Paddy Takes A Tumble and Office Dogs on Film

Saturday:We said a fond goodbye to Bonnie and Bramble this morning, they have gone to live in Cardiff to a couple who have kept two labradors before and were thrilled to be able to adopt these two. I'm not sure the Saturday Staff are that unhappy about seeing them go after this mornings hour of unwanted exercise! As Rosie got the dogs out of her van when she arrived for work, they pulled away from her and raced down the track with Rosie and Harley(our dedicated volunteer)in hot pursuit.They chased them for over a mile until they finally caught up with the naughty pair. The new owners have been warned to keep them on extended leads otherwise they too will have enough training to enter the next London Marathon.I did take a photo of them with Bonnie and Bramble but it was not clear enough to print. If you read this Andrea and Richard, please send another of you all together.
I had thought it would not be too easy to find someone to take on both and especially as they are 9 years and 6 years but I was surprised to receive several enquiries. Another of Rosies foster dogs has also left us.Ty the staffordshire bull terrier cross pup who was admitted only last week has been found a home locally. He is a lovely little dog and a good advertisement for the wonderful nature of most of this breed.He ALMOST converted me!

Paddy and Patch have a new (temporary) pal in Jenny a Dog Pound lurcher.Another unclaimed stray.As I type this she will probably be in her favourite position, stretched out on the sofa in my living room. Like all lurchers I have 'met', she is affectionate and loving and is actually house trained (what a blessing). She is not in bad condition, nothing that defleaing and worming will not resolve and she does not even seem to be too bad with the cats, well at least she shows no interest and even backs away from them when they hiss at her.Of course I take no chances and she will be on a lead at all times, it would not be fair on the cats to have a potential aggressor at large.

It seems I have unwittingly upset some supporters in Anglesey through turning down a potential home for Jenny.Veronica Bookeeper had mentioned Jennys plight to several friends and acquaintences and subsequently one offered her a home(Jenny not Veronica)Unfortunately the person planned to keep her outdoors in a kennel and I turned the home down.The charity policy is that all adopted dogs should live indoors and not in an outside kennel, they are to be part of the family, and whoever heard of a member of the family living in a kennel? Anyhow that is the Charity Policy and most other animal welfare organisations adopt the same guidelines when homing dogs.Well because of this we appear to have lost supporters and fundraisers which is very upsetting when I am trying so hard to add to our supporter database,not reduce it. It is such a shame that the policy which was added for the protection and future welfare of the dogs we rehome has caused such a furore. My personal feeling is that no matter how comfortable the kennel is, dogs prefer to be inside the house with their owners and family and as a charity we have done the correct thing by making our adoption criteria with the dogs happiness and future wellbeing in mind. Due to the fact we have a non destruction policy we are not in a desperate race to find suitable homes,we can afford to wait if we feel the home being offered does not meet the Charity adoption Criteria. What more can I say about this? I suppose its a case of you can't please ALL of the people All of the time.It is still upsetting though for both me and Veronica who with the best will in the world was trying to find Jenny a home by spreading the word amongst her Dog Training contacts .Still we have to stick to our principles and policies and hope that those whom we have upset will realise that the only ones who will suffer from the charity receiving no more help from them, will be the Animals.

Early evening I took my dogs out whilst Mei popped home to let her own dogs out for a wee ( she has two chihuahuas)In my return Paddy was ambling along placidly with Jenny and Patch and then to my horror, he stumbled near the top of an embankment and before I could do anything he tumbled down to the bottom.It is only about 8 feet but enough to hurt his back. He was stuck at the bottom and could not get up. After 20 minutes of shouting for help Nia my next door neighbour (Nice Neighbour)who was walking her three dogs, heard my shouts for help which were echoing through the valley and ran to the village to get Mei. Between us we managed to get Paddy to his feet but then we were stuck, we could not get him up the bank for fear of hurting his back and the adjoining field had impenetrable wire fencing. Nia ran back to her house and within minutes her husband arrived with a saw to cut through the wire.(We could not find our bolt cutters!) After making a gap in the fence Paddy was able to walk through andthe field and back safely to the house. All in all it was a nightmare and all I could think of was whether Paddy had done more damage to his back.
Thankfully he appeared unhurt albeit a little stiff .What a Close Shave.I will not let him off his lead along that path ever again.
Sunday:
A very quiet day today with no visitors at all,It is a bright sunny day and I thought we would have loads of people here to look at the animals, maybe they are all enjoying their gardens or going for nice country walks!
Paddy is fine I am pleased to say. he seems to be showing no ill effects from yesterdays traumatic fall and was happy to go out for his daily walk this morning, though we steered clear of the path where the embankment starts.
We now have a Flickr account - see a sample of photos taken at the shelter on the right hand side of the blog so I will be uploading more photos to that so people can see more of the staff and animals over the weeks and months.
As it was quiet I took the opportunity to make another attempt at uploading a video and decided to use Office Dog Lucy and her pal Billy as guinea pigs.If this works I will be more adventurous next time.It takes me a long time to work out something new, I have only just got my head round the Flickr phenomenon! I promise the videos will become more of a regular feature and will hopefully improve in quality and content .Billy was a rescued dog from the Pound and is waiting for a nice home to come along.Lucy with the coat is of course a permanent resident here due to her habit of nipping anyone new she meets.When people come into the office, she has to go in her crate, when they leave she comes out again and I think this is how it will always be. With us she is wonderful but she is 11 years old and I cannot imagine anyone seeing beyond their initial impression of her which has to be said is never good. Maybe this video might help Billy but I'm afraid Lucy will be here forever. Mind yopu she is good company in the eveinings when I am on the computer, she sits behind me and keps me warm!
Roo the Siamese gave us a scare today, Sue came over to report that he had disappeared from his pen, we searched high and low for him but only his friend Eric was there .I was very upset and not in the best of humours thinking this poor old cat was lost somewhere in a strange environment never to be seen again.I had visions of his elderly companion pining away for him and then Sue came into the office to say that she had discovered the missing cat ! Roo, oblivious to our calls and the frantic search going on around him was fast asleep having curled up in the base of a cat scratching post! Panic over, cats all present and correct, equilibrium restored and the staff live to work another day!

Lad Enjoys His First Day of Freedom

Lad the collie from the cage is enjoying the company of the other dogs (see photo taken with Cariad , they had all taken shelter on the Office Verandah after being caught in sudden rainstorm) .

I wish there was a compulsory

course on animal welfare that

Farmers had to take AND PASS! Most I come into contact with have no idea about the welfare of their working dogs(never mind the other animals)

I am fortunate that the farmers on both sides of this property look after their dogs well and I have nothing to complain about with their situation, thank goodness - I would hate to be forced to see cruelty daily on my own doorstep.Unfortunately to many farmers it is enough to feed their working dogs and put a roof over their heads(albeit a small one) and they are the GOOD ones.The rest do not deem it necessary to even provide a decent shelter.It is an enormous problem and I am afraid that without proper legislation it will continue.The Welsh Assembly have brought out several publications on animal welfare and the guidelines are not bad at all, however there is no legal requirement to put these practices into being and unless the law starts to take animal welfare seriously there is little hope of improvements in the near future. What I find incomprehensible is the fact that all animal shelters soon have to abide by the same regulations as boarding kennels/catteries which means that most small sanctuaries will find themselves unable financially to make these changes to their facilities.eg: our cattery pens are about 2 inches too short in length!!!!Already I have had the Trading Standards from the Council looking and measuring our pens with the view that we will need to upgrade to their specifications sometime in the not too distant future.The same officer tells me that a mother cat and newborn kitens will need the same size pen as adult cats.This, even though a mum and newborns prefers a small contained cosy area whilst she is nursing. Our mums and babies have a small pen until the babies grow and then they are moved to a larger one but soon this will not be acceptable! Our ferals who love to curl up in large groups will be forced to live 2 to a shed. Whereas we currently have 20 ferals in two sheds with indoor runs and access to a good sized outdoor enclosure ,this number will have to be reduced to just 4!

Tell me how is it that there is so much concern shown about this and yet it appears to be acceptable for farm dogs(and other animals) to live in cramped kennels and /or on short chains? Why were Lads living conditions deemed acceptable? Imagine if my animals had water bowls like his, I would probably be in court by now! Similarly in the past I have seen much cruelty shown by the huntsmen towards their foxhounds ,some incidents shocked me to the core but when I complained, nothing was done .As with Farmers, these vile people are allowed to get away with it time and time again.Where is the justice? Well thats my Rant for the Day,its one which really bothers and upsets me and each time I find a dog living in these conditions my anger starts up again.

The cats arrived with Veronica, and they are even older than I had been told.Roo the Siamese is 10 years old and his companion Eric is 13 years. My heart breaks for the oldies as I have mentioned so many times before,I just hope that someone kind will take on these two in spite of their ages.They are inseparable and used to rural life so I needs to find a similar home for them though I will be insisting that they live indoors in the next home , they are too old to live outside -in this weather especially and I want them to have some comfort in their old age. Perhaps a Siamese cat lover will take pity on Roo and his pal? I'm sure they will appeal to someone nice.

I have been listening to the reports on the dreadful earthquake in Japan, what terrible news there is nowadays in the media, sometimes I feel as though I no longer want to read a newspaper or watch the news on television, I do hope the animal welfare organisations get there quickly to help the poor animals affected.I don't mean to sound as if I have no concerns for the people, I do, but for what it is worth to them, they will receive help from all over the world and the animals will not be high on anyones agenda.

I want to finish on a high note because we all need to hear of nice things when we are surrounded by so much grief and catastrophe so here is my new list of good things that have happened this week.

1. Lad was rescued and is now a Happy Dog.

2. We received a cheque for £200 in todays post.

3. We had a visitor from France, the man who adopted Gilly collie paid us a visit, Gilly is wonderful, from abused farmdog to a life of luxury on the outskirts of Paris.

4. Legend is doing really well in his new home.

5. We have had some nice donations from local shops for our Easter Fair Raffle

6. There is a home waiting for the two middle aged labradors I admitted earlier in the week.

7. Paddy is putting on a little weight after we changed his food .
8. We have had two separate donations of cat food from supporters.

9. Sister Sandra is doing well after her operation.

10. I am being taken out to lunch today.

Thats the Best I Can Do!

PS: I forgot, there is actually a no 11 - I had a lovely letter and photographs from the lady who took on Starlight a disabled black cat. This kind lady travelled all the way from Liverpool to our shop in Porthmadog in order to adopt this little cat. Receiving letters like this are a great morale boost, heep them coming(especially by email as I can forward to the website to be put under success stories.)

Mei gets a Soaking and Lad is Released From Cage.

For once I did have my camera on me when one of the Jack Russells chose to relieve himself on Meis leg.Little tinker!Champ, the naughty one is proving to be rather difficult, he is not used to having a collar and lead on and has to be lassoed in order to take him for a walk.He will need an experienced terrier owner, he will prove too much of a challenge for most prospective adopters.He reminds me very much of my own JR Charley Patch who took months to settle and would not let me touch him for about 4 months.Of course I wouldn't part with him for the world now, these naughty dogs have so much character and when eventually there is a break through with them it is so satisfying. Still they are not everyones cup of tea.

Rosie is fostering ANOTHER couple of dogs , someone turned up yesterday with a 6 months staff pup, now they really are not my favourite breed but this one is a sweetie and today I went to check on a farm collie in appalling conditions, he was being kept in a small wire run after his owner had retired, the water bowl was disgusting(see photos of him in his pathetic home and the water container) but before I even opened my mouth the man said he wanted a home for him so it was all so easy which is not very often the case.So another foster dog for Rosie.What would we do without her?

Yesterday Mei and I checked out some free grazing which had been offered in the Criccieth area, there is 8 acres of rough pasture which may do some of the hardier, younger ponies, we will be having a meeting this week to organise which ponies will stay the summer and which we will put out to other fields.It is still so very cold, icy even and whilst it is this cold I do not want the horses and ponies to leave here, at the moment most still need overnight stabling but as we all know,the weather could change anytime.I notice lots of newborn lambs in fields and wonder if they will all survive if this icy wind continues. For a few weeks the birds were not quite so noticeable on the feeders but now they are ravenous again and demolishing everything in sight, as soon as the feeders are filled, they descend on them and the next morning all are empty again.Its a never ending feeding frenzy and it is costing a fortune keeping them in seed, nuts and fatballs.

There has been no sign of the badgers so maybe I was wrong or perhaps they WERE here but have relocated.Shame I was longing to see one that wasn't stretched out lifeless on the side of a road.My sister(who is doing well now after her operation) has them in her garden and when I have stayed overnight the highlight has been watching them come out of the bushes around 9pm and scuttling over to the food she puts out.Sandra puts on the outside light so we can see them really clearly,I am so envious of her nocturnal visitors.

I have set the date now for the next Open Day here, it will be on the 24th JUly and we are also holding a sponsored dog walk on Sunday 15 th May.I will be sorting out the sponsor forms this weekend - if anyone would like some please contact me at the shelter. What I am trying to do is have a fundraising event at least once a month to supplement the income, the next one is organised by supporter Lindsay and is a quiz night at the cross foxes pub in Trawsfynyfdd. 8pm.If you are keen on this sort of thing please support Lindsays evening and help the animals here in the process.

There are lots and lots of cats waiting for places here now, the list is getting frighteningly long and they have to be prioritised depending on the urgency of the situation, the problem can be when most are desperate cases- people leaving their homes, owners who have died and the mnost urgent of all - those cats with no homes or owners to care for them.How does one prioritise these? they are all so needy. For every cat which is adopted another 50 are vying for that single place. I had no idea what an enormous task I was taking on when I set up the cattery here.If there were 200 pens, there would still not be enough for all the homeless and unwanted cats in this county. What I find strange about living here is that there are so many rural properties, so many people with land and yet there are fewer animal rescuers than there are in Liverpool and as for wildlife ,well finding injured wildlife creates a real problem; as far as I know there is only one person in the whole of the county who can help. A wildlife rescue is desperately needed here and a dog shelter AND a rescue cattery.I do wish the big National Charities would think of North Wales and

set up their next sanctuary here.Maybe they too are suffering from the recession! It is just so overwhelming trying to do so much, there is only so much one impoverished shelter can actually do and there are so many animals needing help.

Finally , a lovely white odd eyed cat was admitted as a stray(see here) I was so sure she would be claimed but a week has gone by and nobody has come forward for her. Tomorrow two more cats are coming in - their owner is moving house tomorrow and Veronica is collecting them from Anglesey on her way in to work.They are middle aged cats, 10 years and 8 years which takes the number of middle aged and elderly cats here waiting to be adopted to around 19.

A new Life Ahead For Finchley Ferret,

I wrote yesterdays blog too soon because shortly after I left the office, we homed two adult cats and Finchley ferret. Finchley you may remember was the emaciated ferret we admitted several months ago, he was so weak, he could not stand and today he is a big healthy animal with an attitude! Most of the staff are nervous of him as he is inclined to nip so we have had a few people intrerested but his temperament has put them off. Along came a lady with her daughter who wants to do work experience here and lo and behold she is a ferret lover with a few of her own and she has adopted Finchley, this is great for him, soon he will have companions of his own species and a large enclosure to play in, life is going to be a lot rosier for him after today.The Liverpool shelter has really good facilities for ferrets and they admit quite a few annually but here we have limited facilities for such animals, I am not going to turn one away which desperately needs shelter but it is only suitable for temporarily accommodating a ferret or other small pets which is why I am overjoyed to see Finchley go.Nothing to do with his habit of biting of course!

It has been such a nice day that some of the horses have had their rugs off so they can enjoy the sun on their backs.Pictured are Rocky andEmber,Freddy and Grandad just after they have been put out and hovering round the fence for their daily supply of hay.There is not enough grass at this time of year so we are still supplementing their food and will probably continue to do so for a while, at least until the spring grass starts to come through.They love to be out, the first noise I hear in the morning is Big Buster kicking the door of his stable in impatience to be out in the field with his pals. Try and leave him out though and he stands by the gate for hours until he is brought in.We cant win!When I went to see the horses this morning, Cariad was in the middle of feeding the older ones their breakfast and was being pulled round the yard by Little Bobby shetland who had the toggles on her coat in his mouth and was having great fun with his new game.Why do I never have the camera with me at times like that?Most of my photos show placid horses standing quietly, believe me they are not always like that and the staff often have High Jinks with them, its just that there is never a keen photographer around at those times.

2 nice little Jack Russells have joined the Freshfields gang today,Champ and Tyson(I do hate these butch names)from different homes but the same area so one owner was decent enough to collect the other and bring him in also.They seem to get on well together and with office Lucy so until they go to their foster homes tomorrow they can all be exercised together.

A Dog with An Embedded Collar.

Scamp the collie we admitted today was found to be wearing an embedded collar which had started to infect the skin. The sore goes right round his neck. He has come from a private home, how disgraceful that this was left unattended, maybe not even noticed.It is nowhere near as bad as poor Robins neck (remember him)but if it had been left for another month or two it could well have been.The photo does not show how sore it was and how infected but perhaps that is as well, its not the nicest thing to look at. Rosie will be fostering him after the weekend, she is away at an agility show with her clever dogs along with Veronica and HER equally clever dogs.Its a great life for collies, their minds and bodies are kept energised.maybe they will take ME along next time. I could do with some energising activities!

A little stocky Patterdale was taken into our Caernarfon shop after twice narrowly escaping being hit by cars, he had no ID on him but was well fed and cared for(not neutered though) The little chap was claimed later in the day which was a relief to him and to us.He had been fretting and was looking very depressed until his owner arrived.Its easy to put on a collar and tag and yet so many fail to do this .I hope that the fright of losing him will do the trick and they will buy him a collar and tag. We will try to persuade them to allow us to microchip him(at cost)It is a small price to pay for peace of mind and to know that a lost pet will be returned quickly to his home.

PS: they were happy and willing to let us microchip him and are bringing their other dog back for us to do the same.Thats progress.

Saturday:

Legend the dog which was abandoned in Dorothea Quarry has gone to his third home and lets hope this is his final one.Of course there are problem dogs which are hard to cope with but he is a nice dog and it is really no fault of his own that he has not managed to stay out when adopted. I had him in the house last night and he was as good as gold even with boisterous Gel and Dingo driving him nuts. These two worry me, I wonder if I will ever find anyone suitable for them. Dingo is nervous and barky round new people and I would definitely be concerned if he got off his lead, he panics and becomes hard to get hold of. On the good side, he is house trained, affectionate, excellent with other dogs both males and females and well behaved except when dinner is ready and he boings up and down like a jack in the box! Gel being an ex farm dog is very energetic and he is overbearing with other dogs, he wants to play but he constantly grabs their necks and bowls them over, Dingo is extremely patient with him and rarely retaliates but another less sweet natured dog may be provoked into a fight. Being 2 years and 4 years they are too young for me to keep and Meg lurcher gets fed up with their antics. Will I be stuck with them?Much as I care

for these two reprobates they both need more attention than I can give them.

I have been waiting for a visit from BT about having a phone line in the house as I only have my mobile(which I lose constantly). When he turned up, he said that he had gone miles out of his way because he had stopped a lady walking a dog and asked if she knew where Bryn Melyn was located.(the name of the property which is Freshfields)but she could not help him and he went on his way.The lady was Sue who has worked here for two years! When she returned she asked mei if she knew where Bryn Melyn was and Mei replied "Here"!She was so embarassed that when the BT man finally found us, Sue hid behind one of the cars! She is finding it hard to live that one down! Good one Sue.

Oh , as I am writing this two strangedogs have appeared in the yard, a chocolate labrador pup and a shi tzu!They have tags on their collars so I rang the telephone number. The adventurous pair had escaped from their home just down the lane and already they have been reunited with their owner. The puppy was enjoying allthe fuss we were making of him so I hope we have not encouraged his wandering streak. This reunion took 15 minutes as opposed to the entire day that Duke the patterdale spent with us yesterday.

Only one couple turned up to adopt today but as they had lost their own cat recently, they left without one , saying they felt it might be too soon to take on another. I understand this logic but dont agree with it.Like everyone who grieves when a beloved pet is lost, I have spent time feeling sometimes overwhelmed with sadness; when I lost William I was more devastated over him

than over the loss of any other pet for a very long time, but there are so many animals languishing in rescue shelters that to me it seems self absorbed to allow oneself to drown in maudlin remembrances. I could no more visit a shelter knowing I had a home to offer and walk away without a new friend than I could take one of my pets to one. That said everyone grieves in a different way and I am not without sympathy for such people. It is not a criticism of their feelings,I have great understanding and empathy for those who are bereaved but my heart goes out to the pets left behind to wait again for the next visitor who might stop at their pen and who might, just might fall for a pitiful cry or a desperate bid for attention. This is the side I see when visitors leave empty handed and that is what I grieve for more than anything -the sadness of the homeless pet.

PS: as I was finishing this someone turned up and has chosen a kittencat aged 4 months and a black one at that so the day is not a total washout AND supporters Ann and husband from Stoke turned up with a car boot full of petfood for the animals here so the day has improved in leaps and bounds already.

Paddy has a Lazy Day

Wednesday:

Another bright day though all the fields(and cars) were covered in a layer of frost this morning and the wild birds were particularly hungry for the treats I put out last night.

I am so excited - I think we may have badgers here, there seems to be a tunnel made in one of the fields and the shape of an animal was on a mound of hay left in the field.(as though something had been sleeping on it): of course there was the poor dead badger we found in one of the field shelters some months ago so even though I have never seen one there must be a few about.Anyhow I put out peanut butter sandwhiches in the hope that I am right and that they would enjoy a little treat.

The Mastiff did not come in after all, they were too upset to return him(good) so we will just keep an eye on how things are progressing there and his space can go to Sweep, a 5 years old collie whose owner is too ill to exercise him. He desperately needs another home and if he is as quiet and placid as the owner says he is, then he will be quite an easy dog to home.

We have taken in two cats today whose owner rang me yesterday because she was moving where the landlord would not allow cats,"when are you moving" I asked."Today" she replied !! After asking the neighbour to feed them until we had a space she upped and moved leaving the cats behind and left a message on my answerphone telling me what she had done.That was a totally unacceptable situation so Trish and her husband Bob(from the Porthmadog shop) kindly went to the address where the cats had been abandoned and took them back to the shop where we have a room for such emergencies.neither cat has been neutered and are brother and sister of 12 months.We have no available room in our cattery so they will have to remain there until we have some more cats adopted out to make room for them.

We had some extra helpers today, Lindsay and Nicky travelled from the other side of Barmouth to help out at the shelter and Rhian had them scrubbing the walls of the cattery -they were a good help so hope that doesn't put them off ! KIm (new fosterer)also has been helping out over the past week and today she brought her foster dog now permanent family member to see us and to be microchipped(the dog not Kim)

The newspaper coverage in the local paper ,The Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald has resulted in only one donation. Very disappointing.Considering how much we help this community we receive very little support .Never mind at least there are good supporters in Anglesey and other parts of Gwynedd.

Thursday:

Sweep failed to turn up, he has been found a home with a neighbour so I believe and I am pleased for him that he does not have to come here after all.Next on the list for a place with us is Scamp a young cross collie from Machynlleth whose owner has a new baby and no longer has time for her dog.He will arrive tomorrow, I have arranged for him to be collected and delivered here.

We have been offered another 5 acres of free grazing for our ponies this year though sadly it is because the owners horse has died .The land is very close to Freshfields and I would see Romany the grey horse every day so it is sad know ing that he will not be there anymore. The fields are ideal for us to use, they are almost opposite Meis' house so she can keep an eye on the ponies and we can see them from the shelter too.As soon as the weather gets warmer we will start to move the horses and ponies out to their respective summer grazing.
Four of the horses due to be returned will be going to foster homes.The two larger ones Dids and Buster will be going to stay with a friend of mine and Heather and Paddy will be staying on Rosies field next to her house in Clynnog. This should be fairly imminent as they will lose their home as soon as the house is sold and I have been told that the sale is going through quickly. The same friend who will be caring for Dids and Buster has also started to apply for grants for us so with a bit of luck we may receive some financial help in the next 12 months.If any of our applications are successful, it may take some time to materialise as most grant making trusts only meet twice yearly and some only once.I am delighted she has taken on this job for us, I really do feel that this will be a better year for us.It has been off to a bad start with our dire financial situation but I am confident it can only get better.(it cannot possibly get any worse) My most urgent projects are to have the area round the stables concreted and to cover the floor of the Agricultural building where we house most of the horses, with rubber matting. The sand floor has not proved to be successful and although the rubber matting will be very expensive it will be long lasting and will not need replacing once the job is done.,It will be better for the horses with foot problems , will be easier to keep clean and will be more comfortable for them should they wish to lie down as it is gives thick cushioning for their weight. Other priorities have to be a new(second hand) tractor and the old toyoya 4 wheel drive will need to be replaced before another year goes by. If we are successful with just one of these projects I will be thrilled.

Tomorrow I will be going to see Sister Sandra and will not be back until Saturday.As usual Mei will be caring for my animals whilst I am away and I know they all love her as much as they do me so it sets my mind at rest when I am not here. Paddy is not always good with people I'm afraid and none of the staff dare to enter the house to see to him so it is fortunate that he likes Mei otherwise he would have to go everywhere with me and my car is too hard for him to get into whilst his legs are not so good. He is so loving and affectionate I have no ideawhy he is naughty with others unless he is being protective,its just as well I am anti social and have no visitors here! He has to be the best guard dog I have ever had, there is no way anyone will ever enter my house uninvited!

Paddy pictured here having a snooze on his single mattress(no dog bed was

big enough for him )and in the back yard wearing his made to measure coat.My mum used to say my old cavaliers always looked miserable, I think Great Danes always look as though they bear the weight of the world on their shoulders! He IS happy HONESTLY.

anonymous

Just a quickie to let people know that I had a very nasty blog comment left which I have deleted due to its content which was entirely untrue and malicious and is being dealt with in the appropriate way.Of course the author was anonymous.Par for the course I would say! Apologies to anyone who had the misfortune to read it and thanks to those who did and wrote supportive comments in reply.