After waking at 5am, feeding and walking Finny and the rest of the pack, we drove up to Heathrow so Fionnuala could fly to her new home. The trip to the airport took an hour by car, then Finny was able to walk around and play until the last minute before boarding. She had a seven hour flight which was the longest ever seven hours for me, then was offloaded and out through immigration and customs in record time. She was collected at the airport by her new family, and whizzed off home to be loved and adored, and where she is right now being very confident and enjoying being the centre of attention.
To say I and the rest of the family will miss her is an understatement...she along with all her siblings, have all gone to fabulous families, but a little bit of them will always remain in my heart. Sending pets on flights is not for the fainthearted here in the UK, it is a nightmare trying to find the correct info,and you spend so much of your time worrying in case something has been overlooked, and if the temperature is too high or low on the day, you run the risk of them not being able to travel....but, for Finny, she had a very pleasant and reasonably short journey as we took the decision to have her accompanied rather than using a courier company which meant much less time in a crate and unfamiliar surroundings.
So a quiet household here now in London, time for a little rest and some special times with Odo, Nelly and Mirabelle.
0 Comments
Where are we going? Stop asking questions, and just follow me! OK....I'm right behind you. Right Finny, you take the one on the left, i'll get the other. Mine's making a run for it.....where's yours Finny? Errrm...flying straight at Mum's head!
Housework placed on hold, it's just too nice today. So.....off through the bluebells in the woods to a small watering hole, we spotted a deer, Mirabelle and Finny missed it, but Mirabelle who has been like a Mum to Finny, encouraged Fin into the water for her first swim. We did nothing, just sat back and watched the proceedings. I was amazed at Finny's confidence, no hesitation whatsoever, and once she had crossed the water, kept going back and forth with much delight. I've posted the photo's in sequence, they are not the best, but give an idea. Enjoy. And do excuse Mirabelles mop head! :-) I had an lovely email in the week, letting me know how the first little lady to leave was getting along. It has been 3 weeks of taking out in arms, and now finally they can all get on the floor in public places, start lead training on the streets, get enrolled in puppy classes, and generally cause havoc.....
But I loved this description of their walk along the beach, as after a high tide, it is a clean and safe place for a pup to walk by the shoreline. We took her for her first just-after-high-tide beach walk this week. She was beside herself with excitement. It was a stormy evening, and the beach was deserted. Then suddenly a pack of kids came charging across the beach- when they made it to us we chatted to the adults and it turned out the kids were from a special needs school in London, on a holiday here to provide some respite for their parents. They asked if they could stroke her and Marmalade was incredible with them all- they were about 7 or 8 years old, and she snuggled and fussed all of them. We were so engrossed that we didn't notice a big wave come in and all of us ended up soaked, with water up to our shins! Although she was a little startled, she was fine when the next wave rolled in and cautiously kept trotting to the shore line to dip her toe in. The other pups too are sending me regular updates, and all are confident, happy little pups. Finny had a busy day yesterday, shopping in the high street, people watching at a cafe, and a twilight concert orchestra . Nothing seems to bother her, and the more experiences a puppy is exposed to whilst still very young, increases the probabilities of having a calm and confident companion when older. I, along with most other people, have been deeply saddened this week. Just over the river from here, a young man was attacked and horrifically murdered by two other young men. The reasons are not clear yet, but it was thought to be an act of terrorism. Whilst I am most definately patriotic, I am not happy to see all the nasty posts about it on social networking sites by some whom I had thought until now were sensible and reasonable people. So if you find you have been 'unfriended' or 'blocked', you now know the reason why!
So...this evening we are taking Finny to our own little patriotic evening of entertainment, we go here each year, held in the ruins of Barking Abbey (destroyed by Henry VIII during the dissolution of the Monasteries) and it always ends with fireworks, Union Flags waving madly, the crowd singing Rule Britannia , and an amazing rendition of Pomp and Circumstance. I'm sure Finny will enjoy it. Saturday 25 May 2013, 7.30pm to 10pm This hugely popular twilight classical concert is being held once again in the spectacular settings of Barking Abbey Ruins. Gates open at 6pm and the concert takes place from 7.45pm until 10pm. The mood-setting music of the Aminta Concert Orchestra, conducted by Dr Donald Hoskins, plays to a background of special lighting effects, creating a dramatic and inspiring atmosphere. The concert will feature a wide range of classical music pieces from traditional to a contemporary repertoire that will get you tapping your feet and in parts even singing along. Facilities on site include toilets, light refreshments and a licensed bar stocking a selection of wines, beers, spirits and soft drinks. Guests are not allowed to bring alcohol or any glass or cans into the event. Children under 16 years must be accompanied by an adult. Programme March: Liberty Bell - J.P. Sousa Overture: The Marriage of Figaro - W.A. Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (First movement only) - W.A. Mozart Guest artist: Judex from Mors et Vita - C. Gounod Vissi d'arte - G. Puccini Symphony No.4 in A major (First movement only) - F.Mendelssohn Interval Overture: Light Cavalry - P. Von Suppe Waltz Song from Romeo and Juliet - C. Gounod Waltz: Roses from the South Op.388 - J. Strauss I March: Radetsky Op. 228 - J. Strauss I Rule Britannia - T. Arne Jerusalem - H. Parry Pomp and Circumstance No.1 in D Major - E. Elgar I had a nice little exchange this morning with someone enquiring about barbets. I sent a few photo's of Finny on our jaunt up into the City a few evenings ago. What a coincidence.....the photo is taken right outside their office! Here she is in front of the Royal Exchange, The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street (Bank of England) is to the left, and this is where Finny decided to water the plants!
No, it's not the TV series, but an actual street in the City of London.
Finny had a reunion with her lovely brother Otto this morning. They both went to the vet for their final jabs, hooray, as they now only have to wait until Sunday before they can go out on a lead walk into the big wide world. I say hooray as they are both wrigglers, and carrying them in arms is becoming more and more tiring. Otto is a big strong boy with enormous feet and he loves to have a mad half hour in the evenings, also he is a very keen gardener with a passion for flower pots and water fountains :-)
Finny has a beautiful dark bitter chocolate coat, much less curly than Otto, I have a feeling she will be an easy girl to groom. Both puppies had a lovely visit with Lorenzo, the Italian vet, last time it was a French vet, in fact, I've yet to meet an English vet, our previous vets were Singaporean and Belgian. Lorenzo is great, I liked him, he will be seeing Finny again this weekend to get some paperwork signed for her, then she will be off to her new home shortly afterwards. I've had updates from all the other new families, all are happy and well settled, I'll post a couple of photos later in the week. These two were weighed again this morning, both have gained lots of weight, Otto loves his tripe and sardines and you can see it! Finny now has to eat alone, which is good as sister Georgia was a devil for finishing her own meal then eating Finny's as Finny is easily distracted. |