Watching the world go by!

Watching the world go by ..............

And if that gets too tiring you can lie down to do it!

Bailey is such a handsome dog and adores  just sitting by the waters edge  watching the wildlife.

Baileys New "Friends!"

Bailey now has lots of new friends at our  new cottage.

The ducks and ducklings feed  around him and take no notice of him whatsoever to his dismay

Moorhen chicks totally ignore him.

  

And he watches them all daily as if they are his own private TV station!

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Cooling Down!

 Bailey now finds it very easy to cool down on hot days simply by sitting at the waters edge along the lawn on a handy ledge in the bank. At times he looks like a giant squid with all his hair splaying out into the surrounding water!

I just hope he doesn't bring any tadpoles out with him stuck to his coat!

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Bailey Days

                                                                     Bailey Groomed!

Having recently moved to a wonderful old cottage time has been scarce to  regularly groom my two furry monsters so Bailey  went to the groomers yesterday. He arrived home with a new " hairstyle" which meant he could see more easily.

 A good shake followed to try to get rid of the "tidy dog" look.

A new " friend" has been visiting the cottage daily. Alarmingly the two make an odd couple with the lone swan following Bailey wherever he goes along the bank.  I am hoping the swan may just move to a new location soon and lose interest in Bailey!

Bailey and swan in our garden.

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Side by Side

"Side by Side"

Two Bearded Collies in Watercolour

An Original painting by Jean Haines

Taffy is going from strength to strength in recovery and his blood tests show he really is much improved and on the mend. Last week following a week watercolour workshops I held in UK artists came to my home for a casual painting day to relax. Some had flights within the next few days to return home to South Africa,Italy and France so this was a wind down from a long weeks concentration on painting. As much as everyone enjoyed the day Taffy was in his element moving from artist to artist for cuddles and attention.

When we lived in Hong Kong and Dubai it was normal to see our home full of guests sometimes up to hundred people at a time. Somehow having started life as a puppy in this kind of  lifestyle Taffy almost always acts as though it is his role to take over the major greeting and socialising when we have guests!

Bailey on the other hand behaves in a very different way. Embarrassing his owner and taking centre stage his  antivs take a very different route. Last week his amorous attention to a beautiful blondes left leg raised large amounts of laughter from my guests. I thought he had long grown out of this kind of "greeting" but it seemed as though a twinkle hit his eye and he was off  with nothing being able to stop him on his  romantic mission!

Owning Beardies is a laugh a minute and I adore them. They adore everyone they meet so life is good. However  I just hope Bailey doesn't always show his admiration in this over enthusiastic way. 

It does seem to be just blondes he reacts to though!

And only very attractive ones!

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Beardies in Watercolour

Beardies in Watercolour

Original Watercolours by Jean Haines

The joy of being an artist and being owned by two Bearded Collies is that I always have two willing subjects to paint. I love their characters,expressions and willingness to please. Not a day goes by where I don't smile because of their antics or poses and these are often caught in my work as a professional watercolourist.

This week I picked up these two paintings from a new gallery that is about to open and the owner asked if they were for sale.These aren't as they are going to a very special home. When I paint  for someone with them in mind I cannnot part with the painting for any other reason.

And so Baileys breeder Carol Wessen who is responsible for the Barbudo Beardies will have a surprise in the post.

Carol and Ed kindly looked after Bailey for us a while ago. Ed adored Bailey when he was born and to this day their relationship is unique.What always hits me when I visit Carol and Ed is their strong evident love for all of their "girls" and each new puppy that comes into the Barbudo line. So many families are so happy with the special bundle that they come to know and love over the years as their own Beardie bond grows.It must be such a special  feeling knowing you are giving  more than a puppy a new home. You are creating and giving love for years to come.

This Barbudo Puppy  is one of Baileys nephews.

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Babesiosis and the " Miracle Dog"

                                                                 "The Four Amigos"

Original Watercolour by Jean Haines

Taffy, Bailey,Sally and Buffy 

For Beardie lovers Taffy is a Brambledale Beardie and towers over his  companions in this scene who are all Barbudo Beardies. He simply didn't stop growing so he is like a small donkey!

This last week has seen Taffy daily recovering from Babesiosis . It is very hard to look into his bright eyes today and consider that we nearly lost him a week last Thursday. His lethargy and difficulty to breathe was so extreme. He was suffering  from aneamia badly. Hardly able to stand my husband gently lifted him in and out of our car  at the vets and animal hospital and I knew in my heart that this really was the day we would be saying goodbye to our so loved pet.

If it wasn't for the amazing team at Anderson and Sturgess in Hampshire without a doubt Taffy would not still be here. But he is and also in  really good health getting stronger each day and amazing us with his vibrant  zest for life. Try opening a cat food sachet without him noticing or even going to the pet food cupboard. He is there faster than you can say "Taffy"!

What happened? 

The blood tests have all confimed Taffy had a rare problem  which has hardly been seen in UK. This will be from a tick bite that occured whilst we lived in Asia. The spleen suppresses this kind of problem so Taffy has been fine for all of his life until his spleen had to be removed earlier this year. Without it the crippling affect of the tick bite rose to the surface very agressively and  would have killed him..

With the right treatment Taffy is making a full recovery and we are so grateful to the veterinary team who saved his life.

Taffy will now be monitored at the hospital on a regular basis  in order to help other dogs who may  become ill in this way in future.  To know what we went through may help someone else feel hope or encouragement if their pet  falls drastically ill somehow eases all the tears from last week.

But to hug this giant of a dog is the very best gift I could have had especially as he came home from hospital on Mothering Sunday last week after his blood transfusion and initial treatment.

He has earned his new nickname from everyone at  the local vets and the hospital.

" Miracle Dog!"

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Probably all  dog owners are aware of these tips but if you notice your dog becomes lethargic too quickly, the colour of his gums turn pale to white dramatically, the breathing becomes laboured or the pads of their feet become  very cold to touch please  take them to the vet as quickly as possible. Early detection of many health issues leads to the best chances of saving your pet. Early action in Taffys case saved his life.

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