The Last Post

This will be the last posting on Mossie's blog. Two weeks have passed since he went. His Mad-But-Not-Actively-Dangerous Woman has shed lots of tears but also had so many hugs and wonderfully kind messages. As Mossie remarked last year, "I know how nice this love thing is".

Bella (Carmwater Orange Princess or HRH if we're being formal) died in 2007. She had never quite got the hang of dignified old age and brought chaos and delight into our lives with equal measure. But there was a big hole in the heart. In a Google moment, rescue Border Collies slid into view and a few weeks later, Mossie arrived. Old, tired and scared, he had wound up in a rescue centre after being found chained up with broken teeth and sore paws from trying to break the chain. He came into my life ready to share all the love in the world in exchange for a safe and loving home. He’d been an outdoor dog and knew nothing of stairs, wall-string-things, washing-rooms and the like. But, everything turned out just as it should. We had the best possible fifteen months.

So, a decision to be made. Clearly, it would be a mad (barking mad, in fact) idea to continue Mossie's blog. The MBNAD woman might turn up somewhere else. I haven't a clue why I started the blog. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Writing was never onerous, in the same way as tumbling out of bed at 6 am to walk on a cold morning wasn't a burden. It was all part of life with Mossie.

But before we go, Mossie's blog was tagged by 65 Roses for a lovely blog award.




So here are my nominations for the lovely blog award:

The Dog's Blog
Get well and stay well, Jasper. So many bitches and so little time.

Bruce
Keep on bouncing Brucie and look after the Bushhouse.

wakeupandsmellthecoffee
Grow up fine and handsome, Jakey.

Henry the Leaphound
Stay noble, Henry and take care of Molly, Wee Pup, your Woman and her OH.

Keep writing your blogs and find four lovely blogs of your own to tag. I'll still be following and hope to enjoy reading about all your happy times.

I hope that you enjoyed reading this. It was fun, it was Grand.

Thank you for all the lovely kind words for a Mad-But-Not-Actively-Dangerous-Woman missing her Mossie.

"Just letting you now that I feel for you over the death of Mossie. One thing you do know is that the last year of his life was a good one."

"He had become a part of your family and was especially close to you, who had taken him away from his previous hard life and given him a year of love & fun."

"Poor Mossie, at least you can be sure that his time with you and the family was probably the best he could have hoped for."

" I was so sorry to receive your news"

"I am genuinely sorry for your loss of your beloved Mossie. I know how much you all loved him. He was very lucky and so were you to have each other"

"I am so sad he has gone. He was a good boy. Tears in my eyes"

"I had just read the blog this morning - got a bit weepy - we will miss seeing him with you too. Have a hug for yourself from me this time."

"We are so very very sorry ... thought about Moss and how sad you must be to have lost him and how we will miss walking with you and him too.

At the weekend, apart from his sore paw, he seemed to be in good health and very happy and confident. If there is any consolation it has to be that it seems he was not distressed by his illness for very long also that in the too short time he was with you he felt loved secure and comfortable."

"We were all so upset to hear about poor old Mossie, I couldn't actually speak, I noticed Bruce being hugged on Friday night in a head down nose on his back kind of way ( nothing said). But they have agreed that his retirement was very well spent and he would have enjoyed the luxury of being a house dog."

"I summoned up the courage to read Mossies final blog tonight. It's been a very strange week without him – as well as missing him on our walk, I cant get used to him not being in my passenger seat."

"I am so terribly sorry about Mossie and know how you are feeling, completely lost."

"What a happy and contented last year or so he had - I'm sure he had forgotten all the years that had gone before. I 'm glad he hadn't been ill or in pain for long as he had such a sweet nature. He was a very lucky dog to have found you and had such love from all of you.

The house is so empty with no dog around. Think of all the happy memories you have of his time with you and in time, when you can bear to look at all his photos, you can cry "happy" tears."

"So sorry to hear about dear old Mossie. I'm glad I met him."

"Mossie was such a lovely character and you clearly adored each other. I know it's no comfort but at least you know he had a wonderful, happy time for the last few months of his life."

Slán Mossie

After the mishaps of the last two weeks, Mossie was on the mend. No more bandaged paws. A good evening walk, a tasty dinner, followed by a sleep in front of the fire looking after The Tall One and his MBNAD woman. Grand, as he would say.

On Friday morning, he lay in bed and just wanted his MBNAD woman to sit close by and stroke him. Tests and a scan showed that he had a tumour on the spleen which was bleeding. His Little Dark One came home. In the late afternoon, with all the people who loved him by his side, he closed his eyes and was gone. Gentle, stoic, loving and true.

Huna'n dawel, heno, huna.
Suo Gan - Lullaby

"Night night, Mossie."

A Home for Poorly Boys

So we had lots of visitors over the turning of the year and the Litter came back to stay as well. The Hello-Mister-Woman and her Man. Tinker-Dog's people (and Tinker-Dog). Of course, I had to take it quietly since my paw was bandaged up but that was alright since we were sitting in the warm with the fire lit. Grand. A wee drop to drink and feet to sleep on. What more could a Colliewobble want.

We wished everyone a Happy New Year over and over again. I even learned to say it in Cat. Blwyddyn Newydd Dda.



The days were really cold and by the time the bandage came off my paw, the Tall One was poorly. Lying down in his bed kind of poorly. Coughing. Sleeping. Coughing. I left the immediate patient care to The Cat since she is expert at curling up on beds and providing Humbug huggles. I kept checking that he was ok.

We were hoping to see Brucie's people but they were a long way off near Here when Here was There if you get my drift and then they all had the coughing-sleeping-coughing. They had a bit more too. Coughing-sleeping-coughing-chucking-up. Brucie's woman said they had to cross the border (no germ control there) to buy individual poptyping meals and pixie size puddings because they were off their food.

By the time the Visitors were leaving the Tall One was still coughing-sleeping-coughing. My MBNAD woman told him he couldn't go back to look for Hot Pixies but had to come back to Here with us till he's better. So, with a very full car and The Cat in her suitcase, we set off back to turn There to Here and back again. By the time we got back, the Tall One was very sad and tired. I wondered if my MBNAD woman would have to carry him indoors like she did with me when I fell over. She says he's got to stay with us till he's better. He's grand company for me in the day and when he had a bit of cheese for lunch, he shared it with me. She says we're her boys and she was glad that I was there to look after him. Which made what came next even worse...

My DB came along to go out for our middle of the day constitutional and when I got back, I fell over the front door step and did it again. That's right. Did it again. Rear nearside this time. Red stuff everywhere: all over the front doorstep, my bed and all points between. My MBNAD woman came home early, all dressed up in her going to work clothes and off we went in the car straightaway. Whole palaver all over again. Vet, clipped claw and bandage. She sat on the floor in the surgery and held me in her arms so that I knew she loved me even though it hurt. And it really did hurt. She held my head next to her and told me how it would soon be over and how much she loved me. I covered her going to work clothes in colliewobble hair. Then it hurt so much, that I peed. Thank Dog, I didn't get her coat.

I let her carry me to the car and then carry me indoors. After all, it don't matter if she gets a bit more colliewobble hair on her coat since it ain't fit to be worn for work at the moment.



Then I let her give me a jacket potato.