and finally...

I started this blog 13 years or so ago because I kept forgetting what stories about Murphy I'd told to which people, so it seemed a good way of putting them out there for anyone to read. 

Life changes (although generally dogs don't, thank god!) and now I tend to put all the funny and infuriating stuff on Facebook. So now would seem to be a good time to wind down this blog. Maddie continues to keep me on my toes - we had "Chocolategate - the Rerun" last week which unfortunately led to her being taken to the vet for a wee jag that made her throw up for about an hour, feel extremely sorry for herself for a few more hours, followed by her zest for life coming back with a bang at 1.30 am. She went stravaiging round the house looking for trouble, cowped over my geranium seedlings (earth everywhere!), knocked over all the recycling, stole a few things... before finally settling down.

As we've had lockdown (Coronavirus Covid-19) for 3 or 4 months and my stuff still hasn't started back again I've been in the house all the time and she's become more clingy. Follows me everywhere, even to the bathroom, which she never used to do. So I'm looking for another dog to keep her company. Probably won't happen til next year as puppies are in short supply and I'm not buying from any dodgy dealers so I'll wait and (hopefully) get one from a reputable breeder.

Gizzy (now 16 and a half) has arthritis in her back leg (we're trying her on some tablets) and a wee heart murmur - she was a complete diva at the vets last week, they needed two people and the cat gloves to give her her vaccinations (not like her at all) and couldn't take blood, so we can't start her on metacalm so far.

So things move on. 

I wasn't a dog person when we got Murphy - it was entirely Richard's doing - and now I wouldn't be anything else. I've got a tattoo on my ankle symbolising Murphy, Maddie and Gizzy (not sure whether I'll add to it if/when I get another dog) and I'm so proud to have (had) them in my life. For all her mischieveousness, Maddie has kept me going during lockdown, when I had no job and really didn't have to get up at all (I questioned it a few mornings) but actually I DID have to - Maddie using me as a trampoline and the cat getting in on the action too made me. Making me get out for a walk every day. Think of another being beside myself.

I have noticed that if I'm on my phone for whatever reason, Maddie turns and walks away - she knows she won't get any of my attention. That's a bad thing, and I'm trying to curb it.

So many ways in which dogs (and other animals) help us live better lives. Thank you Murphy, Maddie & Gizzy (& Eddie our first cat, the reason Murphy got his name). xxx

Chocolategate

I know I post all the stuff about Maddie as a bit of a joke but it's not always... on Sunday we had visited a discount outlet and they had a Cadbury's store. That evening we went to the movies and saw Avengers Endgame, a long film, 3 hours! Clearly she was bored, as when we got back we discovered to our horror that she had broken into the chocolate and eaten 750g of Cadbury's chocolates!!! (plus 3 Freddos) Luckily (for her) she had then thrown up everywhere, including the floor, the sofa and the bed. She looked a bit green and was drinking TONS of water, eating as much grass as she could find and her stomach was gurgling away. She couldn't settle.

I checked the online chocolate toxicity guide - and then phoned the nearest emergency vet. After some discussions, they advised that she'd thrown up enough chocolate to take herself out of the danger zone and would probably be sick some more, have diarrhoea etc, so to keep an eye on her overnight. If I wanted to bring her in this was fine - but just to be aware the initial cost would be £200 plus !

So after clearing everything up I slept on the sofa to keep an eye on her. Thankfully she was fine - no further sickness or anything else.

It was however a sobering reminder. It was my fault - I left the chocolate in a bag on the floor with all the other shopping (I'd let her sniff it and she hadn't been interested so I assumed it was sealed enough to avoid arousing her interest), and was out long enough for her to become bored and start looking through stuff.

The knock-on was that instead of leaving at 9am the next morning to drive home I had a couple more hours sleep once the house had gone to work, then got ready and as away to leave at 1pm - only to realise I'd left the car keys in the house and put the door key through the letterbox!

So Maddie had an unexpected walk (thank god it was a nice day) as one friend works an hour and a half drive away and her husband isn't allowed a phone at his work. Eventually I got hold of someone, discovered the neighbour had a key, waited for the neighbour to get home and was finally able to drive off at 3.30pm. (I actually had a lovely drive home, not too many holdups and a lovely sunset)

Poor Maddie!

Life goes on

OK, so it's been three months since that fateful day and I feel able to write on here again.

While that day was the worst day of my life bar none (including the day Richard died) - because I KNEW what - and when- was going to happen, the next day I woke with a weight off my shoulders; it was absolutely the right thing to do.

So now it's just me, Maddie and Gizzy.

And everyone's been affected, the balance has changed and we all have too.

Gizzy is grumpier and bullies Maddie. She wants to sit on my lap all the time and if I'm not there heads over to the neighbours and tries to get into their house instead.

Maddie is constantly getting into trouble. I think she's looking for attention. I've been really busy since Murphy died - taking the opportunity to go see everyone I haven't seen for over a year. I've tried to take her whenever possible, but I've also been out the house a lot without her.

At the weekend I was away to London so Emily, Alex and Jake stayed over. Emily made chilli on the Saturday, for dinner on Sunday. She put it aside to cool and left the room. When she got back, it was EVERYWHERE! All over the rug, the walls, everything! We still have no idea how that happened.

Maddie then spent the next day throwing up (it had onions in it), apparently even the cat threw up (did she eat any?) and the following day their dog Jake threw up all day too!! ('cos he is a dog and dogs are disgusting and he'd eaten Maddie's sick)

When I got back all was calm. Maddie was obviously repenting her sins and decided to go with salad instead - she nicked the cucumber I'd left on the counter! I have a photo but can't upload it, you'll have to use your imagination!

Today, I don't know whether she was trying to tell me something but I followed a trail of toilet paper from outside the bathroom door, up the corridor and into her room - and her bed! Hard to hide that, Maddie!!!

Bless her, I let her off because she was such a good girl at the groomer's this morning. She was incredibly fluffy and is now sleek and trim. For a while!

the hardest thing...

I know it's been almost a year since my last post. Life suddenly got in the way. My husband was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in early June and died in October. Since then I've been trying to get a grip and look after the dogs.

Both of them miss him so much, and on top of that, Murphy has been steadily deteriorating.   He had the vestibular disease last March and we thought we would lose him, but he struggled back and apart from a tilt to the head when he was tired and a wee bit worse off in the balance stakes, was none the worse.

At the beginning of October we noticed an egg-sized lump on his back leg which when tested proved to be full of synovial (join) fluid. Nothing they could do as he's too old to operate, he wouldn't survive the anaesthetic. So I've had to watch it grow, and grow, and grow.

Meanwhile he has slowed down, is almost totally deaf, falls over a lot, doesn't really know when he is poo-ing anymore (no problems with his waterworks, thank god) and has increasing doggy dementia. He hates to let me out his sight and follows me everywhere if possible.

Finally last week he noticed the lump and (I've been keeping it dressed since it started bleeding Saturday before Christmas) licked it to such good effect he took the top off. Since when we've been living on borrowed time. The lump is now full of necrotic tissue and is getting bigger and worse. It hurts him I think, he is starting to flinch when I clean and dress it twice a day. His brother Rufus (owned by my son in law's family) died on 3rd January in his sleep. and since then I knew it wouldn't be long, they've always been quite similar in their progress.

So we come to it - the hardest thing a pet owner has to do. Make the Decision. We've had a family weekend so the kids and families have been able to say goodbye. I've had a lot of lovely messages on social media, some of them insightful and helpful as well as supportive.

- "letting him go is part of loving him" (Anne Rae)

- "he knows he is loved" (Anne White)

- "he knows he is loved and he will love you back forever" (Rick White)

- "he's had the best fur mummy" (Jen Birtles Kelman)

- "the kindest and hardest thing a pet owner has to do" (Fiona Taylor)

- "a much-loved Murphy" (Linda Leslie)

- "he's had such a wonderful life, no dog could be loved more" (Angela Slater)

- "we all loved Murphy very very much" (Anne Clydesdale)

- "cherish every moment and know he will always be in your heart" (Claire Lisa Shaw)

- "..you know it's the best for Murphy" (Tina Roberts)

- "I still laugh at Murphy trying to take off the bandana you had bought for Archie" (Lynn Duguid)

- "So many happy times - the girls still remember Murphy getting into Drum garden centre. You were so calm - at least on the outside!" (Veronica Strachan)


So here I am, trying to keep it a normal day for me, Murphy and Maddie, and trying not to watch the clock. I am ABSOLUTELY NOT thinking about it.

But I can now see that it is indeed time. He never wags his tail anymore, I never see him grinning like he used to. He can't run at all anymore, his back legs drag. he is lost in confusion a lot of the time and each day is not lived but survived. What kind of life is that for a dog? I hadn't really seen it because I live with him but I can see it through other people's eyes now I'm looking.

So I am taking a huge, deep breath, and waiting to say goodbye. Emily's going to come round and I've organised to help with the Brownies and then go see Nana in hospital tonight to keep me distracted. But I am so MAD at Richard for leaving me to do this on my own. Or I suppose really I am mad at life and the universe for taking Richard away against his will and leaving me alone with this.

My poor darling Murphy. Apart from an indiscretion with a deer which wasn't entirely his fault, he has been the best dog ever. Friendly, kind, sociable, great with kids, patient, loyal, fun. I owe it to him to let him go and I will not fail him. I love you Murphy. Life will NEVER be the same and I wouldn't want it to be.

Meanwhile, in Maddie-land

...life goes on as normal! It being Easter this weekend, we had a few eggs. I was met, on Monday morning, with an empty creme egg box (those boxes with five eggs in) - I had left the box, with THREE still in, on a chest of drawers in the spare room. I don't know how she managed to find them, but obviously did!

So far, no visible effects, ill or otherwise. She did steal some chocolate coins at Christmas-time and threw up the foil wrappers three or four days later, so who knows, that delight may yet come. I'm really more annoyed with her because they're my favourite! (Obviously I'd be worried if it had been dark chocolate but she seems to be immune to Cadbury's chocolate)

She's also delighted to find that her snow-angel days aren't over yet this year...

Murphy - update

Well, the last post as a bit prescient! Or maybe an early warning... the following evening, Murphy suddenly went down with what turned out to be Vestibular Disease. I was doing the usual three things at once in the kitchen (doing laundry, baking doggy biscuits and making the dinner) when Richard called sharply to say that Murphy wasn't well. He'd fallen over, out of the blue. We got him on the sofa but he was hanging off, panting hard and fast. So we got him off again and he sat.

It was then we saw his head was lopsided - and I immediately thought "stroke!". One phone call to the vet later and we were on the way down with him in the car, having had to carry him out and lift him in.

They diagnosed the vestibular disease - he was sick at the vets (we found later he'd also been sick in the car) and you could see his eyes flicking back and forward really fast - that meant the world was spinning for him, no wonder he was sick!

So we took him home and fro the next week he was on anti-nausea tablet and antibiotics (in case it was an infection which had brought it on) and we had to almost carry him everywhere, since he couldn't walk. Unfortunately the antibiotics meant he needed outside three or four times a night - which meant we both had to get up. I did it myself a couple of times, it was easier once we got a harness for him with a handle at the back and another harness-thing to put under him to help lift his back half, but ended up with a sore wrist and back so didn't do it too often without Richard!

According to the all-important internet (!), within 2-3 days the majority of dogs showed significant improvement, and more or less recovered by themselves by two weeks. But Murphy wasn't showing any improvement (and was worse than most dogs, who could at least walk, albeit drunkenly). We were getting desperate, and Richard was on the point of organising flights for the kids to come up to say goodbye.

It started on the Wednesday night. By the Sunday I was exhausted from broken sleep, and losing hope. I'd cancelled a family weekend in Glasgow and we'd withdrawn from a lunch with friends. I went to church as usual and afterwards went to light a candle in front of one of the statues in the corner. I just had a meltdown, really - lit my candle, knelt down on the kneeler and putting my hands over my face, howled silently. It was Mother's Day and another woman had brought a toddler to light a candle, so I composed myself, sat back to give the kneeler to them and looked out the window, to get a bit more time before I had to leave the church past everyone.

That woman showed such compassion - she obviously thought my upset was due to the day, for she turned and gave me a hug and said "It can be so difficult at this time", or words to that effect. It was so lovely of her.

When I got back from church I took Murphy outside (Richard has built him a wee ramp down the couple of steps at the back door) and noticed that he seemed to be a bit more able to take his own weight. Richard said I was seeing what I wanted to see (always the optimist) but as the next few days went by it became obvious that he had indeed turned a corner.

So although it was longer than the predicted two weeks, he has slowly recovered. His head remains tilted (more so when he is tired) and this affects his spacial awareness and ability to place noises, but he can walk himself and remains as dedicated to food, walks and sociability as always! He is unsteady on his feet - again worse when he is tired or sleepy but quite capable of taking the lead off me and galloping home for food!

We definitely have to keep an eye on him - we went the Ness Islands walk last week and he fell down the bank and nearly into the river (not fast flowing there) - he hasn't got the strength to correct himself if he is on sloping ground, especially on his left side so we have to bear that in mind. There's been a couple of occasions in the garden when I've turned round to catch sight of him tipping over sideways  into the flower border! (I think because it's got a slightly raised edge and he can't get his paws up enough to step over it to stop himself), he has fallen down the side of the steps a few times and once tumbled down a too-steep grassy bank, but he always picks himself up and struggles back up manfully.


So our darling is changed, older and less physically capable, but remains, as always, our Murphy. And I am even more determined to enjoy what time we have left with him.

Murphy

It's been a while since I posted, but not much has changed for Murphy. He'll be 14 in exactly 2 weeks' time. He still loves his walks, although now he doesn't get to go out with Mike (the dog walker) and Maddie any more. The muscle wastage in his hips means he shouldn't walk for more than about 20 minutes at a time. So when Maddie goes out he gets a doggie puzzle with treats to make him feel special and distract him.

He goes to hydrotherapy once a week with me. There, he walks on the treadmill in water, with me stationed at one end feeding him titbits every now and then to keep him motivated. We have to keep an eye on him - it's ok for him to keep his front paws on the edge because it's the back ones he needs to exercise, but sometimes we'll notice he's got one back one on the side and is just going through the motions with the other one!

He's nae daft!

He lives to eat - we have to keep him on the lead on his morning and evening walks around the school as he will eat anything and everything he can - and I mean anything! He has always barked (once, imperatively) to get out or in the back door; now he has started the same thing if we've maybe left the remains of a snack or any other food out and he wants it. It's a strong incentive to clear up!

He needs help onto the sofa now and then, and he's started to skite about sometimes too - the hydro can only delay the inevitable now, it can't build the muscle up.

He's also getting a bit "fiel" - he'll suddenly realise he's alone in a room and panic; maybe he thinks he's been abandoned, so he barks until distracted - which can involve some loud shouting in the right tone, since he's pretty deaf too!

This morning I noticed he was really dragging his back right paw in the snow (always easy to see it in the snow) and tonight he suddenly seemed to get really tired. He was staggering quite a bit - clearly that same leg has suddenly lost it a bit. I don't know why now, or why so suddenly. Maybe he's just tired, and that's the weakest leg.

He's asleep in the middle of the living room floor now, where he can see my legs stretched out in the sunroom as I watch TV.

Despite all the ailments and weaknesses that are coming with his old age, he's still our Murphy. Still loves attention, treats and his Daddy (me too, but he's Richard's adorer). Still desperate for his walk when he thinks he should be having it, even though he daunders along, would be happier with a shorter one (but Maddie wouldn't be!) and goes faster downhill purely because he can't slow himself down anymore. Still independent, taking the lead out my hand if he wants to go himself (the kids going to school love seeing that - "the doggie's walking himself!")

Who knows how long we've got left with him, but I'm determined to treasure it. My darling.

In the nick of time

Murphy used up one of his lives the other day. We were up at the local shop for a few messages. I don't put Murphy on the lead as he would chew through it - he's very good at standing at the door waiting for me (although it's an automatic entry door so if he stands in the wrong place it ends up opening and closing constantly til I get back)


Anyway, he was mooching about across the waste ground over the road from the shop and I was waiting for him to cross over so I could settle him before going into the shop. There's a zebra crossing and I was standing at one end of it. As he approached from the other side the delivery lorry came round the corner and started along the road. Of course Murphy didn't see it and they didn't see Murphy. I was yelling at him to stop but he's pretty deaf now and kept going.


Luckily they were crawling at about 5 mph, as he only stopped when the lorry was literally at his shoulder. He'd just about started to cross the crossing, so kept going once he realised it was stopped.


Their faces were pretty bemused - why is there a dog using the zebra crossing?!!


(PS. I don't cross the road now until he's with me - I don't know if a dog has as many lives as a cat but I'm not testing it!)

Horses for Courses

Have I eve mentioned what a superb meeter & greeter Murphy is?

Richard's brought him to the train station a few times when he's meeting me off a train. And Murphy is the best ever - he's bright and interested and looking out for you, this big doggie grin on his face. When he sees you (usually before you've seen him) he is desperate to get to you, pulling at the lead until he's let go, when he races towards you and almost knocks you down, so delighted is he to say hello!

Recently I was in Aberdeen and suggested to Richard he bring Maddie to meet me upon my return to Inverness, given her recent troubles (see previous post). So there I was, high-tailing it up the platform, looking forward to a rumbunctious welcome - cos Maddie's always more high-energy than Murphy.

I should have known better.

I saw Richard first and looking down, realised Miss Welcome hadn't even noticed I had arrived (I was 4 feet away), being much more interested in a mark on the floor she was straining towards in the hope it might be edible. Upon my calling her name she looked up briefly, almost nodded then went back to her nasal exploration of the floor. As we left the station she was pulling on her lead to get out. I was just another hand on the lead holding her back. Welcome home, Mummy!

Huh! Note to self, always choose Murphy! It's just not Maddie's forte.

Maddie's woes

Poor Maddie has been in the wars the last couple of weeks.

I noticed she had a substantial lump behind her top front teeth and got it looked at by the vet. She was then taken in the next morning for an operation to have it removed. The evening before the surgery she managed to tear a dew claw.

So when we got her back on the Wednesday she had  bright pink bandage round her front paw and was missing the lump (a tumour) and one tooth (which they had to remove in order to get the tumour out).

Although she was clearly feeling sorry for herself the first thing she did upon getting home was nip into her crate and start pulling the cotton wool out of her bandage! So she spent the next 4 days with one of my socks over it, which seemed to stop her. Of course, the day before she was due back for a follow-up she got the whole thing off, so I had to dig out the first aid kit, my first aid knowledge and the doggy "no chew" bandages we still have from Murphy's previous paw incidents. I was pretty impressed with the result, myself!

(Of course, she shot into the garden the morning of the follow-up and got it wet on the grass, so we got told off by the vet and the bandage was removed, with her getting a "buster collar" (cone of shame/lampshade) instead. She was very patient with it but it wouldn't go in the crate and Richard let her sleep on the spare bed instead. Didn't stop her stealing our shoes as normal and I had a hilarious 10 minutes watching her desperately trying to get herself, the lampshade and my shoe into the crate!

She's been on soft food since, and has only recently been allowed to walk off the lead. Murphy's very jealous of the food, he'd love to get rice and boiled chicken, or mashed potato and tuna for his dinner!

So - the biopsis on the tumour came back from the lab and it turns out it was a low-grade sarcoma. They're pretty sure it won't metastisise (move to other parts of the body) but we have to decide what to do next. The vet says she didn't manage to get the root of it and it could come back. We could leave it and see what happens, or we could have further surgery done to try to remove all of it (probably necessitating the removal of more teeth and some bone). This would need to be done at one of the vet schools (Edinburgh or Glasgow) so we've nominated Glasgow and she's emailed them for advice.

Once she hears back we'll have to sit down with the vet and have a talk about it, I guess. In the meantime she's back to being as full of beans and mischief as usual. Thank goodness!

PS

I made a pasta dish tonight; I made twice as much in order to freeze half. So there were the two tubs with the leftover pasta, sitting on the counter top cooling.

You know what happened, don't you? You're right. Richard came through and asked how many tubs there were? - cos there was only one now!

So on top of three pieces of pizza, she also had a tub of pasta today.

She's a bad dog! (as she looks up at you with those big eyes and the tail slowly wagging)

PPS - it occurs to me that this may actually be my fault (apart from the obvious, of leaving the tub too near the edge) - I've been cutting her food back a bit so she's probably a bit hungrier than normal - and with Maddie, that means she goes looking herself!

Proof

I'm sure nobody questions Maddie's ability to track down and remove various items of footwear (I'm sure I've talked previously of her growling at a shoebox of mine and removing one of my purple suede boots from it) but thought I'd just put some evidence up here....

...if I can get the damn video to upload!!

The Incorrigibles

So on today's walk (I had to go up to the shops just past the play park) Maddie went into the Co-op on the way past (there and back!) - this is quite common for her, it's a motion-activated sliding door and when a door opens as you go past, what's a dog to do? (Luckily it's the fruit and veg that greet you as you go in, otherwise I think we'd have paid a fortune for half eaten rolls and cakes by now).

Then I attempted to avoid the school carpark on the way back and crossed some waste ground next to it, taking a short cut back to the play park. I should have known better. While I was concentrated on Murphy, who didn't see us going that way and couldn't find us, Maddie found a treasure of her own - a pizza box. And not empty! I've never seen 3 pieces of pizza eaten so fast. She knew fine she shouldn't have been eating it and ran away behind a whin bush (gorse) till she was done. Grrr/...

Murphy then stopped by the doughnut-thing in the play park to investigate the possibility of there being further cat-treat-containing bags (see picture) and all in all, the walk was longer than anticipated - which was a bit of a problem as I was supposed to be picking Richard up from the airport. Luckily the plane was late and it took me half the time to get there I thought it would, so all was well.

Welcome home, Richard!

(The return of the Prodigal Son!)

Favouritism

It's not that I take offence, but I'm a wee bit put out that Murphy is so blatantly pro-Richard. Richard was away overnight last night and Murphy spent most of the evening lying in the hall, obviously waiting for him, till he eventually gave up and came and begrudgingly spent some time next to me before retiring to his bed!

Life is never dull

We had an interesting time today on our pre-dinner daunder. Took the dogs on a wee trip up past the primary school playing fields, round the playpark and back. And it was supposed to be that simple; only Murphy decided to step up his career in social embarrassment and general thievery.

There were a couple of girls at the playpark - we ignored them and they ignored us. However, as I wandered round the edge, I realised Murphy was stravaiging across the middle - with a purpose in mind. As I stopped to call him he reached some kind of big doughnut-shaped thing on legs (play equipment, not an obese child) and went for something in the middle of it. Much to my horror, I saw it was a leather satchel (pale pink so obviously one of the girls') - and he was rummaging around inside it!

Needless to say I made a beeline at speed but by the time I got there he had a bag of cat-treats clenched in his jaws. Cue a wrestling contest and some wheedlery with a dog biscuit under his nose (he ignored it). All I can say is thank the lord humans have opposable thumbs which can be used as leverage!!

I was able to get it off him before he got into it and, having attracted the attention of said owner (who must've been about ten), ascertained that she was luckily quite blasé about the whole thing. I wiped the bag free of dog-slaver and handed it over, she said it was OK, her cat did that all the time, and off we went, Murphy quite oblivious to any of the comments on his character I directed at him.

Half way home, (the dogs now safely on leads, being no respecters - or even recognisers - of the front garden boundaries in these new fenceless estates) we turned a corner and saw not one, but two cats! One was on top of a fence and one was on the pavement directly beneath it. And the latter looked a lot like Gizzy. Upon closer viewing it turned out to actually be Gizzy as well - clearly taking advantage of the milder weather to start exploring the neighbourhood and make new friends.

I carried on and Gizzy decided this looked promising on the food front and trotted calmly ahead of us. Maddie wasn't impressed by this lack of fear but there was little she could do with me hanging onto the other end of the lead like grim death! We passed the fearless feline (who had paused at a reasonable distance from the line we were taking along the road) near home and she followed us instead; the girl from two houses along (one of my erstwhile Brownies, as it happens) who came out her front door in time to see this was intrigued enough to follow us round the corner to watch.

Luckily I maintained a firm grip on the leads and any further late afternoon excitement was averted, with the dogs' attention turning to more easily-available food sources, like their bowls! Gizzy kept a discrete distance until the dogs were eating and then trotted past them in the kitchen. Home for tea.

Could've been worse!

Still daundering on

Murphy's birthday is 2 weeks today - he'll be 13. A good age. We obviously hope he'll have another couple of years with us but you never know. I make an effort to treasure all my interactions with him now.

He's certainly slowed down, and is starting to become a bit "feil" (as they say in Aberdeen). It kind of means otherworldly and on occasion he does seem that way. He's more easily confused, forgets what he's doing etc. He's also getting very deaf and will happily trot on ahead, not hearing your yells to alert him to the fact you're going another way. Eventually you get his attention and he turns to look and instantly speeds up back. Mind you, he's always had a touch of selective deafness! As the dog walker says, you have to keep him close!

He is more needy, comes for bosies when he never used to and gets upset sometimes when Richard leaves the house. He's even started barging into the bathroom on me, or barking outside the door! That's just in the mornings before their walk.

He eats a LOT slower; I'm considering not using the "Go Slow" food bowl any more as he goes slow enough anyway! On occasions he doesn't finish and of course Maddie is waiting to polish off any leftovers! It's a lesson on how to eat properly watching him - where before he (and still Maddie) would inhale the food as fast as possible, now he eats a bit, looks around, eats another bit, looks around some more... you get the picture.

However he still loves his walks and is not averse to a bit of growling at other dogs (if they start it) - particularly where there's a fence in the way! He'll still want a ball thrown into the sea to fetch a few times, before wandering off and refusing to give it back. He keeps a watch over the house and if we've been out, is always found, upon our return, standing at the doorway into the conservatory, barking madly! (the sound of the car obviously comes clearer through the conservatory windows and he thinks that's where we're coming from).

He has Jake and Duke to contend with - young whippersnappers, bouncy and desperate to play. As he's always done, including with Maddie, he ignores them as much as possible and they've got the message now and leave him pretty much alone. I think I've described here before how he would get up and walk over to them and growl at them if they were mucking about together and making too much noise!

So all in all our Murphy is in the twilight of a long and (hopefully happy) life and is aging fairly gracefully. He has some skin tags and a couple of fatty lumps, is very white around the muzzle and head and spends a lot of time snoozing in the living room (more often on the floor than before - does he find it harder to get on the sofa?).

But we love him dearly and he's daundering on...

The perils of a reputation

This, of course, is about Maddie. Both dogs have coped well with our move to Inverness. We've got our morning walk sorted and although Maddie has rediscovered the delights of chasing Gizzy round the garden, the cat has in her turn discovered the various safe spots where Maddie can't get her.

Anyway, apart from the swiping of half a sandwich Richard had left at the edge of the kitchen counter, Maddie has been good (other than a propensity for humping Murphy's head - don't ask!) I should mention that she's been on a diet and has lost half a kilo in the past couple of weeks so is more than usually predatory in the kitchen department.

I was cooking something requiring grated parmesan cheese the other night, and suddenly noticed that the pile of cheese was somewhat depleted - and where was the grater? Surely she hadn't gone off with it?! I sent Richard out into the garden to look for it, torch in hand. It was raining a bit too, so he wasn't best pleased. It was lucky I found the grater in the dishwasher shortly thereafter or he'd have been really unhappy! - and no, Maddie hasn't mastered the art of cleaning up after herself, I'm just getting a bit forgetful (she had eaten most of the parmesan, though).

Yesterday I came across her in the living room, chomping at something and looking unimpressed. I then noticed a roll of toilet paper in front of her she'd been absent-mindedly chewing on (still in one piece but with toothmarks). I think it was too dry for her, she didn't object to my removing it and she hasn't been back into the bathroom to re-retrieve it!

The more of the tale is that she hadn't been as bad as I immediately assumed - her reputation precedes her!

Grumpy Auld Man

Murphy has another young pupster to ignore now - Duke, currently 4 months old, is a bearded Collie/Retriever cross. he's going to be BIG! He's already almost the size of Maddie and just wants to play. He belongs to Nick, my stepson, and his wife Elle. When he comes round, Duke tries to play with Murphy (who ignores him as best he can with Duke licking his face all the time) and then maddie (who growls at him and eventually retreats to her crate for some peace - she's really very anti-social!). he's pretty much given up with her now.

He would then turn to the cat - would she play with him? - eeh, no.

However, Jake is another matter entirely! Now 18 months old, he is totally up for a rumble! The two of them tumble over each other, growling away with gay abandon! Until, that is, Murphy decides there's too much noise, at which point he'll get up, stretch, wander over to where they are and growl at them - not too scary but obviously telling them to "keep the noise down, kids!"

And that works - they separate and you can see them almost bowing as they back off - "sorry granda!" (before they start again elsewhere) - it is so funny to see it! Murphy comes back and lies down again - job done. Pesky kids!

Still here

Maddie continues to get her own way - she's on a diet after everyone started commenting on how chubby she was getting (nothing to do with us, unless you count the fact that it's us who leave the food out vaguely within her reach, which she steals)

I realised after she stole all my big fluffy American pancakes (I had eaten one and a half so she got 4 and a half!!) that we had got complacent as she hasn't stolen any food for quite a while (shoes are another thing entirely but at last she doesn't eat those).

So last week I realised the wee bowl which had been holding a handful of Hershey's Kisses was on the floor - empty. I'm assuming it was her nibs, but I've no proof, it could have been Murphy setting her up. I never found any wrappers and none seemed to pass through either of them so it's a bit of a mystery. As it's "summer" and has been so wet her bush in the garden has grown again so I can't even see under there. Maybe she took them in there, carefully unwrapped them and discarded the wrappers in there.

Who knows?

Since then she has got the bread (half a loaf was discovered later) and when Richard dropped his wee pouch filled with dog treats on a walk, Maddie was the one to find it on the way back. She'd run ahead and when he got it back she'd been trying her best to get into it - it was all covered in slobbers - but to no avail.

Lord knows what will be next, but at least she is looking a bit trimmer so the diet is working despite her best efforts!

still here

It's been quite a while since I was on here. This doesn't mean the dogs (and Gizzy) haven't been up to all sorts of mischief; it just means I haven't thought, or had the time (or the inclination?) to record it.

Of course, as they get older they do calm down. Emily has a springer spaniel now - Jake, he's 1 year and 4 months old - and the difference between him and Maddie is HUGE! He's longer and taller than her and just skin and bones - they feed him tons but he just burns it off. Like Maddie used to, when I think about it. Compared to him she's a wee tub, and yet she's not really fat. She's smaller and sturdier and has filled out. She's 6 and a half now, and comparing her to Jake really shows that she has calmed down a lot! You forget what they're like when they're young.

Murphy is 12 now. he never really tried to jump up into the car any more - he put his two front paws up and waits for someone to lift the back end up as well! When we were going away recently, he did his usual of getting quite upset that we were going to go away without him and wanting to sit in the car as we were loading it. He snuck out the front door and next time I came out, there he was - two front paws up in the boot, waiting for someone to come and boost him up. Lord knows how long he'd been there for! he can still run around a bit with Maddie in the back garden, though. Life in the old dog yet!

When we came back from that particular trip, Gizzy was waiting for us. Next morning, she sat on the top stair and maddie was too scared to come up (she's got both dogs suitably feart in the house). maddie was sitting on the turn of the stairs, whining and growling to come up. When I went out our bedroom door to see what the matter was, Maddie took advantage of my presence and decided to slink up the other side of the stairs to where Gizzy was sitting. She made it too, but when she reached the top step and went into our room, Gizzy turned and swiped at her disappearing backside with a paw. The squeal Maddie gave! You'd have thought she was being murdered! It was very funny. "I'm still the boss, and don't you forget it", Gizzy was saying.