Jack The Bell Boy

This is Jack. He is a two-year-old Scottish Terrier (also known as a Scottie) who is always at the door of a hotel near King's Cross station.

Jack is a an exceptionally good-looking little fellow, with a laid-back attitude. He likes to sit outside the hotel run by his owners and greet the guests. He gets a lot of attention, which he accepts with a regal air of a dog who knows his worth. He carefully examined three different treats I offered him and turned down all of them.

Jack's owner tells me that Jack is the best advert for the hotel. In fact, he is mentioned in the hotel reviews, and he even gets letters and postcards from the smitten guests long after they've left!

He recently had a haircut, which revealed the sturdy and shapely silhouette so typical of Scotties, along with the lovely trimmings of his jet-black coat framing his face. Jack posed skilfully, completely at ease with the camera, knowing which was his best side. He is a very pretty dog, with a great personality, and is a great asset to a recently regenerated King's Cross area.

Scotties are an inquisitive and determined breed, and full of energy, as they were bred to catch mice and rats. They make fabulous pets and companions, so they are a popular and much loved breed. Even George Bush has a Scottie called Barney. Let's just say that is one of his few reedeming features!

More about Scotties: North of England Scottish Terrier Club

All That Jazz

Meet Jazz. She is a 7-year-old French Briard I met in Green Park on a hot Tuesday evening.

Jazz is a beautiful and friendly girl who loved the attention, and was very happy to accept a couple of treats as a reward for posing. She was a real charmer too. On this photo, she is just about to tilt her head in a cute way. Apparently, she is not fond of squirrels and asking her 'Where is the squirrel?' gets Jazz to pose nicely. It certainly worked here!

Briards are a very old French breed, used in herding sheep. They are extremely intelligent and likely to please so respond very well to training. They are very charming and have a mind of their own, so need strong leadership. Thanks to their great hearing and intelligence, they were used during World War I as Red Cross dogs and ammunition carriers. Briards were first introduced in UK only in 1969 so they still remain a fairly rare breed.

More about Briards: The British Briard Club

Mac The Dog

Meet a very special dog. His name is MacPherson (Mac for short), and he is an 11-year-old lurcher I met in Islington this Sunday.

I was thrilled to meet MacPherson for several reasons. First of all because lurchers and greyhounds are my favourite breeds. Secondly, because Mac is an ex-racer, and his story is one of immense suffering and abuse, with, fortunately, a happy ending. Lastly, he is a beautiful dog with a lot of personality and charm.

MacPherson was adopted from a dog rescue in Ireland. His owners made an appointment with the rescue a day before visiting and were told that there were three lurchers up for adoption. On the night before their visit, however, the dog home was broken into and the thieves stole two of the lurchers. The one they left was Mac. He had hardly any hair left on his flea bitten coat, only one eye and a sore paw. All of it the result of long-term abuse before he ended up in the rescue. Mac's owners took one look at him and knew he was the one. They nursed him back to health and, five years on, Mac is in a fantastic shape, with his paw healed and his coat smooth and silky – a scar where his left eye used to be being the only reminder of his harrowing experience.

Mac's plight is, unfortunately, that of many greyhounds across the UK.

Greyhounds and lurchers are sight-hounds bred for outrunning the prey during a hunt. They are also used in sports racing, as they can achieve speeds up to 45 mph and are the fastest dog breed in the world.

Unfortunately, the world of greyhound racing has a dark side. Animal Aid - an organisation dedicated to animal welfare reports:
About 25,000 greyhound puppies are registered every year in the British Isles. The number bred is substantially more, but thousands of young dogs are killed because they fail to make the grade as racers. Annually, at least 10,000 greyhounds are 'retired' from racing at an average age of just two and a half, due to injury or because they are considered no longer good enough to race. The fate of only 20% of these animals is recorded. The other 80% effectively vanish. The greyhound racing industry itself admits that 500-1,000 retired greyhounds are killed every year but the true figure is, sadly, far higher. Unwanted greyhounds are frequently drowned, poisoned or shot. Others have been found abandoned with their ears cut off to prevent them being identified by their tattoo. Very few are rehomed to adoptive families. [Source: Animal Aid]

The British Greyhound Racing Association has acknowledged this situation is unacceptable and is working in association with the Dogs Trust to improve it. It has also pledged money and support towards re-homing retired greyhounds.

Mac was lucky enough to be adopted by a pair of lovely, caring people who gave him the love and attention that greyhounds need. Contrary to popular opinion, greyhounds do not need lot of exercise. Mac's owners tell me that he is actually a bit of a couch potato. Greyhounds are gentle, loving and benevolent dogs, with a unique graceful physique that makes them so special.

So, special thanks to Mac's owners for letting me take photos of him and telling me his story. Big thanks also to MacPherson, who posed patiently, although he was tired after a long walk and wanted to get home and lie on his sofa!

Support Greyhound Rescue or re-home a greyhound (click on the names to go to the web page):

Tia Greyhound Rescue

Greyhounds In Need

Greyhound and Lurcher Rescue

Greyhound Rescues Directory

Greyhound Rescue Wales

A dog who lunches

I met Rio today in Old Compton Street in Soho. He was sprawled on the floor next to his owner, who was having a lunch with a friend.

Rio is a cheerful and friendly 18-month-old old beagle with a beautiful white and strawberry blond coat. He looks pampered and groomed like a typical Soho dog who lunches. Note his beautiful amber eyes. In fact, I was so mesmerised by them that, in no time, I was feeding Rio dog treats!

His owner told me that Rio, true to his hunting pedigree, scavenges like mad and runs away during walks. He is such a charmer, however, that he is quickly forgiven!

See another Beagle, from North London, who is a lady of leisure: Liffey

More about Beagles: The Beagle Club

A safe pair of paws

Meet Connor. He is a two-and-a-half-year-old springer spaniel who works for Metropolitan Police Dog Unit as an explosives sniffer dog. He works with Max and Poppy (click on their names to see them), whom I met in Green Park few weeks ago.

It was the first anniversary of 7/7 London bombings today, and Connor was on duty at King's Cross station this morning, making sure that Londoners were safe on their journey to work.

Here, Connor is taking a well-deserved break from work. By a way of saying thank you for his hard work, I gave Connor three dog treats, which he wolfed down like any dog would. He wouldn't say no to another one, but he had to go back to work so, with regret, we parted.

Connor was very friendly, with kind brown eyes, lovely speckled paws and that bubbly and inquisitive spaniel personality.

I certainly felt reassued by Connor's presence at the station this morning. He is among the very special London dogs, along with Max, Poppy and all the other Met Police dogs who are working for safer London.

Special thanks to Connor's handler, who kind enough to let me take photos of his dog.

More about Springer Spaniels: English Springer Spaniel Club in UK

The Country Gentleman

I met Shikhar in Green Park. It was a stiflingly hot day and Shikhar was taking a bit of a dip in the park's fountain.

He is a Weimaraner, just like Blue (click on Blue's name to see him and read about Weimaraners), who I met just a few weeks ago. The only diference between the two dogs is that Shikhar is a long-haired Weimaraner, which are even rarer than short haired ones.

Shikhar is a stunning dog with strikingly blue eyes and a beautiful cappuccino-coloured silky coat.

He is only a part-time London dog, as he normally lives in the country and comes down to London twice a week with his owner.

Despite the unforgiving London heat, Shikhar was in high spirits, running around happily and taking occasional sips of fountain water, his tongue hanging out being the only evidence of the hot weather.

He was very well behaved, like a real gentleman, and graciously accepted a dog treat from me.

More about Weimaraners: Weimaraner Club of Great Britain