In Loving Memory
This page is to pay tribute to the life of my doggy family members & I have written down a poem that is for the unthinking person that says "they were only a dog".
Yes, you were only a dog !
You were only a dog who always greeted me with tail wagging, forever optimistic.
You were only a dog who comforted me, with never a disapproving look.
You were only a dog our children laughed and cryed with.
You were only a dog that made us laugh and cry.
You were only a dog who gave yourself to us, trusted us and expected very little in return.
Yes, you were only a dog !
Jane Howarth
You were only a dog who comforted me, with never a disapproving look.
You were only a dog our children laughed and cryed with.
You were only a dog that made us laugh and cry.
You were only a dog who gave yourself to us, trusted us and expected very little in return.
Yes, you were only a dog !
Jane Howarth
Pupster 2004-2011
It only seems a short while ago that I wrote of the passing of Smidge, who was Pupster's best mate. Tonight sadly I will tell the life story of Pupster who today the 15th September 2011 was put to sleep after being found to have a large tumour in his stomach & that the cancer had spread. His illness was short & he suffered his last hours bravely.
Pupster came into our lives as a 8 week puppy whilst living in South wales (as my husband had a herdsmans job there). At the time we had 3 Cavaliers, two girls Lucy & Penny & one boy Smidge. Lucy was Gran with her daughter Penny & Grandson Smidge. We had Smidge castrated & both Penny & Lucy were now to old to breed. With Penny only having had boys, a line I had bred for several generations had come to unfortunately an end , so I decided to look for another girl Cavalier pup.
I ended up in a farm yard near Camarthen looking at a very cute litter of all tricoloured cavalier pups. The female pup I most liked had already been reserved but then I saw Pupster but I really wanted a girl. Well, to cut a long story short I left with Pupster & on getting him home I remember realising he was crawling with fleas, so he had a spray of Frontline. A couple days after getting him I remember rushing him to the vets with a swollen face after trying to eat a wasp & other than this one time he only ever went to the vets for his vaccinations. He was always such a healthy happy little welsh man.
Pupster's name stems from the fact that we had to wait ages for his papers, so did not know what his KC name was, so we called him Puppy to start with which then became Pupster or the Pup meister.
Although I first bought Pupster with the idea of getting a girl & using him for stud, at 6 months old I had him neutered as he had become a very manly little man trying to ride my old girl most of the time & cocking his leg anywhere or on anything. At this time we did not have facilities to keep male dogs kenelled if they were a bit to doggy to live in all the time. Once we had him neutered all the manly behaviour stopped & Pupster turned into a little gentleman who on occassion could still have his eye turned by a pretty lady.
Pupster from day one became great friends with Smidge & the two of them could be found asleep together or terrorizing the local rabbits together.
When Millie joined our pack as a pup, Pupster took a shine to her & as Smidge got older & enjoyed watching the hunt rather than joining in then Pupster & Millie took over together terrorizing the local wildlife. Pupster was a keen little hunter & could dig like a terrier. He surprised us one day proudly bringing home a mole, we thought he had just been lucky to dig it up but he then produced more moles & we realised it was not just luck but Pupster had a knack for sniffing out moles & digging them up.
Pupster was a character who enjoyed play & would growl & grumble being very verbal whilst playing. He would reverse into you when wanting his bum rubbed, which he enjoyed with a look of utter pleasure when indulged with a good bum rub.
He was very tolerant of our children & like a true Cavalier was a little gentleman. Last year Smidge passed away & Pupster seemed a little lost for a couple days but stepped up to be top dog within our little pack. Smidge will not of been expecting to see his friend so soon but no doubt will take him under his wing once again as he did when Pupster was a puppy.
Farewell our little welshman, rest in peace.
Pupster came into our lives as a 8 week puppy whilst living in South wales (as my husband had a herdsmans job there). At the time we had 3 Cavaliers, two girls Lucy & Penny & one boy Smidge. Lucy was Gran with her daughter Penny & Grandson Smidge. We had Smidge castrated & both Penny & Lucy were now to old to breed. With Penny only having had boys, a line I had bred for several generations had come to unfortunately an end , so I decided to look for another girl Cavalier pup.
I ended up in a farm yard near Camarthen looking at a very cute litter of all tricoloured cavalier pups. The female pup I most liked had already been reserved but then I saw Pupster but I really wanted a girl. Well, to cut a long story short I left with Pupster & on getting him home I remember realising he was crawling with fleas, so he had a spray of Frontline. A couple days after getting him I remember rushing him to the vets with a swollen face after trying to eat a wasp & other than this one time he only ever went to the vets for his vaccinations. He was always such a healthy happy little welsh man.
Pupster's name stems from the fact that we had to wait ages for his papers, so did not know what his KC name was, so we called him Puppy to start with which then became Pupster or the Pup meister.
Although I first bought Pupster with the idea of getting a girl & using him for stud, at 6 months old I had him neutered as he had become a very manly little man trying to ride my old girl most of the time & cocking his leg anywhere or on anything. At this time we did not have facilities to keep male dogs kenelled if they were a bit to doggy to live in all the time. Once we had him neutered all the manly behaviour stopped & Pupster turned into a little gentleman who on occassion could still have his eye turned by a pretty lady.
Pupster from day one became great friends with Smidge & the two of them could be found asleep together or terrorizing the local rabbits together.
When Millie joined our pack as a pup, Pupster took a shine to her & as Smidge got older & enjoyed watching the hunt rather than joining in then Pupster & Millie took over together terrorizing the local wildlife. Pupster was a keen little hunter & could dig like a terrier. He surprised us one day proudly bringing home a mole, we thought he had just been lucky to dig it up but he then produced more moles & we realised it was not just luck but Pupster had a knack for sniffing out moles & digging them up.
Pupster was a character who enjoyed play & would growl & grumble being very verbal whilst playing. He would reverse into you when wanting his bum rubbed, which he enjoyed with a look of utter pleasure when indulged with a good bum rub.
He was very tolerant of our children & like a true Cavalier was a little gentleman. Last year Smidge passed away & Pupster seemed a little lost for a couple days but stepped up to be top dog within our little pack. Smidge will not of been expecting to see his friend so soon but no doubt will take him under his wing once again as he did when Pupster was a puppy.
Farewell our little welshman, rest in peace.
Smidge 1996-2010
When I started this site now in the summer of 2010 I thought that I would not need a page to remember the passing of my doggy companions for a couple years yet, so it is that I am here & to remember the life of a wonderful dog & true friend in every meaning of the word Smidge.
Smidge was taken from me tragically in an accident on the 6th July 2010(see Blog 8th July 2010). He was such a wonderful dog and I do truly feel privileged to of had him in my family's and my life. When he was born and was one of four healthy pups that were all boys, we did not plan on keeping him. So with his brothers we found him a home to go to when old enough, but a couple days later the lady rang me and said that she had found out that she was allergic to him, so Smidge returned and I truly think that Smidge chose us and not the other way round, as what a dog. As a young man he would retrieve until he was of his legs and his ability to catch anything in his mouth, especially any food the kids happened to drop allowed him at times to be a little bit wide in the waist. We had him castrated at one as he had a retained testicle, but we never intended him for breeding. This though did not stop him being a ladies man and I am sure he actually thought that the pups we had were his, as he was always so good with them. He also was very trainable knowing how to bark if you said "ask for it Smidge". In his later years he slowed up a bit but was very happy trundling about the place and also got a bit hard of hearing, but got really good at understanding hand signals. We are coming to terms with losing him and realise that we have been lucky to of had him in our lifes, as his tolerance and loyalty to my family have been worthy of a medal, so rest in peace to a true friend Smidge. The privilege was all mine you old bear of a dog.
Smidge was taken from me tragically in an accident on the 6th July 2010(see Blog 8th July 2010). He was such a wonderful dog and I do truly feel privileged to of had him in my family's and my life. When he was born and was one of four healthy pups that were all boys, we did not plan on keeping him. So with his brothers we found him a home to go to when old enough, but a couple days later the lady rang me and said that she had found out that she was allergic to him, so Smidge returned and I truly think that Smidge chose us and not the other way round, as what a dog. As a young man he would retrieve until he was of his legs and his ability to catch anything in his mouth, especially any food the kids happened to drop allowed him at times to be a little bit wide in the waist. We had him castrated at one as he had a retained testicle, but we never intended him for breeding. This though did not stop him being a ladies man and I am sure he actually thought that the pups we had were his, as he was always so good with them. He also was very trainable knowing how to bark if you said "ask for it Smidge". In his later years he slowed up a bit but was very happy trundling about the place and also got a bit hard of hearing, but got really good at understanding hand signals. We are coming to terms with losing him and realise that we have been lucky to of had him in our lifes, as his tolerance and loyalty to my family have been worthy of a medal, so rest in peace to a true friend Smidge. The privilege was all mine you old bear of a dog.
