sitting in the lawn chairs with the sheep all around them. And for those who aren’t familiar with the story – or reputation, really – of Teddy and Dudley, can you please say a few words? VT: I love this story: When we first opened as a bed and breakfast, we had two dogs. They were rescues, a German Shepardmix and a poodle breed: Teddy andDudley. There’s a trail that’s still used today that runs from the house to my shore property. It follows about a quarter of the coastline and then up to the northern lighthouse and back down to the road to the lodge. It’s a loop and the scenery is beauti- ful. Our two dogs appointed themselves tour guides. They would wait outside for guests – who always want to know where the walking trails are – and as you probably know, dogs get into routines quite easily. “Even the CBC television show ‘On the Road Again’ with Wayne Rostad did a feature on Teddy and Dudley when they retired. It was a tear- jerker about their final trip.” Eventually, the trail was named after them: The Teddy and Dudley Trail. They became famous. The local paper did a weekly blurb called ‘The Teddy and Dudley Update’ and the CBC Radio program ‘As it Happens’ profiled them as well. Even the CBC television show ‘On the Road Again’ with Wayne Rostad did a feature on Teddy and Dudley when they retired. It was a tear-jerker about their final trip. Dudley actually lived for 19 years.
a sheep for a pet – but I didn’t originally get a Cotswold, I got a Dorset. Well, it took-off from there. We didn’t know that the Dorset was pregnant – and she had twins! Eventu- ally, I got a beautiful Cotswold ram from Ross Farms here in Nova Scotia and ended up with a pretty large flock of sheep out here on the island. I have six Cotswolds right now, in fact. They graze on the lawn here, actually. What we used to do, the staff I mean, we’d often use the sheep as a distraction for the customers in the restaurant when things got really backed-up in the kitchen. We’d let the sheep out and they’d immediately run for the front lawn, which is right in front of the dining room window. The lambs in par- ticular would get excited and start running up and down the driveway and jump on a rock positioned at the bottom of the driveway and do a little dance. Every person in the dining room would be glued to the lambs and sheep. If your meal was late, you didn’t care. “It’s home to one of the world’s rarest plants.” The people who enjoy this more than anybody are seniors who grew up on mixed farms, which is a thing of the past. It reminds them of their childhood, all the different animals together. It takes them down memory lane when they’re
So Dudley was a loyal employee for 19 of the 28 year history of Brier Island Lodge? That’s incredibly touching.
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