What a two years I have had!

I find it hard to believe that two years ago today I arrived at what I now call home for the very first time in the arms of my new mum. Eight weeks old, and weighing only 3.5 kg, I was a tiny version of what I am now.



Since that day I have had many adventures, learned a lot about life, and become a much more sensible and mature dog (most of the time). One of my first new experiences happened only a short while after I arrived. It snowed, and I had never seen snow before. That was great fun. Mind you, I have seen a fair bit since and am now less enamored.



I have got quite interested in what goes on in our garden so having seen my mum put things in pots of compost to make them grow, I thought I would see if it worked for me. It didn't!



And then there were the less pleasant moments. At the age of about six months I was whisked off to the vets and had certain vital parts of my anatomy removed. Not only did it leave me sore and miserable for a few days as you can see below, but I also found it quite humiliating. Still, all's well that ends well.



There are, of course, those delightful moments which stick with you for the rest of your life. One of these was the day I discovered my love of grapes. Living where we do, this is, on the face of it, an ideal passion to have, except for the fact that grapes (or more specifically lots of grape pips) are poisonous to dogs. As a result, my love of this fruit has to be curtailed at the height of the season by the use of a muzzle whilst walking through the vines.



All in all, it has been a fun two years growing up in a very interesting world. I have made some great friends, both canine and human, traveled to some really fascinating places, and had some amazing experiences. Now I just can't wait to see what this next year is going to bring.



Can I take this opportunity to wish all my friends around the world a truly wonderful 2011 and hope that you all have a great time during the next 52 weeks and beyond.

Lots of love

Django

Christmas spirit & venison

It's that bloody time of year again when the humans all go slightly mad decorating up their houses and wearing silly outfits. Even worse, they sometimes want to dress us dogs up for the occasion. I was told in no uncertain terms that I had to enter into the Xmas spirit and then had these pseudo reindeer antlers stuck on my head. Even worse, they light up and play carols. Oh, the humiliation of it! As you can see, I was delighted - not.




Mind you, they would have come in handy last weekend when dad and I went to visit Auntie Mary and Uncle Tim over near Fanjeaux. On our obligatory country walk we saw, in the distance, some hunters and their dogs giving chase to something. Didn't think much about it until, on our return leg of the walk, in the field next to us, three deer appeared at great speed followed a few minutes later by four of the hunt dogs. We all barked, shouted and whistled to distract the dogs and we were effective for a couple of minutes which gave the deer a chance to escape. I was going to say that if I was wearing the antlers I might have been even more effective at distracting them, but on second thoughts I might just have got my throat ripped out!

Earlier this week Uncle Martin had a problem with one of his electric radiators not working and so naturally brought it round to Barnes and Co to fix. Dad and I were soon on the case and it did not take us long to identify the faulty bit, a replacement for which is now winging its way to us. I do like a bit of bricolage.



Not sure if I will get a chance to chat again before the "Great Day" as the social calender is filling up fast. If I don't, can I take this chance to wish you a very happy Xmas and a recession busting new year. Speak to you all again soon.

Gloves and Meerkats

Last Sunday whilst strolling amongst the vines with my mum I happened to notice that she had taken off one of her nice fleecy gloves to rummage in her pocket for something (it turns out it was a biscuit for me!). Now seeing her standing there with one hand immobilised in her pocket and the other dangling the removed glove, those of you familiar with my penchant for socks, gloves and the like will not be surprised to hear that I could just not resist a lunge for the tempting mitten. Having been successful in obtaining it I was immediately challenged to LEAVE IT, and responded in my usual fashion by promptly swallowing it.

This created an air of tension amongst my parents whilst they worried about its return. However, they need not have been concerned as some 44 hours later, in the small hours of Tuesday morning, I returned it intact. This is no where near my record for retention of a glove which was set last Christmas at five days. Mind you, that was only a child's glove.

I don't know about you but I just love those adverts on TV with the adorable meerkats trying to sell us insurance or something. Particularly appealing is the way they stand on their hind legs and look around. The other day I thought I would try to emulate this position - with remarkably successful results. In fact, I can say I found it "Simples!".