translated for Pom by Anke Terbruggen

So, you must all be wondering how my visit to the vet went? Well, actually, it was great fun!!

I got to ride in the car, with the Chief, which meant loads of cuddles. I love cuddles, they’re the best thing on earth, even better than food!

Then at the vet’s there was more attention and cuddles and the doctor was really kind and gave me treats. I felt really relaxed and apparently, my ticker isn’t much worse, just need a few more pills. I love pills when they come wrapped in some yummy meat.

One of the Mongrels also came, and she didn’t like it at all, poor thing! I tried to show her it really isn’t anything to worry about but it didn’t help.

Not sure what’s wrong with her, I’ve always said they’re a bit weird; the cross-eyed boy and the girl with her crazy, tilted head.

None of us mind, because we’re used to them. I like the Mongrels, and always have! Their bitchy mum, now that’s another story, but she’s on the far end, fortunately.

Anyway, it was a good day, though a bit tiring. Always so nice to come back home, where everything is so familiar now. Chief said it’s nearly a year since I arrived. No idea what a year is, I just know I love my home,..

Look! That’s me, scruffy me! See how gorgeous I look when I’m scruffy? 

And I’m so nice and warm that I can sleep outside on the terrace again, loving that!  Don’t like the rain though, but the door is always open so I can pick my spot; crate, sofa, basket, cushion or my bed outside on the terrace. I mostly sleep in my crate; it’s the best spot because it’s nice and quiet and it makes me feel really sheltered and safe. Tiny is always in hers too, she loves the warmth from the red light, I think. 

I’ve been feeling a bit tired lately, and I’ve been coughing. I’ve heard the word Vet a few times. I don’t think that’s very good news, but I do like some extra attention, so maybe it won’t be too bad if they bring me there. Last time there were lots of treats and I got to sit in a car and got lots of cuddles. 

Anyway, I’ll let you know how that goes.

Food has been particularly good lately, nice and soft and smelly, just the way I like it! Real food, not the dry rubbish that barely smells. Someone did try to mix in some veggies though, Hah!! Seriously? Did they think I wouldn’t notice? Left every last bit in my bowl, they can give them to the chickens for all I care! When we’ve finished our bowls, Tiny and me, we always run out and start looking for all the little pieces of sausage that are hidden everywhere. Bones too sometimes, or eggs! 

Meanwhile, the Newbie, you know, the one that has his bits, is still here! And he doesn’t appear to be leaving any time soon, he made himself right at home he has! Oh well, as long as he stays on his side of the fence, I don’t really care. The other boys seem ok with him and it’s their home after all.

Right, I think I’ll go back to my bed now, it’s raining a bit, so a great excuse for a little nap.

Oh, and by the way, does anybody know what a ‘trim’ means? Chief has mentioned that a few times, she’d like to give me a little ‘trim’? 

Not sure I like the sound of it,..

Translated for Pom by Anke Terbruggen

Hello, does ANYBODY listen to me? Certainly not Chief or any of the other bipeds,.

First of all, remember I said NO brushing??? Well, of course, she went ahead and did it anyway, grrrrr

I looked like a bloody fluffy teddy bear afterwards, utterly ridiculous,.

Fortunately, it didn’t last long and I look like a real dog again; messy!! I like messy, I want messy, I do not want fluffy!

But then something happened that was even worse; we had an Intruder! a boy, a boy Intruder!! *

I barked and barked at him to let everybody know and to chase him off.  I even asked Big White Fluffy on the other side to help me, but he just wagged his fluffy tail and tried to make friends with the Intruder,. useless!

For days and days I tried to warn everybody, but did they listen?? Noooooooo,…

Not only is the Intruder a Boy, but he also has his bits!! At least Scaredy Cat and the Chubby Black one don’t have those; they don’t even smell like boys anymore. 

At first the Intruder didn’t move around much, and seemed really weak, skin and bones he was. But he’s just about doubled in size now and getting cheeky!

He does seem to understand that my side of the fence is my property though, and apparently, he’s not going anywhere any time soon, so I’m giving up; I’ve done my job, I’ve let everybody know and if nobody does anything about it, then it’s out of my paws.

I’m getting too old for this.

And anyway, it doesn’t really interfere with my nice, quiet life here. I have my bed, my garden, my chews, my cuddlers, my walks, and the sun is out again, so I can lounge on the terrace. 

All in all, life is good,..

*Note Colin the Colin arrived after what seems a period of roaming. it is thought his previous owner passed away and Colin (not his original name) was either forgotten or dumped. He originally came from Gaillac, whether he travelled on his own this 40km journey or was dumped nearer we do not know. |We do know he had spent time with a lady but the relationship didn’t work out, he would often run off, come back, run off. He hung around and was fed at a farm on the outskirts of Varen but this was not a solution for him to live by. Anke collected him from the farm to come into emergency foster care at Dawn & Dusk.

Until his health is assessed (he was very underweight, which is now resolved and had an infection) he will stay. His off to the V E T ‘ S on Thursday for that little S N I P and a control technique. I’m sure Pom will report the findings in his next diary entry.

All in all, life is good,..

Written and translated for Pom by Anke Terbruggen

Ok,.. so Chief and my cuddlers are not the only ones who care for me? I have friends that are not here but want to know how I’m doing?

That is so hard to understand. Where are you then? Can’t see you, can’t hear you, can’t smell you, so you must be very far away.

I’ll look out for you on my next walk, maybe we’ll meet then?

Anyway, I’m well!! I like the weather, I can be outside as much as I like, though I also really need my sleep time. 

It’s been a little bit quiet on the cuddle front, Chief told me some of my cuddlers are away because they want to be with their family. I can understand that; we dogs also live in a family and we like to be together (though I only want girls in my family, and friendlier ones than Tiny please,.)

All the others are well too; the noisy black one, scaredy cat, Big White Fluffy’s crew on the other side, Oh, and you know who I’ve been seeing again? The Mongrels! 

They are on the other side sometimes, and play in the big field with the boys! Well, the boys aren’t playing really, they are mainly being bullied by those two cheeky devils,. I like them though, they are spunky pups! Tiny hates them, I think, she keeps trying to fight with them through the fence. 

Food’s been top-notch lately, I even ate something that smelled like the inside of dead prey*, made me feel like I had been out hunting or something! Lots of chews too, and real bones and lots of smelly treats. The best moment of the day is feeding time and then looking for treats all over the field. Chief hides stuff, but we know all her secret stashes and always find the treats.

The only thing that worries me is that Chief is talking about me being scruffy and dirty and that she wants to give me a brush! No, no, no, I don’t agree!! I like being scruffy, I have always been scruffy and I want to stay scruffy. She’s not touching me with that brush, I won’t have it! I love Chief, but I swear, I’ll show her all my teeth if she comes anywhere near me with that thing. Maybe my friends can help? Look at me, do you think I’m too scruffy, do I really need to be brushed??

Well, that’s it for now, I think I’ll go back to my cosy den and have a little nap. So nice and warm in there,..

Hope Chief will come over for a cuddle before night-time**

* Thank you Ali for cutting up liver and tripe, not the nicest job  🙂

**She will, of course

Translated for Pompom by Anke Terbruggen

Chief says I’m late again. Late, what’s late? You just do stuff when you feel like it, don’t you?

Anyway, I’ve been busy!! Had to make sure Tiny wasn’t getting all the attention,.. sure, she was ill, very ill. So I did give her some slack. 

Chief put a nice cosy bed in front of Tiny’s den and thought she could sit there, Ha!! I was really quick and before she could get to it,I took possession! And possession is everything for us dogs; what’s mine is mine and isn’t yours! Also, I could keep an eye on Tiny this way, though we’re not best of friends, she’s still My Tiny Babe! Loved that bed, just annoying that Chief kept waking me up with all her visits during the night.

She better now, Tiny, have to admit I’m kinda glad,.. she’s even getting cheeky again, barking back when I tell her off. Oh well, at least everything is normal again.

It’s been a good week; nice and sunny, spent lots of time on our terrace. Many new chews also, chews make life sooo much fun.

And I’ve been seeing a lot of those huge baby dogs. I’m man enough to admit it; I really like baby dogs!! Love to see them run and play, wish I could join them!

Saw them play this morning, but weren’t there more before? Seems like it, but who knows, us dogs can’t count.

Have to go now, cuddler just arrived, carrying a box. Pretty sure there are chews in it, can’t fool me, there’s chews in it!! I want that box!!

Will she open it?*

Note; Thank you very much Lucy Ogden, for donating the box you won in the raffle, back to our dogs!! And yes, of course Pom got his chew,.

Translated for Pompom by Anke Terbruggen

Oops, is it Friday already?? Oh well, one of the nice things about being a dog, is not having a calendar! Or a watch, for that matter. it’s great, never have to plan anything, never thinking ahead, just enjoying the moment!

But anyway, not much news this week, had a brush (Grrrrrrrr!!), but also lots of walks, cuddles, pigs ears and other goodies. 

I thought I’d introduce you to the other guy that lives in the big field, the scaredy-cat,.. he’s afraid to talk to you directly, so I’ll ask the questions and let you know what he says;

P. Hey! You! Over there, come here for a minute (what’s that, a minute?) I have some stuff I wanna ask you!

M. Ok, ok, I’ll come over, give me some time, I need to check there are no humans there. ok, ok , I’m here, what do you want, little Curly-one?

P. What’s up with you? That’s what I want to know, why are you so scared of everything?

M. Well, actually, I’m really trying to forget all of that, my whole past and everything, but if you really want to know,.

P. I want to know!

M. Ok then, you see, I used to be a hunt dog and I had a shitty life. Always in a cold kennel, with many others, and we only got to leave our kennel to go hunting. We got stuffed in a small cage in a car, let out to run until we were exhausted and if we didn’t get hurt or killed, we were picked up and put back in that horrible kennel. And then there were these men, dressed in green and brown, that were rough and yelled and kicked us, and even worse; they had shotguns! 

P. Man, that sounds rough,…

M. Yeah, so one day, I just decided not to go back! I managed to escape and just kept running!

P. Good on you, glad you got away!

M. But then, someone caught me, and put me in another kennel, better than where I was, but still a kennel! And I was there for ages, many days and nights and summers and winters,.. there were nice people there, I have to say, they really tried to make me trust them, but it was still a miserable life!

P. Jeeeeezz, tough luck mate!!!

M. But hang on, then it got better! A really sweet lady took me home and put me in a much, much nicer place, with a proper doghouse and a nice bed and an old girl to keep me company! And after a while, I started to feel she was ok, even let her touch me,. life was so much better!

P. Cool!! But then what happened, how did you get here? 

M. I have no idea! I just got in a nice car (no cage!) and we drove for a long time, and ended up here. The lady was still with me for a while, but then she left,..that was so hard! I looked for her for ages, but couldn’t find her anywhere!! 

P. But there’s another one here, though, she’s pretty ok too!?

M. Yeah, starting to believe that,. she seems safe and she’s around almost all the time. It’s reassuring, I have to say! Even though there are very often scary others around, I think she’s not gonna let anybody hurt me. I like having the Chubby Black-one here too.

P. No man, it’s cool, the Chief will make sure we’re all ok! But seriously, my friend, what a story! You’ve had loads of bad luck! You’re probably right, best to forget it all and move on. You’re safe here, and you’re a pretty cool neighbour.

M. It’s starting to rain again Curly, I’m going back inside,.Bye!!

Translated by Anke Terbruggen for Pompom

4 1/2 months I’ve been here now, though us dogs don’t really think about time, as such, We live in the ‘now’ and adapt to how things are.

I think I’ve adapted very well to life here! I know who everybody is, I know who brings me my food, who cuddles me, who walks me. I know where everything is; my beds, my chews, my toys, my doggy friends (and enemies). And I know what happens every day, which is really nice. 

In the morning, when the sun comes up, the Chief comes to see us. We wait for her outside, me and Tiny (the door is always open). I’m always happy to see her because she knows how I like to be greeted; with play and fun and back-scratches!! She then takes us inside and I run to my crate and jump in before Tiny gets to it! As soon as I’m in, I get a super yummies treat! Chief then prepares us breakfast, usually something soft and smelly, with meat and stuff! I know she hides pills in there too, but I don’t mind, they’re not too bad. I also get something to chew on, so I don’t get frustrated while having to wait for all the other dogs to eat. Tiny eats on the other side of the barn, so we don’t have to argue over whose food is tastier!

Chief then goes to the boys on the other side of the fence but comes back quickly to let me out of the crate. We run outside because we know what comes next; looking for hidden goodies!! They are everywhere, spread out over our field, in the little hut, between the toys, under the beds, under the straw, in the buckets with smelly stuff,..and it’s so much fun looking for them!

Chief is usually gone by the time we’ve found them all, but she’s right next door and we see and hear her all the time. 

Then, often, one or more of my cuddlers arrive. I love them so much!! They sort out our beds, play with us, cuddle, of course, or even sometimes; take us for a walk! We get so excited when we get to go out!

In the afternoon, we often sleep,. we’re not young anymore, Tiny and me, so we sleep a lot. Often, we get a bone or something else to chew on. Then, when the sun starts going down, Chief brings us food again! So, the same routine; jump in my crate, eat, chew, run out and look for goodies again,. gosh, I love routines, so nice to know what’s coming!

When it gets dark, Chief comes and puts Tiny’s coat on and puts us both to bed; we jump onto our sofas, get a little blanket and a cuddle and she turns off the light. The door stays open because we sometimes have to pee at night.

Life is good,..

Translated by Anke Terbruggen

This past week has been pretty good, we are all picking up our normal lives, after losing our Big Old Girl. Since I don’t really have any news to share, I thought I’d let one of the boys on the other side of the fence have a chat with you. It’s the one that arrived first, the skinny black one that is definitely not skinny anymore,..Hope I won’t regret it, as he’s quite chatty!

Don’t worry, I’ll be back next week! Go ahead neighbour,…

Ohhhh, really really, really???? can I say something, can I say something??? I wanna say something!! Can I say something?? I’m so excited!!

Ok, alright, I’ll take a breath first,.. Wow!! I have so much to say, been waiting for an opportunity to tell you all; thank you so much for the FOOOOD!! 

Before I came here, I was hungry all the time, and I felt really weak and old, but the first thing I discovered when I arrived, was that there is such a thing as sausage!! And meat, and fish, and pasta, and cream and soooo many other tasty things!! There was food many times a day and it felt so good to have a full tummy all the time!

And there were cuddles, and attention and people around me, and nice beds to sleep on, and bones to chew on. Ohh, I love it here, I just love it here!!!

And there was this really old, but still, super-cool old lady that showed me and the other guy the ropes, she was amaaaaazing! We were both so impressed by her and showed her a lot of respect! The other guy is pretty much ok too, a bit of a whiner, scared of his own shadow when he just arrived, but I let him follow me around and sit next to me and that seems to help. The only thing I won’t let him do is touch my food or my bones as they are (all) mine, mine, mine!!!

The old lady is gone now, saw her body so we know she’s really gone. The other guy is getting a bit more cheeky now and I think I should take charge, after all, I was here first! I’m getting really strong too now, and have even be called ‘chubby’ (chubby, what do they mean CHUBBY?? I’m just making sure I have some reserves, in case I ever get hungry again!) And anyway, who cares about being chubby, I just looooove my food and will keep eating as much as I like!! So there!!

What else, what else, let me see, what else? Oh yeah, I’ve been on walks, ‘sniffari’s’ they call ’em nowadays, but I think it’s just a really nice walk, with lots of stuff to smell! There’s also plenty of smells in our field, all kinds of smelly food and plants and donkey poo and bits of wood and lots of other things! After meal time, the food provider that lives here too hides little bits of really yummy things everywhere, so we have to look for it, I loooooove that! I’m really good at it too, I find most of the treats before the other guy does! 

Oh, hang on, I think Pom wants to say something,.. I guess it’s his diary, so I’ll try to stop now (but did I mention I just love it here?? And how much I love the food?)

Hey, Pom here, thought I’ld better shut him up, because let me tell you; once this guy starts talking, he never stops,.. 

Written by Anke Terbruggen

On the 23rd of June 2022, a homeless person took his very, very old dog to a refuge because he couldn’t care for her anymore. It must have been such a hard decision, and he saved her life. The dog, Kim, was in such a state that the refuge contacted Les Amis des Animaux to see if they had a foster family for her, as she would obviously not survive in the refuge. Les Amis then contacted us and we said Yes, she is welcome. A dear friend, Melissa, drove all the way to Toulouse to pick her up and brought her to us. We’ll never forget her arrival; so incredibly weak, emaciated and ancient she seemed. She was completely disorientated, couldn’t walk or stand without falling over and had the most horrible injury to her skull and eye. We sat with her, and tried to get her to lie down, which she finally did, exhausted. To be honest, we seriously considered calling out our vet to have her put to sleep straight away. But then again, once we got her onto a big soft bed, in safety, it couldn’t hurt to wait a day or so, we thought.

We gave her strong painkillers, the best food we could find, every couple of hours, her water bowl right next to her, and rest, lots of rest. She was so tired,.

The days passed and Kim surprised us with an incredible will to live. She couldn’t get up, but ate the food, drank the water and slowly, very slowly gained some force. She started getting up and walking a little bit, very wobbly, and always in circles. We wondered if she had brain damage from her skull injury, but she didn’t seem to suffer much, so we continued caring for her the best we could. She wouldn’t let us touch her, which we understood and respected, as she must have been in so much pain after being hit by a car several times, according to her former owner. The holes in her skull and the damaged, sunk-in eye were probably not her only sore spots. After a few days, our vet came out, sedated and examined her. Her heart still seemed strong and a blood test revealed a few problems, slight pancreatitis, but nothing too serious, apart from being very, very old. She estimated Kim to be around 16, which we thought also. 

Kim continued to improve and even started walking in straight lines and responding to us, coming to see us (but still no touching, please!). Then, another setback; a grand mal seizure. leaving her disorientated again. This time, the recovery was quick, she found her bearings again and continued to surprise everyone by getting stronger and happier every day. A big moment was the first time team member Elsa got her to play with a tennis ball! I admit we cried, tears of joy.

3 months passed and Kim was our Queen; some of our wonderful volunteers cooked soft tasty food for her because eating was difficult with her damaged head/jaw and she was admired and respected by everybody that met her. She chose the space underneath the cabin as her safe space, but also very much enjoyed the space around her; the grass to roll in, the smell of the countryside and the company of the two old boys that joined her in the big field. Mitch and Primus were incredibly respectful towards her, she ruled just by mental strength,..

At the end of September, Kim started to get weaker again, got very thin and it had become nearly impossible to get any food into her. She didn’t want it anymore. She started turning in circles again, not all the time, but she was having trouble peeing and was constipated. We tried medication, but it wasn’t possible to give her anything without her eating. She still had lots of good moments, but we realised the end was near and we didn’t want the bad moments to take over.

On the 10th of October, we gave her as many calming tablets as we could get her to swallow in 1 piece of sausage and sat down in the field with her. 

The sun was shining, the boys were calm, and after an hour or so, Kim fell asleep. Once we were sure she wouldn’t notice anything anymore, we wrapped her in a blanket and drove her to the vet’s clinic. In the car, with her head on my lap, she took her last breath.

We took her body back home, put her in the field, in her favourite spot, for the boys to know and buried her later that day.

Kim, you were magnificent; the strongest, most incredible dog I’ve ever seen. I hope you felt some happiness, freedom and love during your short time with us.

We’ll never forget you.

Translated for Pompom by Anke Terbruggen

I know I was supposed to do my diary yesterday, but things were a bit strange here yesterday, and even more so the day before.

Our main caretakers were here, all together, and they were sitting in the big field, quietly. They all seemed sad. 

The boys behind the fence were a bit stressed and there was something wrong with Big Old Girl. She was different, tired and very sleepy, it seemed.

After a while, she fell asleep, and they carried her away. When they came back, they put her body back in the field, but it wasn’t the same, it wasn’t her anymore.

Now, there is something you should know about us dogs; we do not experience death as you do. We understand life, like all animals, and we accept death. We live now and adapt to the way things are. At first, when one of us dies, we get a bit insecure; you guys act differently and that worries us a bit. So we stay close to you and try to ease things and make you act normally again, so we can feel safe. We don’t like change, but you can make it easier by acting like everything is ok.

So it was really nice that the co-chief, the one that often brings us cool stuff to smell, toys that make us think and smelly things to chew on, took us for a walk!! She really gets us, I think!

The boys are a bit unruly now, I think Big Old Girl kept them under control, but now she’s gone, they seem to think they own the field! Think again guys, even though there’s a fence, I’m still in charge!!! If only I could get in there, I’d sort them out!

So, life back to normal for us, I keep checking what’s happening behind the wall, where the baby-sounds come from. I can see them sometimes, so exciting!! Tiny doesn’t seem to be very interested, I guess she’s seen it all before, I think she had her own babies more than once. Cooler weather means more outside play and sniff time and i’m feeling fitter, so really enjoying myself!