A sad day in rescue today, we checked the kennel at lunch time, the weather was getting quite hot and you know how Bulldogs love to sunbathe, sadly we found one of the epileptic inmates fitting, we managed to bring him out of the fit, clean him off, calm him down and cool him down and laid him in front of the fan to sleep it off. We took it in turns to do 10-15 minute obs, he was sleeping peacefully at 3pm but sadly my daughter found he'd died at 10 past. A very very sad day for all of us. His previous owner has been informed which I'm sure was the saddest news he's heard on a long time. We've all been a bit bewildered ourselves today, it's never easy to lose one and you know that each fit could be the last on an epileptic dog, but it's still never easy. The only solace I can take is that he died peacefully, he was fast asleep and I guess as with many of these dogs his heart just couldn't cope with the strain.

Run free little man.

It's been so long since I had time to write anything here, do you know I've even had people email me and ask why the blog hasn't been updated, I can't believe that any of you actually care what goes on in my sorry little life LOL. We've had quite a few dogs in and out since I last wrote, the cutest pair had to be the bulldog that came with his Pug companion. I must admit the pug was the funniest little dog I've ever seen, and was so fat he resembled a seal pup. The pair were totally devoted to each other though and we were able to find a home that already had a bulldog and a pug so they're in good company.

This week has been unusually busy, we had a rescue job pretty much every day, and a couple of them needed vet visits. Sadly we did have to put one to sleep this week after it bit pretty much everyone that went near him, that job never gets any easier but we certainly can't place these dogs, it's too dangerous. Harvey had x-rays as we just cannot clear this blasted limp, he puts hardly any weight on that leg at all and yet the x-rays showed that there's nothing wrong with him, so strange but at least we now know that he's not ever going to stop limping which is sad. Churchill had his hematoma drained, well, what could be drained, it had already started to congeal so we did what we could and then gave his ears a good clear out, oh how he loved that. And we had 3 new arrivals during the week which in total clocked up over 600 miles in 4 days!!!! Who says rescue is glamorous? To Berkshire on Thursday to pick up 2, To Essex on Saturday to take Bobby to his new home and to WALES on Sunday - boy that's a long way but our local volunteer is away so we drew the short straw. The house was half way up a mountain, there's certainly no doubt that it's a beautiful country and the dog is gorgeous, he's going to make someone a perfect pet, shame we couldn't keep him in Wales really but there is hardly any cover in that area. If you live there WE NEED YOU!!! The funny bit was as I came out of the house with the dog, Dizzy is sat in the car petting the horse who has his head through the passenger window. He briefly came and said hi to me and then went back to the car for more petting from Diz!!

Every now and again you have a day that reminds you exactly why you do rescue. It's so easy to get bogged down with the paperwork and the constant stream of people who need to get rid of their dog because they've had a baby that it can start to seem a little "what's the point". But yesterday we drove a 400 mile round trip that made me realise just why I'm here. It wasn't that I missed the Bulldog Club Incorporated Champ show, which I love going to, or that I had to be up at the crack of dawn, it was because there were two happy bulldogs at the end of it all. We drove firstly to Northampton to collect a lovely little girl called Bella, she'd been left with the local PDSA with demodex just over a month ago, they'd completed her treatment and despite the fact that all the nurses loved her dearly, it was time for her to find a home, and for once they allowed the rescue to collect her. She is the sweetest wee girl you could ever wish to meet. In the back of the car was Ruby, finally away to her new home. A lovely couple in Nuneaton who have had several dogs from us before including one that suffered seizures, they asked if they could take on the fabulous Ruby so to make it as easy on her as possible we combined the trip with the Northants run. With Ruby being in the crate, Bella got to ride the first few miles with us on the back seat, she spread herself out so much, and she's a tiny wee girl, no bigger than Maggie. Whilst I was in settling Ruby down in her new home she curled up on the front seat with Dizzy and enjoyed the sunshine that came through the window. She didn't half give me a dirty look when she had to go in the crate for the journey home, but we all know how much of a role health and safety play with the insurance companies - well that's what I told her any way. Leaving Ruby was easier than I thought it would be, I've had her with me for so long and hasn't had a single seizure since being on her meds, and she so needs a proper home again. She was very bewildered, but I've heard this morning that she's had a good night and everyone loves her which is just what she needs. Bella is adorable and I think she's caught the eye of the dog walkers !!

The doggy poorly pooh's seem to be passing, Stanley's were "perfectly formed" this morning - the first morning the hose pipe wasn't frozen too - typical!!!!! There's just 2 of my dogs still with it but we've created a disinfected area that dogs that are still poorly are banned from so hopefully it will stop in it's tracks. It seems to last 3 days and makes the dogs quieter than normal but doesn't really knock them out too much. Rosie is in her second day and George in his third and hopefully last day, although I didn't mind him getting me up in the middle of the night last night as it meant I was able to catch the lunar eclipse which was great, especially with such a clear sky.

I think we're back to normal but still have over 25 dogs in the system which is proving to be hard to stay on top of, many of my own dogs and a couple of the rescues have got tummy upsets, not sure where that came from but it seems to be working through them slowly, Reggie and Winnie have both had it, Stanley's got it at the moment and Ruby is unusually quiet (although there's a chance it's the start of a seizure). Let hope it leaves as quickly as it arrived, with a frozen hose pipe clearing it is not the easiest of tasks!

Things looks like they are slowly settling down, there's still loads to do at work, including a VAT return which is already 5 days late but the info I need is in the lost data so until that's re-entered Her Majesty will have to wait! I heard today that Max is going home, his owners have moved into their new house which is only a few miles up the road so hopefully I'll be able to stay in touch, he's such a sweet old boy and you'd never believe he's 13, he's been here on a long term foster since before Christmas so I'll be sad to see him leave. At least we managed to get the rescue accounts filed on time (just). Having lost our treasurer at the end of last year it was looking pretty dicey at one point but it looks like we have found a replacement who stepped in and saved us just in the knick of time.

I wouldn't go so far as to say last week was the worst week of my life, but I bet it runs a close second. I had so much go wrong last week that for the first time in 7 years I had to step away from the rescue and acknowledge the fact that I simply couldn't give it any time whatsoever. This has had a knock on effect as I'm sure you can image, dogs not being rehomed, phones not being answered, the complaints started quite early in the week, but the personal problems we were having meant that I had to prioritise and as the rescue is voluntary and doesn't pay the bills ...... it had to go on the back burner for a week. It would appear that all is OK though now and I can start to rebuild the damage. I would like to apologise to everyone that needed me and couldn't reach me, to everyone that has a dog in the system (I have written to many of you explaining what has happened). This isn't my job, it's something I do in my spare time because I love bulldogs and as I've gone the last 7 years without a holiday I guess the rescue owed me some time off.

I thought a new year was supposed to be a new start, in fact I think it's just a fresh list of things that can go wrong. It started with minor things, you know the sort of things that happen that just niggle you, what I'd probably call a hiccup. Mum gave me some money for Christmas which I thought I'd spend it on some home improvements and have the last of the windows replaced. To do so I had to have a radiator moved and sure enough a week later I realised the blasted thing had been leaking, not really a problem and the plumber sorted that out, but moving a radiator is not cheap. Then Dizzy's computer crashed, again it was an inconvenience as the workings of the business are in my computer so I merrily went on my way reconciling the year end bank statements confident that being one machine down wasn't too much of a problem to the businesses. But I spoke too soon, the day Dizzy's new machine was up and running mine crashed, except this time it took out the main software for the business, all the reconciling I'd done and cut me out of the Payroll software (Jason was not a happy chappy when I told he he wasn't being paid).

Sunday, as we were sitting drinking our cup of tea my daughter reversed her car into the gate post and took the whole lot over, in a way it was a good thing that the gatepost did go over as it saved damaging her car too much, but poor Katie was hysterical - so add another £150 to the cost of 2 new computers and a radiator. Her luck was just as bad as stepping into her salon yesterday morning she stepped into 3 inches of water, a pipe had come away from the basins over the weekend and flooded the entire place, her boss wasn't happy but at least the bad luck has shifted to someone else LOL.

So taking into account that there are almost 30 dogs in the system and I'm without a computer I hope my luck changes soon as we're now getting complaints - plus I've got returns to file with Companies house, Inland revenue and the Charity Commission before the end of next week too so it's getting a bit scary now!!!!!

The new windows were done yesterday though and I am thrilled with them,but now it's time to start saving for all the other expenses that have risen up around them and Southern Water informed me this morning that they've not been taking out the Direct Debit for the Water rates!!!!

Maggie went for a blood test yesterday to see if she was still anaemic and she's not. The vets were amazed at how well she was. She's not really putting on any weight but we think that she's still putting food into energy as she's had such a long recovery but hopefully now she'll start to put on some weight. Unlike the Winnie Pooh who also went to the vet yesterday, it's the first time he's left the house in 5 years so it was all a bit traumatic for him. He's having trouble eating and there's a red warty lump come up on his mouth, I thought it looked quite tumoury but the vet thinks it's probably nothing sinister so some cream to apply twice a day and see what it does so finger crossed.

Happy new year to you all, it's been a reasonably quiet Christmas this year in Rescue. This is the first year in the 7 years we've been running rescue that we didn't find ourselves on the M1 on Christmas Eve or the M25 on New Years Eve, that's been a tradition up until now, but now I've opened the mail that had accumulated over the holiday period there's 3 new dogs to list for rehoming so it was obviously too good to last. I just need to get properly caught up at work (it still surprises me how much work builds up when you're not at work) and then I can start bringing the rescue up to date so if you're waiting for me to get back to you, please bear with me a little longer.

Maggie and Ruby had good Christmases, Ruby hasn't fitted again and the results of her blood test show that she's on the right level of phenobarb so she can be listed for rehoming now

Maggie has bounced back like it never happened, that dog is so strong it's unbelievable, she had no idea what to do with the toy she got for Christmas though which was sad. I took the last of her stitches out over the weekend and she just lay on her back waving her paw in the air as if to say, carry on tickling my tummy, she's as proud of her scar as she was her boobs, maybe I should bring Paul O'Grady up to date on what's happened to her since she appeared on his show, especially now it looks like she's definitely going to stay.

So I hope you all have a fabulous 2008 and that the year is good to you.

At last the last day of chaos LOL at 5pm I can switch off the phones and have a holiday - yeah yeah - we'll see. There's 6 rescues spending Christmas here with me so it's not a real holiday but just not having the phones going all the time will be a nice break.

I've got Maggie and Ruby here still. Both girls went to the vets yesterday and Maggie had most of her stitches out, although there’s an area near the bottom that hasn’t closed properly so those stitches are still in. Both had blood taken, Maggie’s blood count is still very anemic but much better than it was when she first had the surgery done, it’s the same as she was pre-op so normal for her but not brilliant. She’s on some horse medication to improve the blood count so it’s working.

Ruby has had some blood taken too although the results aren’t back yet. It’s worth noting for those with an epileptic dog that the manufacturers of Epiphen put a voucher for a free blood test in every batch of Epiphen sent to the vet surgeries. We used this voucher for Ruby yesterday and all it requires is for the owner to agree that the results can be used in their research, what a great idea and many vets do not realize the voucher is in the box so mention it next time you go for a routine blood test with your epileptic dog.

OK, so how much as this cost so far…………

£1407.28!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This includes £184.00 for the emergency treatment Ruby had when she was rushed in fitting and £435.00 for Maggie’s hysterectomy and mastectomy (they gave us a 20% discount on that one which was kind of them bearing in mind it was a 5 hour op!!!). The rest is aftercare and blood tests, which includes several overnight stays with nursing care

So far we have raised …………..

£450.00 ….. So come on guys, another £1000 to go ;o)

Thanks to everyone that has supported these 2 girls through their hard time, Ruby will be looking for a new home in the new year,  Maggie is going to stay with me.

As we go into what we call "Emergency Cover Only" this is probably the most frantic week of the year, loads of loose ends to tie up and making sure that all those dogs that should move have moved as this is the last opportunity for them to be settled into a new home before Christmas. We don't take any new waiting list enquiries now and we can't take anything new on the rehoming service as our efforts need to be put into those that classify as an emergency during this week and then over Christmas I get my 2nd week off this year which I must say I am really looking forward to.

Maggie is HOME!! I was so excited to see her but must admit to feeling a little sad when the vet nurse pouted and said "we don't want Maggie Bulldog to go". She is still incredibly pale but what a fantastic job they have done at Woodlands Vet centre, I can't think of any other vet that could have successfully brought a bulldog through 5 hours of surgery, I don't think they even thought they'd do it. But she's the same old Maggie (just no longer saggy). She looks so different though.

Ruby is almost totally recovered and based on the fact that she hated the crate indoors she's back out in the kennel which I think she was quite relieved about, we certainly are as her cry sounded like a strangled cat - visitors were starting to wonder what on earth we had tucked in the crate I think. If it wasn't for Winnie Pooh's hatred of her she could have stayed in, but the armchair is reserved for Maggie who is now very comfortable and back where she belongs.

Well both girls had a quiet weekend and Ruby has come home this morning but she's a totally different dog. She's still very wobbly on her back legs and has a very vacant look on her face but she's improved and has now been started on medication, she's resting in the living room at the moment even though her kennel is ready for her to go back to, I just can't bring myself to put her out there yet, maybe later in the week once she starts being naughty again - I can't wait for her to be naughty again!!

Maggie looks fabulous, no one at the vets can believe she's come through this so well. I did go into see her this morning, but she wouldn't come out of her pen, there's heat pads under her bedding where her temperature dropped so much after the long surgery so she obviously knows where she's better off. She's alert and lively but very very anaemic so she's not totally out of the woods yet.

Just took Maggie in for her spay and tummy tuck, Ruby is perkier but can’t use her legs at the moment. They think it’s due to the excessive muscle usage during the seizures so we’ll have to wait and see. I did tell them she was usually really destructive so when they find the bedding ripped to pieces they know she’s better.

Maggie gave me such a hateful look for walking away.

We’d better do some fund raising to pay for all this now as Maggie will be there overnight and it looks like Ruby is going to need a second night too.

UPDATE: Maggie's surgery was a success but it lasted almost 5 hours! That's a hell of a long time for any dog, let  alone a bulldog to be under aesthetic. Once in they found that the uterus was actually fused to her colon so it became a complicated operation at that point. But they are pleased with what they done and the mastectomy went well even if she now has a scar that looks like she's had an autopsy!! They did find a couple of lumps that may be ovarian cysts or could be something a little more sinister so they've been sent off for analysis.

Ruby is still very wobbly on her legs, they got her to stand by supporting her under her belly with a towel but she crosses her back legs over so there is now a slight chance she's sustained some brain damage. We need to wait though for the drugs to wear off before we can be sure as she's had so much diazepam and Phenobarb in the last 48 hours that she's not really herself at the moment anyway. I must admit when I saw her this morning she had a vacant look on her face and she didn't seem to know who I was.

UPDATE: The vets called to say Maggie had managed to burst her stitches and in doing so popped a blood vessel, so she's had to go under again to have it tied off again. I've got to ring in the morning, I can't see me getting any sleep tonight.

And help pay for Maggie & Ruby's vet bill

This morning was one of the most stressful mornings I've had in a long time. We've got an epileptic girl in the kennel at the moment called Ruby, we know she's had 2 fits but hadn't started her on any medication due to her age and the serious side affects of long term use of the drugs. She was a bit quiet yesterday but the wind was so strong it was howling so I put it down to that as there's a couple of them that are cowering from this awful weather. This morning when I went out to let them out and give them their breakfast Ruby was fitting. I rush into her which was hard enough as she was in front of the her kennel pen door so I had to force it open to get in, just as she went into another fit. In the space of the half an hour that I sat with her she'd had 2 fits but she's was so covered in pooh that I'm guessing she's been fitting for most of the night!!!!!!!! The vet confirmed it was almost definitely a couple of hours minimum. I bundled her up and carried her (somehow) into the kitchen, lay her on the floor where she went into yet another fit - it really is the scariest thing I've ever seen. So from there to the car to the vet where I arrived covered in pooh with a dog covered in pooh babbling something about a dog in the back of my car that's fitting. They were brilliant, the vet came out of the operating theatre to treat her and one of the nurses helped me carry her in, We got to jump the queue - sorry waiting room - but it was urgent -  diazapam up her bum and injected into her vein, she's now on a drip. Keep your fingers crossed for her. Please

UPDATED: Ruby's had no more fits since she went in this morning but is exhausted so is staying in over night. Maggie is due in the vets tomorrow to be spayed and to have her tummy tuck so I'll check on her then and hopefully bring her home.

Well Maggie's "internal" examination has shown that the infection is definitely coming from the uterus so we have no option but to spay her and see what happens. She's booked in on Friday for a hysterectomy and of course a tummy tuck. Poor baby will loose her boobs completely but there is so much excess skin that they're just going to literally lop the lot off and sew it closed. It's going to be a very long and expensive surgery so we need lots of positive thought sent her way.

Just when I thought I was getting on top of Maggie's UTI it comes back so she's been to the vet this morning to see if we can pin point the cause. She's going in first thing Monday morning for a camera up her "you know what" to see if the infection is in her uterus and we have also talked about the possibility of a tummy tuck. We would spay her at the same time but as she already leaks urine in her sleep we're going to wait for the results of the swabs on Monday before deciding what to do. So it looks like Maggie gets to stay a little bit longer.

A day out means a day of catching up and today was no exception. Elvis (now called Ellis) went to his new home today too, he was so excited to see his new family he made a bit of a fool of himself but they didn't seem to mind his embarrassing behaviour. He's not had his eye surgery done yet but he's gone with enough drops to keep his eye in a reasonable condition whilst he settles in, we'll then pay to have the eye sorted out properly. His new mummy and daddy have had dogs from us before and are a lovely couple who always give every dog they adopt from us 100% so I know that dear Elvis/Ellis will have a fantastic home with them. Almost every dog I offered out last week has been accepted so my first job Monday morning will be getting all the home checks sorted out, at least it's going to make some space for Christmas!!!!

I went to my first dog show this year today, in fact it was the same show last year when I last got out the glad rags and enjoyed a day out. The Bulldog of the Year show is always a nice day out with some fabulous dogs in the running for the Bulldog of the Year title. This years winner was actually a nice surprise and was won by a beautiful dog. Sadly there were some people at the show who were obviously using the event for their own scrupulous means but it was nice to see some new faces around the ring as well as some very good old friends who I haven't seen for a very long time. The free wine was very well appreciated as my friends will confirm but thank you to the Incorporated for yet another very enjoyable day.

I managed to get almost every dog in the system either out on offer or listed on the web site over the weekend, I felt quite pleased with myself until I got the post this morning and found paperwork for another 3 dogs to list. Sadly 2 of the offers have come back already as no's, why do people join the waiting list if they don't really want a dog? It makes life so much more difficult - the same as those who get dogs and don't tell me or those that don't even bother replying when they are offered a dog. I don't think they realise just how much goes into the rehoming process. But anyway, today has been so busy I've hardly had chance to think about it. Mondays are always mad in the office with orders that have piled up at work over the weekend and obviously as they pay the mortgage they've got to be done first. Role on 4 o'clock when I can stop answering the phone - it hasn't stopped today yet.

Beverly and Peter came by today, and offered to take Alfie back with them to undergo his treatment with them. Skin problems heal so much quicker in a home and there's a chance they'll keep him too. His skin is bad but we've been so limited as to what we could do for him because of his kennel cough. He does seem to be almost through that so it was time to bite the bullet and shave off the fur on the most infected areas. He was such a good boy and left here wearing a t-shirt saying "Very Important Dawg". They took him straight to the vet who confirmed he had demodex so the series of dips can now begin and he'll be as good as new in no time at all. He's such a cute boy with a tail just never stops wagging.

I've managed to get some more of the book done too, we're now up to Chapter 10 but it's painfully slow going as I only really get the odd Saturday/Sunday afternoon or the occasional evening to work on it. It'll be worth it though as it covers all the questions I'm asked on a daily basis.

Remembrance Sunday, a day when all of us, no matter who our God is should take a moment to remember those that gave their lives and their hearts in times of War. Remember them, may their spirits have found peace.

The kennel dogs were treated to some lovely cooked liver in their breakfasts this morning, left yesterday by Peter and Bev who came down from London to walk the dogs and give a couple of them a bath. It looked like pooh but the dogs absolutely adored it, especially Alfie who didn't know if he should eat it or wag his tail at the lovely (his thoughts not mine) aroma. There's a mountain of rescue work sat here waiting for me to get on with so I'd better get started on it.

Rescue is so busy at the moment, it's been difficult for me to keep on top of all the work. The dogs I have here with me have either caught the kennel cough that Duke brought with him from the South Wales dog pound or are either being assessed or waiting for surgery so none of them can be moved on in any hurry making it difficult to help the new enquiries, especially if they're not able to keep their dog with them. Maggie is still here, we finished the last batch of anti biotics but she became infected again so is now on a another course. She is such a sweet heart, letting her go is going to be so difficult.

The VAT return at work was filed late and I was in such a panic about getting that in on time that everything else has just piled up around me. Role on the weekend when I can try and shift some of these piles, fingers crossed we don't get called out. Someone is coming to walk to the dogs on Saturday, they came earlier in the week and the dogs really enjoyed it, it's nice for them to have a break from me LOL