BBBeeeaaaccchhh ...

It's been hot, really, really hot these last few days and the word "beach" kept being thrown around like one of my soggy tennis balls. Eventually the day came and the "beach" word actually turned into an outing to remember. We all headed off in the Landie in the afternoon with all the stuff that the humans seem to need when going out for any length of time. I knew we'd be out for a while because they had packed my evening meal and plenty of water to drink.

The drive was long and this is never good for my internals! I certainly kept my lot amused with the gas that I passed quite frequently during the journey!!

First of all we turned up at a very sand
 y lane which The Daddy insisted we all drive. It was so bumpy that I joined in a bit with the complaining (by passing more gas). Finally we reached the "beach". It was fabulous, sand, sand, sand and then, even better, water.

There were quite a few people around but not too many, so I could play ball in the sand for ever and ever. The ball, being rather wet, got completely coated in
 sand but I didn't care. Plopping it down in The Mummy or The Daddy's laps was great fun as each time I'd get a "oh no, that's disgusting" comment from them, or something similar.


The sea was interesting. It took a very short while for me to get used to it. The Katie decided a short walk on the lead would help me along and it was fun, although it was a bit salty to drink. Luckily The Mummy had brought my bowl and plenty of water, but another tiny dog kept taking drinks from it too - cheeky thing. He, and several other dogs kept wanting to play ball, it's just not fair, their Mummy and Daddy should play with them, not my Mummy and Daddy. I think they all got the hint in the end, especially as I was far quicker at retrieving then any of them. One gentleman dog seemed to take quite a shine to me, it got a little embarrassing at one point but I won't go into any more details!


Lots of splashing in the sea with The Katie and The Ben throwing my ball deeper and deeper into the water to make me swim. In the end I just stood still so they had to wade in and retrieve it! I know how far I can go before losing my feet. Swim? You must been joking!


Everyone had lovely food to eat, including me. I found some leftovers not too far from where we were eating and ignored The Mummy having a go at me for eating the wrong kinds of food! Goodness, a dog's allowed a treat once in a while.


I was completely exhausted on the way home and slept for most of it resting my nose against The Mummy's arm. I think fun at the beach is nearly as good as fun at the park
 - I hope we go again soon.

The cheek of it ...

I've made a friend, a furry friend. He's called Allie and he's a cat.

I know, I know, cats and dogs and all that, but he's a harmless bundle of purr and lots of fluff (it's everywhere) and he doesn't seem at all bothered by me, unlike the black cat called Pepper. That's a whole different story ....

The other evening when the Mummy was on the phone and I was trying to have a snooze as she chatted (for what seemed an absolute age, as female humans do), I woke up to find Allie next to me. This was the first time it had happened and it was rather sweet I thought. I've noticed that he likes to snuggle up when it's a bit cold outside and the extra warmth is rather comforting when it's chilly. It's great when we're together when the Mummy and the Daddy are watching TV in the evenings.

However, I think Allie had pushed things a little too far. I mean I am still the boss around here and the boss has the most comfy of everyone's beds (check out below. Anyone would prefer to sleep on a soft duvet over a hard kitchen sink for goodness sake.). I was a bit shocked to find him curled up on MY bed! The Mummy made me leave him alone, I guess he does need to rest his poor old bones.

Well I hope Mummy doesn't get any ideas!

Look at these poor pooches, all dressed up to the nines! I wonder which outfit would suit me, certainly not photo number 25!!

The prickly being

I was fascinated to find a couple of rather prickly things on the floor when the Mummy was cleaning the bathroom the other day. I'm not usually intrigued by things left lying around the house, unless of course it's a ball, a stick, or that very unfriendly cat called Pepper. Anyway, this object caught my eye. I'm sure it moved you know, otherwise I wouldn't have even bothered to get up from a quick 40 winks snooze on the floor to investigate it further.

The Mummy said it was a star fish and being the clever dog around here I know that fish move so it must have twitched or something. Between you and me, it took a lot of courage on my part to get closer for a better inspection, but lo and behold it was a mean little thing, it stung my nose. I couldn't believe it, how horrible can something be! I tried sniffing it a couple of times and had a little friendly bat at it with my paw, but each time I had a small shock from it's prickles.

I guess star fish and me just don't go together.

The mummy and family have taken me out for a few lovely walks this week. The weather's been great for walks, none of that awful wind and rain, can't be doing with all that. The first walk was by one of the drains that leads to the Nene that flows into The Wash. The word "drains" sounds awful doesn't it? Actually it's like a big ditch and sadly there was hardly any water in it for a good old swim. Mind you, I wasn't even going to try and get down those steep slopes however much the mummy suggested I try! We all settled down with what the mummy called a mid-afternoon picnic. You call that a picnic! I thought there'd be a yummy selection of tasty morsels for me, but no, there was only chocolate bars and lemonade for them and an apple for me. I didn't complain as the ball came along with us too - I got lots of chase and fetch practise in. It was quite good fun running through the long grass to find the ball and I didn't even lose it.



Yesterday the mummy said we'd take a trip out to Sandringham park before visiting the V.E.T. for some chips. I liked the sound of that, although I've never had chips before, not here anyway, but I know they're food so chips must be good. The journey to the park seemed a long way and the sun was hot in the car. I kept moving all over the place so much that the mummy stopped the car to let me out for a wee. She didn't realise I was just REALLY excited. We made it there and had a great walk and ball play and I even found a fabulous oily swamp to wander through. The mummy thought this was fab as I'd changed from white to dark brown but then she suddenly realised about the V.E.T. visit and began to panic. I was itching to get to the chips place but everyone else wanted an ice-cream beforehand. I couldn't believe they'd forgotten to buy me one or even bring me something yummy for my snack. Instead I had to put on my gorgeous face and sit right next to everyone's ice-cream tubs just hoping for a smidgen of a morsel. I did manage to persuade the mummy to give me a tiny bit and I also got to lick the lids. After a hasty quick wash down with a couple of bottles of water we were off for the chips.

The chips place turned out to be some big store where my people went in and then came out again with a huge bag of dog food. I guessed it is for me, although I know Allie the cat has taken a liking to it too (perhaps that's why they've bought such a large bag). Then it was my turn to go into the store and see the chips person, the V.E.T.. I was such a good girl and didn't get side-tracked at all by the bunnies, the wonderful food smells and the squeeky toys. The V.E.T. lady put me on some funny runway thing and everyone seemed to want to fuss and pet me. Apparently I'm 17.5 [kg] although I thought I was only 7 [year's old], where did those years go? Then I met another V.E.T. who really seemed to take a shine to me. She had a large jar of biscuits for me to try. I kept spitting bits of them out which was my cunning plan to try a bit of each variety! After lots more fussing and petting she had the nerve to jab me in the neck, I've no idea why. I've now got this annoying green tag around my neck which jangles against my name tag so much I reckon Father Christmas will get woken by it. Apparently that was the chip - not tasty at all - in fact I think I've been lead up the garden path a bit. At least now I can be found if I decide to get lost at some point.

Quite an eventful day in all, especially as I got a bath out of it at the end and a sleep by a roaring fire.

The mummy suggested I post my thoughts on life with the newbies so you can all see how I'm settling in and enjoying myself.

So far I don't seem to have given my family any trouble. I know this because I'm getting so many fusses and tummy rubs and lots of playtime too. The food's pretty good, although the mummy seems to be a little worried that it's coming out about the same colour as it goes in! The things these humans worry about, I don't know.

Anyway, the mummy and the daddy bought a few toys for me to play with, a couple of tuggers which are good fun, especially when I'm able to make them squeak - that just drives me loopy. My favourite game though is good old chase and catch. I could do this until the cows come home and really take advantage of the mummy and the daddy when they sit outside with cups of tea (which seems to happen quite a lot). I don't even get told off for shoving a slobbery tennis ball into their hands over and over and over again. I think it's good exercise for them to keep throwing that ball for me to chase and bring back to them anyway.

When the tennis ball is off the agenda (sometimes they go missing and the Ben has to get another one from his stash upstairs), I'll find a stick to chew instead. Small sticks aren't really my thing - they have to be really big so I can master balancing just perfectly. I know the mummy loves picking up all those soggy bits of wood when I bring the stick inside to chew.