HENRY
Ann Marie and Richard Lewis
Blenheim Palace
21 x 29 cm
Hello! I am Henry and I have two human pets. Let me explain why I think they love me so much. When I arrived at such a young age, I knew when I walked in there was a smell of someone I knew they loved so I was sure to take my time and let them love me as much as William their other dog.
My two human pets love to play ball because they always throw it back to me and I make them play as often as possible as I know they love it. To keep them happy, I often go to get the ball and arrive on their bed (or I should say our bed!) to make them start playing early as a way of starting their day.
They love Blenheim and I have many friends that work at the gate and when I take my human pets into the grounds, which is every day, the staff always say hello to me and give me a cuddle. Once my human pets forgot their passes but as I was with them the staff let them in as they said: ‘it’s okay, we know Henry’!
The staff always praise me when I come out of the gates as I try and bring them a bigger stick each time – sometimes I have to walk very carefully to balance the really big ones.
My human pets always feed me when I ask; all I have to do is bang my bowl and if they take too long I repeatedly do it until they can’t stand the noise anymore but it always works – they are so easy to control!
I also help protect them from pigeons; they really don’t like them so I try to get them in the garden and now they let me out to chase them away as I broke through two locks on the door by trying to charge through the door. They do seem to learn quickly.
Lockdown tails…
There was one odd thing that happened a couple of years ago. I think they mentioned a thing called a lockdown. I noticed they seemed slightly stressed when it was announced but it turned out to be one of the best times that we have had together. At first, I kept them calm. When I heard a raised voice for some reason, I would quickly be by their side to make them remember that there was no need to be stressed as they had me. They seemed to get fitter, and we all ate better. I wish we had lockdown again as I walked so much further, and I did miss seeing all the other human pets on their walk.
One thing I don't miss though is all that painting (the smell of paint was off putting for my mealtimes!). I also noticed the doorbell rang much more often, always deliveries of something, but I also noticed no shortages of bones for me – they came in big boxes. I also had more toys as with each food delivery there was something for me! Before they unpacked the bags, I was always allowed to look through them all first to retrieve my treat.
I could go on and on but one more thing I will just say is that the best part for me is when we all go to bed and I indulge them by creeping in between them to find my favourite place for my head on the pillow; they even bought a bigger bed, so I had more room! Silly them – they didn’t gain any space, but I did! I know they sleep better because I am beside them.
I do think human pets are a dog’s best friend – we all love you.
Yours
Henry Lewis
Anne-Marie Lewis