Bobo

We took a hound from Hersham Greyhound Welfare Kennels for a day out on Sunday. Our kids wanted to go to Painshill Park and our retired greyhound Alexa always likes having the company of her own kind.

The kennels gave us Bobo. Bobo has only been at the kennels for three weeks. A new young fellow (not yet four), hoping to be adopted into a loving home. Dot described him as 'a little darling' and she wanted to see what he was like on his first trip to 'the big wide world'.

So Bobo got the family road test: an afternoon out with two children, aged five and eight, liable at any moment to give an unsuspecting greyhound a bear hug.

We think he is named after Bobo Balde, a huge and very enthusiastic footballer who plays as a whole-hearted centre half for Glasgow Celtic.

Bobo the greyhound isn't huge, he is on the small side for his breed. But he is enthusiastic, and his default mood is happy. His tale was wagging immediately we left the kennels, and he wagged it a lot during the afternoon.

We took him to Painshill park and he had a good old walk around the lake. He listened patiently to the guide's description of how the artificial stalagtites were made when we did the tour of the grotto. He wasn't phased by anything and seemed to enjoy the attention given him by our kids and the general public.

His desire to fit in makes him a quick learner, he was hesitant about getting into the car on the way out but jumped in with alacrity on the way back. By the end of the walk he was starting to recognise his name and turned his head when we spoke to him.

He flirted with little old ladies and cheerfully approached little kiddies too. He did all he could to recommend himself as a potential adorable pet hound. He definately has a 'take me home, you won't regret it' expression on his sweet face!

He walked in zig zags all the way round Painshill because he was interested in everthing. Food will be a big motivator to him, we had to get his snout out of our picnic bag a couple of times.

We didn't meet many other dogs so we didn't do the 'spaniel test' but a note on his record card at the kennels says that he is good with small dogs.

We think he would suit any type of household, including families with children. We couldn't fault him.