Anniversary Dog

Today is the anniversary of the day we brought Poppy into our home. What a difference a year makes. And what a long way she has come from the undernourished little scrap we collected from the rescue centre, all pink skin and still itching from the scabies she’d been suffering from in Ireland.  Now she has acres of woodland to run about in, a whole host of doggy friends and has become a pampered diva, helping herself to the comfiest sofas in the house and licking cream from a bowl on the master’s lap!

This is the life I was born for!

Tags: anniversary, cream, diva, pampered, Rescue

These are a few of my favourite things

Poppy’s Favourite Things (in no particular order):

Walks in the woods
Laps around the paddocks
All other dogs – each one a potential friend
Tasty treats
Titbits from the master’s dinner
Slasher’s dinner
Sparring with Slasher
Sleeping with Slasher!
Stealing shoes (a girl can never have too many pairs of shoes)
Soft toys, especially the squeaky squirrel
Petting & pampering (a girl can never have too much petting & pampering)
Chilling out on the conservatory sofa
Any other warm comfy-cosy places to snooze

Tags: chilling, favourite things, shoes, treats

Poppy in the Bluebells

At last the rain has stopped .  The sun is making a hesitant appearance.  All Poppy’s favourite walks in the woods are muddy and fallen trees are littering the paths. But now the bluebells are out, reminding us that spring is here even though it has been hiding behind the storms for the last few weeks.

We have just booked a dog-friendly cottage in Exmoor for a holiday in June.  All those acres of purple heather for a lively whippet with energy to burn. Poppy is looking forward to it already.

Tags: bluebells, Exmoor, heather, holiday, Storm

After the Storm

You cannot be serious!

It’s been a wild, wet and windy night and this morning is no better. Our garden is littered with leaves and branches that have been torn from the trees.We open the doors for Poppy to go out and she sniffs the air with suspicion. Then as she feels the first lashings of rain on her nose, she retreats as if she has been stung. ‘You cannot be serious!’ she seems to say as she returns rapidly to the warmth of her bed.  A little later when the rain has eased off she dances out to the woods with her usual energy, splashing through puddles and leaping over the debris of fallen branches in the aftermath of the storm. She surveys the swollen lake, her stepping-stones submerged under the flood and watches a torrent of water cascading in a waterfall over the rocks. As ever there is much for a lively dog to be joyful about.

Tags: flood, joyful, lake, Storm

Slasher stands his ground

Tootsie seems to be feeling better and is even venturing outside again when the weather is warm. Ever since Pippin went home after her visit, Poppy has been trying to get the cat to join in with her games. She can’t get her head round the fact that Tootsie (aka Slasher) simply refuses to play. She hurtles up the drive straight towards the cat but still he won’t move. Sometimes she even knocks him over in her exuberance but he merely rolls over, looking as if this is what he intended, and fends her off with paws and claws. He NEVER runs.

It’s hard to remember this is the same cat who only a few years ago was chased up a tree by two terriers and had to be rescued.  The same once-timid cat who trembled and fled upstairs to our bedroom for a week and had to be supplied with a litter tray in the bathroom rather than face a dog downstairs. Now he is fearless and has learned he can get the better of any dog by standing his ground. He tolerates Poppy’s boundless energy and knows she’s far too good natured to hurt him. When she finally stops for a rest, he lets her wrap her paws around him and stretch her long legs out either side of his neck.

I've got you under my paws

What big eyes you've got, Grandma!

Settling down to sleep

Tags: cat vs dog, Pippin, slasher, spooning, Tootsie

Walking on water

Poppy loves the lake nearby and is fascinated by the ducks. She rushes down to the banks in an attempt to chase them but she’s not brave enough to jump in and swim after them when they hurry away into the centre!  She has learned to negotiate the stepping stones to cross the lake though and even stops to drink on her way over.

Is that another whippet to play with down there?

Missing Pips

 

Poppy and Pippin have enjoyed their last day together.
‘I wouldn’t mind having what they had for breakfast!’ another dog walker commented as he watched them tearing round the woods together this morning.
When they were not running, they were playing and wrestling together or slumped out side by side, recovering on the sofa in the conservatory. Now Pippin has gone home again and Poppy is missing her already. Tootsie is doing his best to keep her company but sadly he just doesn’t cut the mustard when it comes to a race down the paddock!