I'm not scared of horses. how dare you. By Bessie

The other day we had a really bad storm.  It rained literally all day long.   Mummy's work had about six power cuts.  She says every time the power went off her computer went off but nobody else's did cos theirs are all brand new with battery back up but hers is old and crap but her boss won't buy her a new one.    Then that evening we was just sitting down to watch telly when the power went off.  Daddy went outside to check and the whole village was in darkness.  I tell you what, it's very dark in the countryside at night.  Where we lived before was quite rural but it's proper country here, even though we're closer to the city centre.   So Mummy phoned the electricity board and they said one of the power lines had come down and they hoped they would fix it soon.   As it turns out it was only out for an hour and a half.  Mind you the way the minihumans and Daddy carried on you'd think it had been days, weeks even.  Daddy lay on the lounge carpet and slept, very noisily.   That was a really dumb place to lie down too cos it was pitch dark and everyone kept falling over him.   The little minihumans sulked cos they couldn't do anything.   Mummy said she didn't mind, she lit all her candles and played angry birds on her phone and cuddled with me.

The next day the man next door came round to tell us the fence had blown down but when we went to check it was only leaning a little bit, the gap wasn't big enough to climb through.  We all tried.   He said he would try and get over to fix it when it stopped raining.   But it didn't stop raining til Saturday.  So on Saturday morning, that's today, he came round and he said it had blown over a bit more last night so we went to check and this time the gap was big enough to get through.  Lotty was very excited, she tried to climb through the gap, but Graham next door stuck his head in the hole and give her a kiss, then he put a big block of wood and a load of stones in the way so we couldn't escape.   He said he didn't mind if we came into his garden cos he thinks we are cute but he was worried we might get out into the street.  I said I don't mind if we get into the street, we can go and play with the horses.  Then a horse walked past so we all shouted HIYA.  But Mummy told Graham we were scared of horses and told us to be quiet.  We're not scared of horses.  We're not.  We could have a horse in a fight any time.

Then we went for a walk round the village but we didn't meet anyone to talk to.  It was very quiet out today.  So we come home and ran round the lounge for a bit then went upstairs and put our muddy feet on the white duvet.  That didn't go down too well to be honest.

Basset Rescue Network Christmas Party

Sunday was our Christmas Party.   We baked all day Friday.  We made doggy treats; mackerel & sweet potato, banana & peanut butter and liver & apple.  Then we put them in Christmassy gift bags with a pretty red ribbon.  We also made rolo cupcakes and smartie cupcakes with candy canes and tons of other stuff.  We were in the kitchen all day.  Mummy brought our bed in so we could help by sleeping.  Carly didn't want to sleep though, she ate all the potato peelings and carrot heads.  Weirdo.   Tom ate left over rollos.  Me and Lotty taste tested the doggy treats.  They were good.

On Sunday we loaded the car up.  We had so much stuff that we wondered if we were going to have to take both cars but eventually we squeezed everything in.  We had to share the boot with all the cans of pop and agility equipment and Mummy had the hamper on her lap and couldn't see out of the window.  You'll be glad to know Daddy was driving or we would all be deaded.

When we got to the party we was a bit muddled cos there was nobody there and we wondered if we got the right place.  Then Mr Wayne arrived, he thought the party started at 10.30 so him was a teensy bit early (it was 10.45 and the party was due to start at 12).  I bet his minihumans wasn't impressed much.

Then the man from the hall arrived so Mummy went inside to talk to him while we went for a walk round the field.  He asked Mummy what was happening today, was it a party?  And Mummy said that it was a party for dogs.  There would be a fun show, food and Santa and some party games.

"DOGS?"  the man looked horrified.  "Nobody told me you were bringing dogs."

"Erm we are the BASSET rescue network."  Mummy said.

"I know that," snapped the man, "If I'd known there were going to be dogs I'd have told you to bring mats.  Have you got mats?"

"Oh yes," Mummy lied, "Don't worry about that."   Well it was only a little lie, we had our own beds to lie on and Miss Sam had some bits of carpet for the musical mats game.

So the man showed Mummy where everything was and then hovered around looking increasingly cross as more people kept arriving and bringing DOGS into the hall.   Then Miss Sam arrived with the money and paid the man and FINALLY he went and left us to it.

Anyway, the hall wasn't very clean, there were crumbs all over the floor.  Lucky we houndies were there to clean it up for him.  I reckon we left it cleaner than we found it and that was after eleventyseven wees and 3 poos.

By the time everyone arrived we had 52 humans and 33 doggies and we made a right old racket.  Them acoustics in the hall was good for howling and barking.  I don't think the humans were that keen on the noise, I think most of them went home with headaches.  Miss Clair, Mr Neil and Harry brought us Poppy, our new foster dog that they had collected for us the night before.  She was very very beautiful and very shy and every single person who met her fell instantly in love.

The humans had party food for lunch and then we played some games and had a fun dog show.   I can't remember who won what though cos we lost the piece of paper!   I think it was:

Saddest Face - Monty (he wasn't even entered but he wandered into the middle of the ring and slumped down with a sigh and Mr Ian (our judge) felt sorry for him.

Best Party Trick - We think that was Wilson with his rolling over for a treat trick.

Best Rescue Story - Carly.

Musical Mats - Bryn and Lotty.

Dog who looks most like their owner - Bryan and Harry.

Snossij race - Aimee and Shirley.

Longest Ears - Fleur (27cm).

Egg and Spoon Race - Kayleigh and Shirley.

Best family of dogs - The Nicholls family.

Santa came and gave us all a present.  The dogs had a bag of treats and the human children had a selection box.   He didn't let us sit on his lap though.  Shirley did.  She said she knew Santa better than the rest of us and he said she could sit on his lap.  I don't know how she knows Santa better though.  I is the best behaved girl in the world so I think if anyone was allowed to sit on his lap it should have been me.

Then we stopped for a break and to draw the raffle.  But while the raffle was being drawn little Stella had a seizure and it was ever so scary but luckily Miss Emma was there.  She was ever so calm and good and she helped her come out of it gently.  

And then we run out of time so we never got to do the fancy dress or the agility cos it was 4.45 and we had to be out of the hall by five.  So we cleaned up and then it was time to go home.

Anyway apart from the incident with Stella which was very sad and worrying (but me is happy to report she is ok now) and the noise, I think everybody had a good time.  We liked the fact that all the humans were really chilled out about their dogs, nobody was being precious and making a fuss and the dogs were very relaxed and really let theirselves go.  Although we would like to know who was so relaxed they let themselves go on Shirley's bed.   Someone said they thought it was a big white basset.  That means it was either Bert, Archie or me (clue: it definitely wasn't me).  Shirley said she's going to have their guts for garters (or poo in their basket).

We took Poppy back home with us.  She was very good and we all snuggled up together in the back of the car.  There was a bit more room on the way home cos even though we had an extra dog, she was only a teeny one and we didn't have all the food and the hamper to carry.

When we got home we all had some food.  Poppy was very polite and ate ladylike like I do not like a big fat pig like Carly or pushing her bowl round the room at 400 miles an hour like Lotty.   Then we sat in the lounge and watched telly.  Poppy sat on Mummy's lap.   Carly didn't like that and sat on her cushion sulking but Mummy said we should all be nice to Poppy cos she's had a very traumatic time.  She had her puppies nine weeks ago, then she got given away to Miss Clair and Mr Neil, who brought her a very noisy party with lots of new people all wanting to meet her.  Then spending a night at our house and off to Miss Lesley tomorrow.  So we were all nice to her (Carly was still sulking though).  And that night Poppy slept on the end of Tom's bed.  She was a very good girl and didn't get up in the night.   

Yesterday, Monday, we had to wait in cos the people from the charity shop were coming to pick up the old lounge suite.  They came about 11.30 and then we just cuddled and watched telly.  Mummy needed to hoover really but Poppy was scared of it so she said it can wait.   When it was time to pick Katie and Bryn up from school Mummy and Tom took Lotty and Poppy with them.   They said it's ok, they're only going to the V E T.  Mummy always says that though and then Lotty will tell me about some exciting adventure when she gets back.

But it turns out they did just go to the V E T.   They was both weighed, Lotty is 20.8kg and Poppy is 16kg.   Then Poppy had her puppy injections, even though she is four next month and Lotty had her booster.  Lotty said to tell me and Carly that she didn't have to have kennel cough cos Mummy said we're not going into kennels anytime soon.  Then the V E T asked if Lotty had been deflead recently and Mummy said she never does, she uses garlic tablets.  the V E T rolled his eyes and said that doesn't work.  But then he ran his flea comb through Lotty's hair and admitted that maybe it was working for us but it doesn't work for anyone else.  Then they went and bought some food in Pets at Home and Poppy barked at a lady with a bionic leg and Mummy had to ask her politely not to be so mean.    

When they got home the humans had their tea and after tea we all said goodbye to Poppy.  Then Mummy and Daddy got in the car with her and took her to Miss Lesley's house.  We think Daddy only went to make sure Mummy actually dropped her off cos he could see Mummy was falling in love with Poppy and wanted her to stay.   

When they got to Miss Lesley's, Bella and Wilbur was very friendly and greeted Poppy nicely.  Poppy was a bit growly with Miss Lesley at first cos she does that every time she meets someone new.  But she was ok after a few minutes.  But then when Mummy and Daddy went to leave (i.e. Daddy dragged Mummy kicking and screaming out of the house) Poppy was crying for Mummy.  

This morning Miss Lesley told us that Poppy had a good night snuggled up with Bella and Wilbur.  Her and Bella are best friends and Mr Andrew loves her.  We knew he would, everybody does.   

Of course we love all the dogs that we have had through the rescue, all ten of them.  But some are especially precious to us.   Merlot and Poppy are our two little princesses.   We all fell in love with those two.

In which Bessie goes to a sleepover. By Bessie

On Monday Mummy was off work so she did loads of baking.  She made sugar cookies and peanut butter cookies.  On Tuesday Mr Gary and Mr Steve went to see Jackson at Miss Lesley's.  Miss Lesley's daughter, Emma is a groomer so she give him a baff and did his toebones first so him was all lovely and fluffy.  Of course Mr Gary and Mr Steve and Sally the corgi loved him so they adopted him.  Mummy and Carly went to meet them at McDonalds to give them his papers and they had a little cuddle with Jackson and Sally.  Mummy said Sally was beautiful.

On Wednesday Mummy went to work so we stayed home with Tom.  On Thursday Mummy and Tom went out and did some Christmas shopping.  They was ever so pleased with themselves and said they had a good days shopping and got loads of presents.

Mummy was doing overtime on Friday but the new settee and armchair was being delivered but they said it could be anytime between 7am and 7pm. but they would phone an hour before.  So she say she will come home when they phone and then go back to work if she has to.   But we was first on the run cos we is so close to the shop so they phoned at ten past seven so lucky they come before she went to work.   Daddy took Katie and Bryn to school and Mummy waited for the delivery.  

When the delivery men come one got out the truck to see where they would bring the settee and chair in so Mummy took him round the back to show him the patio doors.  Him said it was a nice place we got and Mummy says thank you but don't look at the carpet.   Then he went back to the lorry and both men brought the settee in.  The second man says it a nice place too and the first man laughed and said "She only bought it for the carpet."  

"you should have seen the matching lampshades," said Mummy.  Then the second man looked up at our dead nice lampshade and goes "Ugh yeah."

"Not that one!" screamed Mummy, "That's mine!"   The man blushed and the other man laughed and said he always puts his foot in it.    Then they took the covers off and asked Mummy to check it while they went to get the chair.  So she lay down on the settee before we could - we was locked in Tom's room so we didn't eat the delivery men.   Then the phone rang so Mummy asked Tom to sign for the chairs while she answered it.   By the time she come back the delivery men had gone, Tom and me was lay in the armchair and Lotty and Carly was lay on the settee.  Mummy shouted at us and made us get off.  Then she shut the door and went to work and we had to sit in Tom's room all day.  Not that we mind, we like Tom's room.

Yesterday me and Mummy went on an adventure.  We got in the car and we packed a sleeping bag and pillow for Mummy and a blankie for me and we drove to Miss Sam's house.   When we got there we took all our stuff out of our car, well not all our stuff - we left the sunglasses and the crisp packets and that smelly sock that's been under the passenger seat for the last year - and we put it all in Miss Sam's bus.  We went inside her house and I had a run about in the garden with Shirley and Ollie while Mummy had a cup of tea.   Then we got in Miss Sam's bus with Miss Sam and we drove to Miss Louise's house.  

When we got there I had a wee on her next door neighbours lawn and then we went in and cuddled with Penny, Frank and Bertie.   Mr Dave was at work and the minihumans was upstairs in their bedrooms.   So the humans had cups of tea and we houndies ate all the hobnobs.   Then the humans went in the kitchen and pretended to have a meeting.  So me and Penny lay on the settee and had a cuddle and the boys sat on the rug.   But then after it gone dark a burglar came in through the back door so I shouted at him, lots.   But the ladies wasn't happy with my shouting.  And the burglar wasn't happy with my shouting so he went upstairs and when he come back he was wearing jammies and it was Mr Dave and then I remembered he lives here so I said he could stay.   Then the minihumans, Annie and Sam come downstairs and I said they could stay.  But Ginger the cat wasn't allowed to stay.  So I chased him under the dining table and he scratched me on the nose.  Nobody cared.  Nobody kissed me better, they said it served me right.  I think they are very mean.

Us houndies had our dinner and then the humans had fajitas for their dinner and then they drinked lots of drinks what made them laugh lots at things that wasn't funny. After tea Mr Dave and Sam went upstairs and Annie was on her puter in the lounge and the lady humans wrapped all the presents up for the Christmas Party next week.  So we watched and catched any bits of the presents (what I not going to tell you what they is cos then it won't be a surprise) what fell on the floor.  Oh and they wanted to talk to Uncle MrJeff about the website so them did some sort of videocall or something so them could all talk at the same time - over each other I do think but it not my place to say - anyway I videocalled with George and Winston and it was really cool!

When them finished talking to Uncle MrJeff about the website and them finished wrapping the presents then them sat in the lounge and watched some films and us houndies all got to snuggle with a human.    And then one minute we were watching Miracle on 34th Street and the next minute it was morning and Mr Dave was getting up to go to work.  So we all run out to shout HELLO at him very loudly cos that's what you do to be polite.   Mummy was lay on her only working ear though so she didn't hear me shouting HELLO and couldn't shout at me.

After Mr Dave went to work we all come back to bed, Bertie got in with Mummy, and went back to sleep for a few hours and by the time we woke up again it was light and time for bacon butties and then we had to go.  I was sad to go cos I really loves spending time with my friends, especially Penny I loves her lots.  But Mummy say it OK cos me see them all again in a week.  So we says goodbye and then we gets back in Miss Sam's bus and drives back to Miss Sam's house, has a wee, has a cup of tea, gets back in our own car.   We stops at the services for a KFC and a wee and then we goes home.

When we got to Bristol we was stuck for ages in a traffic jam cos some wide load was taking up the whole motorway and going very very slow.  Lucky for us it was turning off to go down the M5 and not carrying on into Wales so we was only held up for about half an hour.  We was waiting ages at the bridge too cos they lets people pay by card at the coin bin.  This is stupid cos you saves up the right money to save time not so you can wait for ages while people put their blummin pin numbers in.

When we got home Carly was very happy to see Mummy, I think she missed her lots.  Nobody else was, they all hates her haha.  Then we had tea and snoozed on the new furniture.

Open plan living, Daddy style. By Bessie

So the other night Daddy noticed the bubble in the bathroom floor was getting bigger so he had a good look and discovered the toilet is leaking.  He pulled all the floor up and there was water in the roof space and he found mushrooms growing under the floor.  MUSHROOMS!

We thought Daddy was going to go ballistic but he was remarkably calm all things considering.  He said he wanted to replace the floor and wall tiles anyway so he may as well get on with it.   So he ripped all the floor up and the rest of the wall tiles.   The toilet come out and then he was scraping all the rotten wood out and Mummy shouts "OH MY GOD THERE'S A MASSIVE HOLE IN THE WALL!"   

So Daddy come to look and he had knocked right through to the lounge.   Well, open plan is very fashionable, we've seen it on Grand Designs.  Not sure about the open plan lounge/bathroom though.   So when Daddy finished scraping the rotten wood out he mended the hole in the wall so now we can't watch telly from the shower.

On Thursday Mummy, Tom and Bryn took Lotty with them in the car.  They said it was her turn for an adventure cos I always get to go.  Well of course I always get to go, that's cos I'm the oldest and the most important.  Anyway they went to Tewkesbury where they met Miss Adele and Mr Daz and Jackson, the new dog Adele rescued for us.   They got there a bit early cos they thought it would take longer to get there but they have finished all the roadworks on the M50 now so it not take as long.  So they were waiting and watching the other cars arriving and trying to work out which one was theirs.  Lotty sat on Mummys lap so she could look out the window.  Then a people carrier come into the car park with the back window open even though it was cold out.  Mummy said, "I bet that's them and he's just been sick."

Then the car parked next to our car and Miss Adele got out and said Jackson had just been sick.   But apart from that he was very lovely and sweet and Miss Adele and Mr Daz said they loved him very much and was going to miss him.   

Then Jackson and Lotty got in the car and apparently they were both very good and did not argue at all not even once.  And Mummy drove to Bridgend to take Jackson to Miss Lesley who is going to foster him for us.   When they got to Miss Lesley's Jackson and Lotty ran straight through the house and into the garden with Bella and Wilbur.   Jackson very brave boy, he not bothered.  And all the dogs was very nice to each other, not a cross word between them Mummy says.  So they all gave Jackson, Bella and Wilbur big kisses and they come home.  By the time they got home they had been on the road 5 hours.   Them was all shattered and went straight to bed.

On Saturday Katie and her friends wanted to go into Cardiff so Mummy said she would take them and do a bit of Christmas shopping herself.   Bryn stayed home to help Daddy with the plumbing and Tom come with Mummy to keep her company.   

When they got to the park and ride there were two buses in the bus stop.  Both were completely full and there was a big queue of people stood waiting for the next one.   Mummy and Tom did look at each other like oh god what are we doing.   So they join the queue and the two buses went and another one come a few minutes later.  Luckily they managed to get seats and they went into town to do the shopping.   When they got off the bus the teenagers went off by themselves and Mummy and Tom went to Poundland and then to Burger King to get some lunch.   After they had eaten it they went off to do some shopping and it was when they bought something Mummy realised she had left her shopping bag in Burger King.  What was in it was a packet of haribos that she had promised Bryn for helping his Daddy and a box of choklits she bought for the raffle at the Basset rescue Christmas party.   

So they went back to Burger King and the queues at the counters were so big people were queuing out the door.  So they tried to push their way through to get to the stairs when Mummy noticed a little toddler crying  He didn't look like he was with anybody nearby so she knelt down and asked him what was wrong.   He said he lost his Mummy so Mummy lifted him up into her arms and shouts really loud "Has anybody lost a child?"   Loads of people all looked round and this man said he thought he was lost and then he sort of shrugged like to say "I'm a man, I can't pick him up."   Then the little boy points at a lady walking our way so Mummy goes over to her, still carrying the little boy so he not get lost in the crowd again.   Mummy expecting the lady to be cross when she see Mummy holding her baby but she just sighed and said "What you doing there?"  Mummy explain how he was lost and she lifted him up so he could look for her.  The lady just take his hand and drag him off telling him off for leaving the table.  Me think a two or three year old far too little to be left at a table on his own.  Them queues was so long I bet she must have been gone half an hour, no wonder he got scared.

Anyway after all that excitement Mummy and Tom went upstairs and the bag was right where she had left it under the table.  So they had a look in a few more shops but town was so busy it was horrible, everywhere was so busy that even if they wanted to buy something they would have been queuing forever.  So they mooch about not really doing much for a bit then they phoned Katie and said they want to go home.  Surprisingly she was ready and only a few minutes away so them went back to the bus stop and joined a massive queue.  They didn't get on the first bus cos it was too full but they got seats on the next one so them was happy.

At tea time someone phoned to ask about Jackson.   They sounded perfect for him, two men who's basset did go to rainbow bridge recently.  They have another doggy and they arranged to come and see him next week.  If they love him, which they will cos everybody does, then they will take him home with them.

Today we had a lazy day.  Mummy did a load of cooking and baking and we sat and watched.  Carly ate some raw marrow and sweet potato but Lotty and I did not think that would be very tasty.   Carly said it wasn't very nice but as Mummy had given them to her she didn't want to offend Mummy.  I said Carly was stupid and Mummy didn't give them to her, she dropped them.  Carly is such a weirdo.  She's always creeping up to Mummy.  Mummy calls Carly her little stalker cos every time she moves Carly is right behind her.  

Our rescue. How it all began.

Have I told you about our new rescue?   Well, two things happened at the same time.  Firstly people kept asking us to help them with bassets but because of the rules of the basset rescue we were looking for we couldn't help.   Then, while we were moving house Miss Sam arranged a rescue of a basset being transported all the way from Devon to Aberdeen.  we couldn't help because we were moving house but it got us thinking that maybe it would be quite simple to set up a basset rescue of our own.  So we did.

We have been going for eight weeks and we have rescued seven dogs so far.   I'll tell you about them in a minute.   First we made a facebook page then we asked Miss Sam and Miss Louise if they'd like to help.  So Miss Sam is our treasurer and Miss Louise is our secretary.  Then we asked Uncle MrJeff if he would help us with our website so he is building our website for us.  It's nearly finished now, we're ever so excited.  Uncle MrJeff is sponsoring our phone too and Aunty Jayne gave us a phone so people can phone us about the houndies.

We are trying to do it all with just the group of people we have at the moment and the two people in Northern Ireland, Miss Alice and Miss Nikki.  But it is getting more and more work.  We did think we would need to get more people, area reps we thought,  in the future when we get busier but we think we are already much busier than we expected.   Ooh and we're having a Christmas Party too.  Miss Sam found a village hall that allows dogs and we have booked it for the 8th December.  We've got all sorts of fun and games planned.   Santa is coming to give all the dogs and children a present.  We will have a very silly dog show with rounds like dog who looks most like their owner and saddest face and some activity rounds like snossij relay race, egg and spoon race and musical cushions.   An obstacle course and fancy dress and we are having mulled wine and a buffet lunch.  It's going to be tonnes of fun, we can't wait.

Anyway, our dogs.  So I'll tell you about Daisy first, she wasn't our rescue like I said but it was her story that inspired us.  So much so that Miss Alex, her mummy, said we could use her picture for our logo.  So Daisy was rescued from a barn in Devon where she had been used for breeding.   She spent four nights in Devon at the first rescuers house, then she was taken to Bristol where she met the next group of people.  They took her to Stratford on Avon where she swapped cars again.   Then to Nottingham to meet some different people who took her to Rotherham where she met her forever family who took her the rest of the way to Aberdeen.  An incredible 600 mile journey.   So it was this story that inspired us to start our own rescue.

Next we have Bertie.   His owner couldn't give him the attention he craved so he came to us.   The next day we took him to meet Miss Louise.  He is staying there with Frank and Penny for now.  He loves it at Miss Louise's.

Then Roxy.  Roxy was found as a stray living in a forest in Northern Ireland, scared, skinny and pregnant.  She was taken to the pound where she had her puppies and when they were old enough to be weaned the pound phoned Alice, our Northern Ireland rep and asked her to take her in.   Roxy has now been spayed, deflea-ed and wormed and had her bad skin treated with antibiotics.  She is now a million miles from the little stray.

Photo above is Roxy the day she arrived.

Below is her now.

Merlot is very special to us.  They are all very special to us of course but we feel very proud to have rescued Merlot.   We first saw her advertised as free to a good home and asked the seller if we could take her but they didn't respond to us.   Then she disappeared off the website and we were all very worried about what had happened to her.  Three weeks later another dog appeared on the free ads, same age and description but different name and slightly different location.  We didn't put the two together but we asked if we could have her and this time the owner said yes.  One of our transporters, Lesley went to pick her up and that evening our foster carer, Susan brought her home and had a good look at her papers.  The owner had changed her name but the microchip form told us that her name was Merlot and her previous owners name and location was the same as the Merlot we had tried to rescue three weeks previously.  We feel she was sent to us from up high.    Merlot was in season so she stayed with Miss Susan until her season was finished and her vaccinations had been completed.  Yesterday she met her prospective adopter, the lovely Miss Zoe, for the first time and it was love at first sight for the both of them.  Merlot will be going off to Scotland to start her new life at the end of this month.  A happy ending for a very special little girl.

Cooper 's owner couldn't look after him any more so he was given to a lady who had dachshunds.  Unfortunately being a lot bigger than them Cooper was standing on them and the lady was worried for their safety and asked us to help find a new home.   We put his photo on our facebook page and the lovely Miss Sue applied for him.  We thought she was the perfect Mum for a sweet but boisterous young boy like Cooper.  And we were right.  He now lives in Cumbria with his beagle siblings.

Alfie's owner couldn't take him with her to her new home so he had been locked in a shed while he waited to be rehomed.  Our Northern Ireland rep Nikki took him in and he is settling in with his new brother and sister.

Harvey lived with three other dogs and a loving family but he wanted to be an only dog and would fight with his siblings.  His family very reluctantly decided that he would be happier in a home where he could be the only dog.  Luckily we knew just the people.   He went to his new family yesterday and is already settling in well.

Jackson was at a rescue centre and not enjoying life in kennels at all.  On our behalf, Miss Adele offered to help as he had been there for four weeks and we thought we might be able to rehome him quicker.   Miss Adele is picking him up tomorrow and we will meet her halfway on Thursday and take him to Miss Lesley who will foster him until we find a suitable home.

So that is us so far.   Lots more success stories to come, we are sure.    We are really enjoying running our new rescue and we've got some really good and kind people working with us and have had loads of support from the dog community.

I'll get me coat. By Bessie

Firstly I have to tell you that ever since Mummy smelled that salted caramel candle she's been wobbling on about needing to buy one.  Anyway she had all her candles on yesterday and when one ran out she went to get a new one from the massive stockpile and realised all this time she already had salted caramel.   Stupid woman.

On Tuesday Mummy asked her boss if he could remember how many holidays she had left cos she couldn't remember.  He phoned the wages girl at head office and when he come off he says "Well you may as well just go home now."  So she stood up and put her coat on.
"No, not really.  Please don't," he said.  So she agreed that even though she had so many days holiday left that she didn't need to work again this year she would come in every Wednesday.  Because quite frankly it's easier to lose four days holiday than let someone else near the invoices.

So Thursday she didn't go to work, she went to Tesco and then she came home and played with us.  On Friday Grandma and Grandad came to stay for the weekend.   The humans went to B&Q to steal wallpaper samples for Katie's art homework on Saturday afternoon.  On the way out the alarm went off and Mummy told Katie it was because she had stole more than a metres worth of wallpaper.

That night they went out for dinner to an Italian restaurant in Cardiff for Tom's birthday what they paid for with clubcard vouchers.   It was nice foodies.  Katie had chips for her starter though cos she is strange.

On Sunday Aunty Mic, Uncle Rob and Ben come to visit.  Mummy attempted to cook dinner for 10 in her tiny kitchen.  She did the chikkin in the slow cooker and all the veggies in a big baking tray and she did manage to make the dinner.  Unfortunately Daddy thinks that means the kitchen is fine and she don't need a new cooker.   Hmph.

Tomorrow is Tom's birthday.   He will be 21.  

Not in a candle shop. Not again. By Bessie

Yesterday Mummy smelled a salted caramel yankee candle.   This is the noise she made while she was sniffing it:

"Ohhhh hmmmmmm ohhhhh yessssss hmmmmmmm.   I like this.  Sniff this.  NO, don't take it off me.  Smell that one there.   Hmmmmmm yummy."

Suffice to say Tom said he's not taking Mummy into any more candle shops.  Ever.

In other news Mummy put half the contents of our house, particularly the contents of her wardrobe, on Ebay.  She says she will use the money to pay for the minihumans Christmas presents.  She also said she's selling every pair of shoes that hurts.  Cos she doesn't see the point of wearing anything that isn't comfortable.  So if you ever see Mummy at a posh function she will be the one in slippers...or converses...or doc martens.  Not nice shoes anyway.  That is the point I am trying to make.

In which Bertie wins at hide and seek. By Bessie

Today we went out with the pack.   We got up nice and early and Mummy made bacon and hash brown rolls for breakfast and chicken and cheese rolls for lunch while Daddy got the car ready for us.  When it was time to get in the car Daddy couldn't find his keys even though him only had them a minute ago.  So we all looked for the keys but they was nowhere to be found and we really needed to go or we were going to be late so Daddy got his spare set and off we went.

It was the same walk we did last May so we thought we knew where we was going.  We drove to the place where the walk started last time and we waited.  And then Mr Guy, Alice, Jessica and Maude came so we got out the car to talk to them.  And then it got to twenty past and we thought where is everybody?  Some people walked past and we asked them if they seen any more dogs like us.  "Oh yes," they says, "there's loads down there."  So we thinks we ought to walk back and meet the rest of the pack so we did.  It took ages to walk down cos we was parked so far away.   Everybody else was parked in a completely different place (which by the way wasn't anywhere near as good a place to park as where we was but ho hum).

Then we give everybody an invitation to the basset rescue christmas party and we set off on our walk.   By the time we got back to the monument by our car we realised there was two dogs missing, Bertie and Flash.  Then Miss Diane got a call to say Bertie was found but Flash still missing.  So Miss Louise and Jordan went back to see the lady who apparently had Bertie.   Mummy said me and Carly and her would go and help find Flash.  So we followed Miss Louise and Jordan but they was running so we lost them. We went back into the woods and tried to retrace our steps until we found a lady who had been on the walk with us but had got left behind.  We felt terrible cos we not know if anybody even knew she was left behind. So we showed her how to get back to everybody else and then we went off into the woods.  Then Brian and his humans catched us up and say they would help look for Flash.  Then we heard a voice and it was Miss Louise.  She went looking but she couldn't find the lady with Bertie.  Her was not where she was sposed to be.  Jordan had run into the woods to look for everybody but now we had lost him too.   Then someone phoned and said the lady now had Bertie on a lead and Flash had run off back to the cars and she was coming back with Jordan.  So we went back the way we come and we seen Mr Ryan coming towards us so we all went back.  Then Tom phoned to ask where we was cos the rest of the pack was carrying on the walk.  We say it ok, all the dogs has been found and we is on our way back.   So them say they wouldn't walk with everybody, they would come and meet us.  So we went back to the path.  But when we got there Jordan was with Daddy, Tom and Bryn and he said he hadn't seen the lady with Bertie or Flash.   So we all started looking again.  We decided the best thing was to go back to the cars in the hope that both the dogs, and this lady whoever she is, made it back there.  So Daddy said he would move our car so it was with all the others, so he went back to get the car and we walked down to the other car park.   When we got there Miss Sam and Mr Dave were there with all the children but Bertie, Flash and the lady weren't.  Then the lady who had got lost in the woods came and described the dog she saw with the lady and we was convinced it was Bertie.  So we said we would go and look for Flash then if we know Bertie is safe.  So we all went back into the woods to look for Flash and Mr Dave drove up the lane to see if he could see anybody.  Then he came back and said he saw a basset running across the road but it was going too fast.  So Daddy went with Mr Dave so if they saw it again he could jump out and try and call it.   In the meantime the rest of us were walking round the woods calling Bertie and Flash.

Then someone shouts up the lane that they have Bertie but Flash is still missing.    So we say we will look, then suddenly Flash is back too.  We never did find out where the dogs had been and which dog, if any, this lady had found cos by the time we got back to the cars she had gone home.

Then the humans ate their lunch and we all had some snossijs and then we went off for the second half of the walk.  Bertie had to stay on his lead this time after disgracing himself.   We was having a lovely walk too until we was 300 yards from the end when Mr Wayne shouts "Come back, we've lost another one!"   Narla had gone missing this time.  So we all walked back shouting her name and us dogs were all barking and howling to attract her attention but we waited for ages and we were all in the woods looking but we couldn't find her anywhere.  So her mum said we should go back to the cars and hope she has run back there.  So we started walking back and then suddenly Lotty ran off into the woods.  Bryn and Daddy raced after her but her was so fast she was really far in seconds, then Bryn managed to corner her against a fence but she didn't want to be caught.  She had the scent of something and she wanted to be off.  Bryn had to throw himself on top of her to stop her running off.  So then Lotty had to stay on her lead.

When we got back to the cars most people decided to stay behind and help search for Narla.  We was all standing round deciding where to start when Mr Guy and one of Narla's humans come walking down the path with Narla on her lead.  We was all so happy and relieved.   Then we all did huggies and kissies and we got back in our cars and went home.  We was so tired after all the excitement we slept all the way home.  Luckily Daddy stayed awake so he could drive the car.  There was a massive queue at the toll and it took ages to get back into Wales.  Then we picked Katie up from her friends, came home and had baffs (grrr) and our tea (yummy) and slept most of the evening.

At bedtime Mummy went to lock the back door but the key was missing.  She asked Daddy where it was and he had a look then announced that someone must have snuck in and took the key.  "Oh that reminds me," said Mummy, "Did you find your car keys yet?"    "Yes," admitted Daddy, "They were in my other coat pocket."   Then he went upstairs and the back door keys were in his coat pocket too.

Ooh I almost forgot, we arranged another adoption this week.    Someone in Lancashire needed to rehome their basset so we advertised him on our facebum page and we rehomed him.  He went to his new family today and he's already settled in.

Good things come to those who wait. By Bessie

Last night it rained.  Lots.   Our village is flooded from next doors house onwards.  Nobody down that end can get in or out.  We are OK but our well is almost full and the field behind is flooded.   Mummy got up early and went to Tesco to stock up in case we get flooded in.   It's still not stopped raining but the flood hasn't got any higher yet.

Mummy and Bryn ripped all the wallpaper off in the hall.  Now they have to redecorate cos it looks awful.  Although Mummy says she likes it, cos she can visualise what the hall will look like when it's finished now that wallpaper is gone.

We sold the hot tub.  I think we might have sold it too cheap cos we only put it on ebay on Saturday night.  Yesterday we had four messages asking for a buy it now price so we gave them all the same price.   Three of them asked if they could come and get it, one offered £200 less.  We let the first person have it cos that is the politest way to do things so him come down last night with his wife and daughter and paid 20% and is coming back tonight with five big strong friends to take it away.   We are going to buy an oak table and six chairs to go in the dining room and two three seater settees for the lounge with the money.  We also put the sauna and the old fridge on ebay, they haven't sold yet.  But they only just gone on.

Hmm what else to tell you?   Katie is watching video blogs on youtube.  I realise now I'm supposed to start every blog with HI GUYS!  Sorry I have been so remiss.  I didn't know this til now.  That's why I've only got 19 followers and Phil and Dan have got two million.

Uncle MrJeff is making us a website for our new rescue.  We can't wait for it to be finished.  We did a rescue on Saturday.  It turned out to be an incredible story.  Me explain...

So we seen this dog on preloved in Merseyside for £60 on Friday so Mummy emailed the seller.   We arranged to pick her up on Saturday.  Miss Lesley was going to collect her from the seller and Miss Susan going to foster her until we find a home (we got someone very special in mind but more on that later).

Anyway Miss Lesley got to the home handed the money over and was told that the doggy is in season.  Uh-oh.  Not that it would have stopped us taking her but it makes things difficult.  We can't send her to new home until she is spayed unless we are sure the new owners will get it done.  We checked with Miss Susan she was still OK to foster but her say yes that is fine, no problems with her own dogs.

Miss Lesley says doggy is lovely and sweet and very well behaved but shy and nervous.  Miss Susan went to pick doggy up and took her home.  Only when she got her back and had a good look at her papers does it become apparent there is more to this doggy than meets the eye.  Turns out, after a little detective work, this is only another doggy of a different name (that funnily enough when called she responds to much better than the name the seller gave her) that we saw advertised free to a good home on another site three weeks ago.  We were all really upset at the time cos we had emailed the seller and got no response and were worried about where she had ended up.  Anyway alls well that ends well and we got the doggy that we wanted in the first place.  This only makes us even more determined to make sure she ends up in the perfect home (who I already know who it is but they just need to be convinced that they are perfect).

Why bassets are not stupid. By Bessie

I was thinking about human's interpretation of dog intelligence.  You see according to most people Basset Hounds are pretty stupid.  But my humans don't think we are.   Like last night for example, Carly walked into the lounge and every seat was taken.  So she starts jumping round the room, doing play bows and barking.  Lotty jumps off the settee to play fight with her and Carly jumps right up and steals her spot.  Now that's not the work of a stupid dog is it?   Once, Lotty wanted Mummy's spot in the bed and Mummy said no, she wasn't having it.  Lotty tried tugging the duvet off her but Mummy still wouldn't give up her spot.  So Lotty takes Mummy's clothes that were by the side of the bed and threw them all down the stairs.  So of course Mummy has to go and retrieve them.  When she got back a minute later Lotty was fast asleep (allegedly) on Mummy's pillow and had managed to make herself weigh ten stone.

Stanley Coren's book "The Intelligence of Dogs" rates Bassets #71 in the most intelligent breeds.    Really Mr Coren?   And on what criteria do you measure intelligence?   Working and obedience intelligence is the answer.  i.e. doing as you're told.   Now you tell me, which is more clever?   Blindly following instructions or thinking for yourself?   My Mummy considers herself a reasonably intelligent human but she never does as she's told unless she's stopped and thought about the consequences beforehand.   Same goes for us three houndies.

According to Mr Coren the most intelligent 10 were:
1.     Border Collie
2.     Poodle
3.     German Shepherd
4.     Golden Retriever
5.     Doberman
6.     Shetland Sheepdog
7.     Labrador
8.     Papillon
9.     Rottweiler
10.   Australian Cattle dog

and the 10 least intelligent were:
79:    Afghan Hound
78:    Basenji
77.    Bulldog
76:    Chow Chow
75:    Borzoi
74:    Bloodhound
73:    Pekingese
72:    Mastiff Beagle   (I don't even know what one of these is)
71:    Basset Hound
70:    Shih Tzu

Now, don't get me wrong, I know dogs of most of them breeds (except the ones I've never heard of) and I know some really nice border collies, Poodles and German Shepherds.  But if I was going on Who wants to be a millionaire, I might not pick one as my phone a friend.

So, say Mr Coren took one of each of these 79 breeds - presuming he can find a mastiff beagle, what with that being a made up breed and all that just stuck in there to make the basset even further down his dumb list - anyway, if he took one of each and lined us all up on a cliff edge and shouted "Jump!".    Us 70s would all be stood there peering over the edge at the broken and battered bodies of the 1-10s and asking ourselves why they didn't look to see what was down there.   OK, so they weren't broken and battered really.  I don't think Mr Coren would do that for the sake of an experiment.  Lets assume there was a massive cushion at the bottom.  But you wouldn't know that unless you looked over the edge first.  And the 1-10 didn't.  They just jumped because they were told to.

If you throw a stick for a border collie they will bring it back and wait for you to throw it again.    If you throw a stick for a basset they will lie down and have a nap while you fetch your own stick.   That's independent thought, not stupidity.

So there you have it.  The moral of that story is....what is the moral of that story?   Hmmm.  Disobedience doesn't always equal stupidity?  Maybe that dog is just thinking of the consequences.

And finally, I know some of them dogs at the top of the list have jobs and everything and you're probably thinking they must be really clever cos no basset ever had a job.   But HA!  No cos I met loads of stupid humans who have jobs.  And they get paid like real money and everything, they don't just do it for biscuits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligence_of_Dogs

So we likes Shakespeare now. By Bessie

Daddy made a fence so we can't go round to the front gate and bark at the horses.   But he left us with a nice big bit of garden this time.  Not like in the old house where we weren't allowed on the grass.   

Last Friday Grandad came to stay.  The humans was all posh and had pudding and cheese and biscuits with their dinner every night.   Them decided them was going to be sophisticated for a change.   Mummy made fish and chips and salted caramel cheesecake, Grandad loved the cake and asked for the recipe so he could make it for his friends.  And her made trifle, him didn't ask for that recipe but then me think you would have to be a bit stoopid not to know how to make a trifle.

On Saturday some of the humans went to the mall cos Grandad said he wanted to buy us a new telly as a moving in present.   So him took Mummy and Daddy and Katie to John Lewis and him and Daddy chose a telly.  Mummy didn't help cos her was just looking for the cheapest and it made Daddy and Grandad cross so her and Katie went to play on the ipads while they waited.  They didn't have the telly in stock what they chose but they had one in Cardiff so Grandad paid for it over the phone and him and Daddy said they would go and get it on Sunday.

Then they looked round the shops for a bit and then come home and had cottage pie and trifle for tea.  On Sunday Daddy and Grandad went to get the telly, Katie and Bryn had an all day rehearsal which they wasn't pleased about cos it meant they had to go to school on a Sunday.  Mummy and Tom went to Tesco to buy more cheese cos Nanny wasn't there to tell Grandad he'd had enough so he ate about 2kg of cheese all by himself.  Then they went to Pets at Home and bought some food for us cos Tesco don't sell the right ones.

When them got back Daddy and Grandad was in the lounge setting up the telly but they hadn't let us out the cage.  Mummy was really cross with Daddy but he said we was alright.   I say we wasn't alright, we does not like being locked in the cage when we knows humans is in the house.  So Mummy let us out but then Grandad said we had to go away cos we smell and Daddy locked us out of the lounge so Mummy and Tom stayed in the dining room with us and sent off some job applications.   Then Katie phoned to say they were ready so Mummy went to get them and then they had a Sunday roast for their tea and treacle sponge pudding and custard.  Mummy did think she had to intervene with the cheese cos she knew Nanny would be cross if she didn't so after a while she snuck the cheeseboard back into the kitchen.

Grandad went to Swindon on Monday to see his friends and then over to Uncle Nicks on Wednesday.  Katie and Bryn had their play on Tuesday.  Mummy, Daddy and Tom went to see it.   It was at the Riverfront Theatre in town.  There was four schools each doing a short version of a Shakespeare play.  My minihumans school did Midsummer Nights Dream, the others did Twelfth Night, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet.   My big humans all agreed that Midsummer Nights Dream was the best and they swears they isn't just saying that cos it was our minihumans.   Katie played Hermia, this one of the starring roles, her had loads of lines and her got them all right and acted good.   Bryn was Cobweb, he was one of the fairies.  he only had one line but he had lots of jumping round the stage and moves to remember and he played a song on his guitar to help Titania go to sleep.  Anyway it was really good and the minihumans loved performing and the big humans loved watching.

Today was Mummys day off so her stayed home and did loads of housework and laundry.  Her still hasn't fixed the lights on the fishtank, she said she needs Daddy's help but he is always too busy playing with his new telly or plugging things in.   Then we went for a walk through the golf club before dinner and had a sleep.

We got people coming on Sunday, we very excited to have visitors.   Mummy got her friends coming over, they has started a new basset rescue and they is having another meeting to talk about the Christmas party.

Bertie the basset comes to stay.

such a busy busy weekend me has had.  On Friday we had a rescue dog, Bertie, come to stay.  He come at tea time.  We showed him our garden while Mummy made dinner and then we all come in and had food and then we sat on Mummys lap in the evening and watched telly.  It was a bit of a squeeze with four of us but we just about fit.

Yesterday me, Bertie and Mummy went to Miss Tara's house to collect her and then we all went to Miss Sam's house and Miss Louise was there waiting for Bertie cos she is going to foster him.  We played in Miss Sam's garden with Shirley and Ollie and Miss Sam's minihumans and then we went to the pub for lunch.

After we got back from the pub Bertie went home with Miss Louise.  Bertie was ever so good except when he took a fancy to the sofa and Miss Sam had to clean his boy stuff off it.

Then we took Miss Tara home, went to get some petrol and went home.  But when we got home there was nobody in and we had no house keys cos we hasn't got round to getting more keys cut yet so we had to sit in the drive and wait for Daddy and the boys to get back from McDonalds.   Katie went to the Man O' Gwent for her friends birthday and didn't get in til eleven.  Dirty stop out she is.

Today us houndies, Mummy and the boys - but not Daddy cos he wanted to do stuff in the house or Katie cos she couldn't be bothered to get out of bed - went to Somerset to walk with the pack.  Mr Wayne and Ronnie come too and we met Miss Sue and Mr Neil again with Sasha and Herbie.   Miss Moppet went to rainbow bridge last month and Matilda was pining for her.  She so miserable we did all feel so very very bad for her.

Mr Neil found the worlds biggest mushroom.   Ronnie has a new boyfriend called Mr Smith.  We went to the pub and had chips and gravy bones and chatted with Mr Wayne and him make us laugh with his funny stories.  And then we come home and had our tea and watched Countryfile and X Factor and Downton Abbey.

The latest from our house. By Bessie

The washing machine is working.  The humans have clean underwear and Mummy is no longer wearing ballgowns to work.

The waste disposal still isn't working.    Daddy refuses to give up. Even if it costs a million pounds to mend it he will persevere.

The dishwasher is working.

Tom and Mummy built the rest of the beds on Friday, sorted out Tom's room and dismantled a wardrobe.

The pond now has netting over it but it needs a filter.

The fishtank is set up but the water still needs to settle and then it needs topping up.  The fish are happy to be back in their big tank though.   They got so much room in there all four of them can have a corner each and invite each other over for tea.

Mummy asked Daddy to put the bookcases up from the old house.  He must have misheard though cos what he actually did was chop them up and use the wood to line the attic.  Now we have nowhere to put the books, DVDs and CDs.  But hey, at least the attic looks nice.

We have a rescue basset coming on Friday.  His name is Bertie.  This will be our fourth rescue Bertie.   Mummy is taking him to meet Miss Louise on Saturday.  She is going to foster him for us til he is a good pet (foster fail me coughs).

That's all the news so far.  Thank you for waiting so patiently my friends.

Tuesday 24th September. In which Daddy forgets his own name and Mummy goes commando.

Mummy took the minihumans to school and told Tom to have a shower, make himself presentable and then go and find a job.  But when she got back he said he did what she said but when he got halfway there he looked down at the dog on the lead and realised he hadn't accessorised very well for job hunting.  So he went home and said he will go again tomorrow, on his own this time.

When Daddy came home all the humans went to Currys to buy a fridge and a washing machine.  On the way in Mummy saw a toaster she liked half price.  It was the last one and there was no box so she picked it up and carried it all round the shop with her so nobody could steal it.  They picked a washing machine they liked and then they went to look at the fridges and picked one but it was late and the boss had obviously left for the day cos the music was up really loud and all the staff were stood at the other end of the shop chatting.  Mummy sent Katie to ask if they could possibly tear themselves away could we have some service.  Obviously Katie more polite than Mummy though cos what she actually said was "Could someone help us with a fridge please?"  So she comes back with this really tall australian man and he says "I thought I was about to sell a fridge to my shortest customer ever."  "You still are," sniggered Tom and Mummy kicked him.

The man said it was £26 for a next day delivery.   Daddy said he wasn't paying that, how long do we have to wait for free delivery.  "Two weeks," said the man.  "Two weeks!"  squealed Mummy, "I ran out of knickers two days ago and I wore an evening dress to work today."  Anyway her soon wished she hadn't mentioned her knickers cos the man kept going on about them and making Mummy blush.

Then them decided they would rather pay for a quicker delivery so they are getting a fridge and a washing machine on Friday for £22.   Then the man wondered who left a toaster on top of the fridge and Mummy remember she put it there so the man went in the storeroom to find the box but there wasn't one.  Mummy say not to worry, her got enough boxes in the house.  So they went to the desk to pay and the man ask Daddy his name.   "My name.  Hmmm" say Daddy.  "Do you need help?" asked Mummy.   Anyway then Mr wotstisname payed for his new white goods and Mummy paid for her toaster and then they went to Pizza Hut for tea cos Daddy promised ages ago that once they sold the house they would go out for dinner.

Monday 23rd September. Nanny's memorial.

Today Mummy and Daddy dressed up smart and took the minihumans to school then they went up to Stafford to Nannys memorial.    They went to the cemetry and met Grandad, Uncles Simon, Nick and Sid and Aunties Jackie and Sue and Grandads cousin and his wife and three of Nanny and Grandad's friends who couldn't make it to the funeral, one was on holiday and the other two were too old to make the journey north.

They went to the family plot and the man from the council took Nanny's casket and said a prayer then he lent by the little hole and said "I hope I don't fall in."  Just as he slipped and nearly fell in.  Nanny would have laughed at that.   Then Daddy left the flowers him and Mummy chose for Nanny and they all said goodbye to Nanny and Mummy and Daddy promised her that everytime they is going up north they will stop at the cemetry on the way and bring her some flowers.

Then they all went to a hotel for lunch.  After lunch the family went to the stonemasons to choose Nanny a plaque.  Grandad said he wanted marble so it would blend in with all the other stones but the man said they haven't used marble in years and it was difficult to get hold of.  Grandad was upset but then Mummy said "Why does it need to blend in?  Mum was never one to blend in, she liked to be different.  She liked to make a statement."  Everybody agreed but Grandad say him need to think about it so they left the stonemasons.   Then they went back to the cars and all kiss goodbye and Mummy make everyone promise to come and stay with us soon.

Mummy and Daddy got home just after the minihumans got back from rehearsal.   Them has to admit walking home from school not as bad as they thought it would be.  It only took 20 minutes.  Tom say it would have taken twice that if I had come.  Cheeky boy that he is.

After tea Daddy finally got the telly in the bedroom working so we is sitting in bed while Mummy writes this for me.    Daddy was out in the street weeding the front of the village hall cos it next door so he thought he would be nice.  Him didn't realise there was a council meeting going on until they all come out and say "Oh hello what are you doing?"   Him introduced himself and the leader of the council said they just discussed that they would put a sign up asking for someone to do the weeding.  Daddy say he guess he just volunteered then.  I think that makes Daddy a member of the council.  He says he thinks that doesn't.  And she invited all my humans to a talk in the hall by a lady who wrote a book about the big house that used to be on the hill behind our house.  Mummy and Daddy is looking forward to that, they is very interested in the local history but they couldn't find much on the internet.  Mummy had planned on going into town to see if there was anything in the library when she got a chance.

Sunday 22nd September. In which Lotty meets her nemesis.

On Thursday Daddy went to work.  Mummy took the minihumans to school then went to Tesco to finally buy some food.   Then Grandma and Grandad came over and they all went out to buy hangers cos Katie had taken every last one to hang all her clothes including her pyjamas.  After tea Grandma and Grandad went home.  They said they would be back very soon and that the hotel across the road is lovely.

On Friday Mummy and Tom unpacked most of the boxes and rearranged the furniture in the dining room.  When Daddy came home he said he liked what they had done so it can stay.

Yesterday Mummy and Katie went to Ikea to buy stuff for the house.  They got a throw for Katie's bed and a new dog bed which we love, and a cat flap and a new bed for Spicy cat.  Spicy cat was still locked inside so she doesn't run away.

Today Mummy and the boys took us for a really long walk.  We walked all the way to Tesco cos Mummy needed to buy a dress for Nanny's memorial service tomorrow cos her funeral dress is at the bottom of the washing basket and the washing machine is broke.

While we was out Lotty got scared cos a little gypsy child tried to stroke her.  We have never seen Lotty scared of anything before.

While we was out Katie let Spicy out of the office and she decided she wants to sleep in Katie's bed with her.  Mummy and Daddy say that OK but they had to get Katie some allergy tablets cos she got big puffy eyes from cat fur.

Wednesday 17th September. 18 months later we is on the move.

My humans pack all weekend.  Tom and Bryn takes us out for walks cos apparently we is getting under everybody's feets.

My minihumans is in a shakespeare play at the riverside theatre soon so they have to go to lots o rehearsals.  They stays in school late on Monday and Tuesday.

On Tuesday Grandad, Mummy's Daddy, comes down to help.  Him and Daddy take the spare keys to the estate agent then they have chippy chips for tea and stay up very late finishing the packing.

This morning Mummy and Katie take us houndies round to our friends Beau and Bones house.  We have a great time with our friends while the humans is working hard.  In the meantime the removal men come and they put all our things into a big wagon.  Unfortunately while Mummy was at Beau and Bones house, somebody accidentally packed the mugs and tea making stuff away so when the removal men asked for a drink they couldn't have one.  So Daddy went next door and came back with three mugs.  "Don't worry" he said, "I've saved the day."
"Not really," said Mummy, "We've go no coffee or sugar."  So Tom and Grandad went to Waitrose to buy some.  Luckily the milk and kettle hadn't been packed away - yet.

At 12 o'clock the solicitor phoned and said the sale was complete.  "We've got a new house!" shouts Daddy.  So Mummy mopped the floors, sprayed febreze everywhere and they left the house for the last time.

Daddy, Grandad and the boys went straight to the new house.  Mummy and Katie came to get us first.  On the way they passed the removal van parked up down the village, unmanned with all our worldly goods on board.  She wasn't impressed and said she would have liked to wait by the van to watch our stuff but she was already half an hour late picking us up.

When they got to Beau and Bones house Miss Tracy and Mr Peter said we had been such good girls we could stay longer if we wanted.  We did want and Mummy said it would be a big help so her and Katie left us and went toMcDonalds for the humans lunch.

When they got to the new house with everybodys food Grandad was being shown round.  We think he likes it, him said it was hard to work out where all the rooms went though.

The humans was just finishing their food when the removal van turned up.  They put all our things in the house, drank lots of tea and then they went home.  Mummy and Tom came to get us, Grandad took Katie to her rehearsal and then he went to fetch Grandma from the train station.

When we got to the new house we did run round and round the garden and the house.  If all the doors in the house are open we can do laps!   After we had our tea Grandma came and she loves the house.  Mummy said they could stay the night and Mummy and Daddy would sleep on the settee cos the spare room full of boxes and flat pack furniture but them wanted to try the hotel across the road.

Friday 12th September. In which something finally goes right.

The estate agent finally phoned back at 5pm today to tell us that the people buying our house were only asked for their deposit at 1pm TODAY!  So all the times their solicitor said it had been paid she was LYING.

But anyway it has, apparently, definitely been paid and will be in the account on Tuesday.  So we can complete on Wednesday.  We have no idea why it should take so long, we paid ours last week and it took two hours to show in the account.  Anyway Daddy goes back to the cottage to ask if Wednesday is OK.   They phoned their movers who said yes but if they change it again they will have to be the full amount twice.  Cheeky sods I say.  Our movers say Wednesday is good for them so we pay our money and start packing at long last.  Yes you read that right.  We are moving in five days and we haven't started packing.  We were all so worried about it falling through we didn't dare.

Thursday 12th September. In which £23,000 goes missing and Carly has a birthday.

On Saturday the 7th Mummy and Katie went round to the cottage to make sure the peoples solicitor had told them about the moving date.  She hadn't but they were happy to move on this date.

On Monday 9th Daddy phoned our solicitor to find out if the people buying our house had payed their deposit.  So she phoned their solicitor who said it would be in the account Tuesday.

Tuesday came and went and no deposit.   Daddy phoned the removal company who said they were now booked up for Monday.   They couldn't hold our booking as other people wanted to move and had exchanged contracts.  But she said she could do any other day next week.

Wednesday they still hadn't paid.  Our solicitor checked again and their solicitor said definitely tomorrow.

Thursday still no deposit so we was really panicking by then.  We was supposed to be moving on Monday but we got no removal company and keep getting lied to about the deposit.  So Daddy phoned the estate agent and asked her to phone the people and ask them what's going on.   In the meantime Daddy went to the cottage to tell them what's going on.  They say they have booked for Monday and paid their removal people.

By the way it is Carly's birthday today.  She is 5.

Friday 6th. In which we take Nanny's flowers to the cemetry.

Mummy tried to send the minihumans to school but they was so tired and overwraught after yesterday that she got halfway there, turned back, tucked them into bed and went to work.

In the meantime Daddy and Tom collected us from Uncle Jed's.  We was very pleased to see them, but we did wonder what had happened to Mummy, we never been so long without seeing her.   On the way home we went to Stafford Cemetry and put Nannys flowers on the family grave and Daddy cleaned all the headstones ready for Nanny to come and be with her relatives in a couple of weeks.

By the time we got home Mummy was back from work.  We was so excited to see her Lotty peed her pants.

Thursday 5th September. Nanny's funeral.

Today was Nanny's funeral.  In the morning Mummy, Daddy and Uncle Simon took their cars to the golf club and Uncle Nick drove everybody back to Grandad's cos they was going to the funeral in the big funeral cars but they needed to get home afterwards.

Then they had showers and everybody dressed in their smart clothes.  Not black though, Nanny loves bright colours and patterns.  Katie wore a blue flowery dress and Mummy wore a black and cream spotty dress.  Daddy wore his wedding suit.  Mummy wished she could still fit in her wedding dress.  The boy minihumans wore smart shirts and ties.  Then Aunty Jackie, Uncle Sid, Georgie and Andrew came and they all went outside to wait for Nanny.

Mummy, Daddy and Grandad were waiting at the end of the drive trying to be brave but when they seen the hearse come round the corner with Nanny in it they all held hands and cried.  Grandad did go in the car behind Nanny with Aunty Jacke, Uncle Sid, Uncle Simon, Georgie and Andrew.  My humans and Aunty Sue come behind and Uncle Nick and his family at the back.

Then they drove to Southport Crematorium.  Them drove very very slowly until there was the biggest traffic jam in the world behind them.  Mummy said when she dies she doesn't want a big religious funeral but she would like a really slow procession to the crematorium cos she wants to be a nuisance right up to the end.  Aunty Sue said in Uganda, where her and Uncle Simon live, when there is a funeral or a wedding they have processions all through the town and trucks and buses and everybody joins in.

When them got to the crematorium there was about a hundred people waiting.  As my humans got out of the car Grandma and Grandad come out of the crowd and everybody hugged and kissed and it was all very sad.

The funeral was very sad too.  Uncle Nick said nice things about Nanny and Aunty Sue and Georgie did bible readings and they all sang a hymm.  Nanny wasn't a very religious lady but the hymm was the one from her and Grandad's wedding so her would have liked that.  Afterwards the curtains didn't close cos Grandad said he didn't want that.  Then they went to the golf club in the funeral cars.  Katie was too upset though and her wanted a cuddle off her Grandma so she went in Grandma and Grandad's car.

While they was in the car the solicitor phoned to ask if we could move on Monday 16th so Mummy checked they could get the day off work and checked the removal people could do it and they could so they booked it for the 16th.

At the golf club there was a hot and cold buffet lunch.  Mummy said I would have liked it cos there was bacon tarts and chikkin.  Then all the family went back to Grandad's house.  Them was sad that Nanny wasn't there cos she loved having all her family around her.  After dinner Grandma and Grandad went home and then Mummy and the minihumans had to drive all the way home too.  Them really didn't want to leave Daddy and Grandad but everybody was off work the next day so she had to be in.  She was very cross about this.

There was lots of traffic on the motorway and when them got to Ross On Wye the road was closed but there was no diversion marked so Mummy had to guess the route home.  You is not going to believe this but they made it home, in the pitch black and half asleep with no satnav or road map in ONE GO.  Honest, they did.  Mummy kept driving what felt South and she made it.   When they got home after midnight they was so tired they dumped all the bags in the hall and fell into bed.

Wednesday 4th September. In which we go to Uncle Jed's hotel.

Katie went back to school yesterday.   Daddy and Tom took us houndies to Uncle Jed's hotel.  Mummy had to stay behind cos she had to go to work and the mini humans had school.  Because there was nobody to look after Bryn yesterday he went to work with Mummy and sat in the upstairs office reading the hunger games.   He looked bored Mummy said but he said he didn't mind, under the circumstances.

On Wednesday Mummy went to work, the minihumans went to school and Daddy and Tom came to get us from Uncle Jed's.  They took us to Grandad's house cos Rosie, Hannah and Uncle Nick wanted to meet us.   They said we were very cute so we let them come for a walk with us.  But then we had to go back to Uncle Jed's and Daddy and Tom went to the chapel of rest to see Nanny.   Tom didn't want to see Nanny cos he wanted to remember her how she was but he went to keep Daddy company.  Daddy said he was glad he'd gone cos now he knew Nanny's soul had left her body and that was comforting.

After Mummy finished work and the minihumans finished school they got in the car and drove the 200 miles to Grandad's house.   They stopped at Knutsford Services on the way so the minihumans could have tea.  Mummy said it was the worst services she ever saw in her whole life and she was surprised the minihumans didn't get tummy ache after eating there.

When they got to Grandad's house the grown up humans had snossijs, beans and baked potatoes for tea what Aunty Sue made.  Then they played scrabble but some people cheated and said all Mummy's words didn't exist.

Saturday 31st August. In which Bessie has her teefies cleaned.

So many things to tell you.  Where do I start?    Firstly me would like to say a big hello to all me new followers.  Couldn't help but notice how many views there have been recently.  Sorry there has been nothing to read for so long (and I fear that some of you will be dissapointed not to see their own names in print.  *waves goodbye*).

On Tuesday I went to the V E T to have my teefies cleaned.   They only had to take one out and I was a good girl and didn't bite anyone.  I did do a poo in the waiting room while Mummy was paying but the receptionist cleaned it up and said that it was OK cos I had been in my crate all day.

Daddy went up Norf to be with Grandad.  Him stayed until Friday.

Nanny part 2. By Bessie

...As I said we is on our way back from Inca and Rufus's house when Daddy's phone rings but he is driving so Mummy answers and it is Grandad.  He won't say what he wants but he says Daddy has to phone him straight back.    So Daddy is looking everywhere for somewhere to stop and typical there is nowhere and it takes ages.  Then Mummy's phone rings and it is Tom saying Grandad said we have to phone him urgently.

So Daddy pulls over and phones Grandad and Grandad says that Nanny is in intensive care and she is very poorly.  So we decides our road trip is over, we needs to get home so Daddy can get ready to go and see Nanny.  So we looks for the motorway and we goes straight home.  Daddy very worried.   Grandad says she got thin skin cos she has to take a lot of cortisone for her rheumatism otherwise she in constant agony and she caught her fingernail on her leg and cut it.  Only a little bit but it didn't heal and she got septicemia.   She been to cousin Georgie's on Friday and had a big lunch and laughing and joking around like always but by Monday she so sick Grandad had to call for an ambulance.

We gets home late and everybody goes to bed early to be ready for the next day.  But then Uncle Nick phones very early and say Nanny has passed away.  We is all devastated.   Daddy gets in his car and goes to be with Grandad.   Mummy and Daddy's boss in on holiday in Canadaland so Mummy has to go in work all week otherwise Matt is all on his own.   The minihumans and us stay home and comfort each other.

Daddy comes home on Thursday.  He is very very sad as you can imagine.    The funeral is next Thursday.   Daddy and Tom are going up on Tuesday and they going to take us houndies to Uncle Jed's hotel for discerning ladies and gentledogs.   Katie is back to school on Tuesday.  Bryn is back to school on Wednesday.  Mummy going to try and get out of work early if she can on Wednesday - it hard cos all the bosses are coming for a meeting with her boss so she has to stay in the office and help Matt but she hope they have left by three so she can go and get the minihumans and then they can go straight to Nanny and Grandads house.   Then she has to come back with the minihumans straight after the wake cos she has to go to work on Friday cos there is only one person in again.   She wishes she worked somewhere with lots of staff sometimes.  It's very awkward to arrange things in an emergency.

In other news the solicitor says we should exchange contracts early next week and we got a letter yesterday asking us to phone her to arrange a completion date.   The humans celebrated this news by dismantling the spare bed.  So don't come and stay with us before we move will you or you'll be sleeping on the floor.

Our weekend at Inca and Rufus's house

Last Saturday we went to stay at Inca's house.    Carly and Lotty stayed home with Tom again cos they are too silly for other peoples houses.  We went to Temple Newsam.  This is a massive park in Leeds.  Aunty Lynda and Aunty Kath came too with Uncle Mick and Uncle Chris and their doggies Saffie, Bracken, Jack and Annie BLUEbell.   I didn't just shout Annie BLUEbell by the way.  She has capital letters in her name in honour of Blue.

We went for a lovely walk round the park and some of us went in the pond.  Or maybe it was a lake, I'm not sure.  Anyway I didn't, I sat on the bank with Saffie and watched the others swimming.  Annie BLUEbell fell in.  I shouldn't laugh but it was funny.  

Then we went and sat outside the big house and had our picnic.   MummyLouise made a nice picnic Mummy says. Us houndies just got a few crisps and some water cos apparently dogs don't eat picnics.

Later we went to the working mans club to watch a band.   Inca and Rufus didn't come but I didn't want to stay home so I went with the humans.   I sat and watched the band, they were quite good.  Not as good as Brynny obviously.  Daddy was happy cos the beer was cheap.  A little girl wanted to play with me but she kept trying to feed me gravel.  I don't eat gravel so her and Katie put the gravel on my back instead.  Mean that is.

Then we come home and had tea and the humans played board games but me and Inca and Rufus didn't cos we are dogs and dogs don't play board games.

On the way home we decided not to just go on the motorway cos that is boring so we went on a road trip.   First we went to Wakefield and Daddy showed us the very first house he ever bought.

Then Daddy looked on a map and said Denby Dale sounded like a nice place for a picnic so we went there but there wasn't anywhere interesting to stop and eat so we carried on for a bit and stopped at some rest stop on the pennine way to eat the packed lunch that MummyLouise had made for us.

Then we got on the road again and Daddy said we was going to drive right past our friends Craig and Wanda's house and should we call in and see them.  Mummy said you can't just turn up but he said it would be OK if we just popped in for a cup of tea and anyway it's 2pm on a bank holiday so they probably be out anyway.

He was right, they were out so we went to Stone instead.  This is the town where Nanny was born.  We went to see the house where she was born and we went to the park and used the facilities (toilets for the humans, bowling green for me haha not really) and then went to the corner shop for a drink.

Then we just got back on the road and we is heading towards Stafford when Daddy's phone rings...

To be continued...

Nanny. By Bessie

I will tell you all about our weekend at Inca's house soon.  But first me tell you the bad news.  Our Nanny died on Tuesday.   She wasn't sick.  She died really suddenly and we is all very shocked and upset.

********************Just because this paragraph isn't here any more doesn't mean what was there wasn't true**************************

Anyway that's all me got to say for now.  Like me say, normal service will be resumed  as soon as possible.

hang on a minute...

NORMAL SERVICE WILL BE 

RESUMED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

The stork rides a bike. By Bessie

Today Mummy, Katie and me went to the doggy dentist.  On the way we passed a stork carrying a baby in it's mouth riding a bicycle.   When we told Tom later what we saw him didn't believe us.  But we really did.   Mummy kept laughing all day the more she thought about it.  She say why did the stork be riding the bike in full fancy dress costume?

Anyway then we go to the doggy dentist (aka the V E T).  This is what me can report from the V E T:

1. I am 6. Not eleventyseven like Mummy tells everyone.2. I does not have an ear infection. Just dirty ears.3. I is 24.5kg precisely.4. I is fat. Parrently. Now I is on a diet.5. I is having a Hannahs-pathetic on Tuesday so them can clean my teefies.6. I does not need any teefies pulling out cos they is all nice teefies.7. I has a heart murmour.

Then we went to Pets at Home and I wanted to do a wee under the tree like I always do but all the grass has died so me just did my wee on the pavement.  Then we picked some nice food what taste good but not make me fat.  We got some soft food too in case my mouth is sore on Tuesday.Then we come home and Mummy made two chikin casseroles.  She made one with veggies in for the humans and one what was just chikin for us houndies.

Tomorrow we is going to Inca and Rufus's house.  Me will tell you all about it when me gets back.

Part 2 of why I'm glad I don't have to go to work. By Bessie

Conversation in Mummy's work today:

Matt:        "Why are brake, like brakes on a car, and break, like tea break, spelt differently when they mean the same thing?
Daddy:     "Because they don't mean the same thing."
Matt:        "Yes they do, they both mean stop."
Daddy:     "It's all part of the rich tapestry of the English Language."
Mummy:   "Ah yes I forgot you were such an expert wordsmith."
Daddy:     "I am.  I know the difference between there, their and they're.  And I'm good at spelling."
Mummy:  "Spell AMEND."
Daddy:    "A Double M..."
Matt:       "No, it's E Double M..."
Mummy:  "No you're both wrong."
Daddy:    "Who say's you're right?   You might be wrong."
Mummy:  "Mr Collins, Mr Oxford and Rogiet.   That's who."
Daddy:    "They don't know everything.  Rogiet's not even English.  And Mr Collins sounds Scottish."
Mummy:  "Kill me now."