The RSPCA Million Paws Walk

The RSPCA Million Paws Walk occurred back in May but we had such a great time there that I wanted to show you what is was like. It was lucky that the date of the RSPCA Million Paws Walk was on after Henley had received his last lot of puppy vaccine shots. We headed out early and I have never seen so many different breeds and sheer number of dogs in one area. Henley walked with a spring in his step and his tongue out with a grin that reached his eyes. Pet stalls stretched the length of the park selling a variety of pet products. Canine cakes and handmade morsels attracted many dogs and thereby their owners into stocking their cupboards with delicious artisan treats. The stalls were all doggy targeted with collars, id tags, clothes, toys, beds and much more but don't worry the humans weren't  forgotten a few stalls where the humans could refuel and recharge with coffee, sandwiches, and sausage sizzles.

When it came time for the walk to officially start we lined up near the beginning arch. Here Henley met quite a few friends.

Waiting for mums regular pose shot.

Hi I'm Henley!

This place is great!

Come on lets wrestle!

Oh who are you?

 We chose to take the shorter 2 kilometre walk opposed to the 4 kilometre walk as Henley zigzags and does twice as many metres then if he walked in a straight line. Taking our time and meeting many new faces canine and human on the way we made the loop course back to where we first started.

Meeting a cattle dog or two.

Dad and Henley trailing along.

 When we got back to the main hub of the Million Paws Walk where all of the stalls and activities were taking place we had a bite to eat and indulged in some people and dog watching. Many competitions such as best dressed human and pooch brought out the competition in some and it was great to see Mighty Woof and Farmer Dave's agility Park run demonstration. Wherever we walked Henley made his once secret mission blatantly obvious, operation meet and greet every Great Dane he can! He especially loved playing with one stunning blue Dane that caught his eye (and heart).

Pouncing around to get her attention.

From down here you look even bigger.

Perhaps if I crouch she'll bend down to my height?

Lets go you giant saucy minx.

Wow I can nearly reach your tonsils.

Umpf that's ok I like to play rough too!

Oh little puppy bring it on!

Stealing a kiss or two.

The Great Danes were defiantly Henley's favourite part of the whole day, even when he met a couple of his fellow Hungarian Vizsla's he kept searching the crowd for the gentle giants. Henley did spot a couple of dogs standing on the outskirts of the park that looked quite large from a distance so we slowly but steadily headed over to greet them with Henley pulling on the leash the whole way trying to get us there faster. But as we got closer Henley noticed that they just seemed to appear taller and taller. At one point he paused and looked up at me like: "mum do you believe this? These can't be dogs, they're too big aren't they?"

Wow how did you get this big? If keep eating non-stop will I get this big too?

(Sigh) puppies and their endless energy.

Irish Wolfhounds are another breed of dog I admire and one of the three we met here only had three legs. But don't worry that didn't hold her back in anyway.

From this angle he doesn't appear as tall as he really was.

After meeting the Irish Wolfhounds it was clear that an over excited puppy wasn't someone they were interested in wrestling with (as much as Henley tried to entice them in a game) so we said our hellos and goodbyes and made our way back through the crowd to where we caught a lift home.

We had a great day at the RSPCA Million Paws Walk and will defiantly be attending it again next year. Raising money for a great cause and getting to meet all types of dogs (and people) we went home very tired and happy.