A custodian of tollgate cottage for 21 years, living in something closer to a zoo more than a home, I grew up around horses, a mixture of poultry, tarantulas and a savage parrot. As a nipper to adolescent ape-man I grew up with pedigree breeds, large and small. Dogs for me have always provided fond or meaningful memories, from companionship in a rural household to contributing towards holidays in the Republic of Ireland, normally through finding the smelliest thing on the beach to fragrance the car with. My family is a mixture of Scottish and Irish history; we have strong ties to county Kerry, hailing from the foot of mount Brandon for centuries. I’m also a descendant from clans Leslie & Skene. The Celtic hound, long extinct but still alive through art and modern sight hound breeds today has always inspired me.
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Originally from a rural background, growing up I spent a lot of time walking our dogs, interacting with working breeds mostly gundogs out on my local pheasant shoot and working as a labourer on a duck farm. This came to an end in my late teens, reluctantly moving away to study illustration at Coventry University, not all bad though this is where I met my partner Louise and founded an unhealthy obsession with motorcycles.
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After forging our own household, it soon became clear everything we did was hollow and unproductive. Most days off were spent sat on the sofa, glass of wine in hand. Realising a hound could brighten our story we chose to adopt from a rescue for ethical reasons. We fell for a brindle lurcher called Chloe, who opened so many new doors, in some cases literally like the velociraptor from the Jurassic park film, she’s pushed me back into the outdoors providing new friends, and for that she is priceless.
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My previous job as a Heat Treater spanned 7 ½ years, working days and nights, a standard 77 hour week followed by time off. Years of hard graft resulted in a supervisory role, but was consequently destroying me. In August 2020 the company had to restructure due to covid, for me this was the right time to leave and take voluntary redundancy, getting out of the job that I despised and better myself. As a result I was more active, fitter and lost weight. On achieving my fitness goals, bettering my age in RAF fitness standards, I realised i'd rather be closer to the home I had made with my fiancée and work for myself.
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After months of training with our new lurcher and going on adventure walks, I decided that dog walking was the perfect career choice for me. Over lockdown we have really upped our mileage running, mountain biking and hiking, a small every day dog walk to us is 5 miles, as a result the dogs have become fitter and healthier, this is what I want to share with you