The Labraventures of Carbón, Spanish (ex-) foster dog extraordinaire

[Charlie]

Aww that was lovely, the videos are so funny but Pongo bestill my beating heart It's not until you see Pongo next to the gorgeous Carbon that his true giantness is clear @Rosie He's a beaut! Glad you had such a great time @Emily_Babbelhund and more to come, how exciting. xx

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

PS. Mr Beasley is not dead, he's just on the waiting list for treatment and will rise again.

Very glad to hear it...though it was funny, I DID feel badly about Mr. Beasley meeting his end. I'm happy to hear he has nine lives. Or at least two!

He says it was worth it for the adrenalin rush.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

It's not until you see Pongo next to the gorgeous Carbon that his true giantness is clear @Rosie

Carbon is a petite boy at 28 kg and @Rosie says Pongo is 42 kgs. Rosie and I were saying how amazing it is that two dogs of the same breed can be so different in size and appearance.

Pongo is SOOOO handsome and his gentleness just beams out of that big teddy bear face.

 

[edzbird]

Love a good wrestling game

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Hope you get some better weather down in Cornwall for your week, not too much wetfromabove, and maybe try to reduce your average weekly mile count just a little....!!!

We made it to the closest beach and had a good romp until about 1pm when it started to chuck down on us. Tells you how nuts Carbon is about his tennis ball that he still wanted to play even though the wet from above was on the attack. Once I put the ball away in my pocket, however, it was like I broke the spell because he looked up at me and then up at the sky as if to say, "Dios mio! How could you have let this wet from above happen to me? You are a bad, bad foster lady!"

Honestly, this dog. As if he wasn't already soaked through from falling into a tidal pond.

Now we are back in the comfy if rather uniquely* decorated holiday home and watching it storm away outside. @Beanwood Kate is on her way driving down, so hopefully the storm eases up and isn't so bad coming from further north.

It's rather cozy to be honest and in fact I've decided to take Rosie's advice to heart and extend my stay here until next Sunday. Yes, a full 10 nights in one location - the longest we've been anywhere in one stretch since leaving Regensburg in September. That's not a dig on anywhere else we've been - and in fact I would have happily stayed longer in Ireland - but I've kind of run out of steam and this seems a good place to hunker down and build up reserves for the last two weeks of my current travel saga.

*This house is SO uniquely decorated that it will be a highlight of my 'weird things you see in holiday rentals' photo album. I'll snap some pics and post over the next couple days. Just as an example, there is the full collection -from 2003 to 2014- of Herrod's Christmas bears. There is also a frog in a chef's costume and a tree that lights up with dozens of little multi-colored flower light bulbs. That's just the sitting room. It's definitely a house with a sense of humour!

 

[Rosie]

... a full 10 nights in one location

Oh my lord. You might even get to UNPACK!!!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Oh my lord. You might even get to UNPACK!!!

Don't go crazy there, Rosie.

 

[Lisa]

Enjoy the chance to relax and regroup. You both have earned it!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Hola todos! I really want to go out and play with my old friend Benson, but I have received a special request to show you some photos of our big day together yesterday. Si, I have yet many photos still to show you of my friend Curly in Ireland, but Benson's human Kate says show these first. I listen to her because she has very deleeeeecious sausages in her pockets. Claro que si, that means I will always listen to Kate! Te quiero, I love you, Benson's human. Entonces vamanos, let's go!

Foster lady teases me mucho about my dislike for wet from above, but because I am a Spanish gentleman dog who also happens to be muy inteligente, I have noticed that SHE doesn't go out much in the wet from above either. Let us just say that she was also happy when it stopped being so wet here in Cornwall and we all went to the beach.

Si, todos... that means my friends Benson and his human Kate. They are here in Cornwall! It is magic! I do not know how Benson is here, but I'm glad he is. Do you think that means my other dog friends will also come here too? I tell foster lady we should just stay here and wait to see if all the others show up.

Oh, donde estoy? Where am I? Oh si, the beach. I got a little distracted for a moment...

Here we are getting ready for a good ball chase.


Benson showing off something called 'middle'. I guess 'middle' means "Put my human's scarf on my head". I prefer to wear my own scarf around my neck, not on my head, sabes? Maybe that is the difference between English gentleman style and Spanish gentleman style.



Weeeeeee! Here we go!








Benson modelling from close. He has some excellent modelling skills, no?


And this is what foster lady calls one of her artsy "Little dog in a big world" shots. I don't understand that really as I can tell you, when Benson sits on me, he does NOT seem like a "little dog".


Here we are playing with some new friends.


Isn't this the best? A big beach and a doggie amigo to share it with!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

After the beach, we went to Golitha Falls. I have been here before, so I made sure to show Benson the best parts. We got to see guapa @kateincornwall, too. I love her and I remember her from my last trip to Eeeengland. She is very nice and so is her Paul and her Nelly.

This time she also had a little soft and squishy black thing with her. Foster lady says his name is Reuben and that he is a puppy and that someday he will be a big dog...bigger than me! Pfft, I do not believe this. Reuben is soft and squishy and noisy. Very noisy. And people pay attention to him and not me. Even foster lady paid more attention to Reuben than to me. For this reason, even though I am a Spanish gentleman, I had to tell Reuben that I was not too impressed with him. De verdad, truly, how could anyone pay more attention to a squishy lump of a dog instead of me?

I mean, look at this face. Perfection? No?


Foster lady says, "Stop pouting, Carbon!"

What is this 'pouting'? Sigh. I shall just go over here in the corner and put on my sad face until someone gives me cuddles. I'm sure that's not pouting...

Also foster lady was supposed to be watching Benson in the restaurant but let him go into the kitchen and look for sausages, so I don't think she should say ANYTHING bad about handsome and gentlemanly ME. She will tell you about that later. Maybe. If she is not too embarrassed.

But where was I?

Our walk at Golitha Falls, si!

Here is little Nelly. Can you believe that foster lady didn't get a single photo of her face? Not that her backside isn't very cute, but maybe one of her face would have been cute, too.


The three of us enjoying the autumn smells. And again Nelly's backside, which is indeed very guapa.


Benson showing off his very best modelling. I can learn from him, he is the master!


And here is the squishy puppy thing. Pfft! I am not impressed!




Although I guess he IS kind of cute in a 'not quite fully cooked' kind of way. Vale, I will give him the chance to grow up and then we'll see. Maybe he will be as fun to play with as Benson and Pongo and Curly and my other friends some day?

Vale, little Reuben, I promise to be a better Spanish gentleman dog the next time we meet!

 

[kateincornwall]

Oh my Lord , would you look at Reuben`s feet !! xx

 

[Beanwood]

This morning the pair of them asleep on my bed

 

[Emily]

Oh my Lord , would you look at Reuben`s feet !! xx

Um, yep! My thoughts exactly!

 

[Stacia]

@Emily_Babbelhund, I so enjoyed reading the above, as always, it transports me into your world. The dogs looked as if they had a wonderful time, it is so good to see dogs so happy. Little Reuben looks so scared at 'the big dog' - I remember when I brought Rourke home when he was 8 weeks old, he took one look at Drift and screamed 'help'

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

@Emily_Babbelhund, Little Reuben looks so scared at 'the big dog' - I remember when I brought Rourke home when he was 8 weeks old, he took one look at Drift and screamed 'help'

Yes and with reason as Carbon was a bit rude with the little man. We'll have a chat on the proper treatment of puppies and Carbon will need to bring around a peace offering next time. Silly goober!

 

[Boogie]

Marvellous photos.

Zaba is the same with little pups. I think it does them good, they learn early that not all dogs adore them. Mine get Tatze, who lets them do anything - and Zaba, who growls and says “don’t you dare come near me little whippersnapper!”

 

[M.F.]

I can’t get over how Carbón has transformed. I remember when you were worried about his lack of muscle tone. Now look at him run!

Beautiful videos and photos of all the dogs. Loving the read!

Will you get to see Paul?

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Will you get to see Paul?

I hope so! I need to contact them for an actual date, but before I started out his family said they were happy to meet up with Carbon and me once we got to the UK. His family just got a foster Bodeguero/Pointer, so it could be quite a party if we all meet up!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Kate has just started on her way back towards Bristol and both Carbon and I are feeling more than a bit sad. Poor Carbon's face when only Benson got into his luxurious car crate and the back hatch closed down! He really didn't understand why he wasn't joining his buddy in the car. Luckily for all of us, including Kate who did the drive down in a raging storm, right now it's clear and sunny in our part of Cornwall. This means a quick breakfast for Carbon and me and then down to the beach with the hopes that some fresh air and exercise will help us with the post-Beanwood doldrums.

Thank you for such a fun visit, @Beanwood, and we'll be looking for you with Bramble soon!

 

[Beanwood]

We have just returned home after a wonderful weekend with @Emily_Babbelhund and Senior Carbon. It was VERY difficult leaving! The good news is that hopefully, we will be back...and if not Emily will be at Beanwood for a bit, which is always good fun for all!
For this trip, I took Benson down to Cornwall, arguably not the easiest dog! However, Bramble doesn't "do" beaches....and Benson LOVES them! Casper can be more reactive in strange places...so I went with the chocolate horror and sausage thief extraordinaire, leaving the other two to enjoy being spoilt by @Mr Beanwood at home. Suffice to say Carbon was ecstatic that his buddy Benson had arrived....plus TOYS!
We spent the first evening chatting, eating and watching the boys play non-stop, followed by an early night, the beach, and PUPPY! We met up with @kateincornwall, Paul, and the gorgeous Reuben at the wonderful Golitha Falls, for a quick stroll. Then decided to eat at the famous cafe. The menu was amazing. HUGE juicy burgers! I left Emily with Benson and Carbon, whilst I sorted out lunch. Emily at this point, had a very well behaved Carbon tucked neatly under the table, and Benson, who after the slightest of tugs, actually felt like he wasn't there.

You know what's coming don't you?

I glanced round....Emily is sat there, very comfortably, holding onto Bensons lead and collar.

Split second later...Emily is wondering what I am doing in the kitchen.....

Glances down at the .....yup...Emily is still holding ( and rather elegantly too....) Benson's empty collar and lead. The gentle tug earlier was him actually slipping completely out of his collar and taking off into the shacks tiny kitchen!!! So a mad scramble then ensued and Benson was returned. The staff though were amazing, but it was all hands on deck to shoo him away from the rather awesome raw burgers!

Managed to sort of settle Benson with doggie ice cream, titbits....whilst through all this Carbon sat quietly under the table...and yes the burgers were incredible!

The next day was wonderful...we caught a break in the weather and spent some time on the beach, followed by a stroll through Padstow. So dog-friendly, actually too dog-friendly if that is possible! Imagine the scene...we are sitting outside, eating fish and chips on a rather flimsy table and chairs with two drooling labradors...well actually one as Carbon is so well behaved! A man from the bakery spots our dogs and comes over brandishing 2 cooked sausages! Unfortunately trying to control 2 dogs, which are attached to the aforementioned flimsy table was just too much and it took all our combined strength to stop the whole ensemble heading off down the street. The baker looked suitably abashed, and I got two free Cornish cheeses later....

Will post a few photos and videos when I get them sorted later!