It may sound crazy, but part of the reason we ended up in Suffolk was because of the dog above. Sonny, a complex character who I rescued and who, after many a trainer, had reached a point in his life (aged 10 years) where he was at a standstill with his behaviour and neither he, nor we were having any kind of life in protecting him from his daily issues. I have always said he was not so much a dog as a 'lifestyle' and I saw myself as his guardian.
A rescue dog from a difficult background, he had never been socialised and was fearful of his own shadow. With the people he trusted (a select few), he was a soft hearted boy but, show him so much as a whisker of another dog or, an unfamiliar person and he was all teeth and claws at 40 paces. This made living in the busy South East difficult as it was impossible to avoid dogs anywhere and as his behaviour escalated, he had to be muzzled and could never run free. So I resolved it was time to move to the country (a long held dream) where maybe we could find him a life!
When I arrived at this house in 2012 and viewed a crisp, green meadow, fenced on all sides I felt that finally the freedom Sonny deserved could become a reality and so it was. It was the best I could do for him and although this ultimately became a posh retirement home as his health quickly declined, I hope we gave him some happy times. I resolved that his legacy would not be lost and we would develop the Barn to share our special place with other dog lovers too.
Sadly for Sonny we had to make the final trip to the vets in 2013 and you are welcome to look at his blog http://sonnydogblogblogspotcom.blogspot.co.uk/ if you are curious to know more about him. It was quite a journey in more ways than one...
4 years on, we are slowly getting to grips with being here and learning the ropes of living in a listed building which requires all sorts of complex maintenance. Thank goodness I have a husband who likes reading up on these things is all I can say.
Swallow Barn is the product of a 2 year stint of building work, sanding, banging and painting. There were times when I thought it would never be done and now it is! In this blog I will tell you about ourselves and our lives so you can get to know us a bit before you come. Happy reading and Happy Holidays!