Translated for Pom by Anke Terbruggen

Phew, I’m exhausted!

Been really busy protecting our field against the monster that was trying to take over; going up and down and leaving its tracks everywhere!

It makes a horrible noise and smells really bad. Chief was on one side of it, trying to push it away, and I made sure to stop it from the other side, but it just kept on moving, Grrrrr,.. 

I don’t like that kind of noise, it’s not natural!

I know, there are a lot of things I don’t like; anybody touching my food, cats and chickens, and boy dogs, and noisy monsters and most of all; being brushed,.. but that’s just who I am and Chief says I’m allowed to be who I am. I am a Dog, I have my instincts and I do not have to suppress them, she says. 

It’s hard enough being a dog in the people world; we have to fit into your lives, be clean in a house, accept that we can’t wander, can’t chew on things, roll in yummy stuff, dig holes, hunt, chase or fight, have pups to look after or anything else that makes us Dogs. We have to obey commands, walk on a lead, accompany you to noisy, busy places or stay home alone, none of which comes naturally to us. We adapt because most of you look after us; keep us safe, feed us, and make us feel like we belong,.but please don’t forget it is hard, sometimes, for us! Please allow us our instincts, our voice, and our need to run free, in nature. we are all different, but we all need space to be ourselves, so please, can you also adapt to us and love us the way we are?

But, back to me. I’m happy being where I am, though I’ld like to see more of Chief. I know there are a lot of us though, so she can’t be with me all the time.

I’m really glad I’ve got my cuddlers too, but they can only come in the mornings, because we have a ‘grumpy neighbour’, Chief says. What’s a grumpy neighbour? Can’t be good if it means my cuddlers can’t see me? I know the boys next door bark a bit when they arrive, but that’s not all the time, so why is he grumpy? Another thing that’s hard to understand, I guess,.

Translated for Pom by Anke Terbruggen

I’ve been tricked, cheated!! 

Bloody Chief and her accomplice. First, they make me think all is well; you know, take me for a nice walk, give me lots of sausage, cuddles, but then,

THEN!!, before I knew it, I had the stupid thing around my mouth and I get picked up and put on the table! I know what that table means, it means No Good!!

I don’t have to tell you what happened next, I’m sure you know,.. they took away my fluffy-ness!! 

Though, to be honest, it wasn’t as bad as the last time. Sure, I hate being brushed and whatever else they did with all their tools, but I have to admit; I feel a bit lighter and cooler. I was really angry with them for a bit, showing them all my impressive big teeth, but actually, I don’t think I would have hurt them, well, not a lot anyway.

Good thing I don’t hold a grudge either, so we’re ok again, Chief and me! We played a little afterwards, I love it when I get to be wild and jump and bite her hands!! Then I got a big stuffed bone, so I was over the whole thing pretty quickly.

Oh, and did you hear??? There are babies again! Saw them through the window! Not sure what they’re supposed to be, they look like little mice! I just love babies. hope I’ll get to sniff them sometime.

And you know what, I turned today into a fun day anyway, hahaha, I managed to sneak out while one of my cuddlers (my favourite actually) went through the gate! Woooooowwwww, that was so much fun, chickens!! Chickens everywhere, I didn’t even know where to start! Tried to chase all of them at once, but they were too fast for me. and so was Chief, don’t know how she got there so quickly? I was happy to see her anyway, so just went with her back inside. Got a huge cuddle and a chew for that, so it was the right choice, I guess! 

Really tired now, so much excitement in one day! I think I’ll sleep well tonight,..

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

Writen by Anke Terbruggen

After realising how many people read Pompom’s diary and really miss hearing about his life, I (Anke) decided to have a chat with him.

I hope that knowing he has so many friends, will make him come out of his winter-writers-block!

Me: Hi Pom, my little man, can we have a chat?

P: Why are you calling me little man, I’m big!!

M: I know sweetie, I’m sorry.

M: I just wanted you to know that people are missing your diary; they want to read about your life and know how you’re doing.

P: Really?? Who??

M: Well, there’s Oma, for starters, remember Oma?

P: Oma,.. that reminds me of cuddles, and sitting on somebody’s lap, is that who you mean? 

M: Yes, that’s her! But she’s not the only one, there are many people that think you’re special and important! I know you’ve spent many years living outside on a chain, and you were probably ignored by everyone, but that’s over now. There are people all over the world that think about you. There is even a terrier like you, that is also called Pompom and lives on the other side of the world, who hears stories about your life!

P: What is the World?

M: Ohh, gosh, that’s hard to explain,.. it’s the Great Outside and it’s really, really big!!

P: Bigger than all the way down the driveway?

M: Yes, Pommie, much bigger!

P: and people want to know about me? What do they want to know?

M: Well, I guess they want to know if you’re happy.

P: What does that mean; happy?

M: That is a very good question,.. let’s see; are you hungry, or cold, or in pain, or lonely? 

P: No! I’m warm and I have a comfy bed, and I love my yummy food and cuddles from all my people friends.

M: Do you have fun, can you be a real dog, be outside when you want to, play and get dirty, dig, roll, sniff, chew and bark?

P: Yes, I can do all of that! 

M: Then I think that might mean you’re happy! And besides, I can tell you are, when you greet me in the morning, with your grin, jumping up at me and play-biting my hands and giving me doggy kisses! Makes me happy too.

P: Ok, so I think I’m happy then. Do they need to know more?

M: I think they’d like to, but we’ll get back to that soon. Let’s go out now and enjoy the sun and have a cuddle, ok?

P: Ok! And Chief?

M: Yes, Pommie?

P: You can call me Little Man,..

M. I know Pom, I love you too.baby.

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,..