Skip to content

westies

Dogs In Glasses

What I think this blog lacks of late is dogs. In this case, dogs wearing specs!

Top pic is of the late, great Fred (2004-2018), thus attired in May 2016. The second pic is of the beauteous Tikki, actually sitting in almost the same spot as her much-missed uncle, circa June 2019…

Dogs In Glasses
Read More »Dogs In Glasses

I’m Back! Meet Oscar & Tikki!

Yeah, I’m really back, and there will be a flurry of catchup postings coming up. It’s been a weird few months.

Last time I was here, it was to write about the passing of my Westie, Fred, aged 14. Not long after that, Steve “adopted” Oscar, a two-year-old miniature Yorkie from Manchester. It was nice to have a dog back in the house without too much of a break, and he’s awful cute…

Oscar March 2018

But… BUT… for me, there was a Westie-sized hole and it wasn’t getting filled so easily.
Read More »I’m Back! Meet Oscar & Tikki!

Fred H, RIP (2004-2018)

So: a belated return to posting on here, but it’s for a very sad reason. After getting over the New Year slash January funk, around January 24th, my beloved dog Fred started to get sick. At first it was extreme exercise intolerance, soon followed by alarming breathing difficulties and severe weakness/lethargy.

Fred January 2018

There he is above, asleep, back on January 6th. As far as we knew, he was more or less OK at this time. Very old, but fine.

An initial vet appointment early in February gave us a diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis (apparently common in Westies) and suitable meds were given. I was not convinced or happy about this diagnosis; I had my own suspicions/fears, which later turned out to be correct. Anyhow, after a week or so, there was no improvement… and in fact, Fred had started to experience very obvious fluid build-up in his belly, which was having a big impact on his mobility and comfort.

We ended up going to a different vet by mid-February, and this time received the diagnosis I’d feared: Fred had terminal stage congestive heart failure. They drained his belly and started him on new meds (Vetmedin and Flurosemide), but in less than three days the fluid build-up (which was making it very difficult from him to lie down or rest) was becoming obvious once again. The drugs seemed to be doing nothing at all. We took him into the vet again last Saturday (Feb 24th), fully expecting him to not be coming home… but the vet we saw recommended an additional drug (Cardalis), as a last resort.
Read More »Fred H, RIP (2004-2018)

2016

Well, happy new year, while there’s still 20 minutes to say it in 2015. Which was a rubbish year. Will 2016 be any better? Fred isn’t convinced…

2016
Read More »2016

Birmingham: Shit Or Not?

One of the things demanding an amount of my time recently has been trying to move. This activity has actually become an enduring theme in my life in recent years—and I still haven’t managed it. I don’t live in Birmingham per se. I live in a small town about 15 miles North. I’ve spent a large chunk of my life in this town variously. I’ve escaped a couple of times and somehow been sucked back in. As much as I hate this place (the small town), I’m sure it’s at least a bit unfair to aim that hatred at Birmingham as such.

I’ve even been looking for a place in Brum. But I have a few technical hurdles, let’s say, and being a dog owner happens to be one of them. Poor old Fred.

Birmingham: Shit Or Not?
Read More »Birmingham: Shit Or Not?

Lotsa Weather

Now, look: it’s the middle of May and it’s the middle of the afternoon. You take the dog for a walk. What do you expect? Well, a la Brighton, what you get is you and the dog repeatedly being almost blown off your feet. Literally.

If this was an isolated incident, fine. Hm, okay, today is particularly bad, and you normally get this of a night. But still. I didn’t get anything like this in the depths of Winter in London (or Brum, very often).
Read More »Lotsa Weather

A Farce, You Say?

Hmmm… haven’t felt much like writing on here for a while. Real life gets in the way sometimes, have had a really, really weird three weeks, sometimes very depressed and generally disorientated.

Well, the move to Brighton happened. And about five seconds after, I realised it was a total, fucking mistake. You can’t begin to imagine what an amazing mind-fuck that is. This is what happens if you’re stuck in a too-expensive place on your own—you don’t think things through properly.

How can I detail my problems with Brighton? *sigh* Let’s try a bulleted list…

* I actually have friends in London.
* I miss them.
* It’s not as quick/easy to get to London as I deluded myself.
* It’s even harder to get to anywhere else in the country. Travel from here is just a total pisser.
* I got shit on by a bird for the first time since I was about seven years old within a couple of days of coming here.
* The coastal winds are utterly vicious, especially at night.
* And the nights are cooooooooold.
* Spiders and woodlice and bugs generally… lots of them. Everywhere.
* Nothing resembling a ‘proper’ city locally.
* Most of the buildings are ancient and in a shockingly awful state of decay. Even the really expensive ones. Double-glazing hasn’t been invented here yet.
* Living in an ancient, conversion-job building with a shared entrance and paper-thin walls really sucks. I don’t want to know when someone in the floor above farts, but I pretty much do.
* This Hobbit-hole won’t even allow a single divan through its doors. I still have neither a proper sofa to sit on or a bed to sleep on.
* Fresh coastal air, yes, but tons of earthy dirt and grime and dust nonetheless. Everywhere. Poor pooch Fred had a totally black belly within a week of being here.

And on and on and on. Think you get the idea. Brighton’s a beautiful place to visit, but man, living here is another matter entirely.
Read More »A Farce, You Say?

Picture This

Well, second week as a Londonder has been… up and down.

On Monday, Paul and Mayko came over to watch X-Men 3. It was only upon her arrival that I discovered Mayko hadn’t seen the first two films! I think she enjoyed it okay anyway, though. She gave me as a gift some bonafide Japanese brush pens, which I look forward to experimenting with. (I haven’t done any drawing at all since the move… yet.)

Fred was his usual combo of cute and temperamental with the guests. We enjoyed a curry and some music before the film itself. A nice evening, though I wish the house was in a better state of organisation for entertaining guests. :-/
Read More »Picture This