DOGS

Meg, Shadow and Merlin, the greyhound/border collie lurcher and two smooth collies are all large dogs and most people think we are crazy to have aquired them. However, all of them are taken for runs in the local Cheshire countryside most days and the hiking is good for us. Although family members, they have become accustomed to staying in kennels so our holidays and other trips, although more expensive, are not interrupted. Shadow's dominance has made him a difficult dog to train, but he and the others are now well behaved. They are registered as PAT (pets as therapy) dogs and we regularly visit a day centre nursing home.

On 17 April 2009 Meg had to be euthanised. Her breathing had become progressively worse due to closing of the breathing valve. She still wanted to run but soon started gasping. The Vet believed she would have a good chance of recovering from a standard operation whereby a 'flap' in the valve is stiched open. She did indeed make a rapid recovery over the first 3 days, but then suffered a critical collapse of the spine. Meg had now to be kept sedated because of the extreme pain and we quickly came to the conclusion that she should be put to sleep. She was 13.

A good start

Geyser in Iceland

Cheeky elephant