Poppy and Saari

Posted by Rosie

Poppy and Saari

Our two dogs Poppy and Saari often get a mention in the blog.  They are the very best of friends and they often become best friends to our gite guests too so I thought it might be a good time to tell you a bit more about our canine friends. 

We had Poppy in England before we moved over to France.  She was a Battersea dog  and came to us at 5 months old, a bundle of lead-pulling energy who loved the boys from day one (they  were very young at the time).  She only once chewed a toy of theirs but this did not mean she was a paragon of good behaviour - she simply preferred door frames, chairs, tables and seat belts - FIVE seatbelts to be precise.  She did eventually grow out of this chewing and now rarely pulls on the lead either thank goodness.

Poppy

When we moved to France we said one of the first things we would do was get a companion for Poppy - maybe something a bit smaller, a young rescue dog perhaps?  Hmmm - enter Saari who arrived with us from the local dog refuge - 7 weeks old and small .... but with legs and feet that obviously meant she had some growing to do.  The refuge said she was part Alsation and it wasn't long before we worked out that she is also half Husky.  She loves the snow (so not a good winter for her so far), detests the rain and is frightened of the hoover, men over about 50 (although she can overcome her fear here), ladies in yellow coats, all men in hats, the vet - no she is terrified of the vet, the smoke alarm when it pips, Dr Who toy screwdrivers that buzz, party poppers ..... the list goes on.  She is big but she is NOT a brave dog!

Saari

They are great dogs who I think I can safely say have a first-rate life here at Eco-Gites of Lenault - they have space to run, innumerable paths to be walked along, rivers to play in, beasties to chase (when will they work out that squirrels can climb trees and they can't?) and of course each other.  Sometimes they are a complete pain to have around - they steal food, they moult (especially Saari), they fart, they sometimes refuse to come home but we would never be without them.

They are the very best friends today and they became the very best of friends from the first day we bought Saari home:

Best Friends

I originally wrote this post nearly 4 years ago.  Sadly we lost Poppy to cancer just a year later.  Since then Saari has had doggy friends come to stay and we did have Harry for a while before he, too had to be put down.  Today, however, we are heading off to look at a rescue dog.  Saari loves company and whilst no dog will ever replace her best friend, Poppy we feel that as she gets older (is she really TEN?!) then a canine companion will help keep her younger.  So our search has started.