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Living The High(land) Life

Living The High(land) Life

Category Archives: Cat

The Witch, The Cat And The Hellhound

31 Thu Oct 2013

Posted by Sorel in Cat, Children, Daughters, Dog, Kids, Pets

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Tags

costume, dress up, Halloween, trick or treat, Whippet

    halloween 2013We took the girls trick or treating tonight for the first time. Bart dressed as a witch and AJ as a cat. Both girls were allowed a little make up, which seemed to be just as exciting as the sweeties they collected. We went to our neighbours, a couple of friends in the nearby village and finished at their grandparents house. Their  Granddad had had a fun afternoon with some white fabric and torches making spooky ghosts to decorate the house.

Only two things from their goodie bags were allowed to be consumed when we reached my mother in-laws, much to their disappointment. Even though we only went to five houses, they still have enough treats to last them a week.

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Goodbye Part I

03 Thu Oct 2013

Posted by Sorel in Adoption, Cat, Children, Daughters, Dog, Family, Grandparents, Infertility, Kids, Pets, Scotland, Summer, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Border Collie, cancer, death, dog, dying

It was with much sadness this summer that Jay and I lost one of our closest most loyal friends. Our beautiful Border Collie, Willow.

Willow Sand

When Jay and I came to the decision to stop fertility treatment and received very little help with the adoption process from the local authority where we lived, we decided to get a dog. Jay wanted a Border Collie and I didn’t mind what breed we had. I did some research on the internet and found a breeder with some puppies. All were reserved, but one could possibly be available again. I was sent a picture of a tiny black and white pup on a white blanket and I knew she was mine.

willow pup

We went to view Willow when the breeder confirmed she would be available. I remember going into a huge farm kitchen and five three-week old pups came over to play. After a short while Willow tottered on short little legs to the Aga and managed to reach the tea towel hanging there. She pulled it down and lay quite happily chewing away.

We brought her home in September 2000 at seven weeks old. To say the next thirteen years flew by is an understatement.

She took everything in her stride. From losing and gaining our family cats, to moving from one end of the country to the other to having a pair of noisy children come to live with her. Nothing fazed her. As long as she had a walk, a bed and a ball she was happy.

She and Jay adored each other and as the years ticked on, I dreaded the day we would lose her. I used to joke she would live until she was thirty. If only that had been true.

2007_042607APRIL0069

She was only a couple of weeks over her thirteenth birthday and still looked so young, with very little grey on her muzzle. We knew she was slowing down a little and then one day Jay noticed she had a lump near her back passage.

A visit to the vets confirmed the worst. She had cancer. The lump on the outside was only a fraction of what was happening inside her body. The vet sent her home with ten days of pain killers and time for us to say goodbye.

At first both Jay and I were in denial, she looked so well, how could she be sick? Then on the Thursday she had a “bad day”. She slept most of the day on the front step, her favourite place to watch the farm vehicles go by. She didn’t want to eat her breakfast, or the left over cereal milk the girls would pour into her bowl.

Willow. July 13I telephoned Jay at work and we both came to the decision that on the following Monday, when her medication ran out, we would take her to the vets to be put to sleep. So with my throat choked up I made the appointment.

She didn’t make it.

Willow took a turn for the worse on the Saturday and passed away at home with Jay by her side. AJ and I were racing home from a guinea pig show in the Scottish borders and finally made it ten minutes after she took her last breath.

It seemed appropriate that it was raining the next day as Jay dug her grave. We wrapped Willow in her favourite blanket, the one my mother in law had knitted her, and lay her to rest, a goodbye note from AJ tucked under her paw.

Unknown to us, Jay’s dad had taken some pictures of Willow just days earlier, then spent time in his studio creating a beautiful pastel portrait of her which now hangs on our living room wall.

Everyone who has a dog they love with all of their heart believe they have the best four pawed friend in the whole world. I know we did.

Rest in peace Willow. We love you and miss you. Always

willow portrait

Rosie and Alfie

16 Sun Jun 2013

Posted by Sorel in Cat, Dog, Pets

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image

Chilling after a Sunday barbecue.

Image

When Sparky met Brax.

29 Mon Oct 2012

Posted by Sorel | Filed under Cat, Guinea Pig, Pets

≈ 1 Comment

A week in pictures.

26 Fri Oct 2012

Posted by Sorel in Cat, Children, Daughters, Family, Grandparents, Guinea Pig, Kids, Pets, Snow, Winter

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

grandma, ice cream, tattie holidays

Alfie’s Kill Log.

03 Wed Oct 2012

Posted by Sorel in Cat, Pets, Scotland

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

boredom, chart, In-laws, kill log, killing, mouse, shrew

Since moving to Scotland and finally being allowed out, my in-laws ginger tom, Alfie, has been having a great time catching wildlife and bringing them into the house.

He has now caught so many my father-in-law has started his own version of a sniper kill chart, complete with diagrams!

I personally think my father-in-law has too much time on his hands and Lauren needs to get him doing some jobs around the house.

Sparky The Wonder Cat

08 Tue May 2012

Posted by Sorel in Cat, Children, Family, Pets

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

rat, Shed, Wellington boots

One day last week Jay came in the house most annoyed. He had been sorting the recycling when he heard a noise. He turned around to see a rat nibbling its way into his shed. Realising he had been spotted the rat raced to a different corner and started to burrow underneath.

Jay came in swearing about the rat, dumped the recycle box and headed back out again to block up any potential holes. Only the rat was smarter than that. On inspection the next day James found one blockade pushed in and the other burrowed under. To put it bluntly, I had one seriously pissed off husband. Stronger blockades were set and I made many sympathetic noises to rants about “bloody vermin”.

On Sunday afternoon the girls wanted to play in the garden. So after Wellington’s were put on and snuggly warm jumpers distributed they headed out. It was only after a couple of minutes there were shouts of:

“Daddy! Come here quick!”

“Mummy, look under the barbecue!”

James and I headed out to discover under the barbecue a gift from Sparky. Now normally gifts from our cat are not appreciated (especially the partially skinned, decapitated, disemboweled mouse left at the front door last week) but this present was more than welcome. It was a rat.  Maybe not the rat, but Sparky was the hero of the day.

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I am a Mum living in Scotland with my husband, two daughters and quite a few four pawed furry family members.

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