Tuesday 25 December 2018

Christmas Kong toy for Penny

I intended to begin this post by reporting that for the first time in Penny's 14 years I succumbed to the commercialism of Christmas and bought her a gift, but on looking back through my blogs I see that I did the same in 2011.

This time I decided it was years since Penny had a new toy, and it's never too late to liven up an old dog's life with something novel.

She loved it and immediately hunched possessively over it.


So of course I couldn't resist trying to get it from her. But no way!


After a while I could have sneaked up to steal it while she was sleeping, but she did have her paws resting on it, so I thought I'd leave her in peace.


The instructions say it should only be used under supervision, so I'll put it up on a shelf when I'm not there to watch her.

Monday 10 December 2018

December with my dog

I'm surprised to see I haven't posted any updates on Penny's day-to-day life since October 6th. Where did October and November go?

Anyway, there is one thing to report for November - Penny had a long-overdue haircut. Here she is, energised after the visit to her lovely groomer, Gabby.



Penny has never been fond of being groomed, but when I took her for a walk prior to going into the salon, she tugged me down the driveway into Gabby's place. That's what I call 'voting with your feet'! Gabby has a gift for making Penny relaxed and happy.

It had been cool for November, so I covered her with a blanket the first couple of nights, as she has quite a thin coat.

I didn't have to do that for long. December arrived with a vengeance, and hot, hot weather landed on us. It was too hot, even at night, to walk, so I drove to Kepala to give her a swim. I loaded up a big container of  water in a cooler in case the car broke down, because I don't think she could deal with 38°C these days. She was panting in the back seat, even with the air conditioner going, but we got there safely after the 50 minute drive.

It was worth it.


The rules specify that humans are not allowed past the blue line, so I took that as a definite instruction to wade in up to the blue line. (When I wasn't taking a break in the shaded hut.)


It's not only about keeping cool. The benefits of swimming are wonderful for old dogs with joint problems. Look at how she stretches her limbs when she swims.