Introducing Bailey the Spaniel

'He's still our dog?' asks our 3 year old grandson every time we have a video call.

Bailey is 11 months old and lives with our son, DIL and 3 yo grandson in Northern Ireland and their 5 yo spaniel Molly also.

Bailey is still being toilet trained and likes to chew. With both the adults in the house working and a 3yo, we offered to take Bailey for a couple of months to help out while son was working away as it's tricky for DIL to walk Bailey in the mornings with another dog and a pram on her own and impossible once the 3 yo has gone to bed in the evenings.

Our dog, Bob died last year and we said we wouldn't rush into getting another one. With family living abroad we travel often, so the best option for us would be to dog share and Bailey looks like the best option. She lives with us and has holidays in Northern Ireland. Son and DIL are on board. Just got to persuade hubby and Grandson.

So far Bailey has travelled by boat, train and in the car and done very well. She's walked for miles on the Malvern Hills. She experienced snow and loves the autumn leaves. She gets on well with the cat, they had a few spats but are happy together now. She does very well in the coffee shops and loves all the attention she gets when we're out. She's not a huge fan of the head collar/nose lead, but it does stop her pulling and makes walking her much more pleasant and easier.

A year without Bob The Dog

From the first moment we saw you, we knew you were the dog for us and we called you Bob.

You put weight on very quickly, maybe a little too much.

You loved life in South Africa, your home. You loved rolling in hippo poo a little too much, you loved barking at the crocodiles and chasing the monkeys.

You didn't complain when we left South Africa. You jumped in the box off on a new adventure.

You loved your early morning trips into the desert and swims in the lakes.

The indoor dog parks and swimming pools, refusing to go home until every ball had been thrown.

You were just as happy with your move to the UK, with your cat by your side.

Your first walk on a street made you jumpy, the noise of the traffic, the sirens, the pelican crossings. Going in coffee shops had you over excited, the fuss from other people overwhelmed you, but you soon got used to it all. 

You enjoyed trips on the ferry to Northern Ireland to spend time with your other family.

But most of all, you loved the freedom of the long walks and the sunny days. You never really got used to the cold and the rain in the UK. The missed the heat of Dubai and South Africa.

You were my best friend Bob. It's been a year since you left us. A year that we've thought about you every day. You were more than just a dog Bob. You were there throughout our expat journey, you got me out of bed on some of the hardest of days, because you wanted a walk, you wanted to play, you wanted to be with me. You got me through covid when I couldn't get back home to Dubai.

Run free Bob.

14th February 2010 - 29th September 2023.

6th - 8th October 2023 Post Comment Love - Goodbye Bob.

Welcome back to #PoCoLo with Stephanie from Bosworth.Life  and I.

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14th February 2010 - 29th September 2023

It was with a heavy heart that we had to take Bob the dog to the vets last Friday to say our goodbyes. I've linked up this week with Bob's story.

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Bob the dog - 14th February 2010 - 29th September 2023

Bob came to live with us in South Africa in 2013, moving to Dubai in 2015 and onto the UK in 2020.

We've had 10 glorious years with Bob, so many adventures and memories and we'll never forget Bob who bought us so much joy.

Bob was taken poorly in July this year, a trip to the vets for an anti sickness jab to make him comfortable, but we really thought we'd be saying goodbye to him back then. He recovered and was back to walks and running off lead, but he had slowed a little.

Mid August his was back at the vets with the neighbour as we were in Australia, another jab to keep him comfortable until we got home. Again he rallied round, but his walks were shorter and he didn't run when he was off lead.

Then the difficult decision had to be made when he was ill again the end of September.

Goodbye Bob, you'll never be forgotten.

Meeting Bob for the first time.

Putting a bit of weight on

Lasy days by the pool

1st beach trip to St Lucia

Camping trips

Crocodile and hippo watching

Flights to Dubai

Out in the desert

Soft play

Dog parks

Last walk in Dubai

1st walk in the UK

Up the Malvern Hills

Old man

My heart is broken

In an English Garden - July 2021

My friend introduced me to the PlantNet app. For a gardener like me who has no idea what they've planted, despite having good intentions to label the seed trays, it's been easy for me to identify the plants as they've grown and whilst I'm supposed to sow seeds in the place where I want them to grow, we don't have the right garden design at the moment to allow that. 

Turns out these are cabbages. I thought I'd bought cauliflower seeds, the app identified them for me.

I planted them out next to the rhubarb, the one beet and one carrot that have seeded, sadly something is eating them now.

I had several pumpkins, also identified by the app. I grew them from seed from a shop bought halloween pumpkin from last year. only this one has survived, I think it's because it's in a pot that the slugs and snails can't climb up.

We also had more tomatoes last year than we could shake a stick at and this year only 4 and a handful of flowers so far.

All the potatoes, rhubarb, onions and peas cropped at the same time and the freezer is now full of potato bakes and stewed rhubarb, along with wild blackberries which will be added to the apples to make many crumbles for winter, from our DIL's tree once they're ready in abundance.

The washing has been on the line most days, which isn't something we could do in Dubai as it was too hot to be standing outside pegging it up.

We've got the outdoor furniture and patio umbrella up now and I'm outside as much as I can be, even when it rains. If it's heavy rain then I sit in my shed and Peter has a large enough shed he can work in. He's currently making a birthday present for our almost 2 year old grandchild.

Peter's shed

My shed

The dog and the cat are enjoying being outdoors also, but often fight over the bed, currently the cat is enjoying my chair pod that's in the conservatory, but as the garden is North facing it keeps quite cool, but we do have to heat it in the winter. 

Work wise there isn't much to do in the garden right now, other than some weeding and mowing the lawns. So I'm doing some garden design and scrapbooking gardening tips and 'things to do' with my Gardeners' World subscription.