Anyone who follows football and knows the dress code will get this picture. Made me giggle.
Sausage yob
Category: dogs
Desperately seeking Dolly
I’m parked in a local park. I’m waiting for my wife who has a hair appointment, and I’m now looking for Dolly.
Who’s Dolly?
Dolly is a puppy, she would be 18 months old now and when I last saw her it was on the 16th August 2024. The day our Alf lost his battle with his illness and went to sleep. Is there a cure for a broken heart 💔
We took a little walk into the park that day and he just sat at the entrance, nothing left in the tank, when an 11 month old bundle of fluff bounced up to him and wanted to play. He let her sniff around but he didn’t stir from his staring out into the fields where he once used to bound around just like Dolly.
I spoke with Dollys owners and told them what was happening that day, Dolly did not want to leave him, she knew something.
It was a sad and at the same time wonderful thing to see, as one life was ending and an exciting new one was just beginning.
I often pop back here in the hope that I will see Dolly again, even my wife encourages me to do so. I just want to say thank you to her and her owners, it was a beautiful moment when they both met but so tragically cut short. They would have been great friends as Alf loved everyone and didn’t have a bad bone in his body.
And if her owners allow, I want to give her a big cuddle. Another beautiful little soul.
Until then I’m still desperately seeking Dolly.
Peace.
Barney the dogs Birthday
I wrote a couple of weeks back about getting a strange invite to a six year olds birthday party. That six year old is a Cockapoo dog called Barney, the original post can be found here: Happy Woofday
Well todays the day, I’m working nights, but before I move off to work I’ve promised I’d pop around with the wife to have a bit of lunch and to give him a pat or two on the head, and tell him he’s a good boy.
Well, I must admit there was a good spread but after the overindulgences of the last week it was one party too much for me. Even Barney who’s been at most of our homes over the last week just looked as if he’d had enough of us all and just wanted some peace and quiet. I’m lucky as Im working nights, I’ve had the perfect excuse to slink off and find my our serenity in the offices at work.
We humans are a little crazy at times and I think even our animals sense this. That said, it doesn’t hurt to be a bit crazy, it makes the day go past a tad quicker, and to be honest anything that spreads a little happiness and produces smiles and laughter is not a bad thing.
Stay crazy people 👍
End of life
What’s the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make? Why?
That has to be ending the life of a much loved and cherished member of the family, a pet.
In our married life we have had three wonderful little Bichon Frise dogs, who we have rightly or wrongly treated as our children, they have wanted for nothing and had the best that we could bestow on them. We have never had children as we can’t, we obviously upset someone in a previous life and that privilege and pleasure has been taken away from us. We needed surrogates and the dogs were those stand ins. We were very happy.
There comes a time where you have to let go, you notice changes in an animals behaviour, the little whimpers, the constant sleep and the inability to do things, the little looks you get and the realisation that their quality of life is deteriorating. Decisions have to be made.
That final journey to the vets, me driving, my wife cuddling the little package on the back seat and the fight to see through the flood of tears that are clouding your eyes.
The vets bench, the dogs wagging his tail, he’s ok you think, but he’s not. The injection to subdue him, he rests, the second injection and then he’s gone.
The lonely drive home knowing you have left a family member behind, the sadness you are going to feel everyday going forward.
The little things you miss, the what ifs? that suddenly come to mind and the guilt you feel for ending a perfect little life.
We’ve done that three times now and it hurts so damned much, I don’t think we will ever be able to do it again as the pain is just unbearable.
Life is full of hard decisions, but when it ends in the death of a much loved companion, I just don’t think there are many such decisions that are harder to make.
Peace to all. Be safe.
Unconditional love and affection
What is good about having a pet?
Now I couldn’t not answer this prompt after the year we have had. See this post from August this year: Is there a cure for a broken heart 💔 We have had three dogs over the 33 yrs of our marriage and each of them was a lovely individual character. All were of the same breed – Bichon Frise.
Our first was Muffin in the early 90s, I have never known such a laid back and calm little dog, he was a super little fellow, not scared by noises and loved by everyone, next was Digger who became Muffins “Carer” as it wasn’t until later in life when Muffin was very old that we’d realised he was losing his sight and it was Digger guiding him around with strange little nudges to his neck and head. Digger didn’t like children and would growl at them but it was all noise, just pat him or give him a treat and he was your friend for life, he was the polar opposite of Muffin.
Then came along little Alfie. We were grieving after Diggers demise and Alfie pretty much came to us. My wife saw a little pup being walked and went over to say hello, it transpired that the owner didn’t want little “Joey” and he eventually came to us. His name was changed to “Alfie” as we already had a budgie called “Joey” and the whole thing would have been confusing to continue that way. Alfie was a mix of his earlier brothers, he was as soft as shite, loved everyone (even children) and was a very big part of our whole family, I never heard him growl at anyone throughout his whole life, he went everywhere with us.
Alfie passed away on the 16th August this year. We are still very upset and slowly coming to terms with it all, as more time passes and allegedly heals.
Animals are the most beautiful of companions. They will give you unconditional love and affection in return for very little. It really is a blessing that an animal from another species can gain your trust and give you so much in return.
Then they pass away and break your heart into a million pieces. This has occurred with us three times in the past and I very much doubt we will let that happen again. We just couldn’t take it. Even though I am pining like mad to have the routine we had, I have to resist it.
If you are willing to give your all to love and support one of these fantastic animals, through good and bad and back again,then please go ahead and do it, you will not be disappointed. If you can’t commit to all that then please stand back and let someone else do it.
Joy and love are the best words I can use. They are wonderful creatures that make your world a better place. Who else would you tell your most confidential thoughts and dreams to and know that no one else would ever find out?
Trust. Nobody does it better. Get a dog.
Alfs memorial shelf
I know I go on about him and I’m not ashamed of talking about him. He was a massive part of our life, and if you have never experienced the unconditional love of a pet I suggest you get one, you are missing out.
Today we needed one final picture to go into the frame that was supplied by the vet with his footprint made into a cast, taken when he passed away.
We now have these items on a shelf in a bookcase in the corner of the room. That’s now Alf’s shelf and it’s all about him.
We come here and speak to him, we wish him good morning and good night and regularly tell him what a good boy he is. We cry here, I’m doing it now, how does such a beautiful, peaceful loving creature get taken away, why do we have to suffer grief.
That’s life I suppose. We were given a gift when he came into our care, and we absolutely cherished that opportunity we were given. But we want more. And we can’t have it. You can truly have too much of a good thing, a sizeable piece of us disappeared when Alf passed.
I know at the beginning I said if you have never experienced the unconditional love of a pet then get one. I add a caveat to that, just be prepared to have your heart and feelings ripped into a million pieces when they leave you.
If you are not prepared or can’t do it, then don’t. You are not ready yet.
I’m not soft, I’m free with my feelings, I can be tough when I have to be, and believe me, cross me or my family and you’d know. But here we have 5 kilos of fluff that just stole our hearts.
Grief is a bastard. But it’s one of those feelings in life you sign up to as part of the bargain of existence.
Peace to you all.
A couple of pictures of our dogs
Again today we’ve been going through a whole raft of photos and we’ve chosen this one to sit alongside Alfie’s ashes. It’s a lovely photo of him with his head on the first stair, looking up at us getting ready as we’d told him he was about to go “Walkies” it sums him up perfectly. Beautiful boy 🥰
The second one we received as an anniversary present from my sister in Lancashire. It’s a lovely hand drawn pencil picture by a talented young lady of all our three boys. Bottom Left is Muffin who we had at the start of our marriage 33 years ago, bottom right is Digger who was next, and on the top with his trademark cocked head is our little Alfie. This is the only picture my wife wants on the wall of the boys as it is the three of them together.
What memories we have, and thousands of pictures to look back on and smile. We were so privileged to be gifted these three wonderful little souls. We have been so fortunate and lucky.
Smile today, make someone’s day.
Foxes Den 
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