'Bout time too!

I thought it was about time I wrote something again, I've been so busy there has not been time, I've thought many thoughts and planned many blogs but none have reached the page.

But I'm here now, albeit briefly. What should i write about ? There are many strands that i could pick up but upper most in my mind is Camilla and the sadness that she has had to endure today by having her beloved Robbie put to sleep.

I do know exactly what she is going through as I'm sure many of us with pets do. I had to go through the very same process with my old dog Belle, gosh that must be 10 years ago now, but it is still very vivid in my mind.

Belle was our sable German Shepard, she was Stan's dog really, though over the years she realised who looked after her and who she could rely on to get a decent walk and be fed, not from Stan that's for sure!
She was quite a scarry dog, she wouldn't tolerate anyone new coming into her life after about the age of 3yrs, so we couldn't easily have new friends round unless we shut her away, but she loved all our old friends and seemed to have an astonishing memory for people, smells or sight I'm not sure, but she could not see someone for 3-4 yrs but the moment they walked through the dog she'd recognise them and get very excited.
But anyone new she would bark and bite which wasn't good.
She loved going to Norfolk, she loved going on the beaches and she knew when we were within 5 miles of my parents, she would stand up and start to get very excited , leaping about in the car.

We took her on the Broads as a pup, and she had never seen water before, she thought she could stand on it, she stepped off the boat and suddenly sank into the water!! here was alot of splashing whilst she struggled to find her feet, then she tried to swim and after a bit of splashing seemed to get the hang of it, but got herself caught on a branch at the side of the canal. It took all our strength to pull her back into the boat! We've still got the photos. The look on her face , so puzzled as to what had happened. But after that she loved swimming and would jump in at every opportunity.

She had a good life but became ill in her 11th year and it all went downhill after Lucy was born. My mum was staying to look after me and the children following the birth and one day the cat was in the conservatory and my mum closed the glass door, Belle didn't realise and charged across the room to chase the cat and knocked herself out on the glass door. She was never the same after that, she did something to her legs and kept falling over, she couldn't get up the stairs any more and she had constant bleeding from her lady parts. So we had to reach a decision with the vet to do the kindest thing for her, to have her put to sleep.

I'll never forget that day, the way she looked at me when I got the lead and lead her to the car, she went so calmly and easily, yet previous days she could barely walk out for a wee, it was like she knew it was for the best, she even got excited when we arrived at the vet's, no distress whatsoever. And when the time came, Stan and I sat with her on the floor of the vet's whilst he gave the injection and we just held her as she fell asleep. I cried buckets , just as Camilla has cried buckets today. Now I'm crying again...............Sorry ,

But now we have Beth, an even more beautiful dog and so much gentler and lovelier than belle, and some day in the future i'll have to go through this trauma again.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we fall in love with our pets so? I told myself i wouldn't do it again, but I have and this time it's even deeper than before, because Beth truly is my dog.