Paws For Tea

 

Well today was the big day! I spent last night baking in preparation for today's Paws For Tea fundraiser to raise money for the Blue Cross. 

     Chloe's pawfect chocolate cake

      Almond shortbread (delicious!!) 

    Home made chocolate profiteroles 

Apart from my er, rubbish icing skills, I can confidently say everything was delicious since I came downstairs to empty plates and crumbs! 

I was a little nervous how people would react to me asking them for money as i'd never done anything like this before, but I know the Blue Cross is such a worthy cause I knew I had to try. 

Our office is quite small, only has 15 people in or so, but i'm thrilled to say I raised £35! I'm going to keep rallying round friends and family over the weekend to see if I can make it £50. Every little helps, so hopefully I can help some big paws and little claws. 

Today was so much fun, i'd definitely do it again! Did anybody else hold a tea party today? Don't think i'll be giving up the day job to become a baker just yet though! 

You can read more about tge Blue Cross at www.thebluecross.org.uk or tweet them @the_blue_cross

Cheers everybody! 

Save Our Strays

Now as you know, I'm a huge advocate of animal rescue, I have the biggest heart when it comes to animals needing a forever home, but unfortunately I don't (yet!) have the time or space to rescue more animals, which is why I am honoured and humbled by the work Save Our Strays do. After the sudden loss of my beloved baby boy Ollie, I know the pain that losing a furry family member can cause, but even though we only rescued Ollie for such a short time, it was absolutely 100% worth it. I would do it again and again, because I know that Ollie had the best life and the best time while he was in our care. 

A local charity to me; North-East based Save Our Strays was set up ten years ago by animal lovers Margaret Young and Peter White. Taking in unwanted dogs from the local pounds, some who have been there for years without ever experiencing the true love and care they deserve, S.O.S care for these beautiful dogs with great dedication and patience. Working with a number of fantastic foster parents and volunteers, Save Our Strays have now rehomed around 1,400 dogs. 

I think what I love most of all about Save Our Strays is that they never turn an old or unhealthy dog away. I get so frustrated by people who won't adopt a dog older than say four or five, because of the health problems associated. Dogs can live until their twenties, yes I understand that it's heartbreaking to lose a dog, and adopting an older dog does mean you inevitably have less time together, but the benefits an older dog can offer you certainly outweigh the negatives. The majority are already well trained, loyal, calm and just looking for a family or friend to share the rest of their days with. Now that Miffy is getting older, I treasure every single day with her and thank my lucky stars that she has made it to seven years old with (touch wood) no major health problems. It's been so rewarding to watch her grow from a nervous little dog into adulthood. Her personality and character are absolutely second to none, she is very much her own little person and will be terribly missed when she does go. 

Here's just a few of the gorgeous older dogs desperately needing homes at Save Our Strays: 

Baxter

This gorgeous cheeky chap is 10 year old Baxter, rescued with only one ear, but sadly nobody knows why.  Said to be a very happy, pleasant natured dogs, couldn't you imagine just cuddling up with Baxter at the end of the day, or watching his little face so excited as he goes for long walks on the beach? 

Dinky

Now this is Dinky, a gorgeous little terrier thought to be around 12 years old. Beautifully natured and looking for love, Dinky is currently living with a foster carer, in what is hoped will be a forever home. 

Roxy

Poor Roxy is 14 years old and was found beside her dead owner, believed to have lain their for up to four days. With a large mass in her stomach weighing an incredible six pounds, Roxy underwent surgery and is recovering well. Currently in foster care, Save Our Strays will continue to pay for Roxy's vetinary care for the rest of her life. 

Save Our Strays pledge to help first and foremost dogs who are unclaimed from the local dog pound. They also take in r eferrals from the police or social services where the owner has died or suffered extreme illness or trauma, as well as dogs from private homes where there is a crisis situation. Absolutely phenomenal work, I personally am brought to tears when I visit websites like this (mainly because I'm so soft!) but because I fail to understand why animals are mistreated. 

HOW WE CAN HELP

Whether you already donate to a charity or not, there are other ways you can help, especially if you're short on money in these tough times. 

Become a volunteer.
Dog walking at the kennels on a Wednesday afternoon.
Street collecting or home baking for their events.Assist in fundraising such as-
Donating Tombola/Raffle prizes.

Raise money for  the charity without costing you anything! Do you shop with Amazon, Tesco, Sainsbury's M&S or Argos? You can raise money for Save Our Strays whenever you shop with them and 2000 other stores by using our fundraising website, easyfundraising. It won't cost you a penny more and everything you buy will raise money for Save Our Strays.

Use this link http:// www.easyfundraising.org.uk/ causes/saveourstrays and please share this with your friends and help raise much needed funds. 

The charity are always in need of good quality items, unwanted presents etc for our tombola stalls also clothing, shoes, belts, DVDs, CDs, bedding ,books, bric a brac, household items, small furniture etc - in fact anything you think we can sell to raise funds. Please telephone Yvonne 07738839019, Lynn 07952 334379/01287 203794, Gloria 01642 286679 to arrange collection/drop off.

So if you're looking for a new family member, or have the space and time you can dedicate to becoming a foster carer, please check their website out, it is certainly one of my ambitions. 

You can contact Margaret on 01642 4788667 or email the charity at saveourstrays@hotmail.co.uk

www.saveourstrays.org.uk

Dog Grooming

My beloved bichons are the first breed of dog I've owned who need regular grooming, and after a hefty bill I wanted dog grooming to be the focus of today's blog!

Miffy and Daisy get groomed every other month or so, depending on the temperature/state of their fur. If they get cut short for the summer, if takes a while longer to grown full again. While I do trim their paws/eyes etc sometimes, it's very difficult to cut them sufficiently and not cause stress to either dog. Miffy in particular is very wriggly and you might aswell be cutting her paw off the fuss she makes!

Too many people buy bichon frises or similar long haired dogs who need regular grooming, and when they realise how expensive and time consuming grooming is, they either neglect the dog's beautiful coat or get rid of them.

I've mentioned previously the terrible state Miffy was in when we rescued her. Her soft white curls were matted grey knots. She had to be totally shaved which was not only unpleasant for her, it was an added expense for us.

Long haired dogs really do need to be groomed at least every other day to keep their hair tangle free and in good condition. I hate to see poor little animals with hair growing wild over their eyes or bottoms, it increases the risk of infection and obviously makes it very uncomfortable for them to go to the toilet.

I paid £30 each today to get both dogs cut, that is £60 every few months! Yes I could learn how to groom them myself and purchase the equipment, but I urge people thinking about getting a cute fluffy dog to stop and consider the costs of grooming. £60 is a lot of money!

On a brighter note, what do you think of the girls' new hair cuts!?

We love weekends!

Hello!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend, just wanted to share a couple of snaps from my weekend. I've been at home most of the weekend after a trip to the dentist left me unable enjoy food or drink, but that meant getting to spend quality time with my little zoo!

This is the first warm day we've had in a long time so I was able to let Rocky play out without worrying he'd freeze his little paws off. He hasn't had a chance to play out on his own outdoors since Scrappy died, so I was interested to see if he would have the confidence to explore. I'm thrilled to say he did! He has come on so much and happily wandered around our back yard. That was until I popped my head round the door to find a certain puppy in his outdoor cage trying to drink from his drink bottle!

To make the most of the warmer weather my brother and I took the dogs for a long walk to Hartley Bay, just near Seaton Sluice. I love it there, it's so peaceful and pretty and the dogs had fun chasing each other getting muddy!

So now we're winding down and relaxing with a cup of tea for me, and a couple of chewy treats for the kids!

Paws For Thought

I'm so excited, I just got my Bluecross Tea Party pack through! For those of you who don't know, the Bluecross animal charity encourage people to host their own tea party (the bigger the better) and invite lots of people to have a really nice day and raise money for the shelter.

I've been a supporter of the Bluecross for quite a few years now, but this is the first time i've signed up to host my own tea party!

The official date is Friday 10th May, so i'll bring some cakes into work with me to spread the word, but I'm planning on having a 'come dine with me' style tea party with a small trophy for the winner at the weekend.

Miffy and Daisy are super excited at the idea, can you tell?

Visit www.bluecross.co.uk/teaparty to sign up!

Puppy Love

So we've had Daisy for a few months now, and in that short time she's grown SO much! I've never had the pleasure of having a puppy from 8 weeks old, so tiny baby Daisy was definitely an unforgettable experience. She was so small you'd worry about losing her around the house, had to be carried everywhere because she couldn't climb up stairs etc, and it was a nightmare trying to get a harness to fit for longer than 2 weeks as she grew!

It wasn't all fun and games though. We'be had quite a few little accidents, lost 34652 hours of sleep as she cried through the night, sacrificed one pair of UGG boots, a laptop charger, 3 pairs of unworn shoes, a handbag strap and much more!

I guess what i'm trying to say is that I count myself as incredibly patient and loving towards animals, but at times having a puppy was hard work. You have to be consistent with training, discipline and literally have eyes in the back of your head! Too many people are seduced by the ideal of a cute puppy, but those poor creatures are quickly dumped when they grow/eat too much/cost too much or stop being an easily controlled lap dog.

We also had problems introducing her to Miffy. Admittedly Miffy and Ollie took a couple of weeks to get used to each other and bond, but having another feisty fenale in the house was not Miffy's idea of fun.

Whether Daisy set a paw in Miffy's personal space or even just entered the room, she would be met with a classic Miffy look of disgust! After all poor Miffy had been through in her early life, losing companion Ollie and now having to deal with a rambunctious puppy at the age of 7, I sometimes wondered if they'd ever be friends.

Through (lots of) patience, determination and encouragement, Miffy and Daisy now snuggle together, eat together, play with each other and have the odd bark-off with each other.

I miss my little Ollie every single day, but without losing him we never would have had Daisy! So it's a very bittersweet feeling. Now I look at Miffy and even though she's now a senior dog, she has a little companion who keeps her young. Prone to diva behaviour, Miffy has to learn to share with Daisy, and I definitely think having a quieter big sister calms Daisy down.

Has anybody else got a puppy recently and had a similar experience?

Welcome home Daisy Doll

After the sad loss of our lovely little Ollie, my family and I decided we needed a new bundle of joy in our lives!

Miffy, who is now 7, is quite a fussy little character, so it wasn't going to be easy introducing a new dog to her house! Having fallen in love with the bichon breed, we were looking to rescue/adopt another, possibly an older bichon looking for a safe, secure forever home.

Too many puppies are bred, given as gifts and subsequently abandoned once the novelty wears off or they dare to grow. A puppy is just like a new baby, he'll cry, need feeding, stay awake at unsociable hours and need a lot of love and patience. Adopting a 'grown up' dog comes with its problems too. They may not be house trained, picked up some bad habits, might find it harder to settle in, so choosing to rescue an abandoned dog is not without its consequences.

After searching far and wide, I fell in love with this beautiful boy called Bart. He had been born with his front legs fused together, kind of like a mermaid and having undergone surgery after being dumped, he still walked with a limp and looked a little disfigured (to some!) My heart melted and I knew I could provide him with the love and care he deserved, the only problem was that Bart was currently in foster care down South! Undeterred, I contacted the foster carer and explained I had a quiet older bichon who he could settle down with by the fire and grow old with. My family and I were prepared to drive down and collect him, but sadly the foster carer didn't want Bart to travel so far.

Although I was sad, I kept in touch, determined to find out if this young man found a home, after three weeks I'm thrilled to say he was adopted by a kind-hearted older couple who promised to take care of him. That still left us with a problem, all we seemed to find was pure bred puppies or bichons for stud. We had contacted a couple of people but seemed to get messed around, they were never home when we went to visit the dog or never organised a date, so I can only hope those little babies found a lovely home!

Still desperately mourning Ollie we decided to make the most of our gorgeous girl we were still lucky to have and see if fate intervened. I don't know if I ever told you the story of how we met Miffy, but it gives me goosebumps everytime!

About a year or so after our long standing family pet Musky passed away, we decided we'd like to get another dog. My auntie and uncle had recently bought a beautiful bichon frise puppy called Bailey from a litter that had been advertised in the paper. Bailey was exquisite. His tiny button nose, soft white curls and pink little paws melted our hearts. So after a visit to the shelter, and me wanting every dog there, my mam decided she only wanted a dog like Bailey. As we got in the car to go home (and me in a huff because I felt sad we hadn't rescued a dog), my auntie rang us. Completely out of the blue, six months down the line, the lady who sold Bailey had suddenly decided to sell the last puppy from the litter she had kept for herself, and did my auntie want to buy her? No, but she did know someone who might! We rushed to her house later that week and fell instantly in love with this tiny bedraggled mess called Coco Chanel...... Sadly Miffy hadn't had the same start in life as her brother, she wasn't house trained, had never been groomed, smelt dreadful and had spent much of her short life locked behind a baby gate in the kitchen while her doggy mother sat in the living room. With no papers and a hefty £550 price tag we couldn't help but take poor Miffy home and none of us have ever regretted our decision. Yes Miffy is still not properly housetrained and timid, but she has landed with the most patient, caring family, nobody could ever love her more!

So that brings me to our latest bundle of joy, Daisy Doll. Picking me up from work about two months after we lost Ollie, my mam announced her friend had 3 bichon pups for sale. Never planning on adopting a puppy, we went and had a look. There in a bundle of fluff was three tiny white puppies. Chirping, squeaking and running around excitedly, we opted for the last remaining girl. The boys were just as gorgeous, but we felt after losing Ollie, a girl would be a fresh start. I wanted to call her Minnie, but my mam liked the name Daisy. Unbeknown to my brother and sister, we came home with a tiny baby wrapped in a blanket and the house felt alive again!

Look out for how we got on... I thought i'd share a few baby photos with you all!

#proudmama