The Bisto Kids are two young Petits that went to live with some very nice people in Wales – Fran and Mark.

Initially they had Sidney (Gemshorn Speckled Wood) and were so taken with him, that they asked if they could have another puppy at some stage… Norman (Gemshorn Fowler) then went to to join them and live with Sidney.

Within this page you will read stories of the antics these two get up to. They will be written by their owner Fran, and will also have some pictures mingled in amongst the writing. They are great little chaps, and get along amazingly well.

Introduction to the Bisto Kids ( September 2007)

I picked up Sidney from Diana’s May of 2006, the afternoon after he had had his last injection. I couldnt get there quick enough. I drove down to pick up Sidney with my two friends who were as excited as me. We arrived at Diana’s and we did the paperwork and Diana handed over the helpful feeding advice and then she brought Sidney out to me. She handed Sidney to me and at that same moment I handed Sidney all my love and my heart and the deal was done.

We got him home safely after a couple of accidents – luckily not on me – but on one of my friends (oops!) and then set about getting to know my new best friend.

Sidney was a lively little puppy from the word go and was soon wondering around the house and the garden and after a few days he met his next door neighbours – Benjamin a Springer Spaniel and Macey a Black Labrador. He fell in love with them both and was soon hanging off ears and annoying them. Luckily they are both very good natured and put up with his antics.

Sidney was supposed to sleep in a cage in the bedroom, but the first night he was crying for his Mum and at first I tried to placate him and then I tried to ignore him and then I did what everyone who knows me knew I would do and brought him up on the bed with us and there he remained, although to be fair he only comes up for a cuddle before he goes to sleep in his own bed and he jumps up on the bed in the morning to wake me up and sits on my chest with his cold wet nose touching mine – it is a great way to wake up!!!

Sidney came daily to the office with me and had a cage there – yes we are a two cage family – dont even ask me how many beds Sidney has! He only had one mishap when he chewed through my mouse cable, but that was not as bad at least he didn’t get an electric shock, but mostly he was very good and chewed on the puppy chews or on boxes, files, paper, my colleagues handbags and their contents, but nothing more electrical.

We walked every lunch time along the promenade and through the town to get him used to people, and at first he wouldn’t walk very much and just sat down and let people stroke him and I heard a rumour that we were the talk of the town as everyone knew this cute little puppy and the owner who carried him rather than walked him, but he soon enjoyed his walks and did actually start to walk!

We could not, and still cannot to this day walk very far without people stopping to ask what breed he is and/or to inform me of how beautiful/gorgeous he is – people were always interested in Sidney until you informed them of the breed and then their eyes glazed over, you just knew they weren’t ever going to remember the breeds’ name

We let  Sidney off the lead only on the beach and only when there are no other dogs around, as although he is a friendly wee man, other dogs may not be. He loves to chase the seagulls and he goes in the sea but only paddles, he has not swum in the sea yet, not sure if he will and I dont want to particularly encourage him in that one as I dont like to go in the sea myself.

Sidney was a very good puppy apart from his shoe fetish… everyone who came in the house was warned ‘if you take your shoes off – put them up high, anything on the floor is Sidney’s'!!! My friend had to borrow a pair of my shoes to drive home as Sidney ate hers. They were strappy sandals and there wasn’t much left of them when we tried to find them in the garden. The next doors slippers? – well they were so easy to eat. We did not find anything of them… a bit like a pig – you can eat every part of a slipper!. The back garden looked like a dumping ground for old shoes, there were loads of them… my trainers were among the last to die at the hands of Sidney. Sid did grow out of his shoe fetish, but I never leave a pair of shoes or slippers out – just in case.

So our little puppy was growing up and was about nine months old. We felt it was time for him to have a friend to play with and informed Diana that we would be interested in having another Petit when another litter was born. There was a litter born on November 2006 and there were two boys. We had to wait to see which one we could have. There was a tri-colour – the same as Sidney or an orange and white. We went to see the pups and fell in love with the orange. Again we had to wait until all the injections etc were carried out before Diana let us have our new addition to our family.

Did I say Sidney was a good puppy and a sensitive soul… Well Norman was, how shall I say… NOT! Basically Sid was the calm before the storm and the storms name was Norman.

Introducing Norman

Patti my friend who came with me to collect Sidney, came with me to collect Norman. We had a very strange journey down to Builth Wells as the Landcruiser we had was stuck in the high position and was very bouncy indeed. I was worried in case Norman, Patti and/or myself was sick due to this very bouncy ride.

We once again descended on Diana and had the advice on feeding etc., and again Diana handed Norman and once again I waved a piece of my heart goodbye and gave it imediately to Norman.

I managed to fix the car so no-one was unduly ill – Norman was quite content to sit and doze on Patti’s lap and it was an uneventful journey.

We arrived home and introduced Norman to his new best friend in the whole wide world – Sidney. Sidney was very impressed with Norman and a bit confused I feel, as all he wanted to do was mount Norman. I was worried sick that this was the way Sidney would be and I would have to take Norman back, but no worries – Norman just turned round and snapped at Sidney and then ran underneath all the kitchen stools (you can do that when you are 10 weeks old) and lead Sidney a merry dance trying to catch him.

They played together all evening and when it came to bedtime, once again, I went through the motions of putting Norman in the cage (the cage that was never really used) and again a puppy started to cry for his Mum and I think because he saw Sidney lying on his bed and wanted to be with Sid, and true to form I took him out and put him on the bed and again that is where he can sleep if he chooses. We had a couple of accidents on the bed but nothing so bad that it got through the towels and old sheets I had down and Norman was soon house trained.

Sidney is not a big eater and in fact sometimes he doesn’t eat at all and that is just the way he is, he isn’t sick, he isn’t off his food, he is just not hungry and that is that, whereas Norman is always hungry and he ate his food and then ate Sidney’s food, it took me a while to catch onto this as they are feed in the utility room just off the kitchen and I would put their food down in the morning and they would both go to their bowls and I would go into the kitchen. When they came traipsing back I would check their bowls and they were empty and I said to my husband, the good thing about Norman is that he makes Sidney eat his food. Oh so wrong, Norman was wolfing down his food and then would barge Sidney out of the way, and eat Sidney’s food, with placid Sid just looking on. So Norman was getting larger and Sidney was getting thinner. Anyway it is all fine now and I watch them eat and although sometimes Sidney still doesn’t eat, I make sure Norman does not eat anything Sid leaves.

If you see them together Norman is a much broader dog than Sidney and although at the moment Norman is 10 months and Sidney 19 months, Norman is much bigger than his brother. Sidney can run rings around Norman because he is so very slim and agile, poor Norman runs like a mad thing but cannot catch Sid, unless Sid wishes to be caught!

Apart from Sidney’s shoe fetish when he was a puppy, the only other thing he really chewed was a friend of mines’ rug. Denise had just moved into her new house and had a lovely new rug in front of the fireplace. I was invited for supper and took Sidney with me. Denise lived right next to the railway line and the trains passed right by her back garden, Sidney was just a wee pup and frightened to death when a train went by. He would run like a bat out of hell into the kitchen where Denise was cooking and I was – er – supervising… well ok I was drinking a nice glass of red wine and chatting away. We hadnt seen Sidney for a while and went hunting and when we opened the lounge door there was Sid… and there was a huge hole in the rug… I was mortified and it took Denise weeks to replace it… but the strange thing is it didnt put her off Sidney, and he is always welcome still.

Under Diana’s advice I carried the pups down the stairs at first so as not to damage their wee shoulders, or bones or whatever it is they can damage and Sid was fine at first but soon insisted on coming down himself, whereas Norman who is now 10 months and quite heavy will not come down the stairs unless I carry im, which in the morning and half asleep is not always a good thing and I am not feeling my strongest at that time, the only thing that will get him down under his own steam is… yep you guessed it ‘food’. That usually has him gambolling down like a mad thing.

Norman is very stubborn as well, whereas if you tell sidney ‘no’ he will usually stop what he is doing whereas Norman looks at you, barks with his bum in the air and then carries on doing exactly what he is being told off about, but it is impossible to be angry with him as he has the most gorgeous face.

We have a spindle staircase which has never been a problem with Sidney and we have a wrought iron balcony off our bedroom, again no problem with Sidney. Norman had been with us for about two weeks and had his head stuck in both and it was always when I was on my own and both times I dont know who panicked most, me or Norman. I did manage to get him free, but he seems accident prone.

Sidney has what we call his ‘show walk’ where he kind of trots along with his tail up in the air and his head held high, whereas Norman comes along covered in mud with a bottom that waddles and his tail all over the place… not a ‘show walk’ at all and bearing in mind that Sidney’s Dad – Geoff – is Normans’ Grandad – but they are like chalk and cheese in looks, size and personality!

When I give the boys a ‘chew’ they always have one each, and then they immediately forget one and fight over the other and I go up and give them the one they have dropped and they immediately drop it again and go after the other chew… crazy.If I give them a treat Norman will take his and then wait until Sidney is not looking and pinch his as well and sit there with two treats between his paws. I go and retrieve one for Sid… and Norman goes and grabs it back again.

Now I mentioned previously Sidney’s shoe fetish and the sad demise of Denise’ rug (see what I did there – demise/Denise – clever eh?) well Norman has worked his way through 5 beds to date, yes 5 and there is no rhyme or reason to it. We can leave them for two hours and nothing – they are as good as gold… we can leave the for 15 minutes and it looks like it has been snowing in the kitchen with the stuffing of the bed all over the floor. I say it is Norman – though I have never caught either of them red handed, but Sidney never touched a bed so I am betting it is Norman.I threaten them that they will be sleeping on the kitchen floor and it is their own fault, whilst my husband stands behind me shaking his head thinking I have definitely lost the plot talking to two dogs, but I know they know what I am saying, but still they know that I will be straight on the internet purchasing for them another lovely bed for them to chew… I must point out here that they have only chewed their kitchen beds… their bedroom beds and their living room beds and their Dotty beds are all fine… Dotty bed I hear you ask… all in good time I say!!!!

My husband, Mark went out for the day with his mate and I thought that’s nice a bit of male bonding and it would do my husband the world of good to relax as he does work very hard. Imagine my surprise when he came back and said he had bought a motor home for us. My God I couldnt believe it. I, like most other drivers, hate and detest caravans and motor homes and the slow queues of traffic they inevitably cause. Mark was very excited and said I would love the motor home and that we could take the boys away for weekends and go to Europe in her with the boys and it would be great.

So after a couple of weeks, off we went to collect the motor home. When we got there I did quite like her, she was cosy and compact and her bed was a fixed made up bed, not one which had to be made up every night or one that was over the passenger and drivers seats. Tise beds are too claustrophobic for me, but Dotty (named because of her registration) was quite funky and was nice with cherry wood doors and cupboards, and I thought – what the heck – give her a whirl.

We drove her back home and that was a learning curve, strange being in such a wide vegicle, I was sure she wouldnt fit on any roads and I was doing the typical female thing of breathing in, believing that Dotty’s side went in at the same time whenever I thought the road was too narrow for her… BUT we got home safe and sound.

Mark had every extra on her imaginable… Sky, Sat Nav, TV, and DVD. We bought all new bedding for her and throws for little muddy paws and water bowls which were guaranteed not to spill.

Dotty’s maiden voyage was on 14th July 2007. We finished work early and set out for Aberdaron which is on the Lleyn Peninsula in North Wales. The boys loved it. When Sidney was a puppy he used to travel on the front seat with me, he would sit on my lap and be quite happy either being nosey or sleeping, so he kept trying to jump up on my lap, which is OK except now I had jealous Mick as well. Eventually I put my handbag in the gangway so neither of them could get on my lap.  Sidney then took up the position of looking out of Dotty’s side window, which we opened just a touch so he could get fresh air and Normans position was under the dining table where I had put a big bed (yes, Dotty’s bed). Norman is a joy to travel with as he just falls asleep, whereas Sidney very rarely lies down… he is constantly looking out of the window and inevitably is sick (joy)

So off we went to Aberdaron which is only a couple of hours or so away from home, and then the creaking and banging started. Neither of us had been in a motor home before and the noise it makes as we hadnt quite got the hang of making sure things were packed in snugly!! We arrived at Aberdaron and found a tiny site, well a field really with electrical points by a farmyard, but the field had a beautiful view and the toilets and shower facilities looked nice and clean, not that we used the shower, as Dotty has her own and although Dotty has a perfectly good toilet, neither Mark nor myself relished the thought of emptying her so we used the site toilets. We parked up and connected ourselves to the electric and then took the boys for a walk. It was a beautiful evening and we walked the lanes round the site and the boys were loving it. We went back to Dotty and had our evening meal, more walks then settled down to watch a DVD in bed. we all slept soundly…but the boys wanted out at 7.00am so off we went. Mark had breakfast going when we got back. Our day was spent exploring.

We have taken the boys to Holyhead, Halesowen, Stratford upon Avon and Ireland in Dotty and they have been as good as gold and when I am cleaning Dotty or getting ready for a journey they are always first in and sit waiting patiently for us to get going.

The night before we went to Ireland, we stopped on a site at Holyhead. It was huge. we walked down to the sea and watched the ferries come in. It was a site to behold. I was up for the usual walk before setting off to the catamaran which we were cruising on. Should I give the boys a travel pill or what??? In the end we closed the blinds – gave them air from the sky light and left them hoping all would be fine. Mark and I went upstairs to have some breakfast, but the whole thing was a bit too choppy for me – and I was soon feeling particularly green!

The ferry docked in Dublin and we went down to se how th boys were…and they were fine… had obviously been sleeping…non the worse for the experience… just their mother felt sick for about an hour after landing.  Ireland was very nice… lots of walks and sitting outside in the evening sun… the only concern was whether the boys had enough air when we had to leave them in Dotty for a while… made me think of Europe next summer though.

The motorhome proved to be a great success that first year, and the boys loved her. The only upset we had was when we were in the Midlands, and Sidney suddenly started crying. Nothing would stop him… and eventually settled him and decided the next port of call was the vet. However when we reached a vet… the queue was huge, and he had settled, so decided to get home… and our own vet if necessary. He was fine once home… so maybe he had been stung… but no need for the vet.

We were never meant to go to Europe in Dotty, which in one way was a blessing as the heat would have worried me. One thing was sure – we did intend to find the Vendeen area in France. Maybe another time… and the reason for this is that Mark and I decided to move again, but this time over the Pond to America. So the house, the cars and Dotty had to be sold, and I have to arrange for my ‘Boyz’ to fly to the US of A in a crate and I cannot sit with them… Oh the worry.

June 12th 2008 …and we are driving down to Gatwick Airport in a rented car. It was full to capacity with Mark and myself, two dogs, three suitcases and two crates and doggy bedding, it was a very tight squeeze. we had said our goodbyes and see you laters to friends and family and we were off for an adventure of a lifetime. We had been to the vet the day before for the dogs’ flea and tick treatment and to get the ‘good to fly’ paperwork. What happens is they give them the raboes injection and then about three weeks later they check to see if it has worked in the boys’ blood and if it is negative, they have to go through it all again.

Also – just a little bit of information – when they have the rabies injection they can go out of the UK but cannot come back in until the rabies injection is 6 months old! Unfortunately our friends were not aware of this when they took their dog to Europe for a month and when they came to cross back to the UK, they were told that Molly could not return for another 5 months until her rabies injection was 6 months old. Luckily for Molly they had relatives in Denmark, so Molly stayed there until she could return to the UK.

The people at Gatwick Airport in the live cargo department, knew me quite well by this stage, not by sight – but by telephone – if I asked them one question, I has asked them a hundred:

Can the boys go in the same crate?   No.

Why Not?  Company Policy.

But Why Not?  In case they fight.

But they Don’t Fight    They might.

Can I give them something to calm them?    No.

Why Not?   Company Policy.

Is it because if they were in any way drugged they might not be able to assume the crash position if called for?     No Answer!

I asked them lots more questions, but basically you put them in their area. It is air conditioned and slightly padded so they are comfortable and not frightened by the noise of the engines and they are allowed water and that is it. If they are sick or need the toilet – it will be there when you pick them up and they may have to sit in it all for 9.5 hours….barbaric.

So it was with great trepidation that I took them to the Airport. we arrived early, so I walked Sidney and Norman and then Mark and I just cuddled them until it was time to check them in. The lady made us put them in individual crates and after a mountain of paperwork had been filled in they made us take off their collars and leads and the next time we would see them was when we landed in Orlando, Florida. As we walked away, they both started to cry and paw at the crates. I just burst into tears – it was so very upsetting.

We were on the same flight as the boys and it was the longest flight I have ever had, every turbulence, every noise I was thinking ‘are the boys OK’. Mark had taken a chill pill but I was sat on the edge of my seat all the way over there.

Eventually we landed in Orlando Airport and I ran to ensure I was one of the first in the queue for Immigration. We got through fine and then asked where to collect the boys and were shown to an office where a wee jobsworth sat. Mark handed him our papers for the dogs and he asked some ground staff where the dogs were. They said they were alredy unloaded and off to the Cargo Unit where we were to collect them once we had our paperwork checked. The guy said he wanted a staff meeting about the dogs, as how did they know they belonged to us, and it was pointed out to him that they were the only dogs on board. Finally we were allowed to go and get our boys. A firend picked us up and he drove us to the unit where the boys were being held. They came through and I could not get them out quickly enough – to get outside so that they could go to the toilet and have their freedom.

We put them in the back of our friends car and headed off to our new home. Both boys were very quiet in the car and very subdued. I was worried sick. We got them home, unpacked the car and let them off to investigate their new home and within minutes they were running around, bashing into things and sniffing everywhere. Mark and I took them for a long walk later that evening and we all crashed into bed very early.

It was the strangest thing waking up the next day to have Sidney and Norman lying in the bed with us. We were here in America and I had all my boys with me. Everything was right with the world!