30th April

Believing the forecast that it was going to remain dry on Saturday, I soldiered on thinking it would stop soon, but it didn't stop, it got worse and the rain was joined by a cold wind, but if we thought that was bad it was nothing compared to last night and today!

Tara by the flood water.

The young dogs bounded out of their beds this morning only to apply their breaks on the doorstep and teeter on the top step. The older ones like Saff and Tara were wiser knowing what the cold blast coming in from the door meant, they snuggled deeper in their beds.
I took Boycie, Angel and Chance to the ponies and let them run off some of that youthful enthusiasm chasing the ball in the rain.
It was very satisfying to bring the ponies in and leave them pulling on hay in the stable or shelter of the yard.

I was struggling however, after being out in the rain for nine hours on Saturday my back had seized up so once home I did some long overdue paperwork.

Two oldies on the path.

 I didn't do everything I intended to do of course but things are more sorted, and the lead for the phone/computer found so I can share the pics from Friday.

28th April

And still it rains!

But a lovely evening and hopefully fine tomorrow.
All dogs had a good walk or run today, I took Tara and Lexus to the now 'controversial,' gunpowder mills. Controversial because Guildford Borough Council have cut down the trees and the villagers are complaining. It does look fairly desecrated, I am always too distracted looking for approaching dogs to take much notice.
There is now flood water lying on the lower ground, I took some photos of Tara pottering near it but cannot find the relevant wire to share them with you at the moment if it re-appears I will add them.

Lexus has been misbehaving  as usual. He stole and ate Sara's unopened packet of Hula Hoops!
Then when I was taking him and Khan down the garden my elderly neighbour came out of her door (we share a driveway) and asked if I could help her with something. Whilst we were talking Lexus managed to slip the lead and took himself off cocking his leg on the Wheelie bin, shameful!
As he regularly trots down to our garden off the lead I didn't bother putting him back on but said loudly.'Come on Lex, down the garden.' He is normally so good but not this time, not with Mrs H. standing watching, this time he heads down her garden, evading my desperate grab, shooting forward, not just a little way but right on he continues so I have to follow with Khan. 'Oh no, this NEVER happens,' I say desperately as Mrs H. watches not one but two dogs trampling her precious garden.
It IS true.
 This never normally happens but  I am not convincing anyone now.
 Mrs H. shakes her head and turns back to her house
 ... that dog!

27th April

The weather was a little better here during the afternoon and evening and a strong wind has dried it up but the rivers are all high and low ground under water.
All dogs had a decent amount of exercise today, resulting in me being extra tired, so a short blog.

A spectacular picture of Rhea at Crufts flying over a jump.

Rhea is owned by Kerry and Simon and was one of a litter of four pups we took in at six weeks old.
Kerry competes with her at Agility as well as with her other female Staff Neighla. She also owns a male, Harvey who competes with my Lexus in the character stakes but not in Agility!

Rhea and Neighla recently took part in the Stafford Agility Display at Crufts.

25th April

What a day! The rain was really 'Something else!' Everybody has their own story to tell about it. Mine is that it was lifting the manhole covers and the road was disintegrating in front of us when I took my daughter to college in Godalming this morning. I was due to ride out but instead we cleared the drains in the yard!
Now a tree has fallen blocking the drive to the farm..
All this and we are of course officially in drought, inspiring comments such as 'Wettest drought ever.'

Monty

It would be a great Tabloid picture to have people standing in the pouring rain collecting their water from a stand pipe!

Good to hear Gareth and Monty walk seven miles come rain or shine I am sure you put the rest of us to shame.
I have to admit I gave up today on trying to walk everyone, all of them got something at some point in the day but it is hard to keep everyone happy, back to the Forth Bridge scenario!

I don't always mention it but the phone calls/emails continue with at least one request a day to take in a dog.
Today I had a call from a girl. She had a four year old dog. They had only owned him for 4/5 months. they had bought him from an advert on Gumtree. The problem they were having was that they had been told he was housetrained but he wasn't and he was ruining the carpet!
 We could not help. She did not seem as if she was open to advice so I gave her a couple of other numbers to try, though I doubt they would be any good. I probed a little deeper and asked about their situation, did they have a garden?' Oh no'  she answered 'But we have a balcony!' Quickly adding 'The people we got him from had a balcony as well ... '

We have received another donation of £25 from Pets In Practise http://www.petsinpractise.co.uk/http:/  for which we are very grateful.

It was good to close the door on that weather tonight, though it had stopped raining, at last.
Dogs all snoring in their beds now.

Tomorrow is another day ...

23rd April

It has rained all day here, starting around nine and it was still raining last time I looked. We need it of course, if not for the reservoirs but for the farmers, don't start me on that!
The dogs of course hate it, even when its not falling from the sky they hate it wet underfoot and it makes their paws sore.
Sam Keen came to do some training as it was so wet we decided to do some work in the town and took Boycie a walk up the high street. It was raining very hard then and Boycie was not at all impressed.

I have heard no more about the Dogs Today article but  bought a copy of the latest edition.. The next one is out on the 10th May and will presumably contain the article, with or without input from me and our dogs will appear in the Adopt Me section.

Sunday Pets At Home

I have spoken to Pets At Home and although it is not finalised yet they thought we had raised just under £500 which is fantastic. We are also owed nearly £360 from the Christmas Appeal which somehow got lost. The cheques will be sent to the store in the next two weeks. Then I can pay Sara back the money from Boycies little mishap!

We have a busy w/e on Saturday 19th May and Sunday 20th
On the Saturday it is Merton Dog Watch Event which Val is attending   and on the Sunday we will be at a dog show at Masters Park, Oxted organised by the Tandridge Dog warden to raise money for the Staffies she has in.

Pets At Home gave us three bags of discontinued stock of harnesses,collars and leads which we hope to sell.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

21st April

Still trying to negotiate my way around the new blog, took me four goes just to get this far!
Had a great day though, managed to do 12 riding lessons and the rain stayed away until we had finished. We could see it threatening and all around us but it just cleared and moved away. The driest day we have had all week.

Tomorrow or today now, anyway 22nd April is Val's birthday. I am sure you will join with me in wishing Val a Very Happy Birthday!

Now I know you are all aware of our 'No dogs on the bed,' rule. Also that although there should really be no dogs upstairs I do occasionally sneak someone up whilst I work on the computer. Well, Tara is a frequent visitor. She is very good and will lie on the floor but if I lie down and fall asleep she will jump up and join me!

Here we are snapped breaking the rules ...

20th April

I was not prepared for the new template for writing the blog! Although I had read Alison's blog with her comment on it, somehow it did not register. I have finally got there!

Molly when she first came into rescue a frightened and worried little puppy

With the changeable weather my working conditions are far from ideal. Getting wet, then dry and then wet again, I decided to call it a day. So the blog is early and I am not up until midnight getting it done.
Luci now Molly was re homed two weeks ago today. Everything is going great and Stuart and I are so happy although still missing her.
 The blog for today is written by Martha, it is her diary on Molly's first week with them. The family had an elderly Stafford when the girls were young but had to re home her due to childhood allergies. Thankfully the girls have out grown their allergies and along came Molly.
    
                                             

Molly’s diary

Molly and Martha

Friday:-  After Val and Stuart left Molly settled in really well and had fun playing in the garden with her toys. It was so nice to think that she was finally our dog! We went on a long walk and Molly met our friends including lots of dogs. By the time we had finished the walk she crashed out on the sofa and only woke up when it was time for her to go to bed. It was a tiring day but it was worth it!

Saturday:- After a good night’s sleep Molly woke up at 6:15 and we took her on a walk around the village when we got back she met some more of our friends. She was really good with our friends and everyone loves her so much. She had a good time at Black Park and enjoyed playing in the woods. She wasn’t too keen on the lake though! Once again she slept all through the night.

Happy and content.

Sunday:- She woke up at 6:00 and was very excited; she must have known it  was Easter. She seemed to think that the chocolate eggs were hers and got a bit annoyed when she wasn’t allowed some chocolate. After lunch we took her to our family’s house and she had a lovely time playing with her new toys and being fed treats by our cousins who took a liking to her. She was very keen when we gave her some ham and wanted more! When we got home we took her on a long walk around our village, again she crashed out on the sofa because she was so tired from her long day. 

Monday:- It was raining and Molly wasn’t a very happy dog. She sat staring out the window whining and didn’t want to go outside to play which was very unlike her. Mum, Nancy and I went out shopping so she was left with dad who had decided earlier that day that they were going on a long walk. He walked Molly ( who wasn’t very happy to get wet) down to Bourne End and past the river. Then he stopped off at a dog friendly pub. Molly loved playing with the other dogs and sniffing the food. When Mum, Nancy and I got back she was very pleased to see us and we enjoyed watching her sleep and snore which was really sweet. 

Having fun!

Tuesday:-  Daddy, Nancy and I took her on a walk up to our village. We stopped off at Costa Coffee and Molly got a bit restless because the cakes and drinks weren’t hers. We then went to pets at home to get some extra treats and a new harness for her. That evening Nancy and I went to our grandparents house for the night but we heard from mum and dad that she missed us a lot. 

Wednesday:- We were still at our grandparents so mum and dad looked after her. Dad took Molly for a walk and saw a friend with their dog. The dog growled at Molly and tried to attack her. Molly panicked and ran, slipping out of her harness. Although this was worrying the good thing was that Molly came straight back when called. We came home and she was very excited to see us. The funniest thing was at teatime, Molly brought her bowl in from the kitchen to the lounge and dropped it in front of us because we hadn’t fed her yet. She really is very clever.

I'm with a family of my very own

Thursday:- Nancy and I were doing homework so Molly was in the house. She is getting used to our house and the garden. She loves playing with her ball in the garden but she is not so keen on the trampoline!

She has been an angel so far and she couldn’t have been better. We love her so much and can’t wait for many happy memories we will have together. 

Martha x

Thank you Martha for giving us an insight to your family life with Molly. 

It is a refreshing innocent account, rather than two women who sometimes rant and who can be menopausal!

Molly is now let off the lead, to play ball , which she simply loves, she has bonded with the girls Martha and Nancy, missing them when they go to school. Molly unknowing to us is also a music critic, hiding when Nancy plays her Clarinet!

All of us at Guildford & District Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue wish Mike, Jo, Martha, Nancy and Molly many happy treasured times. x

Author Valerie

                                                      

19th April

I discovered last night that the blog has changed. I might be mistaken but I presume it has been updated, it was completely different uploading a photo and I seemed unable to view it beforehand, so please bear with me until I get the hang of it. I suppose it's possible I have pressed a button and changed it all myself ...

I promised to tell you Pete's story. It all seems a while ago now but I will do my best.

It was July 2009 and we had taken in the four six week old pups on the Saturday. I then received a call from a couple who had answered an internet ad and gone to see a litter of pups advertised as Staffies. There were eleven pups altogether and they had them in a horses feed bucket! The young couple should not have been looking as they were not in a position to have a dog, both working full time and living with the lads family, I still have no idea why they went to see the pups but can understand that on seeing them they felt sorry for them and paid for one to get it away.

I don't remember the phone call but remember them turning up with this tiny puppy in a plastic storage container. They were quite pleasant, just very young and hadn't got a clue! They had had him less than 24 hours, fed him scrambled egg most of which he had brought back up in the car and was now 'wearing.'
Their family had obviously been horrified not just about the immediate situation but that he was going to turn into a dangerous Pitbul.
I couldn't believe they were just going to hand him over to us and didn't handle it very well but Sara remembers me taking him out of the box and holding him in one hand whilst carrying on the conversation gesturing with my free hand whilst they looked on in amazement.

I think Sally and Simon came to collect Saffy whilst they were still there, . I remember it was all very chaotic and I was sleep deprived from looking after the pups so it is all a bit of a blur.
He was half the size of the other pups, barely five weeks old and the wrong colour for a Staffy. Apparently there had been a Mastiff wandering around and months later Sara googled Staffy x Mastiff and Dave walked in and asked why she was looking at pictures of Pete, so we concluded that was what he was. He has certainly grown into a very handsome chap.
The young couple had not even given him a name and in a complete moment of total overload I called him Peter.

He fitted into one hand.

He was poorly immediately with diarrhoea but we also had a problem with the other pups who picked up Campyla Bacter, we think from our garden from all the dogs we have had who had been in kennels. Anyway he was very poorly and on a couple of occasions spent some time in the vets where James the vet nurse pretty much saved his life by feeding him 'bits and bobs,' as Jane the vet put it, throughout the night. In honour of this we made James his godfather.

When Kerry and Simon came to pick up Rhea (who is now our agility star) they remember Pete looking very poorly and feeling sorry for him.

He slept in a small crate in the lounge with our dogs. I remember being so tired from looking after the other pups I had to go to bed and Sara, a natural owl, would do the night shift and look after him. I remember coming down one morning wondering if he would still be alive.

Another worry was integrating him with the other pups and whether they were bullying him, especially Hunny who was always the troublemaker. It was trial and error but we must have done it right as he is excellent with other dogs now.

Just look at those ears!

The other pups got homed but Pete remained, we did have some people come and look at him but it was difficult not knowing how big he would grow.
Sara was doing her A levels at college and walked him when she was free and said she would get her own flat and take Pete with her.
He was generally a good boy but had a stubborn streak and a sense of humour (much like Reuben) suddenly running off and refusing to come back. If I took him to the ponies he would run off round the farmhouse with me chasing after him round and round. You know he thought it was a game.

Playing with Elsie

I really wondered what we would do with him, I didn't want to crush Sara's plans but I knew it wasn't very practical.
Pete was six months old when I had call from Angela. I had met Angela at my vets. She had owned Staffs all her life and shook my hand when she heard I did Staffie rescue. She was a formidable woman and I was glad she was on my side!
She had just lost her greyhound and she wanted a male, preferably young, and she didn't mind a cross, as she said her Staffy cross was the best dog she ever owned.

At first I thought I hadn't anything for her and then I remembered Pete. The only thing was Sara, she thought of him as her dog. I told her about Angela and to her credit she was able to let him go.
I took him to Angela a few weeks before Christmas with snow on the ground and sleet falling from the sky.
Angela was the perfect home for him. She is local, uses the same vet and adores James the vet nurse who is Pete's godfather. She even gives her dogs 'people,' names so now he is Peter William and he lives with Elsie Rose, who is a tiny Staffie, half Peters size.

What a handsome chap he is now.

He has had trouble with his legs and had an op on his cruciate joint at Anderson/Abercrombie where Cleo went but otherwise he is happy, healthy boy and Angela says she would never part with him.

18th April

Another ghastly morning and dogs hurrying back indoors. Saffy was fast asleep dreaming, yipping and twitching in her crate,I had to wake her to take her out.
There were a few breaks this afternoon but otherwise its rained all day. I had a look at the five day forecast maps and at first thought it wasn't loading! It's sunshine and showers right through till Sunday. It is April after all.

I would like to dedicate this blog to all who have ever given us a donation however big or small and including all who have adopted a dog from us, as that is the best donation you can make.

Whenever I put out an appeal on here it is always the same people who respond and they are probably the ones who can least afford to give. If everyone else could at least let other people know about us and spread the word that way it would help.

We have had a lot of donations recently.

We have had blankets and towels from a local 'Mum to two Staffies,' from her fathers house. Two donations via paypal one from a lady for her sisters birthday, her sister works at the RSPCA and cannot bear to see what is happening to Staffies so asked that her birthday gift was a donation to help the Staffies!
We have had a cheque through the post from one of our followers, enough to buy a large bag of food.
As you know, we have whatever appears in the charity bin at Pets At home. I am normally very principled about what the dogs in my care are fed but have eased up a little lately.We were recently donated some P At H sausages. I checked them out and they did not appear to be too bad, just mixed meat deriatives so I risked it, the dogs have enjoyed them without any harmful effects. Someone put in four packs of Naturediet and a while ago two bags of the fish treats which P at H do not sell and which I love to feed, thank you whoever you were.
Because of the way we keep the dogs and because there are so many we really need a good supply of treats to keep them happy. We do feed, and always have fed, Bonios, although I have heard they are not very good. We try and avoid additives, mixed meats and things too high in protein. Staffies have such sensitive tums, so also anything that upsets their stomach.


We had a bank statement today and we have £36.61 in the bank. There is £45 in Paypal and a cheque of £200 to pay in and thats it!

17th April

Apparently 'doing ones business,' is no longer a necessity first thing in the morning, at least not for Boycie,Saff or Tara, who all had a very quick wee and then headed hastily back inside for breakfast! It must have been something to do with the weather!

Angel,'Throw the ball then.'

My day was dominated by an appointment in the afternoon for what was described, much to the amusement of my children, as a 'minor operation.' The removal of a mole, as recommended by a doctor I saw last July. There is a three month waiting list for this and I am embarrassed to admit I missed my first appointment, completely forgot, and had to book another. Determined not to forget again I organised my day, my week even, around it.
Given my lifestyle I do not find it easy arriving somewhere in the afternoon smelling reasonably sweet. Also due to the position of the mole I arranged for all jobs requiring stretching and lifting to be done beforehand.
Still it is not easy, animals do not understand why they should be hurried and things always take far longer than I think.
Despite all this I had done it, I was showered, hair washed,wearing clean fresh smelling clothes and with ten minutes to spare, unheard of.
I was apprehensive both about the procedure and the possible results.

Boycie

The doctor, an expert in this field, took one look and asked me why I was worried about it. Apparently it was fine, I did not have to have it removed and walked out a free woman!
It was no big deal, especially with what so many of my friends face, yet I had not even had to go through this. I was almost looking forward to having an excuse to take it easy!

Here's a dog who knows how to take it easy!

Val too, has recently had some worrying tests, but been given the all clear. It would appear that for the moment at least, the two of us have more work to do ... now I wonder what that could be?

15th April

Our fifth and final day at Pets At Home, also the last day of the two week Charity Drive.

Sam and John ready and waiting.

Despite rising early (woken by the 'goat alarm' again) I was a little late arriving but Sam Keen and John had already set up.
We had a bright but cold day, the wind was really bitter and we felt it when the sun went in, moving inside for the last hour.

It was very busy with people stocking up after the Easter holiday, there were lots of children and lots and lots of dogs!

Sam Keen had Roxy and John had Skye, my son Sam came with me and we had Spryte but because there were so many dogs she spent most of the time in the car, with Roxy and Skye doing most of the meet and greet.

We sold raffle tickets, gave out stickers and leaflets and had some good conversations.
By the end of the day there was only one full book of raffle tickets remaining, all in all it has been a great effort.
Thank you to all who have helped during the fortnight, especially Sam Keen who made it nearly everyday and John for two full days and buying the sandwiches, to Pets At Home and last but not least the dogs, those who worked hard and also all those we met.

A Battersea rescue, 6 years in home.

I will let you know the total raised  as soon as we hear.    

Bill the Bull Terrier

                                                    

13th April

Day 4 at Pets At Home.  Our final day is Sunday 15th April do come and join us.

The weather is still varying from one extreme to the other throughout the day.
I took a photo of the buds on my flowering cherry tree with frozen droplets on first thing this morning.

Gave Chance,Angel and Boycie a run early at the ponies then went home and swapped Angel and Boycie for Sapphire and Spryte.
Sam was left with the job of taking the dogs at home into the garden in the middle of the day, the girls came with me, helping between having their haircut.

We arrived to find the raffle tickets had been misplaced and we only had six left to sell  and no stickers to give out, disaster! However, they turned up after half an hour and it was business as usual, proving quite busy with lots of children.
Spryte came out and did a good job, sitting on a chair which made her less likely to jump up.

Spryte Meercat.com

The girls went off for their haircuts and I got Chance out but it proved just too difficult trying to hold him and talk to people and write out tickets. I put him back in the car and now it was suddenly very warm. He became agitated and barked when people talked to him, then he and Saff had an altercation. It was getting too hot to have the back of the car closed and suddenly people were crowding round the car and talking to the dogs and making comments about them being shut in, Chance becoming more and more wound up and vocal!
I couldn't stand it and when a quieter moment came took Chance and Saffy home, surprising Sam who now had two extra charges.

It is unfortunate as it is nice to have the rescues there to meet people and show them off but when it is busy with children you need a bombproof dog, ideally with a handler, and someone else to chat and sell tickets/ give out stickers etc.

Roxy

So that is how we did the rest of the day. Samantha came with Roxy and Sara came back after her haircut and helped with Spryte.

It turned cold and then rained.

Sunday we do it all again.

11th April

We had all four seasons in one day today!
We did not get rain until the evening here but then it poured with hail stones settling like snow in Godalming. It cleared as the sun went down producing the most amazing double rainbow.

Yesterday I wrote and sent off the descriptions of the five dogs with us, Sapphire,Angel,Boycie,Chance and Tara for the 'Adopt Me,' slot in Dogs Today Magazine. They like it done a particular way with a 100 word statement as if written by the dog! Its a good idea, but took me a long time, I purposefully did it in the day instead of in the evening when I keep falling asleep.
I have not heard anything back either about the ads or the article, I do hope it all goes ahead as it has taken a considerable amount of time and effort and we could do with some coverage.

Angel having a drink.

I really need to get on and make the rescue into a charity, just get caught up with general life and now the evenings are lighter I don't get in until 8pm.
Everything is still the same and you can donate via paypal. We are desperately low on funds and struggling  to feed the five dogs in our care, if you do think we are doing a good job and could make a donation however small it would be greatly appreciated.

9th April

Sam and John ready to start.

Sam with Chance, note the coats!

Well the weather forecast was right! It was appalling. I have just taken the dogs for their last visit to the garden and it is still raining and blowing.

I have to admit to having little enthusiasm for fundraising today, if it hadn't been for everyone getting in touch last night to say they were coming I might not have made it!

Whether in spite of, or because of the weather I don't know but it was very busy.

Sam came with Roxy and Dudley (aged Cocker Spaniel) and John came with Skye. I took Chance and Spryte but it was Roxy and Skye who did most of the work.

The Italian Greyhound in her new coats.

Graham and Tina and team from SOS Dog Rescue came along with several of their rescues including an 'Italian Greyhound,' or very small Whippet who had just come in the night before. She was incredibly sweet and nervous but looked a lot happier when Shirley turned up and held her. When Shirley left, guess who went with her? Just as a foster of course ...

An 8 month old St Bernard (not got the hang of sit) 

Two of our dogs came back to see us Smudge and Peter. Peter was a Staff x Mastiff puppy who we took in at 5 weeks old when we had the litter of pups that Rhea our agility star was part of. He was adopted by Angela and I realise you don't know much about him as we kept him quiet because he was a cross even though he was one of our biggest successes ( I will tell his story tomorrow.)

Smudge

Petey

All in all it was a good day. We gave out literature and had some good conversations as well as selling raffle tickets.
Despite the busyness we probably only collected about £60 so it is not as good as when we are guaranteed £100 a day but puts the burden on us. So the more we do the more we get, but it is hard work!
Thanks to Sam and John, Graham and Tina and all their helpers, everyone who donated and of course all the dogs.

8th April

                                     We are at Pets At Home Godalming 
                Easter Monday 9th April 10am/4pm


          We hope SOS Dog Rescue will be joining us, this will be our biggest day of the charity drive.             We hope to see lots of you there and have a real carnival atmosphere.

                          We will also do Friday 13th April and Sunday 15th April

We are all set for tomorrow, thanks to everyone who has promised to come along.  The weather forecast is appalling, so we will just have to make the best of it!

Great news that Luci/Molly is in a new home. Well done to Val and Stuart for taking her in and turning her around and then 'letting go' when the time came. None of it easy.

Sorry I have been a bit infrequent on the blogs of late, someone said they were getting worried when it went a bit quiet. All is well.  Getting ideas together for the magazine article took quite a lot of time, also they have offered to advertise all our dogs in their 'adopt me' pages of Dogs Today which is a great opportunity so that has taken time, still more to do. Also I have just been 'kicking back' a bit and watching telly.

It is hard to get a break with all the dogs, they don't know its a Bank Holiday or Sunday and they still have to be exercised and fed.

Dave has had a few days off and the children are on holiday so in theory we should have been able to have a later start but instead I have been woken by Lexus making goat noises and I struggle out of bed before the neighbours think we have branched out to keeping goats in the front room.

Otherwise all is well, Saffy and Angel have some lumps and bumps I want to get checked out after Easter.

We are still desperate for homes for all these dogs, in the meantime we just keep trudging on doing our best for them each day.

6th April

             
                                     We are at Pets At Home Godalming 
                Easter Monday 9th April 10am/4pm


          We hope SOS Dog Rescue will be joining us, this will be our biggest day of the charity drive.             We hope to see lots of you there and have a real carnival atmosphere.

                          We will also do Friday 13th April and Sunday 15th April

Luci enjoying her walks

Waking up this morning I was expecting a hard frost as predicted by the weather forecaster's. It was sunny with small tell tale signs that a frost had occurred. I was glad that it was sunny with blue skies and on Good Friday. What more could one ask for? 
Today Luci was going to her new family, everything bode well, especially as during the week it seemed as though her adoption would have to be delayed. 
Luci had diarrhoea with blood last weekend and it continued, although she was still full of beans and healthy in herself. I was worried that she may have picked up Campylobacter from Nugget. Not that Nugget had diarrhoea in any form but she could be a carrier, having previously had a stay in Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.
Alison and I decided that a stool specimen should be taken to the vets for analysis, whilst following the rule of starving Luci for 24hrs then on a bland diet of chicken/fish and rice for a few days. All to good effect, getting the all clear on Thursday from our vet saying she could be re homed.

Play time with Nugget and Oscar  

We allowed Luci to sleep on our bed last night as her farewell treat, which believe me is no easy task when we already have three on the bed and Nugget now wakes up at 5.30am walks around to my side of the bed puts her front paws on the bed and whines for her early morning cuddle! So five dogs and two not so thin people in a double bed is one sight to behold!!!!
Due to Luci's history of separation anxiety we decided it was best if we took Luci to her new home. On leaving our house we realised that the rubbish collection was going ahead, it was to late for us to put it out, ahhhh, well that is a must to do next      week!
 There were two excited young girls awaiting the arrival of Luci. Forgetting it was the start of the holiday traffic,  the journey took us two and a half hours for what normally takes us just over and hour. Luci sat on my lap all the way dozing and enjoying the one to one cuddles. 
Pulling up at the house we saw two eagerly waiting girls peering out of the window and their dad Mike briskly walking up to greet us. Luci was happy and excited and pulled with her normal enthusiasm to go in. She ran up the garden, without a second glance enjoying the company of the girls, ecstatic to have all this attention to herself.

Best Friends Luci and Nugget

 I realised at this point how far Luci had come from the scared, hunched up little 20 week old puppy who would not go out into the garden and would cling to you like glue,  she had blossomed into a confident, happy 10 month old no longer scared but able to enjoy life. 
We stayed for about an hour handing over information on Luci including Oscar's duvet for a familiar smell hoping that the transition would be as easy as possible for her
 Whilst Luci now Molly was playing in the garden we quietly slipped away leaving her with her own family and headed back home.
I toiled with mixed emotions on the way home. I was happy but sad. Sad that I hadn't said goodbye to Molly, telling her to be good, that we loved her and everything would be alright. Happy because it is a good home where Mike, Jo, Martha and Nancy will work with any problems they encounter with Molly, knowing her history and she is not a perfect example of the breed but paramount Molly was happy. What more could you ask? 
We had done as much as we could for Molly. Molly needed a home and family of her own. To be the only dog where she did not feel that she had to vie for attention. When a home can give more than you are able to give it is time to re home them.  It was time for Luci to go to a new home and become Molly.

Left to right Oscar, Honey, Nugget, Luci and Daisy

Daisy and Honey are subdued tonight, Oscar is not sure what is wrong and Nugget is looking for her new found playmate. The house is quiet and there is a peculiar atmosphere, I guess we are all a little lost.




 Author:-  Valerie
 

3rd April

We didn't make it down to Pets At Home until 11.30am as we had the glazier mending the window at last.

An oval piece broke out of the bottom of it, we presume it was Khan as he jumps onto the back of the sofa and looks out. We could not afford to get it mended before now, so have looked like a squat for the past few weeks.
I came home for 2pm yesterday as they were supposed to come then but they rang at three to say they couldn't make it and it was scheduled for 9am/11am this morning, I naively thought they would be there by 9am, after another somewhat terse phone call they did turn up and it is done and we are £100 plus lighter for the privilege and our day rearranged but, hey ho!

Sam my son came with me to P at H. We took Sapphire, Spryte,Chance and Angel.
It was not overly busy but there were lots of children. Chance and Saffy were really too boisterous for meeting small children so Spryte and Angel did most of the work. One tiny little girl gave Angel a kiss on the nose! Showing how good the dogs have to be. Angel was more tense than Friday, on the look out for dogs.
We have decided to just take Spryte on Easter Monday.

Still, we had some good conversations and met some nice people and sold some raffle tickets.

2nd April

We are at Pets At Home Godalming again tomorrow (I may not make it until 11am/4pm)

Then again Easter Monday 9th April 10am/4pm we hope SOS Dog Rescue will be joining us, this will be our biggest day of the charity drive and we hope to see lots of you there and have a real carnival atmosphere.
We will also do Friday 13th April and Sunday 15th April

Paul O'Grady with Ali Taylor of Battersea with the knitted Staffies during an interview at Crufts.

I have sent off my ideas for the Dogs Today magazine article on re-branding Staffies, I have to admit I struggle with this and also I don't think  you could better Battersea's idea.

My son recently gave me a copy of  'The Incredible Journey' by Sheila Burnford.  The story of a Labrador, Siamese cat and old Bull Terrier who travel home across the Canadian Wilderness.
The descriptions of all the animals are wonderful and especially that of the Bull Terrier. I know it is a Bull Terrier not a Stafford but the similarities are strong.

Listen to this :-" Anyone unaccustomed to the rather peculiar points of bull terrier beauty would have thought him a strange if not downright ugly dog, with the naked, down-faced arc of his profile, his deep-chested, stocky body and whip-tapered tail. But the true lover of an ancient and honorable breed would have recognized the blood and bone of this elderly and rather battered body; would have known that in his prime this had been a magnificent specimen of compact sinew and muscle, bred to fight and endure; and would have loved him for his curious mixture of wicked, unyielding fighter yet devoted and docile family pet, and above all for the irrepressible air of sly merriment which gleamed in his little slant eyes."

This sits uncomfortably in our modern PC world but maybe it  is the world that has changed, not the dog.