London is nothing if not a dog-friendly city, with plenty of parks, shops, restaurants, and attractions open to our four-legged companions.
06 December, 2016
London is nothing if not a dog-friendly city, with plenty of parks, shops, restaurants and attractions to welcome our four-legged companions. Many of our favourite dogs have acquired thousands of Instagram followers and become personalities in their own right, so we decided to speak with some of the city's most influential canines (via their owners) to find out about their favourite spots for walkies, their guilty pleasures and their travel dreams.
Dog name, age and breed:
Nelly, age three, blue Irish Staffordshire terrier.
Human name and occupation:
Melissa Hemsley, cook and food writer and Henry Relph, DJ and Art advisor.
What does your dog's dream day look like?
A whole morning of chasing sticks and other four-legged friends (with plenty of splashing around in rivers or lakes), a big lunch that revolves around chicken, an afternoon of napping, and finally being carried into bed and tucked in.
What is your dog's worst habit?
Bed hogging.
What would your dog say is your worst habit?
Going on holidays without her.
What is your dog's most endearing quality?
Her big smile - she is always happy and enthusiastic.
Where is your dog's favourite London park?
Epping Forest.
Has your dog got a pet passport and where have you been together?
Yes. She loves a bit of continental travel. In the summer, we took a fun 10-day road trip around France - we visited our friends Mimi and Oddur Thorinson and their 14 dogs.
What would be your dream doggie holiday?
Somewhere like Austria - hiking, splashing in lakes, camping. Henry and I have just come back from Tulum in Mexico where the dogs there were swimming and sunbathing on the beach - we'd have loved Nelly to enjoy that.
What's your dog getting for Christmas?
Epic long walks in the countryside and lots of fireplace snoozing.
Who is your dog's best friend?
Melissa's Mum because she completely indulges her - lovingly prepared meals, neck massages and belly rubs multiple times a day.
What is your dog's favourite meal?
Roast chicken - thighs over breast.
If your dog was a human, what would their catchphrase be?
Life is beautiful!
What would be their party trick?
If you dance, Nelly will immediately jump up on her back legs and dance with you. She could make it into the final of Strictly Come Dancing.
Where is your dog's happy place?
Buried in a massive pile of our dirty clothes!
Dog name, age and breed:
Mabel, one year old, whippet.
Human name and occupation:
Amelia Freer, nutritional therapist and author.
What does your dog's dream day look like?
A three-minute sprint in the park chasing a squirrel, followed by a day snoozing under a blanket.
What is your dog's worst habit?
Peeing on the doormat.
What would your dog say is your worst habit?
Walking in the rain. It is not necessary.
What is your dog's most endearing quality?
She makes funny singing noises in the morning when we all get up.
Where is your dog's favourite London park and why?
Kensington Gardens…. It's the only one she has been to.
Has your dog got a pet passport and where have you been together?
She pukes after five minutes in the car. She is happiest going to places within walking distance. Paris will have to come to her.
What would be your dream doggie holiday?
A week on a small, hot, remote island with no roads, plenty of rabbits and no rain. Whippets don't do rain.
What's your dog getting for Christmas?
Nothing. She is still paying for the joint of roast beef she stole from the kitchen table last month.
Who is your dog's best friend?
Her live-in brother Teddy, a working cocker spaniel.
What is your dog's favourite meal?
Organic lean raw beef followed by a rotting rat carcass dug up from the garden, which makes me wonder why I bother fussing over her food in the first place.
If your dog was a human, what would their catchphrase be?
It wasn't me!
What would be their party trick?
She can eat her own body weight in stolen beef and still look skinny.
Where is your dog's happy place?
Under the duvet at the end of the bed.
Dog name, age and breed:
Austin, one and a half years old, working cocker spaniel.
Human name and occupation:
Ella Mills/Deliciously Ella, cookery writer and entrepreneur.
What does your dog's dream day look like?
Anything that involves food! Austin is the most foodie/greedy dog I've ever met - he'll eat anything and spends a lot of his time lying next to his bowl just staring at it, hoping it gets filled ASAP.
What is your dog's worst habit?
Chewing - we've been a bit slack on training him and still find little bites on the back of our shoes too often.
What would your dog say is your worst habit?
Not paying him enough attention. When he feels we're not giving him the attention he deserves he just comes and sits on you and stops you doing whatever it is that you're focused on. I find him crawling onto my laptop and lying across the keyboard almost every night.
What is your dog's most endearing quality?
He loves people so much. We have a pretty hectic life so he's so used to meeting new people everyday and is so incredibly friendly with everyone he meets, which I love. He'll willingly accept cuddles from anyone and everyone.
Where is your dog's favourite London park and why?
Hyde Park because there are so many other dogs. He got a bit scared of the deer in Richmond Park when we took him there recently.
Has your dog got a pet passport and where have you been together?
He doesn't, but I'm sure he will soon.
What would be your dream doggie holiday?
Lying somewhere cosy with occasional walks. Austin is pretty sassy and he doesn't like the rain or the heat, he goes on hunger strike when it's too warm and often refuses to walk when it's pouring, so it would have to be somewhere with a mild, dry climate!
What's your dog getting for Christmas?
A bowl of Christmas dinner. We have three Christmases - one at my mum's, one at my dad's and one with my husband's parents, so Austin will get three Christmas dinners in a week. If last year is anything to go by, this will make him very happy!
Who is your dog's best friend?
My mum's dog, Alfie. They absolutely love each other, it's so sweet. Austin sometimes sits at the door crying when Alfie goes home.
What is their favourite meal?
Christmas dinner! Austin plays golf with my husband, Matt, and he gets sausages at the halfway hut - I've never played with them, but Matt says Austin loves it so much that he's been known to eat the paper plate and to steal sausages from the other dogs!
What would be their party trick?
Something that would ensure he was the centre of attention - Austin definitely isn't one to sit in the corner and miss out on the action.
Where is your dog's happy place?
Our bed, we gave in so quickly to letting him sleep on the end of the bed, as he just loves it. He's the first one in every night!
Dog name, breed, and age:
Cyril, two and a half years old, whippet.
Human name and occupation:
Rosie Birkett, cook, food stylist and author.
What does your dog's dream day look like?
An entire day between different beds (ours and his, with some time in between stretched out on the sofa), coupled with about half an hour of chasing squirrels in the park and eating.
What is your dog's worst habit?
Rolling in fox poo - indescribably disgusting. And scavenging for food. Cyril has loads of food allergies, which would be hilarious if it wasn't so expensive! He shouldn't eat wheat and he's always picking bread up from down on the canal - he gets scabs on his paws and costs us a fortune in vets bills.
What would your dog say is your worst habit?
Bathing him and washing off his foxy aftershave after a good roll.
What is your dog's most endearing quality?
He's a big softy and loves to get under the covers and snuggle. Plus he's so warm - like a hot water bottle.
Where is your dog's favourite London park and why?
Springfield Park as it's right by our house, full of squirrels for him to chase and good salad for him to eat (he loves his greens!)
Has your dog got a pet passport?
Not yet.
What would be your dream doggie holiday?
We would love to take him to Brittany in France to meet his namesake, our old housemate Cyril.
What's your dog getting for Christmas?
Lots of meaty treats and a new fleece.
Who is your dog's best friend?
He loves Lola the lurcher who lives down the canal.
What is their favourite meal?
Raw beef.
If your dog was a human, what would their catchphrase be?
"Can't you see I'm SLEEPING!?"
What would be their party trick?
He's a great singer, especially when we sing "Nice One Cyril".
Where is your dog's happy place?
Under the covers, snuggled between me and Jamie.
Dog name, age and breed:
Ernest (Ernie), 10 months, whippet.
Human name and occupation:
Mina Holland, editor of the Guardian's Cook supplement and author (of The Edible Atlas [2014] and forthcoming Mamma: Reflections on the Food that Makes Us).
What does your dog's dream day look like?
Ernie idolises my parents' dog (my canine brother?), Frank, a staffie cross. So his dream day would probably involve frolicking with Frank outside, in summer. He is particularly keen on stealing whatever toy or bone Frank is enjoying and prancing around hoping he will be chased. On this dream day, Frank would indeed chase. They'd also have free reign in a butcher's shop and end the day by sinking into a giant beanbag in front of a roaring fire. Simple pleasures, eh.
What is your dog's worst habit?
Farting but, more specifically, farting on public transport.
What would your dog say is your worst habit?
Going to work.
What is your dog's most endearing quality?
Tucking his unreasonably long snout into the crook of your neck while asleep on your lap.
Where is your dog's favourite London park and why?
It's predictable to say Hampstead Heath, but we love it, it is singularly gorgeous… We're really lucky to live only 10 minutes away. The fields surrounding Kenwood House are brilliant for finding other whippets he can bomb around with. I only discovered the Heath Extension (more towards Golder's Green) recently - it seems to be a great secret of dog walkers - a series of connecting fields surrounded by woodland: good if you have a hound that loves to run.
Has your dog got a pet passport and where have you been together?
He doesn't yet have a passport - it's on the cards but I'm also of the opinion that a holiday for me probably means a holiday without the dog (sorry, Ernie). That said, we're all for doing British holidays together! So far in his short life, he has sojourned in north Norfolk, Somerset (At The Chapel in Bruton and The Talbot Inn in Mells are dog-friendly) and the bright lights of Streatham.
What would be your dream doggie holiday?
Anthropomorphisation aside (the image of Ernie on a sun lounger with a pina colada is amazing), somewhere beautiful that we could all walk together, with excellent food and beverages for all, spa facilities and in-house dog care (ergo poop-scooping). If you hear of anywhere, let me know.
What's your dog getting for Christmas?
He is my first whippet and I'm still not over the novelty of having to buy clothing for him. So I'm contemplating some kind of fairisle jersey situation, possibly some reindeer horns. And probably a dried bull's penis, to which he's very partial.
Who is your dog's best friend?
A very glamorous British bulldog called Babette. He's not much of a gentleman to her - he bites her chubby cheeks, boxes her in the ears and even peed in her house once. But she gives as good as she's got and bulldozes him when she's had enough. He goes flying.
What is their favourite meal?
Boiled chicken with rice and bird cooking liquor, a feast reserved for when his stomach is upset. I think he wishes he was sick more. I don't.
If your dog was a human, what would their catchphrase be?
"Who am I? Why am I here?"
What would be their party trick?
Tricks aren't his forte (he barely sits) but he is impressive to watch run. Although, he wouldn't be much of a party guest if he ran away…
Where is your dog's happy place?
In our bed, as close to the pillows as possible, preferably in between us.
Dog name, age and breed:
Fergus, two-and-a-half years old, blue Staffordshire bull terrier.
Human name and occupation:
Bruno and Catherine Loubet; chef owner for Bruno and business partner for Catherine.
What does your dog's dream day look like?
Fergus is not an early bird and likes to lie in bed in the morning. He then has breakfast and goes for a long walk in the countryside with mum. There are a few National Trust and English Heritage properties that accept our four-legged friends so Fergus is quite educated in English history. He has also been known to go and try doggy friendly restaurants in London. But what Fergus loves the most is being at home or in the garden with mum and dad, with dad throwing his toy in the garden endlessly.
What is your dog's worst habit?
Barking at the postman and getting too excited when mum and dad have visitors.
What would your dog say is your worst habit?
Mum treats me like a kid not a dog! Not that I'm complaining. And Dad never lets me go in his vegetable garden.
What is your dog's most endearing quality?
His love for everyone he meets, his ability to understand everything and his enthusiasm for life.
Where is your dog's favourite London park and why?
Richmond Park, it used to be our local when we lived in London and it still is when we go and stay with our relatives there. Its so beautiful and Fergus can be left off lead which he loves. We do have to be careful when the dears are in season!
Has your dog got a pet passport and where have you been together?
Fergus has a pet passport and has been to Normandy, Bordeaux, and the French Pyrenees, most restaurants in France - including 'fine dining' ones - accept dogs. He has also stayed in the very smart Le Manoir in Oxford.
What would be your dream doggie holiday?
A gastronomic tour of UK with Fergus, which is unlikely as we are not as accommodating with dogs here yet!
What's your dog getting for Christmas?
Doggy stocking filled with treats.
Who is your dog's best friend?
Apart from us, his girlfriend Bella the rottweiler or Leo the golden retriever, who he met at puppy training class.
What is their favourite meal?
We grow all our veggies organically and keep chicken for eggs. We buy meat from our local farm shop so he has raw meat with organic eggs and raw veggies with coconut oil, turmeric and ginger.
If your dog was a human, what would their catchphrase be?
Everyone needs Fergus love! Everyone deserves Fergus love!
What would be their party trick?
Getting what he wants with the look he gives you.
Where is your dog's happy place?
Mum and dad's bed.
