Cap the shop collie lived with Si and Liz in Marsden. He worked in the shop for many years and was a bit of a celebrity hound! In his youth he could run faster than a mountainbike and further than a marathon runner. Sadly on 4th August 2010 after a few days of illness he died. We'd like to thank the staff at Manchester Street Veterinary Surgery in Oldham where they cared for him over the years and were there for him at the end.

In the shop, his main job was to meet and greet customers but he also spent time chilling out on his sofa plus chasing and savaging our sweeping brush – people came from miles around to watch him in action! Unfortunately, after a particularly athletic lunge, it broke in half – luckily Si managed to mend it and doubled its strength so it was business as usual for a few more months...

Cap 'wrote' a regular dog blog which we hear was very popular with visitors to our website. As the best tribute to our adored and charismatic lad, we'd like to leave up the last few posts for you to enjoy...

He also had a big Facebook following. On his Facebook page there are loads of photos and videos of him – he spent most of his time away from the shop on the hills and moors around Marsden with Si and Lizzie but also travelled all over the UK with them on climbing, biking, sailing and paragliding trips.

Thank you darling Cap for being such a special friend. We''ll never forget you...

Cap's "Dog Blog"

Despite the devastating loss of our beautiful dog, Si has decided to carry on with Cap's dogblog and post his own thoughts on shop and sports life. But we're leaving up Cap's last few posts too...

4th August 2011 – my tribute to Cap...
It's a very sad day today for me and Lizzie – it's exactly one year since we lost our beautiful Cap. If you've not had the privilege to have had a dog like Cap living with you for nearly fifteen years then it's hard to explain what a void is left when they leave you. Cap was truly my best friend – I spent more time with him than anyone and he travelled with me where ever I went in the UK.

There wasn't a better fellow for sharing sport with, he'd run for hours alongside a mountain bike, track me from the ground when I was flying my paraglider and climb any mountain I could.

He brought massive character to the shop and people came in just to see him. His settee at Mountainfeet is still there and I couldn't bear to see it go. Even when enthusiastic children got a bit boisterous with him, he never snapped – in fact I've never seen a more tolerant dog.

When you were feeling blue he'd climb on your lap for a hug – you'd soon feel better about things. He wasn't an attention seeker and he could take or leave being patted or stroked – what he really lived for was being outdoors and active. Which fortunately for him was the same for us!

I remember when he first turned up at our door, an unwanted farm dog from a rescue. An inquisitive black and white face with stick-up ears in front of a skinny body with an incredibly fluffy coat! He looked like a cross between a badger and a husky and I fell in love instantly. Lizzie and I were the luckiest people in the world that day – no way we could know then what quality he was going to bring to the next fifteen years... Today, I'm sitting here writing this and missing him so much...

1 August 2011
Incredibly, it's nearly a year since Cap was around and I miss him just as much as ever. Lizzie and I are having a week back in the same cottage in Wales as last year – we went there to get away from it all and liked it a lot. It's near Bala and great for the sort of sports we like to do; sailing, paragliding and particularly this year, road cycling. Liz has gone crazy on the sport although after a hard 65 miles on the Yorkshire Help for Heroes Challenge she's off bikes for a few days now!

We've been having hard times in the shop along with the rest of the country but are always thinking proactively and we're currently working on our new and exciting project to offer a remote fitting and appraisal service over the internet. This will give a unique added value and interest to purchasing outdoor footwear online – something that's missing from the marketplace at present.

19 May 2011
"Not written for a while – no excuses really, guess I just lacked the motivation until today. What's got me back in harness is finding loads of photos of Cap from ages ago which gave me hours of reminiscing over fourteen years of canine capers with him...

I was out in Chamonix recently and got a call from Liz to say she was looking after a friends collie, Jack. I was gutted not to be home, particularly since me and my mate Spiny were getting progressively more depressed watching the clouds roll in for what turned out to be two weeks of crap weather! I was really hoping that Jack would still be around when I got back it was not to be. Still, maybe Liz is slightly nearer to rehoming another collie after enjoying Jack's company – I'm certainly working on her!

Liz just got back from mountain biking while I was writing this – she looked in at the Harden Moss Sheep Dog Trials above Meltham. There was a demonstration by some Mountain Rescue search dogs too and a 'hound parade' which sounded intriguing.

Several friends have collies now and the great spin-off for us is we get to 'borrow' them. It's a win win situation as we get a few days of company, the dogs get miles of running around the hills and our mates get a holiday without resorting to kennels.

It's worth mentioning that our local pub in Marsden, the New Inn, is a dog friendly establishment – Cap used to hang out there. They've also started doing a Sunday morning brunch from 8.30 till 11.30 where you can chill out over a brilliant breakfast and then maybe start a walk or mountain bike ride from the village. We went today and were impressed by the attentive service and multitude of coffee refills!

Don't know if I mentioned it before but there's good news about Bonnie, the rescue dog who desperately needed a home. She was adopted last month and so I was able to shave off my manky 'Beard for Bonnie' (I promised not to shave till she was rehomed). Don't know who's happiest, Bonnie or Lizzie! Let's all wish her the very best in her new home – she so deserves a great life from now on...

5th February 2011
"We interviewed a new part-time shop dog last week and she came to work for two days last week. Yes, she's Cap's lookalike Kellie Collie! She lives with our friend Andrea and came to stay with me and Liz to cheer us up. We were missing Cap very much and Kellie was just what we needed...

When she first arrived at the shop she was a bit out of sorts and it took her a while to settle down. But after some biscuits and a bit of brush savaging she was starting to feel comfortable and before taking her home I walked her on Pule Hill which was Cap's favourite place. She spent the first night with us sussing the house out – it was fantastic to have a dog around again although Liz is still adamant we can't have one full time because of our other commitments.

The next day I was off work and me and Kellie went for a big walk up and around the Pennine Way near Marsden. Kellie was great company and very well behaved – particularly considering she was with a stranger. There were times when it was difficult not to think I'd gone back in time as she looks a lot like Cap. But she has a different character – those who think all collies must be the same are so wrong...

That night, Kellie was worn out enough to completely chill out by the fire and the following day she came back to work with me and we let her do a bit of meeting and greeting. There were a few surprised faces as some customers tried to work out what was going on – had Cap come back?!!!

I was pretty sad when Andrea came to pick her up but it looks like she'll be a regular visitor in the future so I can get my collie dog fix. And maybe we can get her to do a guest dogblog... "

17th January 2011
"I came across this sad story through a friend on Facebook – Bonnie is a collie who looks a little like our much missed Cap and who desperately needs a break in her life. She's currently residing at the Last Chance Animal Rescue in Edenbridge, Kent but badly needs a good, loving home to go to.

(Postscript: 19th May 2011. Bonnie's found her new home! We're so pleased for her...)

A lady who visited her said that she was not coping with the kennel environment well and was feeling very sad to the extent where she seemed to have "given up hope". Because of this, she is not showing herself off well to prospective owners although I'm sure committed dog lovers wouldn't be put off and would soon cheer her up.

The Last Chance Rescue says, "Bonnie is a lovely girl. Friendly, lively, good with some other dogs, but we feel she would be best homed as an only pet. We are suggesting children 10yrs+. She is housetrained and loves company."

Could one of our website visitors provide the stable environment this beautiful dog so obviously needs? This story is breaking my heart and I'd love it to have a happy ending – if you feel able to help in any way then please contact the fantastic Last Chance Animal Rescue direct."

25th November 2010
"One our regular customers, Roy, got a shock walking in the shop the other day as Kell, Cap's lookalike was at the top of the stairs. You could see Roy's mind working as he wondered what the heck was going on! It's great when Kell visits as it cheers everyone up by reminding them how good it was when Cap was around..."

11th November 2010
"I had a really moving but brilliant experience today. A girl we know brought her collie Kell to the shop and guess what? She's an absolute ringer for Cap! Check out the photo opposite and tell me it isn't so... Kell even has the same mannerisms as our lad and the charismatic sticking up ears that change angle depending on her mood!

And the similarities don't end there – she's also a serial brush chaser and vacuum cleaner dismantler! I can't wait for Andrea to bring her again but it could be confusing for customers who have just got used to Cap not being around. Having Kell roaming around felt like the good old days when Cap ran the shop – she even checked out his settee!"

18th October 2010
"I was moved to write something today because I was vacuuming the shop and suddenly realised that there was something missing. Yep, it's Cap... Vacuuming isn't exactly the highlight of anyone's day but it was big fun as Cap used to chase the head round and keep everyone laughing! There are reminders everywhere of the lad, both here and at home. We're used to the idea of him not being around but still miss him loads – that'll not change I guess.

Luckily, we've got so many photos from many years of his company – there seems to be a picture in every situation, in every season and in every mood! If you have a dog yourself then make sure you take as many photos as you can – we've now got brilliant pictures in nice frames around the house."

18th August 2010
"The last two weeks without Cap have been very up and down. Lizzie and I got away as planned for a week in Wales but we were well aware that the lad should have been with us. There were so many times when we forgot he wasn't around and held a door open expecting him to run through. We rented a little cottage in the middle of nowhere and brought photos of him to put up around the place. Then we went ballistic doing as much sport as possible to stop us brooding too much. We took road bikes, mountain bikes, windsurfer, climbing kit and the canoe – the van was bursting at the seams...

The best therapy of all was remembering the amazing times we had with him up and down the UK over the fourteen years he lived with us – we had a lot of grins doing that and now it feels like he'll always be around..."

Si

Now Cap takes over...

22nd July 2010
"Knew I shouldn't have whinged about the hot weather – Si reckons it's MY fault that it's gone and we've had wall to wall rain for two weeks. And worst of all was that my summer holiday was in the middle of it.!

Me, Si and Lizzie all had a week off work but a couple of setbacks like the windscreen of the van shattering stopped us going anywhere till the middle of the week. But I got to go on a couple of massive walks locally and spent a load of time outdoors which was cool.

On the Wednesday, the twofeets decided to go to Dalby Forest in Yorkshire to mountain bike for a few days. This was a bit dubious to me 'cos I'm too doddery now to run alongside them and I often get relegated to the van. But when I found out we were camping I cheered up bigstyle!

I LOVE camping, even though Si doesn't. He grumbles but puts up with it 'cos it gets us to some ace places we couldn't afford to go to otherwise. And our old Buzzard tent is quite comfortable – I even get my own bedroom!

Dalby Forest is FANTASTIC for dogs and humans alike. The smells, the sticks and the lush carpet of pine needles and leaves for my paws kept me happy for hours and I was happy to let Si and Liz mountain bike once I was tired out. And we went to Whitby and had fish and chips on the quayside where I scrapped with a seagull who wanted the chip remnants that were MINE by right.

We had a crazy night in the tent on Thursday as the wind blew more than 50mph and at two in the morning I was woken by Si's foot in my basket as he held the tent up from being flattened. Then he put the van in front and between that and the splendid construction of the Buzzard we had a decent night.

I became an aristocratic hound the next day when we all went to the amazing Castle Howard (where Brideshead Revisited was filmed). I had to have my fur brushed to pass muster and enter the grounds – now I've seen how the other half live I'm not sure I want to slum it with Si and Liz any more...

Anyway, now I'm back at work – first thing I did was run into the boot room and give the brush a damn good savaging. There were bristles and splinters all over the floor – tremendously satisfying stuff!

Customers have been giving me loads of attention since I got back and my old mate Tony came all the way from Leyland to see me! Well, I think he might have bought a few things from the shop too...

Here's a picture Phil took of me hard at work – it's a dog's life here...

Looking forward to another week off fairly soon – this'll be the second try at a summer holiday. Hope the weather's better – think we're going to my favourite place in Wales, Bala.

Just seen this cool website – not only do they have all sorts of splendid things for sale but they feature a 'dog of the week'! How brilliant is that? I'm thinking of applying myself... Take a look yourself at www.pedlars.co.uk/dogoftheweek.html.

Right, time to go now – it's Bonio time..."

Cap XXX

5th June 2010
"This hot weather's getting me down a bit – might be alright for you guys but I can't just strip down to a T shirt. So my greatest pleasure at the moment is swimming up in the Wessenden Valley.

Managed to get tangled up in Si's paraglider the other day! All those bits of string – I couldn't see them as I ran to greet him when he landed. Luckily, I'm so deaf I couldn't hear the bollocking he gave me!

Chaddy, the cat next door to us has taken to tormenting me from our garden now he knows I can't get near enough to rip his head off! Actually, I wouldn't do that – I really like cats but they mostly spit, hiss and swipe at me when I go to see them. Can't see what they've got against a friendly old collie dog...

Was allowed to attend Dom Gill's book signing evening back in May. There I was schmoozing with the great and the good of the outdoor world when someone got the sweeping brush out 'for a laugh'...

Well, I had my usual instinctive reaction to it which is to chase and savage the brush – that scattered a few people as they saw the colour of my teeth! But then a small crowd gathered – apparently they found it highly entertaining!

See you soon,"

Cap XXX

30th April 2010
"Just getting ready for the Bank Holiday and as usual the weather's looking pants! Now that doesn't bother me as my coat is breathable and waterproof but it means the humans' plans might change and I might not get out as much as I normally would. The old back legs have been wobbly this month but I still need a couple of miles walking a day otherwise I get mad bored...

A little girlie border collie visited the shop today. 'Cos I'm old enough to be her great, great, great grandad, I didn't take a lot of interest but Si gave her a LOT of fuss which made me seriously jealous... I'm the top dog round here thanks!

I got lost the other day up in the Wessenden Valley after going for a run with Si. He legged it while I was having a sniff at something interesting and when I turned round he was out of sight. PANIC!!! I ran after him but unfortunately it was the WRONG WAY! Anyway, after 10 minutes I met some walkers and they took me back down the valley where Si was waiting. He didn't seem worried and told them that he knew I'd come back and was just a bit old and confused. THE CHEEK OF IT!

Anyway, we've made up now as he gave me a wacking great piece of pork chop last night when Lizzie wasn't looking. So we're mates again...

Got orders from everyone in the shop to tell you to come in and look at our brilliant new Rab products. I think this is animal exploitation and is why I shall be voting for the Dog Party in the forthcoming election. The humans'll be making me wear a sandwich board and sending me down the High Street next with a Mountainfeet advert!

See you soon,"

Cap XXX

4th April 2010
"Had ANOTHER holiday in Doncaster as Si was away in France on the shop ski touring course. But I've been struggling a little bit with arthritis lately and now Si is trying to strengthen my back legs up by doing some physio and taking me walking up steep hills. Si's back is in better nick now so we're out running a bit up on the Pennine Way.

Great now the evenings are lighter – just need some better weather and we can go and climb on Pule, my second home and favourite hill.

Had to go to the vets a couple of weeks ago for a check up. Although I hate going, the guys and girls at Manchester Street Surgery in Oldham are brilliant and really look after me. Got more stuff to ease my joints and now I'm bouncing around like a pup (see photo below!).

Stayed at home today 'cos Si went to go to work on his motorbike and I can't hang on and haven't got a helmet. Parking for workers at Mountainfeet's end of town is £4.60 a day. That's a lot of dog food money that Si's spending so when he can he's going to use two wheels to get into town..."

Cap XXX

12th March 2010
"Have to be a short dog blog this time as I've got sheep to herd and people to see – been helping Si get back in to running this last couple of weeks. Now the daft human has put his back out hoofing his dinghy out of the water at Carsington so his running and more importantly MY RUNNING has bitten the dust again...

Still, my arthritis is loving this nice weather and Wessenden Valley where I spend loads of time is looking brilliant. We had a picnic up there a few days ago and I dropped grass in Si's tea which made his face turn purple!

I have my own 'collar' torch to go with Si's head torch when we're out on the tops at night – how cool is that? At first it used to do my head in having a light follow me everywhere but now I'm chilled with it. Because I don't hear too well these days it means that Si can always find me in the dark.

Hope you're all getting out loads, I'm not in work this week but I'll be available for social calls after the 20th March. See you then!"

Cap XXX

18th February 2010
"Have to say that I'm glad the snow's mostly gone – I was struggling to get though it and missing out on a load of exercise. While Si and Liz went gallivanting off to Courchevel I went to the well known dog holiday destination of... ...Doncaster! It's great there – I go there thin and come back fat again as Mrs Howard feeds me up when Liz's parents aren't looking with shedloads of biscuits!

Si and Liz came back raving about their holiday and the ace crowd they stayed with out there. Two brilliant sets of farmers who have dogs, cows and sheep, a great couple from the Midlands who are crazy about skiing and the amazing Roger and Julia who were from so far down south they're almost French! Apparently they've been invited up North to see how we live without water and electricity!

Now I'm back into working life – won't they ever let me retire? Two Bonios a day is not much of a pension considering the number of people who come in to see me...

Si's was running around like an idiot the other day with a bunch of other guys who've left it to the last minute to get Valentines presents. We're not exactly the kind of shop to sell romantic gifts so he went to see the ace girlies at Beaverbrooks at the Spindles in Oldham – he says they are the friendliest most helpful people around. But surely he means, after us...! "

Cap XXX

10th January 2010
"What about this weather!!! First of all I was so excited by it – white fluffy stuff I don't see very often and Si and Liz took me out loads in it. But then it got deeper... And deeper... And even DEEPER!!!

I'm only small for a border collie and in loads of places I couldn't even see over the snow and had to walk in fat Si's footprints... But boy, have I been having a good time in it and getting back home ABSOLUTELY knackered!

Here's me forging my way through the snow on the Pennine Way – I feel very sorry for my friends the sheep as they can't get the grass. Luckily, the farmers are putting out hay where they can but it can't be easy...

I went down to Wales again just after Christmas to see my collie mates Nipper and Tucker. Lots of growling, snapping and chasing around till we got the pecking order sorted – yep, I'm top boss dog again even though the young'uns always think otherwise...

Gotta go now, sheep to herd, vacuum cleaners to savage etc etc – back soon..."

Cap XXX