What I did on my holiday – by Neville, aged 5 ¾ month.

Fish, Fur and Feather.

After posting the very sad update regarding Nino earlier in the week I thought I’d pass over the blogging duties to Neville for a change to update you on what he learnt as a puppy during his four days away in Cornwall. So, over to you Nev……

Sunday morning started off as it normally does for me. One of the Assistants gets up after I’ve barked, woofed and generally made noise for 20 minutes or so and lets me out of my bijou sleeping accommodation, also known as my crate. Breakfast followed as normal and then I noticed large bags in the lounge and the cage that is normally in the boot of Octi the Octavia was in the conservatory. Hmmm….. something was afoot, or should that be apaw? Snr Assistant P. was busy loading up Octi’s boot with enough supplies to sink the Bismark (I watch lots of daytime TV) and my nice sheepskin basket was placed on the back seats of Octi, looks like I’m being upgraded from the boot, about bleedy time too! Normally when I’m stuck into the car It’ll be for a short journey to Sulham Woods for a muddy run around, so when I was still in the back of the car after 20 minutes, with no sign of a muddy walk I decided to go to sleep for a while. 90 minutes later the Octi was still powering down a wide road and my puppy bladder was beginning to sing. So I sang too and Snr Assistant P. pulled into some sort of doggy toilet so I could relieve my stretched bladder (Snr Assistant P. would like to point out that he pulled into the Motorway services as he also needed to relieve his bladder and needed to top up his caffeine levels).

Back to the car for me and another 90 minutes or so before the bladder communicated to my throat and Asst. P pulled into another doggy toilet. This one was a step up from the previous place, this time I got to walk around on some grass before being taken into a rather pleasant café type place where the Assistants had yet more caffeine (how do their bladders cope?) and cake, which they refused to share with me. I sniffed the floor and laughed like a drain when a frankly inferior dog tried to bark at me…… I laughed in his face, and then farted in his general direction. I was put back in the car for being a tad rude to my fellow canine and promptly fell asleep again.

The next thing I knew I was being tossed from left to right and to left again as Asst P. seemed to be on some sort of Rally Cross course, little did I know that this was just the average North Cornwall road. We parked up at another doggy toilet, so kind of the Assistants, but instead of going into a nice warm café, they dragged me over a road, onto some soft stuff which they eventually explained was sand, over a hill and I saw for the very first time a beach………………. I’ve decided, at a very early age, that a beach is the BEST THING IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!!! I was allowed to run up and down the beach, chase a ball, ignore a ball, dig holes, drink from salty puddles (Not to be recommended) and run to the watery stuff at the bottom of the beach. What nobody told me was that the watery stuff at the bottom of the beach didn’t stand still and ran back at me, it was cold. The Assistants told me that we were at a place called Porthcothan Bay and that they knew it really well. Snr Asst. P had been visiting the place since he was a ten year old, that’s MANY, MANY, MANY years in doggy years. He brought Jnr Asst. C to the place for Jiggy Jiggy fun before some bloke with a Doggy Collar (?) said they should really do Jiggy Jiggy stuff, and have been coming back with the Very Jnr Asst. M and Absent Jnr Asst. A for lots of years.

Once the Assistants had finally persuaded me to put my lead back on (it’s a great game to run close to them and then dodge away at the last minute) they took me to another “First”. They took me to a “pub” which apparently is quite an important place for the Assistants. I’ve decided that Pubs aren’t as much fun as the beach, NOTHING is as much fun as the beach, but it’s quite a nice place to be. It’s warm it’s dry, it’s full of people who like dogs, and it’s full of people who drink beer, too much beer and then drop food on the floor, which I can then eat. I’d rather they dropped bits of their fillet steak rather than their chilli though, just saying.

It seemed that the Assistants were waiting for someone as they kept looking up when the door to the pub opened. After about 10 minutes the door moved and a dog which looked very similar to me walked in, looking proud and noble. I barked. It turns out that my Assistants had arranged with the other mutts Assistants to meet up over a cooling beverage and that the other mutt was in fact my big half brother, Sidney! We had a rather pleasant ½ hour or so getting to know each other before the Assistants decided it was time to go and explore our home for the holiday. By now I was getting quite used to jumping in and out of the car, but this trip only lasted about 2 minutes before we drew up outside The Linney, home until Wednesday. I was very excited to explore the house, especially when I discovered that there was no door on the stairs, so nothing to stop me haring up and banging my nose against any of the doors that the Assistants were stupid enough to try any hide behind. I especially enjoyed joining Assistant C. when she was trying to have a wee in peace (No idea why she doesn’t just go outside like I do!), the other really good game was to hide underneath the bed, exactly in the middle so that neither Assistant could actually reach me, oh what fun they seemed to have, although some of the language used wasn’t suitable for puppies ears. It really was a nice cottage and I got to sleep in the lounge whilst the Assistants watched the TV instead of being stuck in the office like I am at home.

As it was a strange house I thought it was only fair that I explored the grounds at night, so at 2am I decided it was time the Assistants were up and walking me in the cold rather than wrapped up warm in bed. The sky was full of stars and a very bright moon, but it was flipping cold on the paws, so after a quick wee it was back to my nice warm bed for the rest of the night.

Monday brought yet another new experience for me. Along with the pitter patter of rain against the window I could hear a strange clucking noise……….. Yay!!!! There were chickens running around the garden, I like chickens, especially after they’ve been cooked to perfection my Snr. Assistant P. I was told in no uncertain terms that these chickens wouldn’t enjoy being played with and I was to leave them alone or they wouldn’t produce the lovely eggs the Assistants had enjoyed for breakfast. To compensate for the lack of chicken fun I decided I’d eat sheep poo instead, very tasty and it produces a rather pleasant green poo for my Assistants to pick up! In fact Snr. Assistant P. was heard to comment that he’d have been proud of one of the deposits I produced! The Assistants decided as it was a bit rainy that we’d go into a place called Padstow, that they’d loved for years, for a walk. Another first for me as I’ve never been into a town before. It wasn’t that busy, but there were lots of other dogs around. I’ve decided that I’m not really scared of other dogs now, so long as they’re friendly to me. It seemed that Assistant C. hadn’t really packed her case for wet weather (It’s March, it’s Cornwall, it’s going to rain, even a 5 ¾ month old pup knows that!) So we spent 20 minutes in a shop so she could buy some trousers, socks, thermal top and me a nice new doggy towel! The lady in the shop thought I was lovely, so I gave her an extra special and extra wet lick on her ear so she would remember me. The Assistants needed more coffee and cake, it was a rather wet and probably smelly me who sat at their feet looking adoringly into their eyes whilst they drank. (That last bit is entirely made up, I spent the time sniffing the floor and picking at crumbs).

Luckily the rain stopped in the afternoon so the Assistants agreed to take me back to the beach. It was empty, just me, the two Assistants and loads of sheep trying to throw themselves off the cliffs! We had a wonderful time with the chuckit ball, I even brought it back to Snr. Assistant P. a couple of times, well he is getting on a bit these days. All too soon it was time to go back to the house for my afternoon nap as I had an appointment in the evening that I’d been looking forward to for ages, well for two days, but that is ages in doggy times. After dinner it was back into the car for the 20 minutes or so it took to get to Sidney HQ to finally meet Ed and Vicky properly, and of course to learn the tricks of the trade from my big brother. It was an exciting evening full of chasing, barking, play fighting (well I think Sidney was playing) and a couple of accidents! My excuse is that it was a new house to me, I didn’t know where the back door was and I was very excited! By 9.30 I was dog tired so it was au revoir to Ed, Vicky and Sidney, but we’ll be back. As soon as my paws got into the car I was fast asleep, dreaming of chickens and sheep poo. Snr. Asst P. wasn’t overly impressed when I needed a wee at 2am again, don’t know why, he got to see another wonderful sky.

Tuesday morning was a really beautiful day, so once the Assistants had eaten the chicken eggs again it was back into the car and the short hop back into Padstow where I had yet another first for me, a trip on a boat! I liked the wind in my ears, but I didn’t like the noise the ramp made when it opened and closed. The landing craft dropped us off at Rock, which the Assistants told me is very posh, but to me it just looked like any other beach! I had a great time digging holes, filling them in again, and then digging them again. I really enjoyed it when Snr. Asst. P. was behind me when I started digging, he didn’t seem to mind too much that his shoes and jeans were covered in sand! Another visit to a coffee shop where this time I did actually sit quietly as the Assistants topped up their caffeine levels. It was then back over the river and a final stroll around Padstow. The town was now quite busy as it was a lovely day, and it seemed to me that every Assistant in view had a dog with them, I think there must be a man at the car park who hands out dogs to people who arrive without them, a splendid idea.

I thought we’d be going straight back to the house for a nap, but the Assistants has other ideas. Their stomachs were rumbling (I could hear them from the back seats) so they stopped at yet another pub for lunch. This was a rather posh place, called The Cornish Arms, but I was happy to sit close to the fire by Snr. Asst. P’s feet whilst he fed me disappointingly small pieces of his fried kidneys. Mind you Asst. C. didn’t even give me a crumb from her plate of curried crab L The afternoon was spent dozing on the sofa (for the Assistants) and me dozing in my basket. The Assistants took some time getting changed that evening, so I was really looking forward to a visit to another posh pub, but………………………..

………………….. they locked me in my crate and went out without me………………………. They will pay!

When they got back (much, much, much later!) they explained that some bloke called Rick didn’t want dogs in his restaurant, despite being more famous as Snr. Asst. to the late Chalkie the Jack Russel than as a Chef. So I had to stay at home whilst they enjoyed John Dory (Not sure who he is) and Turbot, apparently I wouldn’t have liked it. I believe I should have been given the chance to make up my own mind. The list of misdemeanours by the Assistants is becoming quite long and will be paid back with interest, dogs have great memories. Now, where was I?

The next morning I was looking forward to more fun and games on the beach, a nice leisurely lunch, followed by a snooze in the basket. Instead my crate was packed up, suitcases appeared and Octi the Octavia was again packed up. We did stop for one final run on the beach and a couple of more stops on the way home so I could use the doggy toilets.

The bloody cat is still living in MY house, thought they’d have got rid of her by now.

So, what have I learnt from my holiday?

Beaches are brilliant!

If I’m good in pubs I may get fed.

Chickens gang up on me.

Sheep poo is probably more tasty than that John Dory chap.

Car trips can be fun.

Boat trips are great.

If Snr. Asst. P. leaves his big camera at home then the photo’s he takes on his phone will be rubbish.

Sidney is the best big brother EVER…………..

Lots of love, Nev. 

 

Thanks to Neville for writing this week’s update, probably fewer spelling mistakes than normal. It was a cracking few days down in Cornwall to recharge the batteries and to really appreciate the fun and love that owning a dog can bring (Eh, you don’t own me, you’re my Assistants – Nev)  Cornwall, or at least the Padstow / Porthcothan area have got it right as far as dog welcomes goes. We were a bit worried that we’d end up eating fish and chips on the quay, but 90% of the places we went to encouraged dogs, you could always tell where they were welcome, a bowl of water would be outside. You wouldn’t expect high end art galleries of top of the range restaurants to allow dogs in, and indeed I wouldn’t want to risk Nev having a teenage tantrum (I’m not a teenager yet, you wait if you think my current tantrums are bad – Nev) and having to leave an expensive meal uneaten. We needn’t have worried as he was really well behaved everywhere we went (We’ll gloss over the pee and poo incident at Sid’s gaff!). The meal we had at Rick Steins was the second best we’d ever eaten. Carol started with mussels in a black bean sauce and followed up with a wonderful John Dory dish. I has sashimi of fish with the hottest wasabi I’ve ever eaten, followed by turbot, which was sublime. It’s not cheap, but you know that when you book. It was a cold night in March, the place was probably 90% full. (If you’d taken me with you it would have been 92% full, just saying…………….. Nev) Our waiter knew his stuff, when I asked specifically for an Italian Red to go with our dishes and to drink a toast to Nino,  he came up with a blinding choice that didn’t break the bank.

It wouldn’t be a #S2S update unless I briefly mentioned the Big C. On Thursday I had my monthly check up at the hospital. I got to see Susan the SALT first as the valve had leaked a bit whilst we were away in Cornwall. She and I both agreed that as it now seemed to be behaving itself we’d let sleeping dogs lie (Oi, when I’m asleep I still have one eye open in case you open the cheese box! – Nev). We ended up just having a bit of a chat about how I was coping and what I’d been up to. I mentioned we’d been down to Padstow and it transpired that Susan spent her honeymoon there and ate at Rick’s too. She now takes her two Weimaraner’s down to Cornwall whenever she can. Surprisingly enough she’d never heard of a Kromi but once she was shown a photo of Nev being a poser the obligatory “Oh he’s sooooo cute” comment followed. (Will you please tell people that I’m not cute, I’m handsome, there’s a big difference – Nev)  I’ll be seeing Susan again on Monday as I’m having a swallow test done to see if there’s any reason why the valves don’t last as long as they should.

After a brief wait I was called in to see, the one, the only, the original, the brilliant SCARY. I hadn’t seen Scary since being diagnosed again with cancer, she was so apologetic that the RT and Chemo hadn’t worked as she’d originally hoped it would, as it was her fault. It was really good to see her again, as I felt happy to discuss my fears for the future with her in an open manner, much more so that with the other Oncologists I’ve seen of late. She was really pleased with my progress, my weight is continuing to go up and apparently I’m looking really healthy J She was happy to put me onto two monthly referrals from now on, another step on the 5 Year Pathway. We discussed the various treatments I’m having or will be having in the next couple of weeks. Next week I’ve got my first appointment with the physio to try and sort my shoulder out, she felt that was a really positive move. The week after I’m seeing the Reflexologist, and I can’t actually remember why. Scary said to treat it as a nice foot massage, nothing more, nothing less. I’m guessing that a highly qualified Oncologist hasn’t much time for what used to be call Alternative Medicine. I’ll go in with an open mind and clean feet.

I left feeling as positive as I have for some time.

As always, thanks for reading.

To be continued…………….

#Shoulder2Shoulder