Friends Of #FurkidFriday: Toby And Austin

Hi everyone. This is Lilie the Westie.

I have two new friends for you to meet today. Their names are Toby and Austin.

It's really nice to meet you, Toby and Austin, and to have you come over for a visit to the blog. For the benifit of those who don't know you, what species and breed are you?

We are dogs, and our breed is the Cardigan Welsh Corgi.

Nice! Describe your appearance. I know you’ve sent a photo – which I’ll share in a moment - but please describe yourself too, for the benefit of those who can't see the photo.

We're a long, low dog with upright ears and a fox brush tail. The old American Kennel Club standard called our breed an "Alsatian on short legs". Our tail is long (unlike the Pembroke Welsh Corgi, whose tail may be long or naturally bobbed.

We are double coated and come in a variety of colours including any shade of red, sable, or brindle, as well as black, with or without tan, brindle or blue merle, with or without tan or brindle points. We have white fur on the neck, chest, legs, muzzle, underneath, the tip of our tails and as a blaze on the head. An average Cardigan Corgi is around 10 to 13 inches (250 to 330 mm) tall at the withers and weighs from 30 to 38 pounds (14 to 17 kg) for the male and 25 to 34 pounds (11 to 15 kg) for the female.

You’re not much bigger than I am, and sound like great looking dogs. In fact, here’s that photo of you, for the benefit of those who can and want to see it:



Anyway, what sort of place do you live in? Who do you share it with?

We live in a house on Swansea Bay, in south-west Wales, in the United Kingdom. We share the house with our two owners, Hugh and John.

Mummy says she comes from near there, and my new little brother, Logan, comes from Wales too, though Mummy says where he’s from is a few hours away from where you live. Anyway, I hope you like living there with Hugh and John.

Speaking of things you like, what's your favourite thing to do?

We love going for walks along the beach, which is only a five-minute walk away. While on the beach we like to chase a ball, roll around in the sand, and Austin also likes to paddle in the sea. Ever since falling through thin ice, Toby does not like going into water. When we are at home, we like to sleep a lot or doze in front of the television when our owners are watching it.

I love walkies on the beach! Ours isn’t the sandy kind though, and I’ve never played in sand. The little stones on it are fun to play with though, and I'll gladly join Austin for some paddling time. Hey, speaking of playing, do you have a favourite toy? If yes, what is it?

That's a tough question because we often dig out toys from the bottom of our toy basket which we may not have played with for many months. However, more often than not, a tennis ball will always be played with. We get through quite a lot of them because they get lost, or Austin enjoys removing the jacket off the ball.

Removing jackets off tennis balls is fun! I do that too. By the way, since we’re talking about favourite things, what's your favourite food?

Just about anything! We enjoy our food, but especially chicken, beef, lamb or fish. We also enjoy our dog biscuits and get treated to the odd bit of toast in the mornings. If there is any sign of cheese, we’ll be there in a flash regardless of what we’re doing.

Good choices! Still on the subject of favourite things, what's the one thing your humans do that you love most?

They look after us so well, but we especially love the fact that they take us out for walks three times a day regardless of what the weather is doing. Our coats are waterproof, but the boys always end up getting soaking wet.

That’s really good of them. Humans often hate getting wet in rain, so it’s good they do that for you. Thinking about them probably not enjoying getting wet makes me think of the less fun things in life, which leads me to my next question: what's the one thing your humans do that you hate most?

For Toby, it's having his coat brushed. Where is the fun in that? For Austin, it's watching John and Hugh put all the toys back in our toy basket, because that means playtime is over.

I hate when play time is over too.

Mummy says at least one of your humans is a writer. Has he written anything about you? If yes, can you tell us about it? If no, do you think he will in the future?

We've both featured on Hugh's blog, although not so much lately because we much rather play than write. Toby has written a few blog posts about some of his walks (before Austin came along), and we've both featured in various photography challenges which Hugh sometimes participates in.

Hugh also included us in one of his recent short stories in his new book, More Glimpses, where he placed us in the middle of a murder mystery. For us, solving some murders which have taken place in a real-life, sleepy, English village was great fun, even if just a tad scary.

WOW! Sounds exciting!

Hey, speaking of Hugh’s writing: what do you do while he writes?

Sleep. We love to sleep, and often get woken by Hugh when we're dreaming. He always asks what we were dreaming about, but we’re not telling him! If we did that, our dreams would likely end up in one of his stories.

Depending on the dream, that could be either a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, Hugh should be using his own dreams for story ideas, and let you keep yours private.

OK, it’s about time to end this. Before I do though, is there anything else you'd like people to know about you?

If anyone reading this is thinking about getting a dog, please consider our breed. Until a few years ago, our breed was on the vulnerable breeds list in the UK. We're family loving dogs who are loyal to their owners and bring lots of love into any families who chose us as their family pet. We promise to look after and protect you.

Got it. You hear that people? If you’re looking for a new pet, consider the Cardigan Welsh Corgi. If Toby and Austin are anything to go by, they’re fantastic dogs!

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Author bio, links, etc:

Hugh W. Roberts lives in Swansea, South Wales, in the United Kingdom.

Hugh gets his inspiration for writing from various avenues including writing prompts, photos, eavesdropping and while out walking his dogs, Toby and Austin. Although he was born in Wales, he has lived around various parts of the United Kingdom, including London where he lived and worked for 27 years.

Hugh suffers from a mild form of dyslexia but, after discovering blogging, decided not to allow the condition to stop his passion for writing. Since creating his blog 'Hugh's Views & News' in February 2014, he has built up a strong following and now writes every day. Always keen to promote other bloggers, authors and writers, Hugh enjoys the interaction blogging brings and has built up a group of online friends he considers as an 'everyday essential'.

His short stories have become well known for the unexpected twists they contain in taking the reader up a completely different path to one they think they are on. One of the best compliments a reader can give Hugh is "I never saw that ending coming."

Having published his first book of short stories, Glimpses, in December 2016, his second collection of short stories, More Glimpses, was released in March 2019. Hugh is already working on the next volume.

A keen photographer, he also enjoys cycling, walking, reading, watching television, and enjoys relaxing most evenings with a glass of red wine.

Hugh shares his life with John, his civil-partner, and Toby and Austin, their Cardigan Welsh Corgis.

Blog: Hugh’s Views and News
Twitter: @HughRoberts05
Flipboard: @HughWRoberts
Mix.com
Amazon
Goodreads

More Glimpses

Do you believe in fairies at the bottom of the garden? Or know the real truth about what lurks inside every mobile phone? Would you steal items from a blind person, or send your neighbours on a time travelling adventure fraught with danger and menace in order to save the human race from a bug? How about staying in a sleepy village where many murders have taken place, or coming to the aid of royalty while out shopping? These are just some of the subjects covered in the second collection of short stories and flash fiction from author and writer, Hugh W. Roberts.

'More Glimpses' allows the reader to take a peek into the lives of normal, everyday people whose lives are all on a path full of twists, turns and unexpected endings. However, it's not only about the humans; nothing escapes the extraordinary journeys Hugh has planned for you.

If you are a lover of shows such as 'Black Mirror' or 'The Twilight Zone' then you're in for another exciting trip in this second collection from Hugh. Come and meet the characters who had no idea their lives were about to be turned upside-down.

Enjoy the ride!

Universal Link for buying Glimpses
Universal Link for buying More Glimpses

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I hope you enjoyed meeting Toby and Austin, and learning about them and their humans, Hugh and John.

If you're a bird, cat, chinchilla, degu, dog, fish, gerbil, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, rat, or other animal, and you live with a writer - yes, blogs count - and you'd like to be featured as a friend of Furkid Friday, just follow the instructions on the "Friends Of Furkid Friday" page. You might also want to check out the friends we've featured in the past, which you'll find listed at the bottom of the page I just mentioned.

Lots of licks,
Lilie