What we did in December. By Bessie

Mummy and Daddy's work had their first ever Christmas night out.  They went to the Rock and Fountain for a meal and it was very nice too they said.

We went to the Branch Christmas Party.  We had loads of fun but we got there super late cos Daddy's car got a flat tyre and they had to turn round and go back and then we all got in Mummy's car but she didn't have enough petrol so they had to go and buy some.

We didn't win first prize in the fancy dress with our Beanie Baby costumes.    I think Mummy has got very lazy with her costume making lately.

Mummy had a week and a half off work cos she had done her usual thing and not taken any holidays all year and ended up wasting them.  On the Monday she went Christmas shopping in Cardiff.  On Tuesday the piano man came to tune the piano in the village hall next door so Mummy had to hang around to pay him.   On Wednesday it was Katie's parents evening but that was about five minutes long cos she only has three lessons.  On Thursday she took Katie into town to get her hair cut and finished the last of her Christmas shopping, then in the evening it was the lighting of the christmas tree next door so Mummy did the bar all night.  On Friday Grandma, Grandad, Aunty Mic, Sasha and baby Louisa came to stay for the weekend.  We love baby Louisa, we are the best babysitting dogs in the whole wide world.

On Saturday the humans went to a frost fayre and they said I could come was we was meeting Zoe and my friend Gunner.    When we saw Gunner and Zoe we ran over and me and Gunner had sniffs and meet and greet and it was lots of fun.  But it was very cold so we didn't stay long.

On Sunday it was the Basset Rescue Network 3rd annual Christmas party.   We went over super early to set up and we laid all the tables and chairs out and made the kitchen all nice and made a grotto for Father Christmas and Grandad came over and helped.  Then everyone arrived and we had the biggest and best Christmas party ever and there were 55 dogs and about 70 humans and we played games and ate snossijs and Father Christmas came and gave us all a present.

On the 16th Lotty had her ear canal removed.   The operation is called a TECA-LBO.    She stayed in the vets overnight and Mummy went to collect her at lunchtime the next day.    A few days later she got an infection and she had to go back for an IV injection every day for 14 days, even Christmas day.  She was really really poorly for the first week, she barely woke up and just lay in her bed sleeping.   Mummy bought her some really fancy soft food and fed her with a baby spoon but she still lost 3kg.

We had a nice Christmas apart from Lotty being poorly.  I got a sabre tooth tiger, Carly got an alien and Lotty got a monkey.  Then she had to go to the vet.   The christmas day visit was the quickest visit ever, they had to ring the bell and a nurse came and unlocked the door,  they were in and out in five minutes.

Grandma and Grandad came on Boxing day to stay and we had another Christmas which was lots of fun.   The boxing day visit to the vets took ages, we had to wait for an hour cos all these emergencies kept coming in, all the dogs who had eaten choklit and mince pies and tin foil.

Mummy went to Sam's for the day with Louise for Sam's birthday lunch.  They went to the pub and I found out after it was a dog friendly pub and Shirley and Ollie got to go but I didn't.  Not fair.  Mummy said it was my job to look after Lotty so the next day I showed them how good I was at looking after Lotty by coming to the vets with them.   Mummy said it might be better cos everytime she ahd to give Lotty rescue remedy and on the days when they were kept waiting ages Lotty got so worked up she ended up knocking her canula out and then it took even longer to give her the medicine.   Except I was scared too and I accidentally did a really big poo in the middle of the waiting room and that didn't calm Lotty down at all and Mummy said I wasn't coming again.

We didn't do anything for New Years eve.  Lotty went to the vets at four same as every other day then we watched telly and I thought I would have an early night so I went up to bed about ten but then someone started letting off fireworks at midnight and I could hear them and got scared so I cried and Mummy had to come upstairs and sit with me.