Dumfriesshire & Cumbria Greyhound Rescue

Katy's Diary

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Updated 31st May 2008
 
DCGR now have FOUR further resident foster dogs who will be spending the rest of their days with us - Chalky, Alfie, Star and Misty, all roughly 10 years old are now in permanent foster care. Please note that as our first resident dog, Katy's carer will continue to produce a diary, but we will not be producing diaries for the other dogs.
 
DCGR's first resident - Katy - arrived on Sunday 23rd July 2006 
 
Katy is being sponsored by
 
Tony Brown, Middlesex, Kathryn Brown, Northumberland, Sara McNeil, Carsphairn, Kim Clements, Cumbria, Maddie Walmsley, Surrey, Heather Holliday, Kendal, Mr M & Mrs K Polkinghorne, Lancs........
 
A very special thank you to Tony Brown who has gone on to raise a further £300 for Katy and Dumfriesshire & Cumbria Greyhound Rescue, by collecting money from people attending an event he had organised in the Algarve.
 
Chalky is being sponsored by
Barbara Percy, Dumfries & Galloway, Mrs F Polkinghorne, Preston
 
Star is being sponsored by
Inger Mosbery, Alston, Mrs Dorothy Almond, Preston
 
Alfie is being sponsored by
David Gow, Edinburgh, Mr V Polkinghorne & Miss J Wilding, Sussex
 
Misty is being sponsored by
Helen Nelson, Liverpool, Mary Keen, Newcastle Upon Tyne
 
Katy's diary updated 4th July 2008

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Katie enjoying the garden with new companion Cassie

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Katy on her first day after her bath

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Katy likes to lie down to eat her food

Click here if you would like to sponsor Katy

Katy is the first 'resident' of DCGR, she arrived on Sunday 23rd of July along with Breeze (aged 7) whom she had been living with. Katy was at that time 11 years and 9 months old and as such we felt it unfair to try and re-home her, with all the stresses that would entail. We have therefore placed her into permanent foster care with Chris and Brian who have very generously agreed to love and care for her in her final years. DCGR will of course be paying all vetinary bills as and when they arise as well as providing food, bedding etc to ensure that Katy is comfortable.
 
Jennie and Stuart Stott collected Katy on the Sunday morning, the first thing they had to do was bath both her and Breeze, followed by a good meal after which they were weighed - Katy weighed in at 40lbs (Breeze at 44lbs), a bit on the light side, but this could of course in Katy's case be down to her age. She was then transported through to Carlisle where Chris and Brian came to collect her with their dog Cassie - it was felt that it would be better for Katy to be moved straight to her new home in one day to try and minimise the stress for her.
 
She is a sweet little thing and will hopefully settle in well with Chris, Brian and Cassie. Our aim is to bring you regular updates on her, with the help of Chris and Brian, so that you can follow her story as she settles in for her final years under DCGR care. If you want to help DCGR care for Katy please go to the sponsor Katy page, or you can of course choose to sponsor a foster home which is aimed at raising money towards the care and vetinary bills of all the dogs we look after before they are homed.
 
See below for Chris and Brian's diary on Katy from day 1.
 

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Katie and Cassie sharing a bed

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Sunday 23 July 2006

Picked up Katy from Albert’s house in Rockcliffe.

No real problems sharing the back seat in the car with Cassie, but this needs to be sorted out better for them, as Katy lies down lengthwise taking up most of the room.  Cassie will go into a “donut”.

Katy could or would not climb upstairs for bedtime, and was very nervous on the landing at the top; Cassie dictated that Katy would sleep at the foot end of the duvet (on the floor next to my bed).  As expected a difficult first night, Katy cried a few times, but quickly settled after a bit of TLC.  Had to let her into the garden twice during the night for a wee – with the consequent problem of the stairs.

 

Monday 24 July

Katy has quite an appetite, but that is to be expected for a few days.  Very happy to take short walks (c.10 minutes) with Cassie, but she attracts many flies around her mouth whilst out during the day – due to her bad teeth and smell.

Apart from her teeth (and/or gums) that need attention, Katy has a thick coat; she is getting groomed 4 times a day, and also had an anti-dandruff shampoo with Cassie.  She has some eyesight problems but I think it depends upon light, shadow etc.  Also problems with her legs, which are stiff at times and cause her difficulties with lying down etc.

Had a short trip to Castle Douglas, no problems but the two dogs cannot sort out their seating arrangement yet, but we have a cunning plan for Tuesday!

Much better night, just one cry about 3am for a toilet visit.  Now manages to walk okay down the stairs, but not up!

 

Tuesday 25 July

Took Brian to Southern General Hospital in Glasgow for his 2-3 day stay (150 mile return trip).  We lowered the “two-third” seat at the rear and put another duvet in to create a “letter L” into the boot.  Very successful with Cassie on the lowered seat, and Katy partly into the boot – their choice.  Journey went very well.

On return home there was a dash from the car into the house by both dogs, Cassie wanted to lie on her lounge duvet for a good sleep, but Katy stood by the food bowl until food arrived.

She is eating well with light-to-easy meals every 4 hours from 8am to 8pm.  Natural non-fat yoghurt on portion of wet (skimmed milk) Weetabix for breakfast, fresh chicken with rice for lunch, meal and meat for tea, and finishes the day at 8pm with portion of fat-free ice cream on sugar-free biscuit!  We are giving her a small portion of corn oil and PlaqueOff in lunch.

Two surprises, about 7pm she was in the garden kicking her legs in the air and generally running about with Cassie.  They seem to be getting on very well quite quickly.

Later that evening she woke up after a snooze and panicked because she couldn’t find anyone (I was upstairs and Brian is in Glasgow of course) - lots of whimpering as she ran room to room downstairs with Cassie running around with her wondering what all the fuss was about.  Got a good greeting from her when I call to her – she ran up the stairs!

She is really fitting in well and very quickly.  Just a pity about her bad breath – and the flies she attracts!

Slept all night and no problems.

 

Wednesday 26 July

Katy doing so well on early morning walk (leading the pack), that I extended it from ½ mile to 1 mile – no problems.  Possibly this is her favourite walk of the day due to their being no flies, but could be that there are more rabbits around, Cassie spots them well in advance whilst Katy only sees them when they run!

Tucked into her breakfast as usual, that followed by a nap, and after that wanted to go out on a walk again.

Generally eating well and looking much brighter.

Trip to vet in afternoon for full check-up.  Reported stiffness in joints and signs of cataracts, some skin flaking and thick coat (but this is being dealt with), somewhat underweight, but apart from her teeth the vets said she was in good health for her age and very alert.  No chip (old or new type) detected, They prefer to leave her to settle in, put on some weight and improve her coat and walking and they will appraise her in 4 weeks (including blood test) to ensure that she could be given a general anaesthetic for dental work, or just a relaxant for teeth scraping.

Stopped at a forest stream on way home for dogs to have a paddle.

Katy still has a good appetite and enjoys her walks and play.  She does have some anxiety about being left alone, for example she cried quite loudly when she woke up after a nap and found Cassie had gone (into the garden) and I was in my office.  Another good night with no interruptions.

 

Thursday 27 July

Now having a 1 mile walk in the early morning, before the heat and flies; with 2 short walks in the day and a waterside paddle/walk in the evening.  She eats as much as Cassie and I’m sure she would overeat if we let her.

Brian returned home from Glasgow in afternoon (our neighbours were in Glasgow and picked him up), good welcome from dogs.

Another good night, Katy has settled in well quick quickly.

 

 

Friday 28 July

Katy eager to start the day, early morning walk followed by breakfast, then after a nap her twice daily brush down.  Hairs still flying off her, but pleased to say there are signs of a healthy coat coming through.

 

Saturday 29 July

Good hour’s walk in Polmaddy Forest (Galloway Forest Park). Eating, walking and sleeping well.

 

Sunday 30 July

First long day’s drive (with us).  RSPCA Show at Otterburn for DGR.  A 212 mile return trip.  Took it well, lots of exercise at showground, with breaks each way.  Katy needs to pee quite frequently during the day.

 

Monday 31 July

After early morning walk, she had a snooze then came running out to kitchen for breakfast when her name was called.  Still did a little cry later when she thought she was alone in the house (we and Cassie were in the garden).

Quick visit to Tesco and pet stores in Castle Douglas, leaving dogs in car (sheltered position) for no more than a few minutes each time – I was surprised that Katy already stands up and looks around for me when the electronic unlock is pressed for the car.  One week and she really has settled in well.  Gave her part of a pigs-ear to suck on when we got home; it’s sad that she is not yet able to chew on anything.

 

Saturday 12th August

Katy’s Weekend Break at Debate with Arthur and Agnes.

 

Chris and Brian were going south to a wedding and thought the trip might be too much for Katy. So having just seen Lofty to his new home we agreed to look after her.

 

She arrived about 9 am on Saturday morning(12th August). After she had said goodbye to Brian and Chris and Cassie, we went for a communal walk to the top of the garden. All very strange for Katy but she seemed to manage OK. Back in  the house she took some time to settle. Like many of our new arrivals she stood and panted and for about an hour refused to lie down. Then she made her way to Daisy’s bed, scraped and turned round as if she was going to lie down. But she didn’t. She peed on it!

 

This is behaviour we have seen from time to time when bitches meet for the first time. Anyway she was rushed outside and in the following two days the ‘mistake’ was not repeated.  After that she relaxed and after the dinner which Brian had left for her, she spent most of the rest of the day sleeping.

 

During the night (3am) I became aware that one of them was moving. It was Katy. We had noticed during the day that she drank more than we would have expected and this was the result. I got up and let her out. She was up again at 6.30 and this time we all stayed up.

 

Katy and the other geriatrics went for a walk after breakfast. Not as far as usual but she did OK.  She became more at ease throughout the day and actually ran up the garden with Lewis, legs going in all directions.

 

The second night was uneventful with everyone getting a good night’s sleep.  Brian and Chris arrived about 1pm on the Monday and off she went.

 

Katy is a real doll. Very easy to manage and I am sure if she came again she would be OK from the word go. She is going to have her teeth and toe nails done and after that will be just like new. Good luck to her and well done Brian and Chris.

 

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W/E Saturday 19 August 2006

We collected Katy from Arthur on Monday afternoon.  Before departing she had a race with the other dogs in the greyhound grass run in the grounds – and didn’t she move!  Really pleased that her legs are getting so much better and that her coat is thinning out from the unnatural thick growth when she first arrived.

A routine week with 3 walks a day and still on 4 meals a day – she hasn’t lost her appetite, and trots fairly well alongside Cassie on all the walks, although we notice there is a slight limp developing in her front right leg – this could be the state of the claws which await attention by the vet.

They had an hour walking around Dumfries town centre early on Thursday (17th) which made a change for them, visiting the pet stores and the French Market.

Saturday (19th) Katy and Cassie attended the Galloway Country Fair at the DGR stand.  Katy stood up very well - in both senses - she didn’t rest all day and made herself available to all visitors.

 

W/E Saturday 26 August 2006

On Sunday (20th) following a long day at the Galloway Country Fair, neither of the dogs awakened the house at their usual hour of 6am.  We left them to sleep and they finally came downstairs on the Sunday morning at 7.40am!

Katy continues to enjoy her walks with Cassie and her food.  We have concerns about her limp and the amount of water that she drinks – and passes.

On Thursday (24th), Katy had her appraisal visit to the vets.  She had her first injection (no problem at all), with a booster to follow in 4 weeks.  The vets have passed her fit and suitable for a general anaesthetic (subject to a blood test just before the anaesthetic), to have the dental exploratory/treatment and also to have her claws trimmed at the same time.  They believe that her limp is mainly due to her claw growth, so we will have to wait to see how she progresses after the operation.  They also need a sample of her urine at that time to test for diabetes etc.  The operation will take place on Tuesday 29th.  Katy now weighs 22 kilos – having put on 4 kilos since her arrival.

On Saturday (26th) we attended Burnfoot Hall at Ecclefechan at the DGR stand – once again Katy was happy to meet the other greyhounds and of course visitors to the stand.  She enjoyed the afternoon - even the cloud burst didn’t dampen her spirits.

Katy often has short play periods with Cassie in the garden at home; unfortunately she cannot keep up with Cassie for too long, but enjoys the fun.

A couple of habits have developed with Katy; one has taken us by surprise.  If Katy is tired (after a busy day) or possibly because she is uncomfortable (toothache?) she likes to climb up to have a lap to sleep on for a while.  Having a greyhound on your lap for 20-30 minutes is not only rather unusual, but also verges on being uncomfortable after a while.  But because of her problems we make allowances.

Another habit is upon our return home from a trip out in the car, the first thing she does after getting out of the car is to trot up to the lawn and have a good roll about - regardless of time or weather – it’s not that she is glad to get out of the car, she is so pleased to come back home again!

 

W/E Saturday 2 September 2006

Katy was at the vets at 9am on Tuesday 29th August for her dental exploratory/treatment etc. By 10am, following blood and urine tests the vets declared her to be in very good health and fit for anaesthetic.  She had her claws trimmed and just one tooth removed, the others were found to be without problems, once they had been scraped.  However it was discovered that she had an infection in the gums.

We collected her at 5pm, and she was in good spirits and glad to get into the car for the return home; upon arrival back at base she did her usual trick and rolled about on the lawn, but not for long because she was obviously famished.    Her gum infection is being treated by antibiotics for 10 days, upon the completion of the course she goes back to the vet for a check-up.

As the days go by Katy seems to be drinking water a little less, but it is still more than Cassie.

On Friday (1st September) we made a 260 mile return trip to Kinross and Kirkcaldy, Katy and Cassie came along for the ride.  We gave them a break every hour whilst travelling, a period that seems to suit Katy very well at present. We expect that we will be making a trip to Hampshire (overnight stop) sometime soon and feel that Katy will manage the trip very well, although we will have to extend the driving periods between breaks from 60 to 90 minutes due to distance. 

 

W/E Saturday 9 September 2006

A quiet week for Katy with various short trips in the car around the Stewartry, plus one trip to Dumfries; she really enjoys her short exploration walks at different venues.

Katy completed her initial course of antibiotics on Saturday morning, but it appears that she may need a further course due to there still being some inflammation in her gums. Her front right leg gets stiff at times and she tends to limp when walking on hard surfaces. She has a scheduled visit to the vet on Monday 12th so all this will be looked at. Katy enjoys life, she likes her bed (up to 7 hours overnight), enjoys all her meals, her walks and a few minutes a day chasing around with pal Cassie on the grass.

 

W/E Saturday 16 September 2006

Katy had her check-up visit to the vet on Monday 11th, he confirmed that Katy needed another week on antibiotics to clear up her gum problems; also the stiffness she has with her front right leg is a problem that can occur with older greyhounds.  Her “wrist” joint is stiff and Katy often rests it by lifting her paw off the ground (when on hard ground) or sticking her leg out like a walking-stick.  He said that there is a treatment, but he doesn’t recommend it whilst she is on antibiotics.  She returns to the vet on 22nd September for her final check-up (re gums) and her second injection.

Katy has had a few outings away from her home territory during the week including Wigtown and Sandyhills, but she is always happy to get back to her patch of lawn at home for a good roll-around.

During the week, despite damp grass we cut the lawn and raked the grass into neat mounds ready for the compost; but in our absence Katy completely destroyed the piles by rolling them all flat – and changed her appearance from ‘black and clean-white’ to ‘black and dirty-green’.

Due to a family bereavement we are travelling down to Portsmouth sometime during the next week, both Katy and Cassie will be travelling with us.  This will be Katy’s first long trip with us, and we expect no problems as she is very content to travel, providing she gets a break every 90 minutes or so.

 

W/E Saturday 23 September 2006

In general, a quiet week for Katy apart from some exploring in the surrounding woodlands, and the autumn return of the pheasants which means some of them feeding in our garden (five and counting), which causes Katy much amusement.  She picks on one bird and follows it around and around the garden until it eventually takes off.

Our journey to Portsmouth was postponed for a week, so Katy’s first long trip with us will now begin next Tuesday.

She had her trip to the vet on Friday (22nd) for check-up and the second injection.  The vet advised that she continue on antibiotics for another week as there is still a little infection in the gums.  We were shown the full printout of the results of her blood and urine tests – both tests show a very healthy dog despite her age (12 in October); just the stiff legs and somewhat tender front paws give her some problems.

On our journey home from the vet we diverted to give the dogs a walk on the flat rocks on the River Dee, which has now returned to its normal flow after several months of controlled flooding, due to the Clatteringshaws Dam outlet being open during maintenance work.  First time for Katy, who got quite bold after a while and decided to paddle in the water; she very quickly found out that not all the river bed is shallow when she took an unexpected plunge!  First time we’ve seen Katy swim.  She got out without any problem and after a several good shakes she carried on trotting from rock to rock with tail wagging.  Towels are always on hand in the car, so she was soon dry; as usual she had a good roll on the lawn upon our arrival home some 20 minutes later.

Saturday saw us at the Langholm Show, giving support to the DGR stand and the dogs meeting up with all their pals.  An excellent day with the weather remaining dry; also a long day for Katy who was so tired on the return home that after her evening meal she retired to bed - at 7pm!

 

W/E Saturday 30 September 2006

This week was Katy’s big journey – a return trip to the West Sussex/Hampshire coast of about 850 miles.  We travelled down Tuesday evening and returned Thursday, stopping about every 90 minutes each-way for the dogs to have a break, including the Tebay and Warwick motorway services southbound and the Stafford and Southwaite services northbound because of the good grass exercise areas for the dogs.  We spent the two nights at a Travelodge just outside Bognor Regis, but regretfully didn’t have time to take them to the seafront or Butlins!

Most of Wednesday we were attending a family funeral and reception at Portsmouth; the dogs were happy to stay most of their time in the car but we made sure they were only left only for short periods.

The journey back took some 8 hours without any major hold-ups, and it was a relief for all of us to get home.  The surprise came from Katy (who had spent the whole trip away in her usual quiet laid-back way); on arrival home she ran up to the lawn with tail wagging and pranced around like a spring lamb before going into her usual roll-around.  She was so pleased to get home and get back to her own bed for a long night’s sleep.

The next day we needed to get some shopping from Castle Douglas, but Katy refused to get into the car.  We thought it best that she came with us because we would only be out for an hour and it would show her that we were not going away again (at least for a couple of weeks), so we lifted her in to join Cassie, and after that brief shopping trip there has been no further problems with her and the car.

 

W/E Saturday 7 October 2006 

Katy finished her antibiotic course and we took her to the vet on Monday 2nd for the last of her current check-ups.  The vet gave her a clean bill of health, saying that the infection in her gums had cleared up successfully.  We notice that her walking is now getting better; in fact she is now happy to gently trot along and keep up with Cassie’s pace, providing the surface is not gravel or stony.

On Saturday 7th we travelled to Berwick-upon-Tweed for the day, both dogs enjoyed the trip as we gave them several breaks at various places. Katy especially enjoyed the riverside stops as she likes a gentle paddle; as yet she has not done any serious swimming – that will wait a week or so when we are having a break on the Pembrokeshire coast.

We were late back from Berwick, but Katy still wanted to do her “return home ritual” of springing about and a few roll-abouts on the lawn before going into the house.  After a light supper she retired to bed, and apart from one comfort break she stayed in bed for nearly 10 hours!

 

W/E Saturday 14 October 2006

A quiet week for Katy, just one trip to Dumfries for shopping! The unexpected temperatures and sunshine at the latter part of this week has enabled Katy to partake in her favourite pastime – rolling about on the lawn and lazing about in the warm sunshine. Katy has a real talent for finding young hedgehogs – a surprising find for this time of the year. So far she has found six hedgehogs hidden in the rough grass or under scrubs on our walks - a real tail wagging job! All of them were a little too close to the road, and were moved to safer ground using the poop scoop! On Sunday we leave early for a week in south-west Wales, with one overnight stop each way. Hoping to get some good snaps of Katy on the beaches of the Pembrokeshire coast.

W/E Saturday 21 October 2006

Katy’s first holiday - as far as we know.  A short break of 3 nights in Pembrokeshire, staying at the Travelodge in Pembroke Dock, a nice looking and well situated lodge opened in November 2005 with a friendly welcome for the greyhounds and no shortage of suitable places to walk them very close by. On the whole we were lucky with the weather, just a couple of downpours.

Katy loved the sandy beaches, especially Broad Haven with its wide expanse of sand and gentle waves. For the first time we had let her off the lead to run around on the enclosed coves, and later on the quiet bigger beaches; however she never ran for more than a few moments, preferring to trot and stay in close proximity - she obviously likes to keep an eye on us.

Katy paddled about at the sea edge, but waited for me to take my shoes off and roll up my trousers to escort them in to slightly deeper water, which was surprisingly warm for October. Cassie prefers to do her crazy circular run-arounds on the sands – Katy just observes.

We broke our journey to and from Pembroke Dock with an overnight stop in a Travelodge both ways; stopping at Warrington Lymm on the way south, which gave us an easy day to explore parts of Wales we had never visited included a walk across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct near Llangollen. We returned via the Ceredigion (Cardigan) coast with a final beach visit at Borth near Aberystwyth – however that beach has a pebble storm ridge in front of the sands; Katy had difficulty traversing the wobbly pebbles and had to be carried over the ridge!

After an overnight stop at the Bangor Travelodge a fast journey home.  Needless to say at journeys end Katy jumped out of the car to do her usual spring-lamb runabout and rollovers on our lawn.  Despite having some great runs and paddles on lovely beaches, she was glad to get home – and that is very gratifying. 

 

 

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The Pebble Storm ridge - how undignified for an old lady!

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How did you get down there then?

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This paddling lark is not so bad!

W/E Saturday 28 October 2006

A quiet week for Katy following her trip to south Wales; kept to local walks due to appalling weather all week, but saying that Katy doesn’t seem to mind the rain (providing she has her coat on), whilst companion Cassie hates it.

Tuesday 24th October was Katy’s 12th birthday; as she has probably never had it celebrated before we gave her a couple of treats.  Perhaps the cake and candle was going a bit far – but she liked the cake once the candle was removed!

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Katy and her Birthday Cake

4 weeks ending Saturday 25 November 2006

 

A quiet time of the year as winter sets in, but Katy grateful for the remaining warm days up to the beginning of November so that she could spend a little time in the sun on her favourite lawn.

Her trip to Pembroke in October seemed to have started up a love for the sea. On a journey to Largs a couple of weeks ago, Katy and Cassie started a commotion in the back of the car when we reached the Firth of Clyde coast at the end of the Ardrossan by-pass – crying that they could smell the sea!  The only way to settle them was to make an unscheduled stop and give them a break on the beach – fortunately empty at that time of anyone else.  Katy ran up and down with tail wagging for several minutes in the waters edge chasing seagulls whilst Cassie ran round us in wild circles.

The Dumfriesshire Greyhound Show & Christmas Fayre was very much enjoyed by Katy, although she was tired out by the time came for her entry into the Competition for “Veteran in Best Condition”.  We were surprised and delighted that Katy received 1st prize – although on her part she only wanted to sleep!  Her trophy and ribbon has pride of place in the glass cabinet until next year.

Katy we think has now reached her healthy peak; she still has stiffness in her front legs but despite that trots along, and can attain a short spurt in the right conditions.  She remains a slim dog despite having eating very well, and enjoys a good variety of suitable food.  She enjoys chew treats and doggy biscuits but because of gaps in the teeth it does take her much longer than Cassie to get through them.  Her only problem is incontinence, but that has been overcome that by ensuring she has frequent exercise and a nocturnal trip into the garden about 3am. Her bed is protected by an incontinence cover just in case!

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Katy and her Rosette

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Katy and Cassie in their favourite place

4+ weeks ending Thursday 28 December 2006

 

Katy has stood up to the wet and windy December weather very well and enjoys her daylight walks, but not so keen on dark evening walking.  Both Katy and Cassie now choose to go upstairs to bed about 10.30pm, and apart from being let out for a nocturnal toilet break about 3am, they stay in their bed until it gets light or they hear the rattle of their collars and leads!

Both dogs now share a blow-up single bed which they both enjoy laying on once they got the hang of not sliding off.  It has an incontinence cover, under-blanket and throw-over.  Just one mishap, I was awoken one night by a “pop” sound followed by a slight hissing.  One of the dogs had managed to puncture the bed when moving about; as it was about 5am I didn’t bother to take any action and continue to lay in my bed, watching the two dogs slowing sinking to floor level – they just slept on!  A supplied puncture repair kit did a good job, and the whole bed is now wrapped around with a double under-blanket to stop direct contact between their claws and the bed’s rubber surround.

Katy still plays about on our lawn, which she has now reduced to a balding flat grass area.  On wet days she rubs her chops in the muddy bits which involves a clean-up on entering the house – but she enjoys it so much that we really cannot put the mangy remains of a lawn out-of-bounds.

Both dogs received Christmas presents from neighbours, including a doggy stocking and other chewy things and generally had a quiet but contended period.  We took them to various beaches on a number of occasions, they especially enjoy Nun Bay near Kirkcudbright which has a couple of good sandy stretches at low tide, and is safe enough for them to run free.  Cassie runs around at top speed in a circle, never venturing too far from us, and Katy attempts to follow but in much smaller laps – “like a bouncy lamb with a smile on its face” as one passer-by said.

We shall be staying at the Perth Travelodge (greyhounds welcome) for a few days in mid-January, visiting relatives and friends in Montrose, Aberdeen and St Andrews.  Hopefully, subject to weather, Katy will be introduced to the fantastic sandy beaches and dunes around Montrose and as well as some beaches that we have never seen in the St Andrews Bay area.

Katy’s weight is now just 24.02Kg (subject to confirmation); we doubt that she will put on much more despite having a good appetite.

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Katy at Nun Bay, near Kirkudbright

Month ending 31 January 2007

The New Year period passed quietly and despite the bad weather Katy stood up well to the wet and windy walks along the loch shore and on the exposed hillsides.

We spent a few days over the 2nd-3rd weeks of January in the north-east. We decided to use the Perth Travelodge as our base as it was easy from there to get to relatives and friends in Aberdeen, Montrose and St Andrews, plus it has good surrounding land for convenient exercise for the dogs.  The Travelodge kindly gave us the first room on the ground floor, so it was no problem to get Katy (with Cassie for company) out for her necessary toilet in the middle of the night.  I made the mistake on the first night of letting them off the leads when I got them back through the fire door into our corridor – I think it reminded Cassie of Arthur’s greyhound run in Waterbeck, and she took off at high speed with Katy in pursuit for the full length of the corridor and back again. That would normally have been quite funny but it was about 3am; the sound of galloping animals must have woken a few guests - fortunately I got them back into the bedroom quickly and apparently there were no complaints.

A great time was had by Katy and Cassie on the beaches, despite the high winds.  Montrose beach was a joy for them, especially as we had it practically to ourselves; it was warm and the waves dispersed on the outer sand banks so the dogs were able to “speed-paddle” safely.

Among the other beaches that we took the dogs to, Katy enjoyed a short visit to the East Beach in St Andrews where she made friends with a lurcher dog, and much to the amusement of the owners she wanted to get into their car with the lurcher, and she really didn’t want to come home with us at all!

Despite all the beaches that Katy had enjoyed, when we got home she still made that rapid bee-line from the car for to our now muddy-patchy lawn.  She bounded around it jumping up in the air and smacking the poor grass with her front paws.  I think she was saying “I’m home again!”

 

 

 

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Montrose Beach - that water is SO salty!

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No, I don't want my photo taken while I'm eating my lunch!

Month ending 28 February 2007

Katy showed signs of stiffness in her front legs during the first few days of February, she was slowing down from her usual brisk pace and really didn’t want to walk very far at all, so a visit was arranged to the vet.  Nothing serious diagnosed, just the onslaught of old age and the winter months taking their toll.  She was prescribed a small measure of Metacam to be injected into her food once daily.  Within 3-4 days her condition had greatly improved, and it wasn’t long before she was chasing companion Cassie around on the beach again.

Sunday 18th was a beautiful clear day; we were in the Largs area and decided to take the dogs and car over to Great Cumbrae – any excuse for us to have an ice cream at The Ritz café in Millport!  The dogs enjoyed the breaks at the small rocky beaches around the island, a stroll around the cathedral grounds and around the summit.  A really nice day that broke up the dreich month of February.

When out on one of our early walks last week Cassie found an old rabbit hiding in roadside undergrowth and quick as lightning she crabbed it. Katy took excepti