It’s the middle of summer and we’re currently camped out at the Pivot TwentyFour12 event in Newnham Park in Plymouth. This is the 13th edition of the TwentyFour12, which has grown a reputation for not only its flagship 24-hour mountain bike race, but also numerous other events including 12-hour races (two of them!), a social brewery ride, an enduro race, and loads of different kids races too.
Because of the all-inclusive nature of the Pivot TwentyFour12, the event attracts a huge number of families who come down for three or four days of camping, bike riding and chilling out. Some of those families include furry family members that have also come along for the weekend, many of whom seem to be having even more fun than their human owners.
Inspired (and possibly moved) by the Pulitzer Prize-level journalism exhibited by one Jack Luke from last year’s Fort William World Cup, we decided to photograph and interview some of the most attention-loving doggos from the 2018 Pivot TwentyFour12.
Enjoy!
- Name: Reggie
- Heritage: English Springer Spaniel
- Skills: Trail riding and cow herding
- Things I am mostly scared of: Nothing, but I usually pretend to be scared of things – just before I go absolutely batshit crazy
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: I’m told that I snore really loudly, but I’ve never heard it before, so I don’t believe that’s actually the case
- Name: Fudge
- Heritage: Hungarian Vizsla
- Skills: Surprisingly not much
- Things I am mostly scared of: Everything. My owner calls me a ‘wet blanket’. I’d like to tell you what I call my owner, but I’m 99% sure you can’t publish it
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: I like to lean on things (people) and stick to them like Velcro – whether they want me to or not
- Name: Louis
- Heritage: Border Terrier
- Skills: Can lie down and ‘do paw’ when asked nicely. I can also spill the contents of a coffee cup on people’s legs at will
- Things I am mostly scared of: Fireworks. Those things are the work of Satan
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: Sing (whinge) in the car. It’s a nice space and I like the acoustics though
- Name: Cookie
- Heritage: Tibetan Terrier Cross
- Skills: Occasionally I can jump like a Kangaroo. Or maybe – just maybe – they can jump like me?
- Things I am mostly scared of: Loud noises, which includes Rory from Upgrade Bikes
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: Scare the crap out of them by barking really loudly in their ear when they least expect it. It’s hilarious!
- Name: Daisy
- Heritage: Sprocker (Springer/Cocker Spaniel mix)
- Skills: Can sit. I also turn food into poo, which is pretty much magic
- Things I am mostly scared of: Fireworks. Also; balloons – WTF are those about?
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: I like to put shoes and socks where they are meant to go, which apparently is quite a different location to where humans think they should go. Silly humans
- Name: Charlie
- Heritage: Toy Poodle/Mop
- Skills: I can sit, and almost do ‘jump’ when asked, but I prefer not to stoop to that level
- Things I am mostly scared of: Like my pal Daisy, I am also perplexed and terrified by balloons and fireworks
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: I wee on EVERYTHING
- Name: Mabel
- Heritage: Miniature Dachshund
- Skills: Make human hearts melt with my stunning good looks
- Things I am mostly scared of: Getting old and losing my stunning good looks. I’m pretty tough though, so nothing else scares me
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: I can be a bit chatty sometimes, but whatevs
- Name: Dexter
- Heritage: Miniature Dachshund
- Skills: Sniffing bottoms and being really, really friendly. I am also a superb trail dog
- Things I am mostly scared of: Nothing. I am much, much bigger than I look
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: Not much. She loves me. And who wouldn’t?
- Name: Raphy (short for Raphael)
- Heritage: Dalmatian
- Skills: I can come in handy for Rorschach tests. I am a wicked fast trail dog
- Things I am mostly scared of: Water and cameras. I really do not like you taking photos of me. Creepy camera man
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: I like to find tissues and turn them into smaller tissues
- Name: Amber
- Heritage: Cockerpoo
- Skills: If you attach a stick to me, conveniently I can be used to clean floors
- Things I am mostly scared of: Huskey dogs. Sorry for being a little bit racist, but they just freak me out ok?
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: Stealing slippers. I LOVE stealing slippers
- Name: Lola
- Heritage: Puggle (1/4 Beagle & 3/4 Pug)
- Skills: I can give humans high-5s if they ask nicely
- Things I am mostly scared of: Smaller dogs than me. You just never know if you’re going to accidentally trample the little bastards
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: I like to take biscuits and burry them for consumption at a later date. Good locations include handbags that have been left on the floor, and the couch
- Name: Sky
- Heritage: Siberian Husky
- Skills: I’ll do a half roll every now and then. I also love trail running in front of my human’s bike. They attach a cable to my collar, but I don’t pull them uphill
- Things I am mostly scared of: Water. Don’t trust that stuff one iota
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: I don’t like bed time, so I make it very difficult for any jerk trying to put me to bed
- Name: Daisy
- Heritage: Miniature Dachshund
- Skills: Sprinting when I hear the postman. I’m quite fast you know
- Things I am mostly scared of: My own shadow. What the heck is that anyway? And why does it follow me?
- Things that I do to annoy my human pet: Finding the squeakiest toy when the TV is on. Apparently I give a bit of back chat as well, but only when it’s deserved
Comments (5)
Comments Closed
Best interviews ever!
Definitely! The lovely Vizsla is letting his expressive face do the talking.
Louis the Border Terrier – definitely most likely to have the voice of Brian Blessed! And as above, best interviews ever! Even the deformed daschunds and pug made me smile a bit.
Thanks for those dog portraits!
Just a question: are those short-legged dogs really called Daschund in the UK? I mean with that spelling? How do you pronounce it? :da-shoond?
Because I believe they are called Dachshund. Like badger-dog in German -> Dachs-Hund. Pronounced :dax-hund. I know, looks strange with the “hsh” bit in the middle but seems more… uhm… right. 🙂
@hock – I reckon you are much more of an expert on that one than I am! I have seen it spelt both ways, probably because most Brits/Aussies pronounce it ‘da-shoond’. Upon further investigation, it looks like the correct spelling is indeed ‘Dachshund’ as you’ve described. I probably should have just stuck to ‘sausage dog’ like I’d originally intended 🙂
ST Wil.