Pippa

Pippa greets Chrissie.

Regular visitors to the Ash Tree Stables will be familiar with my beloved lifelong best friend and constant companion...Pippa.

It has been a difficult week with the fickle weather making driving uncertain. One or two people set out from home in the dry after a dry morning only to find the rain set in or a torrential localised downpour on their arrival.

It has been suggested to me that I introduce and tell you something about Pippa.

In 1996 I acquired Pippa as a 6 week old pup to train up to take over the farm duties of another loving friend and faithful working Collie, Jan, who was coming to the end of her working life at 12 years old.

At that time, on the farm on the northern edge of Swanage we had a flock of 500 ewes and a dairy herd of some 90 Friesian cows and their followers, so there was plenty of work for a working dog. I trained Pippa to work both sheep and cattle and my job was made a little easier as she was able to learn some of her skills from Jan, who was also blessed with a very similar gentle nature, especially with children. We had four grandchildren as regular visitors to our home on the farm, and we also held frequent schools visits.

It was a sad day when we left the farm in November 2001 and moved to an urban environment in Poole, but Pippa has adapted well to the change. The opportunity for me to bring Pippa to Holton Lee has been a blessing for us both as she has always been with me all her life, and Pippa has endeared herself many. In fact I believe she is now recognised as a valuable member of the team!

Dogs are not encouraged in the yard around horses for reasons of safety, but Pippa has proved herself not to be a hazard and both Pippa and I are grateful for the approval of Wally, the Group Organiser/yard manager for this special dispensation, as safety in the yard is of prime importance.

Pippa has become a familiar character in the yard and a number of our regular drivers look forward to being greeted by Pippa who is always game for a bit of fuss & love! Chrissie, in a wheelchair, comes on a Wednesday and if Pippa is not there to greet her she will ask where she is. Sometimes, if I have been out on a drive, she will be tied up as she is not allowed to follow the horses on a drive for safety reasons. (I'm sure she'd love the role of carriage dog even though the spots aren't quite right!)

For those who don't know about carriage dogs, Dalmatians were trained to run along with horse and carriages in the mid 1800s, and became known as carriage dogs. Their job was to guard from other dogs which would chase the carriage and frighten the horses. Fire departments also used dalmatians to guard their carriages and the Dalmatian became mascot of the fire service.
The Tyrodal Carriage Dogs is an interesting website.

Martin, who has a learning difficulty and helps in the yard four days a week, was very wary of Pippa when he first met her, and we respect that (not everyone likes dogs), but I noticed recently as Martin was going out of the yard for his taxi home, that he actually turned round and went out of his way to stroke her and say goodbye!
Animals are wonderful therapists.