A year ago, home came Leo!
I had barely murmured that we were thinking about getting a puppy and a ‘griffon’ owing friend had located one that we had to see that day. Always facing the issue of frequent travelling and timing never right; this was going to be my first pet, but we decided not to let that stop us this time. There was concern that we were had taken on the responsibility of a new pet and would be travelling in a few weeks, but a quick phone call to animal-loving friend Erin and a life in babysitter was arranged for our absence. Aunty Erin had been in LA and brought back lots of styles presents for Leo. Playful times, especially since Erin, was able to take him on outings after his final shots while we were away.
How quickly he outgrew his harness and lead from LA and I went in search of replacement items locally couldn’t find what I had in mind – nothing seemed stylish, or of the quality I expected…. Hence the idea of Chinchilla was born, and a year of research and planning has finally launched to the market place.
Earlier this year Chilli, a foxie cross (jury is still out on what the cross might be), has joined Erin’s household – rescued from the streets of South Auckland on New Year’s Eve by dog control, and now happily adopted (and spoilt) in Erin’s home.
Much to our disappointment Chilli and Leo were not immediately the BFF’s we hoped for…. Jealously of the loving Aunty Erin (and mums) attentions elsewhere, but a couple of months on they now love hanging out together.
So many fun times with Leo over the last year, and many doggie play dates. His first puppy welcoming party was attended at Easter, welcoming Georgie girl to the home of Anglea Beer of PETS N PATS, and the official photographer FIONA TOMLINSON captured the event.
As you can see, Leo has had his first real haircut, and looks so grown up and can now show off his stylish collars and has even been described as looking ‘dapper’. Rumour has it the groomer at Day Care was asked to do a haircut like ‘Leo’s’ this week, but I do miss the cute scruffy Leo too!
Now that we have resolved the accessory dilemma for our dogs to be ‘fashionistas’ with us, we now have the next difficulty of where to dine with our dogs. I am certainly not suggesting like the dog restaurants in Japan (insert picture and put a cross through it WRONG)…. Chilli and Leo were pictured on their first lunch date together at IMPERIAL LANE a couple of months ago, Leo is pictured at the LONG ROOM, and MEXICO last week, and is a usual regular at our local STAFFORD RD WINEBAR were he is always welcome. We dine out often, and our venue decisions are now influenced by whether Leo can join us or not, and I often phone ahead to ensure we get a suitable table. We are now so excited to be involved with “Pooch friendly Parnell Precinct” and next month you will see 60 of our CHINCHILLA bowls around Parnell to enable your outing dog-friendly, and you will see Chilli and Leo as regulars in Parnell. You can read about the launch of Parnell in this months edition of VERVE magazine.
The overseas trips are shorter in duration (or Tim and I tag team) as we don’t want to leave Leo behind. He is so happy while we are away with his caregiver and socialising all day at day-care, and oh so excited when we get back, but then he does give us the cold shoulder for a week, and any time he sights a suitcase tries to move them away!
As I write this, I am currently overseas and missing their first red carpet event on Wednesday night at Fort Lane. They were invited to the red carpet launch of Inspector Spot. Although I missed this one am sure there will be lots more requests in the future, and Erin and Chilli featured on the SPY pages on Sunday. The media and celebrities were given a goodie bag that included some CHINCHILLA product. Do check out Inspector Spot website as it is an excellent new service that has not been available previously.
With daylight saving ending, we are excited about access to Takapuna beach during the daylight hours but will be looking for new places to dine, especially in winter.
