Want to talk about your pet subject?*If you would like to feature (with your pet) in a forthcoming edition of this regular column, please contact Colleen Morgan at Colleen@MoodieDavittReport.com |
The Moodie Davitt Report is delighted to bring you the latest episode in our Pet-sonality Profile column, in association with Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
In this regular fun feature, we discover more about travel retail pet-sonalities, their back stories, traits and habits, as well as offering some insights into their owners. Each pet-sonality will also be painted digitally by pets and equine artist Sami Moodie.
In this edition, we meet Formulae Prescott* Founder Pauline Prescott and Daisy and Digger, two rescue dogs who prove you should never judge a book (nor a canine companion) by its cover.
Names: Daisy and Digger
Breed: They are both English Bull Terriers and both rescue dogs.
How old are they? Daisy is ten and Digger is just four.
How did you meet? My husband Dennis and I met Daisy at a rescue shelter after hearing that she had been taken there at six months old and, sadly, no-one wanted her.
Digger came to us from a breeder who knew we took in rescue and hard-to-place dogs so one day we got the second call to help home another English Bull Terrier and Digger came to us. Both dogs were already named; Daisy and Digger just seemed to suit them.
Love at first sight? It’s always hard to see any animal homeless and spending a lot of time locked up. And we love dogs so if we can help, we do. Once the staff at the rescue shelters know you have taken in abandoned animals you are at the top of their contact list.
I felt so sorry for Daisy. She looked so depressed and forlorn, having spent months locked in a crate. Of course, we had to take her home.
Rescue dogs have often had a difficult time before you get them, and I think they are more loving and grateful for a home because they have spent so much time without a loving and safe home. When they find their home, they become Velcro dogs that never want to be parted from you.
Quirky habits? Daisy loves to play football with herself. She will knock a ball around the house all day long if she can. She doesn’t need anyone to throw the ball, she just flicks it around the floor for hours with her nose and paws.
Guests are always amazed when they watch her as she manages to navigate the furniture and hit the ball in whatever direction she wants. We always have to be careful if we pass kids playing sport because she will howl to join in.
Digger loves to people and bird watch. He sits on the armchair next to the window all day watching the birds and locals walking into town. Funny how one dog is active and always playing and the other is a couch potato. All he wants is his armchair with a view.
Funniest and/or nicest moment? Both dogs have Halloween outfits and in the USA on ‘Trick or Treat’ night they were the ones who would welcome children to the house with buckets of sweets. As you can imagine that always resulted in lots of photographs being taken. They were quite the stars!
Both Daisy and Digger used to be part of a weekly Paw Play group in Phoenix where we lived for a few years. The really funny thing is that the dogs had to be interviewed to join. I’d never heard of that before.
Rules included no jumping up, no aggressive behaviour and no hoarding of toys. Any dogs that didn’t keep to the rules were not allowed to join. Smaller dogs were kept in Toy Town. As they say, only in America…
Favourite trick? And treat? Bull Terriers aren’t good at tricks. Like most terriers, they are way too interested in pleasing themselves. That said, strangely enough both dogs love carrots. They will even drop a biscuit for a carrot!
Social media accounts? No social media but they are featured on our phones with literally hundreds of images. I love the Jimmy Choo Bull Terrier social account. Take a look, the photos are amazing.
If Daisy and Digger could talk what would their first words be? Without a doubt, Daisy’s would be where is my football? Digger would be asking if it was dinner time again.
Favourite airport/airline: Both dogs have travelled with us a lot. Within the USA, we moved from Phoenix to Florida and then to Ireland, so flights and pet passports have featured in both dogs’ lives. Daisy has also been to Telluride in Colorado, where we went up a mountain on a gondola for a party. She also enjoyed a beach holiday in California several years ago.
Both dogs are now happily settled in Ireland with Dennis and me.
Daisy and Digger have both flown British Airways and KLM. They were fine and both airlines did a great job of looking after them.
Anything else we should know? English Bull Terriers are often overlooked in rescues because they have smaller eyes, short hair and pointy, not soft, ears. People often think they are not very attractive or are mean in disposition.
In truth they are loving and hugely loyal family dogs so the moral of the story of our dog rescue is to never judge a book buy its cover and give a rescue a chance.
*Note: Driven by the need to simplify her skincare regime and lighten her luggage, Formulae Prescott Founder Pauline Prescott developed a multi-tasking skincare line, which includes Tri-Balm to cleanse, exfoliate and moisturise the skin in one step.
As reported, Pauline presented her range at this month’s TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes. Formulae Prescott is represented in travel retail by Vincent McDermott of TR Partners.
**Click here for our introductory story on the Duty Free Unleashed partnership with Tito’s Handmade Vodka. The independent vodka brand from Austin, Texas has had a close connection with the welfare of dogs since its founding by Bert ‘Tito’ Beveridge in 1997. The company has always been committed to rescuing and protecting the animals that have come into the lives of its people, and has even created a programme, Vodka for Dog People, to help that come to life.
Note: Through this new column, Tito’s Handmade Vodka and The Moodie Davitt Report are partnering to promote the work of brokenbiscuits.org, a disabled animal charity. As the world’s first disabled animal centre, its work includes:
- Providing equipment to families
- Offering homes to paraplegic, deaf, blind and disabled animals
- An education programme of visiting schools and universities
- Working alongside rescue centre, rehabbers and veterinary professionals
- Caring for stray and surrendered disabled animals
To support the work of Broken Biscuits, you can donate via this link or find out more via the youtube channel.
Previously on Pet-sonality Profile
Meet Duke and Lindsay Hitzeroth
Meet Barry Geoghegan, Milly and Jess
Meet Julio Cesar Magaña Ortiz and Hope
