On the 25th of September 2004 we got a new addition to the Family
Toffee The Springer Collie

The top 2 photo's were taken the day we got her, the middle 2 after we'd had her for 5 months, and the bottom 2 were taken when we'd had her for almost 3 years.

When this page was written, we'd been away in the KampenWagen for around 3 weeks, started off by going to an LT club meet down at Fort Widley in Portsmouth, spent a weekend in glorious sunshine there.. had been raining non stop for the month of august so far.

Then we headed up to a little site near Warminster.. where the white horse is on the hills, then went to a motor home show at Shepton Mallet, there we acted as dog sitter to a lovely chocolate Labrador called Kelly, we'd looked after her for a few hours before the last time we saw her at a show, and she's a lovely dog, but a bit big for our van we thought when we had her inside after taking her for a long walk at night.

From the show we went to Weston-Super-Mare, and spent a week at a lovely site in sand bay.. this site doesn't advertise, no signs or owt, luckily some old friends who own Megan the dog (dino's best friend from the club) found us on the Sunday, and told us of this site, £5 a night with electric, it's a stud farm, so lots of horses about to keep Sam amused, we had a lovely week there, but all the time we were at a loss as to what to do in the evening, when I had Dino it would be walkies half the day, then a nice walk on a night before bed.

We'd been really thinking of getting another dog for a while now, and when we moved to the next site.. in Wales.. near Llanelli.. not too far from Swansea, we befriended the pubs dog.. a retriever cross called Cassy.. she was there to greet us as we pulled onto the site, and she was around us for the rest of our stay there, at about midday she'd come out to our van to say hello, we'll play fetch with her for ages, then she'd go in for a bit, and we'd go out on the bike, when we got back she'd be at the van waiting for us.

Then we went to bed early Friday night, and at about 10pm I heard her outside the van.. she'd come to see us and wouldn't go back in to her owners.. she was there until gone midnight sat outside the van.. but she wouldn't come in the van so we couldn't do much for her.

She was really making our minds up that we wanted another dog, it had been almost a year since loosing out last dog, Dino, and our trips out in the van just seemed to be missing something, so on the 25th of September we decided to see if we could do something about that missing piece, we went to the local dogs home, Llanelli dogs home, we went on the bike, not expecting to find a dog that would suit us, and we were on holiday so wouldn't be allowed to adopt one anyway, we we're kinda window shopping I guess :)

After eventually finding the dog's home, we had a look round, they had loads of pure collie dogs in, but we knew a collie in a dog's home in Wales ment it couldn't be trained to be a sheep dog, and collies can be a bit destructive if not kept amused all the time, we were looking for a puppy anyway, but they didn't have any, however on our way into the kennels we'd seen a X-collie that was hiding in it's bed, all the other dogs were at the cage doors going mad, this one didn't seem interested.

Eventually we got her to come and say hello, and she seemed like a sweet dog, but she had no name details on her cage, so we assumed she was spoken for, luckily I casually mentioned the nice looking dog with no name, and found out she was called Toffee, she had no name on her cage as she'd just come back to the home after an unsuccessful re-homing, hence she was feeling rejected and had lost some trust in humans.

We found out more about her, she was about a year old they reckoned, and had been in the home for a while before the latest re-homing, she was brought back because she jumped up at the kids, we don't nor ever will have kids, so that's no problem, I then mentioned I was probably wasting time, as we were 200 odd miles from home, so a home check couldn't be carried out.

We were told the Dogs trust operates differently to the RSPCA dog's homes that we were used to, the dogs trust is more flexible, we were asked a load of questions, the main ones being where she'd live while we were on holiday.. they had no problems with us being in a motorhome, (guess they had to check we weren't in a tent of hotel that wouldn't allow dogs) and we were allowed to take her out for a walk.

She was such a quiet dog in the kennel, but once outside she was pulling like mad on the lead, this is something I hadn't experienced before as my last dog was very well trained from the day I got him, it was so bad we were not sure she was the right dog for us!! but once back in her kennel we got to know her, chucking her toys for her to fetch and so on, and she really seemed to like us, she would jump up to lick our faces, but we just had to say 'down' and she did so immediately.

Well, you can guess the rest, she was the dog for us, we arranged to adopt her, and went back to the site to collect the motorhome while the kennel person filled out the adoption forms for us, when we got back to the kennels, we paid a £50 donation (RSPCA kennels want £100) this included her being micro chipped, and a voucher for her to be neutered for free, we signed the relevant forms, I guess in a way they did a home check when they saw her inside the van, as that's our home when we're on the road, Toffee took to the van immediately, choosing to sit in Sam's seat in the cab to look out the windows.

She had a good sniff about the van, and seemed to approve of it, we got her bedding blanket from the dogs home, and a collar and lead and one of her toys, and set off back to the camp site.
On the way we had to call in at a supermarket to buy some food for her, and a couple of bowls for her to eat and drink from, not as easy as you'd think, we were worried at what she'd do to the van while we were gone, but needn't have worried, she just went in the back and sat on one of the sofa's looking out the windows for us to return, we got some dog food from the supermarket, but we couldn't buy her a dog bowl, as they didn't sell them!!, cat feeding bowls yes, but not dog sized ones.

We went to another shop looking for a bowl, no joy, but again when we came back she was on the sofa looking out of the window, third supermarket... again no dog bowls, so we settled on a Tupperware bowl for now, when we came back to the van, she was fast asleep on the floor, luckily we designed the van with a dog in mind.. when I did the first plans I still had Dino, So we've got a thermostatically controlled fan in the roof vent, blinds on the windows that block out the heat if needed, fly screens to we can leave windows open for even more ventilation, and the bathroom floor is always cool as it's got those fake tiles down there.. and they are always cold.

Eventually we got her back to the campsite, and Cassy the pub's dog was waiting for us, Toffee got on very well with her, and they played for a bit, then we took toffee for a walk, she's a real pain for pulling on the lead, but when I let her off it in the camp site, she behaved fine, walking to heal.. most of the time, coming back when called etc, but back on the lad and she's pulling like mad all over the place.

She's really inquisitive, jumping up on every low wall she see's to look what's on the other side, We spent the first night with her in the van, and she was as good as gold, we told her to go to bed, and she did.. to her own bed, then after a while we let her up on our bed.. there's plenty of room, and she snuggled up between us keeping us both warm, then she was relegated to the bottom corner of the bed, and after a while she decided to go back to her own bed.

In the morning.. we got up at 11, she'd been as good as gold, I let her out for a pee, then got her some breakfast, she left some of it, something I've never seen before.. a dog that knows when it's full :)

Then we went and got her a proper dog bowl, a nice new collar, some flea lotion as she'd been itching earlier on, and an identity tag to show she now has an owner for life.

She's settled in really well, we got to hear her bark this afternoon when I started the bike's engine.. she went mad pouncing around the bike, it does sound a bit like a low growl, she can entertain her self as well.. throw a ball for her and she'll got and catch it, then spend the next 10 minutes playing football with it, pouncing on it as she bats it about and so on.

She is a really lovely dog, she's got a lot of Springer spaniel in her, hence she's impossible to tire out, but she can be quiet and lay by your feet if you tell her to settle down, she loves playing fetch in the van, I got her a bouncy ball, and I throw it fairly hard against the bathroom door so it bounces off the door, floor, walls ceiling and so on, this drives her mad, and she loves it, she's so nimble, lucky we have enough room in the van to do things like this I guess.

We've since found out she was about 9 months old when we got her.. 2 teeth behind her main incisors came through after we'd had her a few weeks, we've now had her fully inoculated, she's had her rabies jab in preparation for her getting a passport so we can take her abroad with us later on in the year, she was spayed in January.. for free at our local vets.. a big thanks to the Dogs trust for that, the voucher we had was valid in Wales only, but I e-mailed them to ask if there was any chance of some help with neutering costs, as we couldn't afford to go back to Wales when it was the ideal time to neuter her, and they said they'd honour the voucher at our local vets.. about 200 miles away from Wales.

And that's the story of how we got our Toffee dog, we really can't understand how anyone could give up such a lovely dog, she's so sweet, mild tempered and loving, she loves coming upto me and climbing up so her paws are over my shoulders and giving me a big hug, we can do anything with her, she's so trusting, tho she has a few habits we'd like to break, she loves to eat toilet roll for some reason, she does an impression of the andrex puppy and pulls it off the roll.. but then proceeds to eat it, and occasionally she'll turn her tastes to letters that come through the door, she also likes to eat plants, and when she runs she goes like a bat out of hell... which in our garden means she's doing figure of eights around the grass, and right now it looks like a horses paddock.

She has a really deep bark too, she's not a small dog but the window cleaner thought we had a rottweiler when he knocked on the door to let us know he was here one day, once we'd proven to her he was no threat to us, she made friends and followed him around while he washed the windows, she can climb ladders we found out that day too.. when the window cleaner went up to do the top windows, Toffee followed him.. unfortunately she's not too sure about coming back down them as she is of going up them :)

We'll, that should give you an insight to our newest addition to the family, come and say hello to her if you see us at a show during the motorhome season, and I'm sure she'll have a kiss for you :)

Of course, living in a van for a while with a dog does bring up the need for a few rules for the dog, here's some of ours :)

That dish on the floor with the paw prints in it is yours and contains your food. The other dishes in this van are mine, and thus contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate of food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

I cannot build the van's bed any bigger than it already is, at 7 foot long by 6 foot wide I think that's plenty big enough for it's intended purpose, I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue to sleep on the cab seats to ensure your comfort. Look at other dogs and cats sleeping. They can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep diagonally across the bed stretched out to the fullest extent possible. And sticking your tail straight out and hanging a tongue out the other end to maximize space used is taking the piss, When I move, it means go someplace else, not switch positions so you are still in the way.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, try to push the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. In addition, I have been using bathrooms for years; canine attendance is not mandatory.

The correct order is: Kiss me, then go and lick your bum, I cannot stress this enough, it would be such a simple change for you.

When we're in the house, The stairway is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help either, because I fall faster than you can run.

Some Rules for non pet owners who visit the KampenWagen and like to complain about other people's pets:

She lives here, you don't.
If you don't want her hair on your clothes, then don't sit on the furniture.
I like toffee a lot more than I like most people.
To you, it's an animal. To me, she's an adopted daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.
Dogs are better than kids. They eat less, don't ask for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come when called, don't hang out with drug-using friends, don't smoke or drink, don't worry about buying the latest fashions, don't wear your clothes, and don't need all your hard earned money to go to uni, and if they get pregnant, you can sell the results!

You'll have seen me mention Dino a few times on this site, he was a lovely X-Collie too, (Labrador, Alsatian and collie) I had him for 14 years, he lived to be 17, (I rescued him too)  here's the page devoted to him