We were very excited to catch up with adventurer, author, broadcaster and writer Ben Fogle in a recent chat. We talked about his love for animals and his upcoming plans, and of course heard all about his lovely Lab, Maggi…
What are you working on at the moment? Do you have any trips planned?
I have a little while back I went on a ten day on a fishing trawler trip, and have just returned from Russia where I covered the Winter Olympics for NBC in the US.
Tell us how you met your wife through your dogs?
I was walking my late dog, Inca, a black Labrador and spotted a pretty blonde running with a beautiful brown Labrador. We were too shy to say hello for 6 months. The rest as they say is history. We even had little marzipan replicas of a Inca and Maggi on our wedding cake. They came on our honeymoon to the Outer Hebrides.
We know you lost your lovely dog Inca but wondered about your other dog Maggie? How old is she? and what breed is she?
Maggi is 13. She’s a Labrador/ Collie cross. She didn’t miss Inca as much as I worried she would.
Do you have plans to add any more dogs to the family?
I am planning to get another dog sometime in the Summer. We are still undecided as to whether we’ll get a puppy or a rescue dog.
Do Ludo and Iona get on well with Maggie?
They LOVE Maggi. They have only ever know life with dogs.
Do you take Maggie away with you on family trips?
Maggi comes everywhere with us. She even gets an 8 week summer holiday in the Austrian mountains next to a lake where my family in law spend the summer.
Any special views on animal welfare?
I think we should reintroduce a pet licence. The point being not to penalise people financially (in fact it should be quite cheap) but to encourage responsibility from the beginning (it should be made as complicated as possible to weed out those who simply can’t be bothered)
Favourite places to walk the dog?
The beach. There is nothing better than walking on a windswept beach with your best four legged friend.
What’s on your PetsPyjamas wish list?
An Army camo bone from creature clothes.