The Events of October!

October began with me officially starting my Masters in Conservation Biology, baby-sitting my own clan of dogs, seeing some of my old favourites and unfortunately saying goodbye to our forever dog. Read on to find out more...

The Nine Nuisances...

October began with my mums regular trip to Portugal to see my Grandad who emigrated many years ago now. This meant that I was tasked with looking after our crazy nine border collies. No amount of pet sitting can prepare anyone for Hurricane Hallie and her gang of naughty bystanders! The bar is very low for what counts as a successful week looking after the gang, and the fact there were no vet visits and 3 successful outings was an achievement in our eyes! I hired the secure field at Canalside Walks to exercise Hallie and Ollie whilst mum was away and worked on some key dexterity activities and skills using some hoops, jumps, tunnels and ramps. They loved their time and it meant they were tired enough to cope with being at home with the other dogs as well!

Rumble...

My regular Monday walks with Rumble continued throughout October which I was so happy about! Rumble is such a funny little man and still either walks for miles and plays endless games of fetch with his favourite ball, or he decides to not walk at all and completely puts the brakes on! The longer walks are definitely becoming more of a common choice now but we will see going into the colder months if he changes his mind again!

Betty and Nelly...

I had the pleasure of looking after Betty and Nelly for a weekend at the start of October whilst their owners went away. Betty and Nelly are two beautiful Labradors that I've had the pleasure of looking after before during the heatwave in the Summer. It was lovely to have less restrictions this time with when and where they could be walked and the girls seemed much happier in the cooler weather too. I cant wait to see them again when their owners go travelling in Australia next year!

Bertie and Jasper...

I also got to see my favourite old boys again this month as their owner was asked to attend a school trip. This meant that I had the pleasure of dropping in on Bertie and Jasper multiple times a day for the week and we had some lovely cuddles in the garden. Whilst Bertie and Jasper are getting older, they are still so young at heart and love their cuddles and exploring the undergrowth in the hedges around the perimeter of the garden!

Lily and Boo...

Lily and Boo are two rescue Labrador crossbreeds that I spent a couple of weeks with in the Summer whilst their owners went travelling in France. Their owners wanted to arrange a day trip to Thorpe Park and needed someone to look after Lily and Boo whilst they enjoyed an adventure filled day! I happily obliged and loved spending more time with my two little snuggle buddies. Boo was just as cuddly last time and it was lovely to see her anxiety reduced and her becoming more confident in my presence.

Betty and Guinness...

I really enjoyed doing a week of drop ins again for Betty the cat and Guinness the gerbil, but it did mean that Marshmallow had sadly passed away since the last time I was there. At four years old, these gerbils are doing incredibly and it was an honour to have met Marshmallow when I did. Guinness is coping well in Marshmallows absence and enjoyed not having to share his cabbage and carrot treats! Betty also came out of her shell a little more this time and we had some lovely cuddles on the stairs. She was very easily won over by a few Dreamies and I think I am now becoming her new best friend!

Bonnie, Lulu, Margaux, Florence and Maple...

The fabulous five were meant to have me pet sit them for a couple of weeks whilst their owners went to their second home in Tenerife for half term. Unfortunately, plans changed at work which meant one of the owners couldn't go on the trip. This did mean though that the fab five would be left for quite a while and so I happily helped out with some daily drop ins to keep the dogs from destroying the home and keep them well exercised and entertained! We played fetch in the garden every single day (rain or shine!) and football too! They had a fabulous time and I enjoyed still managing to see them even though their plans had to change.

Freshwater wading...

As part of my Masters degree, I was tasked with comparing the amount of freshwater invertebrates at two different parts of the lake at Markeaton Park. This was so interesting and such a fun day out to demonstrate and harness my kick-sampling and identification skills. I think I got a little over excited when we found a bullhead fish, multiple mayfly larvae species, ramshorn snails and leeches! It was such a fun change to a normal day in a classroom that I thought I had to include it in my highlights from October.

Busted vs McFly...

Alongside all other Galaxy Defenders and Loser Kids, I was so excited to attend the biggest boy band battle of all time seeing Busted vs McFly live at the Motorpoint Arena. I was one of the many fans present over 30 minutes before the doors opened ready to get as close to the stage as possible and that I did. I was only 1 row away from the barricade and loved every single second of watching 6 of my favourite men bouncing around on stage, having the time of their lives and performing some of the best songs ever written (in my opinion). What a fantastic night that I wish I could relive over and over again!

Newcastle...

I absolutely loved having a little weekend away to Newcastle-upon Tyne to meet up with some old friends and celebrate my best friend's birthday! Whilst I was up there I got to meet her new cat Felix and definitely spent more time fussing him than socialising with my fiends - whoops! Felix is a beautiful cat whom my friend rescued last month and has given him such a fantastic forever home. We had some lovely morning cuddles on the air bed and I cant wait to see Felix again soon!

Our Forever Dog...

Unfortunately this month wasn't all happiness and laughter. We had the extremely difficult task of saying goodbye to our best friend Shadow. Shadow was easily one of the most stunning and well tempered border collies I ever had the pleasure of knowing, never mind owning for over 15 years. I am so glad that got to spend over half of my life so far and all of Shadows life by his side, playing fetch and football and swimming in dirty rivers. He was everyone's favourite dog out of our clan and I know our group will never feel the same again without him. He was the best Uncle to all of our dogs and the pups we brought into this world. He was our little stooge dog at the kennels, he was our demonstrator for training and he was our eternal puppy dog. We miss him so much and I still don't think its fully hit yet just how much of a hole he has left. Love you forever and always.

Alix

Fur Your Convenience