Eko's Nose #WeekendSmile

I love the detail of Eko's face, from the blending of all the gold and white hairs to make up his face markings, the little blonde tufts he has on top of his ears to his unique button nose 

Photo Description - Eko the Golden Cocker spaniel is standing on grass and looking directly up at the camera, the only thing in focus are his nose and eyes as his face fills the frame, what little else there is of him in frame is blurred and out of focus

Did you know that every dog's nose is as unique to them as finger prints are to us. Eko's nose also has the ability to

The Weekend Smile is Back

I thought I'd restart our Weekend Smile Blog Hop once again

 It's been quite a few years since we last hosted a Blog Hop and I've had to remake a brand new badge, although I've still to figure out how to add all the coding to it to make it a button that can be copied and shared, everything has changed so much from when I last did this, I did it on my PC previously whereas now I do everything on my phone

Basically the hop is about anything that makes you happy and that others will also enjoy

Ordinarily it'll be open from Friday morning at around 0900 right through until midnight Sunday night, but it's started on Saturday today as I forgot to set it up for yesterday

𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 

Photo Description - Boris the Black Cocker Spaniel and Eko the Golden Cocker Spaniel laying on the sofa together. Eko is on his side with

Silent Sunday 🤫

Boris the sitting out on the common in the warm Winter sunshine, he's facing to the left with a happy expression on his face, his tongue is hanging out to one side to cool off after racing around in the Heather

This post is linked too:-

Over 40 and mum to one

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Regretting Choices Made

This past few weeks have been particularly tough for me personally, nothing out of the ordinary has happened, except I've been feeling the ominous cloud of the Big Black Dog circling around me again

The biggest change in my life since mum's stroke has been losing my freedom, I used to walk the dogs for many hours out on the common, just enjoying nature and never having to worry about what time it was

Looking up a tree trunk into the sky, with the words "Some days I feel very small" written in white in the lower half of the photo

Nowadays I'm always having to watch the clock to be somewhere at certain

Emma Kate

Emma Kate Wheeler

We'll never know

Bench perfectly placed

For those in need

Her family loved her

To pick such a spot

Ten Year Round Up

I don't really know where to start with rounding up the past 10 years

So much has happened 

Myself in Blackpool with a Slush Puppy in my hand licking the straw wearing a purple fleece and ginger hair

I was forced into medical retirement from the job I loved 

Good Bye and Good Riddance 2021

Photo Description:- A head shot of Boris the black Cocker Spaniel wearing a black headband with the words Happy New Year lit up in a bluish/white colour

What an awful year 2021 has been for us as a family

It's been a massive learning curve with many changes in dynamics and everybodies role within our family. Some of which I've blogged about, but a lot of which I haven't

Halloween 🎃🎃🎃

Happy Hallowen everypawdy 

Hope you all have a grand evening, although we'll be staying in with mum and dad as it'll be too scary for us pups to venture outside with all the noise

Photo Description:- Boris wearing red devils horns and holding a red trident in his mouth, the background is black with red flames leaping up behind him

Boris 
xxx

This post is linked too:-

Cats are predictably unpredictable 

Ink Torrents Graphics -Wandering Camera

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Jackanory Part 13 ~ Liberty

I found this old post in my drafts that was never published

I've decided to add it to our Jackanory Stories series as it was written several years ago about Liberty, a lovely elderly girl we fostered for a few weeks until her forever home was found

I assume she's now probably crossed the Rainbow Bridge, as she'd be approx 17 years old by now 

Liberty deserves to be remembered as she was part of our lives

We fell in love with Liberty even though she wasn't with us for long, she arrived a few weeks after Badger Boo had crossed the Rainbow Bridge, we'd decided to try fostering as Boris really missed Badger Boo, but I just wasn't ready to get another full time dog as Badger's loss was still so raw. It was so difficult when it became time to take her back to the kennels, but it was also a happy time as we knew she had her forever home waiting for her

Photo Description:- Liberty a dark brown brindle Boxer cross laying on some grass looking at the camera, her muzzle is very grey and she has very distinguished grey eyebrows

It's tragic that so many dogs are unwanted in this country because people keep

Self Care is so Important

Boris says

We're back home after the most amazing holiday and back to walking on our favourite common once more

The holiday was to give mum some much needed respite from caring for her own mother since her stroke in April

Photo Description:- Boris sitting on grass on the common looking very content wearing his grey collar with a rose gold buckle. Behind him in the distance are the trees and a beautiful clear blue sky with a few white clouds

It's been a very stressful time since it happened and has been making mum

Mum Update

I've been taking some much needed time for myself this week and feel so much better for a few days back at East Wittering with the two crazy boys and Himself

 

This getting old lark isn't much fun

A Mini Break

Last weekend we finally managed to get a quick overnight trip to East Wittering, it's been two years since we last had a day out at the beach, what with being in lockdown for 2020 because of Covid and my mum having a stroke in April of this year

Boris was so exited when he realised we were packing up to go away in the camper van, he kept zooming around the house, barking and getting in everybodies way, the beach is probably his most favourite place of all time to visit

 

 Eko on the other hand took it all in his stride and sat watching Boris with a confused look on his face, probably because he's only been away to

Allotment Flowers

Beautiful Sweet Peas picked from my allotment first thing this morning, the scent is just amazing, I always prefer to put them in a clean jam jar as they never look right in a vase

Sweet Peas are one of my favourite flowers, so many beautiful varieties, my favourites being the purples, pinks and whites as they have the strongest scent. This year we've planted six different varieties down on the allotment, and can't wait to see them all in flower

It's Hot Hot Hot

We're currently experiencing a mini heat wave here in the UK, we don't have them often but when we do so many dogs suffer because of the heat and people not taking it into consideration

Every year dogs get left in boiling hot cars which is unthinkable the suffering they have to endure, dogs are constantly seen being walked during the hottest part of the day on red hot pavements, or out playing Fetch over and over again on local playing fields

It's heart breaking to see and hear about these poor dogs to those of us who are

Why we love the Vidivet App

Approx 18 months ago we saw a post about a start up app that wanted to help pets and were looking for beta testers, we jumped at the chance to trial it and help to work out any gremlins that may be lurking before it was launched

Vidivet has been designed, tested and built by veterinary professionals alongside other volunteers like myself to improve access and affordability to veterinary expertise whenever you need it

Anything you want to know about your pet they're there for you, I've learnt so much more about Boris's rare auto immune problem with his Staph Pseudintermedius Bacteria from Ben our vet at Vidivet who explained it all in a way that was clear and easy for me to understand

Have you ever noticed how dogs have a real knack of becoming unwell or getting injured at the most inconvenient times, which is usually

Happy Birthday and Happy Retirement

Happy Birthday Boris

🎂🎂🎂

It's hard to believe you're 7 already, the time has flown by, yet we've achieved so much together. Who'd have thought that naughty little puppy would grow up to become the most amazing assistance dog

Love This Time of Year

I absolutely love this time of the year when all the country lanes are ablaze with colour, especially all the red of Poppies and the blue of Cornflowers, every year the wild Poppy seeds get spread further and further down the lane to make this splendid display of Poppies that stretches for miles as a blazing sea of red, although I don't think my photos do them the justice they deserve

It's Finally here

Today's the day, mum is coming home from hospital at last, it's been 8 weeks since she suffered a stroke in the garden

The neighbours children all got together and drew a lovely Welcome Home sign on the footpath outside of their house for all to see, which was a lovely idea, especially as I'd run out of time to make my own banner because of getting the house ready to accommodate a wheelchair

,

As difficult as our journey has been over these past 8 weeks, it pales into insignificance

Jackanory Part 11 :- Meet Eko

Three years ago on the 16th May 2018 this wee munchkin came home with us and we called him Eko 

Photo Credit:- Auriane Whitmore 

Eko came to us with plans to train him as my assistance dog and a successor to Boris, but he started naturally alerting to his dad's sugar levels at around 5 months old and was reliably

A Rough Month

My mother has been in hospital for the longest month ever since she was admitted on the 16th April having suffered a stroke 

The hardest and most frustrating part for both us as a family and mum, is the fact that nobody can visit her due to the Covid restrictions in place at the hospital

Boris has been my absolute rock during this difficult time, my anxiety is back big time trying to keep on top of everything as well as dealing with my own health issues and pain