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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Jilly Beattie

100 Little Tales: Meet Fanta, fox red and fleet of foot

Today we start our new series, 100 Little Tales; your stories about your dogs, written by you and shared by us for everyone to enjoy.

Whether they're fast or slow, long, tall, pedigree or not, whether they're extraverted puppies or mellow older dogs, we want to hear all about them.

All we ask for are 100 words explaining who your dog is to you - and we will happily take 1,000 words and more.

Read more: The 30-year-old letter that explains the truth of dogs

We just want a glimpse of your dog, see what you see, find out who they are, what they do, what they refuse to do and the space they fill in your world.

We want the good, the bad and we know there's no ugly, and we want photos and videos to help us memorialise these cherished family members, to reveal the memories they've created and the thoughts you'll keep close for years to come.

And we're starting big and beautiful.

Our first 100 Little Tails explains a lot about who we are at DogsLive and BelfastLive and what's at the heart of our company, Reach Plc; passion, teamwork and the ability to make meaningful connections.

Because our first 100 Little Tales story is about Fanta, a beautiful fox red Labrador who owns the heart of a man called Jim. . . Jim Mullen.

Jim is a big deal in Fanta's life. He's her dog dad and when he's not enjoying walks with Fanta and throwing soggy tennis balls for her to chase, he's a big deal at work too.

Jim is CEO of Reach Plc, our big boss. He has a lot to think about every day with 4,000 colleagues, lots of newspapers, websites and magazines to look after, printing businesses, advertising, share holders and much, much more.

So you might assume there would be little time in Jim's life for telling everyone about his dog, but you'd be wrong because like any good Labrador, Fanta has created her first and finest fan in Jim.

And when we asked our friends and colleagues to tell us about their dogs, he was the first to respond, the first to help us make the connection with his pet, and share a glimpse of his special bond with Fanta.

Meet Fanta, by Jim Mullen

Fanta and her ball (Jim Mullen, CEO, Reach Plc)

"Our dog is a sprinter. It's not a rare breed as she is a fox red Labrador, I just mean she likes to sprint. She never walks anywhere, she sprints.

"Open the door in the morning and she sprints out to the garden.

"Smells a cat or fox outside and she sprints to every door or air vent.

"Open some popcorn (her favourite) and she sprints from her cushion and crashes into my leg.

"When she was a puppy we thought she would grow out of sprinting, but she is two now and she is still sprinting.

"People don't believe me when I say she only sprints. They think I am exaggerating to make the point but I'm not.

"Our dog doesn't walk, she sprints ... all the time.

"Unless of course when she is sleeping and she is as good at sleeping as she is sprinting. One leads to the other we suppose.

"So what do you do with a dog that sprints? Well you encourage and support their passion for athletics.

"Although we do go for sprints in the common or a park, what she really likes is a sports field.

"Flat, smooth and expansive. No hedges, trees or thickets of shrubs. Nothing to impede the constant flow of energy, just grass to sprint in.

"Even better are sports fields with two, three, four, even six adjoining pitches.

"Off she goes (with my beady eye on poo patrol), three pitches covered within 60 seconds and back with the ball.

"Not that she needs a ball as she will just sprint anyway.

Jim Mullen, CEO of Reach Plc, dog dad to Fanta (Reach Plc)

"When she has had enough she will come and sit at our feet and that means it's time to go home.

"So we all head back to the car but she doesn't walk with us, she is way ahead of us, in the direction of our car.

"You see, our dog is a sprinter. Our dog is a wee beauty!"

If you would like us to feature your dogs in 100 Little Tales, email your story to jilly.beattie@reachplc.com and don't forget to include photos and videos we can share.

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