Unforgettable

My initial thought this morning was to use one of our wedding photos, swiftly followed by one of the twins. We only have a couple of photos of them on the day they were born- as I think I was a bit out of it and Amy was rushed into special care. So although they are very precious photos- they also bring back painful memories even now!

The other UNFORGETTABLE member of our family is Holly. We have said since the day we got her- that she is one of those dogs you will always remember. She is a mile a minute dog - who thinks she can join in with everything and go everywhere with us. She adores going in the car- and goes into motorway mode until we arrive at the destination.

We had 2 cats when we got married - and I really wanted to have a dog. Finally dh said he'd been thinking that we ought to get a dog for Emma- to give her a friend. There had been a tv drama on where a dog reached into an autistic boys life and produced an amazing relationship. Now I really, really wanted a puppy - as I've never had one. My childhood dog was another stray that we took in. As soon as dh even mentioned the 'concept' I had him at the dogs home- just to look, for research purposes.

She was dog number 7- and was in the pen you could see as you walked down the ramp to the kennels. She had a VERY descriptive statement on her pen- saying she loved to play and deserved a lovely new home. She was also the only dog who had a member of staff playing with her and hundreds of toys in her pen. The other dogs had one or two at most. The other thing that pulled on my heartstrings was that she was 'free' - because she'd been there a while. Even so- I was prepared to walk round all the other dogs- though I'd got upset seeing all the homeless ones in the first pen. But my husband was STUCK to the outside of Holly's pen- and he said- 'This is the dog for us'.

What she was- was utterly amazing!!!!!!!! She was playful and we wanted one that Emma would find fun. We took her out of the pen- and went into a 'get to know you' pen- and she was in absolute overdrive with the huge tub of toys. They asked us to take the girls in  to meet her the next day- and she came home with us just before Christmas even though they say they don't allow that!!! We think she was probably too labour intensive to keep amused! She walked out of the dogs home with a toy- and she still has that one now!

When we first had her- she wanted to play all day long. It was as if she wanted to make up for lost time. It still makes me sad to think that someone else had her and gave her up. She was found wandering by a very busy road in Birmingham. She has some anxiety issues that probably come from the time she was a stray. We also get some glimpes sometimes of things that she is frightened of. But she totally accepted us as her new family and has shown utter devotion from the moment she came home.

She looks up adoringly at my husband- and watches for him to come home. She runs to get a toy to present to him, then she gets excited and leaps on the settee to have her tummy tickled. My fil is amazed at the utter devotion she shows. She knows a lot of words- she listens to everything, trying to hear the trigger words which mean walk or play or food.

The first photo is the best of the bunch today- as she gets so excited most of them are blurred!!!!

The one below is her swimming with a tree in January! She is about to discover that dogs aren't designed for backstroke!!!!

She also has a special affinity with Emma. When Emma is in a tantrum- she rushes in and sits by her and licks away the tears. She manages to calm her down quite often. She senses that Emma needs special attention and wades in there- when everyone else would love to be running in the opposite direction!

She is so lovely to have around- she makes EVERYONE smile every day. She loves life and leads it to the full. She expects that every shopping trip will provide a new toy for her- because what are shops for!!!!!!! She's not the brainiest dog- she'd rather be playing. But she loves you unconditionally and that is a truly amazing feeling!