Farewell Gigot

The coldest night of the year so far, with temperatures down in the minus 7 and 8 area. A beautiful frost, turns the garden and the Rec trees into a Winter Wonderland.

We meet Gigot's family, whom we first met in Oct 2007 - look back at posts for details. Poor Gigot, a young Bedlington, had not had a very good start in life in an abusive family, and when he was rescued and re-housed by the RSPCA and Police he was in a very sorry state. But for once in his life he got lucky, landing up with a very lovely family, and joining the family dogs, Storm (a long haired chihuahua) and Truffles (a chocolate Lab).

With these people we saw him improve in leaps and bounds, learning to play and be a sociable dog, and lapping up the love of his family, building up trust. Sadly, his bad start and an ongoing genetic problem meant that despite all this, he became really ill and had to be put down in Autumn 2008, so he is no more. We hadn't met the family lately - it's always more difficult on these short evenings, when lack of day-light or poor weather squeezes you off normal walking schedules.

Farewell Gigot - you'll be missed. Welcome aboard Tali. The family were firmly converted to Bedlingtons by Gigot, so have now bought a new Bedlington pup, Tali. She is 13 weeks old now and was out on the frosty Rec today in a very natty red puffa-jacket style coat, with black elasticated "waist" and "cuffs", and a smart pink leather collar. She was dashing about everywhere and we played with her for quite a while.

There is someone in the world now who may be even more of a drama queen than me! She bounced at me one time and I shouted "RAFFF!" at her. She ran away behind Haggis squealing as if I'd hurt her. I never touched her, honest!

Who said "Dear kettle, Thank you for your message... signed Pot"

Deefer
Still the original Drama Queen

Something borrowed

The big black and white Great Dane we'd seen out with Gigot and family turns ourt to be a "borrow" with Gigot's owner looking after him for her own Father. He is, apparently, very "naughty" and had to be kept on the lead. That reminds me, "Long John" with the two Danes, "Rudolph" and "Valentine" which Haggis knew from pup-dom, has not been seen out in ages. We knew they were getting on a bit, and Danes never live to a great age, so with Haggis now 12, we all assume they have gone the way....

Yesterday we are given a treat - a walk at Reculver

http://www.bestloved.com/attractions/reculver-towers-and-roman-fort-in-reculver-kent-the-south-england-uk.php

The towers at Reculver were, as "any fule know" used for practise line-ups in bombing runs by the Dambuster squadrons when the Barnes Wallis bouncing bombs were being developed in the war (cue theme music). There are now interpretive signs in the carpark, to prove it !

Tonight we are on "soul food" - bangers, bacon, eggs and beans. Dad has allegedly had a bitch of a week, which is now shaping up to be a doozie of a weekend as he's on call. There's been a fire in the Channel Tunnel, "Operation Stack" has been invoked and traffic chaos in Kent is the order of the day. Basically, no-one can get across the channel using that route, so all the backed up HGV's are stacked in the lanes of the M20. We're all used to it - it's probably a monthly occurrence at least, at this stage - if it's not fierce storms, or French customs men, it's French farmers blockading the ports or something like this fire.

Deep joy

Deefski

4000 views!

Can I just say here that we've now passed 4000 views - famous or what? Thank you all for your interest. We are, though, beginning to think that maybe as my 2nd birthday approaches, enough is enough. Been here before, I know (about a year ago in fact!), but watch this space. My birthday is 17th Sept.

Meanwhile in "new-kids-on-the-block" dept, we have regularly now seen Gigot's family out with a black and white Great Dane. We have yet to cross paths and ask whether this is a new recruit, or a borrow. Also, Dad's friend Shirley has now taken delivery of the sheltie x westie "Poppy" (also known as "chav-dog"). We've seen mobile-phone pics but not in any format I can pass on yet, but as soon as I do, I will.

She looks a darling little thing with a westie-pup shaped head, but only her feet are white. Her body is like a brindled or tortoise-shell cat. Apparently she's really good, already "asking" (little cries) to be let out of the house to poo, on account of being allowed in and out all the time with her Mum. A feisty little thing too by all accounts, so proud of having wee'd on the special sanitary mat, that she then showed off by savaging (and ripping up) the said mat!

The humans are currently weaning her onto the idea that some of her time she will be left in the house alone, starting off with half hours and building up, and she seems quite cool with that. Good at night too, apparently - nice and quiet.

Good luck Poppy - you've landed on your feet this time!

Deefski

Lookin' good Gigot

Remember "Gigot"? Poor unfortunate rescue Bedlington who joined choc-labrador "Truffles" and long-haired chihuahua "Storm", in a family we meet regularly walking round the Rec. Poor chap was in a real mess back then, neglected to starving point, dirty, matted, encrusted in who knows what, and very very nervous (abused?), rescued by the RSPCA in Police presence.

You should see the old boy now! Just groomed yesterday, he's a picture of health and condition and is now even starting to romp around with we three, and raced around in silly circles playfully running up to Dad to say Hello, racing away again and bouncing at me. Dad commented to his Mum and Dad that he just looks better and better every time. They agreed - they reckon they see improvements every day, especially now in his social skills and play.

He is a dog to be proud of and a credit to them.

Dad noticed a small container fixed to the lab's collar, and asked about it (secretly worried that it might be one of those electric zappers people use for training). It was, in fact a similar idea, but the little hand held device triggers a release on the collar. The collar box contains a pressurised water cannister, and the release makes a short hissing squirt of water spray.

Truffles is, apparently, an inveterate scavenger, always hunting out discarded food and rubbish, and has it wolfed down before they can stop him, so she was putting on a good deal of weight. Now, when she goes to grab any scavenge, they "Pshhhh!" the sprayer and Truffles is all distracted and misses the food.

Mum and Dad were off for an afternoon's sailing on the sailing barge Greta tomorrow, but a gale is blowing, and Skipper/owner Steve, does not think they'll be going out. Dad is therefore making out like he's a salty sea dog, his life ruled by winds, tides and weather, blown hither and yon by the elements. Daft ha'porth!

Deefski

Heatwave

Our heatwave continues. Dad gets us all up nice and early so that we can get a good walk in at 07:30 before any heat builds up. There's nobody about except one-time allotmenteer, Steve, and his golden labrador, Tess. The is everywhere at once and can't stop long to say hello. there is always another bramble thicket, and she races away. We watch her heading for the horizon via all the thorny patches and possible rabbit holes, putting up a hen pheasant as she goes, till she is lost from view.

Back across the Rec we meet up with old friends Gigot, the Bedlington, Truffles (choco-lab) and (Little) Storm, the long haired chihuahua. They have more time for us and we all have a good race about. Old reders will remember that Gigot came to these people as a recue in a very poor state. He is now fully sorted and a healthy, fine figure of a chap - a credit to his new owners.

We never stopped after that, helping Mum and Dad with a whole load of jobs around the garden - planting the new woodland glade bit, digging up another "Angels' Fishing Rods" grass, making a new brick edge, and spreading some more shredded bark on the path. Also chilling on the terrace.

The we all got cippered. Dad decided it was too hot for us to be shaggy, so now we are all buzzed to 5mm, and feel nice and cool as a result.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend

Deefer

Snow at Easter

The wind might have dropped a bit, but Kent is still feeling it as Northerly, and today it's laced with flurries of fine snow. That only starts once we're out walking, through the boat yard as it happens, so Dad is cursing not taking his gloves.

Plenty of people and dogs about that early - maybe it's an Easter Sunday thing. First nice meeting is with alsatian Star, now full sized at a year old, who we last met as a young pup. She's nice and quiet and gently greets all three of us, but is nervous with people, so Dad crouches and offers a hand, which she sniffs tentatively. Star's Mum is a top lady, who walks Star armed with little cubes of cheese to give out to randomly met cute westies as treats. We approve.

Next up is Max, bouncy young golden Lab who bounces around the three of us in a bit of an alarming manner and makes me squeak a couple of times. Can't completely lose that "drama queen" tag now, can I ? Finally, back across the Rec and looming out of the flurries of snow, with their humans all wrapped up against the weather, our old friends, Gigot the Bedlington, Truffles (chocolate lab) and Storm (Long haired chihuahua).

Shame about the weather. Dad was hoping to get up that allotment and finish the digging, but the snow makes that a bit unlikely. Might head up there anyway to see if there's any rubbish to burn, or tidying to do. We'll stay here, I think....

Happy Easter
Deefs

Ordinary Names

Cold and frosty, the Rec is white with rime, and we can do "snow angels" by lying on our backs and thrashing about in the crispy grass. It's a day for meeting dogs with "ordinary" names. There's a big old black greyhound called Dave. He lopes across to us with his face obscured by a huge, grown-up sized proper stitched leather football (which makes me woof a bit in alarm ; never have I seen a football-headed dog before!).

Dad assumes it must be damaged and flat because surely no dog could grab onto a full sized soccer ball? But, No, he has such a massive wide gape he is simply gripping it in his cannines, like we would a tennis ball. Dave puts it down to do that sniffing all round thing that we dogs use for "Good day to you, Sir!", and I try to nick it. Ha! Could barely nip the stitching, certainly couldn't get hold of it.

As we part the man boots the ball a hundred yards or so, Beckham-style, and Dave, barely breaking into a canter, chases off to round it up again. Apparently, that's his way. Half an hour of chasing the ball and meeting other dogs, the walk home, 10 minutes lie down in the yard to cool off, breakfast, then he'll sleep for the rest of the day!

Also "Charlie" the golden lab who comes and says a friendly hello and runs around with us for a while. We looked around for a "John" or an "Andy" but no. Mind you we did find the ever more bouncy and healthy Gigot and his crowd. He's signed off by the vet now - clean bill of health, and a credit to the humans who have rescued him and taken him in.

Enjoy your Sunday

Deefs

'Tis the Season

Oh Dear. It appears that I am well and truly "in Season". This now has me confined to walks on lead whenever there is a risk we'll meet other dogs, so the Rec in particular. Tonight we met Gigot, Truffles and Storm out with their "Dad". Gigot is now back to match fitness after his rescue and having spent several months now with his new family

He can be a bit choosy about his chums - he's used to Lab's (Truffles is a black lab) but can be a bit nervous still of "other" types including (apparently) Westies, but not it seems, we three, whom he has decided are a "good thing". His rescuers and now owners are delighted that he is starting to come out of his shell and play tentatively with more dogs.

Tonight though he was right out, bouncing around skittishly and taking a lot of notice of my back end area. Yep, and I may be only 15 months, and not have a clue of the effect, but I was there too, bouncing around and reversing at him, with my tail skewed right round. That was till the two men saw what was going on and started laughing about "brazen hussies" and "tarts" and "scarlet Jezzebel"s. Me? I'm still white, as far as I know.... but anyway, I was rounded up and wrestled back onto the lead and marched off.

Dad made one last joke with the man - "Now then.... a Bedlington x Westie, that would be an interesting beast, wouldn't it?"

Ahhh sigh.... Gigot.................
Works for me

Deefs

Jim, Gigot and Mademoiselle

Up early this morning and off on a nice long walk round the boat yard and back through town. We meet up with neighbour Jim and brown cocker Megan (no relation) - very confusing to have 2 Megan's next door to each other; "ours" keeps hearing Jim talking to "his" and thinking he's calling her. But Meg-next-door was a rescue dog and came already named, so there was no getting round it.

We also meet Gigot's family out for a stroll as we're crossing back across the Rec. Gigot (see his sad story in an earlier post) is obviously thriving in his new family and looks extremely well. He's just been clipped and groomed too, so he put us raggamuffins to shame with his gorgeous clip. Maybe it's a "show" clip, I'm not sure, but he even had his ears almost shaved except for a little frilly pom-pom on the end of each. (Dad - don't even THINK about it!). Out with him are his housemates, Truffles and Storm. We also see the Jack Russell "Bindy" and have a great chase about.

Once we're back, Dad's shot off to Preston, east of Canterbury to find his 2CV mates to finally start work on the club's project car, known as "Mademoiselle d'Armentieres". Today, they tell me, they're in destruct mode, taking off doors, bonnet, roof, bootlid, removing engine and gearbox, and starting to cut out rusty floors and bulkhead. And all in among those lovely farm buildings where we have such fun when we're on 2CV camp.

Dad comes home freezing cold and starving, to be revived by some Mum soup. It feels like it might snow. It's cold and damp, and with the wind chill we can all beleive it. The news is full of snow reports in places up north like "Snake Pass" and even down as far as Kidderminster.

Winter's here alright

Deefer

Jack Frost

Good frost this morning, ice to scrape off the cars, and white grass on the Rec. We are out there for a nice early run around. We meet Gigot's crowd again, and find out that the brown lab is called Truffles, and the long-haired small dog is actually a Long Haired Chihuahua called "Storm". We already know a Storm - a big dark alsatian living up our street. Bit of a contrast. I get a run-around with mini-Storm - heh heh - I'm MUCH faster!!!

Mum and Dad are action-packed today, just like yesterday. Mum's off swimming, Dad's off to plant 2500 daff bulbs to beautify up one of the entrances to the town, for the "In Bloom" volunteers. Well, not him single handedly, but there are only 5 of them on the job, so I guess he can claim 500!

The 2CV won't play this morning, sulking from lack of use and frost, so Dad has to put it on the charger while he plays In-Bloom games. After that, of course and with the sun on its back it fires up first time, so Dad takes it for a blast to dry it out thoroughly

Then, we're gardening - weeding, pruning all the fruit trees and stuff. This is GREAT for dogs, as it gets us into all sorts of secret places we can't normally get at - behind the green house and all around the chicken run. The big old James Grieves gets a trim, then the 3 ballerina apples and the 2 plums, then the quince and the green gage. There's an enormous pile of prunings now drying for a couple of days before Dad fires up the shredder

Hope you had a good day
Deefer

Poor little Gigot

It's the weekend, so the humans are flying about everywhere. Dad runs a "deer walk" in Challock Forest, where it's the rut for the 200 or so fallow deer in there. Westies, faced with a fallow deer tend to give chase, yipping in frustration as they fail to keep up, so we are grounded for this one and dad goes off on his own.

The walkers have a great time - "Probably the best Deer Walk ever!" enthuses dad when he gets back. Apparently, being a small group they were able to get some nice close long sightings, and listen to the big old bucks roaring out their challenges. At one point they's left the immediate area of the rutting stand and moved off to near some dense young chestnut coppice, when up one of the cleared strips they saw a young person (not one of their group) stroll through.

This person (probably completely un-awares) had worried all the deer off the stand, and into the chestnut. Suddenly one big full-grown buck with huge, fully palmated antlers came trotting out of the chestnut 20 feet from Dad's group, more concerned with avoiding the person, than looking in front of him. He spotted Dad's group and stopped, then turned with great dignity, antlers back, nose high, high-stepping front feet, and trotted off back into the chestnut. Dad says the whole group had stopped breathing at that stage. Awesome!

Mum and Dad have also been out and about shopping (mmm - dog treats!), and then came back and we got our walk, off to the Rec for a game of plastic bottle. Sometimes we play "plastic bottle" (Dad throwing or kicking, me chasing and nailing, then running around with bottle in ever increasing state of chewed, squashed-ness).

Sometimes we play "chase the seagull from miles away" - this involves me in full-bore, head down, gallop from good distances, bearing down on seagulls on the football pitches. Sometimes the 2 games get confused and I've still got the bottle ("Powerade" sports drink tonight) wideways in my mouth when a seagull needs chasing. The look on the gull's face as a madly charging juice bottle comes racing towards it with legs going like pistons underneath and a tail sticking up behind, is priceless

We meet "Gigot", a small Bedlington out with his new Mum and Dad, his new stable-mates a brown lab and a small long haired beastie. Poor Gigot is in a sorry state, having been rescued just 3 weeks ago from what sounds like a house of horrors. 3 weeks ago he was one of nine Bedlingtons kept by some awful bloke - all nine dogs were tangled fur, a mass of sores from parasite bites and swollen red feet from walking in their own excrement and wee.

They were cringing from the old owner, so that new-Mum had to take the dog straight out to the car while the new Dad did the paperwork "else I'd have killed the bloke", she said. Gigot's tail is almost bald near the base and his fur gives way to scabby patches here and there. They were (compulsorily) re-homed, one ending up with this family.

Gigot is now all trimmed and cleaned up, his poor feet (although still a bit pink) are nearly back to normal, and he's under the vet and anti-biotics for his sores and skin lesions. He's a gentle soul though and is slowly getting used to the fact that some men will treat him properly.

We dogs (we're quiet and careful anyway near any unknown dog - Dad seems to be very proud of us being on our "best behaviour" for Gigot, understanding that he needs gently socialising.) My Dad crouches and talks to him gently, and extends a hand to be sniffed. After a while Gigot accepts a bit of a fuss round the face and then comes right in close to Dad to be petted gently. His new Mum and Dad are almost moved to tears to see him being so "brave" and making such good progress. When they first got him he was very upset and scared at any unknown people or dogs.

We'll look out for you, Gigot - you are among friends. "Gigot", by the way, comes from the fact that Bedlingtons look very lamb-like when they are fully furred up and clean.

Bless
Deefer