The easing of lockdown, and a bit of a catch up.

Well, time ran away with me for a little while so this blog has been somewhat delayed. A couple of issues arose recently that would have made great discussion points. However, they will have to wait for another time now.

This time I wanted to mention just a couple of points that I think are quite relevant at the moment. Firstly, and very importantly, lockdown is being eased, even if just a little. I would ask all dog owners who have been around home a lot more recently, to remember this – your dog doesn’t realise what has been going on, as we all know. They do realise you have been around a lot more though. And my guessing is they have loved every second of it. If you are anything like me, you will have cherished it too. In particular, we had a foreign holiday booked, during which time Dexter goes to see his ‘nanny and granddad’. He loves them, indeed he has missed them chronically during lockdown, and vice versa. However, he would have missed us if we were away. So it is nice to know that we have not been apart when we would have been.

So what is my point? We are gradually returning to normal. Maybe slowly, but nonetheless we are returning to normal and so we will be out of the house a bit more than we have been. Your dog won’t understand why. The Queen’s dog trainer recently discussed this issue, noting that he expects an increase in the number of dogs experiencing separation anxiety. Just bear this in mind, and consider doing mini absences to get your dog used to being alone again.

On another note, some of you will know I founded a charity recently, The Abused Pet Refuge Project (www.abusedpetrefuge.com, Twitter: @PetRefuge). We campaign/educate/help rescue pets who are affected by domestic violence. I, with my very good friend, and co-trustee, Mrs Hannah Bazeley, will be launching my new podcast on animal welfare issues soon. We aim to do a regular podcast, in discussion with each other, and others when appropriate, on animal welfare issues. We would love to know what you would like us to discuss, and of course, would love it even more if you tuned in (anchor.fm/gavinridley). Our first podcast, due very soon, will be on the issue of doggy diets. We will be looking at two very contentious issues. Firstly whether it is healthy to feed raw, and secondly whether it is ethically right to feed vegan. I won’t say any more on this now, to avoid spoiling the discussion, but for those of you who don’t manage to tune in, I will do a blog piece on that another time.

I will just take this opportunity to remind you of my petition, to have Breed Specific Legislation reviewed (see my last blog entry). We are now at over 45000 signatures and getting in the region of 5000 signatures a day! It has been the most signed petition per hour for days now. If you haven’t already signed it, please do so, and share it! It is available here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300561

On a final note, can I draw your attention to the Animal Welfare Party, a UK political party which focuses on animal welfare issues. I am hoping to work with them in the near future. They are a great party, and deserve more prominence in the UK political arena.

I aim to give a more in-depth discussion in the next blog. This time I have been a little busy becoming as self-sufficient as possible with my veg growing and crafting, work has been very busy, and I have a focus in criminal, family and immigration law, as well as animal welfare, so my time is often divided.

Please remember, be kind when discussing anything on this blog, to me and each other. We are here to help animals.