Hebe, 2007 - 2017. The final post

I think this must be draft number 127!
How do you put such a huge personality and vibrancy onto a page? Every attempt has been like a butterfly pinned in a box, dusty and faded in comparison with the real life version.

So start with the facts:
One of the hardest (if not the hardest) losses but actually one of the easiest decisions to take, if the final decision can ever be termed easy.
Something happened over the weekend and Hebe's ascites (abdominal fluid build up) was much worse we got an emergency vets appointment on Monday when got the blood results back from the full tests the week before.  They weren't good showing that the disease was degenerative and progressive but the numbers were not disastrous, Laura (vet) had seen much worse.  We came home reasonably hopeful with some new, differently acting, diuretics. Unfortunately they didn't work and we needed to get more protein in her to increase the albumin in her blood to try to stop the plasma leakage.  Then she lost her appetite, the vets were still hopeful and we tried some appetite stimulants and any type of tasty food we could think of.  She didn't want anything even turning her nose up at her all-time favourite tuna. Then on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday morning (yes, it really was only 2 days although it felt a lifetime) her poo was dark and tarry - she was bleeding internally.  Meaning that there really was only one thing left that I could do for her.
Our wonderful vets were fantastic and rearranged everything so Laura could come out.

Which means that:
My Peter Pan of labradors has gone to Neverland.

High-speed bouncy puppy Hebe, most of her puppy photos
are blurry unless she’s asleep!

Named after the goddess of youth Hebe was the perpetual puppy, at nine she had only the lightest sprinkling of grey on her chin, still dark almost blue black coat and the 'pink thing' (tongue) frequently in evidence.  She bounced around until the very end, enthusiastically greeting all visitors with a gift and if permitted once they were seated with an upwards clamber to thrust the proffered gift ever closer or perhaps to clean behind your ears!

She threw herself at the world and expected the world to catch her - usually it did. But on the odd occasion when things didn't quite go as expected she simply bounced right back up, sometimes with an 'oops', and very occasionally a look of embarrassment almost as if to say 'I didn't quite mean that' but either way she just kept on going.  

What are you putting the oven Mother Bean?
Can I help? I can, I’m sure I can, go on let me help.

 

She was 'ever so helpful', always at your side with a helping paw or a encouraging pink-thing (licking tongue, which for some reason was always incredibly wet and quite slimy).

Out in all weathers

Always ready for an outing be it on wheel or feet, in all weathers; she did manage to sit still to allow a lead to be dropped over her head, although her bottom was more than likely not actually in contact with the floor, just hovering ready to explode off and out of the door. 

Christmas presents!

Like all our dogs she loved Christmas but she was actually incredibly good about the tree and presents, although she did like to check out the parcels with a good sniff it was actually one time when she never stole anything however many times she arrived with piece of lametta or stray piece of tinsel decorating her ear!  When gift-giving arrived she graciously let everyone open their own before grabbing the contents and hurtling off to destroy - sorry properly inspect - whatever was inside before coming back to play in the shredded wrappings.  Assistance with lunch was compulsory and sprouts had to be tested, "one whole one, please" before cooking could proceed and her tea had a bit of leg, a piece of skin, a sausage etc. to be wolfed up with great relish, an annual treat! However, it turns out that she had a liking for Christmas cake as we found out one year - we hadn't quite closed the door and Hebe managed to get into the room where the newly iced cake was setting and consumed around a third! Icing, marzipan and all!! Clever girl ate the back so initially we didn't notice - good job all that dried fruit and alcohol didn't cause any problems... Next year we not only closed but locked the door - that way we could be sure the door was actually closed.

When wrote about Juno (read that one here: http://black-labrador.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/juno-queen-of-heavens.html)  I wrote: " If I said to all three "Jump off that cliff" (not that you ever would). Hebe would dash to the edge and hurl herself over perhaps even with a "geronimo"." Which summed her up right until the very end.  Although if I'm being honest I would be worried that she might dash over the cliff in her excitement not looking where she was going.  She got a black eye once, charging full tilt looking over her shoulder to talk to Maia and ran straight into a hawthorn thicket! I heard a yelp but she came out OK and we carried on, it was only later when we got home and the eye was closing up that I realised what had happened, a quick trip to the vets and she was declared fine, bruised but otherwise uninjured and very lucky.

Hebe and Cara snoozing

Poor Hebes she had a bit of a raw deal, I think she probably came to us to too early, I'm not sure she was fully weaned, we had to split up her and Cara for overnight sleeping until their dawn chorus came to an end which grieved her greatly as she took Cara as her surrogate mum, curling up between Cara's incredibly long legs, using her as a pillow, cavorting around the garden at top speed until Hebe became too fast and too fly doubling back on herself at top speed meaning that Cara was in danger of turning one of those long legs and their race track antics were brought to a premature but safe end.  She lost two wolfhound companions, needing herbal grief counselling after Cara died quite suddenly; Finn and Juno died in a short space of time and she was subdued for a while but ever the eternal optimist she was soon up and about again pleading to go for ever longer walks, chasing, and occasionally catching, rabbits - not really a good habit for a gundog but hey-ho she was unique. She loathed cats and I'm sure given half a chance she'd have caught and eaten one! She was also our rodent-detector-in-chief giving ample warning that there were mice, voles and sometimes rats around, you could tell from her reaction which it was and when her nose was down, stern up and a determination to return to the same spot you knew it was time to get out the rat-traps!
Hebe was a running-mate for Maia when Juno's arthritis got too bad but poor Maia developed sacral nerve damage and Hebe became an only dog for outings until the dynamic duo arrived and then she was so bonkers that I ended up taking them all out separately so she didn't 'infect' them with her nutcase habits.  I'm convinced that she was spayed too soon and that contributed to her never growing up.

The house is so empty, her irrepressible enthusiasm filled every space from the first day she came home her madcap tigger feet bouncing up and down in such joyous abandonment, yelping in delight at the faintest hint of a trip in the car (we never cured her of that one) not that she went anywhere special very often, usually it was just a trip to the supermarket or town and not getting out until we got back home again.  Her naughtiness invaded nearly every facet of life, we no longer need an old flat iron on the pedal bin or a laggy-octopus-leg holding the lid on the outside dustbin; food can left on the worktops without needing to be pushed to very back or protected by crockery, we can leave a piece of cake, a biscuit, a packet of crisps on a low side table; plates go into the dishwasher, and stay dirty until it's switched on, no canine pre-washer any more.   No need to hit mute on the television at the first hint of fireworks. 

Her very own blog is full of her exploits and those of her pack (including occasionally her Beans), this will be the final, final post..

Her banana-brain, fruit-loopery kept everyone on their toes and the house is so much quieter, empty and much calmer. There are reminders of everywhere. Not least her seatbelt stuck in the catch on the backseat of the car.

Hester, Hebe and Dido

Through it all she was determined, individual, charismatic, understanding and, like all labradors, incredibly loyal and loving.
There is a huge hole in our lives and we miss her every day.

The last post.

Although we've not posted anything for a long time we have one final update to make.

 Hebe was put to sleep yesterday.

We've been writing on a new blog Erratically HareBrained, when I can manage to write about what's happened I'll post it there first and copy it here as a final, final post. There are some details about what's been going on here.

Three weeks have flown by.

 In a haze of mostly office stuff, see the office blog for that.
The pups are doing very well although we’ve had a few setbacks, mainly a tummy bug.  Dido was being picky with her food and I thought it was just the dish problem but somewhere along the line she’d picked up a bug which eventually resulted in a very messy yard and cage and of course shortly after Hester got it too.  They were really quite poorly, very flat and listless, not interested in anything at all really.  An overnight 18 hour starve (they’re not really big enough to do a full 24hrs) and small portions seemed to so the trick.  They both recovered quickly but a couple of days later Dido had a relapse with explosive results! This time round I thought vet assistance was required, if only to ease my mind, there was some rebounding in her guts which were loudly gurgling and a small area of tenderness.  One tube of puppy ‘calf paste’ and small bland meals every couple of hours for the next few days was the prescription.  Dido was really good about going into the vets on her own, Hebe had come with us in the car but was left on guard.  Small complication - the aga was out (that’s another story) so only a microwave for cooking.  I picked up some cooked turkey and swiftly learnt to cook rice in the microwave. After 48 hours she was much improved and I started adding back in the Euk.  A week later she’s so much better that she eats a load of cut grass which ferments in her tum resulting in all of her tea making a reappearance in spectacular fashion over the course of a few hours until the brown gungy, smelly mess appears and then she’s looking for food again - brown bread and honey for an extra supper and by morning she’s thin but ravenous!  Even more so when I only let her have half her breakfast - well, that’s what happens when you eat things you shouldn’t.
So we lost a week’s worth of training but I don’t think it’s had a major impact, in fact being stuck inside we’ve been working on sit, which is coming on really well.  They will both sit on command both verbal and hand signal with words and hand signal without words; Dido will sit at a distance of 2-3 metres (assuming no distractions) but Hester still comes towards me before her bottom makes contact with the ground.  Hester is a more natural retriever and gift bringer and today we’ve started on wait before sending out. Dido is more inclined to take the retrieve and dash off with it, and on retrieve recall (different command from plain recall) will often drop it mid way back, in expectation of reward I think even though she’s never been given one after a retrieve - that brain of hers is sometimes too smart for her own good, you can see the problem going in, rattling around and off she goes with her chosen solution which usually involves feet or teeth!

The upset tums made me readdress the feeding regime.  The first brainwave was adding a splash of hot water to their dry kibble which is very sticky and requires lots of trips to the water dish.  Since starting to add the water they’re both noses straight in and gone in one sitting.  The second lightbulb moment was feeding times, we’ve always dropped lunch first giving them breakfast, tea and supper; however this wasn’t working this time round, our (or more precisely my) time schedule is different, there wasn’t long enough between tea and supper so supper was ending up at somewhere between 10 and 11 and I was having to wake them up for it and then keep them awake long enough to empty their tanks before bed; all in all not a good arrangement.  So lunch went back into the routine and supper has gone without being missed at all.

Poor Hester still keeps getting bad experiences when she’s out and about but now she gets over them faster so we’re building up some confidence there.  Dido has had a few scary moments and although she doesn’t quake like Hester it takes longer to settle back down and carry on in a normal fashion; Dido is also much more bouncy and wants to bounce on the world which means that sometimes our progress is more a series of kangaroo jumps than a sedate walk.  Hester trots along happily beside me being nudged back into place - until something scary happens!
They’re both coming along really well on their own; however, yesterday we had our inaugural two puppy outing and as an exercise in heel work it was not a success!  I had to do it much earlier than I had planned because we’ve been invited to a puppy party at the vets next weekend and I need to be sure I can manage both of them; apparently the answer is yes, but they’re not exactly at heel!  Oh well, it will come in time.
This week we’re going to start walks with Hebe, weather permitting taking it in turns to go for the morning paper which will reduce my walk schedule by one but also cut the length of Hebe’s morning outing  - we’ll make it up with playtime after dark.  At least that’s the plan but we have the builders starting work on Monday in the sitting room and Maia is at the vets on Tuesday for her second cartophen injection so things will remain fluid.

Hebe has been a real revelation, she’s a perfect Big Sis, stepping in to break up raucous playtime, playing gently with tug toys, sharing chewy toys but sometimes keeping one for herself, firmly but gently.  Watching at teatime (the one shared mealtime) and darting in to hoover up any spilt bits (she doesn’t know I’ve cut her ration to account for her ‘extras’!).  Although sometime she does take advantage because apparently puppies make perfect pillows during a hard day at work.

The pups are also forming their own Job Descriptions, they taken over shredding duties and will even sometimes read the papers for us.

I think I had read this one before Hester did...

Dido

They are so different.

Chunky Monkey Dido has grown into a long legged, square headed girl; she has a week of growing up until she’s a real skinny-ma-linky-long-legs and then a week of growing out until she’s puppy shaped once again.  Hester seems to grown all ways round although sometimes she’s a real plumpkin, her face is more rounded than Dido’s and she has much bigger eyes.  Dido is curious about everything and wants to help - no matter what you’re doing - she also sleeps less and really quite vocal, grunting to be let out, a different grunt for a cuddle (which are few and far between she doesn’t like being smothered) and whingy series of grunting when she’s desperate to stay awake and play a little longer but is dead on her paws. 

Hester

Hester in contrast loves to be cuddled and will tuck her head into your shoulder folding her legs in and doing a very good impression of a teddy bear, she too fights sleep but not as much as Dido, she needs more reassurance but contrarily is often the instigator at playtime and the one who has to be forcibly stopped for her own good. Hester watches what’s going on but only if you’re on the floor will she come to investigate  - usually with a gift in mouth; she has only two speed flat out top speed ahead and flat out asleep with very little inbetween.

So as Mr Robson says on GQT it’s onward and upward.

(and I will get those photos online....)

The Dymanic Duo, week two

The importance of the right 'bribe'.
Although the pups were responding well  to commands and beginning to follow and come back when called they weren't in the least bit bothered about the little pieces of kibble I offered them and to be honest big fusses and cuddles were just not doing it - they get those pretty much all day, not quite on demand but almost so that's not a suitable reward / bribe for good behaviour. All of which meant slower progress than I would have liked. Dido and Hester were on Alpha sporting puppy food when they arrived and we kept them on it, it seemed fine.  We also got vouchers for free Eukanauba puppy, my lot have always been Eukanunba girls so of course I filled in the coupons and sent off for two lots of free food. Two big boxes arrived on Monday with measuring cups, storage bins (for 3kg) and bags of food.  That evening they tasted euk for the first time and boy did they like it! Fifteen minutes of come hereing with a piece of kibble for each successful recall and what a turn around.  By Wednesday I was tripping over them and now they follow me everywhere and will even break off from the middle of rough and tumble to come for their tiny piece of euk.  One 15kg sack promptly ordered, Alpha is £20 (no VAT) for 15kg, Euk is £55 (£43 by ordering online) - you get what you pay for and we've started changing them from alpha to euk.

Personalities coming through.
During our individual play time and training sessions I can seem them even more clearly than when they're together. Dido is definitely the more independent and curious as well as the larger puppy - latest nickname: Chunky Monkey.  Hester is softer and more affectionate and thus she's Happy Hester.  For Hester I'm the main thing in her life, which is wonderful, Dido has fixed on Hebe, which is fine as I'm the main Bean in Hebe's life, Dido will take her cue from Hebe and I'm really pleased that they're bonding with the rest of the pack rather than fixating on each other.  Hester likes to cuddle and needs something or someone to lean on to go to sleep. Dido is quite happy to flop out in the middle of the floor and is the first to come and find out what you're doing and to offer her assistance. Hester likes big hugs and smothering cuddles, Dido prefers to sit on your lap and be ruffled and has learnt that stooping down probably means she’s about to carried somewhere and if she’s not up for a hug will scamper away, whilst Hester sits on your feet and asks to be picked up / cuddled.
They're both bundles of mischief, well they're puppies I wouldn't expect anything different.

Training progresses well, Hester is walking along really well on her lead and I thought she was going to be trouble cavorting about like a pony; however, she likes to carry a piece of the lead (as did Bracken and Juno) and as long as she's got her lead in her mouth she trots along like a good'un.  Dido is more interested in the rest of the world and as long as she's not distracted will trot along happily but as soon as something catches her eye (or nose) she just has to go and investigate so we were spending a lot of time standing still, Dido with a muleish expression on her face, mine one of resigned patience until she settles and off we go again.  However, with lots of short sessions she's getting better and is beginning to show some inclination to lead carry too.  Hester is now on circles and the first figures of eight at varying speeds, Dido can circle and will change pace but on the fast walk pace tends to start gallumphing so "ah-ah" and we slow down again.  We're using two different training grounds and practising going in and out of different doors and gates (they're not quite sure about which way they open yet and are often between door and wall) both on and off leads.
We've not been out in the car as much as I would have liked, it's too hot; however this morning it was cool and we’ve been as far as the Fox and Rabbit and back with pups in the back and Hebe on the back seat.  A little squeaking but I think that was because they were tired more than anything else but they soon settled down so our trip to Pickering on Tuesday will be fine.
During play they both chase and retrieve but Hester seems to be the one (so far) who's more interested in fetching things back for me to play with or to throw again, I think Dido's independence means that she's quite happy to play on her own and doesn't need me so we're having to be a bit more determined and using more slightly more structured play with her which is showing results, she's carrying things back in my general direction - I mug her on the way past!
 
Going to work.
Puppies visited the office to meet everyone and get a sniff during their first week here, however this last week they have been coming to work every afternoon.  Mornings they spend helping the Mother Bean with household chores and mostly sleeping in the kitchen.  They were introduced to the CJS readership last Friday on the office blog.

Time for bed
It’s been so hot I’ve been leaving them in the kitchen / pantry / dog house during the day, I usually find them under the duckboard on the cool concrete.  Although after supper they’ve taken to putting themselves to bed.  They’re learning ‘in your bed’ and Hester will hop in (not always but mostly), Dido looks at me and usually has to be lifted in, the door goes down and they sit waiting for their kibble.  Every morning they go back to bed with Maia so Hebe and I can go for a walk and collect the paper. 

Au pair Hebe
Hebe has accepted that they’re here to stay and is now stepping in stop their play fights / rough and tumble when she feels they’re getting out of paw and it’s usually just as I’m thinking it’s time to call Time Out (they’re learning that too).  Sometimes after bed I hear Hebe having a grumble at them, just a gentle rumble or a quick sharp bark and then nothing from any of them until morning.  She is feeling a little left out though and I’m trying to find time (I could do with a time-turner) to spend with her on her own, it’s mostly while we’re busy doing other things such as clearing bits of the garden, our morning walk and at least once in the evening a 10 minute hug and snuggle session.

The troublesome twosome strike fear into the fabric of the building.
They're doing a very good job of investigating every nook, cranny and crack - of which we do have rather a lot.  The cracked floor tiles in the kitchen have been nosed, licked and thoroughly checked out.  However, it's the verandah that's bearing the brunt of their archaeology.   First it was the slightly rotten part of one of the upright posts which was chewed and then its foundations were removed piece by piece, it's now a stalactite.  But on Friday morning they excelled themselves.  There's a crack where the original floor has shifted a bit over time, somehow one of them managed to remove a small pebble from the crack destabilizing the lot and an area the size of a dinner plate collapsed inward like a sink hole, three largish pieces broke away, one of which was removed - no doubt for chewing later, and then noses, teeth and feet have excavated quite a large proportion of the substrate. There's now a large rock covering the hole until I can get some aggregate and cement to patch it up.

Brave little dogs.
We had a thunderstorm yesterday and they didn’t ruffle a hair at the thunder claps or the bright lightning flashes.We’ve had jets practising over head and a heavy helicopter following the railway line and again they’re not bothered in the slightest.  The only thing that gets them running to me (and it’s nice to know they come to me for succour) is a barking dog and even then only certain dogs or tones. 

Names
Dido definitely knows her name, today Hester was already elsewhere so when I went to collect Dido I called Hester’s name first, no response but when I called out “Dido” she came running from the dog house before I even got to the “come here”.   I’ve not had an opportunity to run the same test on Hester yet.

Considering they’ve only been here two weeks it’s amazing how much they’ve learnt, how well they’ve settled. And how they’re growing,they must be at least half as big again as when they arrived.
Photos will follow next week sometime when I upload them, however, there are not as many because I’m busy doing rather than observing and photographing.

Well, that was a surprise.

A while ago the Bean arrived home smelling all funny, I rubbed myself all over her to make sure that she smelt of me so that was OK.  But then...
She came home smelling funny again and this time brought two small dogs with her, they have the funny smell.  They're not like my terrier friend Moss although they're about the same size, they're little mes with squeaky barks and sharp teeth and I'm not really sure about it, I'm always the 'Smallest'.  They've taken over the house and monopolized my Bean.  It looks like they're staying so we'll have to get things sorted.  But I'm not standing for it, when they get too running about I bark at them and tell them to stop no matter how much I'd really like to join in because Bean says I can't and if that's what she says then... And it doesn't matter that it's hot I have to lie on my Bean because I want big, huge hugs to let her know that I'm still here and she says that I'm her best dog, and calls me beautiful girl, so that's alright then. Now she has a pocket full of lovely euk and when the little'uns are called in I go too because I get pieces of euk as well. So there are some good things about them too.  Now I might be imagining it but they seem a bit bigger now so maybe they'll be as big as me, or Maia one day - that would be good 'coz then maybe I could play with them, you never know.

Dur, what? Don't bother me...

Hebe's feeling a little 'zonked'. 
There's a party at the other end of the village tomorrow evening and they're having display standard fireworks, the whizz-bangs will bounce down the valley and echo off the hill in front of us. So the anti-firework herbs came out of the cupboard yesterday, three doses in and she's rather sleepy.
Finger's crossed she stays that way until Sunday morning!

Our wonderful herbalist vet describes it 'Noise Phobia' (but can't spell Humphreys, oh well can't have everything) here's Hebe's 'script, mostly lavender plus four more.  We start two days pre-event with two doses, and depending upon her reaction two or three more the next day followed by a full day's knock out on the day of the fireworks.  It's warm so we'll have the windows open meaning that she'll hear more than we'd like but the distraction of being allowed to play with a tennis ball in the house usually does the trick. fingers crossed.
There's another one (party that is) in a couple of weeks time so we'll do it all again then.

It's my Birthday

Well, it was last week.  I'm five now.  Look I got a badge an' everything, Bean found me a lovely pink ribbon.

Five years old - wow. That makes me a big girl, ready for school the Mother Bean says.  Not sure about that I work all day already so when would I fit it in?

I got lovely pressies too and both in my favourite colour.  One's an Okopus and the other is a Squirtle (well, that's what its label says).  I really don't which is better so they take turns.
Finnegan has tried to steal the Squirtle back but I've taken them beyond the gate so he can't - much, he does pick-mouth as I bring them back to show them off.

The further adventures of Finnegan the Foolish Hooligan

Shortly after his trip to see his favourite Vet the top from a milk bottle went missing, we had a suspicion that Finnegan had stolen it, as he's the only canine big enough to reach where it had been left; but the window of opportunity was small and it didn't really follow his usual modus operandi,  of taking his booty to munch into little bits on his dragon's den.  We watched him like a hawk for a few days - over a week really - and he was absolutely fine and no sign of the top.  So we began to think it must have been thrown away and we didn't realise, or it's down the back of cupboard or similar equally inconspicuous.
Then last week Hebe picked up a stomach bug from somewhere, the pungent aromas in the office on Friday afternoon necessitated having all the windows open even though it was raining heavens hard. Poor small black was quite out of sorts with herself, not helped by her Beans shouting at the men on the box chasing after the oval ball.  Being a labrador it didn't put her off her food or heading out for walks. But on Saturday night she threw up pretty much everything she'd eaten that day and the dog house was awash in the morning from her at one end and Finnegan at the other. No breakfast on Sunday for either and they were both feeling sorry for themselves with hot noses and warm ears and then by tea time with still no sign of food on the horizon they started grumbling about empty tummies. Hebe was fine on Monday if a little flat because of the shortage of food, brown bread and honey for breakfast cheered her up no end but Finnegan exploded all over the yard - nice! So he was on bread and honey and half rations, all was fine by Tuesday, slightly dodgy tum from hound but getting better - the pro-biotics and slippery elm left over from last year's adventures were working a treat.

And then...
Thursday night he threw up again and kindly left this:

 It's pretty much all there.  Such cheers and smiles over a small piece of blue plastic have probably not been seen before! And hope will not be again. 

Foolish Hound. 
Note to self, he can reach much further and is more sneaky than you think.

Footnote, Maia's got the bug now and is making the pungent smells, lovely...

And Custard cried for a nice safe cage

Whilst all Hebe wanted was to get out.

Last week Finnegan clobbered his tail on a table causing a small fissure.  Unfortunately as he's in the middle of his 'spring rash' pyoderma phase it became very itchy and he nibbled it from a small nick to larger wound.  On Thursday red splashes were seen in the hall prompting investigation and the raw patch was discovered, cleaned up and treated with fuciderm gel.  He carried on nibbling, under cover of paw and out of sight, increasing the raw patch. Cries of "Finnegan, leave", and "Finn, no" were heard for days on end and the tail began to dry up. But then mysteriously the patch began getting bigger and red again, the girls sniffed it and Hebe thought about having a lick, Finn didn't seem in the least bit bothered, but then he's not as green as he's Irish looking. Monday morning and it's red raw dripping blood and looking like fresh steak.  The suspicion fell on Hebe.  So the puppy cage (wolfhound sized puppy I hasten to add) was hauled out of storage and erected in the dog house.  Hebe was very happy to hop in and out having slept in it for months as a puppy and then again when Finnegan was too big for it but not big enough to share the dog house sensibly without wreaking havoc.  Bedtime came and Hebe hoped in, she looked a little worried when Maia didn't join her and then more than a little worried when the door was closed but her bedtime bonio distracted her.  Tuesday morning and Hebe was a liberated prisoner having been in solitary confinement all night what joy unconfined (at last).  Finnegan's tail? Red raw again.  Hebe has been exonerated and now we have to find a way to bandage the bottom third of a nearly 3 foot long tail.  Elizabethan collars don't work on long nosed, long tailed wolfhounds.

Finnegan is two.

Happy Birthday to my bestest mate says Hebe.
This is what I bought him

I quite like too. And following the Labrador Property Laws it's MINE too.

Water

Wet stuff, nice for plodging in.  I wish I could do this:

But I fell in the pond when I was very, very little (about 4 weeks old, Bean says) and now I'm not that keen if I can't have a foot on the ground.  Stop sniggering at the back, I know I'm a labrador and I'll plodge and plowter all day and love to cover you all in wet, green, partially solid wet stuff.  But, well, you can't help it can you? things that happen to you when you're a puppy scar you for life, same with fireworks. Oh well. Maybe one day, in the mean time I'll just keep on losing things at the bottom of ditches.

(more underwater dogs on The Guardian website)

No, no, no

No, oh no. Why beans why? And most definitely, don't ever think about I'm never doing that!

Dog owners celebrate Halloween by dressing up their pets in bizarre costumes at parades - Telegraph

I'm not happy about this

Flippin' Finnegan, gets all the attention and now he's claiming a massive sculpture is of him!  I don't think so - well it had better not be or he's going to be positively unbearable.

~What do you think - is this a horse or a dog?

 

The White Horse of Uffington. Photograph: Alamy

Well someone now thinks it's a dog and not just any dog but a wolfhound!

As reported in the Guardian: It is one of Britain's most-loved ancient hill figures, careering across the downland. Now vets are being urged to question whether the White Horse of Uffington was meant to be a horse at all.
Challenging the traditional description of the Oxfordshire landmark, retired vet Olaf Swarbrick asks whether the "beautiful, stylised" figure might instead be a dog such as a greyhound or wolfhound.
Swarbrick says: "Looking at it again, it seems that it is not a horse at all: the tail and head are wrong for a horse and more suggestive of a dog. It appears more like a large hound at full stretch. I thought it may be a greyhound, but an anthropologist suggests it is a wolfhound, which (assuming it is not a horse) makes more sense."  More

Something Strange

My beans are acting most oddly.  First of all I was (well, we all were) banned from the yard by a series of barricades, when it was just one I could jump over but lots within not much space between were beyond even my tiggerishness, we were kept out for about two weeks, which was quite good because we were allowed in teh garden instead.  And then this weekend the barriers were taken down and we could go down the yard again but all the lovely grass and nettles had been removed and the concrete cleaned with the smelly stuff.  Next was that my puppy bed appeared in the dog house, but the door was shut so I couldn't get in.  Very odd. 

Never mind elbows - get your FEET off the table!

I just walked into the kitchen to find Hebe with two front feet on the table, one hind foot on a chair and the other hovering above the table - if I hadn't walked in I'm sure it would have been on the table! She very rapidly descended to ground level and is now walking about proffering a gift of the dog-nuts - the first thing that came to mouth.

Happy Birthday to Me

I'm three today - so my beans tell me. I got a lovely pink very noisy squeaky and an even better multi-legged softie complete with lots of squeaks.

I have been missing my best mate most dreadful but now I'm feeling much better and can give all my people all the attention they deserve, not that they appreciate it.
In new developments we're now getting two course meals, a starter of milk and yoghurt (it does smell a little funny but it tastes OK) and then the usual bowl of euk, rusk and veggies. This is definitely to be encouraged.

Well mush dash, lots to squeak you know.

Busy, busy

I'm soooo tired.

We spent all weekend outside, except when Cara was out and then I had to come in. Beans did their digging in the ground thing, pulling out some plants and putting other in - I don't think I'll ever understand them.

My best mate Cara is not well, snotty nose and poorly tum, She's off to see the Vet lady tomorrow.

Green thingy

I think my beans are really rotten spoilsports.  I've spent months working out how to get the lid off the black bin by the back door, it's always full of lovely smelly, really tasty things.  I finally worked out how to get stuff from the bottom by balancing on my elbows; it's not advisable to put both front feet in because then you can't get out again so your "help me" barks get all muffled and if a bean hears you you get scragged or if you tip it up to get out the contents get nicked by the other dogs but at least then everyone gets scragged when the bean turns up.  Anyway, after working out how to nudge the lid aside and to pull out the really best bits now those rotten beans have gone and tied the lid on with a green stretchy thingy.  I've tried nudging the lid up, pushing it sideways with my nose, pulling with my paws but it just won't shift.  I'm watching them very carefully because they don't seem to have any problems.  There must be a way in....

What a strange week

I didn't get my walk on Monday and then The Bean was missing all day on Tuesday, well apart from a couple of appearances. Wednesday was much the same but she arrived at lunch time and instead of going to work we went upstairs and watched the talking box. Perhaps it's a holiday - but then she went away again early in the evening. Very strange. Thursday was similar, although I really did like lying on the sofa with her as a pillow. Today she's around but making odd spluttery noises and she sounds odd when she speaks to me. Most peculiar.

Horrid beans

This morning my toy box was nearly empty. I thought all my favourites had been stolen away by some other dog.

But now I've found them - here they are:

What an awful thing to do. All clean and bright and hanging out of reach. My beans can be really horrid to me (and my toys).

The long blue one on the left is my bestest, it's Okopus. The pink one is my next bestest, that's Fifi. Both are good to fetch and carry and throw around.