I thought I would do a blog today because tomorrow I have the delightful Boo coming to stay, and I doubt I will have time! Boo is Abby's (Luke's girlfriend) family dog! She is 7 months old and a Spanador (Spaniel/Labrador cross). She is absolutely delightful, but quite hard work still as she is a puppy. They are so like children and I wish people who suddenly decide on a whim to have a dog would realise just what hard work they are! When Abby's family decided to have a dog, they had Jess first to see if they could cope, asked me lots of questions, did some investigating on the internet, and prepared themselves for her. So far all is going well, although they do still find her hard work. There is no doubt on how much you need to do for a puppy, but the love and loyalty they give in return makes every second of it worthwhile! My Jess is my best friend, she is always here with me, she sits with me, she often lies on my feet actually, and she always knows when I am having a bad day! Over the last couple of weeks I have been watching in horror the story of poor Lennox, the dog who was murdered by Belfast City Council because of his breed. He supposedly had pitbull in him, but he had never actually hurt anyone. This murder was committed by a bunch of idiotic and ignorant people who hid behind the Breed Specific Legislation (I think it should be known as the bull shit legislation personally!!) to commit this crime. The Barnes family, the owners of Lennox, had given him as a puppy to their daughter, who is now 9, and he had been her best friend. That little girl is now devastated. What is even worse is the fact that Belfast City Council would not let the family see Lennox throughout the 2 (yes 2!!) years he was held, nor were they allowed to say goodbye to him. When they asked if they could have Lennox's body so he could be cremated and they could keep his ashes, they were told that 'some' ashes would be sent in the post!! They were also told they couldn't have his collar back either! Something about this story stinks, it has caused worldwide outrage, and thousands are asking for Belfast CC to be investigated! There are rumours that Lennox died months ago due to ill treatment, and it has been proven that he was in a terrible state when he was photographed, with his skin in a bad condition and huge bald patches all over his body! Belfast CC are now suffering because of their decision, and I am glad that they are, and I hope that one day the whole truth will be told about how this poor innocent little dog was murdered! Karma is a bitch, and I have no doubt she will get those involved!
I have now climbed off my soapbox and I am sitting with a fan on - summer has finally arrived - in the lounge while I type my blog! Jess is sunning herself in the garden and I sat out with her while I had a coffee and my lunch! She is definitely an outdoor girl is our Jess, the minute the sun is out, so is she! Today we have had to have a new shower fitted in our family bathroom - Luke and Abby will be delighted with it, it is a lot better than the old one! Although I am thrilled we have a new shower, while the man was here fitting it I had to go up and down the stairs a few times to speak to him, and then to look at it when he had finished! So now my knees are really painful, and I have had to take some extra painkillers! Oh the joys of Fibro! But on the plus side, hubby is taking me out for dinner tonight, we are going to go and try Cafe Gnosh, because I feel absolutely knackered and can't be bothered to cook! Well, that's my excuse!
The delightful Boo!
Jess and Boo, when she was just 3 months old, sharing Jess' bed!
I have had dogs all my married life, our first dog, Bess, was a black Labrador, just like Jess is now! We got her in 1982, and she was very much Richard's dog. She was a wonderful dog, very loyal, brilliant with the boys when they were born and was with us until 1996. We had a few months break from having a dog, then we got Zero, who was a Labrador/Lurcher cross, and she was 4 years old when we got her in late 1996. We got Zero from the RSPCA kennels, and she was a wonderful dog. She eventually left us on 11th June 2005, just one week before our Silver Wedding celebrations! We then had a two year gap, as I was devastated at the loss of Zero and couldn't face having another dog! When we were on holiday in the Caribbean in 2007, a celebration for our 50th birthdays, with our friends Elaine and Vic, I mentioned that I was thinking of getting another dog, and my friend Elaine straight away said not to do anything as she worked for Labrador Rescue and she would look out for a dog for us! I was quite fussy about what I wanted, a bitch, about 6 months or less, and black! She said that they rarely got bitches and never 6 months or less, but I was happy to wait! Someone must have been looking down on me I think, because we returned from our holiday on Wednesday 6th June, on the Friday Elaine phoned me to say there was a 6 month old bitch who needed a new home, and did we want her! I was shocked, thrilled, delighted and panic stricken all at once! By the following Monday Jess was here with us and note the date 11th June, exactly two years since we had lost Zero! It was just meant to be!! Elaine had to come and do a check, even though she knew my house was ok, she wanted to do things properly, Jess had to be checked over, and then she was ours! We have never looked back! Jess is part of the family, Luke loves her, as does Abby, she is a character, she is intelligent, but she is most definitely mine! The sad thing for me is the fact that I can no longer walk her, I used to love going for a lunchtime walk with her, but now I am not steady enough to do that! We recently took her to Spain with us, her third visit abroad, and she was an absolute star! Every evening we would tell her we were going to the pub, and the minute we said this she would pick her bag up (with her portable bowl, toys and chews in it!) and wait by the door! The people at the restaurant and bar on site greeted her like a child, took her bowl and filled it with water, and quite frequently came out with little treats for her - including some steak! The children loved her and made a fuss of her, even the Spanish children who are usually wary of big dogs, and she became quite a celebrity! And what was even better was the fact that because of Jess people talked to us! Like having children, animals break down barriers and people talk to each other! Something that the British are not very good at is talking to strangers, they almost hold back because of a fear that it will be seen as the wrong thing to do - but with a dog with you they are intrigued! 'Do you live here then' was usually the opener, and when we replied no, they would then ask how we got there, and one that surprised us was that someone who actually had a dog did not realise that dogs no longer have to be quarantined when they go back to the UK and they can have a pet passport! We spent quite a lot of time talking to this couple, and they actually said they were going to be looking into this for their dog when they got home! Another couple that we spoke to quite a bit had just lost their dog and they were trying to decide whether to have another one. This couple had a lot in common with us, the fact that they live in Kenilworth, which is literally 20 minutes from Rugby, and they were married the same year as us but two weeks after, made for some interesting conversations! It is amazing how many animal lovers there are when you start to speak to people, which is why I find the idea of someone killing a dog because of some stupid bull shit legislation abhorrent! But let's hope that the Barnes family will get some closure from this awful tragedy, and I also hope that they will take some comfort from the fact that they have had worldwide support for Lennox, and that although he may now be on the Rainbow Bridge, he will NEVER be forgotten!
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