Cats and Dogs

I haven't blogged for ages, not that I don't have anything to write about but when I think 'Oh I just write something' along comes my big black cat who sits on the keyboard.

This a house full of cats we have 5 plus any number that we foster for a large animal rescue society. I not sure how I came to have cats I am a dog person, my Grandparents had three standard poodles who I shared dog biscuits with!

The Poodles were not show dogs but did have a rather glorious Pedigree name. Thank goodness my grandparents just cut the dogs coats into 'the puppy cut' or 'the lamb cut' No dogs would grace their house with bare butts thank you very much.

There was a cat he had an attitude mainly aimed at me! What did I do wrong well I didn't understand cats that was the first thing - it was his stall I tried to sit on - it was his ice cream paper to lick not mine. He could keep his coley cooked in milk that was just yucky. However he kept his one eye fixed on me in case I tried anything. He never gave me as much as a purr or a rub.

So it was the dogs that won my heart, they would let me sit on their sofa, cuddle them, sleep on them, they were my friends and I think we were all of the same opinion of the cat.

Life has strange things for children to understand, first my grandfather disappeared , then granny, then the dogs. The cat had already gone and I wasn't that bothered it meant I could sit on the stall with a smug face. What my Mother and Aunts had failed to tell me that all these people and animals had died. I was very young so I suppose they thought it was the best way to deal with it, actually it gave me a great fear that if anyone went away I would never see them again.

So how comes I cats, well the first one came to me via a friend, I named him after one of the dogs. It was this cat that decided that my late hubby was the one. I was actually holding the cat when hubby and me had our first kiss :)

From that day it was always cats my hubby loved them and now understood cats so that made it better. However my dog love was still there in the background! We moved to Somerset by then there were two young children, six cats, guinea pigs and rabbits phew! Hubby had to go away a lot and I wasn't always that keen to be on my own. So we got a dog oh yes finally I had a dog.

I took her to training classes, we did all the walking to heel and other strange things you see on Crufts she did it beautifully. Unless my hubby was on the stage watching then all she wanted was him she adored him, needed him so all training was forgotten and I would be left looking like a complete idiot as she would dash off get on the stage and sit beside him with love radiating out of her big brown eyes.

Many years later our old cats and the dog all passed away. We got more cats but not dogs Hubby was a cat man so that was that. Until I found I could puppy walk for the Guide Dogs, finally I could have a dog train it, love it to pieces then see it go off to become a guide dog we did this for a few years and even hubby loved it.

Then suddenly our world started to change, I had to help to care for a relative and child mind some children of the family. So no more dogs life suddenly became so busy I hardly had anytime for me. Changes were on the way again in a couple years when hubby found out he had cancer, so once again dogs were out the question. Hubby cancer was terminal 24hour care needed.

In April 2005 we lost hubby the kids and me devastated. Even our cat wonder what was going on.

Life went on in this weird way, you know day to day living.

Then out of the blue I got a phone call, one of my puppies had been retired would I like him! Hell yes, back came my dog he did remember me, he was a mummies boy we had a great time walking in the park, he loved swimming in the river, loved our cats including the foster cats and kittens. Whats more I didn't mind my house smelling of wet dog or covered in hairs. He liked to be Dyson anyway and we washed him in lush shower gels.


Last year 23rd December my wedding anniversary my son and I had to make that awful trip to the vets. My son said goodbye and went out, I sat on the floor with my dogs head on my lap his beautiful brown eyes looking deep into my soul as he slipped quietly away.

Christmas was not good, not only had I lost my dog but it was on my wedding anniversary. But I slipped over on the way to vets hitting my head really hard. I didn't go to the hospital, I know I should have. Somehow the thought of being in A&E just after losing my dog was just to much.

After this Christmas I am going to look for another dog, maybe a standard Poodle it would be great if I could find one with a connection to my grandparents poodles. Now that would be fantastic :)