Day trip to France

Last weekend was a busy one as we were taking Steve to meet his new mum in Calais and collecting my new puppy, Morse, also in Calais. Going away, even for just a couple of days, is like a military operation, trying to ensure that all the animals are catered for in our absence (thank goodness for some very good friends!) But on this occasion we had a few extra things to worry about, my daughter was going to stay with her older sister, so that involved a 2 1/2hr journey to meet her (on a day when the storms were raging and all you heard on the radio were warnings not to drive unless it was essential!), then we went on to stay at my mums for the night as she lives much closer to the Eurotunnel than I do. I thought I had remembered everything but unfortunately I forgot Steve's pedigree.

We set off from my mums very early on Sat morning and arrived at the tunnel in good time, at check in we were informed we could travel on a slightly earlier train, which was great, but unfortunately it did not come off and in fact we were almost half an hour later than the planned departure. Fortunately once in Calais we found the meeting place without any trouble and enjoyed a very pleasant couple of hours in the company of Morse's breeder and Steve's new owner. We started the homeward journey late that afternoon and the trip home was uneventful, Morse traveled beautifully. Again we spent the night at my mums, to break the journey, and Morse did not put a foot wrong, within a short time of arriving, he had eaten his dinner, with enthusiasm, been outside for the toilet and started to play a bit. He was happy to settle for the night.

The following morning we went for our first walk together, and Morse's 1st trip to the beach. His tail didn't stop wagging and I felt confident to let him off the lead. He had a good whiz about and although other dogs proved quite a strong distraction he came back (eventually) when called.  His integration with the rest of the Itzapromise girls and boys has gone smoothly and he went out for his 1st group walk this morning (in the blooming rain of course!), he was a little star, and already there is improvement in his recall, and he looked to me for reassurance if we met anything that he wasn't sure about, so I am confident that he is going to fit in here beautifully.

I have also had several updates on how Steve is doing in Denmark, and so far he is settling equally well with his new mum and her std poodle :-)

Not long now

Next week I get to collect Morse, I can't wait to meet him for the first time. Initially I booked him because of his colour possibilities, combined with what is a very nice clean pedigree, but on top of that he is a very smart looking boy, with a good shape and lovely head. Add into the mix all the work that Big Cheyenne poodles has put into socialising him and getting him ready for his new life, I really couldn't be happier with him.

I am meeting Morse's breeder, Sabine, in Calais and this is where I shall also be waving Steve goodbye, as he starts his new life with Signe (and Sally her std poodle), in Denmark. This little kitten has been a character right from the start, he has a big facebook following and I know that everyone will be pleased to know that there will be regular FB updates from his new mum. The one thing that is making me look forward to his departure is that Margo has started calling, and having been well and truly caught out by Gary and Diva, when they were just kittens, a few years ago, I am not allowing them any contact! Needless to say, no one is finding this arrangement much fun.

I am hopeful that we may have some Devon kittens on the way, Sybil was mated nearly 5 weeks ago and as yet hasn't called again, she looks pregnant, but then again, Sybil always looks pregnant, lol. Bob was also mated a couple of weeks ago, hopefully she will do slightly better on the numbers this time as her last litter consisted of just 1 kitten, but she was stunning so that made up for lack of numbers.

We had sunny morning yesterday, so I took the opportunity to get a few pics of dry poodles (dry poodles have been a rare sight here over the last few months), I have attached a few of the pictures, but as always you can see many more if you click the link to my flickr page, on the right of this page.