Elle: From BK to UK…
Six months ago I got on a plane for the second time in my life. For weeks, I watched furniture and clothing leaving the apartment, confused. What was happening? Where was it all going? And what did ‘a brutal sweep’ truly mean?
The morning the mother of my neighbourhood bae Walter, Carrie came over to pick up the couch with a crew of men, it was too much. I stared at my treat master hard conveying “but WHERE are we going to cuddle?”. But all she kept telling me was that I would have the answer soon enough.
My one and only Walter Cronkite @thedailywalter
The very next day, the treat master fed me, packed up my bed like nothing was sacred, and we left the empty apartment. We then loaded ourselves into Grandmother’s SUV (the most fitting carriage to leave America). I was panting, excited, sitting my treat master’s lap. When we got the airport, I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t even pause to go to the bathroom before entering the terminal (which I regretted later while waiting to go through customs, but remained a lady and didn’t have any accidents). Once at the check-in counter, I was so excited for our new adventure that I jumped up onto the big metal suitcase scale, scaring my human I might be over the weight limit. Luckily, no one even noticed that extra treat roll around my neck. After successfully passing the security, I swaggered all the way to the gate. It was smooth sailing as the crew and I had an instant connection, plus being an emotional service animal came in handy because they sure looked like they needed some love.
The airport scale, my luggage and I
Once in London, the treat master and I missed our Frenchie friends back at home. It was such a relief when our lovely friend @lulunasty introduced us to @cocothefrenchie1. A playdate in Hyde Park led to a dog cafe champagne date at Verve in Nottinghill and more playdates. Coco has the same name as my human treat master, which made it all the more epic.
When you finally get to meet the greatest duck-herder of all-time, @lulunasty in person!
When Coco invited me to visit her in Derbyshire, I couldn’t wait to explore the Peak District. The English mist made the adventure all the more epic. “Heathcliff, where are you?” was whispered in the wind as Coco led the way through the lavender heath covered moors. I carefully followed her up the mountains in my Love Thy Beast gold puffer jacket, earning the compliment “not bad for a city dog,” from Coco’s Mum, Deborah.
Coco told me Mr. Darcy loves fishing…I dress to impress!
The next day, I followed the treat master’s literary instincts in search of Jane Austen’s Mark Darcy, at Chatsworth House. How best, as a mere 18 lbs. was I to stand out in the sea of admirers at the real version of Darcy’s Pemberly (*the actual estate Jane Austen visited in 1811 that inspired her to write the classic novel Pride & Prejudice)? One solution – put on my signature shark outfit to roam the gardens.
Pride & Prejudice – the shark version…
Then came the day for my play date with a British Corgi named Winston, (@winnythecorgi) for Winston Churchill. Being a younger pup, I played it coy and had to school Winny on how to approach a refined five-year-old Frenchie. He caught on fast, and in no time, we were wandering through Kensington Palace Gardens. We decided to explore more of London’s historic sites and found ourselves at Chiswick House. After posting a photo on Instagram, a darling six-month-old pup, Noodle the mini-red Dachshund (@noodlethedachshund) joined us and we began a wonderful friendship. We even got to represent our respective breeds for the Kennel Club’s Dogs of Instagram booth at London’s biggest dog show, Discover Dogs.
The pupparazzi are on high alert because @winnythecorgi and I have a date.
Fortunately through the wonderful world of Instagram network, going to Meetups and having playdates, I have found London very welcoming. Even the local rule of “don’t talk to anyone on the tube” is forgotten when people see me on the tube. Not having to remain in a dog bag on public transport, it has felt like Brooklyn again with all our marvellous dog friends uniting. I even got to meet up with fellow doginista Harper of @harperandhugo for a street style shoot in the pouring rain, getting photobombed by human male models. Hey, who can resist a Frenchie girl?
Modeling bespoke @harperandhugo necklaces- in the rain- with Harper herself, when this model from Diesel photobombed us!
Thank you my Instafamily, for making my move in London so much fun.
