'Slaying it' in Cheltenham with Buffy

There was definitely no 'Hellmouth' to worry about, nor vampire slaying necessary with the 'Buffy' we looked after in the Regency Spa town of Cheltenham on our second house sitting assignment. Buffy proved to be an adorable little Bichon/Shih Tzu mix who liked nothing better than curling up next us on the sofa but also loved her walks and exercise. All in all a delightful housesitting and dog sitting experience.

Buffy's owners, a lovely pair of ladies who run a dating website for gay women, needed someone to look after Buffy and their bijou, two bed, terraced house superbly located a short walk from the centre of historic Cheltenham. It proved an unmissable housesitting and dog sitting opportunity, giving us the chance to explore the historic well-preserved town centre which abounds with the Regency architecture for which it is famous.

Being blessed with good weather, we made full use of Cheltenham's fabulous choice of pavement cafes, coffee shops and bars, all of which welcomed dogs to their outside seating areas and happily provided bowls of drinking water for Buffy. In an attempt to burn off the excess calories caused by our over-indulgence in Cheltenham's 'Cafe Culture', we headed to Pittville Park for tennis and boating. Other than a predictable spot of trouble with my rollocks, we all enjoyed the boating, though Buffy wasn't at all keen on the swan that cruised over to check us out. Bizarrely, Buffy's favourite post-walk activity was spectating our low-grade tennis matches. Fortunately, she is not too discerning on quality of play and was happy to settle on her blanket on the bench watching with only a hint of disdain as yet another badly hit forehand went astray.

Another fabulous house sitting and dog sitting experience offering a complete contrast to our equally enjoyable previous assignment.