Simone & Ziggy

Ziggy, in one of her rare, still moments.

Hi! I'm Simone. I'm a Psychology student, from Newcastle (Are you noticing a pattern here?). I normally do some blogging over at Lipstick and Long Hair, although I will admit to being a inconsistent blogger over there! I really look forward to blogging over here at Paws For Pups about my pride and joy, my dog.

Tongue out, one step away from post-walk flat out!

I'm the proud owner of a Labrador cross Golden Retriever, named Ziggy. She's 3 years old (Her Birthday is May 28th) and she's been mine since January of 2014. Ziggy was never intended to be a pet dog, she was actually born for a very specific purpose in life; She was born to be a guide dog. Ziggy was also a very special puppy who was named by a couple in Sunderland after their late son, who's nickname was Ziggy. Ziggy has lived her whole life here in the north east, she was puppy walked in Redcar, which is when it was discovered that Ziggy wasn't cut out to be a guide dog. While excellent at her job, when she was working other dogs made her very, very anxious. She started to lie down when she saw other dogs and when she saw her harness come out to wear to work, she would try and hide so she could stay at home. It was decided that Ziggy would be much happier as a pet dog than a working dog, so was withdrawn from guide dog training, and she was rehomed to the couple who had named her. Unfortunately, a few months after living with them, their young grandson developed an awful allergy to dogs, and she needed to find a new home once again. This was how Ziggy became ours, she was rehomed to us by Guide Dogs! it was for a one week trail, and honestly it was like she'd never been anywhere else in her life, she fitted in like she'd never been away from us. We adore her, and she adores us.

Wrapped up in her snake to sleep!

Ziggy is a very, very big dog! she's 36.5kg and pure muscle. She loves to swim, she loves to run and she loves to chase a ball! In fact, she's been known to steal balls from other dogs at the beach or in the park. She's a great lover of mud, anything mucky, and we think she thinks she was born in the wrong body, and that her destiny was actually to be a black labrador, as she's forever covering herself in mud. Her favourite toy (other than a ball!) is an old IKEA cuddly toy snake. She loves to play tug of war with other puppies with it, and wrap herself up in it to play by herself. Her favourite activity of all time though, is swimming. She loves chasing a ball into the water and going for a long swim, she also likes to just go for a dip sometimes, and adores swimming in the doggy pool!

Never have I known a dog to be quite as independent or moody as Ziggy! When she's had enough of the hustle and bustle of family life, she takes herself of to bed, not her bed though, my bed. She takes herself off and goes to lie on her own, she's comfortable in her own company but really loves to cuddle too. She really did complete our family when we got her, and means so much to all of my family.

Simone & Ziggy 

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