Alison

Would anyone want to bid on one of those memory foam mattress things? A well known manufacturer is a big Sol fan and gives him pretty much anything he asks for. The only problem might be delivery - they come vacuum packed in a roll then magically whizz up to bed size when you slit the wrapping. Still not something you could pop in the post though and courier costs might prove prohibitive. Should I get one weighed and measured so that delivery costs might be estimated? I haven't ever slept on one btw and haven't a clue as to whether they're any good.

Clazuk and Dog Rescue Lover are to blame in my case

I've often wondered in a curious but "not wanting to go there" way what it'd be like to tonguey snog someone with dentures. One such tried it with me a year or so back but I legged it before the vestibule of danger was crossed. Is there a risk of retracting your tongue and finding a set of teggies on the end of it? Can you feel the plate in the roof of their mouth? I should've gone for it just for the purposes of research but it's far easier to ask here! Put me out of my misery and spill. For what it's worth, the recipe for a perfect snog is genuine intimacy in my experience and more, erm, intimate than sex (I'm not a prostitute btw.)

Cromwell does right pocket, Sol does left. I think we need to start varying things Jacky and make dog deafness/selective hearing disappear!

I'll bet they get some interesting phone calls

I thought I was daft about Sol but his Dad somehow manages to actually be worse! We were having this exact conversation on Monday evening. As Sol was a stray with no history that is known to us, we both fret that he might be older than the vet et al estimate and are constantly looking for reasons to worry. As you do. Sol's Dad thinks that his hearing is deteriorating. I know that it's improving! Only the other weekend I was marvelling at the fact that Sol can hear me taking my left glove off when he's 50 yards away (eyes forward, so he's not seen me and I've been specifically testing this). Why my left glove I wonder? Coz that's the hand that goes in the treats pocket! In all seriousness though it's more than the sound of the glove. I take my right glove off and he definitely hears it (I can tell by the set of his ears) but takes no other notice. It's the fact that when the left one comes off I unzip my pocket pretty much straight away afterwards - that's his "signal" for the offering of behaviours because he's pretty sure he'll get a treat if he looks at me and does what I might ask. It's usually a simple "down" at a distance or "come and sit". Just games and an excuse to reward which we both enjoy. No matter how quietly I unzip that pocket though, he can certainly hear it. I think that's what Sol's doing to his Dad who gives him treats at regular intervals on walks as a matter of routine. Sol gets a gravy bone at a certain gateway (e.g.) and knows that he will. His Dad needs to make things a bit more random IMHO then Sol would be more focused on him - and a bit less "deaf"!

The one I've got is just a cheapo A3 jotter really, many tear-off pages with the company logo and contact details printed on each one. I tend to refer to it frequently as it has a map of Europe with the "postcodes" for the areas of each country on it. No matter how fancy or eyecatching, if there was nothing there that was useful to me I doubt I'd even have paid it any heed let alone given the givers any business so I suppose that's key

I've not had chance to read back for ages but will (try) now. I have been thinking about Alfie's Mum though - does anyone know how she is, whether she managed to resolve any of the awful issues that she was facing?

That reminds me....... The new kennel doors that were ordered as replacements for these were made to measure as a special order - and turned up the wrong size! The manufacturers were pretty stroppy about a refund but as everything was in writing they didn't have a leg to stand on. Part of their reluctance to take the "wrong" doors back was that they were a non-standard size and they'd have difficulty selling them. As soon as I knew that the old doors might be useful I e-mailed asking about them and will get back to you as soon as I have the answer. Re. the wrong new doors, I'll find out who the manufacturers are and see if a deal can be struck. I won't be in a position to ascertain the info on that until Sunday but as soon as I have it, I'll let you know. I'm sorry I can't attend to any of this more quickly but it relies on responses which I can't hurry (although hopefully I will at least know about the old doors tomorrow)

A pen, but definitely one with a good clicky click as Cheryl says. Those big desk blotter things tend to catch my eye the most at work and I've given business to a company I wouldn't have done had their details not been so prominently convenient. What's a stress ball?

Would these kennel doors be any use? I can’t promise anything (they are/were being replaced and may already have been disposed of) but will certainly do what I can if they’d be useful. They're not being replaced because there's anything wrong with them btw.

Revise that - I've just received the most generous and kind PM and all is well

Just off to bed and no takers I predict a night of fitful sleep liberally sprinkled with bad dreams

Sol has just deigned to speak to me briefly on the matter and would like more info - your first name, patronym and the name of your house if it has one and if not, the name of your street and postcode PM them rather than posting here if you prefer. He's done this before for dogs and horses and the resulting posh, apposite names have been spot-on and very well received. I'm going to bed now; being owned by a dog who is my creative and intellectual superior does my head in.

Sol's the best with names but he's "resting" now in his smoking jacket - I'll give him resting and smoking jacket one of these days - and I'm not scheduled for an audience (where we discuss pressing issues as opposed to our relaxed morning walk) with him until 11:00h tomorrow. I'll consult him then and get back to you.

I am on the case for all of the above and will PM you Just sorry I can't do more.

Oh, so that's the way things are I'm so naïve and you're all so horribly cruel - you should be ashamed of yourselves, picking on a poor defenceless innocent like me

Wendbert of Bumpy's Bakery fame (amongst many other fames of course) was Sol's Secret Santa and I'm ashamed to say that the biccies she sent were so delicious that I ate most all of them Cruel owner alert and I hang my head in shame. There are posts - nay whole threads here regarding hound scrounging - and in this house it's completely the other way round. Double shame I'd say that it'd be worth asking her for her recipe if she's prepared to divulge it - those biscuits really are too scrummy for words. Take it from one who knows, and it's not Sol

I'll sort the Superkettle details and e-mail them tomorrow. If you haven't heard from me by Friday, will someone give me a prod please? It's turning out to be a bit of mad week (which does not augur well given that it's only Monday ) Would Grandma S want us as slaves, minstrels or both? As everyone here knows, I'm a saddo with no friends and nowt better to do but Sol does have rather a full social diary and his dance card is marked months in advance.

You're about 20 mins away from me Rudi. Do you fancy inviting me and Sol for a cuppa and/or walk some time? I forgot Hollyhardwick - she's near Loughborough and I had no idea that Richard The Sane was so near.

Do you think anyone would be interested if I offered another *Superkettle? Or me and Sol as slaves/minstrels for an evening or weekend? It's very hard to gauge these things and I don't want to donate anything that might distract people's attention away from good fund raising items. *wot one looks like

I dunno Kats (many thanks for your response btw, it is very much appreciated ) My gut feeling is that she wanted to know how he intends to plead. Certainly up until her phone call he intended to plead guilty but this may have provoked him to hit the bottle and change his mind just out of spite. The charges relate to domestic violence but I'm not very "up" on these things so don't know what they are exactly. Again, not being very up on such matters, I'm assuming that if he pleads guilty it will make life easier for her - would a guilty plea mean that the whole thing would be concluded quickly, i.e. no further protracted court battles? One of the things she mentioned to him was the possibility of "having to get rid of the dogs" but I get a sense of if........(you don't plead guilty). I'm just reading between the lines on that though. There's no point posting anything in the dogs needing homes thread until I know more but if any of my friends here might have emergency foster space at short notice for two dogs, could you let me know? Both are fully housetrained, beautifully behaved, fantastic with kids and utterly cat safe. I'm not asking for possible emergency cat fostering as Merlin died recently but Benson and Noodle lived in perfect harmony with him until that point. The dogs would need to be collected from the Carlton area of Nottingham. If someone could just give me that potential safety net which hopefully won't be needed, it really would help me sleep tonight

Dog Rescue Lover, Chrissie, Leicslass, BOB and Siani I think, although Rudi, Ann Grose, Houndzrus Marge and Melp aren't far away either. It might be worth mentioning that my grasp of geography is pretty dreadful though

Hiya Baby Newb! Fancy seeing you here! You'll make some great new friends on The Refuge and there's always lots of good advice if you need it. Have fun finding your way around, oh, and if you stumble across the sumptuous collars thread you'll see that I've requested the turquoise fabric for Quinn as you asked. Could you measure his neck (or the blue webbing collar that he came with) and let me know? Alison xx Here's Quinn's "going home forever" pic Hope you don't mind me posting it.

RMQ: Quite a serious one and yes, dogs are involved A long story and I’m still at work but when I get home I’m going to have to sort this. It’s a domestic (not mine, thanks at least for that!) Alcoholic man, son of a dear friend who is not up to dealing with this shite, was arrested and put in cells 4 times within the space of a week last month. On the last occasion he was taken to court and a condition of his bail was that he made no contact with his wife or her young daughter until the matter goes to trial on Wednesday. It seems that she rang him yesterday and that’s my question – surely she should not be contacting him either? If any legal peeps could post here with advice so that I’m armed when I get home I’d be really grateful I’ve been asked to call the wife.