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

Getting out

Woohoo! It's walkies time again. Mum has started taking me out again. She is keeping me on the lead but at least I am out in the world full of wonderful smells. The first little walk down the road was a slow one as I HAD to sniff every patch of grass and every bush in case a doggy friend had pee'd there. It was lovely to get out in the sun again even if it was a slow plod. Not sure Mum was walking slowly for my benefit or hers! My leg did ache after, but I had a nice snooze in the warm sun on my day bed and I felt a lot better.

Mum took me down to Baiter yesterday and Sunday and it was great being there and seeing a few of my doggy friends again. So many smells to catch up on too. I dragged Mum around all the bushes and trees :o)

I did my best to wee everywhere so they all know I'm back :oP

Oh guess what?? I managed to get up on Mum's bed yesterday for the first time in months. It was so comfy I was fast asleep when she came home from shopping and she caught me napping! She did cheat though as she parked on the road to fiddle with her car instead of driving it up onto our driveway. I didn't hear the car stop and the first I knew was the front door banging shut and Mum calling me. I think she heard the thump when I dropped off the bed, but she was laughing at me as I came downstairs so I don't think she minded me borrowing her bed.
I did have a nasty encounter Friday. Mum had been out and came home and I was dying for a pee so asked Mum to let me out in the garden. As I stepped out of the door I saw a pesky fox slink across the garden and disappear into the bushes so, of course, I gave chase. I caught my good front leg on something and a sharp pain stopped me. I came indoors to show Mum and she was upset. My leg was ouzing a bit of blood from where my dew claw had been. It was hanging off as I came indoors and luckily it came off cleanly as I licked my leg on my bed. It stopped bleeding very quickly but Mum still took me to the vet. A very nice young lady took me out the back to have a look at my leg. She gave me a couple of injections *wimper* and took me back to Mum. It soon stopped hurting and did not bleed any more. It was fine over the weekend and didn't stop me going walkies and enjoying it.
Today Mum took me back to the vet and I saw Richard. I always get a nice hug off him but I also had more injections :o( Mum said these were protective ones to stop me getting nasty diseases and it didn't sting for long. He checked me all over too and seemed pleased with my condition.  We had a bit of a drive around on the way home, Mum said she had to go to a  hairdresser whatever that is. But it didn't take long.
Looks like afternoon nap time now, my rug and bed are waiting for me *yawn*
Bye for now *wags* ((((!))))

I'm armless - or is it legless?

Almost two weeks since that painful visit to the vets at Ringwood where they made me all sleepy and when I woke up the nasty metal frame on my leg was gone! Woohoo! I would have jumped for joy if it didn't hurt so much! It felt really weird in my leg. My paw didn't feel the same, and trying to walk on it hurt like crazy. Mum helped me back to the car and I slept all the way home. Getting out of the car was hard and Mum lifted me down to avoid me hurting my paw/leg. I barely put that leg to the ground because it was hurting every time I did. I slept on and off for about 2 days and Mum was very worried as I was limping badly and carrying my sore leg a lot. I managed going in and out of the garden ok and peeing and pooing, but squatting did hurt. It was about a week before I felt like going walkies but when I asked Mum she said "NO" and just gave me my dinner. It seems like forever since I last went walkies and I hope I do get taken out soon. Mum keeps putting me on the lead to go in the garden so I don't dash off after foxes or those pesky squirrels. There is no fun in my life at the moment :o(
The soreness seems to be wearing off and I am trying to walk more normally but it does hurt sometimes. I can run down the hall to greet Mum when she comes home much faster on three legs ;o)
The BIG down side to all this is I have not been on Mum's bed in ages! She stopped me sleeping there with her weeks ago and now I don't think I can jump up there, or face jumping down! I just sleep on my own bed on the floor :o(
Not going out makes life very boring and I just wander through the house now and then. I manage the stairs ok, following Mum up and down. She's moved my bed in the lounge again today - she had that noisy machine out she pushes around. She took my bed away to go up and down with the machine then she carefully folded up my duvet and blanket and made me a very neat, thick, soft bed to lie on. Not a bad job Mum, but it's not where I like to lie down! Never mind I'll shift it later after my next snooze. That funny man James is here. He had delicious sausages for lunch and he didn't give me any! But I did get a nice cuddle and a lovely bum rub.
Mum's been in a funny mood the last week or so, but I'm not complaining because it's meant I've had lots of cuddles. I hope it helps her feel better, it does that for me :o)
Woofs and licks to you :oP

That's life

W-w-woof! Hello! Thanks for asking how I am getting on. It was you, wasn't it?
I am doing well, thank you. I still have the pins in my leg but I can't feel them. My leg doesn't hurt at all now, and the bit of soreness I did have has gone now. I suspect Mum has been hiding tablets in my dinner. I found a funny hard lump the other day and bit on it. YUCK! But the tripe around it sort of tasted ok so I ate it anyway. You never know when the next food is coming so I always clear my dish, even though Mum is very good at feeding me on time.
I am so looking forward to having a run off the lead. Mum does her best but she is so slow walking and I am trapped by the lead to walk at her pace. She does use the stretchy lead now which means I can wander away a short distance to sniff the new smells. It means I can choose the spot to pee or poo now too :o) She was a bit slow getting the lead on me the other day and I jumped out of the back of the car off the lead. It felt good and I skipped off across the grass to pee. Mum did catch up with me and the lead went back on, but those few seconds of freedom felt good.
I have heard the word 'vet' mentioned a few times recently so I think a visit to one of them is coming up soon. With a bit of luck the pins will be coming off!

Mum gets cross sometimes when I jump around too close to her and I wack her leg with the metal frame. She cried the other day when I did it and it did bleed :o(  It was an accident but I know it hurt her.

I have been moving my bedding around the lounge of late. Mum keeps folding it up neatly near the sofa and I like it scrunched up by Mum's chair or in the sunshine. I want to be close to Mum but she does grumble a bit when she has to climb over me and a pile of rug and duvet to go anywhere :o)  I w-w-w-wuv you Mum.

Won't be long before I'll be running free again down at the park - I hope! Tell you what.. I won't be running near icy puddles again! That REALLY hurt!




Big wags and licks to my pals, Jack, Sheba and that cutie Poacher :) awoooOOO