1

2

3

Dedication

I am dedicating our book to the wonderful human parents and carers of all rescue

dogs throughout the world, for giving these dogs the chance of new lives, happiness

and the security of a loving home; to our friends who have encouraged myself and

Dave D as he learned and gained confidence; also to my grandma, May, who loved

dogs too and who helped me to become the positive, caring, determined person that I

try to be; and, of course, to my amazing and inspirational mum, Barbara, who has

always shown me such unconditional love, support, and encouragement.

4

5

S u e M o r g a n

D A V E D ’ S D I A R Y

6

Copyright © Sue Morgan (2015)

The right of Sue Morgan to be identified as author of this work has

been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any

means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,

without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this

publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for

damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British

Library.

ISBN 9781784557898 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781784557904 (Hardback)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2015)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Printed and bound in Great Britain

7

Acknowledgements

What can I say? There are so many of you to thank for your support,

kindness and encouragement over the past few years since I started

considering the idea for producing a manuscript. For your continued

and genuine interest as I have been planning, drafting, writing and

developing Dave D’s Diary in order to produce my first book, thank

you.

I want to thank those who have gone through so much of Dave D’s

journey with me emotionally, for your advice, sharing of your own

experiences and offering of so many invaluable strategies to help my

nervous collie to make the progress which he has.

Of course I also need to thank those of you who have been through

some of Dave D’s adventures with us physically, too, and for allowing

me to mention you and your collies and families in our book, also for

sharing funny and heart-warming memories and tales of your own

dogs and other animals. Thank you to those who have joined us on

collie walks organised throughout the British Isles, for your

understanding and for the wonderful support you have given me and

Dave D as we have worked towards building up his trust and

confidence.

I want to thank all of my family and friends for their invaluable

and unfailing belief in me as I set out to begin, and continued with the

challenge of, writing this book. In addition, thanks to my brother

Michael, for assisting me with building mine and Dave D’s Diary

website to keep you all up-to-date with our book developments.

A massive thanks to our main illustrator, Chris Golightly, who,

totally free of charge, has worked so hard to produce nearly forty

fantastic pencil illustrations which have been included in this book;

these drawings are from a combination of photographs, the chapter

extracts, and Chris’s own imagination, and have captured Dave D and

his personality so accurately and wonderfully. I am making an extra

donation for her work to my local collie charity, as Chris has

8

requested, and so much appreciate her artistic talent, her genuine

kindness and her love of Dave D and all animals.

Of course, very importantly, I want to thank this same charity

where we will be donating a percentage from the sale of every book,

our fantastic Border Collie Trust GB rescue centre in Staffordshire,

where I first met my Dave D. (www.bordercollietrustgb.org.uk). A

huge thanks to Ben and every single member of staff there for all their

continued dedication to rescuing and re-homing collies throughout

Great Britain. Thank you for their constant hard work, for their expert

advice, for first allowing me to work for them as a volunteer walking

the collies, for their support, friendship and encouragement leading to

me giving my wonderful collie, Dave, his new home with me, back in

April 2012.

Thank you most sincerely to all those humans owning, and

working in, the many dog-friendly places which we visited on our

awesome adventures throughout the British Isles, where Dave D and I

have always been accommodated and welcomed so warmly.

A big thank you to Nicki Teager, who also loves dogs, for

voluntarily assisting with the initial proof-reading of our manuscript

and whose advice, professional stance, experience, insight and

friendship have been so much valued and appreciated.

Thank you to all who have helped with advice on producing and

printing of initial and further manuscripts in the earlier and later stages

as I proof-read and developed our book chapters. I have appreciated

your interest in our book and your much-valued advice, especially my

colleagues Janet, Pat and Sally; also technical advisor, graphic and

web designer and printer Martin Roberts of Pwllheli, for his patience,

support and invaluable help. Due to the fact that all of the photographs

used in this book are actually real ones with no photo-shopping, we

needed to ensure that there were no background faces or car number

plate details visible.

In addition, a big thanks to illustrator, Helen Turnbull

(helen.turnbull@hotmail.com) for her detailed ink drawings of Dave

D proudly waiting at his favourite bus stop, on the beach showing

confidence with his fellow collies, of baby Jacob, and also so

accurately depicting our collie-club walk members on their

expedition!

A grateful thanks to all humans working so hard for that

marvellous registered charity The Yellow Dog Project,

(www.yellowdoguk.co.uk) who seek to raise awareness that some

9

dogs like Dave D may need space for a variety of reasons when out in

public. This support is shown in the form of sharing information,

leaflets, posters, and press releases; indications are through such as

actual markers like the yellow ribbons on the nervous dog’s lead or

collar, and wording on their lead cover - or printed on the lead itself.

An effective alternative option is a yellow ‘I need space’ vest or

bandana worn by the dogs themselves.

A huge thank you to all volunteers that we have mentioned in our

book chapters, who undertake such dangerous work on a completely

voluntary basis - including the R.N.L.I. lifeboat volunteers

(www.rnlishop.org.uk/) who so selflessly save so many lives at sea

every day throughout the British Isles. Another massive thanks go to

the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team for their rescue work of lost and

injured individuals, both human and four-legged, in the Lake District

National Park and more recently for bringing Jasper collie safely

down from a mountain in the Scafell Chain, despite the horrific

weather conditions. We wish them well as they work towards their

worthwhile target of funding to build their new base and for the

future.

I most definitely also need to thank Dave D himself, my adorable,

but nervous collie with his funny, yet so loveable ways, for the total

dedication he has shown to me, and true trust he has placed in me,

despite the challenges he faced and continues to experience. He has

been a wonderful companion and friend to have by my side on all of

our adventures and never failed to make me smile with his

entertaining ways, humorous antics, and total enthusiasm for life -

also bringing such genuine love, happiness, laughter and friendship to

my own life these past few years.

The fact that our entire book of nearly three years of his life has

been written from Dave D’s perspective is a reflection of the influence

that this boy has had, and continues to have, on my own life. Me being

able to see so many true adventures through this collie’s eyes and

understanding him so well has enabled me to write this amusing, yet

factual book and shows the unmistakable bond which we share and

which has developed over the past years through so many real

adventures.

Most importantly of all, I would like to say my heartfelt thanks to

my mum and best friend, Barbara Stoker, who has helped me to proof-

read, Dave D’s Diary, thoroughly, several times, and who has also

enjoyed sharing, and learning from, so many of mine and Dave D’s

amazing experiences and adventures which you will read about. I am

10

also eternally grateful to my mum for her never-ending patience, her

genuinely kind nature, her determination, her willingness to assist and

non-judgementally advise me in every way, her consistently positive

outlook in every situation and circumstance, for helping me to see

solutions when there had not seemed to be any, and her overall belief

in, and unfailing love for, me as her daughter.

I have grown up recognising and admiring my mum’s genuine

interest in, love of and enthusiasm for, literacy, travel, adventure,

swimming, the outdoors and animals, all of which have inspired and

influenced me immensely, not just in the past years and recent

months as I planned and wrote this book, but throughout my life.

11

12

Contents Chapter One: From Homeless to True Love ...............................................................1 Chapter Two: Then and Now ......................................................................................5 Chapter Three: Toys Galore ...................................................................................... 33 Chapter Four: Golden Treasure and the Giant Tuggy ............................................... 60 Chapter Five: Lifeboats, Telescopes and Tractors .................................................... 71 Dave D’s Photo Album! ............................................................................................ 89 Chapter Six: Postal Dramas .................................................................................... 105 Chapter Seven: Collie Therapy ............................................................................... 115 Chapter Eight: Hiding, Hotel Fun, Blankets and Dreams ....................................... 128 Chapter Nine: A Tail of Tales ................................................................................. 146 Chapter Ten: Signposts and Animal Experiences ................................................... 157 Chapter Eleven: Carry on Camping and Seaweed Sticks ........................................ 172 Chapter Twelve: Sheep! .......................................................................................... 189 Chapter Thirteen: Hole Explorations and Revelations ............................................ 207 Chapter Fourteen: Collie Travel on the Buses and at Sea ....................................... 238 Dave D’s Photo Album! .......................................................................................... 257 Chapter Fifteen: Train and Mountain Adventures .................................................. 283 Chapter Sixteen: Car Journeys with Drama ............................................................ 300 Chapter Seventeen: Insect Experiences and Protectors ........................................... 316 Chapter Eighteen: Plane Spotter, Cockles and Socks ............................................. 331 Chapter Nineteen: At One With Nature and Myself ............................................... 348

13

1

Chapter One

From homeless to true love

Hello, my name is Dave, Dave-Dog, the border collie. I am just over

twelve years old and I was taken to the wonderful Border Collie G.B.

re-homing and rescue centre in March 2012, because my old master

became poorly and went into a home for old people. He was not

allowed to keep me, so I was mixed up. I missed my master, I felt sad

in the big house for dogs in my little kennel room and the dogs upset

me with their barking. It made me nervous and anxious, as I had not

been socialised with other dogs much. However, I was told that the

lovely volunteers would help to find me a new home and a new

human person to love me. I had to trust them, despite my fear of other

dogs. (Even now I frequently worry when I see a dog, either nearby or

in the distance, so I often crouch down, watching them closely.)

One day a new lady volunteer called Sue came to take me for a

walk. She worked out how to put my soft green harness on me, before

attaching a blue lead which she had chosen from a selection on the

hooks - and which matched my collar, then taking me walking on a

quiet lane away from the rescue centre field where many other dogs

were being walked. We went on a long walk in a large, green field and

we ran in the grass together which was fun. I had to crouch down very

low to squeeze under some wooden gates, but it was an adventure. I

felt free and happy, but best of all no longer nervous because there

were no other dogs around.

Sue seemed a sad lady, so I would jump up to sit on the small seat

next to her by the pretty village pond and let her stroke my soft fur.

She took me back each time and left me in the dog house kennel.

Every day new dogs would come into the home whose master or

mistress didn’t want them anymore. I hoped with all my heart that the

kind lady would return to walk me. She did come back to walk me,

again and again. I always gave her my cutest Dave D smile and often

2

my white paw, too. I truly treasured those precious happy moments by

her side.

Another day she took me for a drive in her red car. Before this,

Sue had seemed extra happy as she read the special instructions on my

kennel door card - which is for staff and volunteers - saying that I was

a ‘good traveller’. (Many of the other collies weren’t.) I felt so happy

myself, too, as she took me to see a peaceful, new building without

lots of noisy dogs. She explained that it was her own home and

allowed me off my lead. I ran in the long garden amongst the grass

and in and out of the trees, I saw pigeons peeping at me from the

rooftop, and felt the warm sun shining on me as I lay down on her

patio. I was so relaxed and wished that I could stay there for ever and

ever. Unfortunately, Sue still took me back to the big dogs’ home,

unclipped my harness and lead, and put me back in my kennel. As she

shut that metal door I looked out at her with pleading eyes, willing

Sue not to leave me there. After that, I didn’t see her for a long time. I

missed her very much and felt so sad.

However, her friend Margaret came to see me at the rescue centre

and played ball with me in a quiet, enclosed area at one side of the

field. Sue had asked her to. I had been sitting waiting for Sue for days,

looking through my kennel door bars, barking and hoping that she

would hear me. Margaret gently told me that Sue's mum had been in

an accident and was in hospital, so Sue had gone to see her in