Spot the dog!

Sleeping

Emma seemed quite impressed with me this morning. I think it was because we went to bed earlier than usual...around 10pm and I didn't get her up at all to go to the toilet! I slept until 7am...then I thought my bladder was going to burst so I whined until she woke up and we went downstairs to the garden! I was impressed with myself actually and I can't really understand why she looked a little bit peeved at having to get up and have a mad game with me! I gave her time to put her dressing gown on! I don't understand these humans...they should make the most of the sleeping time they have available during the day and then they wouldn't need so much at night!

I found a brilliant place to sleep yesterday:-

I thought I would chance my luck and creep in here and curl up, and Emma didn't seem to mind - result! Its soft on the elbows, smells comforting and its just the right size! Shame I'm not allowed to sleep in here at night...Emma keeps insisting on zipping me into my crate. Oh well, I don't mind it in there, and I have Chris moose to snuggle up to (he's bigger than I am) so its almost like... something I vaguely remember in the past... I'm not sure what...

Sometimes when I'm asleep I apparently make little suckling nosies which I believe is also a memory from a previous life... the thing is I'm so contented now that I can't quite remember where I came from now...

Brixham

On Boxing day I was bunged in the car AGAIN! Actually I don't mind really - I curl up in my travel crate and sleep for most of the journey. Sometimes I'm allowed out for a wee, and on this particular journey Emma seemed a bit twitchy when we got out at the service station because there were lots of cars about, so she stopped by a farmer's field a bit further down the road and I was allowed to run up and down!! Yes, run! I haven't really been allowed out into the wild yet...I've been in the garden of course but its not quite the same. I can't wait until I've had my injections and I can go for walks! I think she must have decided that the chances of other dogs having been up and down this field were slim and therefore it was safe for me to charge up and down! We play this great game where she charges off and I follow, while she shouts "Heel!" I do find it difficult keeping up, especially when the ground is lumpy. I was totally ready for another nap when we got back in the car!

And Brixham is just amazing - I love it here. There is an amazing smell of salt in the air, and Emma has taken me to the beach twice. She tucks me into her jacket and I poke my head out of the top so that I can feel the wind in my ears...and if it gets too cold I just tuck my head under her arm where its warm (and pleasantly smelly!) Sometimes if the beach is deserted she lets me paddle when we get down there!

Today Maia has started playing with me. She was really scared of me when I first arrived!! Emma assures me that it is nothing to do with me, and that she gets scared by other dogs...but she is like five times my size and can floor me with one paw (which she now does quite happily!) I keep making an effort with Freya too, but she is rather grumpy. I think she had enough of being patient when Maia was little - she really loves her. It might also be something to do with the fact that we got off to a bad start. I tried to give her a hello nip on the ear...which didn't go down terribly well. I was only trying to be friendly but I got growled into my place....bottom of the pack. Hey ho, guess that's where we all have to start! I did manage to snuggle up to her just once (and Jennie subtly moved one of her paws) ...

Christmas

Its a funny thing, what they call "Christmas". First everyone seems to get excited and cover things in pretty paper. I decided to help...but nobody seemed very impressed with my efforts.



Then they get things out of stockings, all sorts of exciting smelling things...some I really wanted to nibble on, but wasn't allowed! Then one of them, Emma's sister I think, tried to put ME in a stocking, but I wriggled my way out of that one. Didn't fancy spending the rest of the day with my back legs stuck in that thing!

I also met a really large human! She came with Emma's brother and I have never seen such a gigantic belly! I lay against it and I could feel something inside wriggling - I reckon I am going to have a wriggle buddy sometime soon - it felt as lively as me! I think whatever is inside is about the same size as me...but I wonder if it will be as furry.

They seemed to spend a lot of the day eating, but then I have four meals a day so I suppose its not so different...except there was a huge variety of smells coming from the table. I get the same thing every time apart from the odd scrambled egg or bowl of porridge. I think Emma was giving that to me to see if it would stop me getting up so many times in the night. I think I'm quite polite really, rather than doing it all over my bed I whine quietly until she wakes up and takes me downstairs. I don't know what the fuss is all about, it was only about ten times on Christmas Eve...and she got a really good view of Father Christmas going past in his sleigh!

In the evening they played games and I was quite tired so I curled up on Jennie's lap - no-one realises how good I am at Trivial Pursuit - if they had only asked I could have won the game for them!

I didn't get up as many times on Christmas night, so the egg obviously did something good in the bowel department!

The "vet"

So the "vet" wasn't all that exciting in the end. There were lots of other big dogs there, and one who seemed terrified. As they were all squeaking and whining I decided the safest option would be to go to sleep. So I curled up in Emma's arms and slept through the waiting room bit. Then we went into the vet's room and he combed me, accused me of being "riddled with fleas" and squirted me from head to toe with some cold squirty stuff! Then he put some other cold stuff on the back of my neck and shoved a needle into my scruff. Emma said something like, "Oh is that the chip?" and didn't seem that bothered that I'd just had six inches of metal stuck in me so I decided to let it go...this once!

After we had been to the vets I was taken home and given food!! Food like I've never tasted before - it was meaty and gravy covered...and nothing like the chicken mince I had at the other place! I was so excited by it that I let out little squeaks of delight as I was eating...it provoked a strange reaction in the humans. They seem to say "ahhhh" quite a lot at the moment! I never heard that at the other place! Oh and the joy that comes as the food hits my tummy, it makes me want to leap around the room...which is generally what I do!

The day Emma came for me

In the old place all I could hear was dogs barking. Big dogs, scary dogs, dogs with vicious barks. And my mother was taken away and put in a cage with them, while I was left with my three brothers curled up in sawdust. We snuggled together to keep warm and every so often we'd get some chicken mince thrown to us...well we hoped it was chicken mince. I didn't like the man with the smoking thing hanging from his lip... I didn't trust him and he didn't have a kind voice. One evening he came in and picked me up with one of my brothers and took me out to see a young couple. I had a lovely warm hug from one of them, but after much debate my brother was taken away by them and I was put back into the sawdust where I shivered with my other brothers until I calmed down. Then the following morning I met Emma for the first time. Once again I was hoiked out of the sawdust by the fat man and taken out into the bright light. I was shivering with fright, but as soon as Emma took me in her arms I could feel that she was gentler than him. She asked him a lot of questions I didn't understand and then she went away. I thought I would be put back with my brothers but I wasn't. The fat man kept me out and five minutes later Emma and her friend Tracy came back - gave the man lots of coloured pieces of paper and I was wrapped in a blanket that was warm and smelled like Emma. They took me back to the car and Tracy cuddled me until I stopped shivering and fell asleep. We drove for about 40mins and stopped outside a place they call the "vet". I was taken inside and cuddled by two nurses, but nothing else happened...the "vet" it seemed was not there.

So, we went back to Emma's house where I was allowed to run around and explore! So many exciting smells, so many shapes and colours, so much to do at once! I felt an overwhelming urge to wee! For some reason I've noticed that whenever I do that, Emma wipes it up with a cloth. Not sure why yet. I also end up outside in the garden every time I make any sort of mark on the floor...it all happens very quickly! Crouch, swoop, fly towards the door, plop onto the concrete! Then I'm allowed to wee in peace....well apart from her chirping "goweewees!"

After running around a bit more all the excitement got a bit much so I went to sleep. I already feel safer in Emma's arms than that horrible man's!

Though, I am wondering what I'm doing here and when I'll be going home to my brothers.