Anna the dog

[Mendip]

I don't believe I have seen one picture of him doing anything.

That's because I take the pictures!

[Stumpy]

That's because I take the pictures!

. You need a selfie stick.

What about the "Other" gardener?

[Dillinger]

So what kind of holidays do you go on these days?

USA/Malta/Gibraltar/Wales covid passport ones, soon


Was gonna drive down to the coast today, in a car that doesnt reek of dog puke, like someone we knowbut its 3 fukkin degrees outside.

[Mendip]

^ So not a busman's holiday then?

[Dillinger]

I personally like being my own gardener. I am still not quite sure what Mendys does

The only manual work in a year that Mendip has mentioned that has been associated with the gardener has been him propping up a mango branch and annoying him by continually flicking his dogs genitals. I reckon he flicks Mendys too

[Mendip]

^^^^ It would be easier to start listing what I don't do than what I do.

Just this upcoming week...

Clean out the workshop because we've got rats, paint the pool fence so that we don't get flakes of paint on the clothes that are hung out to dry, thus helping the environment and start seriously thinking about sorting the pool out.

That's on top of 3 hours a day stuck in Korat's awful traffic, looking after 8 dogs, one of which is very sick and caring for 40 odd chickens.

And let's not forget about feeding 15 odd street dogs in the afternoons, cooking and homework in the evenings, taking food pics and hopefully tomorrow I'll get time to open my Birthday present... and that was on March 21st.

OK... so the gardener helps out with some of this... there just ain't enough hours in the day.

[Mendip]

Maddy and Cooper continue to settle in nicely.

Last night they had some Easter Day roast chicken and soon fell asleep afterwards, as did I.



And today the socialising continues...





It amazes me how quickly new puppies settle in.

[Headworx]

Have you put them thru your Puppy training school yet?

[Mendip]

^ Some things are just instinctive!

[Shutree]

It amazes me how quickly new puppies settle in.

I started to watch your video and when one of the puppies yelped my dogs went crazy. They are now barking and running around the garden looking for the culprit. 555

[Dillinger]

Thats his gardener yelping

[Mendip]

I've never been a religious person but something happened this Easter.

It's now been a week that I've been making Dan tuna, scrambled egg and milk smoothies and forcing them down her throat with a syringe. She has voluntarily barely eaten a thing since last Monday.

I made an Easter Day roast chicken yesterday, and decided to make Dan a succulent chicken with gravy smoothie.





Dan had to be force fed the chicken smoothie but I noticed her licking up a few spilt drips... the fist time that had happened.

Today, as usual, Dan lay in the gardener's kitchen surrounded by her pack. I really have never seen dog behaviour like this before... they lie like this for most of the day with Dan in the middle.



The two other girls barely leave her side... and Maya has stopped playing and gone off her food.



To be honest Dan is getting much more empathy than I did after my hernia op a couple of years ago. Makes you think. I didn't even get a cup of tea.

I did notice today that Dan got up a couple of times to hobble off to the garden for a wee, and then this afternoon she ate a couple of slices of ham without being forced. She's turned her nose away from food for a week... so much so that if I left a piece of ham by her nose she would get up and move elsewhere.

And then tonight she ate a whole bowl full of pan fried salmon left over from our dinner. There was a shine in her eyes and she lay more upright and comfortably than she had all week.

Dare we hope... and to think I was considering the big trip to the vet last Friday... have to be grateful to the wife for that call.

I think there's life in the old dog yet.

Fingers crossed... it's still a worry but this will be the first good night's sleep I'll have for days.

[Looper]

Good luck with it Mendip and godspeed for Dan's recovery..

and to think I was considering the big trip to the vet last Friday

This could be the holy weekend ressurection miracle.

And then tonight she ate a whole bowl full of pan fried salmon left over from our dinner

Give her bowl of Guinness for a chaser. Hopefully The Easter Rising may be just around the corner for dannygirl

[Dillinger]

This could be the holy weekend ressurection miracle.

Wasn't The Last Supper an Easter thing?
Just saying
Where's Eddie? He'll know.
Must have been that walking on water in those vids earlier.

Long live the Queen.

[Loy Toy]

Good news on Dan mate.

Let us hope the recovery continues.

[Joe 90]

Encouraging news for Dan.

[Mendip]

Yes mate, thanks. And Dan's recovery has continued today... fingers crossed!

But no day is complete without few puppy pics...

Coco plays with Maddy by the fossilised tree trunk.



Cooper joins in.



And they gang up on Coco. It's strange... Coco hasn't stopped playing with these new puppies but Maya is nowhere to be seen... and she's right down in the dumps, not paying and off her food. We don't know if it's jealousy of the puppies or if she's worried about Dan. I wonder if a 'better' breed dog needs more attention and TLC than our street dog pack... Strigils?



Aaawww...





But beauty also comes from within. Yogi may not be the most photogenic dog but he likes a good cuddle and scratch of his ears, same as anyone else.

[strigils]

Surprised Coco's ears haven't had a good chewing.

Re Maya, i don't think its the pups, its Dan IMO - her and Dan have discussed sucession planning and Maya's not happy with the idea of climbing into your wife's knickers.

[Dillinger]

^ Has that beast snotted in those too?

[Looper]

^^^Every photo in that post is a winner

champion

[strigils]

Perhaps the real reason Maya is stayng out the way is that Mendip is being coy and not informed us he's snotted on the ridgeback.

Gallowspole has got a couple of cracking pups there, but who could resist a Yogi, if he was an actor he'd be Terry Thomas.

[PAG]

Sadly our Golden Retriever passed away last night, having been house bound for the past 4 or 5 days. She didn't appear to be suffering to any extent, other than her breathing being laboured now and again. Just seems to have been a case of her systems shutting down. Some memories of her.

12 years ago with her brother (he passed away 6 years ago with cancer).



Swimming with her brother, M'Sahib in the canoe.



The two of them at the beach.



Group photo.



With her buddy the Siamese.



Another buddy, the rabbit (he passed a couple of years ago also).



With our Pit Bull.



We now use a pet cremation service, really having run out of burial space in our garden for all but the smallest animals. The ashes are returned to us afterwards, and M'Sahib puts them in a pot with earth and a plant. From this morning.

[strigils]

Sorry hear that PAG, looks like she had a good life, quite a menagerie you've had there.

[Shutree]

Commiserations.

[Mendip]

^^^ I'm very sorry to hear that PAG. Thanks for sharing.

I think you have to remember what a great life she had, long and happy... and a peaceful way to pass on as well.


It seems that Dan has pulled through her latest event and is now eating a bit and hobbling around - she even makes it outside to wee occasionally. She had a go at Max today which shows she's getting her strength back, but at fourteen and a half we have to be realistic about her future. She has a spot next to her brother Den when the time comes, under a mango tree by our pond.


I took Maya to the vet today and it seems that she isn't off her food through sadness about Dan being so sick, or due to jealousy over the new puppies. She has a fever and bloodwork showed her red blood cell and platelet count to be way down and a blood parasite... from ticks. Coco had the same last year. Maya is now on antibiotics amongst other stuff and should make a full recovery in due course.

We've been inundated by ticks this year and the vet persuaded me to get some Bravecto. This is a chewable tablet that once taken will kill off ticks and fleas when they sip the blood. It was expensive, especially with six dogs, but gives three months protection and is an awful lot easier than injecting the dogs with Ivermec every month... for which I have to muzzle Max and Yogi... after catching them that is. They hate injections.

A small tip... it works out much cheaper to buy the largest size tablet (for very big dogs 40 to 56kg) and then cut it yourself to suit your pack. It's also 200 Baht cheaper on Lazada than at the vets, which is where I'll get it from again in three months time. It must taste good as even Dan chewed up her tablet and the only thing she's eaten for ages is pan seared salmon.



Maddy and Cooper continue to thrive and have had no problem adapting to solid food.

Not for the first time I wonder whatever I'd do without Fray Bentos steak and kidney pies.



And cute pic of the day... we're all becoming very attached to these two guys and will be sorry to see them go.