2 weeks in Devon (England)

A fortnight with Smidgen, a cute Springer spaniel, in Torquay 

We thought South east of England would be a cooler (and probably a damper) destination than the south of France but it was very dry and hot too, gardens were nearly dying of thirst in both countries !

 Vincent sat with me, this time. We took a flight to London then a train to Devon. Chrissie & Gary, the owners of this lovely home built at the top of a cliff looking over the sea were very  kind, they let us use their car, which gave us more opportunities to discover the region : Torquay, Exeter, Dartmouth. The panoramic views of the so called "english Riviera".

Smidgen, 2 years old,  enjoyed to play ball all day in the garden or on the paths around but we prefered to keep her in the shade  afraid she would die of a heart attack, running so quickly under the hard sun.        

We took her everywhere,  always on the leash (the recall was not perfect). She pulled quite a bit !

 

She was forgiven as she behaved nicely with people or animals.

She loved to sniff, to chase gulls in the cliffs, she was enthusiastic to play all day.

    

Smidgen was really  cute, loved cuddles, behind her ears or on her belly,  slept with us as she used to with Gary and Chrissie.  The 3 of us loved to watch the sea and the little boats of the fishermen.

She stayed very calm in the car, jumped easily in her crate, kept still in pubs in restaurants, even in the cliff railway. Never scared by other dogs but she obvioulsy prefered males than females. 

Only shadow : she was able to jump over the garden fence to go and visit Walter, the next door neighbour's dog. 

 

When we noticed she could also manage to go to the road, we never left her alone in the garden out of sight.

Smidgen lost often her balls in the garden, delighted to find them again, hidden under a bush or a tree.  I picked many of them and the toys she used when a puppy she seemed to neglict today. She's a big girl now.
                                           

The very morning of our departure, we were really sad to leave her.       Smidgen worried a lot when we packed and disliked obviously our suitcases in front of the front door. She looked fairly desappointed we did not take her out that time.

To calm her, I hushed in her ear : "don't be sad, your masters are coming back, you will soon be reunited."