Today’s #WeeklyFluff: Meet Leia, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier Puppy
Follow @leia.staffy on Instagram to keep up with Leia’s daily adventures.
Hello, world! Today’s #WeeklyFluff is all about Leia (@leia.staffy), a 7-month-old Staffordshire bull terrier who lives in Sweden. “I would describe Leia as fearless, curious, happy, adventurous and extremely cuddly!” says Leia’s human, Ellie, who teaches children with autism and ADHD, and one day plans to certify Leia as a therapy dog. “Right now, Leia works with me as a school dog,” she says. “She helps the kids stay motivated in school and listens to them when they need to talk.” When she’s not in school, Leia loves romping around in nature. “She LOVES snow,” says Ellie. “She loves to eat, play and run around in it - everything!”
TheWestminster Dog Show starts today! We have some Victorian era dogs – Bizz, a “pure-blooded, smooth-coated bull tarrier [sic]” and Ninon, an elegant Italian greyhound. From the story “Bizz and Her Foes” by Mrs. S. C. Hall, published inNature & Art, v. 2, 1867. Ask a librarian to see anything in our special collections!
Badger appreciation post! I don’t often write things like this but this time I felt I needed to share.
Over the past week, I’ve had a nasty chest infection which, unfortunately, had caused a flare up of costochondritis (painful inflammation of the cartilage in the ribcage). After getting out of the shower and attempting to get dressed (keyword: attempting - I wasn’t doing so great a job) the pain got so intense I keeled over on the upstairs landing. Badger, downstairs, probably in front of the fire hibernating, heard me crying and came to the bottom of the stairs where we have a baby gate. Usually when I see him, if I’m upstairs, I’ll say the usual ‘good boy, Badge’ and he’ll trot away, satisfied - but I was in too much pain at the time. He tries a little woof, but I still can’t do anything.
So, Badger literally rips open the baby gate and races up the stairs to sit with me until the pain subsides enough that I can call my other half to help. He doesn’t like stairs; they’re too steep in our house and he’s top heavy – but he came racing up them because I was hurting. He’s not a support dog, not trained to support me other than the cues he’s probably picked up over time, but he knew I was in pain and wanted to help.
