30th May

Well I was wrong! The people did bring the puppy and they were lovely, I don't mind admitting I was wrong, no bereft feeling, just goodbye to a full nights sleep for a while and being able to fully relax, in fact just like having a baby, which was exactly what I was doing at this time 20 and 18 years ago respectively, as both my daughters were born in May.

The full story regarding the pup was that the girl was walking across Soho Square where there was a group of homeless persons, one of them approached her with a cardboard box in which were several puppies. He asked her to take one saying they could no longer look after them and that unless she helped they were going to die. She gave him a tenner and took the puppy, and who could blame her.
 Apparently there was a small red Staffie running around she believed to be the mother.

She still lived at home and of course when Mum saw the pup she was not too pleased. Several people recommended us including a chap she works with who happens to be an old friend of ours.
So they brought him down this morning.
He certainly looks about three weeks old, he will see the vet on Friday to confirm and to be wormed.
They named him Max but as we have had a very significant Max we will probably change it.
He has special puppy milk which I am becoming an expert at mixing up.
The girls are fighting over him, Sara fed him before reluctantly leaving for work and rushed home for a cuddle in the evening, whilst Jessie held the fort while I did the ponies.

All this coincided with a rare visit from my mother in law and her friend.
I thought I had better warn her about the tiny pup and my pink hair! Just as well, she seemed equally unimpressed by both.
 Surely the Jubilee decorations would impress, but no, Auntie Lily pointed out we had the Union Jack upside down, signalling distress, she explained how you can tell.
 As soon as they had left Jessie and I turned it round. Phew! Good to know we have the important things right.

29th May

We had a few drops of rain this evening but otherwise it has been yet another beautiful sunny day. There is a wonderful carnival feel in the air with the approaching Jubilee weekend and the Olympic torch relay.

Angel wallowing

We have adorned our Victorian Semi (Eton Cottage) with a large Union Jack and eventually, after some trials, with some bunting. The light was fading when Sara, Sam and I commandeered Dave and a step ladder to do the high bits, a couple walking past quipped,'It's better to do it in daylight!' but we don't care we have done it showing our support and playing our part.

Saffy is all but completely healed. So encouraging to see, her scar is only visible if you look closely, the hair already growing back just twelve days later and I have finally given in and let her play ball., by the time she has her stitches out on Friday it will be a mere formality.



Yesterday I did some shopping in Cranleigh. We called at the butchers and bought three marrow bones one of which was huge, for £1 each. We then called at a small pet shop I have never been in before to get the 'fishy' treats. The shop was crammed with all manner of good things. We chatted to the lady who had 14 dogs, mainly working Springers and Lurchers, telling her about the rescue. She asked how many dogs we had and gave us a treat she said her dogs went mad for, counting them out into a bag for us. It turned out they were chicken feet! And yes, the dogs did love them not sure I felt the same!

Boycie

My daughter has now left college only going back to take her exams, so life is a lot easier for me without the journey to and fro and being 'time tied'.

Chance

I played ball in the sunshine, the heat tempered by a cool breeze, at the ponies this morning  with Angel,Boycie and Chance walking each of them back along the bridleway off lead and no-one came past. Despite the pressure of having so many dogs I feel incredibly privileged to have access to such a beautiful place.

Two messages today regarding a three week, yes, three week old pup. The first was from the mother of the girl who rescued him from a homeless person in the centre of London, the second from her boyfriend.
After conversations with both of them I agreed to take him in tonight.
I spoke to my vet and made up a 'den' like bed, collected some puppy milk and re-arranged my evening.
Then heard the daughter wanted to bring the puppy herself and he would be coming at 9am tomorrow. We will see ... I cannot tell you the number of times I have agreed to take a dog in, going through all the mental preparation and planning only for it not to materialise, leaving you strangely bereft. Yet another of the joys of dog rescue!

27th May

So good news for Saffy.
She goes at 5pm on Friday to have her stitches out and they will also check her lymph node.
After that she can be re-homed as any other dog with no re-occurrence of the lump.

Her scar is now barely visible and she has had a run off lead.

Thank you to all who have donated and sent good wishes.
The cost of the operation was £251.98        We had £306 donated initially then a further £50 from Dogs In Need as Saffy was originally homed by them and when she was returned we agreed to take her on, so only right they should contribute.
We then had a further £20 from David and Pat Bennet. total £376 which is amazing.

The pink hair appeal made a further £79  Any excess money donated to Saffy's appeal will go into our Reuben Fund for emergency veterinary treatment fr any dog who needs it and will not be used in general funds.

Some more good news ... we have received the cheque  from Pets at home for their Chistmas appeal for £353.57 which means I can pay Sara back for Boycies misdemeanour at last.

So things are beginning to look up.

25th May

SAFFY RESULTS


The lump was a Mast Cell Tumour which is cancer, however the margins are good which means it has been fully removed and she does not require further surgery.
This sort of tumour does not usually spread out of the area so although we need to keep an eye and her lymph node checked when she has her stitches removed she should make a full recovery with no return of the tumour.
This is good news!

24th May

Saffy in the garden.

No results for Saffy as yet (23rd May) but I was told to ring if I had not heard anything by today so we should know something by tonight.
Thursday evening.
I rang the vet and spoke with the junior vet nurse who looked on the computer and told me the results were back. She then put me on hold whilst she spoke to someone more senior, she was gone for ages! Jane (the vet) is not available until tomorrow as she is at the other surgery, but I have been asked to ring tomorrow (Friday) at 10.30 am and they have booked me an appointment slot for the phone call.
I think that sounds worrying, but lets hope I am wrong.
We must hope for the best and prepare for the worst!



I have been struggling in the heat to keep the dogs calm,cool and quiet and make sure they have enough exercise. I started at 6.45am yesterday and eventually sat down at 9.15pm

Chance and Boycie are particularly vocal especially when you take one of the other dogs out, when they start up Angel 'spins' and chases her tail. Dealing with this day in, day out really does take its toll so please spare me, and the dogs, a thought, especially if your dogs are able to lie in the garden or you have long walks in the evenings.

 We do our best    BUT  these dogs need homes of their own!

Scar healing well.

Thank you Gareth and Mark for your lovely comments.  The dogs have been a lot calmer and quieter today, especially first thing in the morning in the garden, that is when the photo of Saffy was taken, I wonder if it is good because she is calm. She can get very excited and then does not show herself well but most of the time she is calm and relaxed which is why we have always said she is no trouble to have around.

Thank you to all who have sent good wishes I will try and let you know as soon as possible when I have news tomorrow

22nd May

Phew it's hot! I know we shouldn't complain but it seems very sudden and very warm, we were freezing only on Sunday.

Felt a little more recovered today but the dog walking felt continuous complicated by the heat.
Saffy is still doing well, she finishes her course of antibiotics tomorrow morning. I have been taking her several short, controlled walks throughout the day. She got very excited when she heard the children playing in the gardens this evening wondering where the sound was coming from and wanting to go and join them. She is using her leg well.
The 'Pink Hair,' has not had such a good day. I went to the bank again and this time told the middle aged lady cashier that I had been sponsored to go pink to which she replied that she hadn't wanted to say anything in case I had had a disaster at the hairdressers! When I said it wasn't permanent she said 'Thank goodness for that.' What a cheek! Wasn't brave enough to tell her I like it!

Also saw a man laughing at me in Godalming, there was no-one else around so no mistake.
Godalming and the bank are nothing compared to going into the village Post Office now that is terrifying! Nothing was said so I just talked about a friend who is in hospital after being injured by her horse.
I am still hiding from my neighbour who told me how nice my hair looked when it was grey ...

Trevor and Maureen with Leah

I mentioned Leah and Maureen and Trevor Pickles coming to the show on Sunday and promised I would tell you more of their story.
They contacted us last year after losing their second rescue Stafford. It is always good when potential homes have not only experience of Staffords but also of rescue Staffords and the procedure of adopting from a rescue. They were a 5 star home!
Sometimes things just work out and this was perfect timing. Leah had only just come on to our books but I could see she was the most suitable of all the dogs we had at the time. Maureen and Trevor are serious caravanners and the first requirement of any dog they had was to fit in with the caravan hols.
Fortunately Leah passed the test not that she has been easy or straightforward in every way.
She does suffer from some fear aggression with other dogs but they have worked hard and she is improving.

Demonstrating 'Down.'

They came especially to see us at the show and it was quite a challenge but she settled down and took part in the  Best Rescue class.
Leah has also been to training classes and passed her bronze citizenship award.

Leah modelling her harness bought from us, not overly impressed!

Despite all the challenges I have to say that I have rarely met dog and owners more suited to each other they seemed perfect. Leah is a lovely girl and Maureen and Trevor a delight.
Thank you Maureen and Trevor for giving Leah a lovely home and working through the challenges.
Thank you for coming all the way to see us on Sunday and for the donation.
It is encouragement like that that keeps us going.

21st May

Saffy had her post op check but as yet we have no results. I must admit I thought it unlikely we would have results by now especially with the weekend, we should hear on Wednesday or Thursday.
However, the vet thinks that the lump is cancerous, not just a fatty lump, and so we need the tests to say whether we have a large enough margin around what has been removed.
The wound is healing beautifully and Jane admired her handiwork, she was less impressed by my allowing Saffy to leap onto the seat and generally bounce around!
Saffy remains extremely well in herself she has had two 15 minute walks today and is using her leg well, I guess we need to build it up like we did with Cleo after her knee op, our biggest problem is keeping her quiet!



Tara is to be featured as Old Dog of the week on the Oldies website  http://www.oldies.org.uk/?p=66334

Do have a look as it is a delightful write up, they even put in her photo with her rosette from yesterday hopefully this will find her a home, they really are a lovely website.

I met a lovely man when I was walking Tara and Lexus today. He had adopted a male and female staffie crosses from Battersea Old Windsor. He could not believe that Tara was ten and Lexus almost ten. Tara loved him making a great fuss (Lexus was busy 'throwing up' after eating Ground Elder.)



I am still feeling exhausted after the weekend. I must apologise for saying yesterday Roxy got 3rd in prettiest bitch, it was in Best Rescue, I am SO sorry Roxy and Sam.

Roxy tired out at the end of the day.

Pink Hair has now raised £69 Val wants me attend church like it. I did have a serious conversation in the bank like it today, fortunately I forgot what I looked like, I got some funny looks in Sainsbury's!!

Thank you to ALL who have donated.

20th May

Yes I did it!

We had a wonderful, though rather long and exhausting day at the dog show at Oxted today.
The show was organised to raise money for the stray Staffies in Tandridge district.

Setting off in convoy with just a map as it looked like a straight road, we were way out of our comfort zones but made it ok meeting up with Val and Stuart and Nugget who helped us set up before heading off for a family event.

Val and Nugget

Ali Taylor of Battersea fame was there with her lovely dog Squirt and also Rachel with Frank who she adopted from Battersea and who Paul O'Grady did Agility with at Crufts.
Squirt and Frank did a little display at lunchtime
The judge was Jean Loughbrough editor of The Stafford Magazine She did a wonderful job.

Roxy was 3rd in Best Rescue and Tara 3rd in Best Veteran, Skye was beautifully behaved as ever but just missed out on the ribbons this time!

Tara with her rosette.

The lady whose son gave up Luci now Molly, the puppy Val fostered, came over to thank me for helping them out and saying what a wonderful job we do and that Val is an angel, which was nice.
Then I spotted a lovely little Stafford it turned out to be Leah who we homed to Maureen and Trevor Pickles a year ago. As it was a home to home and they had been homechecked by another rescue I had never met either Maureen and Trevor or Leah! They came especially to see us, I think they deserve a blog spot of their own so will feature them in a day or two.

Leah

We were quite busy on the stand with the harnesses, leads and collars donated by Pets at Home as end of range and did well taking £65.70 but nowhere near Val and Stuarts £131 on Saturday, I don't know how they do it.
We didn't get home until nearly 6pm and then there was all the dogs to do who weren't happy staying at home, so we were all rather tired including the dogs.

My thanks to Samantha Keen, John Ayres and Sam Oakden for their help today.

Saffy continues to be amazing she is not even lame on her leg, using it normally and the wound is looking good, post op check 4.40pm tomorrow.

19th May

Saffy is back to her normal self, unbelievable but we had trouble stopping her playing ball! Her wound is healing really well and she is hungry. She has had no more pain relief and seems more than fine.

It took us several goes to get this pic!

Thanks to Val, Stuart, Luci Langstone-Bolt and Nugget who held a stall on behalf of Guildford Stafford Rescue at Merton Dogwatch today. It was quite a small event but they took a stonking £130 Well Done!

They are bringing all the stuff down to Oxted tomorrow to hand over to me, Samantha Keen and John ably assisted by Roxy, Skye and Tara for the companion dog show there.

I have been sponsored to dye my hair bright pink to raise money for Saffy's Appeal. This will be photographed by Ali Taylor from Battersea at the show tomorrow! She may also give me a 'makeover.'

All excess funds raised from Saffy's Appeal will go into our Reuben Fund which provides money for any dog needing emergency veterinary treatment, the fund has been empty for some time.
The 'Pink' hair has already raised £44

18th May

Not a good start to Saffy's big day! Dave overslept by an hour making his morning difficult and also meaning he did not have time to walk Khan, so Khan had to make do with down the garden with the others.
I got up to find I had bunged up echoey ears then had one of  my nosebleeds, not serious but a nuisance.
We had to leave for college on time as Jessie had a biology mock.

In the garden this morning before we went.

When I took Saffy out  to the car I noticed she had rolled in something like bird poo yesterday so I hurriedly grabbed some wet wipes from the bathroom.
 Arriving at the vets there was a genteel older lady in reception with a cat in a basket on her lap. As I got Saff out of the car Chance did his loud stressed bark which sounded even louder than usual in a built up area. We exploded into the vets, dear Saff is a bit crazy in these situations, with me clutching the packet of tissues, I then proceeded to wipe her back with one whilst James took my signature for the consent form. He checked I didn't want bloods taken then asked me to circle 'no' next to the question while he held Saff, at this point a lactating Spaniel came out of the surgery with her landed gentry looking owner, I got flustered and circled three different 'no's'! Whilst James hung on to a cavorting Saffy and the packet of wet wipes shot across the floor.
 It was good to know we had all wishes of support for her as it was not exactly what I had imagined.
The cat and Spaniel's owner faces were a picture!

I did not do what I said I would do yesterday but was just heading home for lunch when I realised it was gone 2pm so I rang the vets. Saffy was ready to be picked up so I went straight away.
It was a far calmer experience collecting her than dropping her off in the morning!

Saffy's scar

She has a huge scar as they had to make sure they took a wide margin in case it is nasty and has spread.
She obviously felt rotten from the anesthetic, she had had a pain relief injection and has a course of antibiotics.
Once home I took her down the garden, she very cleverly carries her leg. She came in and went straight to bed. She was shivery and trembly, I really felt for her. I was pleased the heating came on. I had to leave her whilst I picked Jessie up from college and did the ponies for the night.
When we got back she was obviously feeling better and went down the garden and had a sniff and then came in and had something to eat and her antibiotic tablet.
It is frustrating when the other dogs 'kick off' as we want her to have some peace and quiet, she stayed out to greet Dave when he arrived home from work and then took herself off to bed.
She is looking  far more comfortable now.
We have a post op appointment on Monday at 4.40pm when we should have the histology results.

17th May

The breaking news late last night revealed that we had exceeded our target for Saffy's Appeal raising £306 in just 48 hours.
We are overwhelmed by the response and would like to say a HUGE thank you to ALL who donated and shared.

I have already done my dogs for the night tonight, though Tara is snoring beside me on the bedroom floor, I purposefully got them out early so Saffy could have her biscuit, as she should not eat later than 10pm before her op tomorrow and no breakfast in the morning.
She had two good runs today and seems in good health.

In the morning I take my daughter and her friend to college, with Saffy, Chance and Angel on board. After the college drop off I will go straight to the vets and leave Saffy there (after signing the consent form.)
I will ring them after 2pm to see when she is ready to be collected.
Probably after I pick her up we will go straight to the ponies 5 mins down the road and she can have a lead walk in familiar surroundings.
I will wash her bedding during the day so she has nice clean bedding once we are home.
I will find out when we are likely to hear the results of the tests.

16th May

Saffy's Appeal

After only 48 hours our total is £286    Absolutely Amazing!
11.38pm Breaking news .........a new donation from Kerry Crick takes us over our target to £306
Thanks to Sam Horscroft, Wags and bones Staffie rescue support (through Sam) Carolyn Gavin and Jean Knottley for their donations.

Saffy had two very long runs today enjoying the sunshine at the ponies.


Looking ahead this weekend we have Merton Dogwatch Fun Dog Show Saturday 19th May  Morden Park 10am/2pm      Val and team.






And on Sunday 20th May

Me, Sam Keen and John

All are welcome to bring their dogs and take part and help on the stall.

15th May

Thanks to all those who have already donated to Saffy's Appeal they are :- Lynne Carver,Gareth Parry,Liz Widdows, Charis Nolder and Andrea Laing.

We have already raised a fantastic £96  nearly a third of the way there! That is Fantastic! Thank you so much everybody ... remember to share it too.
Total now £171 raised in first 24 hours  thanks Ali Taylor, Emma Ainsworth and Tracy Ward.

Our target is £300

Please donate and give Saffy a chance.

14th May

Thanks to everyone who has commented or contacted us with their opinion re Saffy's situation.
We have decided she should be given a chance and so we will go ahead with the operation to remove and test the lump and we have launched an appeal to raise the £300 needed for this. The appeal is on Facebook but donations are via paypal on our website. Please mark  'Saffy's Appeal.'

http://www.facebook.com/groups/176376275822780/


Although Saffy is eight she is in robustly good health, so we did not feel the first operation would be too much for her at all, she should be fully recovered after two weeks.
If, however, tests show the tumour is nasty and has spread we will probably decide against further surgery.

She is booked in for the first op on Friday.

Please share this with everyone you know so we can raise the funds to give Saffy a chance.

13th May

Daisy,Honey and Nugget with Dave and Stuart.

It has been a lovely weekend weather-wise and really dried up. In despair on Friday, Sam and I took Tara and Lexus up the road to the recreation ground for their walk, they had both done what they needed to in the garden, so a short walk on pavements then a run on smooth turf and home again with dry paws made such a pleasant change.

Also I keep meaning to tell you how Chance caught a baby rabbit. The rabbits over at the ponies are so bold and don't run away even when the dogs play ball only a few feet away! Subsequently the babies have not learned to run from danger, so when temptation became too much for Chance and he dropped his ball and gave chase up the hill, the baby didn't move and the next thing I knew he had his nose on top of it. I couldn't see clearly but shouted 'leave!' and he must have moved because the bunny ran away into the bushes. I was worried it may have awakened the 'beast' in him but he still seems happy to play ball.

Val and Stuart called in this afternoon to collect the stuff for Merton Dog Watch morning next Saturday.
They brought all four dogs with them and we met lovely Nugget.
They in turn saw all the rescues, meeting Chance,Boycie and Tara for the first time.
I even baked a cake in honour of their visit and washed the kitchen floor!

Dave and Honey.

After they left I managed to cut some of my grass before the rain returns tomorrow.

12th May

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions about Saffy, its very helpful to know what people think and quite surprising! I will discuss it further after the weekend. Thank you to those who have offered to contribute  towards her op.

A bit late notice but this show takes place tomorrow.

Next Saturday 19th May is Merton Dogwatch Show Starting 9am
Val and Stuart are running our stand there, I am just printing leaflets and sorting things out for them to collect tomorrow. We will give you more details nearer the time

11th May

Good news and Bad news today.

Good News First :-
I picked up the June edition of Dogs Today magazine and we are in! Woohoo!
As I walked back to the car with it clasped in my hands I thought I should wait until I was back at the ponies to look in case it was disappointing or upsetting. Yeah right! I barely made it into the car!
 It is an excellent article and very positive towards Staffies which has to be good. 'Yours truly' is quoted quite a bit, I hope its ok, Karen Cornish who wrote the feature is very skilled.

Karen concludes with. 'The Stafford is a wonderful people dog who devotes his life to his family, so it's about time people realised the nanny dog, like Mary Poppins,is practically perfect.'

If you want to know what else it says you will have to buy a copy and read it.

Boycie covered in fox poo after his walk today.

All five of our rescues are featured in the Adopt Me section.


The Bad News:-

Angel after wallowing in the puddle.

I took Saffy and Angel to the vet as they both had lumps that needed checking. Angels was on her head and had been seen by the veterinary nurse a few weeks ago when  it was quite big but has since been getting smaller and now has almost gone. Jane the vet thought this was a haematoma as it had become smaller, and was nothing to worry about. She was also pleased with Angel's tail, though she still spins she tends to 'suck' her tail rather than bite it, as she used to. Jane said it was not damaged and that it was not always necessary to correct such behaviour  if it wasn't resulting in damage as it was the dogs way of coping. A bit like us having a fag or a glass of wine!


Saffy's lump however, has done the opposite and got bigger, she has had it for sometime, it is in her left groin and felt like part of the muscle, she has very big muscles!

Jane thought this was worrying and should be removed and tested.
To have this done would cost about £300
When they tested it it would be to establish what it was and also to find if it had spread deeper into the muscle, if this was the case then deeper and more drastic surgery would be required or the leg amputated.
When considering what to do it is different with a dog in rescue compared to one in a loving home. For instance now we know the lump is worrying we cannot carry on and home her, we have to take action one way or another.
Saffy has now been with us two years with no homes forthcoming, she is eight years old.
Our options are :-
A; Put her to sleep now.
B;Have the lump removed and tested, then make a decision on the findings.

You have to ask, is it right to spend £300 on an eight year old dog that does not have a home and has already cost the rescue a lot of money, would the money be better spent on a younger dog?

We could launch an appeal just to raise the money for the first op, but we could spend that money and still end up having to let her go.

I would very much value your opinions as it is your money that we are spending. If you cannot comment please email, address on website.
We look forward to hearing your views.
Thank you, Alison.

10th May

I waited all day expecting the weather to clear up, it never happened and I got soaked! Our garden has persistent puddles near the top so it is impossible for the dogs to remain clean when they go out to do 'what they should.' Resulting in my kitchen floor being black, I think things are due to improve though and it had stopped raining at last when I took the dogs out just now.

Lexus  almost took things too far yesterday when he chewed up Tippex. Yes, we do know how poisonous it is and we could hardly be called irresponsible as it was high up on the mantelpiece, he had to climb to get it. We watched him closely for signs of his demise but he continued in his usual manner and I can now report the Tippex has passed through, with no undesirable effects!
HOWEVER, this afternoon, he broke my plant just half an hour after being taken down the garden, so he has no excuse. The plant has emotional value and is about thirty years old, so I am upset and have not yet forgiven him.

Molly (Luci) happily homed.

They did not yet have the June edition of Dogs Today magazine in WH Smiths  so I still don't know if we are mentioned in the article about re-branding Staffies or have been able to see our dogs in the Adopt Me section. I have to admit I am quite excited but also some trepidation that I may be quoted saying something controversial and be hauled over the coals for it! It was quite soon after the Boycie/Spaniel incident and I was still feeling pretty sore but it came from the heart so if people take offence I will just have to weather it ( worse still we don't get mentioned at all!)

I always enjoy reading Gareth's comments, 'Monty's blog,' but I would like to come back on the comment today..
We work very hard to make sure that when we home a dog it does not come back, especially recently, not that you can ever be sure but we assess our dogs thoroughly, sharing our lives with them even, which you must realise from reading this blog. That is why we rehome so few because we wait until the right home comes along and we are completely honest with people about the dog because we don't want it coming back. We have many people wanting to adopt a dog but we tell them if we have nothing suitable we do not just give them a dog and hope for the best. We still make mistakes but when it gets to the stage of adoption we have done our best to make sure it works and the dog is not returned.
Also I don't believe you can socialise an adult Stafford who already has problems with other dogs, the situation has to be managed. The gentleman was in fact quite right to want a puppy to ensure it was fine with other dogs, early and continual socialisation is the only way to ensure a dog remains dog friendly.

9th May

Some people I have spoken to and some members of my family, have suggested that what Boycie did was not particularly clever, but I still think it was and I am glad that some of you agree with me.

As for the prospective home, I am sorry to say it's not going to happen.
As you know after reading the application of interest we moved very quickly, Val spoke to them then homechecked them, I spoke to them twice. What we found out was that the application was filled out by the gentleman's sister,. never a good idea, and some facts were wrong, like the age of dog they were willing to take. They wanted a much younger dog  so they could train it and socialise it as they wanted one good with other dogs. I knew when I spoke to them after Val had done the home check we would not hear from them again but Val rang them anyway, only to confirm what I already knew. We couldn't even persuade them to look at Boycie.
Sorry Sally but thank you for your support.
So there we are, heartbreakingly disappointing and no relief in the daily struggle of trying to keep all the dogs happy.

Tomorrow the June edition of 'Dogs Today' is out and our dogs are in there in the Adopt Me section , perhaps that will help.              

8th May

Boycie must have heard my complaints about him because today he did something very clever.

I have a feeling I have mentioned before the cats we encounter when walking the dogs over the railway line. Most notable are Pickles and Chino who live next door to each other in the new houses whose gardens you can see straight into when you cross the railway line.
 Pickles is a huge long haired ginger Tom nearly as big as a fox and Chino is a Blue Point Burmese.
Now I am no cat lover but I do appreciate 'character' in any animal and these two are awesome. I swear Pickles spends his days curled up on his owners sofa but at night he is running with the fox pack, and Chino would lie on the tracks or under the wood of the crossing.

Yesterday afternoon when Dave returned from walking Khan and Lexus he said Chino's owner had spoken to him and said Chino was missing. He had not returned for two nights which he never did.She asked us to keep an eye out as she knew we were always out there walking the dogs. She said she was not worried by the railway line as he was wise to it but thought a fox or badger may have attacked him!
This morning she came into the Post Office when I was in there. She had a missing cat poster and asked to photocopy 50 copies, she also had the microchip papers.  I thought 'this is one much loved moggie.' Once home I took  Boycie a walk so we set out keeping a look out for missing moggies.
 I scanned the railway line as we crossed, nothing. Nothing on the walk either, then as we crossed back over the line Boycie began sniffing at something at the top of the steps and when I looked closer I saw cream coloured fur and between the tracks some gut. (Apologies if you thought this was heading for a happy ending, or if you are eating your lunch.) I wasn't sure about the fur though it looked too coarse, maybe fox or badger.
I couldn't decide what to do. I could hardly knock on the ladies door and say 'I've found some fur and gut on the railway line, do you want to come and see if it's your cat?' Or ring up and say, 'Hi I think I may have found your cat ... it's dead.'
However, when I took Khan out later I met her looking for him and I was able to show her. Poor lady she took it well but seemed unconvinced.
When Dave got home we went to have another look taking Boycie with us.  Whilst we were there the ladies husband came out. He said he was sure that what we suspected had happened and that he had taken some of the hair and compared it  to some at home and it did match and that he had seen Magpies there.
 Although sad he said they felt better knowing what had happened
Poor Chino and poor them but clever Boycie to draw our attention to it, it was barely noticaeable otherwise, perhaps he could get a job as a search and rescue dog, had he found the cat alive it may have made it into the papers ...

7th May

I love Bank Holidays especially the spring ones, and I have had a lovely time today.
 The weather was not as bad as they threatened and much warmer. I had done all my outside bits by 11 am and the spent the middle part of the day writing.
During the past couple of days I have been working on things that will hopefully find homes for the dogs, despite the obvious importance of this, it often gets left because of the immediate, day to day stuff that makes up our lives.
I have written a piece and sent more photos to the Oldies Club website so that Tara can be featured as Old Dog of the day.

I have produced a poster to put into horsey locations, like feed merchants  for Saffy and Chance,as I think they need horsey homes! I have re-written the About Us section of the website and I hope to write an article for our local magazine called Cranfold Life.
Lets hope it does produce some homes because we desperately need them.

Thank you for your good wishes for Boycie. He is a lovely boy and he does deserve a chance but we are not having an easy time with him. He is such a stressy character and gets so easily wound up. We stopped him being sick in the car and now he is fine but once you stop and he has had his run he then gets in a terrible state when you take the other dogs out, barking incessantly. I give him a marrow bone to chew and that helps a bit.
Yesterday I took him in the morning, he had his run but once back in the car and when I took Angel out off he went. By the time I returned with Angel he had pulled the towel from the top of Chance's crate into his crate which he had broken. Also the farm dogs had come out, I couldn't risk or face opening the back with the other dogs there so I gave it up as a bad job and went home, this time Chance missing out on his run.
I thought this morning would be better as it was quiet, I remembered his bone and gave him his run before everyone else but I was wrong, off he went which makes Angel spin which winds him up even more. He pulled all the cover off Angel's cage I had to go over several times to quiet them.
This is the sort of thing that drives you mad, not only me but my family and anyone affected by it. Even more so because you know the dog is unhappy but it really is not something that can go on indefinitely. The times he comes with me now are very few because he 'kicks off' when I am seeing to the ponies or exercising one of the other dogs.
This is why we are so desperate to get these dogs into homes of their own where they do not have to share the attention

6th May

This is the show two weeks today. Do enter if you are able as it is for a good cause. We will have a stand there and could do with some help.
The day before on 19th May it is Merton Dog watch Day ... again all welcome, unfortunately we cannot get the poster to load.


Kerry owner of our agility star Rhea enjoys reading about Lexus' exploits but thinks her dog Harvey could match Lexus in bad behaviour.

  Here is a photo showing what Rhea has to put up with ...

4th May

Unrepentant and unstoppable!

Just as I was reading your comments on Lexus' terrible behaviour yesterday, I heard Dave remonstrating downstairs ... 'That Dog'  was at it again!  This time he had taken a bag of carrot peelings (saved for the Guinea Pig) and was munching his way through them on the kitchen floor.

An eventful walk with Khan this afternoon. We were down by the river when he suddenly pounced on something, I was hoping it was just a stick. as I went to investigate my feet slipped from under me in the mud and I fell heavily on my side and almost slipped into the river. When I recovered and pulled myself up I saw Khan had a pigeon. It was dead but had obviously only just died so I concluded he had killed it, I then remembered seeing some feathers in the middle of the field. It must have been injured and crawled into the undergrowth where Khan found it and ended its suffering.

We moved as quickly as possible, busting a gut, to follow up the promising Application Of Interest.
They were as good as we had hoped, with lots to offer, not just loving but responsible and experienced too, I thought they would be perfect for Boycie.
 Val did a homecheck.
 BUT   they would like a younger dog.

Boycie deserves a chance.

 We have  risked sounding desperate, because we are, and explained just how hard it is for the dogs in rescue and for us looking after them, knowing we cannot give them all they need.

 They are taking a few days to think it over ... we can but wait and hope.