The Last Post

It is with great sorrow I have to report that Waljan passed away earlier on today and thought it only fitting that his epitaph should be published where he started, on his own blog.

His first ever post was published on 13th September 2005 and has kept friends and family updated with things going on with the dogs (and us) on the farm. Sometimes humerous and sometimes sad, it has been a record of his complete life (and ours). Many changes have happened over the years and out of his original playmates mentioned below only Kishkais still around, but Waljan, aka Waj laterly Podge or Mr P has always been a joy to us. Here was his first ever post:

Welcome one and all!

Welcome to Waljan's blog! I didn't realise I could use a computer and mouse (aren't they supposed to be for cats?) let alone type, but I guess you learn new things everyday. I am new to the Davies household but I'm already making my mark on the humans and putting the rest of the pack firmly in their places...
I can only use the computer when the humans are out, but I'm going to leave you messages when I can to keep you up to date with life here and tell you all the exciting things that happen to us all.
Firstly, for those of you who have not met me yet, I am a very handsome deerhound greyhound cross (but mostly deerhound!). I was born on 25th April 2005 and moved from my first home in Hartlepool all the way to Wales on 21st June. My new dad, Trevor, said I was a star, as I travelled all the way (seven hours in the car) without moaning or being sick.
I spent my first night in between my my new dad and new Mum, Carol, on their bed! As I had been used to sleeping in a shed with my brothers and sisters, this was a bit of a welcome change to say the least. Anyway, I slept all night and didn't miss my doggie Mum at all!
I live here on the farm with my new friend Kishka the husky, when she's not trying to eat me!

There are also Mummy's special whippets, Faith and Hestia, Auntie Beryl who is a lurcher (whatever that is!) and is in charge of our dog pack and my other friend Poppy who plays with me a lot and also likes to swim!

I have lots to tell you and will soon introduce the other animals that live here, keeping you up to date with our visitors, a lot of whom have come from Greyhound Gap and bring lots of pointy dogs with them. It's an exhausting life so I'm just off for a rest.
Speak to you soon!!
Waljan

Blog posts slowed down after the wider use of Facebook, but he had been feeling his age. He stopped eating two days ago and it appears he had gone into kidney failure. Many thanks to Shaun the V.E.T as Mr Podge would say, for calling to the house to ease his passing and is now lying to rest in the garden with the others.

The blog will end with Waljan, RIP handsome boy 25/4/2005 to 13/10/21016.

New Year catchup

Afternoon folks Waj here,
Bet as I hadn't posted for a while you thought I'd gone to Rainbow Bridge, but I am happy to report I am still alive and kicking!  In fact since my last episode, I have been very well! Me mother has taken me off biscuits now, so I now have a new food called natures diet or something like that and I luuurve it along with my fresh chicken. I still don't go far in the morning, I go for a little mouch with Dad after he has walked the others, I go for a wander round on my own while he feeds the chickens. I am still lively enough to go on the afternoon dog run and I hop skip and jump when in the mood, and play with Blitzen. Talking about Blitzen,  hope you all had a good Christmas and I would like to wish you all a happy new year a bit belatedly . Oh my gosh, was it really July I last posted? Better give you all a catch up then.
Firstly the little Flymo,  (you know small whippet type lawnmower as it eats grass!) developed a lump in her groin area. Mr Shaun the vet said they would have to do a biopsy of it to see if there was anything sinister there, as a quick analysis had shown it was lymph node cells. So obviously the first thing mother thought, was that it must be cancerous. Anyway, she decided that if the little princess was going to have the lump removed, she might as well be spayed at the same time.  So, that is what happened. Mr Shaun made a fab job of it I must say, what a nice bit of stitching and two tiny little holes.

Good job!

Anyway, after a nervous weeks wait, it turns out that there is nothing to worry about and was just a reactive lymph node, hurrah!
The little 'uns went on a couple more flyball tournaments, while Blitz, Donna and I were ably looked after by Anty Bev and Anty Hilary. Did you know that competing at flyball makes you very tired? No nor me, but just look at DAD!!!! LOL....

Just exhausting isn't it? Here are the gang flying the Welsh flag!

The Team

In August, Anty Llyn lost her last geriatric whippet and Mum put this on her Facebook page (for those who missed it):
"Today is the end of an era for me and the family as a whole. Many of you will know that we, but mostly me, cared for Llyn Chapman's dogs while she went off to shows and all helped with the stall at Crufts. Llyn also announced her retirement this year so we will not have to go to Crufts again.
When Llyn moved down, she had 13 dogs which I sat for, but over the years many have passed away till last month only three remained, the two old "geriatric" ladies Snow White and Domino, Jeeves the younger dog travels with Llyn.
Sadly Snow was PTS a couple of weeks ago and this morning Domino who was Snow's litter sister went the same way aged 16. I know I have had to clean up after them, help them up and down steps as they got very frail, but over the 11 or so years I have had with them, I had became really fond of them. So run free at the bridge lovely ladies, my doggy sitting services are no longer required". 

Snow and Domino

I'd never met them, but I know Mum always smelt special after she had been to doggy sit :-)  
In October Mum and Dad then went on their annual jaunt, this year to Corfu.........

As you can see he found the Welsh Flag!!
November was a Halloween party with family and our November gang and a good week was had by all!!! Great costumes!

Then onto December with the Dumpledale Farm staff Christmas party, yes that's just the five of them then! Thanks to Matthew at the Cottage for a great evening!!!

Then not forgetting the Flash Flyball Christmas party, where there were some sore heads the next morning after a rousing game of Beer Pong!

Lets home the weather improves soon, a little village in Pembrokeshire called Eglwsrw (that's Egg-loo-sue-roo for the non Welsh of you, lol) has had 81 days of consecutive rain! It's not been far off for us here on the farm and the ground is absolutely sodden. We have trails of mud everywhere and it's not doing my fur any good!
Anyway, that's all for now, won't leave it so long next time.
Catch you later,
Waj x

The Legend is Poorly!

Hi folks, Waljan here.
Sorry I haven't posted for a while, but I haven't been a well dog. I have had a couple of episodes where I have lost the use of my legs (a bit like Mother after wine, lol!) Anyhow the first one was a bit scary and I whined a bit but was ok after a while. The second one was Monday as I came lolloping up the garden and I suddenly fell down and couldn't get up again. Daddy came over and was very upset, so I cuddled him a bit while he told mum to phone the VET, I don't like the VET!
The next thing she is coming down the garden with a big blanket to put me on to carry me to the van, (well I am 46 kilos!) Soo, at this point I decided that I wasn't going anywhere yet, so legged it back into the house and back into the safety of the bedroom! I have been in and out since, but I am very wobbly and am not my usual self. Apparently there in nothing the VET can do as I am very old for a big dog and have lots of lumps and bumps.
Anyway, enough of me I'll let that young blighter Fly catch you up with the news while I have a rest. She is actually quite a nice little thing as she always pops into my room to say hello, give me a lick and to see how I'm doing, anyways here she is.

Poorly me!

Hallooo Fly hear,  furstly the howse is gone, look!

Going, going.........

Gone!

Lol, luk at that Jayson in de hole! He is funni! I haz bin doin more flyball and we iz all now doin box turns, wel I am sumtimes hee, hee, luk at this........

That wuz our teem startin wiv Jasper de Patterdail, Pip, Tess de colly, Rosie de jack rustle, then Meeee and Lexa anover colly. We az been to sum more compititions and wun sum more bits of ribun that mummi calls rossets. This is mi Blooper!!!

LOL, knew it wuz ther sumwheres!!
Dad and Jayson hav also bin busi. They and dave hav renova-ted the cottage at de frount and made a biger gardin.......

Windows hav bin re-placed and de beems painted whyte, kitchen an bafroom hav bin updayted too!
Nice!
Uncell Andy haz also had hiz hip re-placed wiv sumfing cer-am-ic, urgh sownds nasty! So Raydar came to stay four a bit.

Dad an a possessed Raydar

He haz gon home now thow. I fink dat is all i need to tell yous, I'll end wiv a pictur of Pip in de caravan when we went two flyball last an me an me big frends Donna and Blitzen catchin sum rays on owr sunbed. Donna haz not bin allowed to run az she haz bin SPADE watever that iz, but she iz better now.

Catching sum rays

De flyballin waz in a nice place in Wilt shire (didnt see no Wilt's tho) but mummi did sea her furst ever king-fisher in de wild as it wur.

Pip in de caravan

Anyways I iz off now and I will keep yous updated abowt Mr P.

Luv Fly x

Feebs returns to visit!

So, me mom’s home off school for her holidays and she’s nagging me to write this blog – apparently I promised when we went to Dumpledale in Feb that I’d do it, and I’ve been a lazy moo and haven’t done it.  Personally I don’t remember saying I would, but then I don’t remember the alarm going off this morning, I don’t remember having breakfast…........

Me on the way to my holidays

Anyway, they were packing their cases and Nanny came and I thought, “’ere, something’s going on.” Then we all piled in the car (not Nanny – she was looking after the pesky cats and the ex batty/still batty hens - I was on top of duvets and all sorts, it was pretty comfy) and went on a loooooong journey. We stopped on the way for coffee breaks and weewee breaks and lunch and then I realised that there were familiar smells; the sea, then other pointy-nosed dogs… we were at Dumpledale!

Well, wasn’t I the celeb? We got to open the new caravan (trés poshe) and my picture was on the outside of it! I checked out all the sofas very carefully and they passed the Phoebe test.

My picture on the van

Well, we had a lovely week. We went shopping in Haverfordwest and for a long walk round Tenby (we went to Cadwalladers and they gave me dog biscuits) and later we had fish and chips and you know how I love fish and chips.

Our walk in Tenby

Me pooped out on holiday
 

Me and a chip!

Cake at Cadwalladers

We went to Carew Castle where we met up with Mom and Dad’s friends Dave and Andy and their dog, Mailo (who is a bit bigger than a cat, and has a pointy nose, and pokes it exactly where I don’t want it!). We also went to Solva and I had some lunch there too. One day Carol and Fly came round to the caravan to play and we (me and Fly, not Carol) had a bit of a chase, then I showed her the sofas in the caravan and she liked them too. It was a nice holiday – except when Trev and Jason came to say hello and cut my toenails!

I wondered a bit if I was going back to Brum at the end of the week but it seems like I’m stuck with Mom and Dad because they packed all my stuff up and I got in the car and I did come back. We’re going back to Dumpledale next year though because Dad is having what they call a ‘big birthday, I’m going to try out all the seating and beds in Swallow’s Dance then.

Me at Solva

 So, do you want to know about life in Brum?  It’s good.  I sleep a lot.  Most days, when Mom and Dad have gone to work, I go back to bed (in their bed, but don’t worry, they’ll NEVER know, it’s not like I make a mess or nest right down in the duvet or get hair everywhere or anything…) and sometimes Tavish, he’s the orange cat, is there too.  He’s okay.  Bit sulky, but we’ve come to an understanding, and often he doesn’t finish the food in his bowl.  (He’s a bit of a star himself, and says it’s okay if you want to follow him on Twitter, here: https://twitter.com/TavishThomas )



The Orange Cat

So I sleep for a bit, then I have a nap, and later I follow it up with forty winks or a quick kip, and before I know it Mom and Dad are home.  I think Dad must be a part timer because he gets home dead early.  Then Mom gets in a bit later and I shout ‘roorooroo!’ at her, then it’s biscuits and tea, then perhaps a stroll round the woods., then dinner and by then I am a pooped pooch and head off to bed for a bit of shut-eye!  Before bed I get up to be sociable (not really, but I need to go for a weewee) and then Dad gives me a Bonio and I go back to bed, and Dad goes to bed then too.  I have this ACE trick.  After I’ve eaten my Bonio, I sneak back downstairs and Mom is usually still doing stuff in the kitchen.  So I look sad and she says ‘Aw, Phoebe, did Daddy forget to give you a Bonio?’  And she gives me another one and then I take it to bed! Hahaha! Oomans are stoopid!



Me and Nick (the teddy I stole from the spare bed and claimed as my own!)

Talking of stoopid, remember I told you about the other cat, the black one who hated me?  She’s okay now – she doesn’t hiss at me or run away.  There are some other cats who come round and they’re not allowed to be there, so I sometimes help to sort them out.  I’m also really good at telling Mom and Dad when there are strangers around, and so far I’ve scared the postman, the Yodel delivery man, the takeaway delivery man and someone who came round asking questions that made Mom say some bad words.



The Mean Cat
 

We’ve had some more visits from some small people too. One of them is called a neffyou, whatever that is, and he’s really small. I go to bed when he comes. The girls who come are bigger and okay, but I go to bed when they come too. I pretend I’m a troll at the top of the stairs and do the whole ‘Who’s that trip-trapping up my stairs’ thing, and they give me biscuits to shut me up and get past me to go to the loo. Good trick, eh?
Anyway, better go, this is tiring and the cat needs to post a tweet. See you all soon!

Love Feebs xxx

Miss Salsa is home and a catch up!

Hi All

Waljan here, with all the news!

Firstly we have just had a visit from Anty Lilah Wainman who comes down twice a year and when she’s here she cuts our NAILS arghhhhh. We all hate it and try and hide but get dragged out and snip, snip she is away. Actually we all feel better after it, but don’t let on! :-)

After the last drama with Miss Willerby Salsa, I have to report on the funny occurrence which happened when they tried to remove the old caravan, well it wasn’t funny for Dad!

Firstly Mum had thought it would be a good idea to get a buyer for the old van before they moved it, big mistake! No sooner had the potential buyers been to see it and paid them the money on the Sunday, in trying to move it on the Monday with the farm’s telehandler, the towbar broke, it got stuck in a hole and the front of the van came away from the floor!

Buyer had to be contacted and refunded half the money, as he still wanted it but now had to effect repairs! Not now willing to risk Miss Willerby Salsa’s person on the cut up ground, Dad ordered some mats which formed a temporary roadway. These duly arrived and Willerby was edged slowly into place.

Now he only had to connect the services and build some steps for the weekend as our first guests were arriving! As nothing was going to plan, the said guests duly arrived and had to be sent off again as the steps weren’t quite finished and in typical last minute Dumpledale fashion (as some other first guests can attest to!), we finally had an unveiling of the new plaque by the whipping off of a tea towel! As you can see our first guests were Anty Raynah and Uncle Clive Thomas and our old compatriot, Phoebe who had returned for a visit.

The Plaque

 

Mothers totally disorganised opening ceremony complete with tea towel and no steps! Sorry Anty Raynah!

Here are some pics kindly taken by Anty Raynah of the inside of the new van.

Twin room can be made into a double

Main bedroom with ensuite

Dining Area

Open plan dining/kitchen area

Kitchen with microwave full size oven and fridge freezer

Main Bathroom with enclosed shower

Lounge complete with Phoebe!

View from the van

For those of you who have stayed in the caravan before, there is also a nice new fence so three sides are now boarded. This gives a lot more privacy and the back fence as you can see is now the 5ft rigid mesh so you can still enjoy the view! Now on with the news...

In January, Mum and Dad left us for an overnight stay in Mum’s old home town of Bir-min-hum I think she said it was. They went to the Sea Life Centre and Dad had a shark on his head apparently, no really look!!!!

Shark Head!

Catching some Rays!

The sea turtle

They had a nice dinner in Bir-min-hum city centre but being used to their usual dining haunt of the Cottage Inn, were staggered by the city prices, two starters, two mains, two drinks each, £91.95 bill thank you very much! Lol. They got back the next evening and went to Wetherspoons with Jason and Rachel as a reward for looking after us dogs, (these humans need reward based training too you know) and for four meals and drinks it was half the price and just as nice.

Bir-min-hum City Centre
 

Then they had a weekend away in Monmouth. Mum’s cousin, Uncle Bob was 65, so a weekend was arranged for all the family to stay in a big Georgian house in Whitchurch near Monmouth. Jay and Rach again having to suffer us dogs! A couple of us had had dicky tummies in the week preceding their weekend, they thought we were all over it, but ohh no!

Mum and Dad had got as far as Whitland (about 30 miles from home) and Mum had realised she had forgotten her tablets! Dad had a few choice words to say to that, none of them repeatable here and they turned round to head back. Jason was duly phoned and asked to meet them in Haverfordwest with said tablets.

When he went over to the log cabin, someone (I’m not saying who as I don’t grass on my pack!) had pooed in the bedroom, also down the hall and in the utility room. Jason in a rush to meet them in Haverfordwest, just chucked the mats out with the intention of sorting it all out later. When he came back there was now sick on the bed and wee on another carpet J strangely enough there was no sign of Mum and Dad who had carefully pushed off at the first sign of trouble! Anyway they had a good weekend and stayed in the Hunter Suite, guess what the coat of arms were?

LOL looks just like me!

They went sightseeing to Symonds Yat, Monmouth and Ross on Wye and went down some caves.

Finally there was Crufts, which again was busy five days again. Mum and Dad were back and forth to Bir-min-hum taking the stall up taking it down and working in between. And... did you know that Australian Shepherds are an American breed? No? Me neither! Anyway Jay and Rach made the point in their fashionable matching USA tee shirts, lol!

Jay and Rach on the discover dogs stall 

Denver and Phoenix having some fuss

Well I think that’s pretty much you up to date, apart from Saturday when Mum asked Dad to put a curtain pole up in one of the bedrooms. Easy peasy you are all thinking for a man of Dad’s DIY talents, he must have put hundreds up! Two minutes later the air is blue and it is all mother’s fault as he has drilled into the wall and hit an electricity cable! Luckily we have an electrician in the family who was summoned and Dad had to dig out the wall to get to the cable and after repair had to cover it over again. Sooo, a job that should have taken minutes took all morning and it was all mothers fault!

Oops nearly missed young Jason's news, he is now working permanently on the farm with Dad, here he is getting stuck in repairing the roof!

That's all for now then folks, just finish up with my favourite photo of last year, the Italian Spinoni gang on holiday at Four Acres, how did they get them to pose like that? And Princess Fly says "talk to the Paw!"

Spinoni!
 

Talk to the Paw!

 

Catch you later!
Waj x