Your Dog February 2025

Hello! Here’s a small insight into what it is like to be the editor of a magazine. As I plan the content, I think about relevant themes and stories for the time of year and obviously what people are going to enjoy. February is often a month to focus on love – it is the month of Valentine’s Day after all. When I came to plan this issue, I wanted a really strong lead feature about what it means to love dogs. The pitch about the story of Alexis Fleming setting up the first animal hospice came to me and I knew we would feature it in the magazine. It was an incredible story. But I was nervous. I was concerned that the theme of death may put a sad…

Just north of Pickering, the Levisham Estate stretches across 1,400 hectares of the North York Moors, offering easy dog-friendly tracks across moorland, woodland, and grassland. Between 1975 and 1988, the estate was acquired by the North York Moors National Park Authority to maintain habitats for the diverse range of wildlife occupying the area. While strolling the open tracks, and taking in the neverending views, dog walkers can expect to see a broad range of wildlife including: badgers, foxes, stoats, weasels, wood mice and shrews. Fortunate early risers and late-night walkers also increase their chances of seeing both roe, and fallow deer, too. Dog walkers are welcome and encouraged across the North York Moors all year round with off-lead walking recommended at the owner’s discretion due to the wildlife. Alternate dog-friendly routes…

* Check before you travel. THE LOST GARDENS OF HELIGAN CORNWALL Well-behaved dogs are welcome all year round at the beautiful Lost Gardens of Heligan. This expansive country estate in east Cornwall was abandoned to nature after WWII, only to be rediscovered in the 1990s and carefully restored into a breathtaking paradise featuring tropical flowers, ancient woodlands, English heathland, and more. The vast, open space of the gardens offers a safe and enjoyable environment for wellbehaved dogs to explore with their owners. Once you’ve finished exploring, stop by the Heligan Kitchen or The Steward’s House for a delicious Cornish cream tea. Don’t forget to bring your dog’s water bowl – they’ll happily fill it up for you! ● heligan.com CULZEAN CASTLE AND COUNTRY PARK SCOTLAND A glorious 260-hectare estate, Culzean…

Sometimes, when everything feels like it’s all too much, it helps to daydream about what it would be like to live in a very different world. A world full of love, where all animals feel safe and know nothing but kindness, compassion, and a gentle touch. That is exactly what charity worker Alexis Fleming created in 2016 when she opened the Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice and Karass Sanctuary for Farmed Animals. “There were times when I really didn’t like the world I was living in – it felt like a cruel place – so I went ahead and created my own little haven!” she says. “When my beloved dog Maggie died alone and in pain at the vet’s after surgery, I was absolutely heartbroken, and the idea of starting an…

Q You and Jack have become inseparable since you first met in 2018 while filming Baby Chimp Rescue in Liberia. What are your memories of that first encounter? Ben: “It literally was like a Hollywood romance – our eyes just met! At the time, Jack was one of a number of therapy dogs running free at the chimpanzee sanctuary. Many of the orphan chimps were so traumatised that they didn’t want to be around humans, but they benefited from the dogs’ presence. “I first noticed Jack sitting in a corner. Aloof, scrawny, gangly, and hairy, he looked ridiculous and rather out of place, but I thought he was an interesting little dog. Over the next two years, I increasingly looked forward to seeing him when I arrived at the sanctuary.…

For the past couple of years, I’ve written a monthly feature about dog-friendly holidays, and I’ve been amazed at the wonderful places I’ve found around the country. Unfortunately, not everywhere is quite what it seems, and it’s sad when people book what is marketed as dog-friendly accommodation only to find on arrival that there is a long list of rules, with dogs merely tolerated not welcomed. Many people I’ve spoken to decided that they could do better and opted to buy their own dog-friendly cottage for dog lovers and canine friends to enjoy. While it’s great having a dream about running your own little business, how can you ensure that it becomes a big success? I decided to ask two people who are doing an exceptional job… East Ruston Cottages…