Eight months on and I’ve now been here for a year and a half – and still loving it.

The kennel refurbishment is now complete and an additional two further pens have also been erected. One of our biggest selling points is that dogs who board with us only go into their kennels at night – spending the day in the various large pens where they can roam free. All of the pens have a ‘den’ in them and some owners have said they would prefer their dogs to stay in the pens and sleep in the den at night rather than going into a kennel – this isn’t something we had thought of when building the dens but actually works out really – particularly for the larger dogs.
Some sad news – my beautiful Chloe passed away – she was 12 years old and enjoyed her year here with all of the space but unfortunately the arthritis in her hips deteriorated rapidly at the end and as soon as she reached the stage where she couldn’t stand up on her own or support her own weight, it was time to let her go. It was heart-breaking and so difficult to make that decision and say the final goodbye but it has to be what is right for her – not for me.

On a happier note, I have become involved with the local animal rescue charity and have started fostering abandoned pups and dogs who are waiting for adoption. Fortunately, I have a large pen with a kennel right next to the house so this has been ideal for the pups as they need a lot of attention. Initially, I had two pups for two weeks, then another two for a week and then three for three weeks – it was hard work (pups can poo for England!) but a fabulous experience. Then I took in a mum and her four pups who were only three weeks old – well what an emotional rollercoaster!!! Normally, the animal rescue organisation move pups around different fosterers so they don’t become too attached (the pups and the fosterers!!), but these pups had ringworm so had to be kept in isolation so I looked after them until they were ready to be adopted at four months! They were gorgeous and I loved it until I had to let them go which is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. On the plus side, they went at different times so I didn’t have to say goodbye to all four together and the last one went yesterday. I miss them terribly as they were such good fun but the adoptive parents have sent me photos from their new homes in Holland which is lovely.

So now I have time to catch up on some outstanding jobs – the kennels took priority before Christmas so it is now time to work on the house and garden. Whilst I have ten acres of land, I want to section a part which is actually a garden and terrace area so that I might actually get to sit and read a book in the sunshine one of these fine days!!!