Liz Hinds & George

Who is in the photo at right?

My name’s Liz Hinds. I live in Wales with my husband and our golden retriever, George, who’s 2 and a half.

What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine?

Sorry, I’m not a coffee drinker but I do love my cup of tea. I don’t need an excuse for tea but let’s say, we’ve just come back from our walkies and I need refreshment.

What's brewing?

My tea must be made in a teapot – none of this teabag in a cup for me. I warm the pot then pop in one fairtrade teabag – ordinary English breakfast tea, nothing fancy – and top with boiling water. The teacosy goes on and I leave the tea to brew for a few minutes while I get my mug ready. My favourite mug currently is one with ‘Granny’ on the side. I was given it for Christmas this year after the birth of my first grandchild. A drop of milk in the bottom then the brewed tea goes in and I’m ready to sit down at my computer to drink it while blogging, often about George’s misadventures.

Any goodies to go with the tea?

During Fairtrade Fortnight, a couple of weeks ago, I had to make batch after batch of fairtrade chocolate chip cookies and, of course, I had to sample them. Now my trousers won’t do up so, no, no goodies today.

Any treat for George on this occasion?

He always has a large bonio biscuit when he comes back from his walk.

How did you and George come together?

Our previous retriever, Harvey, had died in the July and by the November we were ready to have another. I saw the photos on a website of a group of puppies and we went along ‘just to have a look’. We saw him and that was that.

How did George get his name? Does he have any aliases?

It took us quite a few days to decide on his name. Our son lives with us too and between the three of us we couldn’t agree on anything – until we came to George. Gorgeous Georgeous is one of his nicknames. You stinky dog is another.

Does George play a large role on your blog?

My blog was originally subtitled ‘The thoughts of me and my dog, Harvey’; it now reads ‘…who used to be Harvey, but is now George, who is Harvey's great-great-great-great-nephew.’ He figures largely, but his place has rather been taken recently by my new granddaughter!

Is there an apt vowel-stingy Welsh adjective to describe George?

What about ci drwg? (Naughty dog or as it’s written, dog naughty.)

Rabbit, cat, postman...?

Rabbit and cat watch out! Not that he’d know what to do if they came face to face. But the minute the postman arrives George rushes past him to go and check the gate. He wants to see if the postman has left it open, allowing him to escape to freedom and next door’s rubbish bin. Fortunately the postman knows him too well and makes sure he closes the gate.

Tennis ball, Frisbee, squeaky-toy...?

George has a low boredom threshold and will give chase – until he gets fed-up.

Who is George's best pet-pal?

George has lots of blogging friends including Simi in Sicily, Raki in Devon, and Luckie whom you’ve already featured. He’s very fond of his ‘cousin’ Holly, but his best pet-pal at the moment is Willit, a husky puppy. They go to the beach and the woods together and have great fun!

What's George's best quality?

Let me think. I’m sure he has some … um, well, erm, oh yes, he’s gentle and a brilliant stick-fetcher. (But he doesn’t like to let go of it then.) He’s also The Great Escaper but I’m not sure that is a quality to be encouraged.

What's George's proudest moment so far? His most embarrassing?

George’s proudest moment was probably when he realised the big outside wasn’t such a scary place after all. When he was a tiny puppy I had to drag him along on walks; today he grabs every opportunity.

George doesn’t get embarrassed. If you mean embarrassing for me then probably when he got into next-door’s house, found their laundry bin, stole a pair of socks and brought them home to us. Or maybe when the postman found George wandering and locked him in an old lady’s garden while he came to fetch me in his post van.

No, wait, George may have been a bit embarrassed when he had a panic attack on finding a slug on his leg.

Naughtiest moments usually include food, like the time he ate a pound of butter from my mixing bowl when I was making a cake. Or the time he stole the turkey on Christmas Day.

Apart from butter and turkey what does George like to eat?

Banana – he can hear a banana being peeled from two rooms away. Broccoli, raw potato or carrot that he steals from the pantry. Apple, grapes, orange. Anything I’m eating.

Visit Liz Hinds' blog "Finding lfe hard?" and watch the video starring the dear departed Harvey.

--Marshal Zeringue