What about the Dog?...

	On many occasions, we have been asked by some of our dog-owning customers if we know of anything similar to RGLCH, but for dogs. It was not something we'd ever needed to find out about for ourselves - not until Sami arrived. Sami is a young female Basenji. Her Sunday name is Samira which is Arabic for "Entertaining Companion, " which she certainly is. A quick internet search will confirm that she can be alert, affectionate, aloof and reserved with strangers. Cat-like traits include an ability to climb, (she likes being off the floor,) and aversion to rain/mud (first priority after a walk is cleaning her paws & legs.) Her breed also is known as the "Barkless dog" but she does make other interesting noises!* (Listen to her "sing" HERE) Oh - and did I mention she is allegedly the second most untrainable dog in the world (a little unfair...ish.) She arrived early 2011 at RGLCH and has kept us on our toes ever since....!
Read the sad story about how we lost her HERE
I have looked around a few kennels in County Durham but didn't enjoy the experience. I also believe that Sami is not a dog that I could ever put in kennels - it would break my heart - and her spirit. So I looked for alternatives. The best idea seemed to be to have her looked after by someone in their own home, and it didn't take long to find a couple of companies based in the North of England which seemed to provide this service. The first to quickly return my call was Holidays 4 Dogs. H4D appeared very professional and asked all the right questions about Sami. I felt that I was talking myself out of ever getting someone to look-after her with some of the answers I had to give. However within an hour or so of this interview, they rang back with details of someone within 10 miles who hadn't been put off by my answers. Sami and I went to visit him a couple of days later, and to cut a long story short, she has already been to stay, had a fantastic time, was well loved and cared-for, and has come back home in exactly the same mental and physical condition as when she left. (OK - maybe a bit fatter!) Lots and lots of small things about the whole thing, confirmed my initial impression that this was a professionally run organisation. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending them: