The last 2 days

VERY HARD. The last 2 days have been very hard. Saturday was so busy, we didn't have time to stop and think, and then we had people already invited over for the evening. Bran's loss hit home hard yesterday and today. Paul was in pieces yesterday morning and this morning when he opened everyone up and Bran wasn't there sitting in his bed waiting for his Daddy to call him out. Dru was sat waiting alone in the bed. They always used to sit together and wait for Paul. We've both been crying a lot. TODAY. We took Bran to the vets this morning. We'd phoned ahead, and they had everything ready for us, so Paul could just carry Bran straight in. Danni asked if we wanted them to do things, but Paul wanted to do it himself. We got Bran ready to go to the crematoriam together and we said our final farewells. Bran will be coming home again, as do our all our old friends. INSPIRATION. Bran was Paul's special boy. At the beginning Bran hated every man he met with a passion, but he instantly trusted Paul. Bran the first experience for Paul of transforming a badly damaged collie into a happy and well adjusted collie. Bran was Paul's inspiration that awakened the interest in collie behaviour. Liz, one of our fosterers, says that is a wonderful legacy for Bran to leave Paul with.
RUN FREE BRAN, Bamley, Mr Bam-Bams.

The end of an Era

Once again, sad and upsetting news. I'm starting to think that someone somewhere likes seeing our hearts breaking. This morning we found our beloved Bran permanently asleep in his bed. He crossed the Rainbow Bridge in his sleep during the night. He was only 10/11yrs. We are in complete shock as Bam-Bams had shown no signs of being ill. The only thing we can think of is it was his heart, as we know he had a heart murmour. Bran and his brother Dru were the inspiration for Wiccaweys, they were the start of it all. They are both on the Wiccaweys logo, Bran next to the 'W' of Wiccaweys. When Bran arrived with me as a young dog he was dog aggressive and people aggressive. He would have been pts at a rescue centre, there was no doubt about it. Dru was just neurotic from lack of things to do, but Bran was completely screwed up. Over many, many months we worked through the problems and issues. It took time, but we got there. We saw there was another way to help these wonderful dogs and give them that second chance of life and love. If we could help Bran transform from the dog he was when he arrived, into the beautiful boy he became, then we could help other collies to achieve the same. There was another way to help this wonderful breed. ALWAYS THERE. Paul has said Bran will always be here, he is imortalised in the Wiccs logo, and its because of him that other collies have been saved and found new families. NOW. But for now, all I can think about is that Bran has gone, and we don't know what to do with ourselves. The phone is ringing, and we have people booked in today. It sounds mean, but I don't feel up to seeing 'strangers' today. But we can't do anything about it now. People are on their way. The first people have arrived. Paul is being brave and has gone out to see to them. I need to go out, but I look a mess all tearstained. I'd better have a wash I guess and pull myself together.

Santa Paws has been!

We hope everyone has been having a lovely christmas. :) The dogs here have been enjoying all their presents. Treats have been scoffed down, and toys played with (and demolished in some cases!) Christmas Day for us was just like a normal day really. We finished the morning routine about 11am, and then it was time to start dinner. We had my Mum, Dad and Nan coming over for dinner. Once veg was peeled etc, and the turkey was in the oven, it was back outside to do some walking and playing. The puppies were in fine form and throughly enjoyed their new toys. The folks arrived and we ate dinner about 3. Once that was done with, it was time for the afternoon routine, and then putting the gang to bed. The folks left about 6pm and Paul & I put our feet up! YAY!!! NO phone calls!!!! We were really looking forward to Doctor Who! Boxing Day was a normal day, very quiet and nice. Today we were spoilt. Pauline & Amanda had decided Paul & I were going to have a day off, and organised to come over and dog sit. The phones were starting to ring today, and emails are coming in again, but we were under strict instructions to have a day off - or else! We left about 12.30 and went off. About an hour and half later we came back. We didn't know what to do with ourselves. I was a bit upset about it, coz I felt useless. We got sent off again with instructions to go and have a meal somewhere. We found somewhere and had a nice lunch. We came back about 4.30 to sort out the dogs for the evening. Many thanks to Pauline and Amanda for their kindness and the thought for giving us a break. Because Paul & I are so crap at having time off, Pauline & Amanda said next time they are going to book us up for the day with stuff to do and just give us an itinary! LOL! That might be best actually!

THE BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!!!

His results are back!! PATCH DOES NOT HAVE CUSHINGS!!!! We can't believe it! We knew it! Goodness knows what happened with the tests and results last year. That's a whole year Patch has missed out on a home because he was wrongly diagnoised with Cushings. Oh well, whats done is done, but what a fantastic Christmas present for us all. We are so happy for our big lad. MERRY CHRISTMAS PATCH!!! Please, someone now consider giving our big lad his own home. He is such a special guy.

Up & Down Few Days.

It's up and down at the moment. WEBSITE. Finally we have been able to get access back to update the website - and we only found out by default this morning. FASTHOST's didn't actually inform us how to do it. It was only while Paul was hanging on the phone trying to speak to a person again that he heard a little gem of information hidden in all the recorded message! Why they couldn't have done what they did do in the end to sort people out we will never know! Idiots! So, the good news the website is up to date. SAD NEWS AGAIN. Another week for saying goodbye to old friends. Kym passed away, his Mum Sarah phoned to tell us the news. Kym was a total star and we are all extremely upset by his passing at the grand old age of 22/23 years. Our dear old cat Lily Manky also crossed the bridge this week. She went to sleep cuddled up on her heat pad, tucked up in her blanket, on our bed. Run free sweet Lily. SCARES. Brigg is feeling much better, but is still very doddery. This week Tally also decided to start feeling her age and scare us to death! She is better now, but she had us worried for a while. That is what happens when you choose to give your heart to the daft old buggers I suppose. Wouldn't be without them though. THANKYOU. Thank you to all that have sent christmas cards and presents for the dogs - we really appreciate it, and we love receiving cards and photos of our babies in their new homes. It really makes our day. PHONES. The phones are still rediculously busy for dogs needing to come in. Just horrendous. PATCH. The big fella was at the vets yesterday. We are having his Cushings Tests redone to see what is going on. He spent all day being spoilt by the girls and charming the birds from the trees! Old smoothie that he is.

Merry Christmas To All!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Here is the Wiccaweys Christmas Message to All. Move over Sir Cliff, this years Christmas Song belongs to Bamley!! Enjoy the first ever Wiccaweys Collie Christmas Song & Video!!


SANTA PAWS. Santa Paws has been kept very busy over on the Wiccaweys Forum. All the doggies have been writing their Christmas Letters to Santa, and Santa Paws has been replying to them.... check it out here! HI TO THE ATTIC! Merry Christmas & Hello to all Rachel's friends & the In The Attic bloggers - thanks for coming over to visit us and support us guys! It is very much appreciated! Have a great holiday!

Better Day

I've just got back from the Laughing Dog factory. CHRISTMAS DINNERS APPEAL. Thanks to Alexa, our fosterers co-ordinator, and our wonderful supporters, the Wiccs Dogs are all set for Christmas. Alexa ran a Christmas Dinners Appeal and folks donated enough money to pay for 42 sacks of food! That is a staggering amount! We are currently feeding 2 sacks a day, so this is a brilliant bonus to see us over Christmas! Well done everyone, and thank you. I came back with 25 sacks today, and it's wonderful to know that there is food already paid for, for the next pick-up. Fantastic! LAUGHING DOG. Alex and the rest of the wonderful team at Laughing Dog are now generously supplying us with 3kg bags of food to send home with all the rehomed dogs. That is a really kind gesture on their behalf, and means we no-longer have to fill up a carrier bag for folks to take food home in. Alex and I were also talking about Crufts, and we are hoping to arrange things so Wiccaweys will have a presence at Crufts, courtesy of the Laughing Dog stand. Very exciting!

Another Kick in the Teeth - Run Free Hope.

We have just received the very distressing news that Hope passed over the Rainbow Bridge this morning. Adam, Tracy and the rest of the family are devastated, as are we. Hope was riddled with tumours. Regular visitors will know Hope's story from the website and the blog and what a brave and beautiful girl she was. This really isn't fair. Our thoughts and love are with her family. Run free dear Hope.

Blog Entry From Paul

LOOKING FOR HOMES. Please remember that at this time of year the phone is horrendously busy with enquiries about taking dogs in, but this is where we need more and more people offering a home to the dogs who need a new home. If you call and don't get through, please leave a message and your telephone number - you'd be suprised as to how many people don't leave their telephone number, then complain we don't ring them back! We'll call you back as soon as we can. So, if you're looking for a doggy friend and would like to adopt a collie, please give us a call. Let's see if we can find some wonderful homes for these lovely collies in time for them to join the Christmas festivities. NOT A GOOD IDEA. Be warned though, if you are intending to home a dog as a 'present' for someone, you will be told politely to sling your hook. People should never be given an animal as a gift, especially a dog. We need to assess the home of the adopter, and assess their suitability to home a rescue dog. This procedure means that homing a dog can never be a surprise, or a gift - everyone must know about it, and everyone must be happy for the adoption to happen. PHONES. It may be busy on the phones at this time of year, but we will get back to you as soon as we can. If you cannot get through, I am probably taking another call, so please leave a message... There's no need to call back repeatedly - this often happens whilst I'm already on a call, and the phone will be bleeping like 1990's rave music! We look forward to hearing from you, and let's make this Collie Christmas a great one.

Soul Destroying Week so far.

It's been a very tough week so far. WEBSITE. We can't update the website at the moment as our hosting company, FASTHOSTS, had a potential security breach and decided to change the passwords of many of their clients - without telling them first -just sent an email to say they had done it! Getting through to them on the phone is nia on impossible and we have been waiting for several days for a response to an email! Paul has checked with other FASTHOST clients and everyone is in the same boat. We are all very angry and it isn't good enough! We are looking into finding a new host for the website, but at the moment we can't tell you when we will be able to update it with new arrivals and homes found etc. You will have to bear with us on that one. WEEKEND. I wasn't able to make the Rugby Agility Show on Saturday with the Wiccs stall as normal, which was a real shame. We had 5 dogs arrive from Ireland Saturday afternoon. A lovely little speckly nosed girl called Floss, a handsome big fluffy bear of a boy called Harvey, and 3 of the naughtiest pups you could ever meet! PHONES. As to be expected at this time of year the phones are red hot with people wanting to hand dogs in and other rescues needing our help. It is out of control and rediculous. We are getting every reason under the sun for dogs needing to come in. And its not just people asking for us to take 1 dog - they are asking us to take multiple dogs. I'm not even going to say how many dogs we've been asked to take in the past few days, as you just wouldn't believe me. We are both dreading hearing the phone at the moment, because we know what it is going to be - and people are not nice when you can't help. And it's not like we are saying we won't help, we give advice - if people can be bothered to listen to it - we are saying we can't help immediately. We will help as soon as we can, but it can't be right now. But of course, in most cases that isn't good enough because they want the dog gone for christmas! MONDAY. A sad day as we said goodbye to an oldie. Jill crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I was terrifed we were going to lose Brigg too, as he was not well at all and showed signs of either having a stroke or vestibula. The vet was uncertain which, so we are treating him for a nasty inner ear infection. It appears to be working. He is holding his head much better now, and there is nothing wrong with his appetite. TUESDAY. We knew Tuesday was probably going to be a sad day. Big D and his Mum & Dad were coming over to see us. Big D had been suffering from a type of 'seizure' that meant he didn't know what he was doing and would behave very aggressively, but not know he was doing it. When he 'came round' again he was very confused. These seizure attacks were getting more frequent. We had the day planned to devote to Diesel and his Mum & Dad. Deep down we all knew what we were going to have to decide, but we wanted to all get together and talk through everything first. We all loved Big D so much, and it was so unfair as he was such a happy soul when this wasn't happening to him. He'd made so much progress with his Mum & Dad, and Moppet. We'd gone through all the behavioural stuff we could. It was beyond behavioural. That was agreed by everyone, including Big D's T-Touch lady, and his own vet. Diesel & family arrived and obviously we were all very upset. It was a very emotional time and tears were flowing freely. Diesel, bless him, was oblivious to a huddled bunch of humans and was racing around with Moppet having a lovely time as he always did when he came for a visit. Moppet and he went off shoplifting! We started to talk everything through. Interruption. While we were talking, another car turned up. It was somone returning a dog. They hadn't called to tell us they were coming, or to arrange to come - and I am afraid I felt very angry at the intrusion into what was a very personal and sad time for both us and Diesel's family. Decisions. When they had left we all concentrated on Big D. We talked and talked, but we all knew what we needed to decide. It was very upsetting. We spoke to our vets and explained the situation. Big D was having a really good day, the sun was shining and he was happy. We all made the decision that he would cross the bridge that evening while he was happy and relaxed, and not after he'd had another terrible episode and hurt his Mum or Dad badly. Big D spent the afternoon playing with his family at Sywell Lakes, totally happy and carefree. When they came back, he had some lovely sausages with sedative to make things much easier for him and his folks. We all went to the vets together. The sedative made Diesel very sleepy and he was able to have fusses and kisses from us all with no worries or fear. We asked if they would like us to stay with them, and they said yes, we was his family too. He was already asleep before the vet came in. Our vet suspected a tumour in D's head. We were all with him as he crossed the bridge, and he looked so peaceful and relaxed. Paul & I left Big D's family with him so they could say their private goodbyes. PEACE. We all know it was the right thing to do, but it doesn't make it any easier to bear. Big D is happy over the Rainbow Bridge now, at peace with old friends and making new friends. No more headaches Big Man. SOUL DESTROYING. Its times like these that make you question yourself. Diesel was a lovely boy, and his Mum & Dad are 2 of the best people you could hope to meet. They adored their 'Bubbles'. Life is so unfair. IN MEMORY. As a tribute to Big D, I asked his Mum & Dad if they would like to name one of the pups that had come in. They said yes please. We now have a Little Bubbles running round causing chaos - and I think Big D would find that very amusing - especially as she is very good at shoplifting!

Wiccaweys Christmas Party!

We are just about catching up with ourselves now.... I can't believe it's a week since the event already!! HUGE thanks from US both for everyone who came and supported the Christmas Party. MASSIVE thanks to those that helped out, donated and generally mucked in on the day - I'm not naming names as I will no doubt forget someone, so will leave it at the Wiccaweys Catering Corps, The Folks in the shop, Raffle ticket sellers, Crafters and Bakers and general DogsBodys on the day.
RAFFLE TICKETS! Thanks to Santa's little Helpers for raffle ticket patrol! And thank you to all who put something on the table for the raffle.
SPECIAL THANKS to Rachel for coming up to judge for us. Her first time judging and little taster of what the Autumn Show will be like. I hope you weren't too daunted Rach! Goodness knows what Pete must have thought we'd been doing to you when you got home, covered in collie slobber from all the kisses and mud splatters from all the paws!

Rachel made herself a special little friend - puppy cuddling keeps you warm on a windy day!
Despite the wind, and early rain The Powers That Be over the Rainbow Bridge waved his wise old paw and dispersed the rain clouds. There were several women early in the morning, in a huddle rubbing on GB's locket asking for him to stop the rain. He did. We forgot to ask for him the make the wind drop! DOH!

THE GRUMPIEST SANTA CLAUS I have ever seen made an appearance and promptly turned into a Flashing Santa after bursting his trousers! The dog walking barn made a lovely grotto. Little Bo telling Santa what she would like for Christmas.
Santa was ably assisted by the Grumpiest Looking Little Helper in the world!

Thankfully, the REAL SANTA PAWS made an appearance. Here he is asking Alun what is on his christmas list - and telling Alun he is on the Good Dog list!
GAMES. We tried to barr Ted from the sausage race, but he managed to get in...even cheating and eating his own and someone elses sausages to knobble the opposition! Viven and Bryn were co-erced into the Musical Mats game.... Viven thinking Bryn wouldn't like it at all.... Guess who won!!

FANCY DRESS!! The Fancy Dress, as always was OUTSTANDING and HYSTERICAL!!!! OMG!!! *and it has given me a special event idea* Everyone entered completely into the spirit of the things and the costumes were fantastic! Rachel stood there open mouthed as they all trooped in! I had warned her the Fancy Dress class is extremely competitive!
Little Bo in a Manger above, and the rest of the family below... not sure about Mark looking like a Wise Man though... more of a passing resemblance to King Herod - which is a worry!
Some dodgy looking, or should that be Doggy looking Elves!
Competitive Mum Syndrome!A Christmas Tree!
And a Raindeer!
SPECIAL MENTION must be given to the Squirrels who surpassed themselves this year - and were forced to pose for this Nativity Scene in Santa's Grotto! I STILL think Mark came as King Herod!
Absolutely FANTASIC Day!! Well done everyone!