Category: dogs

I miss the laughter

Joey Jones9 Comments

What makes you laugh?

A while back, I pretty much gave up all the Socials, and I’ve found that I really do miss the things that made me laugh whilst scrolling. Usually, it was animals doing crazy things. Cats v dogs are always funny. Not so funny for the dogs, though, as they generally come out worse.

Years back, I lived and worked overseas, and together with one workmate/close friend,Mary, we would often find ourselves falling about laughing. I loved it, and I miss those days.

In fact, as I write my blog piece this morning, I can clearly see that I need to bring some joy back into my life. Oh dear, poor me, lol.

Edit. What I have failed to add is that there is a lovely blog here on WP. They often post jokes, which never fail to make me smile. Thank you

http://www.issuesthatmatterdotblog.com

I must add Eric, too. His take on the world and his way with words invariably  makes me smile

http://www.ericfoltin.com

Making sense of it all

Joey Jones2 Comments

What’s a secret skill or ability you have or wish you had?

A bit late to the table today with my offering. And it will be about Patch. Of course it will!

I once wrote about it being possible for him to communicate with me, so I could learn about his previous troubled life. And why, after 5+ years he gets really cross with me sometimes.

There have only been two other people I could tell he really didn’t like. In hindsight, he was spot on. It’s only me now he takes out his frustrations on.

On holiday in Cornwall, on the steps of our Shepherds Hut. He sits for the longest time, just taking it all in.

For today’s prompt, I would like the ability to sense what he does. Depending on which data you follow its estimated they have 100-300 million olfactory sensors, whist human have between 5-6 mil.

This means that dogs have a lot going on when they are out and about. I always notice when other dogs are not allowed to stop and smell the roses. With their people just walking them. I get it folk don’t always have the time to let their canine companions inspect every blade of grass. But to them it is everything.

Let it rain

Joey Jones5 Comments

What is your favorite type of weather?

Oh dear, WP. You’re asking a Brit about the weather. Don’t you know we have a bit of a reputation for chatting about it with anyone who will stand still long enough?

To be fair, we are islanders, so historically, it was a subject everyone wanted and needed to know about. Farmers and fishermen were especially aware of how quickly the climate can change and their livelihoods depended up on it.

By now, we in the UK have had enough. So when it was the hottest March day recently, since records began, it all kicked off, and it was wonderful. Lawns were mowed. Outside furniture painted. Curtains washed. Way to go!

The atmosphere was bordering on electric, palpable. The relief was immense. It was exciting. It was fun to see folk fired up and living in the moment.

Of course, there will always be miserable gits amongst us ‘ Hello, nice day,’ you’d say in passing. ‘ Won’t last’ they’d reply. Best give these kind a wide berth, but sometimes I want and occasionally do say ‘ look, if the worst thing that happens to me is I get soaked walking the dog, I’ve got off lightly’. Food for thought, I hope. Although it probably lands on deaf ears.

I do identify as a pluviophile. I love the rain. Obvs, it’s not very nice when it is accompanied by really cold conditions and strong winds and you have to be out there. But the rest of the time, it’s great. The icing on the cake is the puddles are where birds can drink and bathe in.

What I could do less of, is

Joey Jones2 Comments

What do you wish you could do more every day?

Who needs a device to doom scroll? Not me, I can do it all in my head.

As Patch ages, he needs to go out more. So there are times I find myself awake, maybe 20 minutes or so, before sun up lying in bed in the dark, too alert to go back to sleep.

And so it begins..I think about animals caught up in war zones, I think about how our amazing planet is getting hammered inside out. The insane few fighting between themselves, but involving millions. I see the oceans, the waterways, and airways constantly polluted.

Our country is currently at the in-between stage of a cash and cashless society. A beggar asks if you have any spare change, and you realise you’ve not held any coins, or notes for that matter, for sometime, let alone it being spare.  The situation must be causing numerous, widespread issues.

I see the kids with their faces, their heads, completely inside their phones. I don’t judge them, it’s what they do, how they live. But I do fear they are not connecting with anything else.

There are more online newspaper articles now by journalists as they watch their craft being replaced by A1.

The students with massive debts are hardly able to pay off the Interest on their loans. How are they supposed to get on the property ladder starting their young lives like this?

There are endless thoughts like these, keeping me company, first thing. And then a robin awakes and let’s me know of his existence with a beautiful song.

As it becomes light, he is joined by the chorus. And I thank the gods for that. Reminding me there is a beautiful world out there and not to forget that.

Rudyard Kipling has the words

Joey Jones6 Comments

What is the biggest challenge you will face in the next six months?

The Power of the Dog

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie—
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.

When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet’s unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find—it’s your own affair—
But… you’ve given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!).
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone—wherever it goes—for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.

We’ve sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we’ve kept ’em, the more do we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long—
So why in—Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

By Rudyard Kipling ( 1865~1936)




Patch

The Dog, the Door, and the Grain of Things

Joey Jones11 Comments

What bores you?

Patch asks to go out, so I open the door. He pauses on the threshold, reading the air like it’s a message meant only for him. He steps out, then reappears moments later, nose pressed to the French window, fogging the glass with fresh nose‑art. I open the door again; he doesn’t come in. He just stands there, undecided, as if the threshold itself is the point. When I step outside to usher him in, he runs away. This is where I recognise boredom, not mine, his. I try to be the best Mom, but he would test the patience of a saint.

And yet boredom requires a blankness I don’t possess. Even in these tiny domestic loops, the world offers micro‑textures, the shift in light, the slant of a thought, the way Patch listens to something older than sound. These subtleties unfurl easily for me. They keep the moment textured and full. With so much quiet detail to inhabit, boredom has nowhere to settle.

The big breakfast

Joey Jones3 Comments

What’s your favourite thing to cook?

I’d driven Patch to one of our favourite walks this morning, and when we approached the car, he seemed to want  to simply stand still and take in his surroundings.

We know this is how dogs take in information about the world around them. Each nostril sniffing a different area. They sense unseen animals and people, weather conditions, and even changes in the bodies of their humans who accompany them.

Allowing your companion to have a fullfilling sensory experience is one of the best things you can do for them each day.

I was rewarded for standing around on a chilly February early morning with the sighting of a barn owl swishing back and forth across the field in front of me. Magnificent.

And then it was home for breakfast, which I think I mentioned last time you asked WP is my favourite and the main meal of my day at the moment.

Mushrooms with Sumac, wilted spinach, poached eggs, avocados( olive oil, lemon juice salt n pep) with  haloumi, or veg sausage/bacon for an occasional treat. Delish.

Talk to me

Joey Jones7 Comments

If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?

Thanks, WP. I’ve especially enjoyed reading through the DP’s my fellow bloggers have posted today.

If you have gathered anything about me at all, it’s animals and my passion for them, especially dogs. I can’t help myself, something I was clearly born with.

Patch. My companion of the last 5 years. Who is at least 12 and came to share my life after being in 3 previous homes ( or should that read ‘houses’? ) has clearly had a difficult time of it.

What I’d like him to know is I wish he could talk to me about those days instead of keeping it all inside

Being Joe

Joey Jones18 Comments

Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.

You may recognise this scrappy little pup. I’ve posted about him before.

This is the first photo I took of him over 20 years ago.

I’d been overseas for many years, and for a multitude of reasons ( all stories in themselves), I decided it was time to head back to the UK. ( Was that wise? Yes, another story there)

For the last 6 months of my stay, I rented a house in Palavakkam, just off the East Coast Road, heading south out of Chennai city.

( I owe a great deal to a taxi driver, Michael, who found and secured the place for me. It was perfect. I’d like to thank him more, but have so far run aground trying to trace him….but I digress)

The van from The Blue Cross of India would drop me at the end of my road each evening. Giving me some time to decompress before I reached home.

One night, this little pup was in the street, hanging out with the big dogs amongst the traffic.  I scooped him up and brought him back with me…..There’s much I could write about here… but this post is how he got his name.

A lovely old friend and workmate of mine said she would have him when I returned to the UK….She was called Mary. So I called him Joseph. Joe.

On the afternoon I took him over to her house he had a great time hanging out with her kids, and then he raced up to me, sat himself at my feet and said,’ can we go home now?’ …We did, and he came with me and my big older boy Tony to England.

We shared a life for 14 years ❤️

It’s what you make it

Joey Jones3 Comments

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

So, I’ve been out and about today. Got me a haircut. Play time? Oh yes!  Makes me happy.  Gemma, my stylist is so talented. I recognise myself in the mirror. Mojo restored.

The thing is, the moment I gave up work, it kicked in. The very second you are a beholder to no one but the lap of the Gods it’s happening

Olympic standard freedom.

Sure, things go pear-shaped, of course they do. A wobble with your health freaks out even the strongest amongst us.

Emotional and mental health are just waiting in the wings, ready for you to make the wrong move. Like chess.

So, maintaining the upper hand is key. There is only you, at the end of the day, to keep yourself on an even keel. Feel you can’t manage it? Please, seek help.

As you will have gathered, if you read any of my posts, I am grateful for small mercies.

Patch has definitely lost a marble along the way, but I’m here for him, big time. Joe, a previous companion, was struck with Cushings. It cost a fortune to keep him comfortable. But I didn’t go anywhere for the last two years of his life.

Why am I telling you this? Playtime is where you find it. Where you make it. I love rocking up here each day. It’s my happy place. I can still have fun at WordPress whilst watching over my best friend. 🐾🐾😍

I’m always here if anyone wants to chat…