I could become a bit of a dog bore ... but I promised to keep the folks from whom we adopted Billy up to date with his progress, so I'll take that as the half of an excuse that I need - you can always skip over this article ;-)

Gypsy and Billy in one of the fields behind our home. Lisa and I went along to see the developer's plans a week ago on Thursday, and this is one of the fields that they have in mind to build houses on. We understand a lot better what they're proposing now; a pity to loose this particular field, but in many ways the plans do make sense for Melksham as a whole. It would be very easy to be a NIMBY over this (and it would be very easy to get off the dog topic too!)


At home on the Sofa. Billy remains very much more with us when we're out than Gypsy does - both of them make great use of the space in the field, but Billy's always running back to check with us, where Gypsy runs along the field edges taking a great interest. And at home, we're far more likely to be buried under a pile of Billy than under a pile of Gypsy!


Billy's history has been that he's not been used to playing with other dogs, so this rather fuzzy picture of the two of them playing tug-of-war with a "roadkill" toy should warm the hearts of the folks of the Dogs Action Welfare Group. With such active dogs, it's so hard to capture the particular picture that's technically correct and shows what you want.


The two dogs are getting ever closer - our "pack" if you like, yet they're both so gentle so not really a pack. We do need to be careful when we're our with them off-lead as they'll run up to people they don't know and it's rather daunting to have a couple of very fast dogs bounding up to you. We know they're just saying "hello", but others may not.

If you're looking to adopt a dog, I would recommend you consider a "sighthound" - that's a greyhound / whippet / lurcher type. They're not really a type of dog I would have even thought of in the past but - wow - they're do right for the right person or family. You need some space. You need to enjoy walks - but if you have grassy parks or fields where they can be let off the lead, those need not be long walks for you. You need to have someone around most of the time. And you need a heart.

I visited the Bristol Dogs Action Welfare Group web site before I posted today, and - gosh - yet more dogs looking for loving homes. Billy was a "special appeal" dog and I see that Harry has now moved into his shoes. Have a look - Special Appeal - Harry. I hope that turns into a broken link soon - because that will mean that another lovely dog has found a loving, permanent home.
(written 2012-02-25, updated 2012-03-03)

 Z203 - Cat and Dog
  [62] Technical Open House - (2004-09-25)
  [96] Variable Scope - (2004-10-22)
  [547] Taking the dog for a walk - (2005-12-29)
  [744] We can offer a room, but we can't operate on a dog - (2006-06-05)
  [771] From cat breeder to Cobol to Perl - (2006-06-21)
  [2029] Also for the eyes of the cat - (2009-02-07)
  [2132] Learning about Lurchers - (2009-04-18)
  [2138] Ski bore ... train bore ... dog bore - (2009-04-24)
  [2140] Beware - giving copyright away when you upload a picture - Dogs Trust - (2009-04-25)
  [2167] Watching the tele - (2009-05-10)
  [2252] Leaping dog, Leaping horse, copyright of old masters - (2009-06-20)
  [2271] Dogs Trust, Dog Show, Newbury - (2009-07-06)
  [2295] The dog is not in trouble - (2009-07-17)
  [2450] Family Gathering at 404, The Spa - (2009-10-11)
  [2451] Gypsy says - (2009-10-12)
  [2456] Bright Eyes - (2009-10-16)
  [2496] A better design of mouth - (2009-11-07)
  [2499] ourdog is Greyhound, Staffie and Ginger Cake - (2009-11-09)
  [2555] Bookkeeping - (2009-12-29)
  [2689] Can my dog eat potatoes? Doggie Dietary Research, and political sleaze! - (2010-03-23)
  [2787] Sleeping in on Sunday - (2010-05-30)
  [2897] The Land of the Black Labrador - (2010-08-01)
  [3096] Contrast in pictures - (2010-12-20)
  [3324] Rabbit Shelter - (2011-06-12)
  [3338] Return trip - Dogs Trust, Newbury - (2011-06-27)
  [3530] A typical weekend?? - (2011-11-28)
  [3533] No message - just doggy pictures of the new doggy - (2011-11-30)
  [3537] Letting the foster parents know ... too little or too much? - (2011-12-04)
  [3541] I loves Melksham - (2011-12-06)
  [3553] Changes to morning routines - (2011-12-16)
  [3561] Happy Christmas ... a Christmas morning walk in Melksham - (2011-12-25)
  [3606] Gypsy and Billy enjoy the snow - (2012-02-10)
  [3674] Off to walk the dogs - (2012-03-30)
  [3675] Spring 2012 - (2012-03-30)
  [3737] Postcards from Barmouth - (2012-05-20)
  [3906] Taking the lead, not the dog, for a walk. - (2012-10-28)
  [3908] Black dogs at Halloween - (2012-10-31)
  [3920] Challenge for a photographer - (2012-11-10)
  [3936] Lisa is home today ... - (2012-11-26)
  [3943] With us for a year already! - (2012-12-03)
  [4016] Red, yellow, green or pink dog? Yellow Dog Project - (2013-02-23)
  [4130] Soft furnishings up a Welsh Mountain - (2013-07-03)
  [4180] Exceptionally, I sign a petition - on a life and death issue for Irish dogs - (2013-09-20)
  [4189] Who are we - Lisa, Graham, Gypsy and Billy - (2013-10-07)
  [4316] Too many Staffies, too many lurchers - (2014-11-16)
  [4333] Misty Melksham Morning - (2014-11-30)
  [4417] Crisp morning, fast run - (2015-02-06)
  [4433] Different views of a Welsh Valley - but headed home - (2015-02-20)
  [4507] In favour of adoption rather than puppy purchase - dogs! - (2015-06-07)
  [4517] Black dog day - and Bobby still seeks his new home - (2015-09-26)
  [4526] Day trip to Lancaster - (2015-10-10)
  [4666] Spring at Well House Manor - (2016-03-27)

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Sharing lots of values in Tcl without having lots of global declarations
Historic Drawings from near Melksham
Meeting Report - Tuesday 21st Feb - to Melksham Chamber of Commerce from Shadow Community Operations Board
There is so much to see travelling by train
An update on Billy the Greyhound and Gypsy the Lurcher
Why do we need a Model, View, Controller architecture?
Some TestWise examples - helping use Ruby code to check your web site operation
Loading Ruby classes - where does Ruby look?
Matching regular expressions, and substitutions, in Ruby
Finding the total, average, minimum and maximum in a program