Ambassadog result: One lovestruck fox terrier...

Within moments of arriving for my Ambassadog interview at Prestonfield House, my heart was all a flutter.

Some of the others on the shortlist were frolicking with a ball, but I had no time to waste. There was one particular dog I was keen to meet.

I'd watched and admired her wee video. But when I saw her in the flesh I realised that nothing could have prepared me for such overwhelming beauty.

Oh my word was there ever a more fragrant rear end? It was love at first sniff.

Gail tried to get me to socialise with the other pups...

...but Fenton, the Sheltie from Shetland, was the only girl for me! Oh what a vision of loveliness! And yes, I was thrilled to learn she really is named after "FENTON!!!!" of YouTube fame. Such distinction...

I just couldn't leave her alone.

OK so the other pups were cute and stuff,

And golden retriever George from Glasgow, the winner of the Ambassadog title, is undoubtedly a handsome fellow (and surprisingly well-mannered, for a 'Weegie'…)

But oh I have eyes only for Fenton.

Saying goodbye was almost more than I could bear.

As soon as I arrived home, I was onto the internet and looking up timetables. The next ferry to Shetland leaves from Aberdeen Harbour this evening.

Can anyone offer tips on how to become a stowaway? Would it help if I wore my Shetland wool jumper?

PS from Gail: when Bertie has recovered from his overwrought state (and apologised to Addi for his shockingly unfaithful behaviour) he will tell you about a rather more cerebral adventure inside Prestonfield House.

On or off piste at Muir of Dinnet?

A few days ago Gail and I went exploring the Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve.

Sometimes I stayed on piste…

And sometimes I didn't.

Got a problem Gail?

What's that you're saying? The boardwalk is there for a purpose?

Really?


PS Thank you for all your encouraging comments ahead of Sunday's big Ambassadog event. Oh I can scarcely contain my excitement! A special trip to Edinbugh! An afternoon at a fancy hotel! We promise a full report early next week. Meanwhile, click here if you want read what our local Aberdeen newspaper had to say today about me making the shortlist. (And yes they did spell Gail's surname wrong).

Yippee! I'm on the Ambassadog shortlist!

Do you remember a few weeks ago, when I told you that our tourist people VisitScotland had advertised for an Ambassadog, and that I was going to apply?

Many of my readers were even kind enough to provide references in support of my application.

Well I am thrilled to announce that, with your help, I have reached the shortlist of nine dogs and have been invited to a special Ambassadog Selection Day in Edinburgh next Sunday. 

But before that, last Friday VisitScotland came to Aberdeen to make a wee video of me on my home turf. Can you believe it took them 4 1/2 hours to make a 90 second video? Frankly I was mightily handicapped by Gail, who is, well, let's just say that not all of us can be naturals in front of the camera. Not to mention the minor problem of her distinctly English accent. Oh yes, and there was the worst of Aberdeen weather to contend with - even inside the house the videographer complained about the noise of the the rain lashing against the window as I was being filmed sat on Gail's lap on the sofa.

So anyway I'm sure you'll want to see the wee video.

Ambassadog Nominee - Bertie, Aberdeen from Butterfly Films on Vimeo.


Click Ambassadogs shortlist to see my competitors.

Please wish us luck on Sunday!

We'll need it.

PS from Gail: It is a bit rich being criticised for my performance by a dog who, having sat peacefully on my lap for forty minutes of repeated takes, decided to growl at the camera and head for the door the moment I started talking about "our bond" and how he enjoys being close to me....Perfect timing Bertie!


PPS You can vote for your favourite Ambassadog candidate on the VisitScotland Facebook page. It is a 'just for fun' vote, but still...

On 'Being a Beast'

Gail, I see you have a new book, 'Being a Beast' by Charles Foster. The title sounds interesting. Do tell me what it's all about.

Well Bertie, where to begin? The author, who is an Oxford academic and also a qualified vet, decided he would attempt to experience life as a variety of wild animals and then write about it. So he spent several months living as a badger in a makeshift set. He also had a shot a being an urban fox, an otter, a red deer and, perhaps least successfully, a swift.

Hmmm. Most intriguing. How did the badger thing go?

So the badger chapter opens with the arresting statement: "When you put a worm in your mouth, it senses the heat as something sinister". Later on he deploys the wine tasters' concept of 'terroir' to describe the way the taste of a worm varies according to the soil type in which it lives. 

Gosh, isn't that a tiny bit pretentious? As well as unpleasant. Did he fare any better as an urban fox?

Not really. It seems the policeman who found him sleeping rough under a rhododendron bush on private land was not too impressed with his "I'm trying to be a fox" line and told him to "bugger off home, SIR, and get a life".

Oh dear, it all sounds a most unpromising enterprise. Perhaps it would have been easier if the author had chosen to replicate a dog's life?

Well Bertie, I suspect that a daily routine of being taken for nice walks, having all one's food provided in a clean and convenient bowl on the kitchen floor, and spending evenings being given belly rubs on the sofa, would not offer the sort of 'nature red in tooth and claw' experience Mr Foster had in mind for the book.

You have a point Gail. And anyway, who needs to read about humans pretending to be dogs when so many of my own species have already mastered the art of social media….?


P.S. For those readers interested in the progress of my 'Ambassadog' application - there will be an update on Tuesday this week. Watch this space!