14th February

Jenny and Simon who own Boris have contacted us to tell us that they are moving to a cottage on a 400 acre estate where Simon will work as gardener. Boris has already been there a few times and loves it, I think he will have plenty of space to run around in!

Jenny writes :- ' He is still a very lively Staffy and we all love him loads. 

 He gets better treatment than the baby and is tucked up in bed each night.

 He is getting on really well with Baby Rosa (who is not so young now at 15 months).  
 Boris hurt his foot on a walk a while back and trod on some broken glass so he had to wear a big collar and a bandage which he hated! 

 It is his 7th birthday next week on Valentines day he will be sharing a steak with us!' 

Happy Birthday Boris!

12th February

Thank goodness today was better! Cold, but at least dry and not windy. The weather over the weekend and particularly yesterday left me speechless. Trying to do things at the ponies my hands have got so cold it has made me cry and though those bitter winds last week at least dried things up we are now completely water-logged again. The top of my garden is muddy and wet so the dogs cannot even go out for a 'wee' without getting filthy and then their paws becoming sore.
I have had enough now! Come on spring!

Jane looked at Rosie yesterday but did not think her lameness was anything to worry about, it does seem to be better lately despite her charging around chasing Rabbits and Pheasants!

We had enough in the Reuben Fund to pay for Angel's op, which is great news and the vet has now been paid.
Thank you to all who have donated.

Angel on the bed (not really allowed.)

Everyone seems pleased to hear about Tara. The lady herself, however, is oblivious and went back to bed!
I have added a new picture to yesterdays blog.

11th February

Breaking News ............ Tara has a home!

And Val and Stuart have a new dog!    

Yes, it's not just a happy coincidence, Val and Stuart have committed to give Tara a home for the rest of her days.
Tara has a lot going for her but she is not good with children and is far worse than we at first realised.
 The worry was in finding someone who would be completely responsible with this.
 Val has visiting grandchildren but she knows what Tara is like and takes necessary precautions.
Tara's other problem is her separation anxiety and this concerned me as it was really impacting on Val and Stuarts life, but Val has taken some advice from a Behavourist and is happy to work around it.

As I am sure you are aware this is wonderful news for Tara as she has the 'life of Riley' with Val and Stuart, sleeping on the bed and enjoying the 'ahem', occasional pudding.

This will take them up to five dogs with ages ranging from 6 to 15

A houseful of oldies!

Thank you Val and Stuart for your love and dedication to our wonderful breed.

We wish Tara many happy years of hogging the bed covers!

10th February

An update on all the dogs :-

Angel's serum lump has now completely disappeared and the hair growing back over the wound. She is well in herself but has done quite a bit of tail chasing recently and her tail is very pink.
As you know I only have Angel and Rosie with me at the moment (as rescues) so it is the quietest it has been since she has been here so it is frustrating  that her tail chasing has increased. As fast as we remove one trigger for her behaviour she just finds another, obviously her operation and the following ten days on lead walks have not helped but even so it is disappointing as she is getting plenty of exercise and attention.
Her operation cost £278.75 I need to check if we have enough in the Reuben fund to pay it.

Angel tonight, the scar barely visible.

Rosie had a lovely run with Chloe who came back for a visit yesterday, they tore around together, it was hard to say who was the maddest but afterwards Rosie was panting heavily and lay 'frogs legs,' whereas Chloe was not out of breath!
Chloe is looking fantastic and definitely more white than pink, with hair growing on her tummy and on her legs.
Rosie is going to the vets tomorrow to have a hind leg checked as she sometimes carries it. She hates the wet and I am not sure if it is just that or if she has something more serious going on. She was not too bad this morning despite yesterdays exertions with Chloe.

Jesse is coming back to us at the end of next week as Kate is getting very busy with boarders and also having some well earned well earned time away.  He is now very well socialized with other dogs, I will try to do some one to one work with him which Kate does not have time for.

Lexus considering his sore paw this morning.

I am sorry to say Lexus' troublesome nail is not looking good and may well require Jane vets attention again. It is growing in a curl and is split, he licks it continually, ho hum, more worry and expense.

9th February

Kerry Crick who adopted Rhea from us as a pup and successfully competes her in Agility, as well as taking part in the Staffie Agility display teams at Crufts and Discover Dogs has just adopted Ernie from Battersea.

This will take them to a six dog household!   Congratulations Kerry and good luck!

8th February

On the Saturday of the snow I took Rosie to meet a family who were wanting to adopt a Staffie. We knew she would probably not be right for them but felt they should meet her.
It went a lot better than I expected and she showed them how 'people friendly,' Staffies are, as they had owned Rottweillers previously and were not familiar with the true Staffie character.
However, she was very excitable and with a busy household themselves they decided she was not the right dog for them.

They let us know of their decision and kept in touch and this week told us about the dog they have adopted from the RSPCA at Millbrook.
She is two years old and was a cruelty case. She was found at 6 months old totally emaciated and tied to a gas cylinder. She has never been in a house before but looks as if she has settled in now.

7th February

Apologies for yesterdays blog which was a technical mess!
It was meant to be a link to the BBC News report on microchipping and Battersea's response which was a media release but came to me as an email. I overstretched myself technically and it did not work. Our webmaster, Mark has offered to tidy it up.

Back on safe ground today; Lexus!

I have been driving Lexus up to the Football field for a walk to avoid the mud (our garden still has puddles.)
Lex has two things going on, his arthritic hip and a deformed nail. He has already had one operation to cauterize the nail but in very wet weather, and not helped by him licking it, he is prone to nail bed infections and has just finished a course of antibiotics to get over one.
He enjoys the football field, cantering around, having a sniff in the woods that border it and cocking his leg on the goal post, though he has coerced me into a game of football which he really should not be doing.

Last night I did some TTouch on him and noticed he is really beginning to lose muscle tone in his hind legs, so today I decided he should walk there rather than being driven.
He was a bit erratic on the way up but settled to his jaunty trot, carrying his ball in his mouth on the way back.
The children were coming out of school. We passed a Dad carrying one little boy on his shoulders while the older one walked beside him. He moved behind his father to pass us, giving us a wide berth, while the younger lad asked his father why the dog was carrying a ball in his mouth.
We crossed the road and there was a little tot, Nathaniel, and his sister coming towards us, though Nathaniel, who has just mastered the art of walking, kept making detours down driveways, shepherded back by his big sister. Mum was a little way behind with their new brother in his pram.
 They own a Spaniel so were undaunted by Lexus, walking right up to him, Nathaniel was snacking on a piece of carrot, I thought Lexus might think it was for him but he just deposited his ball at their feet expectantly!

On the way up the drive to the ponies I saw an older lady with a brindle Staffie, I have never seen them before.
 There is not room for a car to pass and they had to move over to the side. The lady spoke to her dog, then gestured with her hand before moving onto the grass. The Staff ambled over to her and sat down while I drove past.
 I pass a lot of dogs and their owners along there, I have never seen such a well behaved dog or owner and dog so in harmony with each other. It was a delight, a Stafford at its best!