Introducing Clio...

This time last week was the first full day of being a dog owner. I have never been a dog owner before so it was a little scary. Growing up I had pets, I had a fish, hamster, guinea pig and rabbit but we never had a dog or cat and I didn't know anyone who had a dog or cat. 

When I was younger I had an encounter with a giant black poodle. I remember the poodle being massive but it probably wasn't. The "GIANT" black poodle got excited about my ponytail whilst I was scooting around the park. I know now that all he wanted to do was play but back then he was jumping up and trying to bite my hair which absolutely terrified me. Because of this incident I have been a little scared of dogs. They can be in the room but as soon as they jump up or bark at me I got scared. 

Simon was the first person I met that had both a dog and cat this scared me at first. This is until I met his dog she was called Mabel she didn't do anything, she slept, she got up, moved to a warmer spot then slept, all day! The cat Jess we have a mutual agreement she doesn't come near me as she knows she will not get any attention. After living with Simon for a couple of years sadly Mabel died, Simon's family were really upset and I understood why I just couldn't feel it myself.    

Then last month they decided as a family to get a new dog, so last week we ventured down to Battersea Dogs Home to have a look around. I never thought we would walk in and walk out on the same day with a dog but we did. Her name is Clio.

Clio is a 8 month stray dog taken in by Battersea, they do not know what breed she is, she looks like a mix of loads of different breeds, she is a packet of skittles! The staff at Battersea told us Clio was a shy dog who got scared easily, who needed time to adjust and space to be on her own. This was the perfect dog for our household.

When we brought Clio home she was very excited about everything she ran around and sniffed everything in her path, quite quickly she became used to us and her surroundings.I have quickly found a bond with Clio and now understand why people fall in love with dogs.

As she is still only young she only knows how to sit by command but we are slowly teaching her new tricks and commands. I will let you all know how the journey goes and hopefully my love for her will keep on growing. 

Friends for life

Last night I met with my girlies for a quick drink in the pub and it turned into 2 bottles of wine (which is usually what happens when we get together). I don’t see my friends often due to us all having a “grown up working life” but when I do see them it is like we haven’t been apart.

I am lucky enough to of had the same friends for practically all my life with a few additions along the way. In total I have known my friends for 17 years of my life that is basically all of it, the only down fall for this is they know everything about me and my past, this means embarrassing stories will never stay hidden. 

I love my group of friends as we could not be more different from each other but it just works as we have all grown up together. Most people don’t understand why we are such a close group of people because we are all so different but that is what I love about us.

Sometimes friendships can be hard and you will go through some ups and downs but my motto on friendship is that “when you need them, true friends will be there”. When my friends left for university I wouldn’t see them for up to 6 months at a time, which was hard at first but when they came back for weekends it felt like we hadn’t been apart.

I love my girls more than most things in my life and I am so lucky to have them by my side when I need them. So my message to you all is find your true friends and keep hold of them and do not let them go. If you are finding it hard to find your true friends just be patient they will show themselves when you need them most.