Happy Hallowe'en

From Jo's pug Gizmo:

I Found This On Facebook and I Loved It...

It's been such a hard year with losing Ziggy, Chanel, Spirit and Delceg. I fear that Charlie and Mr. Big are not too far behind either. Surely the pieces I've lost this year though are not half as big as they pieces they gave me over the years.

Speaking of new dogs coming into your life. We had tried to breed both Dalwhinnie (Nuthatch's Q.E.D. - Morgan x Emily) and Willow (Darnelle's Makin' U A Believer - our GWP) in June but niether got pregnant. It was very very disappointing and admittedly very very expensive. So, there were very few puppies born here this year. Puppies whether they stay or go on to new homes make you feel better. There's something about sitting on a floor and being swarmed by hot little bodies that are doing their best to drown you in kisses that makes it impossible to be sad for long. Buffy is in season (Am Can Ch Nuthatch's Unforgettable - Kenny x Jeannie) but I have told her that if she escapes her crate even once there will be no forgiveness. Buffy is a liberated girl and firmly believes you should grab your fun when you can, regardless of Mom's hard planning. She's not being bred this time as she just had a litter earlier this year. Limerick (Nuthatch's Funny Girl - Frost x Jeannie) though is looking like she is coming in to heat. I am really hoping to breed her. I dearly want more Charlie children so we're going to try a fresh semen AI (artificial insemination) as Charlie's back end is too weak for me to be willing to let him try to do it au naturel. As Limerick is a solid liver (Charlie is ticked), there is a possibility of having both solid and ticked puppies in the litter. Solid is a dominant gene and so one parent must be solid liver in order to get solid liver puppies.

It would be really nice to have some puppies around to play with as I'm worried this winter will only get harder when it comes to losing my beloved seniors.

In the meantime, I'm house hunting - now what kind of crazy person wants to move with all these dogs ... and who wants her to move next to them???

Facebook

Ok, I'm determined to rejoin the technological race and start updating regularly. I'm even going to check in on Facebook periodically. I remain on dial-up so don't count your puppies before they bark :) In the spirit of trying though, I have been updating our Facebook photo section. For those of you interested in seeing the pics the links to the albums are as follows:

General Album:

Lucy's Album:

Dundee's Album:

Hopefully, there will be more to come.

In the meantime, we are experiencing wet and muddy weather here :( Pepper (Nuthatch's For Yr Entertainment - Big x Delceg) decided that I should not remain dry in the house. She came in - soaked to the skins - and lay down beneath my legs (I was at the kitchen table) and then stood up and dragged her back across the underside of my thighs. Uggh!

Delceg - Am Can Hung Lux World Jr Ch Malomkozi Delceg

Peacefully, in his 11th year, while sleeping by my bed. Although Delceg didn't come us until he was almost 7, he quickly became an integral part of the family. His goofy smile, the incredible hugs, snoring in your ear when he shared the pillow, his whole body wag when he brought you a toy. I think I'm still in shock.

He excelled as a show dog, completing championships everywhere he went and Best In Shows in his native Europe as a youngster. In the litter box, he proved just as powerful. His gorgeous, multiple group-winning daughter in France, Dutch - Belgian - Luxembourg - German VDH - Swedish - International Beauty + Champion International Show Champion France Champion working "Championne d'Automne of field-trials" Malomkozi Sjelsa, was only one example of several. I'm comforted by the fact that I have some of his daughters, sons and grandget here with me.

Many will count the above as his legacy but for me he will always be the goofy guy I fell in love with at the airport. He could never have produced another puppy or won at another show and he would still have become my bed hog. He will be very dearly missed.