Hello, friends!
This section says “About Us,” but in truth, it’s mostly About Me.
Allow me to introduce myself — my name is Vanya.
I’m a Landseer dog, born on April 14, 2018, in the north of England.
I’m 60 cm tall at the shoulder, weigh about 50 kg, and live on the Isle of Wight.
My humans are wonderful people.
The “Master” — he’s the Alpha male in my eyes.
And his wife — a beauty — let’s call her… Margarita? No, Mashulya! She’s the real boss of our family, especially for me, because Mashulya makes my meals.
A six-litre pot, twice a week! But more about that later.
First, about my name.
Ivan the Terrible has nothing to do with it — I’m not terrible at all, more like “Uncle Vanya” from Chekhov’s play. But my owners have their own story.
Do you remember the Soviet cartoon Holidays in Prostokvashino?
What was the name of the ship Grandma Matroskina sailed on? Right — “Ivan Fyodorovich Kruzenshtern — man and steamship.”
Apparently, I resemble that man somehow.
So they named me Vanya.
Close friends call me Vanyusha.
The great ones have called the Isle of Wight a little branch of heaven on Earth.
That’s where I live.
Wight doesn’t mean “white” in English — it means “creature.”
Before people, dinosaurs lived here, and their remains are still found when the coastal cliffs crumble.
Master and Mary are much older than me, but full of life.
They spend most of their time looking after the house — more than 150 years old — and especially the garden and vegetable patch.
Over 70 rose bushes, hydrangeas, begonias, tulips, and more.
Beautiful, but only for smelling — the tomatoes and cucumbers, now those are great!
I always get both ends of each cucumber (my humans call them something else).
Mary cans lots of vegetables — I lose count, but last year she filled more than 70 jars!
The sea is only 200 metres from our house.
Almost every morning, the Master takes me for a walk.
As I get older, I realise it’s actually me walking the Master.
There will be plenty on this site about the sea, running on the sand along the cliffs, and meeting other lucky dogs like me.
So I’d like to share the stages of my life — the good, the not so good.
If you’re interested, welcome to our little den.
English translation assisted by our AI friend “Vanyusha the Interpreter.”