suzeanna

It was lovely to see you and your OH yesterday Liz..and Rowan Dylan and Bonnie, of course. My Dylan sniffed me very thoroughly, I think he could smell the cat. He probably thought me a terrible traitor.

For anyone suffering from a lack of funds (like me!) the Euro lottery this week is 88million...and it has to go, it can't roll. You never know........

Claire, for heavens sake why should anyone question your decision? if they honestly think they could have done any better they are deluded! I know from personal experience how difficult it is when you have one dog constantly challenging for top dog position, and that was with two dogs with only about eighteen months between them, when one is an oldie uncertain on his feet, it would have been cruel to him for you to have kept Dudley. It would be like making your child sit next to the class bully every day knowing they will get seven bells knocked out of them! You gave him back his health and youth, but unfortunately your situation (ie. with other dogs already in the home) just doesn't have turned out to be the right place for him now. Send him on the next stage of his development with a smile and feel proud of what you've done for him, and many others. Haven't been on much over the weekend and not read right back, so as required.

I have to drive down to East Midlands airport this afternoon to collect my daughter and her OH from a holiday in Skiathos. I hate driving on motorways. I hate driving on motorways in the rain even more, and its raining. Plus the M1 on Friday afternoon is always totally insane. I can feel a panic attack coming on (and unfortunately, I'm not joking.) helpppppp!!!

Melp...brilliant news about Trev! Sparkle....next time his name comes up on your phone, just hit delete without reading it! dont give him the pleasure of upsetting you.

Put him on block...it will only upset you if he keeps doing this.

I dont understand the fat index bit, but going by your BMI..you are underweight! I think its a bit silly for supermarkets to put machines in place without giving a full explanation of what things mean, it only worries and confuses people. Big for poor Flora. Owl...that sounds really bad...my daughter had shingles ages ago, and she was in terrible pain but her rash wasn't as extensive as yours. Hope its just the homeopathy treatment making it peak and you soon feel easier.

No...he gave me amitryptiline some while back, which I'm still taking, and I was taking Ibuprofen and paracetamol..which he said stop, and take the co codamol instead. If it doesn't help, I'll mention Gabapentin to him...never heard of it before!

I haven't read back ( my concentration seems to have disappeared) so to those who need them. Went to the doc this morning with my usual aches and some new ones...the ones that aren't down to osteo arthritis are down to the fibromyalgia, apparently. Thats alright then. He's given me co codamol tablets. I got home and read the leaflet with the possible side effects...eeek! I've taken a couple and am now waiting to be sick/dizzy/have blurred vision/come out in welts, any or all of them. Or possibly none..but that would be too much to hope for.

Dont know what time you are seeing your doctor, but I developed shingles a couple of years ago, on my leg..tracking down the sciatic nerve so the doc told me, and he gave me some tablets which he said with luck would stop them in their tracks, and they worked! the rash took a while to fade, but it took all the pain and itchiness away. Can't remember what they were, but they were specifically for shingles.

So sorry Chickentikka

I just read some tragic news on DP...one of their members, a girl only 27, collapsed and was rushed to hospital but they couldn't save her. It makes you realise how much you take your life for granted...that you'll still be here tomorrow.

If he was interested in a sexual way, he'd be trying to bonk her..anywhere he could get to be basic! it sounds to me more like an overuse of grooming, and when one dog is grooming another, its usually the less dominant one which does the grooming. I dont know about the neutering/fear bit, our rescue lurcher was neutured in Ireland before he came over here, and he was very fear aggressive when we first got him, he also tried to bonk all the girls, despite supposedly no longer having the hormones that should have driven him to do so! he had improved a lot over the last two years, but it was a struggle to start with. Does she tell him off when she gets fed up? and if so, does he take any notice? Dylan is strange, he acts very forceful and dominant, but when a bitch we had here actually went for him and bit him, he fled outside, rather than retaliating.

oh dear..I seem to have accidentally thrown bombs at both the Squiggs, and stolen their money, very clumsy of me! arrrrr!

I emailed Niamh a few months ago and asked...but got no reply

I did start a thread on that subject claz and mel...its migrated to controversial.......

There was quite a long discussion about pitbulls and Ellie's grandmother walking free....I'm totally horrified that she was allowed to! Ellie's dad is saying they are distraught, and the grandmother is solely to blame for Ellie's death...oh really? the woman was a known drug user and alcoholic....did they really think she was a responsible sort that they could leave their daughter with? if there hadn't been a dog involved, she could just as easily have fallen asleep with a cigarette burning and burned the house down or something. Of course, you had the requisite phone calls from people who have been bitten, one woman saying it should be one bite and that's it, dog is put down. What made me laugh, she is a social worker....maybe it should be one mistake by social workers and they are sacked? "counting on my fingers all the children who have been in the news having died at their carers hands, after a social worker said they were fine". Do move this to contro if you think it warrants it, mods.

My caption would be "blimey, this bubblegum blows up well!" Our GSD Jazz used to love balloons, but he used to jump on them and burst them and then be puzzled for ages about where they had gone

Infected eczema can be difficult to clear up, and unfortunately once its become infected, it does it again more easily. I speak from very bitter experience with my daughter..she had eczema practically from birth, unfortunately no one in the medical profession seemed to realise she should never have been given the smallpox inoculation, it made her a hundred times worse. I hope you have Georgia seeing a dermatologist who specialises in children, and not just your GP? poor little mite....

He's a little darling! I'm amazed they let your husband take him though...or did he give them money? surprised they weren't running to the police complaining that a nasty man had taken their toy away

The trouble is...there are an awful lot of bull breed crosses that can look very like a pitbull. Unless the people they got it from can show them both parents...and prove they were indeed the parents (easy enough with mum, but not dad) I doubt it could be proved one way or another. If the vet feels certain enough to report the pup to the police, then it will be ordered to be neutered, muzzled in public and never out without a lead. I think. If you pup "pit bull legislation" into a search engine you should find lots of info.

Oh Claire I had a feeling it might be something like that. I'm sure I read that you can choose now which hospital you go to for ops..if thats the case, can your Melton GP not refer you to a Northampton (or anywhere else if its a shorter list) specialist, so that your new GP can just carry on from there? or is it a case, to quote that irritating ad "it doesn't work like that?"

There is a new programme starting at 6.30 on Channel 5...I know not everyone can receive it, we can, but my daughter can't. Its about new recruits to the RSPCA and their training programme. Should be interesting to see how far down the list of requirements actually caring about animals comes

Was just reading some of the things on the link Claire gave for the tortoise...apparently you have to give them Panacur! that should be ...erm...interesting.

Oh I love tortoises! is it a little one? you'll have to read up on them quickly, it wont be all that long before it will be contemplating hibernation. When my kids were small we had one, it disappeared one day in the garden...we searched everywhere, and gave it up for lost. Six months later, it strolled back up the garden path as if it had never been away. We used a packing case with hay in it in the garage for it to hibernate in, but you must be sure rats cant get at it.