The end of the road

This is Honey's Mum writing. Honey has sadly passed on over the rainbow bridge. She was taken ill very suddenly and in immense pain the vet could not overcome. It was kinder to end her suffering than prolong it with an explorative operation she might not survive. The vet suspected cancer of the pancreas or pancreatitis.
Honey is at peace and no longer in pain.
She died on Friday 14th November.2014.
I will leave her blog on here to remember happy times.
Sleep easy old girl xxx

More paws for thought

Well I finally managed to get on the puter thing. I just don't get a look in with my Mum.
Something is definitely up. Usually most days are pretty predictable, I wake up, wake Mum up, nag her to let me out in the garden and give me my breakfast. She then gets dressed while I'm scoffing. After she's had her breakfast and coffee she usually gets on the puter then disappears out, leaving me the choice of sleeping on my bed downstairs, or heading up to stretch out on her bed until I hear the car come back.

She got so cross the other day - I made myself comfy on her bed by scraping up all the bedding into a heap in the middle, including the bottom sheet and mattress cover. It all made such a cosy nest for me to curl up on. When she came to bed that night she said a few loud words  and spent a long time fitting the sheets back on before I could lie down on her bed. What a fuss! It's so much better all scrunched in a heap!

Anyway she's been coming and going at odd times, and that noisy sucky machine has been used all over the place, more often than usual. The Jenny has been a bit bothered too lately. I recognise the tone of voice from Mum that the Jenny has not been doing the right thing at home. Her small box has been making lots of noises lately and she sits for ages with it stuck to her head while she talks to herself. She does give me brilliant bum rubs though, once I can get her attention.

Polly

Mum took me to visit my mate Polly the other day. I hadn't seen her since she came to stay with us ages ago. She was pleased to see me but I was more interested in checking out her home. She has these black creatures living there who sat in the chairs and watched me with big green eyes. Polly and I had an explore of the garden together and I left my scent marker right in the middle of the lawn.

Do you know they did not have a bed for me anywhere?? Polly went on what was obviously her bed but I had to lie down on the carpet! Can you believe that? Visiting royalty and nowhere to relax!

Mum has stripped my bed covers and been washing them. I get them just nicely smelling of me and she goes and makes them smell all flowery - that lavender stuff doesn't half stink!
Oh did I tell you about getting my nails done? My claws were getting a bit long so Mum took me to the beauty parlour and a very nice lady trimmed them for me. I was scared - not of having my claws done but because of the noise! It sounded like some poor dog was being tortured next door! Really scary noises! Mum just laughed! The lady said something about a dog having a bath. I hope Mum doesn't make me go through that there!
We went past the desk at the vet but my favourite lady was not there. She always gives me a big cuddle. We did wander round the store a bit on the way out and Mum bought some packs of something and mentioned birds. I think that's the small things that fly in and out of our garden a lot. They all fly away when I go out :(
I'd better go and get my head down for another nap. It's tiring being a dog you know!

Abandoned!

I knew something was up. Mum had been taking me to visit the nice men 3 doors down the road. They seemed very friendly and let me have a good sniff around their house and garden. We didn't stay long but it was nice to visit. THEN Mum took me there with my fluffy duvet bed, and my food, and my food and water bowls, and the extender lead, and the poo-bags bag AND SHE LEFT ME THERE!! HOWWWWWWWWLLLLLL!

She was gone a few days, they all blur into one now. David seemed to like me best and gave the best cuddles so I followed him everywhere. I was impressed when he pee'd into that big bowl thing Mum usually sits down on. I decided to sleep downstairs as their staircase is weird and goes round a corner. My duvet bed is lovely and comfy so that wasn't a problem and David came to let me out in the morning. They took me for walkies but kept me on the lead. Then Mum came back! I had to be careful not to seem to pleased to see her. I wanted to leap on her and cover her in licks, but she was the one who left me and went away!! She took me home, then I couldn't wait any longer and pressed myself up against her and stood on her feet when she sat down to cuddle me. Oh it was SO good to be home with her again.

Life since has been pretty routine until last week when she went out for hours on end, and that nice man Craig came to let me out in the garden and give me my dinner. He smells familiar and has been here quite often to visit Mum, so he must be a good friend. Mum was home every night so I slept well in her bedroom.
It is definitely getting harder to get up and down the stairs. I may start sleeping downsatirs sometimes at night. It is hard to get off my lovely comfy, warm duvet nest to go and pee before bed time and then try and get upstairs. It is much easier to just fall back on my bed downstairs, but I do like to sleep near Mum at night. I love those early morning cuddles when I jump up on her bed next to her and snuggle up.
The weather has been lovely for the last week or two and I've felt good and enjoyed running around the park. I've met Alfie a few times - he's a cute small terrier but is he yappy! He's always pleased to see me but is only really interested in his ball and making his master throw it for him. Yap yap yap! Pesky youngster!

There's always good smells around the park. Loads of dogs go there and leave messages for other dogs to sniff out.
There was a nasty encounter the other day. An uppity boxer dog decided he didn't like the look of this soft retriever type and attacked him. The owners managed to stop it quickly but it sounded dreadful and from the yelp I'm sure the retriever got nipped. If a dog gets nasty with me I just run away. But most of the dogs I meet are friendly or just ignore me. I went to say hello to this little hairy thing, I think Mum said it was a Yorkie, whatever that is, and the perishing little hairy rat growled and snarled at me! So much for being friendly! Oh well - it was too small to play with me anyway!
Mum's been busy cleaning round and put fresh bedding in the back bedroom - that means we've got a visitor coming! Hope it's someone nice!
I'll let you know when I know who it is.

A typical day

I sleep on a duvet beside Mum's bed at night. I have tried moving around to wake her up sometimes but the funny gurgling noises carry on and she doesn't move. I wait for her to wake up and head for the bathroom, which is my cue to get on her bed. I stretch out in her warm spot so there's no chance of her coming back to bed.

I find the stairs harder these days and go down them a lot slower. They are steep and close together for someone with long legs and a long body :o(
Lovely Mum has already opened the back door and my breakfast is waiting in my bowl. I go out and pee a couple of times in the garden then come in for breakfast. I had a sniff but didn't fancy plain bits. If I look suitably unimpressed she may crack an egg over it or grate a bit of cheese on it - result!
*Yawn* Time for my after breakfast nap. I humph my duvet bed around a bit to make it puffy then curl up on it. zzzzzZZZZZ

Mum has got that noisy sucky machine out she pushes round the room. I hate that thing and move out of her way, but she will insist on bringing it near me again. Time for another trip to the garden. Having to open the door stops the noisy sucky thing for a bit.
There's a weird smell in the garden! Someone's been here! It's that stinky fox again! I keep peeing and pooing where he's been but he does the same :o(
Time for mid-morning snooze :o) a bit more bed arranging then I curl up and doze off again. The little thing with an annoying ring wakes me up and I hear Mum muttering something about call centres, whatever they are. Back to sleep again.
Mum's on the move, collecting bags together and givng me a pat. She's going out! Time to give her the soulful look to make her feel bad about leaving me at home. The door goes click as she goes out. My cue to nip upstairs for a nice nap on her bed. :o)
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
What's that? A car? hers? Yessss - quickly down the stairs and do my 'missed you so much' whine and greet her as she comes through the door. I am sure she thinks I've been waiting by the door since she left. Boy, this display of love is tiring. Just time for a little snooze again.
Mum's had her food and has the noise and light box on again. Sends me off to sleep nicely.
*Yawn and stretch* mmmm time for a pee I think. Mum grumbles when I ask to go out, but when you've got to go......
It's lovely outside and I think I'll just have a snooze in the sun for a bit.
What's that? Did I hear Mum say walkies?? I'd better show willing. A bit of leaping about should do it and a few squeaks. She's put on my walkies collar and I'm ready to go. I hop in the back of the car and we're off! I watch which way we go and it looks like the usual park by the harbour. Great! just time for a nap before we get there.
The park looks pretty empty so I can have a good old sniff around without some pushy dog sticking his cold nose on my bum.

While Mum is picking up my poo I am heading off and away to check out the far side of the field. Lots of lovely smells mmmm. Wait... where's Mum? I can't see her! Where is she? Oh no! Has she gone and left me? Oh phew! There she is and she's calling me and flapping her arms, I'd better go! Look out Mum, here I come!
This run feels good so I run round Mum and head back round for another lap of the field. Mum's heading for the car so it's time to go. Just time for a nap before we get home :o)
Right. I'm inside the front door. Where's my dinner? I want it NOW! Come on woman! Gimme! Oh she is so slow sometimes! I can smell the tripe mix. Mmmmmm lovely!
Ahhh that's better. I've got a fat, full tummy now *yawn* I think it's nap time again.
The noise box sends me off to sleep nicely and Mum is settled for an hour or two.

Ooh it's dark now. I need a pee again and Mum lets me out the back. What's that? I saw something move round the side of the house. It's that *!&@ white cat again! I'll catch him one day! I run at him but he's already under the back gate and running down the road GRRRR Better check all round the garden. I can smell that fox again!
 *Yawn* time for my before bed sleep :o)

 All too soon Mum is telling me it's bed time. Good! I am tired out and ready for a good night's sleep ;o)

Goodnight all *licks*

Paws for thought

What a dreadful night! All those nasty bangs and whooshes from the time it got dark until my bedtime. Heaven only knows what was going on. Mum even had the blimming noisy things on TV! I spent the whole evening hiding away by the boiler. At least it was warm and the noises were not too bad until just as we were going to bed. There was a terrible burst of bangs and flashes very close to our house up on the recreation field. I was desperate for a wee but no way was I going out with the bangs still going on. Mum said wait 10 mins then it should be all quiet. So we sat down again and Mum gave me lovely cuddles for a while. I adore her bum rubs, she is gentle yet firm and it gets my thigh muscles going. I love tummy tickles too. If she stops I give her a nudge to carry on. When Mum let me out to pee before bed, I could hear some very faint bangs but I was so desperate to go by then I didn't care. I dashed out, squatted and pee'd forever!

I slept on the floor bed last night. Mum was making funny noises and smells so the floor seemed safer. It was not cold and I slept really well. Mum got up and went to the loo when it was just getting light then back into bed. Boy can she snore! All sorts of weird gurglings and snorts until what seemed quite late.
I was hoping for a nice walk this afternoon but it's not looking good. I've just been out for a pee and it's raining again. It's not at all cold out but I hate getting wet with rain. I love splashing through puddles and ponds but rain is dreadful.
Mum did take me with her friend Linda and that hooligan Yarna to the beach yesterday. At least Linda had her dog whistle with her so could get Yarna to come back when she went off chasing other dogs. That left the beach clear for me to run on *woof woof*. It was great! I felt so good I did my crazy backwards 'helicopter spin' before setting off to run big circles around on the sand. I don't know why but there was a small bunch of people on the promenade watching me and laughing at my spins. They watched me running about. I LUUURVE running on the sand. It grips and yet is soft. I have not run so much so fast for a while. It just felt so good. Yarna had a good time romping with other dogs and digging in the sand. I'm not sure what she sees in digging but she seemed to enjoy it. I did find my leg aching by the time we got back to the car :( and after I'd had my dinner I was ready for my bed. It all seems fine today but I don't think we will be beach walking today :(
Hope you get all the walkies you want, and lovely dinners too.
*woofs and licks*

Paws for thought

Life is pretty boring right now. Mum comes and goes a lot, leaving me to sleep away, on my bed or hers.

My leg is a lot better now and I am making the effort to walk using it and it is getting easier. I love the rubs and massages mum gives me, she stretches out my leg at times which does seem to help when I go walkies later. But let's face it, any massage/rubbing/stroking is lovely. Mum has been taking me to the park again this last week, using the extending lead. This means I can stop and sniff while she walks ahead, but it stops me running off.

I know I am not fit enough for running around yet, although I can move pretty fast on three legs when I want to. I do hope I can run on the field again at some point. I need to check out the smells on the far side where Mum seldom walks.

There were some delicious smells wafting round the house yesterday as Mum was cooking up something. She said it was rabbit but I didn't see anything with long ears and a fluffy tail so maybe I heard it wrongly. I did get some lovely meat in my breakfast bowl this morinng tho, a nice bit of liver, kidneys, and heart all mixed in with my usual dry bits. Yum yum! I could have eaten a load more but Mum said I'd had enough for one meal.

I know she was having trouble with the normal 'puter downstairs and has used the old pc in the bedroom for a bit, but she is not happy with it as it has a habit of restarting itself without warning. I am quite happy about this as it means I can snooze on her bed while she is on the 'puter. I just block my ears when the 'puter plays up and she says rude words.

I don't know what was happening last night, but my tummy was making weird noises and every so often I woke up with this terrible smell wafting around. I think something has upset my tummy a bit.

If it was me making the smells I'm sorry, Mum. I'm sure a nice snooze on your bed will help me get better. Roll on walkies time this afternoon.

Love to all my doggy friends, and my human ones.

"Woof woof" xx

Truly fed up

I know it's been a long time since I blogged but to be truthful not a lot of note has been happening in my life.

The pains I was getting in my bad leg turned out to be problems with the first operation not working fully. I had to have a second operation and it's still bandaged up from that. This time they have put in a metal plate under the skin to support the fusing bones. I have had a huge bandage and something they call a splint. I've been back to see the nice vet Dan each week to change the dressing. One week they did not put enough padding in and it was really sore where the splint was rubbing on my leg :( Dan spotted it the next week and the nurses have been very careful to pad it well since. Mum says the dressing and splint might come off next week when I go for an X-ray at the Ringwood vet. I hope so because the way it is dressed means I am walking on tip toe on that leg and it's not easy to walk like that.

Mum abandoned me last week for a few days. It seemed like forever! Jenny and James looked after me, coming and going to feed me and let me out in the  garden. James was a bit late coming over a couple of times and I HAD to go :>( so I poo'd in the corner of the kitchen. I didn't want to but no-one was here to let me out. At least he gave me nice cuddles when he did come. I slept on mum's bed at night and slept well. I could stretch out without her grumbling about it. If I manage to sneak up on the bed while she's asleep, she complains when I stretch my legs out and dig her in the back. She only has to move over a bit to give me more space and we're fine. :>)

I am now back having short walkies and it's lovely to get out again. Yesterday was a bit longer and my leg was aching. We did the short walk down the road and through the alleyway to the grassy area where I poo and wee, but coming back we met lots of neighbours outside their houses. They all wanted to say hello and know how I was getting on, so we stood talking. It was about 40 mins before we got back home and I was only supposed to be on my leg for 10-15 mins! I was glad to get back on my bed!
Mum did have a laugh tho. My neighbour does car valeting, cleaning them out with weird noisy machines and he'd just finished doing a car with a black inside. He'd left the doors open to air off the car and a fluffy white cat had got in and been sleeping in it! The cat came out as I came up and just walked away from me. I could not chase it even though I wanted to because Mum had me on a tight lead. I don't know why but Matt seemed cross about the white cat having been in the black car. We left as he was getting out one of his noisy machines again.
There have been a few changes of doggy neighbours. One dog, Jade, died of old age. Another neighbour who barked a lot got killed in an accident recently too. Mum's friend said they were visiting friends and some children were playing ball with the dog. They threw the ball carelessly and it went towards the road. The Jack Russell chased the ball and got completely run over by a big Range Rover driving past. Not a nice way to go but quick. At least it means no yapping in the night. It was only a small dog but even I found it's barking annoying.

I cannot believe we still get occasional cat visitors in my garden! I do chase them off when I see them but I've not managed to catch one yet :>(

Mum has not been putting out much bird food lately so the squirrels have not been coming either. I do like chasing them but they move so darn fast.

I've smelled the foxes around but not seen any for a while. They move quickly when I appear.

I'm sure I've heard Mum say something about going away again soon. I hope that's not the case, but if she does I hope there's someone here when I need to pee or poo.

Roll on the time when I can get back to running around freely on the fields again without any pain in my leg. I hope it's not too long now.

Woofs and licks to you all  :>P