Bloggers with big hearts

I am so sorry to everyone if you think I have been ignoring you recently.

I've not had chance to visit any blogs for AGES because of the Lady Of The House working really hard on the computer on boring stuff she calls work.

But today I've been catching up a bit, and I discovered that I'd been given THREE awards while I wasn't looking.

Both What Remains Now, and Graceful Greyhounds gave me the lovely Liebster Blog Award, while Chancy the Gardener gave me the Kreativ Blogger Award.

I am very pleased and proud and I do hope that you don't think I was ungrateful for not mentioning it before.

The Liebster Blog award is given to help promote young and growing blogs. To accept the award properly I have to pick my five favourite blogs - with less than 200 followers and pass it on to them.What a lovely idea!

In return for the Kreativ Blogger award I am supposed to tell you 10 things about myself that you wouldn’t know and pass the award on to six other bloggers.

Hopefully it's not cheating TOO much if I just pick five blogs with less than 200 followers (and one with more!!) If any of the blogs I nominate have already had one of these awards, please feel free to accept the other one.

Flora, Fauna, & Food - is a new blog I've only recently started following. 'Garden Girl' explores the world through nature and food and also shares lots about her three wonderful dogs (and her two cats).

Finn's dog blog  - is a blog I've followed for a while because two-year-old bulldog Finn just has the handsomest face ever (and I love him - but please don't tell him I would be embarrassed).

Grey hares on my sofa - is a lovely blog about re-homing, fostering and adopting retired racing greyhounds (like me).

The Circus Dog - is another bulldog blog. This one tells the adventures of Lola, and American Bulldog.

Kind Hearts - is one of my all-time favourite blogs that I followed soon after I started blogging. In north east England Grumpy Bobby and Dippy Pip watch foster dogs come and go and the blog is always full of love and laughter. Grumpy Bobby is my Boy Of The House's favourite dog in the world (after me of course) and he loves watching the videos they often post.

My sixth choice - which has MORE than 200 followers - is Homer the Golden Retriever, international jet setter and another very very handsome boy who makes my heart flutter a little.

Ten things about me then......Hmmm. You may well know some of these, but here goes....

1. I can dig for England (in fact I may well be digging for Australia at the rate the hole in the back lawn is developing)
2. I love Cheese and Marmite biscuits made by the Bespoke Dog Bakery (who do NOT pay me for my endorsement of their products!)
3. I like to dig in my loose blankets and make a warm and cosy nest for myself.
4. I bark at cats, would love to chase a squirrel (if I ever got off my lead) but if I see a wild rabbit I just stare at it silently.
5. I get so excited when the Man Of The House or the Lady Of The House comes in the front door that I put my paws up on their chests.
6. I love car rides, and if we walk past a car with its boot up I often try and jump in.
7. I have an unusually long nose and an overbite that gives me character.
9. I was humiliated this summer by being entered into a greyhound fancy dress competition as a camel and came 5th (out of 5).
10. I have a scar on my nose from an operation where the vet removed an abscess by going in through the top of my snout (that was before I came here).
                                   
Like everyone who follows lots of dog blogs I have been shocked and saddened by news of the devastating fire that destroyed the home of the Houston Pittie Pack and killed five of their seven dogs - including the amazing Shelby, a severely abused dog found in a car park covered in puncture wounds and sores. One theory is that she had been used a live bait for fighting dogs. Bloggers around the world followed Shelby's fight to live and recover from the summer of 2010 onwards.She made it - but has now been cruelly cheated out of her happy-ever-after along with fellow rescue dogs Guero, Coco Chanel, Tiger and Lucky.

Sandra Gonzalez lost everything, but was able to escape with her mother, son and two of their dogs. Bloggers have been raising funds since the tragedy on December 16 through a Chip In fund. You can see a link to it below. Although the initial modest total has been reached, anything you can spare this holiday season will help this devastated family.

What a nice start to the week

What a lovely surprise when I was catching up on the news from my namesake - The Other Winnie Cooper - last night and found that she had very generously passed on to me the Awesome Blog award.

I felt very privileged and proud.

If you've not met the other Winnie yet - she's a Shih Tzu and very very cute and clever. So do stop by and say hello to her.

As is the way with these awards I now have to tell you a few things about myself that you might not know. Hhhmmm! Let me think.

1. My dad was an Australian greyhound called Hahn Bale who came over to the UK to sire puppies. I look a lot like him going by the picture on Greyhound-Data.com

2. His dad - my grandad - was Head Honcho who died in 2001 was one of the inaugural inductees in to the Victorian Greyhound Racing Hall Of Fame in 2009.

2. I love sharing Sunday roast dinner with the family - well they save some for me to eat after them - but it does mean some rather bad smells coming from the direction of my bottom on a Sunday evening which I pretend are nothing to do with me.

3. I like having my teeth brushed with chicken-flavoured toothpaste.

4. If we see people jogging on our walks I act like I want to join in (you can take the greyhound of out of the stadium but you can't stop her wanting to run).

5. My favourite toy at the moment is a squeaky plush reindeer that I had for Christmas - but that will change again soon.

Now for the blogs that I would like to honour by passing on the awesome award. This is really hard because I LOVE all my virtual friends who I follow. But here's who I have decided to recommend to you this time.

Presley the Lurcher (also known on Facebook as 'King Presley') - A Lurcher from Scotland with a lovely accent

A Scratch Behind the Ears - Always makes the LOTH feel peaceful and smile

Dogs for the Paws - Inspiring stories of rescue dogs

Finn's Dog Blog - He's a handsome bulldog

Granted Wishes Greyhounds - Greyhound rescue and training experiences

Hope you find some new blogs there that you perhaps didn't know about.

Have a lovely week. It's school half-term here so I may get busy helping the LOTH look after the BOTH (he's not only on holiday from school but he's got a nasty cold too) so if I go a bit quiet you will know why.