Day 116 of Ania's Diary

Good news!. We are back from the vets and Ania's lump has not grown so we will leave well alone.
Ania has had her acupuncture and is now fast asleep. Tonight I will not work on the acupressure so it is my night off.
The vet is so pleased with Ania so we will now try and go for a month without any acupuncture with the proviso that we can go sooner if she starts to go down hill.

I posted off  2 fabric doggy poo bags today and I just cant believe the price of the postage. This is making everything so expensive and if only someone should set up in competition with the post office. Just maybe then prices would come down. It takes the edge off everything you send.
It has been a very busy week and I must now update my website Cornishk9crafts.yolasite.com as some of the bags are no longer available.

Day 115 of Ania's Diary

We have had a dry sunny day but gale force winds. For once I have been able to put the washing on the line and get it dried.
This wind is not at all good for Ania. After the heavy rain of yesterday the fields were waterlogged so this morning was a shorter walk. The next 2 walks were a battle against the wind and it was a struggle for Ania.
Tomorrow is acupuncture day and Ania needs it now. She is a little restless and has just had a choking fit as she she sleeps in the chair. We will also tell if her lump has got bigger or not. I am hoping not and that it is just a fatty lump and nothing will have to be done.
The 2 bags are ready to be sent off to the lady who ordered them and as she is a professional dog walker she is going to tell all her friends about them and hopefully we will get some more orders.
Every penny of the money I make goes towards Ania's acupuncture.

I will start sewing again very soon and try and do some more designs. Trying to get fabric with dogs on is difficult in the UK. I had some sent over from the US but the postage was more expensive than the fabric but their designs are much better than ours.

Day 114 of Ania's Diary

The weather is horrendous, gale force winds and driving rain. The field was so waterlogged this morning that we had to go around the roads and even then we walked through flood water. By the third walk of the day Ania was flagging and we had a very slow walk home, trying to battle against the wind. After her dinner Ania decided to go and lie on our bed and there she has been ever since.

I have tried to persuade her to join us in the warm front room to no avail. It is nearing acupuncture time again and it shows. Only one more day to go. We have done well this time though.
This is the bag I have just made for an order and the fabric is nearly gone and there will be no more like this.

Day 113 of Ania's Diary

Not much to report today. It is heavy rain and blowing a gale of wind so the walks were shorter. Ania does not need to be out in high winds but she coped very well this morning. At the moment she is lying at my feet. Her breathing is noisy but this time she has done much better with her acupuncture.
Only 3 days to go and it will be 3 weeks and she is much improved from the last time.
I could not resist looking at her lump today but I do not think it has grown so maybe we will be lucky and it will be a fatty lump.
I have been so busy today. Featuring in Dogs Today magazine has brought me an order for 2 doggy poo bags. I had one pattern already made but have made the second one today. It is now pressed and Scotchguarded and tomorrow will get it ready to put in the post.
All sales of my bags go towards Ania's very expensive acupuncture.

Day 112 of Ania's Diary

Today has been quite a good day for Ania, the night was good. Each time we go out she has her thick coat on as she feels the cold. We have just been for a longer walk but like yesterday we had to stop and rest and have a drink.
How lucky we were, it was dry and I came in closed the front door and the hails came down like marbles.
Fudge has been sick 4 times today but apart from that has been fine. He may have picked something up whilst we were walking.
Not a long post today as I am now going to get ready to go to a very dear friends memorial service.
More tomorrow

Day 111 of Ania's Diary.

So excited today. I have had an order for 2 fabric doggy poo bags from my website. I am delighted as every penny I make goes towards Ania' s acupuncture.
For once we have had a beautiful day, for the first time in months the washing was dried outside and ironed and is now in the airing cupboard.
We were up early this morning, dogs walked in the field and then off to the vets for our dog walk.
We had a lovely walk along our beautiful seafront and the sun shone and the water sparkled. The wind was blowing a little and Ania started to gasp as we went up a slope. Luckily I took the water with us as she needed it., the first time for a while. Also we had to stop and rest so she could get her breath back. Prior to that we were going to take the dogs back on the beach after the walk but I decided Ania must come home and rest which we did. She was very tired but has been out for a short walk this afternoon and is fine once again.

I have decided not to look and see if Ania's lump is growing, the vet will look again on Thursday and then decide what to do.
The bag above is the one I have sold today.

Day 110 of Ania's Diary

Well it has been a tense day waiting to take Ania to the vets. She was so full of life today and met her friends on our morning walk and was so happy to be home. We love it away but not when we cant get too our favourite walks.
The vet has checked the lump and when she goes for her acupuncture on Thursday if it has changed in any shape or form he will draw some fluid off and test it. At this minute he thinks it is probably benign as it came up so quickly. It is not affecting Ania in any way so we now have to watch and wait.
It has not altered since I found it and it came up almost overnight.
Today has been a busy day sorting out a lot of the stuff that has been brought back from the caravan. The charity shop is really going to benefit.

We are so glad to be home, it is pouring with rain and bitterly cold. This was the snow we left behind in Devon.

Day 109 of Ania's Diary.

We woke up this morning to find the snow gone and no ice on the road as forecast.
Ania was so miserable having to stay on her lead. We seized the chance so packed up and decided we must come home. By lunch time I was packed up and we were home in a couple of hours.
The relief to be home and the dogs were so pleased to be able to go too the fields and be off their leads.

I rang the vets as soon as I came in as Ania does not have her acupuncture until next Thursday and they said we could not leave Ania's lump until then. Tomorrow evening I have an appointment to get it checked out. It is such a worrying time as we have to try and keep Ania calm and not stressed because it affects her breathing. I am hoping by this time tomorrow we will find out that it is nothing to worry about.

Day 107 & 108 of Ania's Diary.

Yesterday was a bad day, we had torrential rain and hailstorms and the river was rising rapidly. It was a nightmare.
Too add to the misery I have discovered a soft lump underneath Ania's leg. I was going to take her to a vets up here but the roads were in chaos and there were accidents galore.
Today it has snowed heavily although a lot of it has turned to slush and the roads are lethal so driving was out once again.
We were going home tomorrow, today should have been the last of the bad weather but now snow is forecast again so it looks as if we will have to stay here.
I can only give the dogs short walks around the village and they are so used to being off their leads that they just do not like it.

Ania does not have her acupuncture until next week so if we have to delay going home it will not matter too much, we are warm and dry. I would have been happier to go home to see my own vet as I am sure this lump on Ania will be nothing as it has come up so quickly. She is still happy and the quieter she is the less she coughs and chokes with the cold.

Day 106 of Ania's Diary.

Today I will have to be quick, the mobile broadband is playing up and keeps cutting out. It has taken me ages to even get the computer on.
We have had ice today but no snow. Cornwall has snow, totally unexpected so we will stay in the caravan and not travel home.
Ania loves the caravan but the cold has made her cough and choke more than usual. All the dogs are happy to curl up in the warm caravan.
Today has been spent washing and cleaning the caravan, we now have so much more room to move.

We are forecast snow tomorrow so again we will not be going very far.
The picture is of Ania, taken last year in our garden

Day 105 of Ania's Diary

Today it has been very icy and the ground has been frozen all day. We are still in the caravan and the dogs love it. Ania is a lot better today and has hardly coughed at all.
In all her life I have never done short walks but it is biting and so cold that the 3 walks have been no longer than 20 minutes. They have been happy with this and are curled up in the warmth. Each dog has a coat on to go out now.
Yesterday was a bad day for Ania but at the same time my husband was away all day. This never happens and just maybe Ania missed him. The dogs have all been so much more contented today which is a great relief.

We will stay up here for a little longer, maybe now the furniture has gone home we can have a few relaxing days before we go home to sort everything out that end. Just maybe I can then get back to some sewing
This is Ania in her warm coat taken at home, I had forgotten I had this photo.

Day 104 of Ania's Diary

We should have woken up to ice but we had none, bitterly cold though and the dog walks were short.
The furniture was loaded and my family set off on a 200 mile round trip. I stayed in the caravan with
my granddaughter and the dogs. I spent the day teaching her to knit and we spent a lovely day together.
It took ages for us to get ready to go out with the dogs, we had to dress up against the cold and the dogs had to have their coats on.
I fed Ania and within an hour she was choking badly, one of the worst episodes she has had. The only thing was to give her lots of healing . There was no one here to help and the nearest vet 5 miles away. An hour later you would not have believed that anything had happened.
We now think that as my husband had been away all day Ania had missed him, he rarely goes out at home as he is losing his sight but went to put the furniture in our house.
Ania is now exhausted and has climbed on to the bed and is fast asleep.

We are all exhausted and will have a relaxing day tomorrow-I hope!.
I have knitted this baby hat whilst sitting in the caravan in the evenings.

Day 103 of Ania's Diary

We woke up this morning to snow and slush. I decided to go across to the fields, thinking the snow would have covered the mud. It had not and my welly boots and the dogs feet sank. We went across the field in a heavy snow shower, Ania loved it and I could not get her out of the  field. The cold was no good for her and she has coughed quite a bit. The rain came in but did not clear the snow so it was a quick walk around the village before it got dark.
The caravan fire went wrong but someone has lent us an oil filled radiator and the dogs are curled up fast asleep on the settee. They are not bothered about going out. If this freezes tonight it will be a nightmare.
Luckily I stocked up with food yesterday in case we got stuck here. I just wish that we were home but we will stay warm now in the caravan.
I must apologise, for some reason I am unable to download a photo tonight.

Day 102 of Ania's Diary

We are up to our eyes in mud and it is very cold. We had a very brief snow shower at lunch time. The fields and roadside grass verges are thick with mud. The dogs do not care about the mud, Ania needed to go on her walk across the fields. We sank in the mud, I cared the dogs did not. I keep a baby bath up here so that was ready to put their feet in when we came back before drying them with the hairdryer. Ania flatly refused to put her feet in so I started with a pink cloth to wash her feet which ended up with thick brown mud . She just did not care.
We had a very brief snow shower which was over in seconds but we are forecast more. I hope not as we have to move my Mums furniture down to Cornwall on Saturday.  Praying all will go well, it has taken 18 months to get it all sorted out.

The dogs do not care, they just love the caravan. Ania's breathing is so much better in the air up here.

Day 101 of Ania's Diary.

Ania has been so excited. She saw the luggage loaded into the car and knew that we were coming to the caravan. It was so hard to keep her calm.

We had a really good journey up , arrived to heavy rain  a soaking wet awning, mud everywhere and no electric. Luckily an electrician was on site and after an hour and a half he sorted it out.
It is freezing cold and the field was thick with mud we could not go through it. I tried the roads and they were thick with mud and yet another path was closed for storm damage. Devon has taken it much worse than we have in Cornwall.
Tomorrow we will try and find somewhere else to walk where we wont get so muddy.
The dogs are all curled up on the settee and the heating is going full blast. It is going to be a very cold night and I think we are all very tired.

Day 100 of Ania's Diary.

Today has been very sad for us. My dearest friend, we go through the pain of our poorly dogs together , sadly lost her beloved dog this morning. I have felt so sad for her all day and know the pain she will be going through. Also she has another very poorly dog that is battling secondary cancer.
Our love of all animals is great and we go through the pain together. R.I.P Sophie, we know you will be at the Rainbow Bridge.
It is cold but Ania is doing well. Our walks are kept short. We went along the road today and someone had a bonfire, the fumes made Ania choke so we hurried by.
During the night the cold air made Ania cough.

Tomorrow we will go to the caravan to clear up the flooding from New Years Eve. It is going to be cold and damp but it has to be done and we will make sure the dogs are kept very warm.

Day 99 of Ania's Diary

It  is cold here but nothing like it is further up the country. We have even had some sunshine after the heavy rain this morning.
Ania is coughing with the cold air and when we went on our 3rd walk I decided 3o minutes was quite enough. Ania disagreed with me and she wanted to cross the road at one stage to go to the woods on one of her favourite walks. 2 days ago it was thick with mud and now it must be worse so I would not take her.
The appetite of Ania has improved vastly and instead of refusing food she is now pawing at the cupboard for me to give her something. This is good news and I am so pleased. she is barking but it does not come out properly and is seeming much happier. I have also increased the time I work on Ania with the acupressure.

So all in all we are feeling very positive at the moment .

Day 98 of Ania's Diary

Well we did not have the ice or the snow but it is very cold. I have kept the dog walks down to 30 minutes and each time Ania goes out she puts on her lovely warm coat. I will try and take a photo with it on tomorrow. The cold air is making her cough but she will not stay at home.
I was so fed up yesterday . I posted on my LP alternatives group that Ania only had 15 minutes of acupuncture instead of 30 and we had to increase the length of time between sessions. I have had such great help from them in the past. This time I had such cruel comments saying that she should have the operation as not all the dogs died, even more was said. I was so upset but decided to reply all in one email to them all. The reason I was on the alternative group was because Ania was not having the operation. I was firm but very polite.
To my delight I had 8 lovely emails back with an apology. There are too many people ready to bully on the internet and this has to stop. It has made me feel a lot better now though.
We await news of my friends little dog who is so very poorly and we try tosupport one another.

We love our animals so much but it is the heartbreak when we lose them. To us every day is precious and a bonus.

Day 97 of Ania's diary

We did not have too good a night, Ania's breathing was very noisy. The cold weather is coming tomorrow so we will see just how Ania gets on.
I had to be up early and out with the dogs before I went to my friends funeral. Ania was so excited as it is Saturday as she expected to go on her walk. I left the dogs at home in the warmth with my husband but apparently Ania settled down and went to sleep. Fudge on the other hand cried for a lot of the morning. He likes routine and these past couple of days I have disappeared and that is not normal . My dogs are creatures of habit.
Tomorrow we should have been going to the caravan to clear once again the flood water but I refuse to travel in icy conditions. We are going to bring home my Mums furniture and keep our caravan to the bare minimum. We need to hire a van and just want to get it sorted out once and for all.

As Ania has to go longer for her acupuncture this time we will have extra time to play with.

Day 96 of Ania's Diary

I have had to go to a funeral today so Ania has not had so much attention. My husband has been with the dogs though and she seems to be doing very well.
This morning Ania followed me everywhere, thinking I was going to take her somewhere nice.
She is not going to be very pleased tomorrow either as it is our dog walking group. Yet again I have to go to another funeral and she will have to stay with my husband, it has been a very depressing week.
The weather is going to go very cold on Saturday, we should have been going to the caravan to clear up after the floods but I think we shall have to stay home and keep warm. We are not sure how Ania will cope with the extreme cold but time will tell. If it has to be it will be only very short walks.

Ania is now sleeping at my feet as prior to this her breathing was very noisy. Very soon I will work on her acupressure, I have increased the time I work on her now.
Have not had any response yet from my doggy poo bags but have found a site with some lovely fabric.

Day 95 of Ania's Diary.

After all the time spent bathing and clipping the dogs it poured with rain and their lovely haircuts were ruined.
We went off to the vets for Ania's acupuncture, this time she only had 15 minutes instead of the usual 30. We now have to try and get to 3 weeks before the next session.
The vet is pleased with Ania but said she would not make "old bones". This is not what I wanted to hear as we are hoping to prolong her life for a few years yet.this has put a dampener on the day.

It should have been such an exciting day as Dogs Today have published a picture and description of my fabric doggy poo bags.I am now hoping to get some sold so that I can get sewing again.

Day 94 of Ania's Diary plus exciting News

Today has been spent bathing and clipping the girls as Fudge was done last night.

Ania is getting difficult, we are not able to hold her by her collar and she will no longer stand still.
It is now done in an hour and a half, no time for the finer points of a glamorous poodle. Neat and tidy and clean is what we go for. She is much happier now and I have taken a carrier bag full of fur which goes onto the compost heap, the worms just love it.
I could not believe by the time I had finished it was raining yet once again so on went the coats and a very quick walk.
Ania is exhausted now and she will be cold tonight so her woolly coat is ready for her to put on.
Fudge was even cold last night and slept on my feet instead of  his basket.
I have never known the fur grow so quickly and the bath water so muddy.
Tomorrow Dogs Today will go on sale and my fabric doggy poo bags feature, one will be given away in a competition . I will write more about this tomorrow.
My hands are so painful and all the clipping and scissoring do my arthritis no good.

Day 93 of Ania's Diary

Today it has been thick drizzle and misty all day. This is not good news for Ania so we curtailed the walks. We did two instead of the usual 3 and this was better. Ania plodded but this weather is not even good for my asthma.
The dogs were all going to have a bath today but it was so wet that I ended up bathing and clipping Fudge this evening.I have never seen so much mud coming out of Fudge's fur. Day after day and muddy fields are not good.

Tomorrow I will have to bath and clip Ania before Thursday and her acupuncture. It will be as quick as I can and I will try to get it done in an hour and a half if possible. The easiest would be to keep her coat so short but I do not like to see a poodle with no fur on its legs or head. Abby will also have a bath and a clip.
I have crocheted this cardigan, I can sit and do this in the evenings and it will be up for sale very soon.

Day 92 of Ania's Diary

We have had a fairly good day. I took Ania on her favourite walk but she was not quite so enthusiastic after the squirrel she chased. She still thinks she can do what she did before and pulls me along when she should be going at a slower pace.
My friend popped around today and Ania was so pleased to see her that she would not leave her alone. Before hand she would always bring the dogs some beef jerky which Ania is no longer able to have.

We have spent the day turning out as we have far to much clutter. I am putting the bags on hold, I have several made whilst I advertise some of our unwanted items to go towards Ania's acupuncture.
Hopefully the weather will improve and we can go to the caravan, we are going to have to clear up the awning but are going to bring all the furniture home where I will then decide what we will do with it.

Day 91 of Ania's Diary

After the elation of yesterday and Ania being so bouncy and well, today has been a reality check.
We have thick drizzle and fog here and so I decided a road walk it would have to be. All the way around Ania would not slow down and she was gasping. We met someone we knew and even she could hear Ania. It is so disappointing but I think we will have to live with the fact that there are more bad days than good. The weather also makes a great deal of difference to Ania.
I have decided on these days that the walks will be a lot shorter.

This week I will bath and clip the dogs. With all this wet weather they get knotted and so uncomfortable. It is a major task and will take me all day to do.
A picture of Ania, exhausted after yesterday on the beach.

Day 90 of Ania's Diary

I am so thrilled . Another brilliant night and this morning we returned to our dog walking group. Ania was so excited as she had not seen her friends for a while. It was actually dry.
This week was only a short walk so my friend suggested we went down to the beach.
Off we went. Ania was so excited, she barked, she ran, all the things she should not do, gasping all the way. Her happiness was there for all to see. Luckily I remembered the water.
She came home and slept. I really think because of her curtailed exercise she has become depressed.
It just shows that the acupuncture along with the acupressure is working well.

This is the best day we have had for a long time now and I am hoping that it will continue.

Day 89 of Ania's Diary.

Yet another good night with Ania.Her breathing was not brilliant and laboured but the restlessness seems to have stopped. For some reason she wanted to get up early and go out when usually she is happy to sleep whilst I have my breakfast.
We went to the woods again this afternoon but this time it proved too much for Ania and she was gasping, unable to chase the squirrels. The one day I needed help there was no one in sight. I forgot to take the bottle of water and so we had a slow crawl home. We came in the door and Ania consumed more water than was really good for her. Luckily she did not choke.
I have just heard that a very dear friend has died today, she will be a great loss to this world. Her love of animals was great. Christmas day another friend died so this next week will be a week of funerals.

Yet another day when I have got no sewing done.

Day 88 of Ania's Diary.

To my surprise and delight Ania had a very good evening and was not at all restless. She came to me for her acupressure and then went back to sleep. Also she slept through the night.
Today also has been good. We have walked in the woods which she loved but she will go like a train and is then gasping. On the way we stopped and had a rest which was good. The other dogs are happy too as they are getting a bit more exercise.
Also the weather has been dry although very dull and dreary, not at all cold though.
We only have to go another week before Ania's next acupressure and I now feel this will not be a problem at all.
If I can get Ania to settle a lot more I will give her a bath and a clip next week which she hates but will feel better afterwards.

This year I have to get my business back on track. I have put some of my bags for sale on ebay and they will feature in the February edition of Dogs Today.

Day 87 of Ania's Diary.

Something is definitely wrong and I do not know what. Ania is restless, the evenings are spent with her wandering from the front room to wandering upstairs. For the past few nights she has not settled and woken me up twice a night without wanting anything.  Her breathing is pretty good and she gasps when we go out because she will walk at a rapid speed instead of the slow crawl that we should be doing. Her eating has returned to normal but I just cant put my finger on it.

I belong to a very good group , mostly from the US and they have been invaluable with advice. I shall post it on there and wait for the response. Someone going through this may come up with an idea.

Day 85 of Ania's Diary

A very Happy New Year to all our readers. The year has not started well for us.
Last evening we had a phone call to say our caravan awning had been flooded yet again.We have had such dreadful weather it is not an option to travel up to the site and there is no where to walk the dogs as the small roads are even flooded.
Today has started out as a very beautiful sunny day but I just looked out of the door and it is now raining.
The fireworks at midnight shook the house and our little Abby was terrified. They seem to make them louder than ever.
Ania is very restless by night , maybe because she cant have so much exercise.
This afternoon I took her to the woods where Ania saw a squirrel and was so excited and barked to try and get to it. I have now worked out that she is depressed, not only because of the weather but being such a lively dog she cannot do what she wants to do.

The walk I went on took no more than an hour so I now realise that we must not go any further than this.
Now the New Year has arrived it is time to promote my website again Cornishk9crafts.yolasite.com