Stay Number Four:
We had been looking after the family Chihuahua, ‘Tiny’, between formal sits. At 11 years old, she was diagnosed with a heart condition. This means she has a cocktail of meds: 6 a.m. wake-ups for a tablet an hour ahead of food, and then a wait of 12 hours to do it all again. This raised an interesting aspect of life for me at the moment as I have always considered myself a morning person. I think it's due to my preference to be more proactive (get the less exciting stuff done so I can kick back and enjoy the chosen things in life). Whilst on this journey of self-discovery, one thing I’ve been doing less of is waking up so early. So the morning doses were tougher on me, but the looong wait for dinner was hard on Tiny. She also missed her Mommy. This was demonstrated most markedly by saving a ‘bone’ treat we’d given her. She’d hidden it days before, but as soon as Mama returned, she pulled it out and demolished it in quick time.
So, as we arrived at sit #4, I was looking forward to not having the alarm go off so early. I was also grateful that the heavy rain on our drive seemed to have passed. As we walked through the front door, two furry faces greeted us, poking between the bars of the child gate. Both ‘Dame Judy Dentures’ (on account of her frequency of smiling) and ‘Terry’ (Terance Stamp, because walking = marking territory) were pretty relaxed, excited even, to see us. We had admired Welsh Terriers from a distance for a while. The feisty side of terriers has always been a source of great amusement for each of us. These two brought that in bucket loads.
We knew from the two video calls with their pet parent, 'Maggie', that the idea was to breed these two, so we were aware we were taking on our first in-tact pooches. The surprise came when it seemed we may have Judy come into season during our stay.
The rundown on the home and dogs included warnings about Terry being an escapologist, so there were three stair gates to ensure he couldn’t get out. Additionally, Judy would go for Terry on any given day and sometimes needed a time out. With her hormones running deeper, she was likely to be more sensitive.
Judy and Terry both gravitated to Fou straight off the bat. I think as much as anything Judy didn’t want to miss out on anything Terry was getting, so they acted as a combined unit. We all went out for a walk - Fou with Judy, me taking Terry and Maggie showing us a local walk. Terry inevitably wanted to mark EVERYTHING, but also was very happy to run to catch up with the others.
We returned home and dinner together, with both dogs resting by our feet under the dining table. As Maggie retired ahead of her early flight, Judy and Terry were satisfied enough to be left with us. Clearly, we were generic company at this stage as they clambered to give Maggie a lovely send-off up the stairs. They each took up a spot on the sofa, eyeing us with a little scepticism. As the nights went on we had them on our laps, but for night one they were happy to have a little space to get a better gauge of us. Surveillance you might say!
Over the days to come, we learned so much about this breed and the Hythe area.
Welsh Terriers are the upper end of easy-to-lift for cuddles, getting in and out of cars, over stiles, etc. A good harness with a handle is great to help with elevation. This is particularly useful to make sure energy levels don’t escalate when you have a breeding pair preparing for being on heat when in public spaces. They have a great walking range (we covered 5 - 8 miles each day). Like any good terrier, they are independently minded. They are a lot of fun (tug-of-war was particularly fun with two of them)! They are very cuddly. They bond strongly with their family (we stayed an extra day as Maggie had a family situation and Judy in particular seemed glum after Maggie paid a visit on the penultimate day). They’re fearsome guard dogs (well, vocally at least).
With these two having hormones running higher, I have a new-found respect for breeders. For us, the jury is still out on what the right breed looks like. Something a little more biddable is most likely our sweet spot.
Having had the privilege of testing out differing levels of pet parent expectations from their four leggeds, we’re building our idea of what good looks like. For us to be the best pet parents, I think terriers are off the cards. However, by golly, they are SO much fun. Truly, the deepest I have laughed has probably been with them. That said, they come with a whole lot of extra work as you need to have so much more patience to deal with their independent side. For those who choose terriers, the payoff when the canine offers affection is immense. For me, terriers are like holiday food. It’s the stuff you love to indulge in, but a whole diet of that, and I’d be out flat, probably in a diabetic coma.
On the location front, we went to Hythe, Deal, Walmer and St Margaret’s Bay. All were amazing locations in their own right.
Hythe benefits from a stony beachline with extensive cycle path provision. There are many independent shops along the High St, although we weren’t enticed to enter any. A couple of cafes looked like they’d have been a good spot for coffee, lunch or afternoon tea, had we been in the mood. The canal (pictured above) also provides great cycling and walking options. Free parking for Waitrose customers was highly beneficial for us, especially as we have frequent flyer cards for this company.
Deal was more tourist-orientated, with a much stronger emphasis on eateries. There’s also more history - Deal Castle is easily walkable from the beach. Again, the distance you can cover on foot or bike is a wonderful perk for visitors and local residents. A short walk to the beach, you can park at Sainsbury's, and a £10 shop, gets you two hours of parking.
Carrying on along to Walmer, another castle (just behind us below), and free parking at Borrow Pit. This is just a 23-minute walk from Deal Castle (both castle’s managed by English Heritage). If you head away from Deal from here, you can enjoy more walking and cycling paths, a stony beach, and some properties to bring out your green-eyed monster.
I can imagine all of this coastline is a great place to enjoy a picnic in the summer. Especially as the beaches are dog-free during the summer months, so if you don’t have a dog, you can enjoy the open spaces without fear of encountering poop.
We rounded out our Deal/ Walmer day with a drink at The Coastguard Pub, St Margaret’s Bay. This is not a spot I would recommend going for a pint and then driving from - you need your wits about you to drive out as the bay is sunken versus the surroundings. It is certainly a place to enjoy the views and a drink. They had several 0% drinks on offer, which seems to be more prevalent now. We didn’t have any food, but the menu looked okay. They were promoting the outdoor cinema they operate during the summer months, which looked pretty good.
Of all the places we encountered on this dog sit, Walmer stepped in front of the others on the basis that it seemed like a quieter, more residential area.
Still, the search for the place where we ‘feel it’ and know in our core that we’re home, continues. We, for sure, know we’re coastal-focused. The UK being an island gives us a lot of space to explore, and we’ve still only just scratched the surface.