We have snow (image heavy post!)

So we woke up on Sunday morning to 7 inches of snow fall! It looked beautiful! The dogs LOVE the snow, I don't know what it is about it that makes them go so nuts but they go c-r-a-z-y!

It was great for the foster dogs as they had never seen snow before. Here are some photos from Sunday morning...

Teal experiencing her first snow!

Puppies digging!

Rufus

Uni and June, even though June is 4 because she came from a puppy farm she had never seen snow before!

...and Jimmy, he liked having a good old sniff in the snow.

Tassie - a rare moment when she was actually standing still!!

To say Inca loves the snow is an understatement. She stayed outside ALL day!

Unfortunately having short legs and long fur only means one thing - snowballs! Sorry Rufus...

...Some pretty shots from around the garden.

Pete and Daphne had the right idea, they stayed inside in their heated bed!

Maud

Deeley

Here are our new chickens, we had only had them two days when it had snowed, they didn't seem to mind it though.

Mr. C

I don't think Gordon knew what to make of it!

Gladys seemed a bit confused!

A fostering update

We began fostering again in December 2011 after Mum took a trip to the Many Tears animal rescue is Wales. We have helped this charity out for about 3 years now and have fostered for them for over a year. This is the first time that my Mum had visited the centre though, it was a sad day seeing all the dogs coming in from various pounds but also a great day to see just what goes on at the centre.

Mum arrived home that evening with 3 new arrivals, Bradley a 7 week old collie cross and Jimmy and June two ex breeding Shih Tzu's. First up is Bradley...

Bradley arrived at the centre whilst my Mum was helping out with some other dogs, he had been collected from a farm where he was going to be shot. He was a little nervous at first but once he had been checked over and given his vaccinations and a name he was put on the list to come home with us!
He was such a great little puppy, very happy and playful and he got a home within a few days of being with us! He only lives a few villages away so we get to see him regularly which is lovely.

Along with Bradley we also took home Jimmy and June. They are Shih Tzus that came from a puppy farm. They are 4 and 5 and have lived in dark sheds there whole life with no real human contact. There only purpose in life was to produce puppies. When Mum was at the centre she passed long corridors of kennels full of dogs, most of the dogs are jumping around excitedly and barking. My Mum got to a kennel that she thought was empty until she looked closer, Jimmy and June were inside cowering, wanting the ground to swallow them whole. They had been at the centre for over a month but were still so nervous and shut down. Mum put them on leads to walk them out of their kennel but they both completely shut down and froze. Mum knew they needed to live in a house and have help with their issues so she offered to foster them.

Just being around our dogs has completely transformed the both, Jimmy was very nervous around men but we are getting there and he is slowly trusting people. They LOVE their walks and love running around over the fields off the lead.
It's so great to see how far they have come, I can't imagine how scary the big wide world is when you have spent your entire life living in a dark cell but they have adapted amazingly. They will make great pets for a very special family.

(photos taken from the Many Tears website)

Next up we had Vee and Rift, two gorgeous puppies from different litters who were both taken to the pound in Ireland. They were both Lab crosses.

Sadly I only got one photo of Vee before she left to go and start her new life with her family. This photo was taken just before she left!

And Rift....He was a lovely little boy who went to his home at the weekend. He was so chilled and calm for a puppy and a very quick learner.

We still have Jimmy and June but will be collecting two more puppies in the next week or so! Bring on the chaos!

Introducing Dinky

My Mum owns a petshop and a week or so ago a man called Doug from a local boarding kennels came in to talk to my Mum about two old dogs that were living at his kennels. They had been boarded there while their owner went on holiday, sadly while they were staying at the kennels their owner passed away.

No one in the family would take them so they asked if they could stay at the kennels while the family tried to get something sorted. Two months passed and Doug was getting worried about the little dogs outcome. The dogs are old, Dinky is a little terrier and is 14, he is completely blind. His friend was an elderly poodle who had the beginnings of cataracts. We went to visit them when we were passing the kennels. They were so cute, very friendly. They didn't let there blindness stop them!

Mum was worried that if they went to a rescue centre they might be put to sleep as they were old and had a few medical problems. She warned me that they may be coming to stay!

Well I came home from work last Thursday and who was standing in my kitchen....Dinky! The family has decided to keep the little poodle but didn't want Dinky. They didn't want him to end up in rescue kennels so said that if no-one came forward to re home him they would have him put to sleep.

The first day was a bit hectic, he was very hyper and wanted to check out EVERYTHING but he has calmed down now. Mum takes him to the shop everyday, along with Edna. He's meeting lots of new people and getting lots of attention.

He doesn't let his blindness affect him. In fact when people first meet him out on walks they'd never guess he was blind. We were a bit concerned about letting him off the lead as we've never had such an active blind dog before but he's been fine. He comes back the second you call his name!

We've been teaching commands like 'stairs' and 'careful' and he's picking them up very quickly!

Saying this he has been a bit snappy with the other dogs the last few days. He will growl and become possessive if he has a chew, luckily the others aren't bothered and stay out of his way. He has also taken to running up to other dogs out on walks and being too full on. He likes to show them who's boss! We have been correcting him and he does listen.

He does seem to like the other dogs and they help him with his lack of sight. He relies on them a lot when we're out on a walk. It's only early days so we're going to see how he goes. Having Dinky in the shop is a great way for people to find out about him and if a suitable home comes up for him we'll go from there!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

An Edna update

We've had Edna for 3 weeks now and it's been a tough 3 weeks for her. She has been very ill and has had to have many trips to the vets.

She has a heart murmur and bilateral hernias, she also has very crackly lungs which cause her to get out of breath and to cough. She has been on various pills for her cough and it seems to be easing slightly. Her left eye is also a bit smaller than her other, the vet says she has suffered an injury in that eye as the eye socket seems to have been damaged. This poor little girl hasn't had the best life so far.

She has been having good and bad days, very up and down. Saying that she loves her walks and her tail doesn't stop wagging!

It's difficult to get photographs of her awake because she sleeps a lot! We have definitely seen a change in her other the last few days, she even tried to chase the cats yesterday so I'm guessing she's feeling a bit better!

Edna our new foster!

We began fostering for Many Tears (check them out asap!!) last year in May. Our first foster was Pollie, a 3 year old ex breeding bitch. After Pollie we had lots of puppies. It was great! So lovely to see these gorgeous little babies go off to lead their new lives at members of great families! It's such a rewarding job to do, many of the puppies/dogs haven't had the best start in life but they leave us happy and loving life. We have been really lucky and have had great adoptive families, everyone keeps in touch and sends photos and updates of the dogs which is fantastic!
After we got Pneuma last year we gave up on fostering for a while, Pneuma's skin condition took alot of looking after and we wanted to make sure she was 100% well before we introduced another dog into the home, that and the fact that Pneuma can be a bit iffy with new dogs in the home.
Mum had been on the Many Tears website and had seen Edna (Emma T on the website). Her and her English Setter friend had both been thrown from a car into a bog. Both dogs were struggling to get out. Luckily someone saw them and they were taken to a local pound. Many Tears got them a few days later. Mum applied for them straight away, Felicity the English Setter couldn't be fostered at this moment in time as she was showing signs of dog aggression but they put our names down for Edna.
We picked her up last Sunday. She is about 9 years old and has very large hernias on her stomach. Initially it was thought she couldn't be operated on because she has a heart murmer but we are looking into this more. She has been suffering with a bad cough for the last week and has also been very snotty. It's such a shame because I really think she would be really lively it she was well. She is on medication and we are seeing how she goes, once the cough has gone it'll be good to see her personality come through!