15th January

Well no more snow here today, not a bad morning but a cold day although it was quite pleasant in the sun around  two o'clock. Temperatures have now plummeted and it looks as if we are in for a very cold night.

I took Angel on a longer walk to see if keeping her moving would help with the fluid, she still has a lot around the wound.

I include the following link to the Blue Cross publishing the top ten breeds of dog they took in last year.

Top is Jack Russells but SBT's come a close second with an increase on last year.

I heard recently someone suggest that Akita's and Malamutes and other big Bull breeds were taking over from Staffies as the most popular (and most handed in dogs) but this seems to disprove that and we are still receiving calls and emails everyday asking us to take in dogs.

We took in four puppies under the age of six months last year, so there are still too many Staffords being bred.

I believe it is the breeding that needs to be tackled and somehow stopped.

http://www.bluecross.org.uk/1752-110830/blue-cross-top-10-dog-breeds-of-2012-.html

14th January

Snow report :-

It started snowing here about 3am, exactly as forecast, I looked out and it was  quite heavy but not settling on the roads, only on the cars. There was a sprinkling on the ground in the morning but the ground was so wet it was not much but I did have to scrape it off my car. It continued to snow on and off until lunchtime when it turned to sleety rain, quite heavy for a time before stopping about 4pm. Though I see there is still snow on my neighbours car tonight.

Last years snow.

 Everywhere remains horribly messy and the dogs get filthy just popping down the garden.

In true Staffie form they hate it, nobody was very keen to get up this morning but Lexus in particular made sure he went no further than was absolutely necessary to do what he needed and refused point blank to go on a walk. I have never known him so quiet!

A little update on Chloe.

 They have had to buy a metal crate for her as she learnt to unzip the very comfortable, cosy, material one they had!
Now you have to admit that is clever.

Angel's wound is healing well and looking less angry though she has got fluid around it. She went for her follow up visit at the vets. Jane took some of the fluid to check it was not infected but said it may not settle down until the stitches were removed which will be in a weeks time.
She is otherwise well, eating and happy but getting a bit frustrated at not being able to run.

Whilst at the vets I saw one of the cutest puppies ever! A little Terrier pup who was as wide as she was high.

11th January

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the unexpected death of Anna-Lisa Browne

8/6/1976 - 23/12/2012

                                                 

Anna ran The Doghouse a dog training business with her husband Glenn.

Her vision was particularly to help rescue dogs and to sort out any problems so that rescue dogs remained in their new home.
 I first heard of Anna through her Agility classes. She ran a 'naughty' dog agility class for any dogs who were a bit tricky. My son and I attended with several of the rescue dogs. We also took Sandy on Anna's basic training course picking up some invaluable tips. We joined in some of  the group walks with Glenn and they also boarded our rescues when we were away.
More recently Anna's daughter Cheryl has been riding with me.

Today we attended a service to say goodbye to Anna and to celebrate her life.
It was packed with people standing all around and spilling out of the doors.A fitting tribute.
Here we learnt more of what we already knew about a gentle lady with a passion for dogs with whom she had a special bond and excellent skills.

She will be sadly missed.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Glenn, her mother Carol and brother Peter and her daughters Cheryl and April.

10th January

I am very pleased to report that Angel is feeling much better today and pretty much back to normal this evening.
As we find with most of our dogs who have an operation, it is really only the anesthetic that has any effect, apart from that they are fine.
She has been eating well and came to the ponies for the morning where she enjoyed a gentle walk and potter. At home she is back to her normal self, alerting us when Dave came home and just now, announcing that my daughter was back.

Here she is enjoying a fuss from Sam before he went to school ...

and having a potter at the ponies.

Here is Lexus at 10 o'clock this morning.

By this time he had got out of bed, been down the garden to do what was necessary, come in and had breakfast

and now enjoying a post breakfast nap!

It is a dog's life for sure!

9th January

Angel has had the lump removed.

 It was a solid mass so they treated it as 'worrying,' and took significant margins and sent it off to be tested.
Poor Angel has a large scar and is understandably feeling rather sorry for herself tonight.

I must admit I had not thought it was going to be quite such a big deal, I noticed the lump when it first appeared and it was a tiny and did not change for some time. It certainly felt different to Saffy's lump and was nowhere near as big, yet now it seems 'Here we go again.'

We had just over £250 in the Reuben Account we can use to pay for the operation but it could end up costing more. Someone has already kindly sent a donation towards it, if you would like to give something towards it we would be very grateful, please mark it 'Angel's operation.'

She goes back for a follow up appointment on Monday and will need the stitches removing in 10 days. Until then she will be on lead walks.

Rosie enjoyed being the only dog with me today.


She is really doing well and can be trusted to run around with me when I am working with the ponies.
She is better in the house, we have decided she needs a strict routine and the excited jumping is getting better.
We tried another session of lead training today which went very well.

Here are some pics of her helping me with the hay, not bad for a dog from a third floor flat!

7th January

Chloe has been fully adopted!

I went on Sunday afternoon just to complete things. Having not been bothered in the slightest when I left her there, she was very excited to see me again, which was very nice although it was not showing me how settled she was in her new home. She did eventually calm down and I didn't really need any proof  of how happy she was. She is now best friends with Barney and getting better with the cat, she has been very calm even with visitors, until I turned up!

It is a great home for her and they love her.

We were given a stash of Christmas goodies donated by Pets at Home customers.

There are toys and treats, Christmas stockings as well as food. Fantastic!
Thank you to all who donated we are very,very grateful.

Angel is booked into the vets first thing on Wednesday to have the lump looked at and removed if it is thought necessary.

5th January

Our 10th Dog Of Christmas is Boycie

Boycie was another stray who came from a dog warden. When we saw him we felt someone must be missing him and put him on 'Dogs Found,' but no-one was looking for him, despite the fact he was still looking for them which was the inspiration for our anti-breeding poster with Boycie as the star.

Also there was the problem with his age, he looked like a puppy but his body was very muscled so my vet thought he was older.










He was fostered by Sally and Simon with Saffy for several months, during that time they brought him down to Discover Dogs where he did a marvellous job of meet and greet on the Staffie rescue stand. At one point Sally left to look around the show and he lay down and sulked until she returned, giving an insight into his sensitive temperament.

He came back to us in January and after one or two disappointments found a home with Chris and family in October.
Chris needed a dog who was going to stick around as her land was not securely fenced. I knew this would not be a problem for Boycie but as he was not perfect with other dogs would that be a problem for Chris?
She seemed undeterred, fantastic! We had a match!

Here is her last email :-

 Just to give you a further update, Boycie now has a second name: Mr Muscle!  He's on the go all day and seems to have built up more muscles.    
 
He is now much better at Doggie school and tonight is the last session of this course.  We will collect our rosette with pride!  He no longer barks at the other dogs and is much calmer in their company.  He is such a happy little chap and is so lovable.
 
As you know we have always had rescue boxers in the past but I have to say, we are now Staffie converts.  What lovable characters they are.
 
Will take some photos over Christmas and will send them to you.  In the meantime, please tell everyone that has asked after Boycie that he is a very happy boy and we cannot imagine life without him.