A special bear is home again

A bear of my own to keep

Over the years I've often been asked if I have any bears of my own at home, any special favourites which I just had to keep.  The answer has always been no; for practical reasons it was my income so much as I would have liked, they had to find homes.  From a creative point of view I always wanted to make improvements and move on.  So, whilst I have my first and a few very early efforts, I haven't kept any others  at all.

Do I have favourites, well yes there are out there some bears which I always remember above the others; and for diplomatic reasons my lips are sealed on that.

Back in January 2018 I made a small 6 jointed black bear, I gave him a white chest and a little white tip on his tail.   By then my old Newfie, Angus was quite frail and for some time had wanted no more than to spend his days and nights beside me; he stayed with me snoozing while I made bears and because I had given the little bear a white patch and tail just like Angus, I called him Angus and took their pictures together, under my desk where old Angus spent his time.

 I listed little Angus on my website and he quickly found a home with a collector who had a number of my bears, so I knew he went to a good home.

What I hadn't expected was that only two months later my own dear old friend Angus would pass away.  When I tried to go and do any work all I could think of was that he wasn't beside me as I sewed and stuffed and I just couldn't find the heart to do very much.

Anyway, a while ago, I noticed that the collector was thinning her collection, and I contacted her and asked that if she ever thought of selling Angus to please let me know.

I had missed him and after Angus death I regretted selling him; I shouldn't have given him the same name and I couldn't forget how much those pictures somehow tied into the memory of my old dog who in his later life never wanted more than to be beside me.

A few weeks ago I received the message that the bear was to be sold and so he came home.  

So, now I have a recent bear to represent my work in my own home, chosen by fate because in my mind he is so closely associated with Angus my special old Newfie pal.

He sits on the shelf above my work desk now, I still miss canine company when I work, Gaspard always wants to be close but I'm afraid he hasn't learned to ignore all the exciting things on the work top so has to stay out.  I'm retired from full time work now though so I only spend a couple of hours a day in there  anyway.

Last picture is of them together again; Angus' ashes with his collars and the little silver box which contains some of the white hairs from  the end of his tail.  

 

 

Melodies and Memories

Places and songs hold special memories for many people. In my little world one of those places is Polesden Lacey; my mum enjoyed visiting the house and gardens and in more recent years it has become a regular favourite for morning dog walks. The house stands in a large estate and a walk around the nearer lanes is just about right for the Newfies.

Last summer I took Angus and young Buster there in Springtime and shared happy pictures on my blog of us together in favorite resting places on our walk.  Tragically it turned out to be our last visit together and Buster died barely a month later.  I had only been back once or twice after, without the dogs, and remember sitting looking across the view from the verandah of the house with tears pouring down my face as I remembered Buster and how happy we had been such a short while before.

So what about the melodies.  Well that is a Buster memory again. When he was poorly at home I put on a cd of old standard songs.  The first one was Dean Martin singing "Memories are Made of This."  Buster was asleep but he sat up and cocked his ears when the music started and for that simple silly reason as well as the obvious meaning of the song, I associate it with him. Whenever I hear it I see him sitting up with his head on one side watching the loudspeaker in my sitting room, sniffing at it as if to work out where the sound was coming from.

So how does this all come together.  Well, last Sunday I made my first return to Polesden for a walk with the dogs, this time with Angus and young Mr Bond. As I approached the gate memories stirred of course but then, and quite by chance, the cd in the car reached its end and the next one in the changer loaded itself, a home made one of some old favourites, and at the very moment I drove through the gate Dean Martin's voice began singing "Memories are Made of This."

Probably a complete lucky coincidence but a moment to remember. The spring morning was lovely and we had a great walk and made new memories in our favourite resting places.

 Ian was looking after Angus while I steered the extremely energetic Mr Bond around the sheep, swampy puddles and other countryside features. Here we are now, a happy family again enjoying the Spring sunshine.

Posh - Shalowseas on the Double of Tallisbay

Posh

2000 - 2013

Today 11th November would have been Posh's 13th Birthday

I had to say good-bye to my lovely old Lady Posh, she crossed that old Rainbow Bridge on the evening of September 23rd just a month or so short of her 13th Birthday.

 I first met Posh when I visited Suzanne Archer in early 2007 hoping to be allowed to aquire my first Newfie puppy.  That puppy was of course Angus but what I didn't realise was that 2 years later, just before Christmas 2009, Posh would come to stay with me for a few days.  I was at first a little worried about how Angus would accept her and  how I would manage two Newfs in my tiny house. However it is no surprise really that she fitted in just beautifully and adopted me, I fell in love with her and here she stayed.

During her successful show career Posh was awarded 2 Reserve Challenge Certificates, at Birmingham National Championship Show in 2003 and Three Counties Championship Show in 2006.

Posh was also excellent at water work, she gained the award of Top Working Dog in 2003 and was presented with the Alain Nouvion Trophy by the Newfoundland Club of Great Britain, she achieved passes at level D and gained her multi-test water work certificate at level C.

By the time she came to live with me Posh had already retired from her show and working activities, but she never lost the fascination for water, even though she was extremely well behaved outdoors she would sometimes decide that there was an interesting swamp or muddy creek nearby which required closer inspection.

Posh was extremely well behaved on our walks together, many of my fondest memories are of our evening stroll along the river side in Hersham, it became increasingly difficult to manage long walks with Angus as she aged, so often she came just by herself and enjoyed the extra attention. Posh had many admirers in the village and loved the attention standing while everybody patted her and cuddled her.

 Her 11th Birthday was quite a landmark, a good age for a Newfie, no grey hairs and still very much enjoying life. Posh was 11 years old, on 11/11/2011 a rather neat numerical coincidence which I am sure gave her special powers.

 Posh made my doggy family, I could always trust her to walk close by even in situations where Angus had to put up with being on his leash, having being a bit worried at first about how I would manage two Newfies it actually became easier than having one and I was hugely proud of how well Posh behaved even if I can hardly claim any credit for that, she arrived in my house very well behaved to start with.

When Buster arrived in October 2012, Posh was rather distant with him at first, I am not sure that she appreciated a whirling puppy appearing in her old age but she soon became firm friends with him and for that all too brief time I had a family of three beautiful Newfies.  I think Posh was always the matriarch of the family and kept the boys in order for me.

Posh slowed down a lot in her last months but she was a very fit happy dog and stayed in good health, she did finally have to give up her journey up the stairs to sleep beside my bed but had a distinct, quite musical, bark which meant that she needed help and which became my morning call.

When Posh died I was already anticipating the arrival of a new Pup and I had been hoping that she would live long enough to meet him.  Well she didn't quite make it but Posh was a delight and adding her to my family was one of the best decisions I ever made, she was a special companion and our evening walks beside the River in Hersham some of the happiest doggy memories which I will always treasure. I miss her pretty bark and our gentle expeditions around the village, they became shorter and shorter until all we could manage was to sit on the first bench on the Green, Posh's Bench now and a reminder of where we used to rest for a cuddle and watch the world go by.... 

Sleep safe my lovely little lady Bear. 

Ten Months and Nine Days

I don't really know how to begin this post,   I don't  have the eloquence to express the loss and sadness that has overwhelmed me at the very premature death of my beautiful young Newfie, Buster.

He died on June 12th from dreadful complications following surgery.  He was only ten months and 9 days old, not even fully grown and just turning from a puppy into a young dog with the sweetest disposition I have ever known.

I am trying very hard to keep reminding myself that Nature never promised that life would be fair, it's road sets many obstacles and trials, and the rewards are all the richer for accepting and understanding that.

Try as I might to understand just at the moment all I can feel is that it is so very wrong that this most beautiful creature should not even live long enough to reach maturity, Mother Nature dealt him a cruel hand.

From the moment I first held him at a few days old I just knew he was meant to be my dog, and I counted the days impatiently waiting for him to come home, my biggest concern was how the others would take to him.  It was a joy to watch them all learn to live together so well, Angus even allowed him to share his special sleeping place. Needless to say we became a very happy family, I never imagined having three Newfies at the same time but I loved it, it was glorious.

Buster was brave, and stoic and never showed anything but a gentle loving nature even after he must have been in great pain in the last days after the surgery had failed.  Dogs are amazing creatures and Buster certainly proved that far beyond the call of duty.

Today his ashes came home and I thought it was time that I revealed this saddest news, he was a truly stunningly beautiful dog, his markings were my dream of what a Newfie should be, best of all was his sweet gentle nature.  I have proudly enjoyed sharing his pictures and some of my adventures with him and I am devastated to be sharing the news of his early death.

Angus and Posh are here to comfort me and I will be brave to honour Buster.

That's enough words.... I expect some of you have seen these pictures before but they are so pretty that there is no harm in sharing them again...

Thank you my boy for every moment we shared.... Love you always Mr Busto Boost....

Buster's first proper snow

Buster is now 5 1/2 months old and the recent snowfalls reached us in the South East

Not a great deal fell here but enough to give Buster plenty to amuse himself with. His registered name is Tallisbay Turbo Boost and he certainly lived up to that charging round ploughing the snow.

My attempts to dry him off with towels were pretty futile as he rapidly churned the pristine white layer into a nice slushy mess, stirred some mud into it then dragged the towels around leaving them to freeze on the ground.

Even Posh joined in and shed her 12 years for a frisky game with Buster.

On Saturday night more snow fell so the doggies had early walks around the village we found this charming Snowman and Snowdog on the Green and couldn't resist a shot of Angus and Buster with them.  Posh is missing from the shot, she had an earlier very short walk with Angus but she is too old now and can't manage to walk as far as the Back Green.   Buster is only allowed moderate walks while he is growing so Angus ends up going out twice

Washed and Brushed

Suzanne came to visit us on Saturday so the dogs had baths had their ears cleaned and were brushed and groomed.  The house and "garden" also had a thorough sort out so we would be ready to receive a guest and it seemed like a good idea to
record this brief moment of complete tidiness on film :-).

Suzanne is very good at getting dogs to pose for the camera and she persuaded Posh and Angus to sit relatively still in front of the nice spot in my yard so this is my excuse to share some of the pictures of my wonderful hairy friends.

Fresh Air and a Swim

It has been a while since I posted here, the end of the year seems to prompt so many to reflect on the year just passed and contemplate prospects for the future.  Well, 2011 was not without its issues, not all pleasant but through those difficulties I am so very glad I have special friends who have looked after me.

Nothing better to blow cobwebs away than a brisk walk on a chilly day with the doggies, as a post Christmas adventure we went to Virginia Water, quite a few people had the same idea so it was crowded with families with assorted dogs of all shapes and sizes but of course Angus and Posh were by far the most beautiful.

Posh has been showing some signs of her age recently so I was very pleased that she seemed to be able to keep up comfortably.  Posh is usually a model of good behaviour on walks but just once in a while she turns a deaf ear to instruction and did just that as she marched very purposefully towards the lake, stepped in and paddled about defiantly, I don't think she actually got around to swimming but seemed to enjoy walking along the bottom anyway.

So cobwebs well and truly blown away its back to work and with fresh ideas for some new bears for 2012.