Toffee The Akita Dog in Kirkstall Woods: A Life in Pictures

When we lived in Leeds in West Yorkshire we used to take our walks around the Hawksworth Woods in Kirkstall two and even three times every day. These were my best ever doggie walks. I met my friends, paddled in the stream and I could smell all the other animals; the rabbits, foxes and hedgehogs and sometimes I could even smell the deer. I can tell you that those deer smelled very good indeed and I would have loved to be able to chase them. ¹

This is my first Spring time in the woods not long after I'd found my new home.

I used to enjoy paddling in the stream and I fished with my paws like a bear.

I had lots of very happy times walking around the woods. I even used to slow down on the way back home to make my walks last longer.

¹Toffee (like many Akitas) was a very skilled hunter and even on a short lead she would still be able to catch small mammals before you even knew they were there. For this reason, it's always a good idea to keep your Akita on a lead if you are walking anywhere where there is lots of wildlife, and even then you need to stay vigilant. In fact, its probably best never to underestimate an Akita's instinct for hunting. On one occassion I found myself being pulled on my back down a muddy embankment in the pouring rain when Toffee got the scent of a hedgehog in front of us.