New foster pooch.

Yesterday saw the long awaited trip to Glebe farm to collect our new foster baby, the trip had been delayed because my health has been poor lately. I messaged Zara a few days ago to tell her I was ready and to give her time to come up with the pooch she thought most needed fostering. Jolie was chosen.  Jolie is gorgeous, young and since her surgery to repair her back legs very healthy, her only issue is that she is a little shy with people and that we can work on.

We arrived at Glebe farm and were introduced to Jolie in the paddock, she was hesitant at first, choosing to mooch around the edges but she soon got close to Indy and Hamish, she was still a little nervous of us. After a while, Zara put her in our car and attached her seat belt to her harness, Jolie decided she didn’t want to sit at the very back so in a scene reminiscent of a Tasmanian devil doing karate she spun, twisted and jumped until she was wedged between Hamish and Indy on their seat! Jolie relaxed as soon as we started moving and during the next hour as we drove home alternated between sleeping, looking out of the window and nibbling my ear as I drove. :-D By the time we arrived it appeared as though we were friends, Julia got out of the car to open the front door and Jolie saw her chance to leap into the front with me! yep, we are friends. After a quick tour downstairs in the house we removed Jolie’s lead, she acted like she belonged, despite having never been in a home before.

 

Hamish is her main love but she appears to like us humans too, Indy is just “he who must be obeyed” and she does but she has given him the odd muzzle lick. :-)

Last night our son visited and Jolie accepted him within a couple of minutes, she was soon settled in front of his chair with her boyfriend watching television.

Jolie had a good long walk in the park this morning which went well, she met a couple of people and their dogs, she was shy at first but not fearful so should do well. As I came upstairs this evening Jolie was curled up by “her” television but instead of watching it she was guarding it, she has never seen one before so I think she must believe that the people on it are part of her pack? :-D

 

Anyone wanting to know more about Jolie but who can’t wait for more posting can see her Love Underdogs profile here.

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Love Underdogs are very keen for Maximus to find a forever home, it has been 800 days since he was first rescued in Romania! He spent a lot of time in the shelter in Brasov  before coming to England where he has been for 2 years! Despite having only 3 legs Maximus is the perfect family pooch. Read about him here.

 

 

A little under the weather.

I haven’t been on line much for 3 weeks or so, I have been suffering some MS symptoms and some Epilepsy auras! I have had to increase one of my medications and this makes me extremely tired. It is odd that both things have decided to come on at the same time? It could be that the lesions I have in my brain are causing the pre seizure activity or it could just be coincidence. Auras are an odd phenomenon, I get a raging Déjà vu and an odd sensation  of being inflated and floaty, a bit like the Michelin man! So far no seizures though which is a very good thing. The MS symptoms are mostly cognitive but I have had trouble with my balance and fatigue as well. I’m still alive though, which is always a good thing. :-)

I am really in the mood for starting to look for a job again and have been for a couple of months now, it always appears as though I get relapses when I want a job? Is it getting my head around the process of seeking a job that causes stress leading to MS flare ups or is it just a cruel coincidence? either way I will get a job because I am bored of being bored. The situation came into focus when I saw how excited my son was to get his “perfect job”, something he has worked towards for several years. I was thrilled for him but at the same time I wanted some of that excitement for myself, it gives me a target to aim for. :-)

As soon as my health is settled a bit we will go to Glebe farm and get another foster dog, I can’t wait to see who Love underdogs have for us.

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I make no apologies for promoting Asta again, she deserves a home and has waited for far too long already. Check out Love Underdogs website for more information.

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Also looking for a home is the gorgeous 7 year old Maximus.

Buddha has gone.

We took a trip to Glebe farm today and returned without Buddha! He has been adopted and moved to a new home in Wales where he will live with a CAT!!

We half expected Buddha to be with us for the rest of his life as there are few people who want to take on an older dog with medical issues. It was a pleasant surprise to get a message yesterday saying someone wanted to meet him even though we were already very fond of him. Kymm traveled all the way from south Wales with her mother and they were both smitten with Buddha from the moment they saw him, Buddha was his usual charming and laid back self so all was good. Buddha is going to have a nice life as his new people wanted a companion who is happy to be be petted and fussed and Buddha is all that and more. :-) I did notice that when we were in the paddock at Glebe farm, Buddha didn’t lift his head much and he was a little subdued as though he thought he was going to have to go back into a kennel? as soon as he was taken towards the car his head came up and his tail wagged, he almost jumped into the car where he promptly laid down and started on a chew. As they all drove away it was like Julia and I had never existed, we regard that as a success, if a foster dog can switch to his new people without a backward glance we have done our job. :-)

Buddha in his new home.

Buddha with his feline brother, Sid.

We will miss the old bloke but we are very happy knowing that he is going to be looked after and loved.

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Barney is still very young at around 1 year old. He is a super boy, who will happily share with both cats and dogs in his new home. He likes to play with soft toys and rope toys and likes to have a run around the paddock, since no one told him that three legged dogs can’t do things other dogs can ;-). Barney is a little shy on first contact, but is very friendly once he gets to know you, and will be a better friend still once you have been out with him for a walk. He can pull a little at first, but he soon settles and walks very nicely on the lead. Barney loves other dogs but will not eat if another dog is around him, so he does have to be fed separately, when he will happily tuck in straight away.
For more information, please visit our website at www.loveunderdogs.org

 

One year of Hamish.

One year ago today we picked up Hamish from his fosterer, he looked like this. :-(

He was terrified of everything including me! What a difference a year makes. Not only does Hamish look very different but he is much braver, funny, playful, loving in fact every thing you could think a dog could be except clever, he could never be accused of being clever. :-D

It has taken a lot of time and patience to get where we are with Hamish, without the help of friends, family and the dog walking community of Croyland park Wellingborough we would be nowhere near as far forward as we are. 

 

We needed a harness and a Halti in the early days in order for Hamish to feel safe, we moved on to just a halti for walking and a long line at the park but now Hamish is like a “normal dog” and gets to run loose at the park with his doggie chums. :-) He still has the odd manic moment when he goes deaf as we frantically call him but so do I when Julia is calling me sometimes. :-D Once Hamish has had 30 minutes or so of chasing his ball and playing with his friends he goes on a lead and practices walking calmly among people and dogs, since starting this routine he has become much calmer and braver around strange people.

 

At home Hamish is a perfect bloke, he is relaxed and loving with only the occasional gruff bark or two when a strange person comes to the door, which I think is a good thing. He loves to cuddle up with me and Indy on my chair but as he is so big he has to leave his feet on the floor.

 

Where Hamish has excelled is with the foster dogs, he started to mature a bit when Annie was with us but was a little protective of her but with Buddha he is totally relaxed and acting like a grown up.

 

The one constant in the life of Hamish since his arrival has been Indy, they love each other and are inseparable. Indy did spend a bit of time teaching Hamish some doggie manners, he does this by using his “special smile” when that didn’t work he got a low growl and finally a Collie nip on the flank which always worked. It has been a very long time since Hamish has been reprimanded, he is a slow learner but learn he does…. eventually! :-D

They truly are brothers.

So, in summary Hamish is a big goofy, loving, friendly, loyal, handsome, frustrating, brave, playful, mostly obedient large yellow dog. But most of all he is my friend (who looks mighty fine in his dressing gown).

And I love him. :-)

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Betty is a 4 year old “tri paw” who is currently at Glebe farm. Love underdogs are looking for a loving family for this calm girl.

Buddha has arrived.

I should have known that there was a reason that Karine and Anna Hauser run both Hauser bears and Love Underdogs, Buddha is obviously a cross between a dog and a grizzly bear! He is huge and very furry but gorgeous and adorable. Buddha has only been with us for 24 hours but has already settled, he has figured out that the big bed is his, that Indy doesn’t want anyone backing him into a corner or they get smiled at and if I go into the kitchen it is worth following because it means it’s treat time. We have taken him to the park twice today, half expecting to have to cut the walks short because of his age and energy levels only to find he wants to keep going and going and going! He loves the frosty grass and all of the dogs and people that he has met, especially the people with pockets full of treats. I see a diet in Buddha’s near future. He’s a bit of a chubby chubster. As far as anyone at Love Underdogs knows this is the first time that Buddha has lived in a home! that’s very sad considering he is about 11 years old. you would never guess from his behaviour though as he is a perfect gentleman, no accidents or destruction, in fact he acts like he has always lived in a home or has he just been looking forward to the day so much that he has figured out all of the ways to enjoy his home comforts ready for when the day finally arrived? Buddha is available for adoption but there is no rush, he can stay as long as he likes. :-)

Buddha in Hamish’s bed last night, shortly afterwards he figured out that the green one was bigger. :-)

Buddha with Hamish and Julia at the park this morning, don’t worry Indy was there but he was laying behind me so I couldn’t steal his soul with the camera. :-D

I will do regular updates of Buddha and the boys in the coming weeks but I don’t want to make him sound too good in case someone tries to adopt him. :-D

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Now that Love Underdogs are open for adoptions again I should mention that there are some gorgeous dogs looking for homes. When I went to collect Buddha I stumbled upon a large enclosure full of scrummy puppies for people interested in such horrid creatures, for the more sensible people there are some lovely adult dogs who deserve a good home.

Bumble is a lovely 10 year old dog who is very deserving of your attention if you are looking to adopt a dog. Bumble needs a calm home with someone experienced with fearful dogs.

Another Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all who may happen upon this corner of WordPress world.

It has been an up and down year but considerably better than 2013 was! We lost my Father in law which although expected was still very difficult. I have had a few ups and down with my health but I always hope things will be better tomorrow. This year will end with us collecting Buddha from Love Underdogs on Monday so we will start next year with a new foster dog. :-) We are hoping for a better 2015.

We are spending Christmas day with our son and his partner at their house which will be a first, we have always had Christmas together at home apart from 2 occasions when we rented a house in Spain for the winter. It would be nice if our daughter could bring her family to England for Christmas but she works so much it is hard for her to get time off, maybe we should get pet passports so the dogs can come to Spain with us and then we could all be together.

Hamish has been with us for almost a year now (January 6th) and he has made great progress, we have had a lot of visitors recently and he no longer barks when people come in. As Hamish continues to calm down we will teach him that it is his duty to pose in silly hats for Christmas pictures, until that happens I will close with the last picture of Luca with Indy.

 

See you all next year. :-)

It would appear that I spoke too soon! Hamish just posed wearing antlers while Indy wore a hat and beard. :-D

Christmas and dogs.

I have arranged to go to Love Underdogs on December 29th to collect Buddah, we are very excited as it has been a while since we fostered an oldie. If we hadn’t arranged to have Buddah I could have been tempted by Chip, Chip looks a lot like our Border Collie, Indy. But…. Love underdogs have just published a picture of Chip that shows him in a whole new light, unusual, wacky, unique or just plain scary? you decide. :-D

 

Chip is available for adoption, details can be found on his Love Underdogs listing, here.

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Love Underdogs have also published this invitation to people looking for something to do over Christmas.

COME WALK OUR DOGS OVER CHRISTMAS, YOU WILL LOVE IT!
Anyone wishing to walk dogs over Christmas, here are kennel times:

CHRISTMAS EVE open till 1pm
CHRISTMAS DAY closed
BOXING DAY closed
NEW YEARS DAY closed

Normal hours otherwise are:
Monday to Saturday 9am till 3pm
Sunday 9am till 12pm

Glebe Farm Kennels
Birchley Heath Road
Birchley Heath
Warwickshire
CV10 0QY
Tel: 01827 712 812

First timers, bring a picture ID with you.
Thank you

 

 

A whole load of nothing!

What an uneventful time I have had of late. Almost all of the chaos with contractors is done so we are now counting down to Buddha coming after Christmas. :-)

We took a few hours out from Christmas preparations to go and see my brother and his old band play a 30 year reunion gig for charity. They started out in the late 70s as Coast to coast and had 2 number 1 records and after quite a few changes they ended up as The Go daddies. They had a special member of the band just for one night, Joe Pasquale (sorry none UK people you will have to google him) Joe played washboard and kazoo and was very funny at times. We had a great time and a lot of money was raised for 2 local hospices.

Here are some pictures, my brother is the guitarist on the right and in the individual picture.

In other news; Love Underdogs is closed for adoptions until the new year, this is in line with a lot of rescues to avoid their dogs being given for Christmas. People can still visit the kennels and reserve dogs and of course all the staff are still working very hard with the dogs.

Out for a walk today were (from left to right) Harry, Asta, Cognac, Hazel, Chip and Ruby. (Chip the Collie looks a lot like my Indy. :-) )

And at the vets were Cotton, Elliot and Hemmingway.

 

All dogs are lovely but Hemmingway the Chow is super gorgeous. Hopefully a new home is on the horizon for all of them in the new year.

Our next foster dog.

We have never before had a prearranged foster dog, we have always taken one to the kennels to be adopted and then took who needed fostering. Last night Love Underdogs posted on their Facebook page about Buddha, in the comments I said “if they decide that Buddha will be my next foster I wouldn’t be too upset” (we love oldies). At the same time it would appear that one of the staff at Love Underdogs was hoping that Buddha could have some home comforts soon so she contacted me and it is now arranged. :-)

I would have gone and got him today but we are still being tortured by contractors doing things to the house and will be for a couple more weeks! So we have settled on getting him after Christmas. I can’t wait as I have liked the look and sound of him since he was first mentioned by Love Underdogs.

Buddha reminds me a lot of Willy Underdog who we fostered about 2 years ago, a big, friendly and gentle older gentleman. The only problem that can arise is if someone adopts him before we get our hands on him. ;-)  His listing can be found by clicking either picture or the Love underdogs link and browsing “our dogs”

Here is a picture of the gorgeous (and still going strong at 15) Willy Underdog.

 

 

My brother.

My brother Derek died 2 years ago today, it’s going to be a difficult day. The early days after Derek’s death passed in a blur and the months that followed were filled with other episodes which kept my brain busy so I didn’t sit and think. I expected the grief to ease as time went on but it is actually getting worse, the last couple of months have been the worst of all. I think the problem is that Derek loved Christmas, he would start shopping for people a few months ahead and was like a child getting excited as Christmas got closer, not because he was getting presents but because he was giving them. He was one of life’s givers. I haven’t yet opened the gift he bought me the week he died, I was planning on doing so last year but I just couldn’t do it, maybe this year?

It feels strange to now be older than he will ever be, he was 18 months older than me and when we were kids would always say that I could do or have certain things when I was as old as him knowing I never would be, if only that were so!

I still think about my bro every day and miss him terribly I just hope that in time the happy memories replace the sad and empty feeling of now.

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Asta has been at Love Underdogs for a year now and is looking for a home of her own, she is a beautiful fun loving dog who just needs a family.