The end of the shoe

Well, it finally happened! Jeanie's favourite toy in the whole wide world is no more. She has many other toys, but the shoe is by far her best. This is the toy that came with her when we adopted her. She was a little lost for a while and would still search for her shoe all over the garden. But now she has made do with a tennis ball.

Wordless Wednesday- Brr It's chilly! Time for snuggling!

It's Soccer Time!

Hello soccer fans! Soccer fever is rife here in South Africa! Here are some doggie supporters! They are behind Bafana Bafana! Good luck to them for their match today!

Have a fantastic day!

Wordless Wednesday

Soccer Fever!

With the World Cup just a few days away, Jeanie has soccer fever too! Check out her moves!

What a super star!

The first few days

Jeanie was settling in well. Biz hid for two days and finally decided to come out when he realised that she was staying. They had a spat and sorted themselves out. Jeanie has a dominant streak and Biz had some trouble asserting his dominance, so there was some confusion in the ranks.  He was still not himself and it would take some time before he was himself. We visited Jeanie every day after work. On her second night, Father Free arrived back from a school trip (he’s a teacher) and hadn’t met Jeanie yet.  When he arrived we took her outside to meet him. First she barked and then he introduced himself to her and that was it! She loved him instantly and in no time, she was on her back asking for a tummy rub. She was the centre of attention and enjoyed every minute of it!

On the Saturday we took her to the vet for her injections and to have a microchip inserted into her skin. This contains her address and owner information, so that if she ever gets lost they will scan her and contact us. She got very nervous on the way to the vet. I think she thought we were taking her away again. She cowered on my lap the whole way there. When we arrived at the vet she resisted getting out of the car and we had to carry her inside. Once inside she started barking madly at the other animals that were there. While we were filling out her card at reception, we noticed an eight week old spaniel pup named Zoë. She was Jet back and adorable! She was just as cheeky as Jeanie, barked at me and nibbled my fingers. Jeanie was very good when the vet saw her and she didn’t make any fuss.  He was very pleased with her health and gave her an injection, a de-worming tablet and told us to come back in one month for her second round of shots.  On the way home she felt re-assured that we were not taking her away and sat upright on my lap enjoying the view out the window. Once we got home she bounded out of the car and ran to her shoe! 

The First Night

We drove through to Jeanie's owners after work to collect her. Very excited to meet her, we had purchased a blue collar a matching lead, some puppy food and a toy. When we arrived we were met by her owners and invited inside. This was to be our first meeting. There she was, in the sitting room on the lap of one of the family members. She barked at us and got all excited. She had no idea what was going on, but didn't like us in her territory and threatening her family! She soon calmed down and kept casting a suspicious glance at us while we chatted to the owners. We noticed her red squeaky toy shoe, she loved to play with it and it squeaked every time she bit it. Then the daughter brought Jeanie to us and she sat on Rich's lap. She seemed uncomfortable at first, but eventually curiosity got the better of her and soon she was sniffing both of us cautiously. Eventually we had to go. We exchanged e-mail addresses and promised to keep in touch with regards to Jeanie's progress. We let the family say good bye to her and then I put on her brand new collar. She had never worn a collar before and found this very strange indeed. I carried her outside to the car and made myself comfortable in the front seat. We had put a blanket down for her at my feet. Rich packed her basket, teddy and blanket in the boot and we left. She was very uneasy and the confident expression left her face and turned to one of fear and uncertainty . On the journey to  her new home, she preferred to snuggle on my lap instead of sitting at my feet. She somehow felt more secure that way. We arrived at Rich's parents house and put on her lead. It was time to introduce her to Bismark, a docile twelve year old German Shepherd cross Husky. Biz as we called him,  was very puzzled as to why he was going for a walk so late at night as he had his lead on. He was standing sniffing the air curiously. Jeanie was reluctant to leave the car, but I picked her up and put her down. She hadn't seen Biz yet and started to get some confidence back. We trotted down the path to the house. Mother Free had come to meet the new addition and then Jeanie spotted Biz. She went berserk! And Biz ran away! She barked and barked and Biz hid behind Rich's legs. Rich eventually took Jeanie and Biz into the garden and walked them up and down. Jeanie calmed down and Rich brought them back. We sat outside for a bit. Jeanie was calm and friendly to us, but the minute Biz came for some attention, she would bark again with the fur on her back raised. She was very cheeky and even went to bite him. Biz got all huffy and went into the garden to hide. We called him back and gave each of them a bone to chew and a bowl of food. This helped things. 

After both dogs had calmed down to a mild panic and we had given each of them some affection we decided it was time to turn in. Rich and I decided to sleep over to tend to Jeanie during the night. We set up her basked in the entrance hall and boarded up the entrance to the passage. She heard Biz sniffing outside and barked at him. She had established the entrance hall as her territory now and he was not allowed! After an assertive shush from Rich she soon settled and slept right though the night. 

In the morning Rich went to her basket and picked up a very sleepy but very cute Jeanie.  He brought her to me and we both cuddled her. She was quite content to stay cradled in Rich’s arms while we showered her with affection.  It was time to go out for her to do her business.  She was very good all night.  No sooner had she finished, she spotted Biz and the barking frenzy started. Poor Biz was only there to get his breakfast, but she had upset him and he returned to his hiding spot hungry. This was very unusual for Biz, the great lover of all things edible and Mother Free had to take his food to him and feed him with a spoon!