Moving on

Having seen Jessica settled with her new family that includes her Papillon playmate Heidi I have taken the decision to pet home her sister Jenni. A lovely little girl who is really starting to come into her own. She will be an absolute delight to her new family when we find them. And it is not a case of first come first served as it was the very first time I got a Papillon. Any new home and family will go through the usual home and vet checks. One friend said it would be easier to adopt a child.

JENNI

Another change has occurred with Grace moving out to live with her mum Debra who has come back from France. Spoke to Debra tonight and she is delighted to have Grace with her and can't wait for the other dogs to join them. I look forward to seeing Debra and Grace in the show ring in the near future.

GRACE

The house seems so quiet with the two girls gone. But as you all know we have Jewel to keep us busy. Jewel belonged to show friends Malcolm and Frances McKinnon who passed away. She was thought to be about 7 or 8 but we have since found out she will be 11 years old in June 2010. Jewel does not like to be left out of anything, be it walks, treats or cuddles. She is quick to let you know if she wants something, never been so glad a dog was so small as her favourite thing is to be picked up and carried from one sleeping place to a new sleeping place. We will be putting her into the vets in a couple of weeks time to have her last 3 teeth removed, this should make her a bit more comfortable but I doubt if it will make her appetite any better as she does enjoy her food and likes nothing better than sitting guard over the biscuit dish and keeping the Phalenes out. LOL The picture of Jewel below was taken just after a visit to the vet for some work on her ears, she had a wee infection which is well on the way to recovery and the hair the vet shaved off will regrow.

JEWEL

Pigeon and baby Bunnies

These little bunnies, about 6 days old, were attacked by a dog and orphaned. Two out of the litter of five did not survive, and these three were not doing very well. Noah is a non-releasable, one-legged homing pigeon that is in the rehab centre. Noah kept going over to the bunny cage and looking in -- even sleeping in front of the door to the cage.

Then, suddenly, there were only two bunnies in the cage. But when Noah moved a bit from the front of the cage to everyone's surprise..there was the tiny bunny..under Noah's wing....sound asleep! That little bunny rabbit had crawled through the cage, preferring a featherbed, no doubt to snuggling up with its littermates!

Now, they are all together and the bunnies are doing GREAT. When the bunnies scoot underneath Noah's feathers, he carefully extends his wings out to surround them and then they snuggle.. When one of them moves and they start sticking out here and there, he gently pushes them back under him with his beak! It is beautiful and amazing to see....

With the usual attitude

of a Phalene Daisy brings in 2010 with a look of was that it? Then settled straight back down to her "lets watch the world go by" and always at a sedate pace. No rocket, toy or treat has yet been invented that will get Daisy's pulse racing.

All the others are keeping pace with Daisy except when the snow is falling then everyone leaps about trying to catch the flakes before they hit the ground.

Ayla has come on in leaps and bounds, her appointments with the vet had to be cancelled a few times due to the weather but she was back yesterday and is now continuing her vitamin B12 injections. These will continue for another 3 weeks and then fingers crossed we should be seeing a big difference in her.

We have a new addition to our home in the form of a little Pomeranian girl called Jewels. I'll post some pictures of her with her new friends soon.

From Ayla

and of course the rest of us here at Abbeyton, we would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who left comments, emailed and telephoned to see how Ayla was doing. I am absolutely delighted to say that she is almost 100% her old self. Another few visits to the vet to make in the next few weeks but she now goes in with her tail wagging and takes everything that comes her way with a lick for all.

We don't seem to be any closer to finding out what exactly has caused this hicup in Ayla's health, maybe we never will. But for sure you will all see her soon. Probably Crufts in March.

Licks and wags from AYLA

Ayla on Thursday

Went to the vet on Wednesday afternoon and they couldn't believe it was the same dog walking in the door, she had her tail up ran to meet everyone making sure she didn't miss giving anyone a kiss. She got her injections and didn't make a sound. Her temperature is still at normal and she now has some new food to try. Getting a dog to eat when it doesn't want to takes quite a bit of manipulation, so she got her new biscuits soaked in chicken stock and some chicken put in with it and though she ate a wee bit it wasn't as much as I would have liked. But hey every wee bit is a bit more than last time. Can't believe that on Monday / Tuesday both the vet and myself thought we were going to loose her, absolutely amazing how resilient dogs can be. Vet is at the other end of the phone anytime we need her but watching Ayla this morning I think we will get to her allotted appointment next week for her third and final hormone injection and the first of vitamin b injections she is to have to help her body absorb the protein's from her food rather than whatever is draining it away. Ayla is sleeping in our bedroom and loving every minute of it. The others have taken the hump about this but I'm sure they will get over it. Just so good to see Ayla with a her spark back.

And so it continues

After getting home from the show on Saturday all the dogs were quite happy to tuck into there dinners, that is all but Ayla who has been a wee bit picky lately about if she would or wouldn't eat. Unusually for Ayla she wasn't interested in playing with her toy with Jim which is her usual routine, she just snuggled in beside him and went to sleep. I had been putting her lack of appetite etc down to recently having had her first season, but on Sunday she wasn't much better to the point where she was actually looking depressed and wouldn't leave her bed and again refused to eat anything. Monday morning when she refused to even drink water we were straight to the vet where both the vet and I agreed that as she had a raised temperature, was dehydrated and tender about her abdomen there was a chance of her having a pyometra (womb infection). She has stayed with the vet and been put on a drip for fluids, antibiotics for her temperature and has had an ultra sound scan to look for signs of pyo. As she was possibly going to have an operation the vet done the normal pre op blood tests to check that all was ok with Ayla before operating. And aren't we glad she did, as Ayla's blood had low proteins this meant that if she had been operated on she would not have been able to stop bleeding and therefore would not have survived the operation. The vet has sent bloods to Glasgow vet school for a 2nd opinion as some of the other results were not what she would normally expect. Ayla stayed in the vets on Monday night on a drip she was given a hormone injection and antibioticsto treat the suspected pyo, she was also given something similar to zantax and vitamin b to help her digestion as some of the blood results indicate problems in that area as well.

Ayla came home late Tuesday evening and ate a huge dish of chicken and even asked for more, she picked up her toy and lay with it in her paws and she even picked her tail up off the floor and wagged it at us. She's not keen on being with the other dogs at the moment but when I'm in the kitchen she goes in to a bed with her mum Flame and cuddles in to her. She is off to the vet today at 2.30pm for a 2nd hormone injection and antibiotics. I'll update as we find anything out.

Highs and Lows

We went to the Scottish Papillon clubs open show on Saturday the 28th and the day seemed to be the start of things not going so good. Firstly the car wouldn't start so arrived at the show an hour or so late. Jim who was coming with me with all the dogs had to back out as he was needed to do the judges marking at a pigeon show. So off I went with a car full of excited and some nauseous pups for the hour and a half's drive. Took the big pen with me and I'm glad I did as it gave all the dogs a chance to stretch there legs and see what was going on round about them.

First in the ring was Indy who went unplaced in open dog, little Grace was up next in Minor Puppy Bitch and came a very respectable third on her first outing at a show. Daisy was entered in Puppy bitch but I decided not to take her in as she is not carrying her tail just now and that just makes it more difficult. Ayla was next in the Junior class and though she came second she was missing her usual bounce and sparkle. My star of the day was Flame who was placed second in open bitch, in the past if Flame didn't want to show you had no chance of changing her mind, but today she showed her socks off just seemed to be so happy to be there. Jessica, Jenni and Jack had a wee wander round the venue and stopped for cuddles from some of the other exhibitors, would have had them out walking round a bit more but some of the Papillons there today were a little bit noisy and some even a bit nippy and I was not willing to risk the pups first experience to some grouchy dogs.

Jack will be going to live with his new mum Alison from Friday and we will miss him buzzing around with everyone else and then sneaking in under everyone else for a cuddle. A new and exciting time for Jack.