Just like all of you pet owners out there, being a vet and a pet owner you will understand when I say that I want to be the type of owner that when I look into Ruff’s adoring eyes he is expecting me to be. Our dogs have no expectations of us at all and this is what drives us to be the best owners we possibly can – we will never reach our own high standards as our love for them transcends all our understanding.

Ruff is the first ‘person’ I speak to and greet in the morning (I always leave a sleeping household) to prioritise Ruff’s walk and breakfast before prioritising anything else in my day.

Ruff vegan dog on holiday in Cornwall

We go out regardless of the weather or darkness – although he always cuts our walk short when it is raining!!

So with all of this in mind, when it came time to planning our annual family holiday, we could not possibly organise it for ourselves – we planned it to take Ruff to the seaside. We visited the beautiful beaches and coastlines of Cornwall for our half term break. He just adored the freedom of running on the beach making friends with anyone he came across – dog or human, and everyone loved him. The joy you feel on holiday with your pets who are enjoying themselves is immense.

Cornwall seems more geared to the dog visitors than to the owners with certain beaches and restaurants catering more for pets than owners!

The Padstow museum is free to visit (donations only) and offers a wonderful insight into the early days of the town. One photo in particular caught my eye. It was a photo of families enjoying themselves on the same beaches we visited but in the 1890’s, and it was evident how even then, our dogs formed such a large part of our lives. The dogs were included in the photos and just like Ruff, they were also included in the family holiday!

Another display that caught my eye in the museum was that of a sign saying ‘Spratt’s Ovals’. These were in fact the very first processed dog biscuits ever made that started the dog food mania that we have today where we are brainwashed into believing (as vets and as pet owners) that only the large corporates know how to feed our pets correctly!

 

Images taken in Padstow museum of families on holiday with their dogs in the 1800's
Spratt's Ovals were the very first dog biscuits made in the 1800's
just be kind vegan dogs

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