Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Dog is thatcher's rooftop companion

For Axel, the sky is the limit when it comes to his affection for his master. The five-year-old dog clambers up ladders to be alongside owner Richard Haughton, who is a thatcher in Norfolk.



Axel, a Newfoundland cross, is currently something of a celebrity in Scottow, near North Walsham, where he can be seen on top of the Three Horseshoes pub as Mr Haughton's team put on a new roof. He said: "Axel was a six-week-old puppy without a home. I was going to take him to the animal rescue centre, but he's been with me ever since and hasn't missed a day's work in the last five years."

Axel, weighing in at seven stone (44kg), patrols the roof where Mr Haughton's team are working in all weathers. His vantage point in Scottow is around 40ft (12m) off the ground. Mr Haughton said Axel's ability to climb ladders came as quite a surprise.



"We were sitting eating a packed lunch. Axel was on one side of the scaffolding, we were up over the ridge on the other and he managed to come up the ladder. We saw him up on the ridge - basically he thought he was going to get some food - and he's been up with us all the time ever since. He sits on the ridge and moves along it as we're working. We always have to bring him down though. He hasn't worked out going down the ladder yet."

Video.

2 comments:

The Rat King said...

So; Newfs can swim in any sea to rescue people, guard and play with children with no supervision, scare invading armies to death, and... thatch a roof.

Settles just which dog is best, doesn't it?

Also; love that thatching is still a regular practice in Jolly Ol'. Nothing interesting like that on this side of the pond.

Barbwire said...

Newfies are big dogs. It must be quite a job to get him down the ladder.