W/C 12th April 2021

My apologies again for not keeping Dembe’s dairy updated properly over the last couple of weeks. As you can imagine things have been all up in the air here after the sad passing of Jay’s dad. Some days it has even been difficult to remember to take photos of the Prince ( Dembe )

Monday 12th April

Dembe did have a walk booked with Martin from Happy Dogs today as Jay was back to work today after his bereavement leave. If you have Facebook you will be able to see them all out for their walk.https://www.facebook.com/415343231815686/videos/878620252870580

Tuesday 13th April

Jay was day off today so Dembe enjoyed two common walks and then countless walks around the block.

Wednesday 14th April

Jay was on his usual late night shift, so we had booked Sophie from Creature Kind to take him out for a walk with his mates including Nellie and Polo. As usual Sophie has taken some wonderful photos of D Dog as she calls him.

When Dembe got back he wanted to go out into the garden and lie on the patio to cool off.

Thursday 15th April

Dembe had a walk booked with Happy Dogs in the morning which he thoroughly enjoyed. Apparently he managed to slobber all over Monty the Chocolate Labrador again. You may have noticed from photos when Dembe gets excited and plays with other dogs he gets a really foamy slobbery mouth. He likes to share that with as many people as possible and other dogs. Jays jackets are forever getting slimed.

Unfortunately where they were on the common they couldn’t get a signal so there was no video.

By 4pm we were pooped, so Dembe and I had a 30 minute lie down upstairs just to keep ourselves going.

Friday 16th April

Jay is home today as part of his bereavement leave following his fathers funeral. It is a weird day. Dembe is gravitating towards Jay and giving him lots of attention.

Today Dembe had his vaccinations, as Covid protocols are still in place Dembe had to go into the vets alone, so Jay had to walk behind pretending he was going in as well. John the vet said Dembe is in excellent condition, he has lost a kilo in weight since he was last weighed so that is good as well as he is under 35kg. It is probably all the exercise he gets with his dog walkers and the fact he is such a fussy eater.

This evening Dembe managed to con me into giving him more dog treats. We have a routine in the evening where when we go to bed I take 2 or 3 Markies up to bed and Dembe chomps into those as I get ready for bed. Jay had gone up before me and I wasn’t paying attention to what he said as I was busy doing something. About 5 mins after going up to bed, Dembe came back down and started crying at me. I thought to myself silly daddy didnt get him any treats. So I got him some treats and took them upstairs. Jay then says “have you just given him more Markies?” So I said yes 4 ( I was feeling generous) . Jay replied ” Conning bastard has now had 7 markies off us this evening!” Whoops. Dembe enjoyed it.

Saturday 17th April

It is so hard to even remember what day of the week it is at the moment. Dembe is all over the place too with Jay being home a lot more than usual.

When Jay finished work he took Dembe up the common for a walk. The sun was out and the birds were singing away so I took this photo of the Hawthorne bushes in blossom as they looked so pretty.

Dembe was knackered really early this evening.

I am hoping to get back to some sort of normality next week. We shall see how it goes!

W/C 1st March 2021

Monday 1st March

This week is the second week of Dembe having Monday walks, whilst we figure out which are the best days for him. He had a lovely walk on the common with Suzanne and Martin from Happy Dogs. If you have Facebook you can view the video https://www.facebook.com/415343231815686/videos/2746004462318984

At around 12.30pm there was a knock on the door, two of my friends arrived to drop some stuff off for Jay. It was a gorgeous day so we had a socially distanced chat, Corinne had brought Zach with her. Dembe was very curious so I put him on the retractable lead, he went out and then gave Zach a huge kiss. He was incredibly well behaved even when Zach made a grab for his ears and his tail. Whilst we were chatting Jay arrived home for lunch, Dembe was beside himself with excitement. Jay took him for a walk around the block.

Whilst Rachael, Corinne and Zach were here, Zach had a wafer biscuit thing. He kept deliberately dropping it on the floor so he could share it with Dembe it was very sweet.

Dembe was pretty knackered after such an exciting morning, with having a walk with friends and then meeting a baby. He slept most of the afternoon.

Tuesday 2nd March

Today Dembe has another walk booked with Happy Dogs, which is unusual for a Tuesday as normally Jay would be here. However Jays dad is very poorly so he is going to visit him. So that Jay doesn’t have to worry about Dembe wanting out whilst he isn’t here I have booked him in for a walk.

If you have Facebook you can see Dembe and his friends on their walk here https://www.facebook.com/415343231815686/videos/333138921461124

Dembe woke me up at 7.15am this morning demanding his breakfast. How he wakes me up is to stand at the end of the bed nearest the bedroom door and he just cries. His cries gradually get louder until they have the desired effect of waking me up! It seems very strange now having a dog that wakes me up to get his breakfast having spent a lot of last year in a constant battle with him trying to get him to eat! I never thought we would go back to having the dog that wanted to eat. The change is probably because we got tougher with him and if he doesn’t eat after 10 minutes the bowl gets picked up and he doesn’t get anything at all until the next meal time. Dembe will happily miss one meal but not two.

Some days he eats a lot and others days he may not finish a meal but he will eat the majority of it. He seems to self regulate his food quantities. We had both been expecting a dustbin on legs but our fussy boy isn’t like that at all.

Wednesday 3rd March

Well isn’t Dembe a lucky boy, he has another walk booked, Today’s walk is with Sophie from Creature Kind. As well as this walk he will go out 3 times before Jay goes to work, one for a long walk on the common and the other two will be toilet trips around the block. We have been having some quiet days as I have been really under the weather since my Covid vaccine last Friday.

Dembe had a lovely time on his walk today with his friend Polo a much lighter Labrador. They love playing Labrador games such as crazy zoomies and chase. Dembe found a tennis ball, so he enjoyed carrying that around. If Dembe dropped it Polo was only too happy to pick it up. Sophie said he behaved brilliantly today. We know now that if Sophie carries a tennis ball Dembe is 100% on his recall.

We have been laughing about Dembe’s tail being so high up when he is playing. It reminds us of our Weimaraner Willow who passed away in 2017. Whenever she was playing, if she had something that she thought either Mollie or Frankie would like her tail would go straight up.

When Jay came home after 10pm Dembe was too knackered to go downstairs and greet him. Dembe grabbed a toy and stood in the bedroom doorway his tail thumping against the door. It doesn’t happen very often that he is too tired to say hello to his dad but it is funny!

Thursday 4th March

Dembe is very spoilt this week as he has 4 walks booked with dog walkers. Today he will be going out with Martin from Happy Dogs.

Embarrassingly I managed not to hear Martin when he arrived for Dembe. I was upstairs with music on. My hearing is pretty poor at the best of times, for some reason I just didn’t hear the door bell or the knocking. As the bin men were outside I assumed Dembe was barking due to them. It took Martin ringing me for me to know he was waiting……mortified!

If you have Facebook you can see the video from the walk https://www.facebook.com/415343231815686/videos/443196876883828

Dembe had a lovely walk, playing lots of Labrador games with Monty the chocolate Labrador. Dembe got a foamy mouth which is typical him when he has been playing lots and managed to get it all over Monty, who needed a wash before he went home.

The new dog food that I have ordered for Dembe has arrived today. I have started off with 3kg rather than a full bag just in case his majesty doesn’t like it. This one has a higher fresh meat content than what he is currently on and is cheaper per kg. Dembe’s appetite has really increased due to the amount of walking he is doing and the the dog food is is currently on is supplied in 7kg bags. With the new food I can get 12kg for only £15 more. That makes sense as that will last me longer. It is still a premium food so I know he is eating well, he doesn’t like raw food and he will still be having the food I make him.

I added a small amount of his new food in with his meal tonight, along with his old food and he ate the lot. So I am happy, if he doesn’t like stuff he will pick around it and leave it in the bowl.

Friday 5th March

Dembe didnt wake up until 5.50am, when he got up with me, I presumed that he must have already been out and I had slept through it as it was so late for him to rise. Especially when you consider he woke Jay up at 4.30am yesterday.

Jay is on a late shift today so he will take Dembe out 3 times before he goes into work. He will pop home at 17.00 to walk Dembe on the common before shooting back to work to finish the remainder of his shift.

I had a migraine today so I went back to bed at 9am, Dembe was more than happy to come back with me.

I had a Labrador shaped hot water bottle for much of the day. As I had frequent lie downs during the day.

Saturday 6th March

When I woke up this morning Dembe wasn’t with me, so when I got up I checked in Jays room for him. He was snuggled up on his dads pyjama’s and wasn’t too keen on getting up.

Dembe kept closing his eyes pretending he was asleep, as he was very comfy and warm on Jays bed. We had a long cuddle, I promised him breakfast as soon as we got downstairs.

We were having a lazy day as I was still feeling quite poorly after having a migraine the day before. Dembe was happy with that.

On and off during the day we had a lie down up stairs on my bed.

In the afternoon Dembe was full of beans and decided to empty his toy box.

He was very excited to see his dad when he got home, he was desperate to go out for a walk and burn off some energy. Once walked he settled down very quickly.

Sunday 7th March

Dembe went out around 5am for his first walk, Jay said it was minus 2 and frosty. They both came back to bed then and slept until gone 8.30am which was a lovely lie on as the humans definitely needed it.

Today has been spent catching up with jobs around the house and lots of Dembe games and cuddles as usual.

W/C 15th February 2021

Monday 15th February

Dembe is very sleepy this morning after getting up early with his dad, as Jay is on an early shift.

He got very excited when his dad came home for lunch, Jay got brought the giant carrot toy as a gift that he could look at but not touch. He had been very patiently waiting for Jay to arrive home at lunch time. He took up his dad watch position from 12.45pm.

The treats I ordered for Dembe arrived today. I got Dembe some dried goat sausage as he has had goat before and really enjoyed it. He hates it. Every time I give him a bit he spits it out looking at me like I have given him poop on a stick. It was expensive as well so I am gutted. I will give it a few days and then try him again with goat sausage. He is such a diva.

I managed to record him performing the sock trick. I was sat in my stocking feet as I had taken my slippers off. Dembe came up and started nibbling at the end of the sock and took it off. So I captured him doing my left foot. He loves doing the sock trick.

Tuesday 16th February

Jay was day off today, so as usual I have to watch the daddy and Dembe love in that goes on. As Dembe only gets two whole days a week with Jay unless he is on leave from work. Dembe likes to make up for his absences by getting in as many cuddles and love as he can get on those two days.

Whilst I was doing my physiotherapy exercises Dembe came in and settled on the bed keeping an eye on me.

I always take ages sorting myself out in the mornings getting ready to come downstairs. Dembe is always very patient and waits for me whilst I get ready. He just settles down on the bed and dozes whilst keeping an eye on me.

We had a lazy day after the stress of the weekend.

Dembe and I had an early night

I am gutted that this photo is so blury as it would have made an excellent TOT – tongue out Tuesday photo!

Wednesday 17th February

Well to throw us all out today Jay is on a 9-6 and not a late night. Plus Sophie from Creature Kind is on holiday, so Dembe won’t be hanging out with Sophie and her crew. I did book him in with Martin from Happy Dogs today as he is very used to going out on a walk on a Wednesday.

Dembe got picked up a little after 10am, for some reason my notifications when Happy Dogs are doing a Facebook live got switched off so I missed the video. You can see the video here if you have Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/415343231815686/videos/445680469889515. He had a fantastic time, he loves going out with Shadow. He has a bit of a crush on the older ladies.

Dembe was knackered after being out on his walk with Martin

I tried to get a photo of Dembe with his cushion that we were sent by Anne-Marie and Eddie, he wasn’t impressed.

We had a quiet afternoon as I came down with a migraine.

Dembe kept me company on the sofa, lying on me and getting me to hold his lambs tail so he could chomp down on it.

Thursday 18th February

Jay is late tonight which is unusual for a Thursday. I am sure that will throw me out all day. As Jay is late we decided to do Dembe’s walk differently. So when Dembe woke up at 5.30am instead of taking him up onto Woodbury Common Jay walked him around the block. Dembe was more than happy with that and as soon as he got home came up and went to sleep on my bed.

Then an hour after Dembe had his breakfast, Jay took Dembe up to Woodbury Common. He had a really good run around and met lots of dogs and had a play with them. He is such a little social butterfly! He has a better social life than either me or Jay.

He was a bit unsettled this afternoon. He kept going to the lounge window and looking out. He also decided that he wanted to go and sit on his favourite chair on the garden. He would sit out there in all weathers if he could. Strange boy.

Just before 5pm Jay popped home to take him out for another walk on the common, so that he got out and stretched his legs. He really enjoyed his run around and settled down very quickly for me this evening.

Friday 19th February

We are experimenting with the days that Dembe gets his professional dog walks on. I have noticed on the days that Jay has done an early shift, Dembe can be a bit fizzy with all the pent up energy he has because he only gets a 30 minute walk before Jay goes to work. So today Martin from Happy dogs is taking him out. It will catch Dembe out completely as he is not used to seeing Martin when daddy is on an early shift.

Dembe got picked up nice an early by Martin. He had another fantastic walk with his girlfriend Shadow. You can see the video from the walk https://www.facebook.com/415343231815686/videos/756596268589857

He was pretty tired fro the rest of the day. I was having a quiet day as I wasn’t feeling particularly well. Dembe as usual adapts his energy levels to how I am.

This afternoon he decided to treat me by jumping up on the sofa and dropping his lambs ear on my arm. My job was to hold it whilst he chews it and I get paid in saliva!

He really loves it if you will hold his chew for him whilst he has a good chomp. The problem with the lambs ears though is they are covered in hair and they stink! He adores them so I just have to put my qualms to one side.

Saturday 20th February

On my google photos today it came up with photographs of Dembe when he was tiny!

It seems like it was only yesterday he was a tiny wee baby. He will always be our puppy.

Jay is on another early today, the weather is bloody miserable and Woodbury Common has turned into a giant bog. It feels like all we have done all week is wash dog towels and tumble dry dog towels.

Dembe is a very sleepy boy today

As I was doing my physiotherapy exercises in his dads room as that has the most floor space he came in and joined me settling down on the bed.

For the last couple of weeks Dembe has decided to sit on the stairs and watch what is going on in the lounge from that vantage point. He used to run up the stairs when he was attempting to get away from the nail clippers etc but now he goes up at any point during the day. He is very happy to be petted through the banisters and will even give you a kiss. He just likes being on the stairs, the funny little sausage.

I love all his little quirks. He is very funny about things being in the wrong place. This week I got a new bathroom cleaner, as there was no room on the shelf it was put on the floor in the bathroom. As soon as Dembe came into the bathroom he started barking at it. He is like it when out on a walk if there is something on the path that he feels shouldn’t be there. Travis our first Weimaraner was exactly the same. Once having a melt down over a bathroom towel being draped over a garden chair. Silly babies.

Dembe has had a rather lazy day today bless him!

Until next week!

W/C Monday 18th January 2021

Monday 18th January

Posing beautifully for me and then he did this

When I woke up this morning Dembe was downstairs asleep on the small sofa in the lounge. He was really shattered and I had to wake him up to give him breakfast at 9.30am. He isn’t an early morning dog. He had a huge breakfast.

As Dembe has been refusing to eat his Kongs ( he gets these when we have jobs where we want to keep him out of the way) I thought maybe he would try them with Brussels pate in. Yes I know he is a spoilt bastard. I used to do him ham and cheese Kongs but he steadfastly refuses to eat them now. He went crazy for the the Brussels pate. So at least I know have something I can put inside his Kongs and he will eat them. He does have expensive taste.

Jay nipped home for lunch and walked Dembe around the block. Dembe saw Ben next door for the first time in a few months and was doing the play stance and barking at him trying to get him to play. Ben was playing football with Dembe in the summer. He obviously remembers.

Jay finished at around 4pm and Dembe got taken straight up the common for a walk. He settled very quickly this evening.

A Facebook memory came up this morning of Dembe when he was tiny and loving to sleep with his head in Jays slippers.

He still likes sleeping on his dads slippers

Tuesday 19th January

Jay is day off today, he took Dembe out early and then again at 9.20am. He took Dembe up to the model airfield and met up with a colleague from work (observing social distancing) and his dog Whisky.

Initially Dembe and Whisky were a little wary of each other

However after 10 minutes or so they then started playing chase which as regular readers will know is Dembe’s favourite game

Apologies for the bad language at the end of the video, my husband forgets I post the video’s on here!

Both dogs were running around like mad for the whole 75 minute walk. We expected Dembe to be knackered after his walk but no he kept going and going.

Jay took Dembe out up the common again in the afternoon for a shorter walk. I am sure that due to Jays early shift he has lots of energy left over on a Tuesday after the Monday. Thankfully he settled down in the evening. I had a migraine so went to bed early and my pup came with me to keep an eye on me.

Wednesday 20th January

Dembe is being spoilt this week with 3 walks with professional dog walks. He has two with Martin from Happy dogs and one with Sophie from Creature Kind.

I got up at 7am and Dembe was not impressed, refusing to get up with me. He did saunter downstairs around 20 minutes after I got up and graced me with his presence.He brought blue dinosaur with him as well so looked ridiculously cute.

This one was taken last year but shows his blue dinosaur

He refused his breakfast this morning so went without. I have had to be quite hard when he starts messing about as he is such a fussy eater and will try it on. I am sure he would love ham, cheese and Brussels pate for every meal but it isn’t happening! I did discover later that it was the bit of chicken roll on his breakfast that stopped him eating. When removed he ate the lot!

He had a lovely walk with Martin from Happy dogs. The weather was absolutely awful as Storm Christophe had hit the UK so windy and rainy. He came back covered in mud but that was easily sorted with a hose down in the garden – I am talking about Dembe not Martin LOL!

After he has been out for a walk he likes to lie on my lap for a bit! Getting me damp from his wet belly.

He had a long nap after his walk!

Thursday 21st January

Dembe surprised us this morning by climbing onto the coffee table in the lounge. It is the first time that he has done this and out of all the dogs we have owned only Mollie climbed the lounge coffee table. Travis used to climb up on the table in the garden but never the one inside the house!

Of course as soon as I went to take the photo he started to come off. We couldn’t help but laugh at him as we were so surprised by him doing this.

Today he is going out for a walk with Sophie from Creature Kind and her crew. Whilst they were out Sophie sent me this photo of Dembe, which I now have as my phones home screen.

He loves having a swim on the common. Apparently he took every body to the pond so they could have a swim!

As you can see he has a wonderful time out on his walks. I swear this dog has a better social life than I do! He did however let himself down at the end of the walk by refusing to come back to Sophie. He decided to extend his walk a bit by running off and going to play with some smaller dogs. The dogs owner wasn’t impressed. I was mortified as normally his recall is spot on. Sophie was really good about it. Next week I am going to give her some cubes of cheese to take with her to see if that gets him coming back to her better. He is far too clever for his own good sometimes.

He was ravenous when he came in and had a huge dinner! No problems with him eating it.

As he fell asleep really early I managed to get us up to bed before 7pm.

Friday 22nd January

Dembe is being spoilt again today as he is having another walk with Martin from Happy dogs. He wasn’t massively energetic before Martin arrived.

When Martin arrived I let him know that Dembe had been a naughty pup with Sophie the day before. Thankfully when Martin dropped him back he said Dembe had been as good as gold. The relief! I hate it when he is naughty with people. As Dembe had been by himself for this walk Martin had taken him through some basic training, so recall, walking to heel off the lead etc so it was a really good mental session for Dembe as well. He wasn’t too muddy either, I was expecting him to come back pickled!

Whilst they were out Martin took some great photos of Dembe

Photo Credit Martin Pashley Happy Dogs. Dembe having a treat thrown to him!

Martin said that Dembe was fascinated with the helicopter going over head. I told him about the Chinook going over us when Dembe was a little pup and how he had been into watching aircraft ever since!

He was very tired after 4 long walks this week, 3 with professional walkers and one long one with Jay on Tuesday. He was starving today and demanded his dinner at 3pm which is crazy early for him to have his last meal of the day. He scoffed the lot without looking up and I gave him a huge dinner due to the amount of physical activity he had this week.

I think he was over tired as he was very unsettled and whingey for the rest of the afternoon. He did conk out at around 7pm and that was him asleep until 4am when Jay got up.

Saturday 23rd January

Jay was on an early shift today, unusually for Dembe he was raring to get out at 4am, normally Jay would have to drag him out of bed. When they got back Dembe raced back upstairs to bed with me.

After jay had showered and dressed, he came in and sorted out what toys needed to go downstairs, as over the week Dembe had brought up so many. He took down sprout and carrot. Around 5 minutes later Dembe went downstairs, picked up carrot and brought him back upstairs. Dumping him on my head.

As he was a such a good boy whilst I sorted myself out this morning, I got his fish toy out for him. His Auntie Heather bought this for him last year.

He has slept the rest of the afternoon and when he has been awake he has been exceptionally cuddly.

W/ C 11th January 2021

Monday 11th January

Happy Gotcha Day Dembe, two years ago a blonde bundle of fluff slept all the way home in the car and became our little sausage. How has the time gone so quickly?

Today was supposed to be a day of wonder, two years since Dembe arrived int.o our lives but oh my goodness someone stole my sweet boy away in the night and replaced him with a demon! He didn’t want to have cuddles, he didnt want to play games. All he wanted to do all day was to bark and howl out of any window he got access to. It was draining!

He then decided in the afternoon to hoof out all of his toys from the toy box in the lounge.

After he emptied them all out he then went onto the small sofa and slept for all of ten minutes before taking up position at the window again. I have no idea what has gotten into him today but all he wants is his whole pack together.

Other than a few 10 minute power naps he didn’t sleep all day. As soon as Jay came home and he had been walked he went to sleep. It was ridiculous as he had been out twice during the day before the evening!

What a day! I wont forget his second Gotcha day in a hurry!

Tuesday 12th January

As is usual daddy is day off today so Dembe is very happy to have everyone home. Of course after his nightmare day with me yesterday he slept all day today. Crazy animal.

He is being very demanding at the moment. He has worked out when Daddy is home he can get extra walks around the block if he fusses and cries lots. So he had his first big walk at 5.30am, he had a walk around the block at 9.30am and then another walk around the block at 1pm, then taken out for a big 40 minute walk at 2.30pm and then around the block again at 6pm. We now have a fit idiot that has us over a barrel with his refusal to go to the toilet in the garden!

On his walk up the common he was playing with another fox red Labrador, which meant he had a very good run and was exhausted by the time he got back to the car. As it was raining Dembe had to get washed off on our return.

This evening Dembe has been carrying around his carrot and his tail has been wagging furiously.

Wednesday 13th January

Jay is on a late shift today so before he had gone to work Dembe had three walks, 1 up on the common and two short ones around the block. Dembe is still very chilled out today after Manic Monday. He is still obsessing about being by the window and barking at everyone but not as bad as Monday.

Today he is out with Sophie from Creature Kind today and his mates Polo and Nellie. Dembe adores going out with Sophie. Whilst they were out Sophie sent us some photos

That one had us in hysterics, you can tell he is having the best time.

The photo above is another one of my favourites that Sophie has taken.

Dembe was starving when he got home from his walk. I swear he has a better social life than I do! I had to make him wait for an hour before feeding him ( to prevent the chance of bloat) . He hoovered up dinner and then went to sleep.

I got up to go for a wee after going to bed and came across Dembe on the floor fast asleep, stretched out like a skinned rabbit.

Thursday 14th January

Dembe woke me up just after 7am with him having violent hiccups. He had woken his dad up just after 5.30am for a walk. He didn’t want to get up when I stirred and took at least another 30 minutes before appearing downstairs.

Today he has his first walk with Martin from Happy Dogs of 2021. He will love seeing Martin again. Earlier on in the week I played a Facebook live stream and Martin was talking on it, Dembe sat up and then cocked his head so he could get a better idea on where he could hear Martins voice coming from. He will be muddy today when he comes home as it is a bit damp out.

Martin came and collected Dembe and let me know Dembe would be walking with Chester the German Sheppard today. You can see them out on their walk together if you have a Facebook account by following this link https://www.facebook.com/415343231815686/videos/443936583406642

As predicted Dembe was a bit muddy after his walk. As soon as the video was taken Dembe decided that the biggest dirtiest puddle was prime real estate for some Labrador zoomies. It wasn’t too bad really and washed off easily using the hosepipe in the garden. Dembe is very good and will stand whilst he is hosed off, you don’t have to chase him all over the garden.

He was quite chilled out for the rest of the day and slept most of the time.

He was so tired in the evening he was staggering around like a drunk and dragging his fox toy around.

Friday 15th January

Dembe woke me up at 12.30am by getting up off the bed and going downstairs. I could hear him walking around. Then I had just dropped off when I heard him start crying at 1am. Terrified something was terribly wrong I came downstairs to see what was wrong. The issue was that Dembe couldn’t get his smaller fox toy out of the toy box. I grabbed the toy gave it to him and then made him go back upstairs. Unfortunately Dembe thought this meant I wanted to play with him and the fox toy. He was quite shocked that I didn’t!

Thankfully he did settled down for the rest of the night and we didnt get up until much later. For some reason today Dembe just wanted to be out in the back garden all day. Which would have been fine had the temperature not dropped yesterday and it was blood freezing having the back door open all the time.

He wasn’t even playing out there he just likes lying out on the artificial grass and barking at the seagulls!

I got some sewing done so I could keep an eye on him as he wanted in and out of the house into the back garden.

He was very excited to see Jay at lunchtime and went crazy. He waited by the window when Jay went back to work. Thankfully with him being on an early shift he wouldn’t have too long until he was back.

We had a huge cuddle just after this photo was taken.

Jay took him up to the airfield for a walk after work. Jay said Dembe was playing with a Black Labrador that was very naughty and not coming back when she was being called. She was having too good a time with Dembe and Jay throwing the ball for them. In the end the bloke who owned the lab walked behind Jay observing social distancing. Dembe and the black Lab had a lovely play and then, the black Labs owner managed to get her back on the lead. Dembe adores playing with other dogs especially games of chase.

Saturday 16th January

Jay is on the third early shift of the week, I got woken up at 6.30am when Dembe managed to knock my chromebook off the coffee table with his tail. He came up to bed after that, initially sleeping in with me and at some point moving into Jays room. I got downstairs at around 8am, Dembe followed at 8.30am. I had to wait until 9.30am for him to wake up and then I could get him his breakfast.

Dembe is in an incredibly cuddly mood today. He also keeps hogging my electric heated throw. I keep getting crawled on so that he can get onto my lap and have a cuddle. I haven’t been able to do much today as I am not feeling very well. So it has been nice to have so many cuddles from him.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the first post of 2021. We have taken an extended break but will be back properly each week now.

Firstly I would like to post some photos of Dembe from over Christmas

Christmas Eve when Dembe couldn’t contain his excitement

Christmas day with “some” of his presents!

Boxing day / 26th December with his new T rex

28th December, he decided to go under the mattress in his bed

29th December and one of my most favourite photos of Dembe

1st January 2021

Dembe went out at 5.45am, it was very icy. The temperature up on the common was -4. Dembe liked the frosty grass however he wasn’t sure about frozen puddles and refused to walk over the ice. Preferring to walk around them.

He woke me up just after 8am and demanded his breakfast. He has been a bit hit and miss again with his meals, so it was a nice surprise he ate the lot.

He has been a very cuddly boy, snuggling back to sleep with his dad this morning before he demanded his breakfast.

We took the Christmas decorations down today, he seemed very confused and unsettled by it all. He didn’t settle down the whole time we were putting everything away. He kept coming over and sniffing and seeing what we were doing.

He had a lovely walk this afternoon, he met three Pomeranian’s in Christmas jumpers, who indulged him in his love of the game of chase. He has a real thing about being chased by small dogs. He adores it and the Pomeranian’s were happy to oblige.

After running around like crazy on his walk he slept for the rest of the afternoon.

2nd January

Just so you can see that he doesn’t always cooperate when I am taking photos! I was trying to take a nice cute photo and he decided to do the biggest yawn!

See that’s better!

We are all out of sync with Jay having so many days off and being in and out of work all the time.

Barking at his dad for going back to work

3rd January

Today I thought I would treat Dembe with some cold baked potato added to his breakfast. He has really enjoyed any bits of baked potato he has had off our plates He didn’t like it and he made that abundantly clear!

Monday 4th January

Hands up I admit it I was a bit shit at taking photos over Christmas and New Year, I was also rubbish at keeping his dairy up to date.

We are trying to get back into some sort of routine. Dembe has been sleeping in Jay’s bedroom when Jay goes to work early. So I managed to get some sweet photos, he loves snuggling up on Jay’s dressing gown. It is beautiful to see how Dembe and Jays relationship has developed since they started dog training together.

Thanks to the lock-down (number 3 here in the UK) there is no dog training for the moment. Thankfully dog walkers can still work so Dembe can have his afternoon walks when Jay is working late or a 9-6. On Wednesday Dembe will be going out for his first dog walk with Sophie from Creature Kind.

Dembe and Jay had lots of cuddles this evening.

Tuesday 5th January

Today marks two years since our dog Mollie passed away. We knew it was going to be hard, Jay feels the loss acutely as she was his girl.

We had a quiet day just the three of us. Chatting about and remembering our girl.

Wednesday 6th January

Jay is late night today, so Dembe has had three walks before he has gone to work. He had a big walk first thing and then 2 strolls around the block. Today is Dembe’s first dog walk of 2021 with one of his walkers, today it is Sophie from Creature Kind.

Dembe’s snow nose on full view. It has gone pink as it always does in winter.

If you have Facebook you will be able to see the video on Creature Kinds page by clicking https://www.facebook.com/creaturekindpetsitting/videos/4099468236747503

Dembe met up with his doggy friends Polo and Nelly, they had a fab time. Dembe and his pals ran around chasing each other for the whole hour. When Sophie brought him back she apologised for bringing him back a little damp. She explained that as she had been drying him on the flat bed / tail gate he decided to jump up, put his paws on her shoulders and lick her face. He refused to stop and she said she couldn’t laugh for fear of him getting his tongue in her mouth! He does this a lot at home, he will also pin you down and lick your face.

When Sophie and I were chatting Dembe brought his fox toy to us. He was shattered after his walk and spent much of the evening asleep.

Thursday 7th January

Today marks 2 years since we first met Dembe. His Gotcha day is 11th January.

You can see what a gorgeous baby he was from these photos. It seems such a long time ago that he was so tiny. He is still tiny to us compared to the Weimaraners, even though at 35kg he is heavier than Mollie was at 28kg and Willow at 32kg. He is longer in the body than they were and they were taller than him.

As you can see from the photo Dembe really wasn’t that bothered about the anniversary!

Friday 8th January

Daddy was on another early today, when I woke up Dembe had been sleeping in Jays room. Dembe was so sleepy that I had to wake him up to have his breakfast at 9.30am

Dembe was very keen for his dad to get home at lunchtime and take him around the block. When Jay came in Dembe brought him his carrot as a reward for coming back.

Dembe has been super cuddly today, all he has wanted to do is lie across my lap and have a cuddle.

During the afternoon I discovered that Dembe had pulled the green rope part (the carrot top) out of his carrot and now the stuffing was exposed. So when Jay took Dembe out for a walk when he got back from work I brought carrot with me and fixed him whilst they were gone.

We were all tired so we had an early night.

Dembe crashed out long before I did!

Saturday 9th January

Jay is on a late night shift today. Dembe slept until 5.45am, Jay got up and took him out. I didn’t hear them come back, I didn’t wake up until gone 9am and the boys were still alseep.

Today Dembe will be going out with Max from “It’s a Dog’s Life”. She does his Saturday walks when we need them doing around once a month. He has been out with her a couple of times before and enjoys his walks with her.

He had a lovely time on his walk, he was a little bit timid when Max arrived but once he was over the threshold he was fine and jumped in the van .

When he got back he was hyper! Eventually he did settle down

I hope you have enjoyed catching up with Dembe.

W/C 14th December 2020

Monday 14th December

I woke up at around 7.45 only to find Dembe wasn’t with me. I went into his dad’s room and he wasn’t there either. As I came down the stairs I could see him fast asleep on the little sofa.

He was starving hungry as soon as he woke up so I got him his breakfast. As we had done a job lot of cooking on Sunday to ensure all his meals were made for the following month. Jay was on an early today as usual!

We had a quiet morning together, I was doing some crochet on the sofa whilst he amused himself or slept.

As usual as soon as it got to around 12.45 he started his watch at the lounge window waiting for his dad to get home for lunch!

His daddy got home at around 13.15, whilst he was here Dembe’s Christmas Antlers arrived. He looks so cute! But I don’t think he was that impressed!

As you can see from his face, he isn’t entirely happy about the antlers!

This evening my hairdresser came around to sort out my hair and Jays hair for Christmas. Dembe was a really good boy and stayed out of the way whilst this was being done. He spent most of the evening asleep on the sofa curled up next to Jay. When he did come into the kitchen it was a quick hello and straight back into the lounge.

Tuesday 15th December

Today marks 3 years since our Weimaraner Willow passed away. Sometimes it feels like it was only yesterday that she was here running around and being naughty and other times it feels like several life times ago. She will never be forgotten she was such a unique character.

Jay is day off today as is usual. Dembe is all over him making sure he gets every bit of attention he feels is due!

We had a surprise at around midday as Dembe’s uncle Paul arrived as he needed some help printing some stuff off his phone. Dembe was so excited to see him he didnt know what to do with himself. Luckily we had a jumbone in the cupboard and we gave him that.

Dembe is very protective of me today and is continually checking if I am ok. Jay has decided and I agree with him that I am not well enough to go to dog training this evening, so he will take Dembe by himself.

They had a really good session at dog training. Suzanne from happy dogs sent me two videos of them working which was really lovely to see.

Wednesday 16th December

Dembe is a very spoiled boy this week as he will be having three hour long walks with dog walkers from Happy Dogs and Creature Kind this week. I wanted to ensure that Jay didnt feel under pressure to give him really long walks when work will be so busy for him on the run up to Christmas.

Jay is on an early today as later I have a MRI at the main hospital.

Dembe is shattered as it has been a busy week for him already with dog training last night and having a visit from his Uncle Paul and seeing Rachel the hairdresser on Monday.

It was so funny watching Dembe at the window see Martin from Happy dogs van go past the house and turn around. Dembe’s tail was going crazy and he was barking. He kept looking back at me as if to ask “is he coming for me? is he?”. He dived off the sofa when I answered the door and let Martin put his lead on. Normally I have to clip his lead on but he has got so confident over this year that he is now very happy to go with Martin / Sophie or Max his dog walkers.

If you follow the link https://www.facebook.com/happydogs.uk you can see Dembe out on his walk with his friends on Wednesday and Friday this week. He had a fab time on his walk.

He brought me his carrot when he got back from his walk with Martin.

Dembe is such a funny dog. The new Labrador Christmas tree topper arrived today. I tried really hard to get a photo of Dembe and the tree topper together but Dembe was terrified of it. Every time I put it on the floor beside him he ran away barking as you can see from the photo. Such a brave lad. He is much happier it is now up on the tree and away from him.

When Jay got back at 4pm we took Dembe up to Woodbury Common for a quick walk around. He was so muddy when he got back to the car we had to hose him down in the garden and dry him off. It was then a quick change for Jay and I before heading out to the hospital for my MRI.

Whilst I was having my MRI Jay walked Dembe around the hospital estate where he had another poo. Jay couldn’t quite believe it as he had gone first thing this morning, again with Martin, again x 2 after work and now he was squeezing another one out. He reminds us of Mollie 2 poos. It never mattered how many times she had been out she would always manage to have a poo!

Thursday 17th December

Dembe or should I say the Blonde Bastard woke me up at 2.30am crying. I have no idea what it was about. I heard Jay get up to go for the bathroom so I called him and he took Dembe into his room where he went to sleep in his arms until gone 5.30am. Grrrr!

Jay is on a late shift today so Dembe has been out twice before he leaves for work.

This afternoon he is on his second walk with Sophie. He was waiting for her at the window when she arrived and was barking like mad. I don’t think he could quite believe his luck having another walk with a dog walker. I put him on the figure of 8 lead to make him walk better for Sophie as he does have a tendency to pull.

Photo Credit Creature Kind, Sophie Start

He had a brilliant time on his walk and it is clear he is very fond of both Sophie – Creature Kind and Martin from Happy Dogs. It is so nice to know that he is being looked after and having a ball whilst having a break from looking after me!

When Dembe got back he brought a carrot and a blue dinosaur to the front door for Sophie and I to look at but not touch! Typical Labrador parading his toys.

He was pooped after his walk and settled down very quickly for a snooze.

He was so funny this evening taking an absolute age messing around with his bed.

Friday 18th December

Jay was on another early shift this morning, when I got up Dembe wasn’t with me. So I crept into Jay’s room to see if he was there. He was fast asleep under Jay’s pillow, he didn’t stir until I took the pillow off his face. We had a lovely cuddle before we came downstairs.

Dembe has his third walk of the week this week with Martin from Happy Dogs. He was accompanied by another dog called Taxi who had a bit of a play with him. The weather was absolutely atrocious, I really feel for anyone who works outside at this time of year. Dembe clearly had a wonderful time on his walk as he was very tired for the rest of the afternoon. Within 15 minutes of arriving home he was out for the count.

I had a bit of a nightmare this afternoon as I managed to drop my mobile (cell) phone down the toilet. Thankfully I had my old smart phone still and got that up and running but the photo’s aren’t great quality on this phone so they will be a bit dodgy until I get the other phone dried out and working or repaired or replaced. I do have insurance so it isn’t the end of the world.

We had another surprise visit from Uncle Paul today as he arrived to collect his parcel that had arrived for him. Dembe went crazy! I also ensured I gave him his bag of Christmas presents as well. He had brought us a framed photo of Jay and I from 31st December from 2003, when Travis was a tiny pup. That was such a lovely thing for him to do. He is such a wonderful man who has had a really shitty time of it since his beloved Pam passed away. I so wish she was here to meet Dembe she would have adored him like she did the Weims.

Saturday 19th December

Well I am getting the blog sorted a day early as tomorrow we have a busy day dropping off the Christmas presents to various relatives. Hopefully Dembe will be able to meet his cousins Jacob and Charlotte for the first time.

Dembe is very tired this morning, it has been a full on week!

He decided this morning as I was having my breakfast that the only place he could possibly be was on top of my lap. Which was fine but my cup of tea was on the table and I couldn’t reach it!

He is very sleepy today as you can see!

He was all confused about the time today as he was waiting for his dad to come home from 12pm! Unlucky as he had another hour to wait, until daddy popped home for lunch. Dembe brought Jay his carrot when he came home.

He is now curled up on the sofa sleeping. I wish I was too!

This will be the last blog post of 2020 and we will be back in the New Year. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas / Happy Holiday and a peaceful new year. Stay safe xxx

W/C 30th November 2020

I will hold my hands up and just admit that for whatever reason I have just clean forgotten to update Dembe’s diary during this week which is what I use for the blog entries so it is going to be a bit rubbish this week. Sorry!

Monday 30th November

Jay was on an early as usual, so Dembe went out very early this morning. This always means he sleeps for most of Monday morning.

Dembe decided to join me in the shower! Today we had a gas engineer around to service the boiler. Dembe was really good with the help of a jumbone and keeping him on the lead so he couldn’t get in the guys way. He didn’t bark either so he did a good job. We had a lazy day because I had to run around getting up earlier this morning so I would be ready for the boiler service.

We spent the rest of the afternoon just chilling!

Tuesday 1st December

How is it December already? Today we put the Christmas tree up. Dembe was a really good boy and just lay on the sofa and watched as we got the job done. He never bothers with the tree, he gives it a sniff. I say leave and then he just leaves it alone. We have a corner tree so that it is out of the way.

Dembe has his own Christmas decoration as all our dogs do past and present.

We had a lazy afternoon after doing the tree, I managed to finish my huge chunky scarf and managed to get Dembe to model it.

Wednesday 2nd December

I had the hospital this morning so we were all up early. Before we set off Jay gave Dembe a walk around the block. It is amazing the difference with Dembe travelling in the car now. Since starting going out with Dog Walkers he now settles in the car immediately . He gets in, turns around for Jay to attach his seat belt and then he lies down. Before he started going out with the dog walkers he would cry and fuss, never really settling. When we drove on any long car journeys i would take a good 20 minutes before he would stop creating a racket. What a difference with our boy now.

When we got to the hospital Jay walked Dembe around the hospital estate for 15 minutes before coming back to the car and getting my mobility scooter out for me. I was gone for a good hour and they stayed in the car waiting for me.

We were all pretty knackered after our trip out in the morning so just had a very quiet afternoon.

We all went to bed very early!

We had an email today to say that Obedience training would start again next week due to the lock down restrictions due to Covid-19 being eased. We were surprised but clearly they have had the go ahead from the local council.

Thursday 3rd December

There has been a running theme this week of Dembe joining me in the shower! It is strange as he can go months without coming into the shower with me and then all of a sudden he is in every day! Jay is on a late today so Dembe has had two walks before he goes in to work.

Today Dembe is going out earlier with a group of other dogs. Due to this year being so crazy the dog walkers are finding it difficult to accommodate Dembe’s need for a later afternoon walk. So we have agreed that Dembe will go on a lunch time walk and then Jay will pop home on his evening break and take Dembe around the block. Dembe had a lovely time with 3 other dogs on the walk. In the video https://www.facebook.com/watch/happydogs.uk/ Dembe was leading the pack on the walk. I love how his confidence has grown so much over the last year and what a well rounded pup he is.

Dembe slept all afternoon after his walk but did need the walk around the block when Jay popped home just before 5pm. He managed to squeeze out two poops ( Dembe not Jay LOL).

He went to sleep on his bed with his face squished up against my chest of drawers! He was fast asleep when Jay arrived home just after 10pm.

Friday 4th December

Guess what? He joined me in the shower again this morning.

We had a cuddly day. Leanne popped over in the afternoon and gave her cuddles too.

Saturday 5th December

Neither Dembe or I could be arsed to do much today. I wasn’t feeling very well, so decided I would work on some applique / crochet.

He got very excited at 12.45pm as he knew that his dad would be home for lunch soon and got his carrot ready to greet him!

He was my little crochet inspector in the afternoon. I was working on my Christmas blanket but I kept having to stop as Dembe decided that he simply had to lie across my lap and have me hold his cows ear whilst he chewed it!

He was highly entertaining this evening. Every night at some point he removes all the cushions from his bed and then lies on the very thin orthopaedic mattress that was supplied with the wicker dog basket. Where as the Weimaraners when they were with us loves as many cushions as possible Dembe is the polar opposite. After months of trying to get him to accept the cushions last night we gave up as it was clear he would much rather not have them!

Sunday 6th December

Today we got the last of the decorations up and Dembe was a good boy just lying on the sofa watching us again.

W/C Monday 23rd November

Monday 23rd November

Shock horror Jay is on an early, Dembe came straight back to bed when he got back from his very early morning walk. His legs were wet and his nose very cold but I love an early morning snuggle with with my boy.

Dembe as usual didn’t want to get up when I did so he stayed in bed for a further 45 minutes.

Dembe is obsessed with standing out in the garden at the moment. He keeps sniffing around the bench box I think there are mice in there but nothing seen as yet!

He has been crazy with energy this morning. I have been trying to get some Christmas presents made but he is demanding my attention constantly bless him. He does make me laugh. From 12.30pm he stands at the window in the lounge waiting for his dad to come home at lunch time.

When his dad arrives home at lunch time Dembe always brings him a toy. As he was ready with a carrot I thought he would give his dad this when he got in. However he was so excited when his dad arrived he ran around in a circle and then gave him his sprout much to our amusement.

At around 6pm Dembe was sick, no warning which is common with him. Where as the Weimaraners we would get a minute or so of warning drooling or retching before they would be sick. Dembe just hurls mid stride and carries on. We will keep an eye on him and see how he is overnight.

Tuesday 24th November

It was a bad night, Dembe was sick several times more. I got up a little after midnight and found him downstairs surrounded by several pools of sick. He had managed to do it all over the rug at the front door, which has now had to be binned as I couldn’t get the sick stains out. Im glad it was there and not anywhere where we couldn’t just chuck it away!

I gave him some tummy meds, most of which I think were shaken through the lounge as he shook his head as soon as I gave it to him. There were pink dollops everywhere that were still being cleaned up a few days later. Whatever he managed to keep down seemed to do the trick as he wasn’t sick again.

Dembe slept a lot today but did eat and drink ok. He wasn’t sick again after his bout during the night. so we just had a quiet day altogether as Jay was day off.

Wednesday 25th November

Jay is on a late night today so Dembe has had his usual two walks before daddy went to work. He has still been quite sleepy today and not his usual bouncy self so I have been keeping an eye on him, whilst I continued with some jobs I needed to get done.

I was so busy that when Martin arrived to pick Dembe up that I didn’t hear him knock on the door. The first I knew was when I heard him shout “hello, hello”. As I walked into the lounge he was clipping Dembe onto a lead. That was a bit embarrassing.

He had a fab walk on the common, he played hide and seek with Martin. He was also much better behaved when he was getting cleaned off by Martin at the end of the walk

Dembe has been crying a lot the last few days, we have no idea why he is doing it other than for attention which he gets bloody loads of anyway! He made such a fuss between 4pm and 5pm that in the end I called Jay and got him to come home and walk him around the block , in case he was crying because he needed a poo. He didn’t but lots of wee’s. He kept up with the crying until he went to sleep just before 7pm.

Thursday 26th November

OMG we ran out of cocktail sausages first thing this morning. Dembe was not a happy bunny!Jay didn’t see the message I sent him last night. I did give him a cheese triangle and that seemed to pacify him.

This morning Dembe decided to join me in the shower! what fun. He got soaked but seemed to enjoy it more than his shower last week!

When Jay came home for lunch he brought home some cocktail sausages. Dembe was beside himself with excitement and couldn’t eat the sausage fast enough. He had a few sausages one after another to make up for lost time!

Jay was on a 9-6 shift today which Dembe hates,

To keep him amused I ended up playing nudge with him for hours. He loves this game but he cheats, if the ball doesn’t go right back to him, even if it is just 1cm away from his nose he will refuse to nudge the ball back to you. So you have to tap it again right back to him. He also picks the ball up and throws it back at you rather than nudging it back.

Friday 27th November

I was so poorly today that Dembe and I crawled back up to bed at 9am and stayed there until gone 12pm. I am having a lot of problems with my neck and Dembe has been very in tune with the fact I haven’t been right and modifies his behaviour accordingly. He was such a good boy, I rarely go back to bed like that unless I am rank. He just followed me up the stairs settled down beside me and slept next to me.

He spent much of Friday on my lap having a cuddle.

Saturday 28th November

Jay was on an early so Dembe once again came straight back to bed as soon as he got back from that walk. At about 7.30am I heard him get off my bed and go into Jay’s room. I then could hear him scraping up the pillows and knocking them off the bed onto the floor. That made me chuckle. When I woke up again an hour later he came down with me. He was obviously very hungry so I gave him his breakfast which he polished off without stopping.

He spent another afternoon on my lap having cuddles. Jay finished at 4pm so he didn’t have long to wait for his evening walk after having a stroll around the block at lunch time. It was still light when they went out this evening but by the time they got back to the car it was rapidly getting darker.

Sunday 29th November

As usual we are having a quiet family day together. Dembe rarely barks when Jay is home during the day so it is clear he see’s his job is to guard me when Jay is out of the house.

So far today he has barely left the sofa and is currently snoring his head off.

W/C 16th November 2020

Monday 16th November

Happy Birthday Dembe! 2 years old today. How on earth are you two? It only seems like yesterday we were bringing you home in the car.

Daddy was on an early as usual, so we had to wait to give Dembe his presents until Jay popped home for his lunch. Dembe was getting very fed up with me singing Happy Birthday to him.

When Daddy came home Dembe got to open his presents. We had bought him a new lead, a new glow in the dark collar, a Kong squeaky ring ( we call it the doughnut) and a Kong American Football.

Sam’s mum Sarah dropped by in the afternoon with a present and card for Dembe. They got him a new bunny toy and 2 tins of sardines which is Dembe’s favourite.

Dembe had lots of birthday cuddles with me, he has been on my lap a lot this week.

Jay made Dembe’s birthday tea which was corned beef, cheese triangles, sardines and kibble.

Tuesday 17th November

Jay was day off today, so Dembe spent much of the day sprawled over him.

Jay shot a quick video of Dembe wearing his glow in the dark collar on his walk this morning

Dembe spent the whole day switching between the sofas having cuddles with both of us.

Wednesday 18th November

Jay was on a late night today so Dembe had two good walks before he went into work today. We were watching ITV’s This Morning when they played a video that was for dogs and invited viewers to record what their dogs did whilst the video was on. To be honest Dembe has more of a reaction when nature programmes are on.

Whilst I did a bit of sewing this afternoon in the kitchen, Dembe slept in the doorway of the kitchen / lounge so he could keep an eye on me.

Martin from Happy Dogs came and picked Dembe up just after 2pm. When Dembe arrived home just before 4pm he looked like a chocolate lab. Martin had already given him a quick hose down with the mud daddy he keeps in his van but Dembe was still pickled. I tried to hose him off outside but it just wasn’t coming off. So he had to go into the shower and have a proper shampoo off. Dembe was not a happy bunny that he had to go in the shower

As he was soaking wet he had to spend a couple of hours in his drying coat.

He was full of beans this evening and was getting so many different toys out. He was into getting his chews out. He was having a good go on his antler.

Thursday 19th November

Dembe woke me up at 3am by licking my face, I was a little annoyed and confused to begin with until I realised that I was starting with a migraine and he had woken me up so I could take my meds. When you have a migraine you have a big drop in blood sugar. Clearly Dembe could smell the change in my body odour and woke me up. Once I had taken my medications and went back to sleep, Dembe settled on the left side of my face and slept like that until I got up a few hours later.

Dembe stuck to me like glue for the rest of the day.

He has been obsessed with being on my lap when I am sat on the sofa or if I am having a lie down on the sofa he lies on me.

Friday 20th November

I haven’t been very well the last few days, Dembe has been my little ray of sunshine. I am so grateful that I have him.

I spent a lot of the afternoon lying on the sofa, Dembe came on the sofa and lied on me.

Saturday 21st November

Was pretty much the same as Friday, a lot of time spent lying on the sofa

Sunday 22nd November

We are having a snuggly day today.