France and how it started for us.

Hello to you all,
I just wanted to say thank you all so much for all your messages ref "Lottie" passing away,

It really was one hell of a shock to us and im really hurting,
As a child i had a father that was a very hard man and did'nt believe big boys cried "they just got grit in their eyes'
Well lets just say these last few day's as the reminders came rushing in of Lottie
Ive had a lot of grit in my eyes and i really miss her so much.
 
Thank you for the update Whisteria. Your father was mistaken,real men cry. I saw them in my practice almost every day.so sorry for your loss and pain. I hope you find some relief from your grief soon. We will be here for you. Take care.:love_heart:
 

My condolences whisteria. The loss of a much loved pet is a very big deal and you should be proud of those tears....they show you are a loving man. Be kind to yourself.
 
Lotties story (part one or four)

Just the end of an ordinary day when i noticed in an ex-pats monthly paper " a classic push lawn mower for sale"
Now any woman will tell you men like anything thats old and rusty (big boys toys) and this add did say needs attention but works and so i was on the phone making arrangement to see this mower the following afternoon.

The new day had arrived and little did i know it was going tobe the start of a chapter in my life that i'd never forget,
One that would change a little dogs life for ever and one that i'd find both a need and later love for a much troubled little dog "LOTTIE"

We arrived at the address on a very hot june day and we we're greeted by a large man who quickly showed me the "ATCO" push lawn mower after we'd agreed to buy it we we're offered a drink of tea and we all sat on the outside low wall and exchanged gerneral chat about France and the good & bad points of living here,

Two cats appeared and my wife being a real cat lover soon found the cats enjoyed her stroking them
We'd been at the address for over an hour now and i did notice a dog kennel on the floor just infront of the wall we we're all sitting on
it was then we got the shock of our lives when this little dog suddenly ran out of this kennel and made for the cats food dish,
The dog was chained "but in all the time we'd been here we never heard or saw any sign of a dog.

The owner yanked the chain and shouted at the dog it was'nt having the cats food !!!
The dog returned in complete fear to his hideaway "the kennel" And the owner told us he wanted to get rid of the dog as it had killed a chicken.

As he explained that he and his wife we're some kind of religious order i'd never heard of and then showed us his garden with all these paths with names ref the bible etc

A car arrived and his wife got out and shouted at him for not going to collect their daughter, Three of his younger children got out of the car and then the car took off to go and collect the daughter,

We thought it was better if we said our goodbyes "but the childrens dad" wanted us to have another cuppa as he'd put the kettle on,
My wife was talking to the younger boy and she asked about the dog!!!!!!!

The little boy said they didnt play with the dog anymore because dad said it had killed the chicken.
I looked into the kennel and "Lottie" was shaking, she looked so scared and sad it just didnt seem right such a young (nearly one yr old) dog should be so shy,
I put my hand inside this very small kennel and said my first hello to her, she just looked at me 'those big brown eyes and a matted coat was all i could see in return
"no water dish and no form of bedding to be seen."

The dad returned and i asked him if the dog slept outside?
Oh yes she's an outside dog,

It was'nt that long ago that we'd had a very cold winter for this part of france and i couldn't help thinking how lucky our three dogs!!!!!!
all being in a brick built stable with their own baskets and blankets and tucked in every night before we went to our beds and two meals every day plus tips for just being mans best friend.
We are known by the local red cross due to us getting blankets on a regular basis for our three dogs.

I asked if the dog had any problems and if it had seen a vet ref the doggy injections etc,,,????

Oh she's been to the vet and she's fine, "no problems"
Has she been chipped?

Well no, we dont go off the farm land "but when she has her daily walks she always comes back if any cars etc come near us."

The wife returned and didn't say hello or anything like that, The eldest daughter did say hi and went indoors with her mum,

It was time for us to leave, i asked my wife what she thought ref "Lottie"?
We both agreed we had two of our own dogs we owned and one that we we're fostering for the local SPA. centre and as this foster dog was 12 we didnt think anyone would re-home her and so it was a sure thing she'd be staying with us for the rest of her life,

But we just could'nt leave this little thing here !!! something inside of me was saying "do something" possitive.

The owner then asked do you want the dog?
By now all the kids we're standing here, not one said oh no dad we want our dog to stay, not a tear in sight, and the cats we're now eating the cat food in the dish,

I felt it was up to me to do something and so i said " we'll take the dog and if our vet says she's got no problems etc and she settles down with our three then she'll have a home for life and was that ok with him his wife and the kids?????

Oh yes he said without even asking his wife (who'd we'd not seen since she return from the school pick-up run,) or any of the kids,
We opened the rear car door and to our surprise "Lottie" after the chain was taken off her just dived into the car.

My wife sat in the rear of the car and she said how the dog smelt and was very thin.

We arrived home and our three dogs all came out to give the normal greeting they give to all "visitors friends and burglerer's and in this case "Lottie"
It was a case of sniff sniff and then the mad half hour around the garden running and wrestling.

The evening meals we're made ready and we thought we'd feed Lottie on her own until she got use to the other three's ways at meal times!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"ie all three check each others empty plates in turn to see if anythings been left "never is anything left "but thats the routine anyway".

I just had enough time to book the vets for tomorrow for the check up and go and buy a doggy cage so Lottie could for the time being have her own private space as all three other dogs have a basket each and we didn't really know how Lottie would settle over night with the older dogs and so she'd be safe in the kitchen until morning.

It was by now almost the end of a day we didnt really plan and we just had a hope we'd get a full nights sleep.:confused:
 
Looked everywhere for part 2, Whisteria, enjoyed reading part 1!
Have never had a pet in my life; does Lottie really exist-sounds so real!
Looking forward to the next installment! :)
 
Hello Susie,
Yes it's a real story and until last friday at 2-30pm "Lottie" really did exist.
This is a true actual story of her very short life, (4yrs) and what she had to put up with and how it all ended,

For anyone who's alone or needs a friend this story say's it all,
How you can fall in love with an animal, how they never answer you back how they never talk behind your back and how if you try and give it time how you'll learn to be able to understand "in this case" doggy language.

Read tonights "part two" of this four part story and i think it'll help you understand a lot about the dogs trying to understand how to fit into their new home,
the concerns they have at whats around them "but more important "the fear they have from their past dealings with humans and the ghost of their last home.

Well susie,
im just about to feed my three remaining dogs as ive just got back from our daily "Walkies" and just like us humans the first meal of the day is very special to these dogs plus a daily game i play with them called "TOASTY TIME" more about that later in the story.
Its been nice talking to you Susie and i hope you have a nice day.
 
Lotties story (part two of four)

It's the start to another day but this day was "Lotties" first with us,
I went down stairs and looked at this still half scared little dog she was in the corner of her cage with her head bowed down and those big brown eyes just looking at me.

Hello Lottie and how did you sleep?
You have to keep in your mind this was a complete new scene for this little dog, im sure she'd never seen let alone heard the grand father clock tick and when it came to the hour chimes !!! well i must admit i'd not thought of this strange device when i put her in the kitchen "But" it was a nice warm place to sleep and she had good bedding
But as i say the different smells of our home and the fact she could be seen all the time was all so different to her past life chained to a small dark inside kennel.

I decided "not " to take Lottie on the normal morning walkies because i wanted her to settle and i was'nt sure of her walking skills ie on a harness,

So Lottie was let out onto the big garden lawn "or so i thought"
She wouldn't budge out of that cage she was shaking,

Now ive always found if you come down to their level and talk gently to them and offer something they just couldn't refuse (cooked chicken every time) then you've a chance.

Lottie looked at me and then the chicken and again at me (it was then i'd remembered that Lotties last owner had said she'd killed a chicken)

Was this offer some sort of "rub her nose in it test to see if she'd take the chicken ?

No her gentle little mouth took the offering and ate it this was followed by the second offering of warm milk !!! again "yes" it was taken and then i was sniffed to see if i was worth eating!!!

As i opened the kitchen door i left the top half of this (stable door ) open and took the other three for their morning walkies.

When we returned "Lottie" was sitting by the cooker and my wife was talking to her (Lottie didn't seem to have any problems with women)

The other three we're all outside the kitchen door waiting for the first meal of the day followed by the toasty treat.

Lottie had her's in the kitchen and seemed to enjoy it "even at the great speed she ate it"

It was then that Lottie joined the others in the garden Im sure she wondered what the hells going on here, all three we're outside the kitchen door in the sitting possition and waiting for the daily "TOAST"

(this is something i started ages ago to get all the dogs to learn their names and to teach each one to wait in turn until their name was called,

It's the same order every time, oldest first "Roxanne" then Henry and Then bough, "But now we had a new member of the gang "would she want to play this game?"

She loved it, and then ran around the garden with all the others while i did the poop patrol (keep the garden clean of any doggy droppings)

The vets appointment was for 10am and so off we went to have Lottie checked out and any vacinations done,

The micro chip was done & verious needles for this and that "but he'd have to have Lottie over night to have her spade" And so three days time at 10am was booked,
So far so good,
What do you think of her? I asked?

Well two things come to mind (1) she's a little bit thin "but these worm tablets should sort out any worms" (2) She's on the nervus side,

We drove home and Lottie seemed to settle down, I sent an "E MAIL" to the previous owners telling them of todays vets visit (no reply recieved back)

Lottie did have worms but she seemed to enjoy her meals (and toast)

I decided it was time for her to have a walkies on her own, (remember i was told she always comes back when a car's approaching !!!!!!)

Lottie didnt understand a body harness or lead, she pulled like mad and she didnt enjoy her first walk.

We both tried and tried to win her over but she didnt seem to know how to play with a ball of just recieve a little cuddle and to brush her was just out of the question.

The day soon arrived and it was Lotties day to be spayed,
We drove her to the vets and all was as expected "they put Lottie into a cage very much like the one she now called home.

I assured Lottie all would be well and we left having been told the vet would ring us about 5pm to let us know everything was ok and a time to collect "Lottie" the following day.

It was 11am and the phone rang "TROUBLE" it was the vet,
Hello has Lottie any history of having fits?

I replied to the vet i'd not been told of any "WHY do you ask"?

Im afraid as we we're doing the operation to spay her she had a fit, she's come round and she's now sleeping,
I said i'd find out from the previous owner's and let the vet know tomorrow when we collect Lottie.
I sent three "e-mails" and phoned 4 times "always the same " No reply from the e-mails and no answer from the phone,

My last phone call was at 8pm that evening "at last someones picked the phone up,

Hello simon talking,
Simon is your Daddy home?
No they've gone out,
Simon when will they be back?

Later!
Simon can you ask your Daddy or Mummy to phone me back tonight it dos'nt matter how late it is i need to talk to them about Lottie!!!
Its very important, I gave hime my number and he wrote it down and then i asked him to repeat the number back to me.

We heard nothing,
The next day we collected Lottie and the vet said these fits can damage the dogs brain everytime they have a fit.

We got home "still no replies" and Lottie seemed so tired, she slept most of the day "but still managed her dinner"

A few days past and it was a sunny day and the grass needed cutting,
As i got the mower out and started to cut the grass my wife came running out "quick Lotties acting very strange"
I ran into the house and lottie was trying to scratch her way through the tin floor of her cage, I put my arm around her and she settled down
it was the lawn mower engine that set all this off,

If only they could talk what would they tell us?

Why was "Lottie" so scared of the mower? Had she been run over?
One thing was for sure the previous owners wouldnt tell us.

As the months past by Lottie had more epileptic attacks sometimes three a day,

When you first see a dog having an attack it can be a bit scary as the dog shakes and grits its teeth and screames, but this only last a few minutes and i found that if i called her name close up to her ear she seemed to slowy come round and once they're back with us they've no idea whats been going on.

All the time your involved in these verious things ie teaching Lottie to play, and walk on the harness and being there when she's had a fit with a drink of cold water and a cuddle "Your bonding with that animal.

The vet said he's never heard of a cure for these fits but sometimes the dog grows out of them as they get older.
I read everything i could lay my hands on to try to help "Lottie to have a better life but nothing seemed to work.

Me and Lottie became good friends but Lottie was'nt a kissy kissy dog, i tried all kinds but never a single kiss came from her "But by accident one day i was messing about and sang a bit of my own home made opera to Lottie and it went like this,

LA... LA... LA... LOTTIE; LA...LA LA LOTTIE .

And continued the same all the way through, suddenly "Lottie joined in and she kept going as long as i did.
My wife was amazed and so was i and Lottie at last seemed happy to share a song if not a kiss "It was our party piece, any visitors we're served with the Lottie song and Lottie never let me down and always came in on cue.

After this breakthrough i managed to get lottie to join me by the woodburner during those freezing nights just before bedtime (and our rendition of the opera "Lotties song")

Some nights we'd be in bed about to go to sleep when "Lottie" would decide to sing on her own, It was the only time i'd shout down the stairs "Lottie thats enough,
But she'd have the last chorus before she'd go to sleep,

Many a night in the early hours she'd have a fit and both my wife and i would be up most of the night helping her get through one /two or /three fits
It was such a shame such a little animal should have these cards in life delt her way,

But one things for sure, Lottie didnt have a nasty bone in her body, and as for killing chicken's !! Lottie ran away from two hedge hoggs we sometimes find in our garden and also our neighbours cat,

PART THREE IS THE BIG SHOCK.
 
Hello Nancy,
And thank you,
Part three is about to be written and i warn you get you tissue ready.

Many thanks for reading the "LOTTIE STORY"
 
Lotties story (part three of four)

As the weeks /months went by Lottie really suffered more fits, "at least every three weeks she'd have a few fits and as she came round from each set we we're both there everytime trying to do what we could to help but to be honest that was nothing but just be there,
You can't feel what the dogs going through and you can't have a fit for them, all you can do is be there.

I must have spent hundreds of hours on the inter/nett reading and asking if anyone had any cure for these fits,
I tried changing her diet but all to no avail.

I soon found out that what the vet had told us ref every fit damages the dogs brain and Lottie didnt want to go far from her cage,
But it was'nt all bad she enjoyed the kitchen and the smell of fresh bread being made and we still had our singing to look forward to,

Then i noticed three weeks ago "Lottie " started to stop eating, she was drinking water like it was going out of fashion "But" food she did'nt want,
she was'nt interested in chasing the ball
But she didn't want or even try to join in the singing??????

I phoned the vet and we we're in his surgery very quick, "Lottie" looked awful her big brown eyes looked sad and the whites of her eyes we're red,

The vet said dont worry ive had lots of dogs in this last few days and i know what it is, " poison"

Poison i replied,

Yes, the vet replied,
It's the result of a moth's like netting that the moth has around the eggs its laid, As the eggs hatch and the bugs drop out of this netting like cover the bushes and grass gets a slight poison type effect on them, the animals sniff or even lick this effected area's and the dogs now been poisoned, the animal finds it hard to eat or even drink and until the effects wear off the animal feels down in the dumps and dehydrated.

"Lottie" was given two injections and some tablets to take twice a day and also we were given a syringe to get water down her throat as she may stop drinking.

As we drove home i felt much better thinkng this was just a time thing, a few days and Lottie would be helping me sing her song again.

Now the vet did say 3 or 4 days before "Lottie" would start to show signs of a recovery,

Lottie stopped going to the toilet, nothing was coming out of her,
Even her favourit (chicken food) she wouldnt touch, and after only 2 days i phoned the vet again and said im worried its been neary 7 days since she's eaten !!!!!

We arrived back at the vets on the thursday and the vet looked at her and did some test and asked us to leave "Lottie" with him as he needed to do blood test etc and an overnight stay was needed,

4pm the phone rang and it was the dreaded news we didnt want to hear,

Lottie had kidney failure, she only had 20% of her kidney working and it was failing fast,

He continues "Lottie" had no chance,
He'd given her another injection so she was in no pain,

I asked if i could ring him back as i needed to think.

My wife and i talked "but we both had the same thought and it was that "Lottie" was'nt to suffer any more pain,

I'd noticed the last few days she didnt want to sit by me on the sofa "but" she'd get out of her cage and come up to me and i'd give her a cuddle and then do what she always liked (rub her belly) No wonder she returned to her cage ,

Little did i know i was rubbing her hurting area.

We phoned the vet back and said we didnt want her suffering anymore and if he thought she was in pain then she should be put to sleep,

It was one of the hardest things we'd both had to do but after seeing my wifes mother suffer in pain with cancer we both thought this was wrong "but because of the law we had to see her pass away slowly and in really bad pain as the drugs to stop pain started to stop working.

This time we could do something about the situation and so we waited to hear what the vet had to say,

He said "Lotties in no pain just now and he'd like to do one more test in the morning to confirm his readings and if they we're still bad? Then it would be better to end her pain and suffering.

Friday morning arrived and we'd not slept a wink, even the other three dogs knew something was'nt right,

The phone rang at 10am and it was a case of who was going to lift the reciever !!!!!!!!!!!!!

The news was'nt good, "Lotties kidney reading was showing it was nearly a complete shut down and the end had come"

It was arranged that we'd be with "Lottie" when the final injections would be given 2-15 that afternoon.

We'd decided that "Lottie" would be put in our garden under the old apple tree, its a nice part of the garden and one part we're you can see all the Lawn and the play area "Lottie" first saw when she arrived home with us, And we have two other dogs we once had both died of old age at 14yrs of age so she'd have company.

We dug the grave and then just said little to each other,

It was now time to go to the vets and say goodbye to "Lottie",
2-15 and the vet asked us to come into his office he showed his two readings ref the kidney's and then we walked into the room to say goodbye "Lottie"

She was in this cage and we knelt down so we could give her the final hug,

In all the three years we'd had "Lottie" she'd never once gave me a kiss and today was'nt going to change, she looked at me as if to say "cant you do anything?
And then she turned her head away as the first of three injections we're given,

She relaxed after the first and after the second she was gone.

As a child my father wouldn't hear of boys crying, he came from a very different period in time than we live in now and as a child if i was caught crying i would say "no it's just grit in my eye,

Well big boys dont cry do they ? they get grit in their eye's,

I had a lot of grit in my eyes for day's after "Lottie" died,

When we returned home we put Lottie to rest in the body bag the vet gave us, she had her favourit blanket and one of my old jumpers she liked to sleep with,
And then we filled in the grave and just told her she was a very much loved little dog.

TOMORROW IS THE LAST PART AND IT's FOR THOSE WHO NEED A FRIEND;
 
Lotties story (part four)

It's one week since Lottie died and i still have her in my thoughts,
That last few minutes before it was all over,
Ive the thought "Would i do it all again" And the answer is yes i would, I feel in a way we gave Lottie three years of a life she didn't know about,

Ive said it before "if only they could talk" But sometimes they can in a way only the really caring person can understand,

I remember these words from a song, It's about a boy who's been blind all his life and he asked his father this !!!!!!!! What color is the sky daddy?

Its a question any father with such a child who's blind must dred, how do you describe any color to such a child?

Well its much the same when you have any animal you truly love and your faced with the fact they have hours to live because of no cure "but you can't tell the animal this (you can't describe the color of pain)

Since lotties death ive had notice through the post to say her vacinations are due,
everytime i turn the tv on i see something to do with sheep dogs, And as i get the dogs dinners ready im still putting out four dishes instead of three.

One very good thing has come out of all this sad happenings and its that im lucky enough to know what its like to have love for an animal and thats a good thing,

So many people can't or dont want to get on with other people they'd sooner be alone,

Its to these people i say animals are such good company all they ask is for care and attention and they'll never talk behind your back or disrespect you,

We've another three dogs and the future will be a repeat of lotties loss'
we knew this when we rescued all three dogs' but everyday with them has something to say it was worth the effort and we feel good knowing they all are in good health and happy,

So if you are needing company? the verious rescue centre's have animals who didn't ask to be born 'some have lost a loving owner and just need a home, some have suffered at the hands of cruel humans "these are the dogs you'd think would never want to be near any human "but 9 times out of 10 these are the most loving animals you'll ever get to meet.
And then you have the older ones who just want a loving home for the final year or two!!!!!!!

IT's sometimes strange the way things happen and today was one,
We went round to our gite to take some tools (ive a set of gates arriving next week) while we we're at the gite my wife went up the track to see a french friend,
now one of the old houses that's been empty for years has a caravan parked and (nomads) are living on the land of this old house, they have a dog on a chain and string around it's neck,
my wife could hear the dog was having trouble breathing and so she called one of these people over and showed him the problem, as luck would have it the dogs skin was'nt broken but the neck area was red,

The owner said if the dog gets off the chain he chases the sheep and the farmer will shoot him,
My wife said we have a used collar and if she fitted it would you stop using string?
we did this for the dog and not the dogs owner.

It was "Lotties" old collar and after it was fitted onto this little chap we left, but i thought to myself Lottie would have wanted that little dog to have the collar.

Well to those who've taken the time and interest to read "Lotties Story" I thank you and for those alone in life "give a little thought to giving a dog a second chance and give yourself someone to love and share your life.
Many thanks to you all.:)
 
It's pouring down

Morning all,
Well it's pouring down here in this dept of France and as its Monday its half day closing for the shops and stores so the village will be dead from noon.

I bought an old outside lamp from a "Brocante" (carboot sale) ages ago and yesterday i fitted it up and wired it outside the front door of the gite,
I finished it about 5 pm and as its still day light i couldn't really see the full advantage of this new lamp working so i went back at 11pm with the Boss and stood looking at this lamp in the pouring rain it makes the front of the gite look really old wordly and the light mixed with the ivy on the walls adds that calm look,

Well the boss has just said to me "your not doing any outdoor things today in that pouring raint " you'll catch your death"

Question, is the 11pm rain non death catching then?:confused::confused::confused:

But its a great thing for a man or woman (lets get it right) to have a workshop or hobby room on days like these, ive just decided to continue to paint the outside bench blue, it was white but ive got into this french thing ref pale colour blue and so the bench is having a face lift and because its such a wet day the workshop is a very handy place to have,
I think everyone should have such a space.

Well what are you retired lot doing today?
 
Hi, Whisteria have fun painting. I am gardening on my balcony later in the morning (it's 2am here,) and then, as a reward, I am going rollerblading. I get to wear my purple skates and leopard helmet and enjoy the day before the worst of the heat sets in. After that, I will take a dip in a friend's salt water pool.
 
Hi Shalimar, Dont you get people looking at you as you skate just wearing your leopard helmet and purple boots ?????:eek::eek:
But it sounds like a good free style of life to me,
Good on yer
 
some people are just born funny

Evening all,
Well it's almost the end of another day, A day i wont forget in a hurry,
I did paint the old garden bench light blue and then to be honest i felt a little bit lost, (i keep expecting "Lottie" to be at my feet in the workshop)
And so i was in need of a bit of time to myself and so i set off back to the gite to make a list of jobs to do when this rain stops,

As i was pulling out of our drive i noticed the neighbor walking around in her garden talking to herself !!!!!!!!!!!!
I got out of the car and asked if she was ok?

Oh ive done a stupid thing "she said" ive put my mobile phone down in the garden and i cant find it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I said i'll ring you up on your mobile and you can then hear it ringing and you can pick it up.

And so i got back in the (it's a car fitted phone in the car) and i asked her for her mobile number,

I pressed all the numbers and hey pressto her phone rang, she took the phone out of her housecoat pocket and pressed the hold button and then said to me i'll call who ever it was back later when ive found my phone:sentimental:

When i pointed out she had her phone in her house coat pocket "she then pulled the phone out of the pocket "looked at me" And said how did you know it was in my pocket all the time?
As i was about to tell her my phone rang and i said hang on a minute let me get this call !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was the neighbor im talking to,
She went on to say hello you just rang me but i dont recognize your number who are you?

I asked if i was there and she handed me her phone and said its for you:eek:nthego:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what a laugh :):):)
She still hasn't a clue how i had known her phone was in her pocket.

Tomorrows the start to the rest of our lives "lets hope it isnt a rainy one.
 
It just started pouring out this way a little while ago, even looked like few clouds were trying to form funnels, thank goodness they fizzed out and the sky just has large dark clouds cover vast amounts of the sky and nothing else. We did get warnings to over the news about the pending bad weather just after the sky turned black. It hit here before the broadcasting area, seems we are the last to know sometimes. :(
 
If this story is true, to me the neighbor seems confused...could she have a health issue that is making her forgetful?
 
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