Happy New Year

New Year's Eve and Dad is home in daylight so we get a decent walk, ending up at the Rec where a goodly gathering of Dog Walking humans collect as night falls, to wish each other Happy New Year and compare notes on who had to work when over the Seasonal 'break'. Springers LB and DK are out there and, out of nowhere, Haggis's old chum and 13 and a half year co-puppy Barney-Boy (now still trying to race about but apparently on 'metacam' (?) for his arthritis stiffness.

Meanwhile Dad gets a little flicker of life from Project Erroll as his Boss, in the 2nd last sentence of a 4-sentence chat (the last one was "Happy New Year"!) gives him to beleive that June 29th 2011 might be a significant date. However, no-one in this house is holding their breaths, as this has been so off/on, shambolic and woolly, that we'd equally believe June 2012! You never know, though. perhaps 2011 will see some genuine decisions and actual movement. Watch this space.

Sooooo.... all the best for 2011 everyone and our best wishes to all our readers. Do you realise we have now been going for over 880 posts? No wonder I'm tired.

Happy New Year

Deefs

Back in the old Routine

It's a normal Saturday, and we get a standard walk to the Rec. We meet old frineds Barney (westie) and Smudge (long haired Jack Russell who chases a ball endlessly till his over heated and tired state shows up in the redness of the insides of his ears). We also meet new kid on the block, 5-year old (maybe) rescue westie Jessie. She's only been in town a couple of weeks with her new owners, so it's good that she's discovered the Rec, hub of dog-social activity that it is.

Dad is off up to the allotment which is now in full flow of productivity. He returns with some last broad beans, but also French and runner beans, chard with massive leaves, cherry tomatoes, courgettes, baby beetroot, a small Summer Cabbage, Grannies and Discovery apples, and some first new potatoes.

The gang head off to visit Diamond, still languishing in hospital and undergoing treatment (so Rags is still on his "hols"). She is OK -ish, but feeling weary and aching, and also a bit fed up with some of her family members. She will be apparently allowed home soon, for a rest between the various episodes of treatment, and is looking forward to being able to relax in her own, proper bath.

Look after yourself, Diamond, and get well soon.

Mr S writes (Thanks, old chum). We have now managed to copy our photo's of the hols onto the memory card of one of those digital frames, so it's rolling round in the living room. Have you got the CD yet Mr S ?

Have a good weekend
Deefer

Melee

With us now getting to be regulars at the 16:30 slot on the Rec, we are starting now to form a bit of a dog club or kindergarten. We amble about and sure enough over comes Smudge and Barney with their "Mum", and then Ben and his "Mum", and maybe Patch, Billy and Bugsy and who ever is about.

Tonight it's warm and still, and various of us have brought our toys, so the humans start lobbing balls, frisbees and squeaky toys in all directions and different ones catch the eye of different dogs at various times, so we end up with a superb friendly melee going on of toys and dogs. At one point Smudge's Mum produces a full sized football, so Smudge and me get involved in a lovely game of dribbling.

We are both, though, not quite used to joint ownership, so if one of us is claiming it the other backs off. Dad is hoping that with practise maybe we'll all play together with the same ball the same way my real-Dad (Hector), Mum (Mollie) and brother (Archie) do, wearing each other out with the dribbling and tackling, scruffing and barging. The best we can do is when Smudge gives up, panting, his long tongue lolling and his ears bright pink with the heat.

Various dogs and owners pass by, sometimes with dog on lead, obviously not quite sociable enough to be let loose, but with the owner looking on longingly, as if wishing they could be part of the fun. One, in particular, a big male Akita called Seuss (as in "The cat in the hat") passes by and our humans exchange good natured banter with the guy, commenting that it'll soon be too warm for Seuss, and asking whether he has a walk-in freezer to sleep in.

We are all bushed

Have a great weekend
Deefski

Oh Yusssss

More Spring sunshine, and the world and his wife is walking dogs on the rec tonight. We have an excellent ball throwing game with coarse-haired, short legged Jack Russell, "Smudge" followed by a big run in circles for me with same. Megan and the H content themselves with chatting to Smudge's companion, pristine white 10 year old Westie, Barney.

Also out there, a new dog (to us anyway), 18 month old British Bulldog "Sumo" (brilliant name) - all muscles and snuffly grunts as he gets all excited trying to say hello, but we're all on leads by that point. Looks like he'd be fun, but probably not very fast. Could you beat him, Churchill? Ho... Yussssss!

Then on the way home we meet beagle Mollie, our long term chum who lives in this same street. Finzi's out there, too, and "LB", plus (we see in the distance but don't cross paths with, tiny Patterday pup Sue.

It's buzzing!

Deefski

Millie, Mollie, Mandy

We've mentioned before that Ellie is pretty much a self cleaning dog. Even after falling in the lake at Leybourne on Sunday, and then getting grimed up with dust on the rest of the walk she was, as predicted, almost immaculate again by the time she got back to the car. Unlike those of us doomed to go through life a kind of grubby squirrel-poo beigey colour, my Sis seems to have that kind of fur that sheds dirt as she dries.

Her Mum says that put her down wet and muddy with a clean dry towel, and by dint of rummaging around for half an hour, you will come away with a clean white dry dog, and a grubby wet muddy towel.

But tonight she is exceeding even her high standards! She's been groomed properly by a local outfit called Dapper Dogs. (Sorry, can't give you a link - this is a very well used name and there are dozens of Dapper dogs websites all round the world, none of which probably have anything to do with these guys). She is immaculate white, trimmed and spruced and looks like a million dollars. She's like your too-perfect big sis when you were still an ungainly adolescent, who got all the boyfriends chasing after her. She could be a Show Dog - Crufts people watch out!

Actually it's a good day all round for westies on the Rec. Not only do we meet Ellie on our way down, but on the Rec we meet Barney out with his Mum ( "I'm sure one of your dogs is called Deefer, but I can never remember which one, so I just think of them as "Millie, Mollie, Mandy"" - When Mum hears of this, she decides Haggis better be "Molly", because he could be "Molyneux") and we also meet up with Magic ("Madge" rather confusingly).

And you gotta love Megan, who saunters around like Dowager-Duchess of Kent out for a promenade (I'm very old you know, and I have to take it easy), until (taraaa) she meets a glossy black young-man labrador when she suddenly comes over all flirty, bouncing on her front feet, flashing her eyelashes and coming over all playful, kittenish and coy. Outrageous Flirt!

Deefski

12 dog; 12 2CV

What an adventure we've all had. It's 2CV camp time of year again, and we've just spent the last 3 nights living "en famille" with a whole group of 2CV owners and their multitudinous dogs and vehicles. Some have named it the 12 dog 12 2CV camp because the dogs almost out numbered the cars.

There were, in no particular order

We three
Collie crosses "Ben" and "Nellie"
Red Setter "Murphy"
Alsatian cross "Socks"
Staffie cross Jack Russell "Barney"
Staffie cross "Scooter"
Collie cross "Badger"
Brindled greyhound "Janie"
Elderly mongrel from Yorkshire, "Kaira"

More of all these guys, and the camp in future posts. Now it's Sunday morning and we are back indoors because Dad is off to play on Sailing Barge "Cambria". It's been a real blast. Rained hard Thursday and had some pessimists saying "Oh, no.... not another Hoppers Camp with typical weather.... gloom gloom". But the sun burst through on Friday morning and the rest of Friday and Saturday were blazing hot sunshine.

The humans all have healthy tans and I have the traditional well oiled (sump oil) back from creeping under old French cars to find shade from the heat. Superb barbecue yesterday, too. The humans all cook communally on a big barbie cobbled together from (among other things) a 2CV bonnet and a shopping trolley, and they always cook too much, so we can schmooze them up into giving us the end bits of sausages and nibbles of burger. The non dog-owner ones anyway. Dog people seem to "know" dogs and can be very un co-operative

More soon
Deefer

Crystal Palace Colours

What a change from yesterday - it's tanking down and blowing a gale, so we don't get a walk first thing. Dad is out most of the day playing with the Sailing Barge Cambria, getting filthy and soaking wet all morning, then filthy and drying out for the afternoon. When he comes in Mum makes him strip to the jocks before he's allowed in the door. (OK, not quite, but you get the picture).

Warm and dry again, and coffee'd up, he's fit to give us a walk, so we head for the Rec armed with my yellow frisbee. We straight away meet up with a Springer "we've" known since he and Haggis we're pups (Barney-Boy), plus the smart westies of Mick the Window Cleaner, Misha and Jack, today replendent in their claret and blue new coats.

"Westham" colours? we ask. No no no... says Mick, Crystal Palace. What Dad knows about footie can be written in capitals on the back of a postage stamp BUT (he claims) would include this one fact because when he was at Junior School (Elphinstone Road, in Hastings, in case you ask) his school colours were claret and (pale) blue, so, to a man, his fellow school-kiddies either supported Westham or the Palace. Mind you (he says) it was the 60's and according to Dad, Westham made up "half the England team". Shows how much he knows.....

Under their coats, Misha and Jack are (as always) bright white and spotlessly clean. We go in for a more "lived in" beige colour. Misha is apparently in a coat because she's had bad colitis and has had a big operation at the vets, so is bald down one side. Jack has a coat because Misha has one.

Look after yourselves
Deefer

Chillin' on the Terrace

Is it my Birthday? The cats got left over huss for breakfast, and we got raw pork-ribs for supper. Then it was an evening for chilling on the terrace, watching the humans eat roast chicken and French bread - so we knew we'd get some rib-cagey, spinal bits in our bowls afterwards.

A good evening too for meeting new and old friends on the Rec. We had a nice charge around with a lovely black Shih-Tzu called Farley, said Hello to a young-at-heart spaniel called Barney-Boy (who meg and Haggis have known since they were all pups, and who still hasn't slowed down). We met a lovely collie x German Shepherd called Rox, and we met again the gorgeous smoky-grey German Shepherd pup "Star". Lovely evening for promenading - just like the Rec was originally used for...... perhaps a bit more boisterous!

Deefs