Delighted to help Charlie

Gail and I received a plea for help from a friend down in England a couple of weeks ago. 

This friend has a 16 year old dog, Charlie, whom sadly I've never met. It turns out that Charlie, like me, is suffering from 'bladder issues' and, having seen a picture of my very smart 'male dog belly band', the friend wanted further details. 

Well we are happy to report that Charlie is now the proud owner of a Black Watch tartan belly band (all Gail's pals have excellent taste of course). This new accessory gave his humans confidence to take him away for a mini-break in a Peak District hotel, where a fine time was had by all. 

And Charlie and I had a nice little chat afterwards, via WhatsApp. 

They say us older chaps tend to be reluctant to discuss our health issues and our emotions. You know, it felt good to share my 'little secret' with Charlie.

A case for doing things the old way...

Do you like my new friend Charlie the Westie?

I met him on Union Street in Aberdeen the other day. Gail had left me tied up to a drainpipe outside the bank, while she popped in to deposit a couple of cheques.

Charlie is 16 years old, and deaf and blind, but he is clearly a trooper and was enjoying his outing, tucked up in the comfort and safety of his buggy.

Charlie's owner offered me a treat and made a big fuss of me while I waited patiently for Gail, who was taking longer than usual.

Apparently the bank's cheque swallowing machine was suffering from indigestion, and the bank assistant had been trying to persuade Gail to install an app on her smart phone, which would mean she could pay in cheques by photographing them at home, and thus save herself the one mile walk into town.

Well I must say I am totally opposed in principle to any 'walk-saving' measures. Just think, if Gail had used the banking app, I would not have met Charlie, I would not have been given a yummy treat, and finally I would not have met Teddy and his owner, who came by a few moments later.

It's a good job that Union Street (Aberdeen's main shopping street) is not so busy these days, as we were forming quite a crowd.