Oh Dear!!

Last Saturday night I got a message from my sister and she asked me if I knew anyone that could or would re home a 4 year old male Staffy. Well I was a bit worse for wear then but I did call and talk to her the next day. 

She told me her sons (my nephew) girlfriend was really desperately needing to find a home for her dog because she needed to get into some housing and they wouldnt take her with a dog and since Staffys are my favourite dogs in the world then she wanted to ask  me first. Great. 

I asked her for a picture of him and aww hes so cute he looked just like mine. Gorgeous boy!

I told her if I did not have my 2 I would have taken him in a minute and to leave it with me I would ask a friend of mine I have known since school. (many years)

I know he lives alone and has no kids so a dog I think would be great for him. I called and asked him and yes its short notice but I doubt anyone would need time to think about it. you either want a dog or you dont. We have spoken about a dog before and he has always said he wants one and I would say that he wanted a staffy so this was an opportunity not to be missed. 

He was over the moon when I asked him and said yes he would have him and he was pretty excited asking all sorts of questions. To me it was great because I KNOW he would spoil him and give him a really good home. So why am I on here having a moan? Let me tell you...

He was supposed to come and get the dog today (Tuesday) arrangements were made for my nephew to bring him here and he was to be picked up. I thought that was fine but I would have to be very careful here because mine is in season and shes ready to be mated now. I dont want pups from her. This is only her 2nd season and really in my opinion shes too young. Im not breeding her anyway she will be getting spayed but thats another story.

The arrangements were made and I told him to help him out I would give him some dry food and treats from mine just until he could get to the shops to buy stuff for him. It all sounds great and is falling into place. Not for long!

He sent me a message saying that his mum and dad were totally against the idea of getting a Staffy and if he got one then he wasnt going to be welcome in their house and they would not come to see him if he had it there. Actually here is the message.....

iam no fuking taking him fiona ! didna blame you if you dina wana talk to is , just fell oot we my family there , big time , over a dog , not 1 of them will take me over tomoro , or give me shot of a car , and iv no got bus money till thursdy ... PLUS, am not welcome up at there house we a staffy !!, thats how i fell oot we them , and they wont be down here to see is, if the dogs here ?? ,, falling oot we my family over a dog.. ffs, iam sorry , xxx.... pissed rite off , stormed oot there fuking hoose ... thats me just home was up for my tea, bad as fuk ... SORRY TO LET YOU DOWN AND YOUR NEPHEW TOO..

It did shock me a bit afterall this guy lives alone and has no wife or kids. Who at that age goes by what their mum and dad says seriously? I know my mum isnt keen that I have dogs but Im an adult and havent lived with her for years I have my own place and a son so while I absolutely respect her I do what I want to do. Thats life I suppose eh I just cant get over the fact that parents still dictate to me thats an absolute mummys boy without a doubt. 

I get some people dont know the breed and can be a bit wary of them. Maybe its because I know them inside out im like WHHHHHAAAAAAAATTTTT?! I dont think anyone will know what they are like unless they have one or are around them to see what they are like. 

I hope that my newphews girlfriend can get a good home for him now and she can get on with her life and the dog can have a great home. So sad! If I was able to id have him without a second thought. 

Some people just arent as passionate about them as I am..I need to think about that before getting on my high horse all the time. 

A few months ago my other half was quite sick. He was sent to the hospital at another unit to get it checked out. The results were good but hes still having problems with it. The doctors there told him he had Silent Reflux because of a "lump" he had in his throat. 

He was given medication but he feels that they arent helping and then recently he went back to the doctor who then told him there was no more he could do for him. He was not happy at all with this.

He was moved to another unit because he had a positive parole answer YAYYY hes getting out of there. This was his second interview with parole and he said himself it felt positive after he had the interview but he couldnt say anything because you never can tell with the parole board.

 

Anyway he got his answer after only a couple of months waiting and they said YES :) he had to go to another unit to do a programme for drugs and the effects ect. He is doing it even though he hasnt used drugs in over 20 years and has been in prison for 17 but he said he was going to do it without moaning (ha thats a first) because at the end hes getting out. It takes 6 months to complete and he only has 2 months left to do. hopefully then he can go and see a doctor to get his health sorted thats the main thing. 

I knew he was ill because hes one of those guys who always says he will be ok and he doesnt need to see a doctor but this time was different. he knew something was wrong. 

he has been doing some breathing exercises courtesy of my friend from the forum I go on. Thank you Gooddog they really are helping him :) 

My Kayla and how shes acting. She is a year old!

Lets see what has happened in a whole year.
I completed my degree. it wasnt the greatest course to be honest and at times I wanted to pull my hair out but never mind its done now.
My son is now 15 years old and a typical teenager and a times a huge pain in the neck but I love him hes my son. he has applied for college and is hoping to start an apprenticeship with his dad...oh yes he got back in touch with him a few months back they dont meet regularly its just as and when they feel like having a catch up and that usually takes place at Mcdonalds or KFC. Anyway enough about him.
I still have my dogs, my SBT is 1 year old now and she is just the best. She is doing a lot of things just now that she should not be but I looked it all up did some research and came to the conclusion that everything she is doing is for attention.
Here are the things she was doing..
1. barking when she wanted feeding. not just a little cute bark. This was constant right up until I actually got up from the chair too feed her so she wasnt waiting to be fed she was telling me that she wanted fed and now.

2. She was going and lying in her bed then would come out of there limping and holding her paw off the ground. she was faking lameness. she must be pretty clever to do this.

my other dog Ellie is 10 years old soon and is happy as always  well in summer last year she was stung by a wasp and I saw the wasp attach itself to her leg and repeatedly sting her. That was really horrible hearing her crying as I was trying to get that thing off of her but I did and immediately gave her an antihistamine tablet just incase she was allergic to it. My old SBT Lexie once ate a wasp and her face doubled in size They have big heads anyway so can you imagine them when it doubles in size? not nice to see!

3. She jumps up beside you for cuddles then she tenses her whole body up and trembles really quite badly this goes on for what seems like hours and to get her to stop I cuddle her like a proper bear hug and eventually she stops. This can be repeated all through the day and night this is not just a one time thing.

I know there is nothing wrong with her physically and yes I very much panicked when it first started but all shes doing it for is attention. I really do not have a clue why she is like this, she gets lots of attention especially being so young. people just love puppies. All I can think of is Ellie is here too and she gets attention as well as Kayla but maybe she just wants all the attention to be on her all of the time.That is just impossible.

I read that the barking will and can stop if you just totally ignore her so thats something i tried and Nope that does not work. All she did was made some really silly growling and snorting noises so I spoke to someone and they said try a water bottle. A spray one and wow the results are amazing. I do not even have to spray her with water as soon as she sees me reaching for the bottle she stops immediately. She is not cured by all means but we are working on it with her.

She loves watching TV when a nature programme is on there. she can sit and watch for an hour without taking her eyes from the TV. To me she is a pretty smart dog she just has little flaws but it wouldnt be her if she didnt. Her and Ellie get along really well. There is no fights or snaps from either of them.


Right now she is in season and what a pain that is. i really need to get her to the vet and get her spayed. it does cost a lot but it has to be done. the vet told me that they like to spay them roughly 3 months after they have been in season so im looking at April or May.
Getting the money together is not going to be such an easy thing.

I dont work because I have Multiple Sclerosis so money is very tight. we will see. The vet told me it will cost around £200 so fingers crossed I get it together by the time she needs done.

I almost forgot she pulls quite a bit on her lead so I got her a harness and that is a nightmare. When i put it on her she shakes so much. Before i knew she was attention seeking I took it straight off her but as I learned that I never took it off of her when she shook but I kept it on her for a while anyway to try to get her used to it. She never did get used to it and it was almost like she was in the huff with me and she wouldnt come to me when I called her but as soon as I removed the harness she was back to her normal self. Instead of the harness I thought I would try her with something else to stop her from puling so I purchased a Canny Collar and well lets say that was a disaster. She hated the fact that it was over her muzzle and freaked out and eventually managed to get it off so there was one bright idea gone. Im persevering with her though and recently I have noticed that on her lead without the harness on she is learning not to pull or try to jump up on everyone who passes her so wish me luck!! Maybe she knows if she continues to pull I have the harness as a back up.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with your dog behaving this way then please do let me know.

dogs

As ive posted before I got a little puppy a Staffordshire bull terrier and she is great. Yesterday I went round to the shops and got a newspaper and in it I was quite annoyed because ok just recently a grown Staffordsire Bull Terrier was put to sleep after going into a field and killing 6 sheep ok thats someones lively hood so I understand but why does the police and animal shelter have to get involved and try to make laws for so called "Dangerous Dogs"?
Approximtely 6 or 7 years ago I had another SBT called Lexie an I bred and showed her she was quite successful and has many rossettes and first, second and third places. There was nothing dangerous about her...she had litters of beautiful pups and they were sold all over Scotland and were beautiful little dogs. When the time came for her to be put to sleep I was absolutely devastated.
She battled a long illness she had cancer :( I told myself I would never ever get another Staffy again ever because I just couldnt deal with the pain of losing Lexie and I still feel the same way 6 years later.
Now I got Kayla and she is the best...she is really great and yes she can be hard work at times but I couldnt ever see myself without her now. I have a little Jack Russell too called Ellie she is 9 years old and gets on so well with Kayla. As soon as I got Kayla I fell in love with her straight away.
I will be keeping a close eye out in papers to see what is going to be happening about SBT's and the law...They are NEVER Dangerous dogs.. I KNOW this breed and they are sometimes also known as the "Nanny dog" because of how good they are with kids.
To me it could be down to owners because they think Staffys are tough dogs and yes they can be but if they are brought up properly they arent. They are just like any other dog.

Please if you agree could you let me know? I hopefully will send a print out with all names to he Scottish Parliament to show that these dogs are great and not at all Dangerous...thank you for any support you give..positive or negative posts are welcome...Thank you :)

A little lost

So its now mid January and this time right now is pretty tough. I just dont feel great emotionally at all...right now im willing this year on as Kelly is eligible for parole in August he already saw them and was given a 1 year set off and that was tough. It was hard for me out here so god knows what it was like in there for him and in August we will be going through it all again. Poor guy.
Im really not sure how im feeling right now. Am I just feeling sorry for myself? I dont know but il get over it..Always do but its sad.

End of the year!

Been a pretty average year here. Nothing exciting. I really hope next year is going to be better.
So this year well...Im still writing letters every day to my guy in Texas...in August he was refused parole. That was a crushing blow even though we knew it would probably be denied first time but still it was awful.
Just 11 weeks ago I got a new puppy...shes a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and her name is Kayla...she is great. Shes paper trained already too which is great...shes just a little itty bitty thing right now I will probably put her pic on. I love Staffys...I told myself I would never ever get another one after I lost my girl Lexie 5 years ago to cancer she was absolutely the very best. I still carry her pictures everywhere with me..I cant get over her just yet. Also I have Ellie my Jack Russel she is 9 years old and great..she gets on really well with Kayla. I dont know what made me want a new staffy but something did and as soon as I aw her that was me in love.
I also moved house in summer. Had to move there were too many bad memories in the house I was in..I actually started hating living there and im sure I was a bit depressed so I moved and now im so happy.
Im supposed to start University in January. Social Sciences..cant wait to get started and get my teeth into something. Kinda bored not doing anything so need to do this.
My son is now 14 wow makes me feel old..I remember I was telling people he was 4. Oh dear..he no longer has a dad in his life..that idiot (ex) has caused no end of problems him and his woman. it was hard but over it now and hes still an idiot and very greedy Bet theres a lot of greedy men out there. His latest little thing was he denied that my son was even his. UGH! I never cheated on the idiot wish I did because he did but nope im not like that so anyway I asked child support for maintenance for my son and he denied him so they asked if I would agree to a DNA test..Absolutely Iv nothing to hide and I know hes his..my son is his double poor kid haha. Anyway he didnt reply to the test Hmmm WHY?! and his mother and father have both been in touch with my son and have seen him told him they love him. They obviously dont believe a word of it. This guy has a couple more kids and you know my sister said something to me back in December and she was so right. We got onto the subject of my son and she said "Not trying to be horrible but what makes S so special? He has other kids and doesnt bother with them" and shes right totally so as long as me and mine are there for S then he has all he needs and hes a happy kid. Im so proud of him and how hes turned out.
So yes pretty uneventful year but hopefully next year is better eh.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE ALL THE BEST FOR 2012 XX

My life with a prisoner

Ok so I know a lot of people will think this is really stupid but...he means the world to me...Almost 2 years ago on a popular website I answered an advert for someone looking for a pen pal well me I was glad to do it then we started writing to each other regularly. At first we both said we will NEVER fall for each other and we actually had a laugh about the people who did but...it happened and we did fall for each other we went through the whole he feels selfish because he didnt want me to put my life on hold waiting for him but to be honest he was everything I wanted, We were writing to each other very regularly and still are well heres the bad thing now...I have actually found out that he has lied to me and I dont know what to do...What I do know is though that I cant send anymore letters until we have sorted this out if we even can..An element of trust goes when you find out they have lied....please what do I do now?