HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We hope you have had the most amazing Christmas with you family, friends (and dogs of course!) and feel well rested and ready to begin the start of a new year. Speaking of new year, with the start of 2016 upon us, it is only natural for us to feel nostalgic about what 2015 has delivered.

This time last year, if you had said we would have left London after nearly 8 years; left our career of 5 years with no job to go to and set out as just a woman, two dogs and a dream we would have said “Are you crazy?!!!” but it has truly been the most wonderful of experiences (and one which will continue in 2016!!) Join us as we take a little trip down memory lane to look back at the last few months and get excited for what 2016 will bring!!

CHARITIES

We have travelled to Warwickshire, London, Essex and even Devon so far to meet some of the leading charities in the UK (with even more coming in 2016 so watch this space). Our first adventure into the world of animal charities led us to Blue Cross Animal Hospital where there was just so much to write about, we had to write 4 blog posts! A trip to The Mayhew was very special and is still one of the best kennels we’ve seen for dogs, so carefully designed and homely. A touch of magic in what can often be one of the most stressful times in the life of these creatures. Guide Dogs was the first time we looked at the way dogs help us. We wrote a special two part blog about our experience there (and who doesn’t want an extended post about puppies!!)

Dogs Trust were high on our list of charities to meet and we were so privileged to not only join one of their Education and Community teams for a day where they help inform dog owners of tomorrow but we also spent the day with them at one of their Centres in Essex. An amazing charity with so much positivity and love in all they do. We also visited the inspirational Lucy The Rescue Cavalier; a dog who has suffered at the hands of humans through puppy farming, yet good prevails and she and her human have now turned a negative into a positive by raising awareness and money.

One charity which really left its mark though (as well as the others of course!) was our trip to Veterans with Dogs. It was a 6 hour round trip, but if we could bottle the feeling we got from being there and learning more about how dogs can help with those experiencing PTSD, we’d be millionaires as it was incredible: inspiring, emotional yet filled to the brim with positivity. It was our favourite blog to write so far too and the one we’re most proud of.

PRODUCTS

During our journey on the road (and via the joys of technology!) we’ve been lucky enough to meet several companies which we have been proud to review so that you can be up to date with excellent products for your pooch! As you know, we’re particular about who we associate with as we want our blog to align with what we consider to be The Best, so you and your dog can too!! Ted and Millie have been rather excited about this process and have been thoroughly spoilt along the way.

Our first was the excellent The Pet Deli a truly lovely company with their passion for good dog treats and health at their core. This was our first review so we are forever grateful to The Pet Deli for taking a leap of faith with us and providing such an opportunity. Next up were the fabulous Spoilt Little Puppy who quite frankly spoiled us with so many incredible products to try. The rope tiger toy is still one of Ted’s favourites!! Avid supporters of us across Social Media too, we’re thrilled to be associated with them. A surprise review came in the shape of a Moustache toy donated by the wonderful Barks & Bijoux which enabled us to support Movember and try something a little different for our blog. This type of camaraderie has been an unexpected bonus of starting the blog and we love it and we look forward to supporting them further throughout 2016.

Speaking of trying something different, we were really excited to try a Q & A with the lovely Holly from Teddy Maximus and we also were spoilt by being given the opportunity to showcase their new promotional video and also try out a poll on our site! Fabulous. Finally we paid a visit to Bow Wow London, Time Out’s Award winning shop in Covent Garden. Fun, centrally located with lovely stock; a must visit shop when in London. We’ve got some exciting additional product reviews in 2016, so watch this space!!!

EVENTS

We’ve been to so many wonderful events during the last 5 months and can’t wait for many more in 2016. Our first ever event (and our last for 2015) were on behalf of the brilliant charity All Dogs Matter. From Pup Idol to Santa Paws Christmas Fair, you can guarantee any event from them will be filled with so much enthusiasm and truly some of the loveliest people we’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. We can’t wait to see what they have in store for 2016 so we can support them even more (and we promise to try not to photobomb Ricky Gervais again!) The Pet Show was next on our list where we met many beautiful dogs and their owners. We were in dog heaven!!

Pup Aid was a fabulous event in London organised by TV’s Marc the Vet, with so many great charities, stalls and people all with the aim of helping raise awareness of puppy farming. We will certainly be attending in 2016 (and you may want to as well!) Here we were privileged to meet the wonderful author Janetta Harvey who subsequently kindly invited us to Schnauzerfest! Ted was somewhat confused being the only sausage amongst a sea of Schnauzers (!), but the walk was filled with much fun and was a brilliant opportunity to learn more firsthand about the efforts of those currently rescuing and rehoming dogs who have endured the horrors of puppy farming. It was a joy to attend the event and we hope we’re invited back in 2016!

Our visit to Hearing Dogs for Deaf People Late Summer Show was incredible. Witnessing the ways in which dogs can help those with day to day tasks many of us may take for granted was simply magnificent. Dogs really are amazing creatures (not that you need us to remind you!) Another event which was fabulous was the first anniversary celebration of Nestlé Purina’s Pets At Work (PAW) programme. This was so inspiring to see how companies can embrace the benefits of dogs being present in an office environment and how they’re actually making it happen. We absolutely loved writing about this subject matter and hope to cover other similar topics in 2016.

WHAT’S NEXT??

What’s next indeed?!! Well, we’ve got some further charity features from our visits towards the end of 2015 to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and Wood Green The Animals Charity which we can’t wait to tell you about, more brilliant product reviews which you need to know about as well as a few exciting projects up our sleeves which we will be sharing with you over the coming months. Exciting!!!!

In the meantime, a huge THANK YOU to all those we have met in 2015 and for everyone who supports us. The Shares, RT’s, Favourites, Comments and signing up to our blog all mean so much to us and we’re so thankful for each and every one of you and can only hope you’ll continue to enjoy our content and will support us in 2016. It goes without saying, we would LOVE to hear more from you. Do let us know if you want us to visit you or if you’d like to work with us. It would be a delight. Maybe take part in our poll below too so we know which was your favourite of 2015!! Here’s to an amazing 2016 for us all.

Sarah, Ted & Millie xxx

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