About a Boy...........and a Girl.

Here is the news in brief.

1. Mrs Pither's status has been ugraded again. You may remember that she shifted from The Soon-To-Be Ex-Mrs Pither to the Very-Soon-To-Be last year? Well, she's now up to the Imminently Ex-Mrs Pither. In short, she has a new man. He is, of course, a self-obsessed, boring twat (grapes? Acidity?) but Hell, how on earth could she ever hope to follow Pither! No doubt he will eventually prove to be not as much of an arsehole as he is currently (I have met him and she has known him for years) but, as Jordan's publicity agent once said, you can't really polish a turd.

2. You may not believe this but............Pither has found someone else as well!!! For the cynical and suspicious out there, we got together months after Mr P announced news of her new beau. I shall write more about my lady in future but, suffice to say, she is lovely!! I just wish I had met her 20 years ago. She is beautiful, she is very intelligent, she is very funny and...........she has unfeasibly large chest furniture. Hurrah!! Sadly, she does not live over an off-licence or have a Nottingham Forest season ticket but, apart from that, she is perfect.

3. I have got a new dog! The truth is, I took the death of my beloved Pad earlier this year very hard. I suppose I am still not over it and think about him all the time.
There is a saying round at Pither Towers that I do not find rescue dogs - they find me. True to form, I did a story about another German Shepherd dog which was rescued by an animal welfare charity. The poor lad had been found collapsed in a town about 20 miles from where I work. He was so starving he weighed just 20 kilos (two thirds of what he should have done) and he had appalling mange which had left him all-but bald from the neck down. He was close to death but the rescue people nursed him back from the brink in the month they had him........and then Pither entered the frame.
I couldn't get his story out of my mind and eventually I buckled and rang the charity to ask about him. A string of phone calls followed which culminated in me and my three other dogs going over to see him last Wednesday.
They had done well with him - he had gained six kilos during his month-long stay - but he was still in a sorry state. However, he got on with my pack, was very friendly and seemed full of fun. He was back at Pither Towers the same night!!!!
When he first arrived I think you can see what a poor condition he was in. He also looked deeply troubled, understandably.



In just five days he has come on massively. He now looks happier, he is playing with the other dogs, having sorted out his place in the pecking order (like Pad, at the bottom!), he is eating like a horse and he is full of beans. He sleeps on the bed with me and makes a real fuss when I come home after work. In truth, he is fantastic and has a great life ahead of him.




I took him to the vet's yesterday for a full check-over. As a result, he is now microchipped, insured, he has undergone blood and skin tests to take his treatment forward and has been wormed.
Back home, he has a new bed, a new, leather collar, a nice nametag, a box of fluffy toys (Alsatians love soft, fluffy toys for some reason) and piles of pasta, rice and dog food whenever he wants them.

Oh, and his name. Padfoot was the only dog I had ever rescued who came without a name and so I was able to choose one. Well, the new boy, who is definitely following in Pad's pawsteps, didn't have a name either. So, I have fulfilled a lifelong ambition.........................I have called him Dave. I've always wanted a dog called Dave.

There, life is good! The corner has been turned. I'm tempted to let everyone out of Grantham today but, bearing in mind we could soon have a state funeral for Thatcher which would change my mood, I had better keep everything in there for now.

TTFN