A COFFEE morning for owners and their small dogs is being hosted in Wellington.

The brainchild of Kristine Richards and her ‘amazing’ dog Flag, the informal drop-in is a chance for owners and dogs to meet with like-minded canine fans.

Kristine explains: “Myself and Flag the dog have been overcoming adversity and had many adventures since we met when he was a puppy in 2018. Shortly after I had a cancer diagnosis and things would never be the same.”

With no family around her, it was Flag who kept Kristine going through her extensive cancer treatment.

The social isolation of lockdowns during COVID impacted Flag. Kristine explained: “After this poor Flag found everything outside so scary. But with advice from a local canine behaviourist, slowly he built up his confidence. People would stop us in the street to remark how he has improved.”

The pair moved to Wellington from Torquay, Devon where Flag enjoyed minor celebrity status.

“His good looks and charming, cheeky and quirky winning character won countless hearts in our locality and rapidly became a local celebrity!” said Kristine. She also used that platform to raise much money for local charities.

He became a regular in the local newspaper, and she started coffee mornings which she said were a great success and spread to adjoining towns.

“We now live in wellington and love it here,” she added. “Of course Flag already has fans and he gets lots of attention wherever he goes. He puts smiles on so many people's faces!

“We hope to once again have a friendly coffee morning and once again raise money for local charities.”

The pair meet at Coffee # 1 cafe in Wellington town centre at 10 am every other Wednesday morning. The next canine get together is planned for April 29.