Friday, January 29, 2010

January 29th Rumor


One of my friends at work bought a designer puppy (a goldendoodle) and brought him in to where we work. He was such a cutie I had to share a picture of him. He was a little shy at first, but quickly came out of his shell to play with me. He got a lot of good socialization with many of the people in the office, and was a good little boy. It would be cool if we could have a 'pet day' at the office here, as long as folks bring well mannered pets. We already have a cat that is here full time since we work in a office area in a warehouse, so animals are not unknown here.
Back to preparation for next month's race, I've purchased on-line a drop/picket line for up to 6 dogs and some new limited slip collars. Yukon slipped his collar last night and ran for the neighbors chicken yard. I got him before he did any damage, but I'm worried now that he knows where it is. I have to train with him for the race, but cannot risk him getting loose again. Sigh, so I may just have to train with Demon and Freya exclusively until I get a collar he can't get out of or chew through.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

January 28th Princess


She is such a pretty little girl. This morning she jumped the enclosure fence and ran and jumped into my arms. She smiled as I held and pet her for a few minutes, just happy to be with me. I'm pretty sure she knows she's staying with us. This weekend, in-between cleaning the house, scooping the yard, and mushing the dogs, we will be working on 'down stay' and heel. She is already good at 'down', so teaching stay and heel will be the tricky part. With her prancy gait, soulful eyes, beautiful markings, pretty head and shoulders, she will make a great show prospect. Her long legs and energy will probably make for a good sled dog too! She got wound up yesterday and was like a little lightning bolt zipping through the house.
There is a natural pup race track in my house. It is open running from the dining room, to the den, to the living room, to the kitchen and back in to the dining room. The pups race around this central track for hours when they get the chance, or sometimes just race in to my room, in to the living room, and onto the slick kitchen floor and slide. It's almost as much fun to watch them.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

January 27th Demon


Such a handsome boy. I'm very pleased with his weight now. If anyone read my blog about March of last year, Demon came to us almost starved to death. Every rib, vertibrea and bone was easily traceable by hand. He was suffering from whip worms and definitely not fed nearly enough even if he didn't have worms, and if we had not picked him up when we did, he probably would not have survived another month. Demon is the father of Samantha's puppies, and he is such a warm cuddly fuzzy bear to me. However, he is very shy towards everyone else. Never aggressive, just timid shy, he is finally coming up to Jim when I'm not there to be petted once in a while. Demon normally will not come in the house unless I coax him in, but once in, loves to be right up next to me wherever I go, including when I go to sleep. Demon has been fixed after fathering Samantha's litter, and it has made a huge difference in his sledding work ethic. He has become a fantastic puller instead of a mediocre one, but I worry about taking him to events. If he ever got loose at an event I would probably never see him again, as he would shy away from everyone. So I'm torn regarding his future participation. I need him on the team, but fear losing him. I would be devastated if anything ever happened to him.
Samantha on the otherhand is friendly to one and all, but is a mediocre puller at best, probably due to a former injury as she runs stiffly lame until she warms up a bit. I never take her far as one, her fastest pace is a jog I can keep up with, and two, I don't want to risk further injury.
This leaves me with a choice of Freya or Yukon for the race next month. Freya would be ideal, but she is kind of shy, (although that has changed dramatically since she had pups) and is just finishing up nursing, so is a bit out of shape and not ready. So, down to Yukon for the race. He's in top physical condition, but not my best for following directions (that would be Freya). Ah well, we are training up for the race, and hopefully he will become more attentive. Yukon is also my fastest dog, and a very impressive sight when he runs. I've never clocked him, so I really don't know how fast he is, I only know that I have to hang on for dear life when he gets it in his head to 'move out'! It is a joy to see and experience, the best thrill ride ever! In order to train myself, though, I take out all four dogs one at a time, as I need to be in training more than they do.
Purchase items for the race will be a better bike (the one I have has served me well and the best $10 I ever spent, but it probably isn't race safe) and a drop line. I'm pretty sure we have about everything else I need, but I'm going to prepare a checklist, and hopefully get some input on it from veteran racers prior to the event. Wish me luck!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

January 26th Samantha

Lately we've been taking Samantha for walks so she can relieve herself in peace. Putting her in the backyard won't work, as she gets mobbed by puppies that haven't gotten it in their heads yet that she is no longer producing milk. This has made Samantha very happy, as she loves to go on walks. I took her for a walk this morning when I went out to warm up the truck. As soon as I opened the door, she jumped in to the truck and wouldn't come back out. She wanted to go to work with me. I wish I could have taken her. It took a lot of convincing and coaxing to finally get her back out of the truck and off to our walk.

The snow was falling rather thickly through the orange lamplight.
The road was illuminated in a shimmery gold.
Gilded feathers glided down from the sky.
The ground was blanketed in powder an inch thick in the gloom,
and skeletal trees were outlined in winter's clothes.
The ridgeline rose darkly in the distance.
A lone speck of light peeked through the trunks of ancient trees,
trying vainly to impose the will of humanity on the quiet peace of January's dawn.
Timidly we broke the serenity, reverant of the silent vow.

Monday, January 25, 2010

January 25th Muddy Puppies are a LOT of work!


It has been raining for nearly a straight week, I have about a foot of mud everywhere (not reflected in this photo). Farms are very muddy places to be when the rains come despite the amount of sand and straw I have put down in the dog yard. I think the sand sank to the bottom of the mud pit, and all the mud surfaced attracted by the four footed magnets, all 17 of them (12 puppies and 5 adults). My septic tank is probably half full of mud from constantly washing down puppies and dogs, and steam vaccuming my carpets.

My day Saturday went something like this: Watch puppies from 2am to 5am, get 3 more hours of sleep, get up, wash 6 puppies (takes approximately an hour and 45 mins) and dry them, let them romp around my room and cleanup after them while Jim takes shower, have Jim watch puppies romp around my room while I take a shower, load puppies in the back of the truck (takes approximately thirty minutes chasing them down and pulling them out from under my bed), take puppies to the vet for 8 week shots and worming, swing by the local feed store while Jim is with vet and puppies, pick up 12 puppy collars, small snap leash and treats, get back to vet and load puppies (approximately ten minutes with the help of the vet techs), drive home, unload puppies, attach collars to puppies and adjust for fit, let puppies out into the muddy yonder (which they enjoyed to the fullest, sometimes I think we are raising little piggies as much as they eat and love the mud!), clean up puppy enclosure, vacuum puppy enclosure, steamvac puppy enclosure, hose spray-down area rug, steamvac area rug, (by this time it was about 6pm), collapse in a chair to eat dinner, rest for two hours while the rug dried, reassemble puppy enclosure, put down pads, beds, toys, and blankets, let puppies back in, moan in agony as puppies muddy and mess up all the work you did for the last 12+hours (took about ten minutes), stare in despondent desperation from the puppy enclosure to the tv and back until 2am, wake up son for puppy watch, go to bed.

Winter time is a very bad time of year to have puppies. This is my learned wisdom. Good thing I love the little rascals.

But now is time to start the process of finding good homes for them. So, if you know anyone interested in sled-bred Siberian Huskies that are very smart, very well socialized puppies that have been trained to sit and are in the process of learning to be housebroken, don't hesitate to contact me at zharrlord at yahoo dot com. All of the cuties except Christmas, Moon the white-gray, and Princess, the brown-eyed beauty are up for sale. All Samantha puppies and Freya puppies have 6 and 8 weeks shots and worming . Samantha puppies are 10 weeks old, have all papers and puppy books up to date: Elvis (male gray and white), Xena (female black and white), and Ace (female red and white). Freya puppies are 9 weeks old with all papers and puppy books up to date: Face (male gray and white), Buck (male red and white), Brownie (male red and white), Cat (male black and white) Flake (male black and white) and Silver (female gray and white).

Both sets of puppies are healthy with no noted genetic problems and will be guaranteed for a year (12 months from date of purchase). Both sets of puppies have parents on premisis and they are hard to miss. ;-) Yukon and Samantha love visitors. Freya and Demon are a bit more reserved.

Puppies will be discounted with a neuter contract.

So, now with that off my chest, onwards and upwards and back to training! Freya, Yukon, Demon and I are getting ready hopefully for the Music City Dryland Challenge! Depending on how our training goes, we will probably just watch the races, or maybe bikejor.

I'm excited! I want to make this race even just to watch, as it is in the neighborhood of a friend and co-worker, and is closer than any event so far!

Friday, January 22, 2010

January 22nd Of Mud, More Mud and Puppies!


The ground is still soup, the temps are still in the 40's and 50's, and the mud keeps getting deeper not only outside, but the pups and the dogs have done their best to bring their slice of nature inside.
The area rug we had by the back door is saturated with muck, and the beds we had for them are becoming clay bricks. 4x60lbs of sand have not really made a dent in the muck, so it is off to the hardware store again this weekend after Freya's pups get their shots.
So, in order to clean the house back to some state of livability, the dog door is getting removed until the ground dries up. This will also help us keep our escape artist confined. Of course after tonight she may not want to get out any more (finally recovered enough to take her out on the bike). The pups are being shown the house built for them in the barn at the bottom of the hill in the yard. When I was in there over the weekend, they had a ball playing in the house. Little did they know that was to be their future abode. This will be temporary until the temps dip again or the ground dries out and we don't have to worry about caked mud by the dog door.
Hopefully next paycheck, we will be able to order our new shed to keep the lawn tractor, bike, cart, harnesses and other tools in. It will also be nice to get some storage space which is in short supply in this new house.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

January 20th Of Mud, Bricks and Dogs!


Yup, she's a beauty, but also a pain in the butt sometimes. The ground became soup over the weekend, been in the 40's and 50's (yeah I know, in January! I keep having visions of the polar ice caps melting). This has made the ground extremely malable to husky claws, and Samantha has decided that she can't stand living another day without the taste of fresh rabbit. Yup, she's after the two we have been feeding, and a little six foot chain fence lined with bricks is not going to stop her, no sir! I still have no idea how she manages to wriggle out a hole that a mouse would have second thoughts about, but somehow she bends spacetime and gets her butt out the tiny holes.
I guess some of this has been my fault, I've been too sick to run them to exhaustion the past few days. This has left time and energy on her hands, and any husky owner will tell you, a rested husky is just itching for mischief. I'm only glad that Samantha seems to be the only one bound and determined to escape. The boys and Freya are perfectly happy bouncing around the yard and playing with the puppies. Why can't Samantha be content in the yard? Sigh...

Friday, January 15, 2010

January 15th I Want My Toys!


Brownie has become quite the character these days. He just loves playing in the crate. Last night when I came home, he cried and cried until I came over to pick him up. He was so excited, and loved on me for about three or four minutes, but I was only an excuse I think. When he felt he had paid enough attention to me, he wiggled and wiggled to get free. I put him on the floor and he made a bee-line for the crate! Pawing at the door he looked at me pathetically, and I opened the door for him after telling him "In your crate". With delight, he hopped into the middle of the crate, plopped down and started picking up toys and arranging them around him in a circle. He then proceeded to chew on every one of them until he settled on the squeaking dog. Not to be left out, Christmas began to howl, and did the same routine, lick my face for a couple minutes then struggle to be let down. Bee-line to the crate! She settled herself down next to Brownie, and the two of them played with the toys in the crate for almost an hour.
When they were done playing, they gladly went back in to the puppy enclosure, out the dog-door and outside to do their business. What good puppies!
Face too, is getting rather personable and quite the gentleman. He will patiently sit near the fence and "rowrlroo" if he doesn't get the attention he wants. He won't jump or nip, but patiently let you know he wants to be petted and fawned over. He is growing in to one beautiful pup, and has learned that manners get him treats. Hence he is very well mannered. When the other puppies mob and jump for treats, he sits back patiently and lowly puppy howls for your attention to let you know that he is sitting pretty and deserves whatever you have to offer. He's such a good boy.
Today we finally settled on a Kennel and team name for our recreational mushing team. Since Asgard Kennels is already in use, we decided on Wyrd Kennels and Team Wyrd. :D Kind of suits us.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

January 14th Crating


Brownie has decided that the crate is his, and his alone. He adores going in it and playing with the toys without the other pups bothering him. He will play in there for close to half an hour at a time, almost unaware when I've shut the door. When he wants back out, he paws at the gate and I immediately let him out. Since he likes it in there so much, it is time to train him the meaning of the words "In your crate." Started training him this last night and he picked it up very quickly.
Christmas too, loves the crate and the special toys that are hidden inside. She and Brownie are the furthest along. Moon has gotten the idea that there are cool toys in there that she can't have outside the crate, but is not overly fond that she doesn't notice when you close the door. She sat in the crate last night for ten minutes after watching me close the door, so she is making good progress. Next step is setting up a crate in my room and getting one of the pups to spend the night there. This will obviously have to be a weekend deal. Don't get enough sleep as it is on the weeknights.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

January 12th No Jumping!

Don't let that innocent face fool you! Moon is a jumper! She easily clears the fence for the puppy enclosure. Fortunately there are only a few reasons she will actually try to jump the fence. She prefers to run around the yard with Ace. Her and Ace are still the only two puppies that have mastered the stairs off from the porch to the wide world of the one acre dog yard. I almost can't wait until she is old enough to put in to harness! She is such a smart puppy, and I have begun training her with some obedience. I don't want to usurp her special bond with Jim, as she is the first puppy that has taken to him primarily, and I have been encouraging his relationship with her. So I'm teaching Jim how to teach her in hopes that she will be 'his' dog, since all the rest always seem to bond to me primarily as leader and care-giver. He has always wanted to be the prime for a dog. We tried with G'kar, but he too ended up bonding to me. Moon is special to him, and I hope to keep it that way.

Meanwhile I've started obedience also with Princess, and crate training has started with Christmas and Brownie. First is getting them comfortable and happy about going in the crate. Both of them have sat and played in the crate with the cool puppy toys hidden inside. When they start to get anxious, we let them out, so the crate is not yet a confinement tool, but a happy quiet play area they can retreat to away from the pressures of the other puppies and dogs.

Most of Samantha's puppies are now used to going outside to do their business in the day. Still working on the nighttime and Freya's pups.

Friday, January 8, 2010

January 8th Puppy Emergency!

It is never good to be awakened at 2am by a panicked voice of your spouse. Even worse when that voice is warbling/sobbing "Honey! We have a puppy emergency! I think Squeaker is going to die!"

Instantly awake and full of adrenalin, I throw on my robe and run out to the kitchen where Jim is shakily holding a puppy in distress!

Now to understand the situation, the puppy in question was not Squeaker after all, but Elvis. Elvis is a smart boy (this whole litter has amazed me with thier intelligence), and saw that Jim had left an open treat jar on the table bench. He somehow managed to knock the jar to the floor and slide his head through a considerably tight fit into the jar (plastic jar thank goodness). The tight fit was enough to limit the airflow to the point of possible suffocation. Once his head was inside and his ears back forward, the jar was not coming back off intact. Elvis was suffocating!

First thing I did was grab a serated paring knife and cut off the bottom of the jar so he could breathe. Elvis immediately calmed as he took in gulps of fresh air, but he was such a good guy he did not whine once after I appeared on scene.

The next puzzle was how to free him from this "cone of shame" (pardon my quote here, but it is sooo appropriate). Jim cleared off the hobby table and brought some rag towels and the bottle of vegetable oil as I requested, and I set poor Elvis on the table and began pouring oil around the jar so that it leaked down to his neck without dripping on his face. Once he was good and lubed up, we tried to shimmy the jar off to no avail. I began to wonder just how he had gotten his head in there in the first place!

Even covered with oil, Elvis was a trooper and bore it all with as much dignity as the cone of shame would let him. Not one whine out of him the whole time we worked to free him until almost the very end.

The only way I could figure to get him out would be to cut the jar away from him. This proved to be a job that wire cutters and scissors were inadequate for. The plastic screw on lip of the jar was too thick and too hard to cut. Jim tried the small metal nippers to no avail, but I thought perhaps my large horse nail cutting nippers would work. The only problem with nippers, though, is you need to make a larger opening because of the limited width of them. So for close to a half an hour we whittled away at the lip of the jar with the metal nippers until we finally made it through the thick part. Heavy duty scissors made it through the rest of the jar and I gently bent it enough that we were able to pull it off from Elvis. He was just beginning to whine ever so softly, wondering if we were going to be able to save him, and suddenly he was free.

He was so happy, but so needed reassurance. I held him for twenty minutes before he felt safe enough to leave my side, all the while I wiped oil from his fur. After that, he was his usual happy-go-lucky self.

Later, I learned it was the original Elvis Prestley's birthday today. What kind of coincidence is that?

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

January 6th Princess Squeaker

Has endeared herself into everyone's heart at the house. And er... no... um... she's not spoiled one bit... er... well maybe a little. She is such a personable little pup, and one very smart cookie. She knows what a treat jar looks like and will hop on her hind legs beneath the jar and whine for a treat, her tail going a mile a minute. She will sit and lay down, and fairly soon, I'm sure she will do about anything for a marrow treat. She will make an excellent obedience and agility prospect even if she doesn't make the size for conformation.

We have joked around that her mother Samantha is Queen Bitch of the house, it only makes sense she had a spoiled little Princess. Although Moon is vying for that title, she's not nearly as spoiled as Squeaker, mainly because Squeaker is so people oriented and Moon is more play and pack oriented. Moon's focus is more on running and playing than petting and treats. Though she does enjoy her belly rubs and cuddles, they aren't her primary drive.

Elvis is still a sweetheart, and loves to cuddle, but he hasn't let it go to his head.

Christmas on the other hand, is becoming nearly as spoiled as Squeaker. She will whine and jump for attention until you pick her up and carry her around for a while. She adores being held, which is fine while she is a puppy, but she's growing fast. She thinks she's a lap dog, and it's all about being held and carried around.

Xena is the oddball, and though she loves attention when SHE wants it, she will sometimes get annoyed if you touch or pick her up when she is sleepy. Xena is all about running and playing. It doesn't matter which set of puppies she socializes with, or if it is the big boys, Freya or mom (Samantha). Playing with other dogs and running her heart out is what Xena lives for. I really hope we find a Mushing home for her, as she will make an excellent sled dog, but not really a great companion dog. I've been working with her to try to break her of the habit of growling when she is picked up while sleeping, but it is an indication that her focus is not people oriented as the other puppies are. This would make her a dog not meant for a family with children, but she would probably thrive as a sled or working dog.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

January 5th Puppy Prison Break!

Hehe, as the title suggests, the kitchen confinement didn't quite work out the way it was intended. When Jim got home, only four of Freya's pups were still in the enclosure. The rest had a hay-day in the house with no humans to interfere for 2 full hours. Luckily, nothing but cleanup was required afterwards.

Jim reset the enclosure to our secondary (Plan B) setup, and let them run around in it until he had to get our son from college. This setup seemed to work out much better and was more satisfying to the puppies and to us. Basically he fenced in the dining room table/breakfast nook they love to sleep under, the area rug coming in to the room from the back door, all the way over to the video and CD rack. This allowed the puppies to jump in and out of the dog door to the outside porch and back, and left G'kar in the main house to himself, much to his relief. Since this seemed to work so well, he left them in that configuration when he picked up James.

All was good upon his return, so this may become a permanent arrangement.

Pondering Mitu's rehoming, it seems she did not do very well the first couple of nights in a crate, so we may start crate training the pups this weekend. We only have two large crates though, so we may have to work with them three to a crate for Samantha pups until they are re-homed, then we will work in Freya's pups.

Monday, January 4, 2010

January 4th Back to the Grind

It has been a tough couple of days since Valkrys' absence. But the puppies help ease the pain.

Sunday I took Freya for her first run since she had puppies and she was rearing to go! I had to hold her down to 3/4 of a mile since she needs to gradually ease back in to things. This seemed to annoy her and she wanted to do more. When I took Samantha out later to run down the road and back for about 1/2 mile run Freya howled and whined at the gate the whole time.

Today I had to return to work and tomorrow James goes back to the college schedule which will leave the puppies unattended for a few hours every day. So we are debating on confining them back in the kitchen during those times, or down in the heated barn. If they go to the barn, they will not be brought back up until James gets out of school, as Jim with his handicap could not bring them up the hill on his own. Most likely they will be confined in the kitchen again which will probably annoy them a lot but it is the safest bet.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

January 2nd Goodbye Valkrys our Heroine


It has been a very tough holiday for us, as on the 23rd of December Valkrys fell in the tub when Jim was trying to wash her feet. She must have hurt herself, as when he tried to help her up, she lashed out at him. Since her bout with Pancreatitis, she has not been the same dog. It made us realize we were hanging on to her for our sakes and not hers. Her arthritis had become very painful, and she had begun to wander around at times in a daze. It was time to say goodbye.

At 12:00 pm today she crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Thank you our pretty girl for so many years of love, joy and happiness, and above all, thank you for the life of our son! We will never forget you, and hope to see you again someday.

As a tribute to her passing, I'll post again the story of our heroine:

Valkrys, a Heroine with Fur

It was a dark and stormy night back in April of 1992 when I woke at 3am to the cries of fear from a young puppy who had been lost. He was curled into a tiny white-yellow ball outside my window, yowling for his lost mother and siblings each time lightning flashed overhead and the thunder roared. It was pouring down rain and the poor little guy was soaked through and through. I picked him up and he shivered as I placed him inside my raincoat and I searched up and down the street for close to thirty minutes in the torrential downpour for the mother to no avail. I brought the little guy inside, and he snuggled up close to me with a sigh of contentment, and we fell asleep.

When I woke the next morning, I fed him some of our old dog's food and gave him some water. It was bright and sunny, a big contrast to the night's storm. The air was crisp and clean, and the ground was wet and steaming. The little white-yellow shepherd followed my every move and footstep, making sure I was not going to leave him, and happily licked my chin when I picked him up and took him outside. He was very cute, but I knew someone would be missing him. I asked my neighbor if they knew who owned him, and I was told there was a white shepherd adult male around the corner and they might know.

With the little boy trotting behind me faithfully, I headed in that direction, only to see some folks heading my way down the street calling out at least six different names I assumed were more puppies. With a large smile they saw my young visitor and called out to him. Oddly enough, he sat behind me, cocked his head and wagged his tail. I asked them if he was for sale, and they said no, that he had already been spoken for. I liked the little boy so much I asked if any of the other puppies were for sale, and they said yes, they had two girls left.

They told me the mother got out of the fence with five of the six pups last night, and they had been trying to find them. They were happy to find that the bundle of white fur had been well cared for, but I was sad to give him back. I followed them back, though, to view to the two girls. Valkrys was beautiful, a spunky little twelve week old black and tan pup who took one look at me and yapped happily before trotting over to paw at my leg. It was love at first sight.

Seeing her brother and her other sister, I asked what all she was mixed with and got a funny look before being told they didn't know, not that it really mattered to me. Almost immediately Valkrys took to my son, and they became best buddies.

She was a happy puppy, played fetch and tug-o-war, and had the cutest move ever. When you tugged lightly on her tail, she would hop backwards three times and yip, then run forward. We laughingly called it puppy-reverse.

As she grew older, it was apparent that Valkrys was no ordinary dog. At around nine months of age, she was still a bit clumsy, growing in to her large paws, but she was a very smart girl.

One night in the fall of the year, my husband and I were watching TV in the den which was on the bottom floor of our split level. It was a large carpeted area with bookshelves and a door that opened out to the fenced in back yard. Ordinarily, when Valkrys wanted out, she would go to the door and whine. On this night, though, she ran up the stairs, whining, then ran back down, yipping and whining urgently. Puzzled, I asked her if she wanted out, which she barked at me, but instead of going to the door, she ran back up the stairs.

Knowing better than to ignore her plea, I immediately followed, and she ran to our son’s door. She frantically started digging at the carpet underneath it, and realization dawned on me there was something seriously wrong in our son’s room! In the next fraction of a second, I could smell the smoke, and cleared the last couple of stairs and the intervening distance in one leap. The handle was cool as I yanked open the door in rising fear.

To my horror, flames were leaping up the wall not more than one foot from my son’s head where he was sound asleep!

One more leap had me at the bedside, picking him up and handing him to Jim as he ran up behind me.“Get him out!” I ordered as I turned to deal with the fire.

Grabbing a blanket from the bed, I smothered the flames, and pulled the cord of the transformer that had started it. The plastic was so melted the wires pulled free easily, but left the rest of the transformer in the wall!

Grabbing a dustpan, I levered the rest of it out of the socket and wrapped it up in the now half-melted blanket, took it all outside and doused it with the hose. Only then did it occur to me what would have happened if Valkrys had not warned us, and I sat down shuddering, as I praised and petted our heroine.

Valkrys went on to do many wonderful and amazing things, such stories as “The Dog Who Beat the Radio Fence”, and “The Ninja Pizza Thief”. She has always been close and dear to our hearts, well loved and well looked after.

We will miss her dearly.