Sir Paul Grimes {The Big Dog Feature} Pt.1
The world ever changing as it is, in constant harmonics with man and nature. There are certain people who align with their harmony synchronised with nature. Quantum Creations being ‘nature conscious ‘ proudly bring to you – the kid people and crew, a unique incredible feature full of enrichment and new enlightenment for you.
Quantum Creations asks you sit comfortably, stay chill be relaxed and enjoy this epic feature.
Sir Paul Grimes works very closely in the animal world – with dogs to be precise. So without further ado- here is
Sir Paul Grimes!
Paul thank you so much for joining Quantum Creations today, taking our time and energy to and message alike to the forefront.
For the people out here, please tell them what it is you do – (feel free to drop your official title!)
“I am currently working as a Dog Warden for a company which sub-contracts the service for 28 different borough councils, covering Oxford all the way down to Bromley on the south London/Kent borders. I spend most of my time covering Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire though which is where I live.
“My job largely involves collecting stray dogs, which can pose a risk to public safety, as they can cause cars to serve and crash, attack other dogs who are out walking on a lead with their owners, intimidate young children and of course foul on public pathways and even people’s gardens and while they are out straying there is nobody to pick it up. I also deal with barking complaints, dog attacks and issuing Fixed Penalty Notices for people who do not pick up their dog’s faeces.”
“Over the years I have worked in a number of roles with animals spanning a 22 year career, consisting of a Veterinary Nurse, a Patient Care Assistant at The Royal Veterinary College, an Animal Welfare Officer in North West London, and now my current role as a Dog Warden.”
You (sadly) see a lot of ill treatment within the dog world – how do you deal with this?..
Sir Paul Grimes
“I have seen some horrific things in the dog world. More than I should have in the 21st Century. Both inside and outside of work unfortunately. I have seen dogs so starved you can see every single vertebrae in their spine and count every single rib. I have witnessed dogs being beaten, kicked, stamped on, sprayed air freshener in their eyes and even on one occasion strangled.”
“I have seen a dog attacked in its own house by 6 other dogs who lived at the property and the dog was so badly injured it left a trail of blood and pus on the carpet and the owner refused to take it to the vet for emergency treatment.”
“I have seen an elderly dog with painful arthritis almost crippling it, dumped in a park and laid on top of some fly tipping while it was still alive and left there to die.”
“When I worked as an Animal Welfare Officer in North West London, I was covering areas including Harlesden, Kensal Green, Stonebridge, Park Royal and Wembley. These are real poverty stricken areas with a very high crime rate, involving gang violence, regular shootings and murders.”
“This lifestyle sadly filters down to the animals on street level. I was once called as an emergency by a couple of bin men who were working and collecting all the rubbish. Just to set the scene, in London some borough councils do not issue wheely bins to their residents, so people have to dump piles of bin bags in the street outside their house for the bin men to collect.”
“On this occasion, one of the bin men was throwing the bin bags and boxes into the dust lorry, and for some reason he opened one cardboard box before he threw it into the back of the lorry as he said it felt heavy. As he peeled back the sellotape, a mother cat with 5 young kittens were inside. If that man hadn’t thought to peel off the sellotape that day, that cat and kittens would have been crushed to death in the back of the lorry.
Another occasion I was in the office and took a call from a lady who lived in Harlesden, and she said she has 2 young children and has just come out of hospital having a complicated birth of her 3rd child. She informed me that she has been in hospital for 3 weeks, and her 2 children were staying with their grandmother during this time.”
“The next thing she said shocked me with the calmness and lack of empathy in her voice . She said that she has a dog, and that during the 3 week period she had been in hospital, she had not made any arrangements for somebody to take care of the dog, so she said when she came home she left the newborn baby in the car, and asked her 2 young children to stand in the front garden, as she wanted to go into the house and remove the dead dog out of the house and into the garden shed before the kids saw it. To her shock (and mine ) the dog was still alive. Barely.”
“I drove round there in the van with little regard for the Highway Code, and was met with a bull breed mix type dog which I could only describe as a Skelton that was still breathing . The poor dog was so weak it couldn’t even stand up. I carried it out of there and placed it on a blanket in the kennel in the back of the van. As I pulled up outside her house I had the forethought to switch my phone to video mode in my pocket and managed to record a full voice confession from her which was later used to prosecute her in Court. Surprisingly the dog managed to make a full recovery and was rehomed to some people with compassion and morals, unlike the original owner.”
“The way I see it, if you want to change it you have to be in it. You can’t change things from sitting at home and signing a petition on your laptop.”
“So in order to help animals most in need and educate people to change how they deal with their animals , you have to be out on the streets and be able to communicate with them. My need to help and educate in order to prevent future suffering over rides my emotions of sadness and despair.”
You’ve been in some pretty hairy (pardon the pun!) … situations is there any you can share with us here?..
Sir Paul Grimes
“I have certainly been in some hairy situations brother. One occasion in particular stands out…. I was in my current role as a Dog Warden, and it was around summer 2019. A call had come in early that morning saying someone had been woken up at 2am by dogs barking in their back garden, blah blah blah I didn’t even finish reading the job as I had 2 or 3 jobs to do before I could even make my way down to that job.”
“Anyway, it was around 8.30am ish and I began making my way to these other jobs. 2pm came, and I was finally heading down to this job, down Surrey way. It was a couple hours drive so by the time I pulled up it was around 3.30/4.00pm on a hot summers day. It was a hamlet out in the countryside, no pavements,no lamp posts, just country lanes covered in dirt and dust. I pull up to this large bungalow which was doing it a disservice classing it as a bungalow because although it was all on one level, it was still bigger than most people’s houses.”
“As I pull into the gravel driveway, an elderly gentleman comes out of the front door and waved at me.I wave back and stagger out of the van. It had been a long drive. The man says ‘thank god you are here, they’ve been going crazy since 2am!’ So I think to myself these dogs have been going crazy for the last 14 hours or so, so I ask the elderly gentleman has he been able to go out in the garden with the dogs, to which he replied he did try unlocking his back door but when they saw him they launched at the back door with such force the gentleman thought they were going to smash through the glass and attack him.”
“Righto I said. It was going to be one of those jobs . I asked the gentleman to show me where they were, and he lead me around the property to a back gate. I remained on the outside, and looked in. The garden was vast and immaculately maintained. The sort of garden you would see at the Chelsea Flower Show. In the middle of the garden, I could see 2 large dogs. The job came through saying they were 2 German Shepherds , but these were much bigger.”
“I whistled loudly and it immediately set them off, barking, charging towards me , sprinting now, focused purely on me outside this gate . When they reached the gate, they were jumping up, looking me in the eye, teeth and fangs and saliva flying everywhere.”
“They were 2 Causcasian Ovcharka dogs. I’d say this was any Dog Warden’s worst nightmare. I was tired, a good 2 hours from home, sweating already, and now I was faced with 2 Caucasian Ovcharka’s who in all likelihood will attack me.
I took 5 mins to look around, I like to check out escape routes, plan my way in, have a Plan B in place etc. There was nobody else I could call for assistance, the night team was due to start at 4pm, I knew they were coming on to at least a couple of jobs already and they were hours away at best. The police weren’t interested, and these dogs had already been in the man’s garden for 14 hours. Reluctantly I backed the van right up to the gate, and opened the back doors and the inside cage doors.
I got a couple of slip leads around my neck, a dog grasper in one hand, and a pocket full of Bakers Complete. I approached the gate, pretending I couldn’t see the 160kg of teeth and fangs infront of my face, while I looked around the garden for any cover should things go wrong. There was nothing. No shed, no childrens slide, no water fountain. Nothing except immaculately cut grass and award winning flower beds.”
“I turned to the elderly gentleman and asked him ‘you havnt got any garden furniture have you mate ?’ To which he went away and came back with a plastic deckchair . That’ll do I said . So, armed with a plastic deckchair in one hand, a dog grasper in the other, 2 slip leads around my neck and a pocket full of Baker’s Complete, I approached the gate.”
“The man asked me if I wanted a hand, to which I must admit to laughing a bit at inside, as this elderly gentleman was very frail, thin and slow, and I was thinking I was walking to my fate even attempting this job, yet this man is actually asking would I like a hand lol. I thought to myself this man will be killed within 2 minutes. Hell, I might be killed within 2 minutes! I politely but firmly said no Thankyou. I said please whatever happens, do not come outside, stay in your house and keep the door locked.”
“No matter what happens. The last thing I need is to be trying to keep an eye open for his safety as well as my own. Something had caught the dogs attention because they had charged over to one corner of the garden lunging for something else, God only knows what, but I saw this opportunity and I took it. I walked through the gate, closed it behind me , and walked out into the middle of the garden.”
“I held the deckchair with what can only be described as a vice like grip, with the legs pointing away from me , and my grasper firmly in my other hand. I spoke to the dogs in a loud and firm voice to get their attention. The dogs saw me and both came charging for me. I had around 8 seconds before they reached me.”
“In this time, I thought about other job opportunities I could have pursued over the years, and how I’d come to end up in this situation. The dogs were now right infront of me, barking deep barks, they are looking into my eyes, I can feel their breath on my face, and they are circling around me. I noticed one is more confident than the other, so I fixate on that one. I immediately realised I was at a huge disadvantage (no shit), as I had no cover behind me.”
“I was walking around in circles, deckchair legs being bitten as these 2 dogs tried to find a way to get me. I shouted at them loudly and fiercely and swore at them when they lunged for me. It gave me a few seconds to get to a bush on one side of the garden, where I kept my back touching the bush. The bush was too large and too thick for the dogs to walk through, so I could put all my energy into looking forward at the dogs infront of me . Bang, the dogs teeth took hold of the deckchair leg again, and it took all of my strength to hold on to it to prevent the dogs from running off with it, leaving me totally exposed.”
“With my grasper under my armpit, I grabbed a handful of bakers complete and threw it on the grass infront of me. It probably wouldn’t do anything but in the back of my mind I still had the notion that these dogs hadn’t eaten for at least 14 plus hours. To my amazement, the more confident dog began to sniff the food on the grass. Then it ate a couple of pieces.”
“I got my grasper and positioned the hoop on the grass, directly over some of the food. The dog went to eat a couple more bits, then I quickly lifted the grasper over its head and pulled the cord tight. GOT HIM !”
“It was a bitter sweet moment , as I had secured the more confident, what I classed as dangerous dog, safely on the grasper, but what I hadn’t planned for was for this 60kg pissed off dog to suddenly start doing the crocodile death roll, dragging me further away from the bush that had been protecting my back, whilst still carrying a deckchair. The next problem I encountered was as this dog was doing the crocodile death roll, the other dog thought I was killing it , so lunged for me with more ferociousness than the dog I already had on the grasper.”
“As much as I tried, the dog got through and bit my boot. I shook it off, it then circled and tried to attack me from behind, I jabbed it in the face with the deckchair, then it came for me again, this time my grip had gone on the deckchair, I was dripping with sweat and couldnt hold it firmly , the dog lunged for me again and I just managed to move my leg out of its reach.”
“I readjusted my grip on the deckchair, and began to pull the dog on the grasper towards the back gate. What seemed like hours was probably 3 or 4 minutes in reality, but I eventually got to that back gate, dog still on grasper, deckchair still in other hand, other dog still trying to circle me, sweat still dripping off me, but I had made it. I opened the gate, and now had to get myself, the deckchair, and the dog on the grasper through the gate, without the loose dog getting out. With some choice swear words, I managed it.”
“Furthermore I managed to get this dog safely in the back of the van and slam the door shut . I took the grasper off from outside the cage door. There was no way I was attempting to scan this thing for a microchip. If I tried that I knew the next place I would be going is hospital .
Well, I breathed a sigh of relief, one down, one to go….. .”
“Back I went, trusty deckchair and grasper in my hands. This time though, as I entered the garden through the gate, the second dog’s behaviour changed. The barking had stopped, and it’s body language was softer. I still didn’t trust it, but I didn’t feel like this dog was trying to attack me anymore.”
“I realised this dog took direction from the first dog, and now that the first dog was in the back of my van, this dog didn’t know what to do. I slowly walked up to the dog, and put a slip lead over its head. I walked through the gate thinking to myself this is unbelievable, if only this house had cctv. I was able to scan the second dog for a microchip, and place it safely in the back of tha van.”
“I was able to contact the dog’s owner via the microchip, and when I spoke with the lady owner, she said ‘ whatever you do don’t go near them they are guard dogs and will bite’.
Thanks for that I thought. I had some words of advice for the owner about keeping her dogs under control and how they are a danger to public safety and they must never get out loose in public again. I’ll never forget that day, and there are only 2 people in the whole world who witnessed it, myself, and that elderly man whose house it was”.
How do you go about training a dog from scratch?
Sir Paul Grimes
“Getting a new dog and training it from scratch takes time, repetition and consistency. My dogs work for their food through obedience commands and hand feeding. I do a lot of Environmental Conditioning which helps create a confident, well-rounded dog who is able to feel calm in a variety of different places and situations.”
“For example, I encourage my dogs to jump up on to walls so they gain confidence when elevated, I take them to shopping centres and ask them to do nothing but hold a down-stay while 50 or 60 people walk past them and my dogs are required to just ignore them, I try and find as many different surfaces to expose them to as possible, for example tiles, plastic, carpet, metal stairs, etc etc.”
“The power of play is very important too! Use the power of play as a great reward system for correct behaviours offered. Some people get a dog and buy 8 different toys and leave them on the floor all day long and go off to work, well all the dog does is chew and rip the toys up, then next week the owner goes out and replaces those toys with new toys, same thing happens, because nobody is interacting with those toys with the dog!”
“The toys themselves are worthless, but when the owner plays with the toys with their dog they become priceless!”
Tell us about a highly positive success story you have been involved with!
Sir Paul Grimes
“I have many success story’s, but one very recently stands out. I was at work and the office called me to say there had been reports of illegal hare coursing in an area of countryside close to where I live, and a stray dog had been sighted on a number of occasions over the past couple of days. I made my way out to the location and was driving up some country lanes when I saw a loose dog in one of the fields in the distance.”
“I pulled over and got a half full bag of dog food from the back of the van and began shaking the bag and calling the dog to get its attention. It was a lurcher type dog, and I could see from a distance it was very thin. The dog looked at me and began walking over to me, but it was very nervous of humans and would only come within 10ft of me initially.”
“I threw some food over for it which it ate immediately , and after a while it gained the confidence to come closer to me and I was able to put a lead on it. The poor dog was emaciated and you could see every rib, every bone in its spine and pelvis, and the dog looked like it had given up on life. The dog is now doing well in our care and is putting on much needed weight and will go on to find a new loving home.”
We live in an age where dogs are still highly popular as pets. What would you say to first time buyers going in?
Sir Paul Grimes
“First time buyers going in: Advise I would say to first time dog buyers going in would be to ask lots of questions! The questions you should be asking are :
“‘Are both the parents fully health tested, for example have they had their hips and elbows scored to check they are free from genetic hip/elbow displasia? If not, why?”’
“Are both parents fully vaccinated ? Can I see the vaccination certificate ?”
“Can you accompany the mother and father dog out on a walk, both in a busy town and out in the fields to see what it’s behaviour is like ? If this is not possible, why not? Ask the people what are they hoping to achieve from this breeding they have created?”
“Don’t be afraid to walk away, if the mother or father dogs are displaying undesirable behaviour traits or health conditions. Puppies should be kept in clean living conditions, and the puppies themselves should be fat and chunky, clean and not show signs of nervousness or cowering away in the corner. Ask the breeder what have they done to start conditioning the puppies environmentally?”
“It’s a buyers market, do not be forced or pressured into buying a puppy because the breeder is in a rush. You will be making time for this puppy every day for the next 12 years so the least a breeder can do is free up 3 or 4 hours of their time for you to ask questions…..”
What’s your advice for the people on this earth moving forward!?..
Sir Paul Grimes
“My advice for people on this earth moving forward is people need to realise and understand that the planet is at risk due to our human activity . We as a human race, all of us, need to dispose of our waste correctly, re-use as much as possible and recycle at every opportunity. We need to take care of our countryside and stop dropping litter and fly tipping.”
“We hear daily about trees being knocked down in order to build new houses for our ever growing population, but when do you hear of houses being knocked down in order to plant trees ???”
“The time has gone where humans can reproduce as they wish. Planet earth as a whole, but countries such as the UK and China are massively over populated and building more and more houses because people want to have 3,4 or 5 children each is not the answer. Nor should it be the government’s responsibility to house everybody. If humans wish to reproduce, they should do so knowing they are financially stable enough to provide everything that child will need not only financially, but mentally, physically and emotionally too. That child must be taught about how to live in a way which reduces our carbon footprint and does as little damage to the earth and countryside as possible.”
“That child must be taught about how we need trees in order to survive, and that the world does not start and stop in an i-pad ! Take your child litter picking and fly tip clearing, enjoy the seasons and the changes in the countryside each season brings. Grow your own food and be kind to animals.”
In your down time what music do you like?
Sir Paul Grimes
“Music I listen to in my down time …..
Music is a huge part of my life and I would struggle to live an enjoyable life without music . I would estimate I listen to music between 8-10 hours a day. I wake up at 5am, go downstairs, put 1xtra on the radio. I brush my teeth, I listen to music on my phone via YouTube. Im at work in the van im listening to my playlists on my phone through the van speakers.”
“I get home and go in the shower im listening to music on my phone , I wash up after dinner im listening to 1xtra on the radio. Music is a constant in my life, like food, water and air.
My first taste of music as a very young child came from my father playing reggae. My father is a serious reggae man and has an extensive collection of vinyl, and has actually seen Bob Marley perform live when he came to the UK and performed at Hitchin Town Hall. For all those skeptics about this statement this is actually well documented and can be found fairly easily on an internet search.”
“I have to give thanks to you Sir David for enhancing my musical journey as you played a major role in introducing myself and your younger brother to a more urban, more underground music genre of different types, namely Happy Hardcore, and Jungle, now known as Drum N Bass.
You were a few years older than us and were able to actually go raving, when myself and your younger brother Martin were still too young. We were both hooked with the heavy baselines of jungle and the female vocals of Happy Hardcore, both of which I still listen to today.”
“I remember being different at school when all the other kids aged around 8,9 and 10 years of age were listening to East17, Boyzone and Oasis, and I was talking about Hixxy, Mickey Finn and Vinyl Groover lol. We all had a collection of tape packs which I understand we still all have to this day.”
“Growing up further my father’s reggae influence grew on me, and I was also introduced to the wave of illegal pirate radio! Those years ! Hot, long summers, radio stations including Prestige Fm, Risk FM, Raw FM and Impact FM were what I lived for. One of my good good friends Wayne and I were hooked on them! I used to carry a portable radio around with us walking through the streets so we could still go out without missing any of the music lol. “
“A few years later Wayne and I actually ended up working together for a short time at Wilkinsons, and one lunch break Wayne and I were in the staff room and I pulled this portable radio out from my locker, put it on the table, bare in mind there were other members of staff and managers eating their lunch at the time , and pulled the aerial up as far as it would go and we tuned into Prestige FM on our break 😂😂. Those were some good memories.”
“Getting into my late teens and early twenties my love of reggae and dancehall took over and has never left me. I would now say 80% of the music I listen to now is reggae and dancehall, with the other 20% being made up of Happy Hardcore, Drum n Bass, Grime, Garage , Afrobeats and Soca.
I have been to see many reggae and dancehall artists perform live, too many to list in total, but some names include Mavado, Capleton, Beres Hammond, Masicka, Shenseea, Romain Virgo and Bunny Wailer. Music is life!”
Do you have l a ‘best’ fave breed – & why!?…
Sir Paul Grimes
“Do I have a favourite breed of dog?
Although I currently have an American Bulldog and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, I would like to own an XL American Bully and a Presa Canario one day. If I had to choose a favourite breed right now I would say an XL American Bully.”
“I like this breed because they are big gentle dogs originally bred as a companion breed, low to medium energy and generally very people orientated.”
FEATURE FLASH!!!
🏆Sir Paul’s own dog – Princess taking home the ‘win’ at a local competition! Many congratulations from Quantum Creations!🏆
Paul Sir, Quantum Creations will take a time out now, whilst profoundly thanking you once again. As this gesture is aptly titled ‘a Pt.1’ we Quantum Creations always leaves it open for a sequel! Boom, pow! Just before we depart, is there anyone- anything yo would like to big up, generally promote- go crazy ! It’s linked live for you ! Salute!
Sir Paul Grimes
Quantum Creations 