Hi I’m Alfie!
I am a Cavachon, which is a cross between a Bichon Frise and a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, I am also the doggie son of two parents who seem to be unsure of their heritage as they call themselves “Who-Mans.”
But never mind, we in Doggy-world know exactly who we are and what we want, and I am going to share with you the story of my journey to Brittany, some of the rules, and various other bits and pieces.
Dogs are adored in Brittany, and I felt welcomed by the Brittany Who-mans every step of my journey.
I needed my own Pet Passport and some medication before my journey which you can find more about here. (I’ll give you a link further down the page if you want to carry on reading)
Getting anywhere abroad as a dog can be hard work, and even though Brittany Ferries have kennels available for crossings, these are booked up quite quickly, and you see plenty of my doggy mates who are not in kennels but have to stay in their parents car overnight, and are released early the next morning for urgent toilet relief, and the stretching of cramped, furry legs.
Unfortunately the Who-mans are not allowed access to the car decks during the crossing, so you do hear some lonely howls during the night time.
Luckily, my parents and their mum decided to personally drive all of the way from Calais to Brittany, which was wonderful, as there are plenty of stopping areas for refreshments and Wee Breaks (Very, Very Important!)
Apparently I was very good throughout the entire journey, my Parents had made me up a bed at the back of the car, so I was very comfy and relaxed for most of the journey.
We went via the Eurotunnel to Calais and then more or less kept to the main roads of the west of France travelling through Normandy and then into Brittany.
When we arrived I received a huge welcome from my parents friends fellow Who-mans “Aunt” and “Uncle” who made sure that I was well looked after, with secret breakfast sausages being smuggled to me on a daily basis.
We stayed in a lovely gite in Ploumilliau, which is in a nice little town situated between Lannion and Plestin-les-Greves. Plestin-les-Greves has a huge seafront which stretches through St Efflam and ends up at St Michel-en-Greve.
The beaches in Brittany are fantastic and the French adore their dogs, so there are many of my brethren being walked about or let loose on the sands.
On some of the beaches there were signs which said: “Dogs not allowed on the beach between May and September” Now this was wasted on me because I can’t read, but the Who-mans seemed to understand.
Now I love Dogs, and there are so many Doggy friends to meet out there that I didn’t know who to meet first. Chasing, jumping, running and sniffing, now that’s my idea of a fabulous day out!
One day we went on a boat excursion from Trestraou near Perros Guirec and I got a price reduction
being a dog, and it was a wonderful trip. The boat went around these islands and all the Who-mans were marvelling at the seals and rare birds that were inhabiting the islands.
I tried to settle under the seats where there was some shade, it was hot, I could have done with a hat! The trip took a couple of hours and at the end I felt exhausted after the heat, but perked up a bit when we went for a walk and a run on the beaches near Perros Guirec where loads of sailing vessels awaited their captains in the harbour.
After visiting quite a posh restaurant who, despite being posh, allowed me in, we made our way back to the gite where I slept soundly and dreamt of chasing lady doggies wearing hats made of sausage and bacon.
All too soon the holiday came to an end, and before leaving Brittany my parents had to take me to a vet to take the dreaded worm tablet.
Now believe me this isn’t fun.
The Nursy Vetty lady was very nice but I didn’t like the tablet being forced down my mouth, but apparently it was very important as my pet passport had to be stamped to say that I had eaten it.
You can find out more about taking dogs abroad here.
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