AND now for some puppy love

Many people who are Canbace/CNBC have fur kids that they adore: Andrew and I are no different. Each puppy is very different and shows their love in different ways. They have helped us through the bad times when our infertility grief threatened to overwhelm us and they have made the good times even better. In this week’s “And now for something completely different” I thought I would introduce you to our fur-family. Our puppies and kitties bring happiness to our lives. Do you have any fur kids who brighten up your lives? Any excuse to share some cute photos of the puppies!

Puppy Love #1 – Bailey

Hello, my name is Bailey. I was named after the champagne made by Alain Bailey: however, I’m also the colour of Bailey’s Irish Cream so it fits me perfectly. I was rescued by mama Nicci and papa Andrew nearly four years ago. When they came to see me, I had been in the rescue centre for about a week and I WAS TERRIFIED. However, I managed to wag my tail a little and play with their elderly pup called Mischief. I must have done something right because they took me home IMMEDIATELY. I wasn’t too happy in the car: however, mama Nicci sat in the back seat and stroked my ears for the whole two years that it took to drive to my new home. We really bonded during that time and I loved my new mama from the start. (Note from mama Nicci: Bailey time is different, and the journey only took 2 hours). No, I don’t think you understand: I don’t simply love my mama, I LOVE HER. There are capital letters tall enough or ink bold enough to convey exactly how much I LOVE HER.

As I am a good boy I show my mama Nicci how much I love her in so many ways. Every time she walks into the room, she brightens up my neighbourhood, and I welcome her with the “Bailey Dance”. I waggle and wiggle my bottom in every possible direction, my tail threatens to fall off I’m wagging it so much, and to top it all off, I grin from ear to fluffy ear. We then play “Bailey Bums”: I lie down with my bum in the air and grin until she tickles said bum. I know mama Nicci really enjoys being shown this love as she squeals “BAILEY BUMS” as she tickles me. However, I think the biggest way that I so mama Nicci how much she means to me is that the moment she gets up to have her siesta in the afternoon I’m there at the foot of the stairs waiting to siesta with her. In fact, sometimes it’s getting late and I have to remind her that a siesta is needed. My sister and brother sometimes can’t be bothered to have a siesta: however, I know where my place is, and it’s by mama Nicci’s side to protect her whilst she snoozes!

Puppy Love #2 – Cattier

My name is Cattier although it wasn’t always my name. I grew up on a building site in Dubai and lived there with my dog-mum, siblings and a few other stray dogs to make up the numbers of our pack. Life was really hard, with not enough food to eat and water what was dirty and often had bottles floating on the surface. However, the worst bit was when the workmen used to throw rocks at us. Fortunately, we were all rescued by a group of British Expats who looked after us and found us new “forever homes”. When mana Nicci and papa Andrew saw my photograph on Facebook they thought that I looked very like Bailey. So, they offered to give me a new home. Although I was only ten months old I was a very brave little girl and flew all the way from Dubai to Paris on my own. I was then put on a train, so I could be collected by the woman who had organised my pet passport and all my injections.

I will never forget the day when I first met mama Nicci and papa Andrew. It was a hot day and I fell into the swimming pool whilst attempting to clean it. I had only just been “fished” out when my new brother came bounding up to say “hello”. We spent an hour playing in the garden before I jumped in the car to go to my new home. As for my first walk along the canal – it was AMAZING. There was so much water and there were loads of leaves and weeds in it which I HAD to clean out. I was so busy cleaning it that the walk that should only have taken an hour ended up more than twice that long. I wasn’t happy that I wasn’t allowed to clean out all the leaves: however, mama Nicci knew exactly what to do to make me feel better. When we got home she found me a paddling pool and I can spend as long as I like keeping it clean. It did take me a couple of weeks to get used to my new name, for some reason mama Nicci didn’t particularly think that “Tinkerbell” was the right name for me. I think she might have been right because I also have nicknames that I understand now too. I’m “little Miss C” and “Madam le Cattier” which are perfect for me because although I am a street dog who had a tough start in life I am also an ickle girlie who is frightened of the wind!

Puppy Love #3 – Duval

Duval is my name and I have a funny face. Everyone says so. It’s because I’m half Shar Pie and I have extra skin that makes wrinkles. I’m not as wrinkly as all pure bred Shar Pei because I am also half Braque and that makes me unique! I broke into the kitchen nearly two years ago now. It was a dark night and I was so scared that I didn’t want to be alone any more. I knocked at the window to ask to be let in, yet no one saw me because I’m black and the night was black. They thought the sound was the dog from along the lane who sometimes came to pay a visit. Rather than being shut out for any longer I decided to break in. So, I jumped the garden fence, walked through the kitchen and hallway and nosed my way into the sitting room where everyone was snuggling watching the strange thing in the corner. They were rather surprised I can tell you. The two dogs rushed over the say hello and then humans patted me. I was so relieved! As it was late the two other dogs went outside to have a final “wee” before bedtime. I stayed in the house with the woman (mama Nicci) and she gave me some food. It was gone in a flash, so she gave me some more. I was SOOOOOOO hungry because I hadn’t eaten anything properly for days.

Bailey and Cattier (we had been introduced by this time) went to bed in the kitchen and I was allowed upstairs with mama Nicci and papa Andrew. I was quite happy to be with them for a short while and then I started to cry. I was still quite scared, and I wanted to be with the other dogs because they spoke “dog”. Although mama Nicci and papa Andrew spoke in calming and reassuring voices I couldn’t understand what they were saying to me: it wasn’t simply “white noise” it was foreign “white noise”. Eventually I was taken downstairs and a bed was made up for me in the kitchen. I stayed with them all the next day and night too. Then I went in the car and visited a place that smelt of animals and bleach where the people who wore white coats. They put something down by my neck and waited for the machine to go “ping”. However, it didn’t because I didn’t have an ID chip. No one knew who I was. Mama Nicci said that she and papa Andrew would look after me until my owners were found. She didn’t want me going to the rescue place because if no one claimed me I could be there for years. Mama Nicci knew that black dogs have far less chance of being re-homed than other dogs and she didn’t want to run that risk.

After ten days no one had come to claim me, so I went back to the strange place that smells of animals and bleach. Mana Nicci and papa Andrew told the man that my name was Duval and then he looked in my eyes, and my teeth and in my ears. My ears felt very hot and he used a tissue to clean them out. It was nasty in there and I had to have some tablets to get rid of an infection. That was nearly two years ago. I love living with mama Nicci and papa Andrew, although I do like to pay visits to the neighbours. Mama Nicci says I’m part kangaroo because no matter how high they make the fence around the garden I still seem to be able to jump over it. I don’t mean to me naughty because I love mama Nicci and papa Andrew, it’s just that I like paying social calls!

Note from mama Nicci: you may have noticed that it took far longer for Duval to share his story than either Bailey or Cattier. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has heard Duval talking during Zoom calls and whilst I’ve been recording videos. He really is the most vocal puppy I’ve ever had the pleasure of loving!

Some Puppy Love videos

They say never work with animals or fur kids ….

Cattier playing in her paddling pool ….

Unfortunately Bailey is such a sensitive soul and very camera shy so at the moment we don’t have any videos of him as he runs away and hides!

So, our three pups have now told you the stories of how they came to chose us as their humans. If you’ve got fur kids we’d love to hear about them, and if you’ve rescued a dog (or cat) in need of a forever home, we’d love to hear how they chose you!

In CANBACE friendship!

If anything I have written resonates I’d love to hear from you in the comments. I appreciate that this can be a difficult subject to speak openly about so if you don’t want me to publish your comment on the website please let me know and I will keep your words private.