Border Terrier HQ gears up for Christmas

Hello my friends…..we are gearing up for Christmas at Border Terrier HQ….

…..a very exciting parcel arrived in the post from our good friend @helenAstick…..how beautiful they look no?….

……and look who was inside…..its a lovely border terrier called Mr Bob……..I like his very smart Christmas sweater…...

…..he was not alone!….he arrived with Mr Jerry too…..I took them both for a walk so they could stretch their legs after such a long journey…...

……they will both be brightening our Christmas tree this year…..that will make six terriers in total at Border Terrier HQ this Christmas….Miss Lola, me, Mr Jerry, Mr Bob, the Colonel and Miss Islay……the Colonel and Miss Islay arrive next week for their two week stay-cation…..we are super excited to have them here again….

…..and we also delegated to get cards from the three doggies that we sponsor at Dogs Trust…its Miss Amelia,  Mr Freddie and Mr Ronnie (left to right)….we wish them and all the doggies and staff at Dogs Trust a very happy Christmas….

….you can find Mr Bob and Mr Jerry at Miss Helen's Etsy shop right HERE…..there is lots of pawsome doggie stuff for all occasions….

Happy Christmas my friends….Clapton...

A short commercial break...

Hello my friends....as you can see from that lovely badge over on the side of my blog...I am a trusted taste-tester for Wagg Foods at the special request of Mr Dalton, the Doggie CEO of that well-known pet food company....

...it can sometimes be a bit difficult to get Miss Lola motivated......

....so we are always delighted when Mr Dalton sends one of his exciting mystery boxes through the post.....we were very happy when one arrived for us at the weekend....I made sure I opened it so that we had a chance to assess the content before letting Miss Lola loose on it.....

....Mr Dalton is always very careful to send us detailed instructions and information with each box.....

...he told me that he is launching a new product next year which will be Kennel Beef and Veg....its a 22% protein diet for working and active dogs so may not exactly be suitable for any of the dogs who live her and will be absolutely perfect for us.... it has a range of vitamins to (from A to Z...er...A to E) and is pre-biotic. Most importantly....no artificial colours or flavours....and not much fat for her Tubiness.......sadly its not suitable for doggies who have intolerances for wheat or maize....

...Mr Dalton also accompanied it with some of his treats which are Miss Lola's particular favourites....

.....she will do almost anything to get one.....

....and was able to wash it down with a nice cup of tea.....

.....I made sure that I read the ingredients thoroughly......

...it says here its also good for teeth.......

......this is what the boxes will look like in your local supermarket......

....and this is what it will look like in your local bowl.....

.....if you are lucky and have a very fast lens on your camera you may be able to catch a photo of your dog with it before she gobbles it up like its her last meal on earth....Miss Lola liked it because it is crunchy and she can't eat it too fast.....

...to say thanks, Mr Dalton also sent us a tug toy to play with.....

...but Miss Lola is too dim to play with indifferent to the sophisticated charm of the tug....

...luckily Mr Dalton also sent us a nice box of his MMMMMMsss....mmmmmm....

....they are so tasty they can draw quite a crowd......

....after all the fun had been had and the science had been done....I made a spreadsheet to record our findings......

......its very tiring work being a fully-employed Food Taster.....

....I hope you find our work at Border Terrier HQ useful....applications for samples to @waggfoods please....

Clapton....

From me to you...

Hello my friends, Clapton here. Today is a very sad day at Border Terrier HQ as it is the first anniversary of old Marley passing away over the rainbow bridge. As some of you know, he tried to leave a little message for you all last year but an accident prevented it from being available for more than a few minutes. Typist and I have worked to retrieve it and we are publishing it for you now. We will spend the day thinking about the dear old boy and walking to his favourite places. So, here is Marley's last message in full….we choose to think of him in happier times

Ello my dear pals......i do not kno ow to start this blog for you....i haz some news which i fink you mite not like....
As you all do know, I haz been battlin wiv a pawly heart for about 15 muffs now....and i haz been consultin wiv my cardiganologist at all stages and bein a good doggie and takin my meddysins even when i dint like em.....

*sigh*...

The troof be that we did not be talkin too much about ow my illness was affectin me cos we did not want to be worryin you all......from time to time it ave been quite da eadache....

...brane aches from too much finkin....

...there haz been trubble breevin, loss of appytites an weakness in I legs....but over da last few munffs the affect of my illness is gettin more seeryuss and my abilitee to recover haz been gettin less an less...i dint be doin much walkin.....

...luxury transpawts only for me...

....and not so much of anyfing in fact. Even my famuss appytites ave been not wot it once was....

....barley adequate supplies....

....and i haz to spend an increasin amount of time in ospital for days on end and then recoverin at ome......we mite haz kept these news from you....

...fully paid-up member of staffs...

....a few weeks ago, we did move onto some meddysin wot was the last resort for me.....and Mr Dennis did say me it would give me a few weeks or munffs of life.....me an the typist an mum did ave a long tork about it and i did make them promiss me not to send me back to ospital any more cos it be too tirin for me and that I prefer to spend my time at ome wiv Lola and da familee and not to ave lonely nights in an oxygen kennel wivout my blankkit....

...just oxgen right...not goin to moon?...

....so, a few days ago my breevin did take a turn for the worse and it seem that the tabblits was not able to deal wiv da bild up of flooids on my lungs.....I did spend 36 hours campin in da kitchen wiv da typist and takin emergencee levels of tabblitts and seein if I could get my strengff up to fight off the bad fings wot be appenin to me.....

...dog tired on Toosday..

...on Toosday mornin I did whisper in typist ear that praps there duss be no more wot i could do....i did ave a long cuddle wiv Willium and one also wiv mum and then typist did carry me out to da garden and we did walk round and he did show me all the places where I used to visit an leev peemails and places where I sat when I did be scared of da big oven or for barkin at Biskit Cat from next door and the spot by the fence where I did say ello for Mavis next door and of corse various spots for barkin at squirrels and uvver introoders....the sky was bloo and the sun did shine and we did ave a appy tork and left some final peemails....from there we did go to see my pals at Ashtead Vets.....they had put out a nice fluffy sheepskin blankkit for me and I did lay down for a rest.....Sarah did get a speshul injeckshun ready for me wot she say me would make my trubbles go away and I close my eyes and rest my head on the typist's arm and suddenly I could breev again and my eart was beatin strong an regular and the air was warm and I ave strengff back in my legs and was running fast across the fields....I did see my pals dear Dusty, Pepi and Bunners and Amish and Gretchen an Jeep and Petie and Mookie and other sweet doggies and kittehs I did know from twitter who ave passed across the Rainbow Bridge....for that is where I am now pals...

Duss not be sheddin tears my chums....i do be appy now and free of trubbles.....i ave loved and lived a life full of good fings and did be appy and did try my best to be terrier-tuff at all times....squirrels haz not slept peas-fully in their beds on my wotch.

...I waves a fond farewell to my dear pals at North Downs Specialist Referrals who ave dedicated so much time to lookin after me...Sam an Sarah an Joao and the nursin staff and a speshul paw-wave of corse to Mr Simon Dennis, the Cardiganologist, who do be my great pal furever and a great an kind man....and also to Sarah and Melissa and the nurses at Ashtead Vets and to Megan and the other vets at North Surrey Veterinary Emergencies (and of corse Gaucho the border terrier who greet new payshunts there) ....they was all lookin after me and was so kind and spendin so much time lookin after a little brown dog.....

...pawsome profeshunulls....

I see you agane one day dear chums....in the meantime, Lola be in charge....

...already on patrol....

....woof....Marley in da the clouds...

....appier days....

Brussels Bound

Hello my friends….this week I took a little trip to Belgium with the Typist….he likes to have a bit of company on his business trips as it can be lonely in hotels….

…..Miss Lola was not at all impressed when I told her she had to stay behind to keep an eye on William…..

….went went to London by train and hopped into a black cab when we arrived…typist can't manage the tube system with his wonky leg at the moment so we took the easy option…...

…..i watched the city go by from the window…..here we are on Waterloo Bridge …..

….it has one of the best views in London….

…..we arrived in time for to catch the Eurostar train to Brussels….the station is right next to typist's office….the lounge is a bit like an office with lots of people working on their laptops….

….i kept an eye on the boards to be sure we boarded at the right time and from the right platform….get the wrong one and we might have been in Paris by accident….just after we took this picture Ms Claudia Schiffer walked past with her children….I blanked her…I don't like to be bothered when I'm out in public as it embarrasses the Typist...

….it only takes two hours to get to Brussels….and you have to go under the sea to get there…good job the train was not leaky….

….we hopped in another taxi to get to the town were staying in….this one was a Mercedes….it was very comfy…..

….but not as comfy as the bed when we made it to the hotel…..

….i investigated the facilities….and almost made myself jump!…How Much is That Doggie in the Mirror?

…..i helped the Typist get set up to work for the afternoon whilst we waited for the other people to arrive….

…..in the morning I had to select my grooming regime carefully in the bathroom as there appears to be a risk of bumping into supermodels every five minutes on these trips...

…Typist made sure i looked my best just in case…..

…..er….this may look like the bar but Typist tells me we were just there for a change of scene and a coffee...

….whilst he worked I took a spin round the hotel…..

…..it was not exactly glamorous…..

….but being Belgium there was easy access to waffles and chocolate…..

….i found some fish to talk to like @jackmolly3 do…..it might have been my accent but they did not appear to9 understand me….

…..and there was a very narrow escape when the Typist almost got his paws on a bike….no cycling for him until next year!!

…..Christmas was already in full swing in Belgium….Happy..er…November!!…..

…I checked the map for local attractions…...

…..but they best they could offer was sledging…..and there was no snow…..

….so I thought I would chat to my pals on twitter and logged on to the internet….wahahahahaha….see what I did there?…..come back...

…..we retired to bed after dinner….i was careful to make sure no one woke me too early…..

…and in the morning, whilst the Typist was at his meetings, I made full use of the spa…..

….the City Dog has regular pawdicures…….

…..but our trip was soon over and we left a grey and rainy Brussels…….

….*checking for leaks*….

….and before I knew it I was back in London and looking for our train home….

…ah Home….the best bit of any trip….

….Miss Lola told me all was well with William….