Was a great day on the beach the other morning for the dogs. There was nobody else there so they had free rein to run and run and run some more.

Phoenix is settling into his life with us. However, there’s a couple of things we have to sort out.

One – he gets car sick for just about any trip longer than 20 minutes. I’ve cleaned up three car vomits so far. I’m hoping it’s something he grows out of but for now I’ve bought him some insanely expensive carsick medication.

The other thing is how he reacts to other dogs. He obviously gets on well with his mate in these two photos, and he gets on well with my sister’s dog. He’s also met another friend’s dog and they had a great time.

However, he’s not very predictable when it comes to unknown dogs. So I have to leave him on the lead when there’s other dogs around. There’s been a few times when he’s been fine and then there’s been times when he’ll meet another dog on lead, it will be fine to start, then Phoenix will have a go.

I’ve organised some private training. I need to be confident to take him out and about without stressing and I want him to feel confident too. I think his reaction stems from fear and/or anxiety so with some proper training I think he can get around it.

This is the only downside to not really knowing his history. Apparently he wasn’t socialised much, if at all, with other dogs before he was surrendered and that’s what’s made the difference with him. Hopefully I have positive things to report as time goes on. I’m sure I will.

Our dog is about 15 years old (the one on the right pictured above). I’m not exactly sure of her age because when I got her, her then owner was a bit vague about her age – 2-2.5 years he thought. I don’t know if I ever said on this blog before but he committed suicide a few years after giving us Monty which was awful to hear and I’m glad she was spared from losing him in that way. Although she did lose him when we got her didn’t she?

Monty has had 13 years with me, and 11 years with my son and I hate to say this, but I think she might be lucky to make it past the end of the year.

Pretty much since I got her I’ve been buying her dog food from Bucket of Beef and she’s normally devoured it in a very short amount of time. In the last few weeks she hasn’t wanted it so I’ve had to come up with other sorts of food that she’ll eat.

I tried changing our order to doggy mince but she doesn’t seem too keen on that either. At the moment she’s having cut up bits of chicken or beef from the human food section of the supermarket. I’ve even made instant gravy to pour over the top to warm it up a bit and to add that bit of extra flavour. It seems to be working but she’s still not that interested in eating. She likes eating doggy treats like Smackos and she likes me hand feeding her small pieces of cheese. I’ve even been feeding her twice a day instead of once a day.

I spoke to a vet who euthanases pets in your home. I met this vet at my local oval when she was walking her dogs. She used to work at a clinic but has since left and started her own business. She was fantastic on the phone and pretty much said that I will know when the time comes. Monty’s yearly injections are due around now and I asked if it’s worth getting them done as they’re expensive and I doubt whether she’ll get her year’s worth. The vet said not to worry about it as it will stress her out and she’s still covered from all the previous ones. That makes me doubly glad because I’ve gone off my local vet surgery.

Monty is still following us around the house absolutely everywhere. When she stops doing that and appears to have lost interest in us, or when she physically can’t move around then I’ll know the time has come.

She is very wobbly on her back legs and stumbles all over the place. It’s excruciating to watch her pace back and forth in the lounge before she finally settles down on her mat or on the shag-pile rug. I think she forgets why she came into the room, hence the pacing.

She also wanders up and down the hallway looking in the bedrooms – previously out of bounds – but the rules have been heavily relaxed. And as she’s deaf, telling her to come or go out is hopeless.

I have to lift her into the car if we go out – jumping in is a thing of the past. And walks – even short walks are out now. I do want to take her to the beach one last time but it will have to be one that has a very short walk from the carpark to the beach.

So I continue to sweep up her molting fur, pat her as much as I can and love her heaps while we’ve still got her.

My Skylanders giveaway closed and winners have been chosen.

The clock in my kitchen stopped today.

Time stood still for the time that Connie died. Connie was my mum and dad’s dog and she had become quite ill in the last few days and had to be put down late last week.

I found out while I was at work and it was a little bit hard to carry on as though nothing had happened.

I felt very close to Connie and her death day should also be a rembering day for the dog she was.

Dogs are an important part of many of our lives but unfortunately they’re only here for such a short amount of time. Then you get attached to it, it gets old and dies.

Why are dogs here for such a short time?

A six year old boy got it in one when he said about their dying dog:

“People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?” The Six-year-old continued,

”Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.”

I got to know Connie fairly well over the years even though she lived around two hours away and we didn’t see her that often.

She spent some time with us when Dad had his stroke five years ago and was in hospital and rehab for two months. As Connie was quite little, I had to make sure the little escape holes around the backyard were filled in as she could squeeze through and when I found her under my car hiding one day, and the wrong side of the gate it freaked me out.

She was great around people but put her in front of a dog she didn’t know she could be a bit vicious. In fact a friend nicknamed her Killer Connie. This was probably more to do with an ironic take on dimunitive stature than her personality, but either way it kind of fitted.

She had the typical small dog syndrome. At the park one day I let her off the lead and she ran straight up to a much much  larger dog barking at it. I don’t think she realised that this dog could have swallowed her as if she were a seed. Luckily that didn’t happen.

Even though she came to stay with her bedding, which was placed right near Monty’s, she would always take Monty’s much bigger bed. One time Connie was on Monty’s bed, and Monty tried to squeeze up onto Connie’s. That’s what’s great about Monty – she’s very giving like that.

Connie was a great lap dog and the only dog that comes to stay here that’s allowed on the couch any more. It probably helps that she didn’t moult like my other doggy resident and guests do. Mind you, Monty isn’t capable of hopping up onto the couch these days. I had to carry her down some stairs yesterday, but that story is for another time.

But while we’re on the subject of other dogs, even though Connie wasn’t very well socialised with stranger dogs, she got on well with her doggy pals like Monty who she’s known nearly all her life. Also, she got on well with my sister’s dog which was just as well as both Monty and my sister’s dog spent time at Connie’s house on occasion.

I’ve never been a fan of  little lap type dogs but Connie totally changed that for me. She was gorgeous and I’m going to miss her.

The clock in the kitchen started again two hours later, but only lasted for another couple of hours before it stopped again. I had to replace the battery. Time ticks on.