19/09/2021
Hello all my lovely Facebook friends!
Mummy said that I needed to update you all with how I am getting on, because it’s been six months since I arrived and found my forever home. Six months! I can hardly believe it. I have loved every single minute of it.
I have been a very busy boy since I last updated you in May. I went on holiday to Scotland with my mummy, daddy and daughter and grand kids. I wasn’t allowed to stay in the same place as they were staying, as it wasn’t dog friendly, so I stayed Grey Home Boarding with Kelly and Scottish and their dogs. Well, I had the best of both worlds. Mummy and daddy took me out every day for walks and then took me back to Kelly in the evening where I played with the other dogs. I had a wonderful time and the other dogs taught me how to mark my scent and bark properly.
Recently mummy and daddy have been taking me to Grove Boarding Kennels, where I have been having overnight stays. I was a bit apprehensive at first, because I like to constantly be with mummy and daddy, but I’ve had a great time. There are lots of dogs there and we all have a good natter. I get to find out all the local doggy gossip and we all share our tips for getting longer walks or getting more treats. I’m always exhausted when I get home, as I never want to miss out on anything, so forgo my day naps.
One of the tricks that I have learnt, is that if I stand next to the fridge when I hear the kettle boiling (which happens quite a lot as daddy is a prolific tea/coffee drinker) invariably I will be given a piece of chicken from the fridge. Okay, so it doesn’t happen often when mummy does it, but if I stand in front of the fridge door when daddy is making the drinks, I always get a treat.
It’s hard to believe that a year ago I could only dream of having a cosy bed and a belly full of food. And now I have three beds, yes three beds and two regular meals every day. I don’t have to beg for food or search for scraps, I just get out of my bed in the morning and mummy or daddy are filling my bowl up for me. In the afternoon I like to keep reminding them that my dinner is due, so from about 4pm onwards I will make sure that I go and find them and never leave their sides. If I reverse up to them, than I also get a nice rub on my pelvis bones. That definitely hits the spot. They always feed me at 5pm, but maybe one day they might fall for my charms and bring it forward. There are a couple of days that I get extra treats, which I love. Toothbrush Tuesday, where I get an edible toothbrush and immediately take it out in the garden and bury it! And Fish Friday, where I get a tin of sardines mixed in with my kibble. Mummy also bought a proper toothbrush and toothpaste, to try and combat my doggy breath. She cleaned my teeth and went to smell my breath, only to discover that it didn’t smell very minty. Well, that’s because I have liver toothpaste. I do hope that mummy doesn’t use it instead of her own!
I think that I have been a very good boy since living here. I’ve had no accidents in the house……. Oh yes, sorry mummy, I had hoped that you had forgotten about that incident…….I was recovering from having a benign cyst removed and as I had chewed through three, yes three, collars at the vets, was sent home in a body suit. There were strict instructions; no walks for two weeks, only on the lead in the garden to do my business. Well I was having none of that, so after going into the garden numerous times and doing nothing, mummy succumbed to taking me a few feet up the footpath next to our garden. This was dull, dull, dull, as there were so many smells that needed to be smelt outside this boundary. I was very bored. And we all know what happens when a GSP gets bored! So, on day 4 I broke into the room where my kibble is kept and managed to eat a huge quantity that made me look Billy Bunter. I instantly regretted it, when I saw the look of horror on mummy’s face. I felt incredibly unwell, thirsty and sick. As it was night time mummy didn’t take me to the vets, but barricaded the hallway so she could hear me if I wasn’t well. The next morning she rang the vets who said nothing to eat for 48 hours. Well, to be quite honest, I think if I had seen another bit of kibble I would have thrown up. Anyway, mummy took me for lots of little walks down the footpath that day and I soon felt a lot better. That was until I went to bed and my tummy started gurgling and I felt very unwell. Mummy hadn’t barricaded the hallway, so I decided that I needed to find a place as far away from the bedroom as possible. When confronted with a stone floor utility room or pale coloured carpeted lounge and dining room, it was an easy choice. After managing to either throw up or splatter over the carpet sixteen times, I felt so much better. It was at that point that I suddenly realised that I might have made the wrong choice, as the carpet did still look lovely and new.
I couldn’t look mummy in the eye in the morning when she came out of the bedroom and saw me. The stench was pretty overwhelming and when mummy saw what I had done, her face was crestfallen. But she didn’t shout at me and gave me cuddles in between her tears and trying to clean up the ruined carpet. I think after using the carpet cleaner for the fifth time, she gave up. When daddy came back from his sailing trip away, he said that he couldn’t see the marks but suggested that she kept cleaning the carpet to get rid of the smell.
I am a very lucky boy, because I have got lots of lovely aunties that spoil me when they see me. They always have treats for me and I repay them with lots of kisses and cuddles. Whenever I am out people remark on how handsome I am and what a lovely or unusual colour I am.
It’s truly humbling to feel the love that I have received over the last six months, from my mummy, daddy, their family, friends and complete strangers that I meet. I just can’t believe how much my life has changed. My aunties are all saying that I am looking more grown up now, that I hold myself differently and that I am looking confident. I have gradually accepted changes, learnt to not be afraid of different sounds, shapes and noises. Six months ago I was petrified of seeing a horse walking down the street. Today on a walk, I watched two horses galloping past me. My next challenge is my separation anxiety. Twice a day my mummy and daddy leave me for five minutes. This really upsets me and I usually start crying after a minute. I don’t like being left on my own, as I can’t quite accept that they will always come back to me. They are hoping that time will help me overcome this obstacle, like it has helped me get to where I am now.
As I think back to six months ago, I would just like to say another massive thank you to Janice, Lena and Donna for making this happen. For giving me a chance to have a life that I could only have dreamt of.
I must go now as it’s only thirty minutes until my tea time, so it’s time for a back rub!
Much love,
Stanley 🐾
