HENRY ... Our First Stafford
4.4.1987 - 20.3.1996

 

 

 

We were first introduced to Staffords by our friends Jake and Julie who had a dog and a bitch ... Winston and Rommel. Winston had the biggest head I have ever seen on a Stafford - Rommel was quite a nasty piece of work if you didn't know her as she was brought up to guard.

 

We got to know these *pig dogs* as they used to call them (and we still do) and when Rommel was having a litter we decided to have a pup. We had the pick of the litter ... not that we really knew what we were looking for ... and chose a black brindle dog with a white chest which we called Henry. He was a lovely pup who used to go everywhere with us.

 

When he was very small he was attacked by a Boxer dog, and for the rest of his life these dogs became his *mortal enemies* ... it's amazing how they can tell the breed of another dog long before we can even see it !! One day when he was with me at one of our shops it was very windy and the side gate had blown down (Henry used to play round the back and down the side of the shop) I tried to stop him but thinking it was a game, he darted past me out into the road and straight under a taxi which was driving past. I remember it well ... it was a yellow Ford Cortina ... the car stopped ... Henry got up and ran down the middle of the road, nearly getting hit by other cars. He finished up running into the yard of the Fire Station where I found him crouching and crying. I took him to the vet, which was just across the road and to my great relief there was nothing wrong with him ... tough these Staffords !! The hardest bit was having to phone my wife Victoria, who was at the other shop, to tell her that Henry had been run over. I also remember the big dent below the bumper of the taxi ... I'm sure that any other breed would have been dead ... or at least seriously injured by such an impact. Henry was wary of traffic for a few weeks, but after a while he used to pull on the lead to get across the road ... I'm sure that he would have done the same thing again ... typical Stafford !!!

 

We had two antique shops at this time and Henry used to go with us to one every day. There was a dealer called Lynton who used to come by most days and always brought a Penguin Bar (chocolate covered biscuit) for Henry ... or *H* as he used to call him. If the shop was closed due to dog walking, or we were out buying, he used to post the Penguin Bar through the letterbox for Henry.

 

All the customers loved Henry, and he was used for a couple of advertising campaigns ... "Come and see Henry at Thornton Antiques" ... customers used to come in, look around, then ask "who is Henry?" ... we then told them "here he is" whilst pointing at our Stafford, who was usually lying down in front of the fan heater ... or turfing it with his nose if it had been turned off. He was also featured in the advert "Henry says Our Prices Take Some Licking !!"

 

Henry wasn't a show dog and never won any prizes, but he won the hearts of many of our customers.

 

We lost him at only 9 years old with stomach cancer.

 

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