cycas

The Squirrel posted (in another thread) I was just wondering if anyone would be up for a 'make a christmas decoration' competition? Do it as a mini fundraiser, one quid an entry to Oldies, post a photo of your Great Work (or not great work and give us a laugh ) I was thinking of asking Mindy Tobleronie as the Refuge's own Festive Guru to judge, and that I would donate a suitably arty theatre token as a prize..? Would anyone have time to enter? Would anyone want their kids to enter (in which case, I'm thinking would be nice to have a separate kid's class) ?

It rhymes with Weebles ! They wobble but they don't fall down!

I don't think it's a clever joke, I am just quite infantile. Despite all evidence to the contrary, I cannot help finding the word 'Peebles' amusing.

I won't mention them to Az., he'll be wanting to come and visit...

It occurs to me that I have not yet bored the Fugees with some of my recent paintings and photos of dogs. Do join in and post yours if anyone has drawn any. We see a lot of photos, but few other media! Mollydog running (her legs were very hard to get right!) ... And snoozing. And Duke the Doop, foster lurcher, being very silly: And trying to look majestic, in a landscape : And a pile of snoozing Az's in various poses:

Hurray! Now that the serious point of this thread has been achieved, I can admit that the phrase: 'Contacts in Peebles' makes me giggle madly like a small child.

Yeah, surely if they just meant 'has a KC registration' then when Laura contacted them to say, Oi! then surely they would have come back with a message to say 'no any dog can be registered' and give a link? Of course, could be that it's one of these left hand doesnt' know what the right is doing situations...

Oldies Club are urgently trying to find an already homechecked foster home Manchester-Liverpool-Stockport- Chester - Warrington area for Sam, a quiet older male dog. Sam is of medium size and looks sort of yellow labX though probably more good old mongrel than any specific breed. Sam has not lived with other dogs, but we think he would be OK with another quiet dog. He's not suitable for full time worker but can be left for some time: he's used to a retired owner. Sam is fearful of cars, but is familiar with cats and we think he could be OK in a home with cats if introduced carefully. We are looking for someone who has had a rescue homecheck, but are happy to take references from other rescues given the timescale! Can you help? Please contact [email protected] if you can. Please cross post.

It's a magnificent start to the year, truly in keeping with what we have come to expect from our Festive Guru...

Wow, what a lovely pic of Buggly! Fame at last... Have you got a linky for the Tshirts?

What Amy said. I think you'll be lucky if it comes back if the compost was frozen solid though, even hardy plants often struggle if their roots get frozen.

I don't think she'd fit in my cat carrier anyway. Perl has a similar physique, but is generally smalller!

I still have no snow, only ice and freezing fog. WOE IS ME!

I have to take Perl the Scouse Mog in for a dental. It sounds like I have an angry Liza Tarbuck in a box in my hall right now...

Az is pretty keen on the snow. I didn't get a pic of him rolling in it... Mollydog, as usual, being a nudist. She does occasionally wear a coat, but is a bit Geordie about it.

Not as sad as me, Mollydog has a lovely fleecy Barbour which is terribly smart and she absolutely refuses to wear it apart from about two days a year when it is cold enough that she will grudgingly tolerate it. She plants her feet and will not move! For some reason her nylon anorak thing is considered more acceptable..

Would the people at the pub keep an eye out for him, if you had a word with them? Silly man!

I have encountered a bit of this from the other side (and within sighthounds too : there are actually people who will sneer at lurchers for crossed with 'curs' ! - ie, people make disapproving remarks to me about other people's dogs because they assume that as both of mine look full sighthound, I will agree with them. Possibly I should carry one of the cats with me at all times to make it clear mine is not a purist sighthound-only household? Frankly, I am baffled by it. I'm really sorry to hear people were so rude and unwelcoming I suppose Tess isn't huge if you are used to greyhounds, so 'little dog' was probably inevitable in the absence of a yorkie for contrast. (I can't help calling my mother's dogs 'the little dogs' and they are two smallish collie crosses and a whippet! On the other hand, have met a greyhound owner who called my Mollydog greyhound 'the little dog' because she looks like a dwarf compared to a big male greyhound and a Borzoi...) I guess there probably are greyhounds that would not recognise Tess as a dog to start with because their definition of 'dog' is so narrow - but in that case I would have thought it would be jolly good practice for them to see her pootling about at a distance.

The toenails one made me laugh immoderately.

Wow, that's what I call proper snow!

Jake's poor sad little face! And his boots! I have to get my snow pix off the camera...

I'm constantly being offered 'Christmas in Cornwall' - right, that would be like EVERY year then?

Our snow from yesterday has melted and it's just cold now. Pretty blue skies though.

Those are very smart, do they sell sighthound fit ones? Not that Mollydog would be seen dead walking in one, we have absolute tantrums and I CANNOT WALK IN THIS THING even with a light raincoat unless it's absolutely frrrrrrrreeezing, but my Mum's whippet Flash might benefit, the poor little soul really feels the cold. I've just bought him some pyjamas for Christmas... If I hadn't just bought Az a new Blizzard coat I might have got one for him too...

2 thoughts 1) the Refuge started out with loads of amazing and enthusiastic people on board. Thing is, amazing enthusiastic people are great volunteers and start projects of their own too. I suspect a lot of the energy that used to be thrown into organising stuff here and posting new ideas is now being used on other projects by people who just don't have time for everything. I know that when I started joining rescue forums, I had five cats and some spare time. Since then I've added two extra dogs, two extra cats, two extra rabbits, have somehow ended up on the committee of a rescue, have created and support websites for four rescue organisations, foster, homecheck and occasionally transport. My time to devote to further projects is minimal, and so my forum involvement has fallen off : if my job wasn't internetty, I'd probably not visit this one or Facebook either. I'm not sure this is a decline in the Refuge that we are seeing : to some extent I think it's a victim of its own success that so many posters no longer have much time for it! 2) I genuinely think RMF has sucked the life out of the forum for people who dont' visit as often. They can't keep up with the speed of it, and it's got to the stage where people put everything in there and almost nothing - even lovely photos or great news, or questions that really merit more thought - goes in a new thread.