Blue Ribbon Blog: Turbo, Hampton and Windsor LeMaster!

Back in April, I received this made-me-melt photo of Turbo and Hampton from Daily Corgi fan and blogger Robert LeMaster.

“It
all started a little over two years ago as my wife Kristen and I set out on
a two year deployment in London as a part of my job (accounting and super
unexciting). Of course we were never going to leave without Cardigan Welsh Corgis Turbo and Hampton, and in September 2010 our blog
LeMasters in London was born. The whole idea was that we would be able
to keep everyone at home apprised of what was going on in our lives overseas
without endless hours of phone calls and even longer phone bills.  

Turbo was born in 2006 and Hampton about 14 months later in 2007. They
were the missing links of our family. The two of them were so
funny, with Turbo taking after Kristen and Hampton slipping into the role of Daddy’s girl. Together they were a perfect combination. Not sure what it is about Corgis that
makes us all just nuts for them, but I think it is even stronger if you
are a Cardigan owner. Something about sticking together for the common
good, almost like a long and low gang. 

I can’t tell you how many times someone would say “Corgis … just like the Queen’s?” or “Is that a miniature Australian Shepherd?” and we would have to politely
have to explain (once more) that no, Cardigans are not like the Queen’s and no, Hampton is a Corgi, and yes, they do come with that coat. We even
contemplated getting FAQs printed up to answer all the questions.
Turns out that despite it being their homeland, there are relatively few Corgis in the United Kingdom. The majority of purebred dogs were moved overseas
during the war, and for whatever reason were never brought back to the
country afterwards.  

It was Kristen’s
idea to start the Furry Fridays blog posts about Hampton and Turbo, and in all reality it is probably the most
enjoyable part of the blog. It became clear very early on that they would be the most exciting posts. Don’t get me wrong, we did and saw some really cool things while in the UK and Europe, but other than traveling, our lives were pretty dull. Nothing that
a weekly helping of Corgi couldn’t take care of. So there it was, we
had our basic content, and it was all about filling the posts from
there.   

London
is a super dog-friendly city, and you can take them with you just about
anywhere. We were always stumbling upon new and exciting adventures
with our Corgis, and it always gave us something to do and somewhere to go.

Unfortunately
our trip was not without sadness, as Turbo suffered a serious spinal
injury and we were forced to make the brave decision for the best for
her in the Summer of 2011. Things weren’t the same without her, and
Hampton seemed to be the most affected of us all.  

We
were lucky enough to find one of the world’s greatest dog lovers to
care for the dogs while we were off on our adventures around Europe. Our dog sitter Yulia (who has her own daily photo blog Four Little Paws)
is a jack of all doggie trades: dog walker, dog sitter, dog photographer,
champion handler (both conformation and agility) and TV and print
celebrity. Above all else, she is a dog lover. 

Yulia would pick Hampton up before
we left for the airport, and before we were even on the plane Hampton
would be doing something we could have never guessed.  There were trips
to the beach, river, camping, doggie summer camp, dog shows, and of
course walks in the park. Hampton always had a great time and was so tired
when she got home that she needed at least three days to recover.

Yulia took so many
fantastic pictures of Hampton while they were together. While
she is quite a striking dog in her own right, Yulia was always able to
bring out the best in her. So much so, in fact, that she has received quite
a bit of media attention the last couple of months, something we would have
never imagined when starting a little blog to keep our family in touch
with us.  

 

Funny enough, I think our adventures were probably tame in comparison to what Hampton got to experience, and the blog definitely became
a tale of two stories: our adventures and Hampton’s. From a writer’s perspective, these were the best and worst parts
of the blog. It was always super tiring
coming back from a full day of travel or sightseeing and trying to put
something meaningful together for others to see and enjoy. Add to that
the copying, editing, and posting of photos, and it was all a bit of a
job. On the other hand, I could share dog
stories and pictures all day everyday (I guess work gets in the way a
bit sometimes). Something about seeing their happy faces makes the work
fly by.  

As
our time abroad wound down and we contemplated our return home to Oklahoma, it became clear we needed to fill a hole in our family. One of the first things we did after getting back was pick
up our new puppy Windsor. Except for her shoe nibbling, she’s been a blessing and fits right in with Hampton. Turns out she is Turbo’s
niece; the resemblance is sometimes uncanny.

Hands down, Hampton and Windsor are the most excitement
we experience, as our days are filled with ordinary life experiences of
going to the grocery store vs. touring the Roman Coliseum, but everyone
is happy either way.  

We have decided to keep the blog up and running
with the same name, so as not to confuse anyone, and content will remain the
same. Trips and vacations will be less frequent, but I am sure nobody
will complain about more Corgi content. Who knows, maybe we soon will have
Furry Tuesdays as well!”