Death and Daffodils

It's with a Heavy heart i start this Blog.
My Darling Sickly little puppy passed away, But i wanted to share her story all the same.

She came in with her skin and bone mother and 9 other skinny flea and worm infested siblings (there had been 11 but one had died before they arrived) from a house that could not be bothered to care for or feed them anymore and wanted rid of them.She was only 1/2 the size of any of the other puppies and the vet they had seen had discovered a Heart murmur and suggested she be put to sleep so she wouldn't be an unnecessary burden on her already struggling mother. It was decided to see if she would make it on her own. When she arrived at work she was desperately dehydrated and anemic and we cursed the vets for not putting her on a drip to give her a helping hand.

It was clear there and then that she would not survive the night without an intervention. So she came home with me. 4 days we spent together.... and a few times it looked like she had lost the will to live, only to start eating again and regain her strength, even following Duffy around and imitating play. 3 nights of getting up to feed her every 1-2 hours, making sure her watter bottle was warm or just comforting her when she was lonely.

On the 4th night she seemed well in herself, she had been with her mom and littler mates all day feeding and sleeping with them so i decided it was time to let her go. She would be happier with her family. It was a risk, but i had given her the head start in life she deserved... People had starved her mother to the point where she was unable to feed her own pups, so it was only fair that People right that wrong.

The next morning i checked on her first thing and i looked for her in the crush of brindle puppies who ran up to greet me, and it was with a sense of dread that i saw her still form still curled on the bed... Lifeless. She had died in her sleep.
I Could have done things differently, i could have kept her home longer, but looking back.... i still would have made the same choice to let her stay with her mom. It seemed right.

As one life goes out all around me new life springs up... In the fields the lambs are appearing, the birds are finished with their courtship and are now busily building homes to hold their chicks. Any day now i expect to see baby Bunnies on the grassy verges and the warren hills...

And the DAFFODILS are EVERYWHERE Bringing that longed for splash of color and the feeling that spring is on it's merry way. The promise of sun and of green trees and butterflies and bumblebees.

And i cant help Smiling as i pass their happy bobbing heads.

In summary, it has taken us ages to catch up on the sleep and energy we lost during the adventure of Crufts, but now that we are finally waking out of the sleepwalk our life has turned into the last few weeks it seems we are walking into a whole new world that brings great hope that summer and all the great things that come with it is just around the corner.

Special Dogs

Walking the halls of Crufts was for the most part a maze of stalls selling all sorts of toys, equipment, food and services. Thrown in at certain places were stalls with information on subjects such as working dogs (such as Police dogs) and charities.

Many of the charities were big names and worthy causes. The likes of Guide Dogs and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home were present, however it was a couple of smaller charities which stood out for me.

Support Dogs - http://www.support-dogs.org.uk/

They train dogs to meet the specific needs of individuals with disabilities. Teaching dogs to perform tasks such as open and close doors, load the washing machine, help getting dressed, carrying or retrieving items, raising the alarm and even contacting ambulance services should the need arise and many many others, dependant on disability of the person they are to support. I really like the idea of a dog providing someone with not only companionship but also so much help.

Cancer and Bio-Detection Dogs - http://cancerdogs.co.uk/

I believe this to be a relatively new organisation, but what they do is truly fascinating. They research into the use of dogs to detect human diseases and medical conditions. Using the canine sense of smell to detect disorders in their infancy to assist in swift treatment. The dogs olfactory sense is as much as 100,000 time better than a human and has been used by people for centuries for tracking and detection. In this time where we use technological solutions to every problem, we seem to over look abilities that are available to us historically and from the natural world.

On the subject of special dogs, this morning we wait to see how our little sickly puppy turns out after a night with her mother.

Glad to be home!

Yes, this Picture sums up crufts... exhausting and the leading cause of worry lines... But WHAT an amazing experience, and for us a once in a lifetime event. By the time Crufts rolls around next year we will be off to Canada and on to our next great adventure.

I would like to take this time to reflect... When people see me the first question on everyone's lips is "How was Crufts?!" and oddly i am having a hard time answering that because i think back on it with a tangle of emotions... Yes the Opportunity and experience was Great and if i went back in time i would do it all over again, but now that i have been.... would i go back?

4 days was far far to long for any person never mind dog to be in that environment, it saps your very soul to be so near to that many other people, to not have your own space.

The Kennel Clubs Organizational skills are a mess, trying to alter our performance routine on the day we arrive is not acceptable... and dealing with their constant time table changes was a nightmare!

For the worlds larges dog show organised by a world renowned dog club you would think that they would stop and think about the dogs. "exercise areas" consisted of: a) an indoor 10 foot by 8 foot fenced of areas with shavings and a pole for them to pee on. b) a similar get up outdoors though larger and covered. there where small grassy verges, but they were close to roads with industrial traffic. Seriously guys, is a Fenced off dog park too much to ask? Heaven forbid we would let our dogs off the lead... on grass... they could get their paws dirty or wreck their fancy hair dos.

Before we even arrived at Crufts we were told to direct any press questions regarding the controversial breed issues to the kennel club (who pay people to come up with evasive answers) or to simply answer "Fit for Function, Fit for Life" the KC motto. Let me be the first to say BOLLOX! What a load of Tripe....

What is this Function these dogs are fit for? to sit a kennel being bred to relatives so they don't ruin their Prestigious blood lines... working breeds who have never seen a field, or a sheep or game bird.. Breeds who are almost guaranteed to need operations or at the very least haircuts before they will be able to see properly.

On a more positive note, What a fantastic thing to see all the breeds with their tails... schnauzers, rottweilers, boxers they look like better happier dogs who will finally be able to express their emotions properly and be better understood by their canine cohorts.

Don't Misunderstand me, I Love Pure Breed dogs, ever since i was a child my sister and I would pour through the encyclopedia of dogs until we had them memorized, we had our favorites, and we still do. But that said, i wouldn't trade in my pack of mutts for the "Best of Breed"

So as i close the book on Crufts, i open a new one.

A tiny brindle puppy has fallen into my lap, a runt of a litter of 11 taken away from their owners due to the emaciated condition of their mother and the puppies themselves. She is a Crossbreed, and she fits in the palm of my hand despite being said to be 7 weeks old (unlikely) and her mom being a little bigger than Loki.

It looked iffy that she would survive the night as she is skinny, dehydrated and anemic, but after waking me up every hour during the night for her feeds of milk substitute she seems a lot brighter and is tottering around with Duffy who is quite smitten, where as Loki doesn't want to know.

She doesn't have a name yet, because she is still not far from Deaths door, but Whinge bag and Bobble head seem as good as any for now.

unfortunatly it means that catching up on my sleep is a thing of the distant future.

Oh well.

Last displays and the long drive home.

The Silver Team's displays yesterday went well and well done to the whole team, your applause were well deserved.

Jaime met two more celebrity's after the last performance. The winner of the Underdog Show, Sven and his owner Kevin Sacre (who is apparently mostly famous for being in Hollyoaks). We were pleased to see Sven! We thought he was the only dog we had seen during the whole time at Crufts we would like to take home. The members of the Silver team were presented their participants certificates by Kevin.

As we left the exhibitors exit in Hall 1 at the NEC for the last time we handed in our tickets to a large steward who took at double take at us as we and the dogs passed through the door, two or three paces out of the door we hear the phrase which has rung in our ears the last four days... "Oi Mate! What type o' dogs are those?", together we gave him a quick but polite response and headed for the car park. Stopping only to allow the dogs to pee and have a quick blast around a field.

Well as I type this its all over and done with, we made it home in about three and a half hours. We're home from Crufts and we're all still recovering. The dogs are a lot more subdued that normal and are making the most of there new beds.

A BIG thank you to everyone who helped in everyway getting our own mutts to Crufts. We hope it lets some people see the sort of dogs cross breeds can be and how well they can turn out.

The Final Day - It will be a long one

Yesterday was the most crowded day yet at Crufts. While sitting at our allotted bench space taking a rest some careless clumsy footed on-lookers managed to step on poor Duffy's tail, three times in fact, luckily he's a resilient little character and didn't let it bother him two much, but I had to struggle to keep my "Oh its OK" face on.

The Bronze teams display were once again excellent, well done to the whole team and a special thanks to Joy and Sue of the K9 Academy for working so hard to get their club recognised and invited to Crufts.

Once again our own special dogs were pointed at and discussed by may a passer by. With the increased crowd sizes, we discover the new methods people would employ to attract out attention to ask about Loki and Duffy. For the most part those techniques involved physical grabs or my own personal favourite the poke in the ribs, which I can promise may cost someone a finger today if its repeated. One lady with a her Hungarian Vizsla (who did not poke me in the ribs) asked what our dogs were as she was very impressed with their looks and could not work out what breed they were, jokingly put her nose in the air and addressed her dog saying "Come this way, we are not supposed to associate with their sort" on finding out the boys were 100% Pedigree Cross Breed.

Today is the last day, and its going to be a long one. The dogs already fed and walked, and we need to be at the NEC by 9:30am. We'll be there until around 5:30pm and then have at least a 4 hour drive back home straight after. Good Luck to the Silver Team displaying today and better luck to any individual who takes a chance on touching my ribs!

Day 3, "nice to see such unexaggerated dogs"

The days sure do seem to be getting longer and longer, as well as Dave and I being tired, the dogs are getting fed up with all the attention from strangers, but because it is the weekend it means LOADS more people crowding into the halls making navigating from one side to the other nearly impossible. it would be fair to say tempers are frayed.

It was Hunting dogs day which meant lots of dogs you see on your average walk on the beach.. Spaniels, Labs, Retrievers, & Gun dogs such as Weimaraners, Vizslas, Pointers and some of the less common breeds like Griffons, Bracco Italianos and Munsterlanders.

It was Duffy and Dave's second and Last day of performances, and because his first show was at noon it meant we could leave a little later to make it there for 10am. the Kennel Club as usual showed it's organisational skills by changing the schedule not once, not twice... but FOUR times. keeps us on our toes. Of course both my boys did great. Dave did alright too.

On another note, i just want you all to marvel with me at the race i call Dog Breeders/showers. We Actually SAW a woman with her toddler on a lead and her tiny fancy kick dog in a Pram.... and the amount of people who look like their chosen breeds is down right FRIGHTENING!

We also bumped into Richard Curtis one of the UK's leading Heelwork to music / Canine freestyle handlers, Who spotted Duffy and confessed he would like to steal him as he had searched far and wide at the dog shelters for a dog with so much character in his face.

Finally the day was over, Dave and Duffy got a certificate and a ribbon for their participation and then it was back to the hotel to rest and scrounge up some food... funnily our meals and general upkeep has come second to getting the dogs out for their pee breaks, fed, and rested.

Day two, the Silver Display

Another early start for day two. The day was to bring three displays for Loki and the rest of the team. Loki performed very well only losing his cool once during the day shuffling forward from a stay after someone behind him made a loud bang. In general all of the performances were great.

We again wandered the halls and lost count the number of times we were asked "What breed are they?" We took in some of the dogs on display for the day, Jaime discovered a new fascination with the Miniature Pinscher. We also found time to have a brief chat and get a photo with Mic Martin from BBC Three's Dog Borstal but didn't ask for any training tips because we think our boys are doing alright.

Today was Utility and Toy breeds, which mainly meant Poodles and dogs most commonly seen in the modern day handbag being trailed around with some very sissy hair styles. These are in stark contrast to the likes of the more masculine breeds like the Akita and Dalmatian.


While sitting eating our lunch, Loki and Duffy did what they like to do best... wrestle. It seems its not something that is seen very often at Crufts and raised one or two smiles of the passers by. This is a good stress relief for them.

Its fair to say that Jaime, I and the two dogs are getting very tired and its only day two. We believe Duffy may only have two displays tomorrow so it might be an easy day and possibly we can get some rest.

"What breed IS that?"

Day one of Crufts is over, and what a manic day it was.

Duffy performed very well, only losing his focus once towards the end of the last performance when he spotted Loki on the other side of the arena fence. He still did everything he was asked but did so peering around me to watch Loki.

Between performances we wandered the halls a little, not wanting to explore to much as we have 4 days here and didn't want to bore ourselves with everything right away.

As we walked the halls in amongst all the high class pedigree dogs which had been primped and preened with our own brindle wire hair and flat coat cross breeds, you could see many people eyeing our dogs, usually hand on chin and finger across the lips in concentration trying to work out what in the world of dogs they were. We were stopped 25 to 30 times by breeders, kennel club professionals and general passers by to ask "What breed IS that?", and once we answer "The RSPCA kind", "Heinz 57", "Pedigree Cross Breed" or "Grade A Cross Breed" they seem to sigh a thankful "OH!" to put aside their worries that a breed of dog might exist that they did not know. Generally the boys were very warmly welcomed, one person even saying "Well its a shame its not a breed, because I want one"

Today is Loki's first day and Jaime is already on her way to the NEC. The Silver Team's first practice of the day is at 7:45am.

Day 1 at Crufts

It started in a panic as we rushed to get there in time for Duffys early practice and missed MORE than one of our motorway exits, in the end we just got there in time, but sadly all the other members of his 4 dog team and the team leader were stuck in traffic and didn’t make it.

In total Duffy was in 4 shows in the Good Citizens Display ring in Hall 3A, plus a one minute Down-Stay with all the performing teams at the end of the day. He and the rest of the teams were all Super Stars… despite never being in anywhere like this in their lives they displayed to the best of their abilities. I was so proud of Dave and Duffy in the ring strutting their stuff.

In the down time we wandered the hundreds of display tables and show rings. Lots of hounds were showing including some of my favourites like Salukis, Basenjis, Pharaoh Hounds as well as the Terriers like Staffies with little bodies and massive heads that don’t seem to resemble the ones we get in at work.

We saw some familiar faces from the tele like two of the Dog Trainers from the show “Dog Borstal” and that woman with the dancing collies.

Both our dogs were un-phased by the hundreds of dogs and people that walked around and sometimes over them. And as I type this they are both spark out in the corner of our hotel room. It has been a really long day, but I am looking forward to tomorrow and seeing Loki shine!