A Cup Of Magic: Magical and Faerie Ball July 27th: A Cup of Magic will be appearing at 'The Blind Pig' in Sowerby Bridge, Halifax on July 27th. The fair is free to enter and there will be lots of amazing artists selling there and lots going on, so it should be a great day. The faerie ball in the evening is £20 and will include music, fancy dress and a buffet. Details of how to purchase tickets are on the poster below. If you're in the area, please do drop in and say hello. It would be great to see you.
Thursday, 21 February 2013
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Sketch Fest number 33
It was sketch fest again last weekend. It's seems that lately, I can only manage two sketches each time. Here they are: the first is 'The Littlest Fairy' and the second 'The Patchwork Dress'. Both sketches have been sold now and I'm so pleased they have found a home. The next sketch fest is the weekend of March 15th, so I'm going to put that in my diary and make sure I make time to do lots more sketches this time. It's so much fun :)
The Littlest Fairy
The Patchwork Dress
Happy Birthday to My Little Man, Dougal Dog
I haven't written much in a while because I have been grieving. Before I start, apologies for the long post,
this is more as a remembrance of Dougal for my husband and I than anything else but I
would love to share Dougal’s life with you, especially as it's Dougal's birthday today. He would have been twelve. He was put to sleep on the 28th January 2013 after suffering from lymphoma cancer for over a year and we have been devastated and miss him so much.
A painting I did of Dougal as a puppy a few years ago, called 'Chasing butterflies'.
Dougal was born
on the 19th February 2001 and he came to live with us in Chepstow when he was 8
weeks old.
Dougal and I have been inseparable ever since, he was my soul animal mate. When he was tiny, I would carry him around in my coat. He was a cheeky, playful and mischievous little pup who made friends with everyone, but his inquisitive nature got him into a lot of scrapes and adventures. He grew into a loveable dog, adoring people but was a bit wary of other dogs until he got to know them. His best friend was Murphy, an old English Sheepdog, who taught him everything. This is Dougal with Sarah and Murphy on Dougal's first birthday.
Over time, there were two new additions to the family. Daisy-Belle joined us in 2002 and Millie-Moo in 2006.
The Clan
Dougal's favourite things were walks with his sisters, rough and tumble games with his dad, swimming, snoozing and cuddles from me :)
Flying Dougal
Playing with Millie
Tuggy with Daddy
Walkies with Mummy, Daisy and Millie
Swimming and chasing splashes... the dirtier the water, the better.
Afternoon snoozes
Cuddles
He also loved sitting at the window and barking at the postman and the neighbours cats:
Usually on his own but sometimes with his sisters.
Before falling asleep on his favourite, soggy,
white teddy.
Dougal was diagnosed with lymphoma in October 2011. He hadn't been himself for a while and I was worried so I took him to the vets, thinking I was just overreacting. I cried so much when we were told it was lymphoma. It felt like I had lost him already. My husband and I discussed chemotherapy with our vets and decided to go down that route. We weren't ready to give up our little boy yet. The vets from 'Island Vets' in Stafford were wonderful and the chemo worked well, it didn't make Dougal sick and my little man went into remission, I think it was in spring of 2012.
Dougal was fine until mid December. After a
bone treat one day, he was very sick. I thought he had probably
overeaten, but he was becoming more lethargic and he wouldn't even eat his
favourite treats, so we took him to the out of hours vets on 21st December and
the vet wondered if the cancer had spread to his stomach. The vet gave
him antibiotics and we took him back the next day for a follow up checkup and
his temperature was normal again. We were so relieved and thought he just
had an infection, but we were wrong. Over Christmas he became poorly
again and we had to take him to the vets in Carmarthen, where my parents in-laws live.
The vet noticed his tummy was enlarged and she gave him antibiotics,
which seemed to work for a while and we had a lovely Christmas, although I was
sad as I knew this would be Dougal’s last. Here are some Christmas photos.
Boxing day walk on Llanstefan Beach
Boxing day walk on Llanstefan Beach
When we returned home, we took Dougal to the vets and they gave his stomach an ultra sound scan. We found out his spleen
and liver were enlarged and the cancer had progressed quite fast. I knew
time with him was short now, so I cuddled him and played with him as much as
possible, although all he wanted to do was sleep.
One thing Dougal loved more than football and white teddies was snow. We had a snow day on the 18th of January. We weren't
going to take him out as he was poorly, but at the sight of the snow, he perked up. He didn't run about as he used to do, but he rolled in the snow and
seemed very happy. We took him home and he ate a good dinner and had a good
sleep.
A week after that he started to become very sick, he couldn't keep food down and started to refuse his favourite treats and his eyes became swollen and red. I knew we had to start thinking of Dougal now and not ourselves. On Sunday 27th January, we took him for a drive (another of his favourite things), then his last walk by the canal in Gnosall, and that evening we put on a DVD and spent a couple of memorable hours with Dougal, snuggled up.
A video of Dougal and Millie on our snow walk. Dougal is the one rolling in the snow :)
A week after that he started to become very sick, he couldn't keep food down and started to refuse his favourite treats and his eyes became swollen and red. I knew we had to start thinking of Dougal now and not ourselves. On Sunday 27th January, we took him for a drive (another of his favourite things), then his last walk by the canal in Gnosall, and that evening we put on a DVD and spent a couple of memorable hours with Dougal, snuggled up.
The next morning, Monday 28th January, was a sad
time. We took Dougal to the Island Vets in Stafford in the hope that it was just an
infection, although deep down we knew it wasn't, and the vet said we would be
doing the right thing to put him to sleep as his stomach was so swollen with
the cancer. I whispered a little song in his ears while we waited in the waiting room (for
some weird reason, he liked my singing) and then we stroked him and spoke to
him about good things, such as aunty Debbie coming to visit him in a few weeks
and Sarah and Murphy, his friends, waiting for him on the rainbow bridge, while
the vet administered the drug to put him to sleep. I think we were in shock, despite knowing that he had cancer. We miss him so much. His sisters miss him too. Millie's
moods were low to start with and Daisy carried a toy around with her everywhere she went, tucking it into bed at night, although they are both a lot happier now. We brought Dougal home with us from the vets and let Daisy and Millie
say their goodbyes, before we took him to the crematorium.
Finally at peace after battling cancer for nearly
16 months, little Dougal Dog was laid to rest on 28th January at the 'Holmes in
Heaven' crematorium in Sugnall, near Stafford, with his favourite white teddy
and his red blanket. RIP our little boy. You're in our hearts forever and we shall miss you so much.
Labels:
dog,
Dougal,
island vets,
lymphoma,
Scottish terrier,
stafford
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