009 Thame Country
Fair was this springer spaniel in his new 'Medium' size life
jacket.
Yes, the lifting handle works for big
dogs too!
Fields of chocolate
This field spaniel - resplendent in his
new 'Medium' size life jacket - and mum were also photographed at
the 2009 Thame Country Fair.
Mystery pooch
At the Inland Waterways Association's
2008 National Festival and Boat Show in Wolverhampton this attractive
little pooch appeared and was fitted with a 'Medium' size life
jacket.
On a very busy afternoon in the fitting
room a little Jack Russell can just be seen being fitted with a
electra-glo yellow 4u life jacket.
At work in the lab
Photographed at
the 2009 Monmouth Country Fair was this working labrador in his
new 'Medium' size life jacket.
The
'working' versions of each breed are generally a little smaller than the
'non-working' versions; labradors are usually better-suited to our
'Large' size life jacket.
Coated chocolate
Photographed at
the 2009 Monmouth Country Fair was this labrador/staffie cross, looking
good in his
new 'Medium' size life jacket.
Mist again
Photographed in her
new 'Medium' size life jacket at
the 2009 Southern Motorhome Show in Newbury was Misty, a
whippet.
Cavalier
attitude
Buster, a four year old
Cavalier King Charles spaniel was photographed on the paws-things.com
stand at
the 2009 Crick Boat Show in his
new 'Medium' size life jacket.
Sedge-sledger
Tim, Sam and Abby Sedge of
Harefield called in to the paws-things.com
stand at the 2009 Crick Boat Show to kit out their two dogs. Zak,
a husky cross, is
photographed in his 'Medium' size dog life jacket.
Tim reports that the family was
desperate to try out the jackets so on the way home (on a broiling day!)
they stopped off at the aquadrome in Rickmansworth for a walk to find a
suitable place to try the new jackets. "WOW, the dogs loved it
and just floated around in the water without any cares at all."
The following weekend the family
decided to try the life jackets again so they popped off to Harefield
lakes and spent nearly two hours playing around in the water. "Zak
has long hair and just loves bobbing around in the water cooling down
and chasing sticks."
"We are so pleased with the
life jackets and just wanted to say thank you from all of us for all
your help and we wish you the best of luck for the future with the sale
of these life jackets."
Nice to be appreciated!
Pyramid selling
Millie, a Pharaoh hound /
German short-haired pointer cross, was photographed on the paws-things.com
stand at
the 2009 Crick Boat Show in her 'Medium' size life jacket.
Whopping westie
The biggest westie we've ever seen
arrived on the paws-things.com
stand at
the 2009 Crick Boat Show and was fitted out in a 'Medium' size life jacket.
Basil faulty?
Not!
Glimpsed over Basil - her 10 year old collie
cross in his 'Medium' size life jacket - and captured in a rare
moment of relaxation is the ship's skivvy Denise McCarron of
Milton Keynes, photographed at the leisure end of a holiday cruiser on
the Norfolk Broads. The inset photo shows her partner Ross at the business
end, complete with captain's hat set at a becomingly jaunty angle.
Saluki
solution
The usual
sizing problem of lurchers and greyhounds and other all-chest-and-legs
breeds faced Steve and Jackie Hall of Market Rasen, active members of
Lincoln Boat Club.
After a short email exchange Basil
(left, a saluki/alsatian cross) and his mum Polly (right,
a saluki) were both kitted out in 'Medium' size life jackets.
The photo to the left above is ...er...somewhere
on the River Witham between Lincoln and Boston (don't give up the
navigation nightclass, Steve).
The photo to the right above is at
Torksey Lock marina on the Fossedyke Navigation, 11 miles north of
Lincoln.
Wave hello!
Donna and Darren of Slough
wanted to be confident that Poppy,
their one-year old lab/staffie cross, would be safe in water. The thing bothering them was that although Poppy
generally copes well in the water,
when messing about she has a habit of stopping every now and
then to shake the water out of her ears.
This is OK when she's standing on the bottom,
but not so good on occasions that she's out of her depth when she stops
paddling!
So confident were Donna and Darren that
Poppy was safe in her new 'Medium' size life jacket that - as shown
in the photo above - she was allowed to go a long way out in the sea to
retrieve her ball. Thanks for trusting us!
Ruby's a gem
Louise Moore of Guildford bought a 'Medium'
size life jacket for Ruby,
her eighteen-month old cocker spaniel rescue dog.
Ruby is still very timid and nervous of
the water. However, on the one occasion that she's summoned up the
courage to jump in the tide was out (imagine the mess!).
G'day Bruno!
Robin Stammers of Ottery St Mary in Devon
used our website to buy a 'Medium'
size life jacket for Bruno,
his six old Kelpie (Australian
sheepdog).
A while later, when
Robin called by the paw-things.com stand at the 2009 Inland
Waterways Festival near Nottingham he was kind enough to allow us to
photograph Bruno in his jacket.
Je t'adore, Cockador!
From roving-reporter Helen Townsend of
Reading: "Well, here's 6
months old Hardy Townsend on his first boat trip on the
Norfolk Broads over the 2009 August Bank holiday weekend. Not smiling in
this shot but he was a very happy chappy!
"He's
a Labrador/Cocker spaniel (cockador) cross (although we’re yet to see
any Spaniel!). He loves the water but we were worried about being able
to get him back on board in case he jumped (or fell). He didn't jump
(stumbled slightly!), but the buoyancy aid has helped us get him back
out of the water more easily by using the handle (very handy!).
"He's
wearing a 'Medium' sized jacket which fits very well and has room
for him to grow (which we're sure he will). He saw lots of other dogs
wearing jackets so wasn’t embarrassed and we think the orange is
definitely his colour - made him much easier to find at night too.
Making a splash
Margaret and Michael Brock of Turvey, near
Bedford, bought a 'Medium'
size life jacket for Harvey,
their labradoodle. Harvey
loves splashing about in water, but was proving a very reluctant swimmer.
He's now regularly practicing in a hydrotherapy pool and seems to believe
that he can't swim without his life jacket.
Well,
it's a start!
Frozen pose
What's a boy to do? First day out in his new 'Medium' life jacket and wouldn't you know it - the canal's frozen over!
Here's Rex, the much-loved whippet of Julie and David Turner of Ripon, snuggled up indoors in the warm. Julie reports that Rex currently has a poorly foot, so great fun was had carrying him around by the 'grab handle'.
Well-dressed Staff
At the 2010 British Leisure Show held at Windsor Racecourse Alfie, a rescue Staffordshire bull terrier, was fitted out in a 'Medium' size jacket.
Which-am I?
John Sandford of Millom in Cumbria sent in this photo of Jessie on board narrowboat Whicham on the Lancaster Canal. Jessie, photographed wearing her 'Medium' sized jacket, is an English Springer spaniel aged 12-and-a-half - getting on a bit in dog years and perhaps becoming a little unstable. John finds the life jacket useful for emergency rescues - he can now lift Jessie out very easily.
Tia, Marie, ah!
Marie Leedham of Chesterfield sent in these photos from a family holiday in the Pembrokeshire / Carmarthenshire area of south Wales of Tia, a 4 year old cocker spaniel, in her 'Medium' sized jacket. The jacket fits Tia perfectly and she wasn't at all bothered by wearing it.
Tia will swim a little in lakes and rivers but is not so keen on swimming in the sea so the life jacket was purchased to see if it would make her more confident. She went in cautiously a few times but Marie think it's going to be 'a work in progress'.
It's a family affair
Cruising in a 'catacanoe' across a lake in the Cotswold Water Park is the majority of the Prosser family from Cheltenham - dad Jeremy, mum Janice, 18-year old Jessy and 15-year old Holly. Missing from the photo is eight-year old Maisy who had abandoned ship five minutes earlier when the attraction of an ice-cream with Grandma on the shore proved irresistible. Proudly standing at the helm is Tilly, the Prossers' three-year old Wheaten terrier (well at least, that's what Jeremy paid for...) in her 'Medium' size life jacket.
Shortly after this photo was taken Tilly made a break for the shore before quickly deciding that decision might have been a tad too ambitious, swiftly doing an about-turn towards the vessel - where the grab handle made it so much easier to get the heavy, wet, mutt back on board!
Jack in a jacket
Rosemary and Nigel Wright of Cheadle, near Stoke-on-Trent, sent in these photos of Jack, their four-and-a-half-year old collie, in his 'Medium' size life jacket near Smethwick Top Lock, Birmingham (not that you'd know it from the severe photo-crop!).
The Wrights found the life jacket "doubly useful as not only did we feel safer around the lock areas and we were able to get him out of the canal easier but also just pick him up when he had a confrontation with another dog. We acclimatised him Friday and Saturday morning so that he would not have too much to think about on holiday and he looked upon the jacket as a welcome accessory such as a lead. The weather has been quite warm and he did not seem overheated while he was wearing it or restricted in any way. Jack in his jacket attracted lots of attention and he was photographed quite a lot by passers-by and other tourists while we were in Birmingham."
Bud's wiser
Buddy is the four year old cocker spaniel of June Calder of Leeds, shown here in his new 'Medium' sized life jacket. Buddy is not that keen on water so on boating trips there's peace of mind for everyone knowing he has his jacket on!
As a caption for the photo above June suggests:
Well, if I'm going to get wet... so is my teddy!!!!
Trad Thames' Tibetan Terrier
A visitor to our stand at the 2010 Thames Traditional Boat Rally was this Tibetan Terrier, who left in a very smart 'Medium' size life jacket.
And gave me the opportunity of a little alliteration.
Murphy's Law
"Jump first; think later."
Together with her interpretation of Murphy's law, Dorothy Paton of Glasgow sent in these photos of Murphy, her springer spaniel (with friend Harray in the inset pic), in his 'Medium' size life jacket.
No menace for Dennis
Antony from Walton-on-Thames sent us these pics of Dennis in his 'Medium' size life jacket, together with this narrative:
"Dennis, the 5 month old Labradoodle from Surrey, had a great time on the Norfolk Broads. He wasn't keen on developing his sea legs until he was presented with his life jacket.
"So with Katie (9) and Harry (7), also clad in jackets, he took to dashing round the outside of the boat with real enthusiasm.
"He enjoyed sitting up on the prow, lapping up the admiring glances and envious comments of everyone going past. From our point of view, knowing that in the event of "man/dog overboard" everyone was suitably attired, made us very relaxed and we could get on with enjoying our holiday."
Bobbing along
"As promised here's a picture of our staffie Bob, resplendent in his life jacket. I have to say it's a marvellous piece of kit. We had to leave it on him while we were chugging along in our narrowboat and he wasn't bothered by it one bit... in fact I think he quite liked it. It's so good we'll also be using it as a wet weather/winter coat."
Generous words from Tom Arnott from Hanwell in London.
Barking out orders
Paul Steele from Woking in Surrey has this to say: "This is 16 month old Skye on holiday with us in her 'Medium' size life jacket. She is a fairly small blue merle border collie and enjoyed being the captain of the boat on the Kennet and Avon canal.
"For her first time on a canal boat we felt it was important for her to have a suitable life jacket, even though she can swim. Her life jacket fitted perfectly, with a tad of growing room available, and was very easy to put on and take off. She concentrated so well with it on she was even able to resist chasing the ducks. She had to look away occasionally, as you can see. However, she could still bark out the orders when needed, as you can also see."
Apple of her eye
Claire Levett of Collumpton in Devon sent us this photo of Bramley, her eight-month old Sprocker spaniel in his 'Medium' size Classic life jacket on a north Devon beach. (Also sqeezing into the pic is Hamish, Claire's six-year old westie in his 'Small' 4u life jacket.)
Claire reports that: "The jackets have really helped them both with staying warmer in the water and giving them more confidence".
Abra-cadabra!
As if by magic, Claire Bryant of Alltwen, near Swansea, ordered a 'Medium' size Classic life jacket for Abra, and within days the family was off enjoying a care-free canal holiday.
Never seen one worn over a fleece coat before!
Little lab
Here's a labrador puppy, photographed at the 2011 Inland Waterways festival at Burton-on-Trent in a 'Medium' size Classic life jacket.
For your Peru-sal
Teresa Buck of Nuneaton, Warwickshire kindly sent in this photo of 20 months old Inca, pictured on Huttoft Beach, near Sutton on Sea in Lincolnshire, wearing her 'Medium' size Classic life jacket.
Despite the life jacket, Teresa reports: "She still wasn't keen on the sea, she said the white waves were too big and scary, though she did like to paddle in it and chase the waves (untill the waves came in and chased her). A few days later she was on a Welsh beach with a confirmed water dog and wouldn't swim with him either. Despite her lack of swimming skills she truly loves the beach and rolling in the sand; I considered changing her name to Sandy".
Rusty
has arthritis and swims weekly to stay fit and mobile. He finds being picked up an
uncomfortable experience; however, he's happy to be picked up by the
life jacket handle as it supports him underneath.
Frozen pose
Well-dressed Staff
