Jackanory Part 20 - Gone but never forgotten

Last month was the 8th anniversary of Badger Boo leaving us to forever reside at the Rainbow Bridge

I really didn't want to ignore the date but posting on the day was too hard, even now it still feels like only yesterday that Badger had to leave us so suddenly and unexpectedly

Badger is still the lock screen and wallpaper on my phone, which probably doesn't help, but I still don't feel ready to change it, not even when I change my phone 

Photo Description - A small Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel standing sideways on, out on a woodland path in bright sunshine. Across the top in white lettering is Badgers show name "Boxwoods Bramble" at the bottom in white lettering it says Badger Boo 17/10/01 - 19/08/15

🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

When I first started an Instagram account for Boris to follow his journey as my assistance dog, there was some interest in Boris doing some modeling work at the time and I'd signed him up with an agency

As a result

Jackanory Part 19 - Freedom Day

A couple of weeks ago when walking Boris and Eko in the woods Boris suddenly pulled up lame on his left front leg

I couldn't believe it as Boris hadn't been madly racing around and had only had his Librela injection for pain relief the day before, so it was most unexpected to see he'd gone lame

One minute I was videoing Boris trotting off behind a large bush and when he emerged on the other side he'd gone quite lame, I can only assume he'd probably jumped over something he shouldn't have or put his foot down a rabbit hole, inspection of his paw and nails revealed no injury there

Video Description - Video showing Boris trotting around in woodlands after he emerged from some bushes and was unexpectedly lame on his left front leg

As a result of going lame so

Jackanory Part 18 - Throw Back Thursday

This Jackanory Story takes us back to a time before Eko was old enough to come and live with us

I was able to watch Eko formally known as Wash grow from the moment he was born with regular updates, photos and videos from his breeder Sam, I'd booked him (a male puppy) approx 18 months before he was even conceived

Photo Description - A studio portrait of a very cute young Eko the Golden Cocker Spaniel sitting on a white chair with a white background looking at the camera with a calm confident expression 📸 This photo was given to me by Eko's breeder, if you're the photographer that took it please DM me and I'll add a credit

But our search and subsequent wait for Eko to join our little family had been so much longer,

Jackanory Part 17 - Boris Update

Update on Boris's recent Surgery

I had a couple of unpublished posts I'd started to write but not got around to posting as I've just been so busy with taking dad to hospital for the numerous scans in preparation for his Radiotherapy treatment next week

I opted to write this update in our Jackanory Stories that runs alongside the main blog, as the dates were just so out of sync with  the blog now

30th December 2022

Boris is off to the vets for his Librela injection today, plus we'll be discussing his upcoming surgery as to whether it'll now be as safe as possible due to his heart condition to remove the tumour on his back leg growing on one of his lymph nodes, also the large one that's growing under his ribs as well as two other lumps that felt somewhat strange in texture

If we do decide he's now fit enough to go ahead and remove these tumours, we'll also be getting some x-rays done of his elbows, spine and hips for an up to date picture on the progression of his Arthritis

Jackanory Part 16 - When Boris met Eko

The first time Boris met Eko 💗

As I recall Eko was around 5 or 6 weeks old when we took Boris to meet him for the first time

Only a few weeks previously Boris had been brutally attacked by another dog whilst working as my Assistance Dog and it had badly knocked his confidence around other dogs, which was worrying as we'd had Eko booked since long before he was a twinkle in his daddies eye

Would Boris be able to cope with a new pup in the house at this critical time, would Boris ever be able to return to work as my Assistance Dog, at this point we had no idea what the future would be

Jackanory Part 15 - Glitter Highlights?

I've recently noticed that Eko has developed some white eyebrows and I think they're so adorable. When he was born Eko was a beautiful shimmering light gold with a pink nose and two tone coloured paw pads

A recent photo of Eko the Golden Cocker Spaniel laying on grass and looking at the camera with his tongue out and showing off how his eyebrows have recently started changing colour

At only 4 years old I'm inclined to think Eko is changing colour to a more roan like appearance, rather than going grey because of his two tone paw pad colouring

 

Jackanory Part 14 - Don't Feed the Trolls

Found this old post of Eko as a puppy, when I wrote it I was very angry but decided not to post it and feed the Trolls at the time, hence why it's now part of our Jackanory Stories

OMG the keyboard warriors are out in force again, yet again I've received unsolicited training advice to use a prong collar on Eko to teach him to respect me

There's absolutely no need to train dogs using fear, force or dominance with e-collars, prong collars, choke chains, rattle bottles, discs or any other of the many adversive training methods out there

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

Jackanory Part 12 :- Love at First Sight

Welcome back to our Jackanory Stories series where you can catch up on the many parts of our life when we weren't blogging, you can search this series at any time just by using the word Jackanory, oddly they come up in a totally random order but they're all there, plus the odd unexpected post that we may have referred to our Jackanory Stories in

Today we travel right back to the beginning of Ekos life, to the very first time mum saw a photo of him at only 24 hours old and fell head over heels in love with him. Back then Eko's name was Wash as he was part of the Fireflies litter

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

Jackanory Part 10:- Where has the time gone!

I can't believe I'm 6 years old and it's been 5 years since we dropped off the face of the blogging world after losing the star of our blog, my little big brother Badger Boo who originally started this blog by telling tales of his daft adventures

Photo Description - Boris a black Cocker Spaniel sitting sitting on old suitcases looking at a typewriter, with his paws in the typing position

Jackanory Part Nine

Gosh it has been a long time since I last updated my Jackanory story. 

**thinks**

We had just been away on my very first Daft Adventure, and I had finally learnt that other dogs could be friendly **breathes sigh of relief**.

That Summer we went away many times in the House on Wheels, I became firm friends with a Rhodesian Ridgeback pup called

Jackanory:- Part Eight

Welcome back to my Jackanory story.

Sorry it has been a while and I left you on a little cliff hanger! If this is your first visit, parts one to seven can be found by putting Jackanory in the search box or going through the archive.

So where were we? 

**settles into a comfy spot and starts to remember**

My Hoomans had just bought a House on Wheels, and were having a massive debate abouts whether or not I would be able to go away with them because of my "issues". I was listening with my paws crossed as I really, really wanted to go.

Eventually it was agreed I could go but I had to be good, no swearing at other dogs allowed.

Jackanory:- Part Seven

Hello my pawsome followers, sorry it's been so long since I last updated my Jackanory Story but I's had to think very hard abouts how to write this latest installment. 

As you may remember in Part Five, something terrible happened to me and my surrogate mummy Meegan which terrified me so much I didn't want to go outside for walks.

**finds a comfy position and starts to remember**

Several days after Meegan crossed The Rainbow Bridge mummy felt up to taking me for a walk and re-starting my training again. It was very strange to be walking down the road just the two of us, I had no big black shadow to follow, and I felt very exposed and a bit

Jackanory:- Part Six

Mummy found some of the very few precious pictures taken of me and Meegan.

Thought you would like to see what a beautiful girl she was. These pictures were taken a just few days before she crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

We had both just had a bath and been rolling around in the garden, hence why we are all wet.

Ronpaula Bright Ellasbabe

April 1990 - May 2002

Jackanory:- Part Five

Good golly gosh, sorry it's been so long since I last updated my Jackanory Story, so much has happened here that my fluffy paws haven't touched the ground, but today is not the day to tell you. 

Today is all abouts the Jackanory Story.

*finds a comfortable position and starts to remember*

I had just started to leave he house with my mummy and Meegan, learning to enjoy life outside in the big wide world.

There was so much to learn, like coming when I was called, not pulling on the lead and how to be a polite young pup with excellent manners. Life was good and I couldn't have been happier.

BUT

One day when I was 6 months old, something very nasty happened, it terrified me so badly, that I forgot about my nice manners and how to be polite, in fact it ruined my life for several years.

Meegan was attacked by another dog, it was a full on attack by a Springer Spaniel, because she was very old and only had three legs Meegan fell over and was unable to defend herself, I was trapped under 2 fighting

Jackanory:- Part Four

OMP it's been a while since my last Jackanory Story where was I *thinking hard* 

Oh I remember my new hoomum had put a nasty collar and lead on me!

BUT

What a clever pup I was...

 I had learnt not to fight the collar and lead, if I sat there doing nothing then it was nothing to fear.

Then I got a shock, I was going to have to learn to walk nicely with this nasty contraption on!

School had started!!!

I could smell something very nice and wanted to follow it, but how

could I be expected to do anything with this nasty thing round my neck?

I sat for a while thinking about how to get the lovely smell

Jackanory:- Part Three

*thinking*

Now where did I get too in my little Jackanory Story?

Oh yes I remembers, me and my new mummy Meegan were living the good life. But then...

I got taken to see a Vet man, I had been once before with my family, but that was a lady and she was very nice to us. This one wasn't, he looked at my teeth, eyes, ears, then worst of all he put something up my bum! I wiggled like mad, I didn't like that one bit!! After that he put a cold round thing on my chest which was stuck in his ears, and then he told my hoomum I was healthy with a good heart. 

My hoomum was very relieved, as she had brought a Rottweiler puppy several months previously called

Jackanory:- Part Two

Right my furry friends, are we all sitting comfortably? I will continue with my Jackanory Story...

Me aged only 9 weeks

I was gently coaxed out from under the long chair by my new hoomum and sat on her lap, until Meegan had calmed down. I was used to playing rough games with my

Jackanory:- Part One

Once upon a time I was a cute puppy with no name. I had a mummy that looked like me, and 7 brothers and sisters, some were Blue Roan and some were Orange Roan...

We lived a happy care free life, playing rough and tumble, meeting these strange things called hoomans who came to pick us up for cuddles and make strange cooing noises.

I used to love meeting these hoomans, until one day a lady and man came to see us all and I fell in love with the lady. But she didn't notice me, she kept looking at and cuddling my orange brothers.

Little Me at 9 weeks old

I had to work really hard pulling on her trousers to get her to notice me!

It worked she picked me up, I was so pleased. She then