The wonderful thing about Tiggers....

Wheeeeeeee! My whole world has been turned upside down, and I LOVE it! Little Amber - well, she's not exactly little, she's about my size and has big feet, but she seems young and little to me - is such fun. She's a really bouncy girl, and mummy says she's just like Tigger in Winnie the Pooh, who bounced everywhere and was always happy and friendly.

I'd been quite lonely on my own, since mummy had her allergy and the pups had to go, so I welcomed Amber with open paws. She's not a bossy girl - not yet anyway - and if I glare at her she leaves my toys alone so I don't feel she's taken over at all. Most of the time I let her play with things, or we play tug with them together. Of course, sometimes - like early this morning - I don't feel like being pounced on. Amber doesn't realise this and she just carries on pouncing on me, even when I walk away from her. This morning she landed on my back and then fell off, and I was half-way out of the room. She looked a bit surprised, and then ran round in front of me, wagging her tail, and bopped me round the face with one of her paws. She's certainly an outgoing kind of a girl!

Yesterday evening she tried to steal my Prince from me! He's home for the Bank Holiday weekend, helping mummy look after daddy who is ill, and they were all watching a long, boring DVD. I curled up on the floor next to mummy and Amber curled up with me. Then suddenly she ran across the room and jumped onto my Prince's lap, curled up into a very tight ball, shut her eyes and pretended she'd fallen asleep straight away! He let her stay there too, all through the film. I felt a little bit put out, although mummy fussed me and told me not to worry. Then, when the film ended and Amber had to get down, my Prince said to mummy 'Amber is really lovely, but she loves everyone. She'd probably love a burglar! Em is very special, beause Em only loves us, and she is so loyal and gentle and loving that she will always be extra special'. I felt a big glow wash over me then, and mummy agreed. She said she loves us both to bits but that I have a very special place in her heart. That's because we were parted for a while when I was a puppy I think. So, everything is fine and I don't mind what Amber does because I know there's enough love in this house for both of us for ever more.

Well, if she keeps chewing on my pink plastic wishbone when I want it, the love might run out a little bit from my point of view, but on the whole that's true. She really is funny, and I'm never lonely any more which is great. I'd never heard of Tiggers before, but now that I've met one I have to agree with A.A. Milne. They really are wonderful things!

A Letter To Daisy

Today I've done my diary entry in Daisy's diary, because it's exactly one year since she went to the Rainbow Bridge, and I wanted to talk to her through her diary.

I hope she reads it, and that other people on Dogster read it too. Anniversaries like this are sad, but Mummy says it's the price you pay for giving your heart to a pet, and that it's worth it although it's very hard.

I shall give her extra licks today, to cheer her up!

Going Fishing

I haven't done many diary entries lately, because daddy is sick so mummy is busy, but today I nearly caught a fish in our pond, and I wanted everyone to know about it!

I went outside with my Guardian and watched her switch off the fountain and throw the fish pellets into the pond. I mooched around the flower pots and border for a time and that meant mummy went inside forgetting to make sure I'd gone in with her! The moment she was inside, I jumped up onto the wall of the pond and there were 12 really big fish just swimming on the surface, gobbling up the pellets. I'm like Oscar Wilde, I can resist anything except temptation!

I took a look round the garden, to make sure that no one was watching - actually mummy had seen me and took a photo through the window, which she's put on my Dogster page, but I didn't know that then - and after that I turned back to the pond and in went my front right paw. I didn't mind what I caught, a fish or their food, it all smelt delicious. Unfortunately for me, because Mummy had seen me, she waited until I was about to scoop my prize out of the water and then turned the fountain back on! I really jumped I can tell you, and leapt down off the pond wall double quick. What a mean thing for mummy to do! I came straight back inside then, and she said 'serves you right, Em,' but I hadn't been served at all. I didn't get to eat even one crumb of fish food, let alone a live fish.

Next time I plan on going fishing, it will be at night, when all the curtains are closed!

I'm Back!

Phew, I'm finally home. I've been on a 'holiday' at mummy's friend's kennel, but if that's a vacation I'm not sure why the furless ones are so keen on them!
I didn't get any gravy bone biscuits after human meal times - in fact I never even saw humans have meals as my home was outside the house - and I only had two chew toys with me, and none of my soft toys or tugger toys. This was to keep them safe, because I had a Cocker spaniel for company in my 'room', but I missed them. The Cocker was nice, and I liked having her around. She went home three days before me, and after that I was on my own, which I didn't like as much. Still, it was all so that mummy could have a little rest, so I know I had to do it.

When I got home today, I went barking mad! I was soooo excited, and for the next two hours, whenever I got near mummy or Master Guardian, I would 'talk' to them, to try and tell them how deprived I'd been while I was away. I mean, a gravy bone isn't something a dog wants to give up. I yipped and yodelled at them, and all they did was laugh, because I've never done that before. They couldn't make sense of it, but because I made them laugh, but because I sat down very firmly indeed by the cupboard where the gravy bones are kept, I finally got one although it wasn't the right time. The Guardians get there in the end, we dogs just have to persevere!

I've been running around all the time, except for the time mummy, daddy and Master G went out for lunch, which did NOT amuse me. They weren't gone long, as daddy isn't well and had been taken ill while he was away but insisted on going out although he can't really make sense of things at the moment, but they were gone too long for my liking. I don't want mummy out of my sight for months now. I was meant to come home this evening, so that I wasn't left, but the plans were changed because of my transport home. At least I got back earlier!

I have patrolled the perimeter of the garden twelve times so far - I just know a cat and a hedgehog have been in it while I was gone - and my tail hasn't stopped wagging since I jumped into mummy's arms from the back of the car that brought me home! I have also played with every single one of my soft toys and my tugger toys in turn. Master G played 'fetch' with my tugger rope until he thought his arm was going to drop off. He said I'm like a toddler that wants to play the same game for hours!!!

I've put on weight while I've been away - not enough exercise mummy says. Well, in that case she hasn't been doing much either as she's put on a pound or two! She says that she's been busy gardening, and going for walks, but that Master Guardian has been buying her lots of cream scones and slices of chocolate cake when they've been out. Huh, she had cakes and I missed my gravy bones. I hope she feels really, really guilty about that!

Oh yes, and I've now managed to roll all over the carpets in the hall, the front room and mummy's study, because my smell was missing and I wanted it back. 'Thanks Em, that's great for my allergy' said mummy, but she was laughing. I don't really smell very good because I've had a bath and been groomed and the nice 'doggie' smell has vanished. Apparently my coat is 'silky smooth' and feels 'lovely', but what do humans know? I preferred it the way it was before. Being groomed every day at home is bad enough, baths and having my nails cut are not my idea of a fun holiday!

Sooo, I'm back and now I can pawmail all my Dogster pals and hear all their news and generally catch up with everything. I am over the moon with excitement and mummy says that she doesn't know how she can ever bear to part with me again, she's just so thrilled to have me back. You know, now I'm quietening down, I'm finally beginning to feel a little tired, so I think I'll have a doze on her feet before it's time for my 6pm gravy bone. Not that I'm obsessed or anything!

An Easter Day Marathon!

Yesterday, after the Easter Bunny had visited the Guardians - but not me! - Master Guardian and mummy took me for a long walk. We were gone nearly two hours! I really enjoyed it, because we walked all the way to the park, then along the river, where I could see lots of ducks and moorhens, and then we sat on a bench and watched the little waterfall for twenty minutes. I was on mummy's lap for a time, and then I sat between her and Master G and put my paws on the back of the seat so that I could watch people walking along the path behind us. Lots of them laughed at me, but I don't know why!

When mummy had caught her breath - I'd have caught it for her, but I didn't know anyone had thrown it - we walked back along the river and then Master Guardian bought ice creams for mummy and for himself. I sat on mummy's lap and looked very cute and sweet but I didn't get one single drop of ice cream. How mean is that? Mummy said that as I'm not eating my dog food, I'm not having even a tiny treat. Humph!

While we were sitting there, in the gorgeous sunshine, a little furless puppy of about four years of age - pre-school mummy said - came up to our table. He had a football in his hands and he stood and looked at me as I sat on mummy's lap. 'Can I throw this ball in her face?' he asked mummy. He meant MY face? Can you believe it? Mummy said 'NO, you cannot.' Then he thought for a moment, and asked if he could roll it across the table at me, and mummy said 'NO!' Master Guardian gave him a bit of a look, so he wandered off for a few minutes, and then he crept back behind mummy's chair until he was facing me again and then he asked if he could hit me in the face. Mummy was really shocked. Master Guardian says that the little furless puppy was in training to become a psychopath, whatever that means. She told him in no uncertain terms that he could NOT hit me in the face, and Master Guardian began looking round for his parents. He could only find a mummy, and she looked very young, but she was busy talking to a friend and had missed it all. Master Guardian looked so angry that the furless puppy wandered away again, but then when we all got up to walk home again, he asked mummy why we were leaving. 'In case my dog bites you,' she said, and that made him run away. She wished she'd said that before. Honestly, no puppy would behave that badly. I was glad I had two Guardians to protect me.

We then walked home again, and it's uphill all the way home so mummy said it would be nice if I could pull a sledge or do something useful, rather than just be decorative! I was quite tired when we arrived home, but not as tired as mummy who said her legs ached! We did have such a nice time though, and Master Guardian said it was really lovely to have peace and quiet - except for the aspiring psychopath - instead of all the hustle and bustle of London.

I wanted to go out for a walk again today, but mummy said 'No way!' and she and Master Guardian have been doing work in the garden and mummy has been getting washing dry as he goes back to London tonight. We've had a WONDERFUL Easter weekend, and my tail hasn't stopped wagging since MG returned on Thursday night. I'm really happy that the warm weather is coming again, because the park is such a nice place to go.

I hope all my Dogster pals had an equally nice Easter, and now mummy is planning my Spring page for Dogster, but she's promised me I don't have to have new photos taken for it - phew, that's a relief!

Hedgehogs mean...

It's certainly spring here, and the hedgehogs and woodmice are out and about in our garden. Mummy knows because she found their calling card! She says that hedgehogs bring fleas, so after I was groomed today I had to have my Frontline put on, for six weeks protection. I was put straight outside after that, for it to dry off, but I didn't want to be outside on my own, so I scratched and scratched at the back door - it's what humans call 'knocking' - and she had to let me back in. Then, because I want the whole house to be safe from these fleas, I went from room to room rolling around on all the carpets. It was lovely. Mummy shouted at me to stop it AT ONCE, and each time she said that I did as I was told, and moved to another room. Obviously she knew when each carpet had the right amount of Frontline on it!

Yesterday we had a heron in our garden. I didn't see it, nor did mummy, but our neighbour saw it. It was after the fish in our pond. I sympathise with it. I'm always after them myself, and sometimes get one of my front paws wet when I try a bit of fishing.

Today, after mummy had been to the human grooming parloud to have some streaks put in her hair, which took longer than my visits to the groomer's, she took me for a walk. Mr Guardian came too, because he didn't want to be left behind, but he can't walk very fast so it was an amble rather than a walk. It was nice though, until we met a group of schoolboys who blocked the entire pavement and wouldn't move one behind the other. I was scared, and stood still in the middle of the pavement, but they just kept coming at mummy and me - Mr Guardian had wandered on and mummy was worried he'd get too far ahead of us - and then they said rude words before finally veering round me. Mummy was very angry with them, and as they were only about 13yrs old, she asked them if frightening me had made them feel good, and would their parents be proud of them. One of them said 'sorry' and the others shuffled their feet and tried to pretend they weren't there. After that, I got worried every time we saw school children. Mummy wishes we could just go to the park in a car and walk along the river, but it's a long walk to get there. She's thinking of getting a dog-friendly taxi to take us when the weather is really nice, so that we can both do the riverside walk through the bigger of the two parks. I'd like that, because there's no traffic and it's peaceful.

I like to go out though, and mummy hopes I'll get braver in time. I don't think I will, but she can hope!

Tomorrow Master Guardian comes home for Easter - hurrah! No one bothers us when we go for a walk with him, because he's very tall and it seems to put them off, so walks will be better while he's here. We might even manage the park while he's here, he can walk for miles so he could take me on his own. I'm really excited that he'll be back soon. He's been gone 8 weeks. I wonder if he'll need Frontline when he arrives? We will see....

A relaxing walk?????

Mummy took me for a walk today. We haven't been for many walks lately, because of her shingles and daddy being sick, but today was meant to be sunny and warm, and mummy said it would do us both good, so off we went.

It wasn't sunny and warm when we went out. It was cool and foggy, and mummy had to wear her trench coat (and other clothes of course!) We couldn't go to the park as it would have taken too long and daddy wasn't feeling well at home, so we had to walk round the streets. I'm never too keen on that, as I don't like noises and new things, but I got them IN SPADES as mummy always says!

First of all, a big Army training lorry kept going past us, really long and noisy. Mummy thinks it was different ones, but it looked like the same one to me. It had big red 'L' plates on it, probably L for Loud! I just sat down on the pavement every time it crept up behind us. Once the driver hooted his horn at me (or mummy!) Mummy said 'oh grow up!' I don't think she meant me, as I am grown up.

Next we passed some houses where men were throwing slates off the roof and shouting at each other. 'Is that a Rottweiller?' one of them shouted to mummy, and they all laughed. Mummy didn't laugh, and I tried to hide behind her in case there was a Rottweiller somewhere else that I'd missed. After that we kept having these strange vehicles on the path, going past us, full of furless puppies. Furless puppies make strange noises, stick out their human paws and throw toys around. Their mummies try to stroke me, but I back away and nearly trip mummy up with the lead.

To finish the 'peaceful' walk off, a man with a golden labrador in a harness was coming towards us. 'He's very friendly' said the man, as I sat down behind mummy, who was trying to walk on because the walk was taking such a long time! When the drew level, the labrador growled and then lunged at me. 'He'll be fine once he knows her,' said the owner. Mummy said 'I don't think she wants to hang around and wait to find out', which was quite funny really, and she had to drag me along the ground to get me away as the dog kept growling. I was exhausted by it all!

After that it got better, and we a peaceful stroll through a quiet little estate where older furless people live, and they were nice. They didn't throw toys at me, and their voices were quiet. They thought I was 'sweet' but actually I was worn out by stress that I didn't have the energy to back away!

We were out for 30 minutes, and mummy said 'Well, I hope that did us both good, Em', in a voice that suggested it might not have done. I enjoyed it though, in a way. I hope we go again tomorrow, I might growl back at that labrador if I see him again. Then again, I might not....

Barks and Crafts

It's been a wet and cold day here, so my Guardian decided that it was time she tried to do something about my page. My Dogster pals all have lovely pages, with music and pretty pictures - as well as lovely photos of my pals themselves - and she wanted to improve mine.

I'm not a good girl when it comes to posing for photos, so she knew she couldn't rely on me to make the page look nice! As soon as the camera comes out, I'm off. She took some today, as stage one of her Artistic Plan, and the best one shows me sitting at the back door trying to get out! Once she'd loaded the two new photos she set about attempting to do all the things Blackburn Charlie's mummy had told her about in a pawmail. She really, really wanted to manage it herself, and she felt she needed a distraction so off she went. Rather like me chasing a cat really! Well, she got a distraction. In fact, she got a three hour distraction, and even I wouldn't spend three hours chasing a cat!

Of course, she had to do human things in between so it wasn't three hours solid, but it took three hours from the time she started to the time she finished. Then, when she was finally satisfied, and had asked forgiveness for one or two words she'd used along the way, she realised that in three weeks time Easter will be over and she'll have to change it all bol!

Actually, she doesn't mind. She says it will be easier next time - hmmm, we will see about that - and she's already planning the kind of page it will be. Mr Guardian is pretty sick at the moment, and Master Guardian can't come home because of his cold, which he mustn't give to Mr G, so I think it would be a good thing if Easter happened this weekend and she had to start work on Sunday night!!!!! She says that's not funny!

The best thing about it all was that I didn't have to do anything at all. I just lay around under her desk, came out for a gravy bone a couple of times, let her groom me before she took the photos and that was that. What I'd like to know is, is this Dogster site for us dogs, or for our mums and dads???????? It's for them isn't it, and they pretend it's for us, bol!

Em & Em

This afternoon I finally got to meet my Dogster pal, Emma, who lives just around the corner from me. My Guardian took a photo of us, and it's on my page. Emma is a bigger Cavalier than I am, so I was a little bit shy at first, and kept my distance. Later I got braver, but she didn't like me getting too near her, so I sat on mummy's lap and watched everything from there. Laps are safe!

Emma is beautiful. She has a gorgeous head, and big eyes and LONG EARS. I was very jealous of her beautiful ears. She's four years old now, one year older than me. She was much quieter than me. She doesn't dash around the garden, or chase cats. She was happy to sit quietly. Mummy said to me 'that's a placid Cavalier, Em. Look and take note!' I looked, but I didn't have a pen so I couldn't take note!

Emma's mummy brought me some doggie treats, because mummy gave her the beautiful pink jumper I was sent from America. That's because I'm such a silly, nervous Cavalier that I won't wear clothes. Mummy didn't want to waste it, and Emma will look so pretty in it. She's got the right colouring for pink bol!

While she was here, mummy and I both remembered what it was like when there were other dogs in the house, and it made us a little bit sad. Later, as I snuggled under her desk while she typed, I wasn't sad any more because I like all the fuss and attention I get. Mummy wasn't sad for long either, because she knows she'd be grooming and vacuuming all day every day, and still have breathing problems. No, this is best for all of us, but it was soooo nice to have a friend come and visit.

We hope we'll see her again one day, perhaps in the park. That will be fun. In the meantime, thanks for the visit, Emma, and thank you Dogster for putting us in touch with each other.

Ear Knots and Marriage Knots

It's a windy, sunny sort of day and I was quite happy this morning, running around outside, barking when a leaf fell a few miles away, and then of course I had to be groomed. My Guardian doesn't know how it happened, but although I get groomed every single day, she found a HUGE knot behind my left ear. She thinks - and she may be right - that I've been rubbing my head all over the carpets because she has to vacuum every day, and that's caused it.

It was the size of a British 50p piece, and she had to use special 'cutting in' scissors, so that she could untangle it without having to cut much fur off. She says she's been waiting over a year for my ears to grow, so NO WAY was she going to cut any off now bol!

I sighed and I fidgeted, I moved my head, I lay down, I stood up, I wriggled, and I generally behaved as though she was trying to cut my ears off, but she didn't give up. I must say she has great persistance for a human. After twenty minutes, she'd done it, and there's only a tiny bit left for her to finish off tomorrow. 'Well done, me,' she said. Usually she says 'well done, Em'. I was quite worried she'd get the tripe chew afterwards instead of me too, but luckily she still gave it to me. I don't think she likes the smell much, which is stange. I love them!

Today the furless sister of my friends Peggy Sue and Holly is getting married to her Handsome Prince. We all hope they have a wonderful day, full of love and laughter and that they live happily ever after. We're thinking of them, tying the marriage knot - when we're not thinking about my knot of course!