You Give Your Heart to a dog to tear

I have blogged before about fate, and how it throws you a curved ball out from left field when you are least expecting it.
This morning I was banging on  comically about Constance's flatulence....blissfully unaware that I would be attempting to resuscitate her in the road outside the Church gates only an hour or so later.
We were returning from our usual morning walk when Constance stopped short pulling all of the other dogs to a standstill. She looked up at me briefly with an expression of mild surprise, coughed  and then collapsed.


I went into nurse mode.
She had stopped breathing and I couldn't hear or feel a heartbeat.
Somehow I blew into her mouth and compressed her chest, and after a minute or so she coughed again, waving her big paws weakly.
I felt her heart beat briefly , but moments later it stopped again.
A woman stopped her car to help.
I gave her the other dogs to hold, and tried to shake Constance back to life once more.
But she didn't move again. She had been with us just 10 months


One minute she was here, the next she had gone. It was as simple and as  final as that.


We buried her in a quiet corner of  the allotment, with all of those platitudes of "she had a good life when she was with us" going around and around in my head.
But when I later went to feed the pigs, I pictured her "smiling" with that stupid one tooth sticking out of her fat wide mouth  and I sat down in the long grass and bawled like a baby.

Constance Sunday Morning

I videoed her this morning as she was dreaming on the kitchen couch
Pity there is no sound........she sounded like Brian Blessed in a wind tunnel

Guess who?

I was given a dog bed yesterday for all the dogs to use

guess who monopolised it?

she sat like this until well after dark!

Bulldog kiss

Its 12.02 am and I was just about to to bed after finishing my sister blog update (Trelawnyd History-voices from the past) when  Albert opened the kitchen door and walked in to the cottage proper to go to bed.
Constance saw the open door, got up, and marched into the living room
I was watching some crap on tv...and she slowly walked up to me, then climbed up on the couch and gave me  a kiss!
She really did!
It's weird but she is the only dog we have ever had that demands a kiss...AND ON THE LIPS too!... Albert does, but then he's a cat so that does not count.... but Constance......she likes to touch base....have a kiss then back to the kitchen she went.............happy and content.......

I have made a monster! lol

hey ho

Love In

Molested by a bulldog

Constance Watching



Constance leg hugging



I will not apologise for sounding like a new parent. I sound like a new parent because I AM a new parent. Having a new animal in the house has always had the potential for trouble. Established pecking orders, attachments to human pack leader and house rules are often turned upside down not only by the arrival of a new dog, but more importantly by mistakes made by the humans of the household.

After looking after 6 dogs, I feel as though I am a bit of an expert at this "bedding in" lark!

and I know that there are several rules that have to followed when a new dog arrives

1. Routine is adhered to at all times.

2  favouritism to the newbe is not shown

3. ALL dogs are ignored from time to time to re enforce your own dominance

4  Feeding is done separately

5. Behaviour needs to be watched closely

Last night the dog pack here has fused nicely. Like I said in last night's blog the fact that all four dogs playfully stood at the door waiting for my arrival signified that they are now acting as one. I tested this by taking Constance out for a short walk on her own, so when we arrived back I watched the other dogs carefully and was pleased when dog leader William trotted over to sniff his welcome at Constance's nose and mouth. 

When separated, a pack will always "greet" each other when reunited even if the separation is brief, watching this ritual occur is always healthy moment !

As for Constance herself, she remains a lazy and benign presence at the cottage. Last night I watched her lumber over to Albert ( who had flattened out Chris' knitting to fashion himself a comfortable bed). With her little piggy eyes never leaving his face, she lent forward to give him one almighty "sniff" and as he sat his ground, she acquiesced to his confidence and collapsed in front of the fire ( cat now higher status than Bulldog!)

After meals she has started to become playful with William and a more mistrusting Meg which is another healthy sign , but for 90% of the day she remains a lumpy, snoring mass lying somewhere in a comfortable and warm corner.

Things have normalised


The pack awaiting their morning walk ( apologies for the scenic bin bag)



A change of personality

I won't bang on anymore about "the storm", bloody hell, it wasn't exactly a soddin tornado or anything, and the sympathy I received from you American readers humbled me somewhat into silence....I know, I know, I am an over dramatic Welsh queen with a flair for the Shelley Winters! Nuff said.

Anyhow,

We are just about to go and see Frankie for the first time.We are taking George with us and will take things slow. If Frankie has not really grasped her name then if we take her, I would like to rename her if I can. Frankie just does not do it for me.....of course I have picked a name with a "similar " feel to it and that would be Connie ( Sunday name Constance)......Bulldogs look such an unlikely Constance, I kind of liked the slight irony of it.

Well, I will post some pictures of "Connie" later and of course Saturday is "Matt Cardle" day, so I will be frothing at the mouth and getting all girly over him later......be prepared for another Matt video later.....

from left to right Janet, Ann and the ex soap actor Frazer Hines

I must pause slightly from my usual Matt worship to praise my sister's continual efforts to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease Association. In a matter of weeks she has fronted several initiative and has raised nearly 4000£! not bad for a somewhat shy lady from Prestatyn who before all this was quite content to remain quietly in the background of any social event.

http://supportingandrew.blogspot.com/

Now you could see her, celebrities have been buttonholed, reams of letters written and local businesses flattered, cajoled and encouraged to take part in scheme after scheme, without feeling pressurised or bullied.

Her transformation reminds me of  Tess McGill's in Working Girl

If you have a minute ,have a look at the above blog which outlines her work.

My brother ( who has a version of motor neurone) must be very proud of her 

Returning Mojo

I am now bored of moaning. After an early night,(a VERY LARGE wine) and a good night's sleep, physically and mentally I feel a whole lot better.......The busboy Paul Giamatti summed it all up when he said to a depressed Julia Roberts in My Best Friend's Wedding "this too shall pass"
and of course yesterday's shitty experiences have now passed into memory.....(er well almost!)
Jane, the slate turkey returned to the field briefly this morning to feed and drink. I was not swift enough to track her back to her secret nesting area, but at least she's still around.

Kate Winslett's single chick is doing ok. I bobbed her remaining unhatched eggs and all 5 were duds...so it's just Kate and her baby.

I don't usually name chicks but this single ball of fluff I have nicknamed Constance. I have done this because the name has been stuck in my mind for a few days now. I understand quite clearly why it has lodged there, Chris stated at some time he wanted another bitch to replace Maddie, and I have agreed but not until next year. I have already experienced just how a change in the dog's pecking order can cause mayhem, and I feel it is vital that we don't rush into anything that could upset the apple cart yet again....

Anyhow it has become a tradition that I name our pets. I hate fluffy bunny type names for dogs ,preferring ordinary down-to-earth ones, and dogs in particular need easily recognisable individual names that they can respond to. If we ever get another bitch then I would like to call her Constance or "conn-ie!!"
Today I remembered just why I like the name Constance. It stems from my childhood movie watching days, and in particular comes from the film The Three Musketeers (1948). June Allyson ( yes she of the deep gravelly lisping voice) played the virtuous Constance Bonacieux who was so unfairly killed by the bitch-face-from-hell ,Lady de Winter (Lana Turner). At around 8 years old or so, I remember thinking just how awful it was that Constance could die, and willed that Gene Kelly got to her in time before Milady stabbed her. It was a seminal moment in a movie going childs life, and in retrospect probably taught me a great deal about the unfairness of death.(as well as teaching me to deal with a bit of a hero crush on Van Heflin who played Athos)

Hummm...on further reflection I probably wanted to BE Constance just a little....she was so sweet and likable but was bound to be a bit of a victim in that Judy Garland type mode.........hey I was sooo gay....even then....and even at eight!