Author: Sue

So, can anyone tell me where February went ?!

Lots going on so let’s get started. First of all, Danielle will be making her annual trip home to Switzerland next week and will be away for three weeks, so there can be no adoptions (or abandons) during that time.

Sad news, Ailsa, a lovely lady and part of our English library rota at Montaigu, passed away unexpectedly two weeks ago. Ailsa really was one of the ‘good guys’ and I am so pleased that at our library lunch not so long ago, I sat opposite her and had a good chat. Who would have thought that three weeks later …… I hope you are finding pleanty of good stuff to read wherever you are now Ailsa !

Happier news, the Brittany Spaniel I talked about in the last month’s newsletter, is coming on in leaps and bounds – literally ! Her leaving her park and coming out into the garden was delayed somewhat when she came on heat !! This was totally unexpected and not too difficult to deal with as we only have one unneutered lad who is past his sell by date …… or so I thought. The situation was not helped by Mademoiselle C proving to be a bit of a slapper. However there was only one occasion when there might have been an accident and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that if the worst happened, blanks were fired. I should know by next month ! Meantime C has progressed from a terrified girl hiding in her park as far away from humans as she could get, to leaping excitedly in the mornings when I go to let her out. We haven’t tried a walk beyond the garden yet but hopefully that will be soon.

Danielle has had a good month adoption wise but gets calls nearly every day from people wishing to abandon dogs for various reasons. Relationships breaking up being the main cause. I know I have bleated on about this before, but another reason is that people say their dogs are ‘uncontrollable’. Well I am sorry, but if you adopt a puppy then any bad behaviour is down to you for not educating your dog from the start. One of the most common problems, as was proven very recently, is that when puppies are puppies, they are very cute and have these really cute little teeth which don’t hurt at all and it is such fun to play tag with them. Then, who would have thought it, the cute puppy turns into a cute junior who has been allowed to bite and so continues biting. However now his/her teeth are much stronger and very ‘ouch’! Junior cannot understand why he is now getting told off and/or smacked for doing something which was such fun and allowed when he was a puppy. Not his/her fault, definitely the owner’s fault, but probably to late to stop the spiral. Owner gives up and Danielle is given an unruly, now possibly, dangerous dog to retrain and, hopefully, rehome. Do not let your puppy bite and never let him win in a game of toy pulling. If things have already got difficult, keep a water pistol handy and spray right into the face of the dog. Not painful, but corrective and the suprise element should gradually make the dogs realise that perhaps that biting is not so much fun after all.

A bit of personal good news, Ernst has a date for his hip operation – yey ! 16th May, I can’t wait !

Book Bonanza preparations are coming on fabulously with some great books being donated so I will have a brilliant selection for you to browse on 29th March.

I little bit of advice from someone who knows, if your husband/partner really gets you so mad you have to do something drastic and if that something drastic is throwing a cup of coffee at him (well not direction AT him but very close by), make sure you have finished the coffee, because as you raise the cup to fling it, any coffee still in the cup will go straight down your back and it is uncomfortable stalking out tryng to hide the fact that you have a wet back …….

Hey ho.

Sue x

Let us start off 2025 with a nice story. In December I had a ‘phone call from a lovely volunteer at Resto du Coeur, saying that the group had been anxious about one of their regulars and his dog, neither of whom had been seen for a few days. They went to his house out in the woods where they could hear the dog barking but there was no reply when they knocked on the door. Feeling anxious they called emergency services who entered the house to find the gentleman lying on the floor in a bad way. He was immediately taken off to hospital, but what to do with the dog ? Somebody found my number somewhere and called me. How could I say no ? So Nouschka came to Poorpaws and I have to say she is an absolute pearl. Congratulations to her owner who has obviously educated her and loved her to pieces. After a few weeks, the ‘Resto Ladies’ asked me if it would be possible to take Nouschka to visit the owner who was distressed about where and how she was. So one sunny January afternoon (yes there was one !) Nouschka and I took a trip to Cahors where nurses brought her owner downstairs. Well, you would have to have a heart of stone not to need tissues. I had told Nouschka she was going to see her ‘Daddy’ and she jumped around like a bunny, but when she actually saw him, she leapt up on to his lap and it was cuddle time. Sadly, he couldn’t stay outside for long and we couldn’t go inside, so it was not a long a visit as we would have liked. The owner has now been moved to a reeducation hospital quite a way away, but we are hoping to visit again soon.

Another happy (sort of) ending. Danielle and I both received an enmail from a gentleman in England saying that his Dad had died over here in France and left three dogs. Was there any chance we could find homes for them ? Danielle went to see the dogs, who were being fed and cared for by a kind neighbour, and came back saying the dogs were well behaved, obediant and affectionate BUT not in the first flush of youth. However, St. Cadbury sometimes works in mysterious ways and it just so happened that both Danielle and I had people looking for adult dogs. Two of the three now have new owners and the third could well have one by the end of this week !

The good news just keeps on coming ! Danielle has had a good month for adoptions, but of course there are always some dogs waiting. Urbain and Takar, oh bless, when will they be chosen ?

The Brittany Spaniel who is on our adoptions page, is, as expected, now here at Poorpaws and my goodness, I have never seen such a frightened bunny. Well, not a bunny obviously but you know what I mean. When we put her in the car at the vets, we attached her to a metal loop in the car and had strict instructions not to get her out until the car was safely inside our garden with the gates closed behind. Tick. Lucky that we followed the instruction to the letter because when we opened the car door and I reached inside to grab the lead, I saw the flash of a Brittany Spaniel fly past my eyes, the metal loop from the door still attached to the lead. SHIT (pardon my language !). This petrified dog was now loose in our very large garden and although it is fenced all the way round, there is always the possibility of a hole we didn’t know about. So twenty minutes of panic with the dog speeding hysterically around the garden and me praying to anyone and everyone that she could not get out. No point in chasing her, that would just make things worse. Then, oh thank you to all the dog loving gods, she spotted an open gate and ran for it ……..only to find that the gate lead to another enclosed dog park. Phew ! She has now calmed down a lot but I still keep her on the lead when walking in the garden until she gets over her dreadful fear of humans. I spend a lot of time just sitting in her enclosure on a chair reading, not making any demands and I think/hope we are making progress. Watch this space !

As I have said before, my adoptions page is not always up to date because sometimes, by the time Danielle has had time to update me, the dogs get adopted. So do keep an eye on her facebook page – La Mere aux Betes – to keep up to date. You don’t have to be on facebook, just tape in the name of the refuge followed by Facebook.

A quick mention of the Book Sale, 29th March, I am collecting books NOW !

Oh, Dry January ? Smashed it !!!!

Sue x

Well that’s 2024 done and dusted ! Let’s hope that 2025 will be better, but it has not started off too well. Fingers crossed.

I hope you all had a good Festive Season and are not entering the New Year with kilos to lose and regrets when you count out the bottles you take to the bottle bank ! Ours was quite quiet in the end. My pal Susie came over from England and we missed out on a group Christmas lunch on her first day as, although she arrived on the Thursday, her luggage didn’t arrive until Saturday, we having stayed in on Friday waiting. A drinks party was cancelled due to the hostess not being well but we managed a few fun get togethers. The weather was mostly horrid, damp, misty and foggy at times, so I make no apologies for us spending too much time binge watching The Morning Show and playing cards. Dog walking was our daily exercise, whatever the weather !

The ‘bestest’ news is that Shannon, the two year old Malinois cross has been adopted and gone to a fabulous home where her new owners have knowledge of the breed and will give Shannon the excercise, education and love she will benefit from. On the other end of the scale we have Takar and Urbain both of whom have been at La Mere aux Betes for over a year now without having been lucky enough to get chosen. Both are lovely dogs and in order to give them an extra chance Danielle has put them up for a ‘no fee’ adoption, in the hope that perhaps someone who has a great home to offer but can only offer a donation rather than the full fee, will come forward.

I hope you all have exciting projects or plans for the New Year, we can plan nothing as we are waiting for Ernst to have a hip replacement operation. After years of me asking him to get it done and he refusing, he is now so crippled (and grumpy) he has finally agreed. However, he went to the wrong place for his blood tests and the wrong clinic for his Xrays, so I’m rather anxious that when he finally gets a date, he might turn up at the vet rather than the hospital !!!! Men !

Happy New Year have a great one.

Sue x

PS Nothing to put in that new diary ? Book Sale 29th March !!!

Fabuous walk this morning, in fact for the last week or so. I was up on the hill and field behind our house by 8.30 just as the sun was starting to climb up and the dew was steaming up in clouds. If only I had had my camera. All this to the lovely background song of the countryside in Winter …….. gunshots !!!! Hunters. Now I hate the hunting ethic of around here, I have absolutely no idea why anyone would want/like to shoot a beautiful deer, or even a less beautiful sanglier – though I am sure their Mums love them. However, I do not hate hunters, I don’t pretend to understand them, but ……. Hunters go everywhere around the countryside and see a lot, the stray dogs, the lost dogs and the dumped dogs. Quite a few times they have found dogs for me who have gone awal and they always agree to look out for any missing. Many of their dogs have a far better life with regular runs in the countryside, than some domesticated pets who are left in houses for hours on their own, or worse, tied up outside with no possibility of moving beyond a certain distance, or even worse, in a cage. The Americans do this a lot – why ?! Discuss !

1st December so it is legal now to talk about Christmas ! I love it. I love the decorations, the atmosphere, the terrible Christmas films, the present buying, the mini butter stollen from Lidl and the chocolate a go go. I am a bit of a chocolate pleb, not for me the expensive luxury chocolates, give me Cadbury Twirl Bites or Milka milk chocolate anyday, or anything white chocolate,white chocolate lovers seem to be a selective group. KitKat brought out white chocolate KitKat balls which were divine, but poof, disappeared seemingly for ever.

Anyhow just to say I love Christmas, which is not easy living with a German Grinch !

The very best Christmas gift this year for Danielle and me, would be a lovely new home for Takar who has now been waiting over a year, watching all his playmates go off and wondering why no one ever chooses him.

I wish you all the type of Christmas you love and a brilliant 2025.

Sue x

PS If you are looking for good Christmas reads, I can heartily recommend ‘A Redbird Christmas’ by Fannie Flagg (author of Fried Green Tomatoes …..’) and ‘Skipping Christmas’ by John Grisham. The best book he ever wrote and nothing at all to do with crime. My brother gave it to me one Christmas many, many years ago. I read it every year and it makes me laugh out loud still. (Don’t be fooled by the film of the book – Christmas with the Kranks – utter rubbish.)

Our gorgeous Ben spent his last day lying next to my chair as I read, in the glorious sunshine of 7th November. He was so poorly in the night that I took him to the vets on the following day. I did not want him to leave on a cold metal table and so the vet kindly came out to the car where, comfy on a blanket with the sun shining down on him, he went off to join my most beloved Olivia. Thank you Ben for your years of affection and kindness, I am so happy that your last full day on earth was spent with me on my birthday.

A bit late this month, a lot going on.

Firstly a huge thank you to all who supported our Book Bonanza, we raised 1,800 euros which is really fabulous, especially as some regulars were unable to make it due to various reasons, one of which being the pesky diversion from Cahors which apparently was very confusing, in fact so confusing, some gave up. I did not realise this was in place (and still is !) or I would have sent out an alternative route. “Went the day well ?”, you bet your bottom dollar it did ! Our statistician, Gaynor, informed us that we sold 45% of the fiction books and 50% of the crime (you blood thirsty lot you !). Of the books which were left, I cherry picked for the next sale, a friend then cherry picked for various charities she supports and I gave six boxes to the second hand book shop in Duravel – says she, shooting herself in the pied !! That has left quite a lot to get rid of as I wish to start from scratch for the next sale, so 90 % of the rest of the books will go for recycling. Next sale 29th March 2025.

Those of you who follow Danielle on Facebook will see that she is almost snowed under with requests to take dogs but there were no adoptions at all in October. I think that is a first. Unfortunately, most of the dogs who come to her come with ‘baggage’, some being given up because the owners have not trained the dogs and seem surprised when cute little puppies grow up to be a big handful and more and more due to family breakdowns. Breaking News – puppies don’t mend dodgy relationships !!

Ernst and I had a nice week with friends down on the south coast in October, sadly the weather was iffy but we maanaged a few warm days and had some great lunches out and great evenings in playing cards on the balcony and quenching our thirst with the local rosé. The drive down however was pain. We used to go to the Nice area where you drive off the motorway and ten minutes later you are at your distination. However, this year we went to the Var and there is another good hour’s drive from the motorway down to the coast.

This is our lovely old Ben boy and I am at the moment on tenterhooks waiting for a call from the vet. Dear Ben is 18 (!) and has been with us for over ten years, being taken in as an ‘oldie’ at eight ! He is the sweetest, most gentle dog who just loves everybody whether they have two legs or four. When Nick came to us as a terrified puppy, I put him in with Ben and he became Ben’s shadow. Ben took care of him (we’ll gloss over the fact that he taught Nick how to dig an escape route under the fence !) and Nick would not even eat if Ben was not near him. Over the years, the positions changed and Nick started to take care of Ben. In later years, when we were on walks, sometimes Ben would get confused and wander off, I only had to say to Nick “where’s Ben, go find Ben” and Nick would run off, run round and round in ever increasing circles until he found him and guided him back to me. Now Ben has gone into a serious decline, not eating and just staring at the water bowl looking confused as if he cannot remember how to drink. Over the weekend I have been drip feeding him water with a syringe and this morning took him to the vet. They have put him on a drip and we can only hope and pray to St. Cadbury that he comes home to us.

I hope you are all enjoying this lovely sunshine and I hope it lasts until my birthday later this week. I was looking forward to a trip to Ikea with a friend (I know how to enjoy myself) but we have had to postpone, so I have decided to accord myself a full reading day. I will not cook or do any housework (I will walk the dogs), I will just read all day and go to the film at Cezac in the evening. Cheers !

Sue x

This will be a very short monthly blurb as I am up to my eyes with the final preparations for the book sale net Saturday.

However, I have two HUGE thank yous to get out there. Firstly to the very kind person/couple who delivered an enormous amount of cat food to us to be distributed amongst people I know who feed needy cats around them. I was not there when they came and Ernst didn’t ask their name, he said they told him I was expecting the delivery. So if anyone knows who it was, do please let me know so that I can thank them.

Secondly, a great thank you to Clare who has adopted Luigi and is giving him a fabulous life. A great big phew for Luigi.

So, that’s it for now, hope to see crowds of you on Saturday at the ………….

Sue x

Meet the lastest addition to the Poorpaws clan. Dickie the Brittany with little Robbie who headed up the welcoming committee. Dickie came to us from the Pheonix Association who know of my love for Brittanys and who had been asked to find a home for Dickie after his owner was taken into hospital and who is not expected to be in a position to care for either himself or Dickie from now on. Dickie is 14 and is a delight ! He is friendly, gentle and gets on with all the others, even the grumpy ones. His one problem is that he is very deaf, so walks off lead are not possible until I am sure that he knows the way home. This takes us up to ten dogs just when I was celebrating getting into single figures for the first time in nearly 20 years. Who’s counting ?! Dickie was the name of a best friend’s husband who sadly died 15 years ago (also deaf !), so how could I say no !

The other week Danielle and I did the vide grenier in Montcuq. After a disappointing result from the usual clothes stall last year, we decided to give clothes a miss and sell the usual, excuse me, vide crap. The result was not better, so we may well go back to clothes next year, which at least are good fun to sell rather than bric a brac that I wouldn’t give houseroom to !!!

Sad to report that one of the Roumanian dogs who have been with Danielle for nearly a year now and who was adopted and went off to Belgium …….. was brought back four days later !!!! Apparently she didn’t settle. Durrh, the first time she had been separated from her sister and she was expected to turn into the perfect dog in three days. This is so sad and has really made Danielle think hard about letting dogs go too far away.

There have been other adoptions, Skippy the Brittany and U’Ikau the puppy have both gone to great homes and we had this heartwarming photo of U’Aikau leading a horse down the lane into a field. A homing made in heaven !

Now we are just about a month from the next Book Sale and I have been collecting and reading like crazy in order to be able to offer you a fantastic selection of books. Usual place, Salle de Fetes at St. Pantaleon, Bargulonne en Quercy, (Lot), in between Montcuq and Cahors, Saturday 5th October, 9.30 am to 14.30 pm. Childrens’ books free, paperbacks one euro, hardbacks half price, dvds four for one euro, cds five for one euro. We may not be the biggest book sale, but I like to think that our selection and condition is very highly rated. Dare I mention that there will be Christmas cards too – sorry !

If you have books to donate, please make sure they are in good condition and don’t come together with your dead spider collection …… You can contact me by email – susanglibbery@gmail.com – or by ‘phone 0565245303. If you have my mobile ‘phone number please don’t use it as we have no reception out here !

I hope you have had / are having a fabulous Summer and I look forward to seeing you on the 5th October.

Sue x

Temperature ‘down’ to 30 today, thank goodness ! I’m not going to complain about the heat because there are poor souls in other areas of France who are suffering terrible storms and being flooded out of their homes.

Talking of storms, several of our dogs are scared of them, but Isabella is PETRIFIED and is convinced that the only place she will be safe is either sitting on top of me or squeezed underneath me. Night storms are not pleasant because she insists on being ON my pillow and pants and dribbles for the duration. I usually end up with my feet on the pillow and head at the bottom of the bed – and she has the cheek to moan about my feet !!!

” I ain’t scared of no storm …….”

The gorgeous dog of a friend of ours was run over last week and seriously injured resulting in the possible amputation of a leg. Now, accidents happen, the dog got out, ran down to the (quiet) main road and was hit. I don’t blame the driver for hitting Eric (yes, the dog’s name is Eric, don’t ask …) but I do, oh how I so do, blame the bastard, for leaving Eric, clearly badly injured and in great pain, lying in the road. The least he could have done was to ring our friend – telephone number was on the collar . Luckily Eric has a GPS tracker on his collar so when he didn’t come back after a few minutes the friend was able to find him and get him fairly quickly. I believe in karma, so whoever the driver was will get his eventually.

Sad to say incredibly increased dog abandons and lack of adoptions have created a crisis situation and it is so bad that some refuges are now having to euthanise dogs who have been waiting too long for happy homes. This is totally heartbreaking and no fault of the poor dogs . We are finding that the main reasons for dogs being abandoned (and I mean abandon in the true sense of the word, not being left by the road) are couples splitting up (why do couples not realise that babies and puppies do NOT save relationships which are on the rocks?) and finding that the only accommodation they can find for two homes are apartments where dogs are not welcome ( and in any way would be unhappy), and elderly people having to go into homes but not having families who are willing to take on the beloved dogs. (This is why we will not let puppies go to people over 70 UNLESS there are family members ready to provide a home for the dog/dogs should the need arise.)

Small dogs can find new homes quite easily but it is the larger dogs who have more of a problem. I would just say here that I do not believe that very small dogs are suitable for elderly people because they are so easy to trip over. Better a medium size one.

I would also say “yah boo sucks” to all the refuges who quite happily take in small dogs – and think they deserve halos for doing so – but are not ready to help a couple who are facing expulsion from their home resulting in their two Malinois dogs facing a very dodgy future. Danielle is receiving calls almost daily, to take in larger dogs from people who have been referred to her from other officially financially assisted refuges who, despite having salaried staff “cannot cope”. Danielle works alone and receives no official funding, yet manages to find solutions 99% of the time.

I could go on, but won’t, the whole situation depresses me.

Now I am trying desperately to find a happier note to end on …… nope, no can do but I will add something if anything comes to mind.

Sue x

PS In case you don’t already know and need to, dogs are not permitted at the Sunday morning market in Montcuq. This has caused a bit of controversy but I am totally in favour. I hate to see poor dogs being dragged around in the heat amongst hundreds of people, then their owners sitting having a cool drink whilst their dogs are gasping. Apparently the ban has resulted from dog poop on the streets and a small child being nipped. So, leave your dogs at home in the cool. I agree it can cause a problem if you are on holiday and arrive at the market with your four legged friend only to find you can go no further. If you have to leave the dog in the car MAKE SURE windows are open, it is in the shade and remember the sun turns !

“I’m not supposed to be on here ……”

“……..or here …!”

No, our dogs are ABSOLUTELY NOT allowed on sofas , but allowances can be made when you’ve just had an operation and/or teddy comfort is necessary ! This is our Utah who has enough energy to power Europe and which I am hoping to channel into agility classes if the guy ever responds to my ‘phone calls !!

I was very touched that my reader noticed that my monthly update had not appeared and got in touch to ask if I was going to do one this month. Yes, but it had completely slipped my mind with so much going on. Non stop tennis to watch since Roland Garros, followed by Nottingham, followed by Queens, then Eastbourne and now, of course, the big one, Wimbledon. I just adore this time of year and expect to sink into ‘depression’ when it is all over for another year.

On the dog front sadly, not many adoptions to record, but oh, so many people looking to rehome their dogs. One of the main reasons seems to be as a result of couples separating leaving neither one of the couples able to take the family dog with them.This is heartbreaking. Small dogs are easy to home but Danielle has so many larger dogs who are just desperate. Luigi for example (though he doesn’t come from a broken home), his situation is very scary at the moment. So, all you young retirees who are looking for a companion and a reason to get up and out walking, go for a medium to larger dog. There is method in this, a little dog is so easy to trip over when you are older !

Books ! I am hot on the hunt for good condition books for the next sale so after you have finished your Summer reading – if Summer ever arrives – please put them to one side to be resold. A little dabof sun lotion or ice cream is quite acceptable !!! I read a lot and when I have finished a book I write down the title and author and mark it out of ten. (Mind you, a week after reading a book I would be incapable of telling you what it was about even if I had really enjoyed it !) Two which reached the dizzy heights of a ten recently are, ‘Go As A River’ by Shelley Read and ‘Rules of Civility’ by Amor Towles – he who wrote ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ which has to be one of my favourtie books ever. Don’t get me started on the film, totally the wrong choice of main actor !!!

Have a good month, enjoy the tennis and the sunshine if/when it arrives.

Sue x

So, here we are in June …… JUNE ! I would just like to emphasise that because if, like me, you have been watching the tennis at Roland Garros, you would be forgiven for thinking we were in March or November, seeing the spectators wrapped up in thick jackets, scarves and, yes, no kidding, I have seen furs !!!! Yes it is tennis season again, Roland Garros, Nottingham, Queens, Eastbourne (not necessarily in that order) and, finally, Wimbledon ! My favourite time of year before “what do we do now” July 15th !! We don’t have extra sports channels as some of my pals do, so cannot watch tennis throughout the year, therefore this month is very special to me. However, only watching at this time does mean that I have to catch up on the current players, which takes a day or so……. a week if I am honest, as I get older !!! Bring back Stefan Edberg I say !!

It is with great sadness that I have to report that another of the early Poorpaws rescue dogs has gone to join the doggie angels club following a short fight with cancer. Caline was adopted 12 years ago and gave great joy to her family who loved her to the moon and back. She was a great playmate to the boys playing football with them, though trying to defend and attack both sides at once ! When her footie days were over, she settled into the role of Matriach helping new dogs settle into the family. The world is indeed the worse for being one Brittany short, though the football matches ‘up there’ will be more interesting !

Moving on to happier Brittany news, I am delighted to report that Tellis has finally found her forever home and has a Pyreneen Mountain dog as a new playmate. The latest news is that they are delighted with each other and having the best of times.

We have new dogs on the adoptions page of this website and I would put in an extra ‘nudge’ for Luigi who desperately, desperately needs our/your help. He is with Danielle for a few weeks and she reports that he is a very friendly laid back dog,albeit a little wary of other male dogs to begin with.

As we go into Summer (honestly) and, hopefully, warmer weather, so the fetes and vide greniers will be getting into swing. These are fun for humans, but hell on earth for dogs (especially the fetes with loud music) and it breaks my heart to see dogs being dragged around at these events with only legs to look at or other miserable dogs. So, please, please, please, leave your dogs at home in the shade and have a great time yourselves.

I’m heavily into book collection again, so get stuck into your Summer reading and give me a call when you have done, so that others can buy for their Winter reading in October !!

I learned this morning of the death of Rob Burrow (no ‘s’ !) and I think that whether you are a rugby fan or not, he and his pal Kevin cannot help but have touched your heart. Both a lesson and example in humanity much of which is sadly lacking in our world today. We are worse off without him.

Love,

Sue x

Back in the saddle again !

Don’t you just hate crowded beaches ………..?!

As you will work out from the above, we have just got back from the Ile de Re, taking our usual ‘peace and quiet’ week earlier this year. You will also work out that we had beautiful blue skies and sunshine, but ……. a VERY chilly cold wind which made cycling less of a pleasure than usual. Also, although I thought I had a booked a week when all the youngsters would be back at school, I was wrong. The cycling paths were heaving, but the beaches up to about 4pm were empty ! So a nice sheltered spot on the beach where it was beyond warm, a good book and I was in seventh heaven. Yep only one bike, Ernst decided he wasn’t going to cycle this year, partly I think he was more shaken than he realised after his nasty fall last year and also because he is having a lot of problems with his hip ……… but won’t do anything about it. Ditto his hearing, grrrrr !

I see last month I was waxing lyrical about the weather and working in the garden. More fool me ! I bought some plants thinking there would be no more frost, then forgot to put them in the greenhouse overnight just the night where the temperatures went down to 2°. Of course I lost them. I have replaced, they are in the greenhouse and staying there until next week when, supposedly the temperatures will go up slightly. I just hope that the rain lets up too, that was a really miserable May 1st yesterday.

Meantime Danielle has been really busy with people find litters of puppies all over the place. The Border Colley mixes were in and out of the refuge before they could get on the website, there is just one of the Shelties left and the ones who look a bit Staffie like are going quickly too. Just love Staffies.

I do recommend anyone looking to adopt a dog/puppy to keep an eye on Danielle’s facebook page – La Mere aux Betes – because sometimes, by the time the dogs are ready to go and I can put them on my adoptions page, they have already been reserved.

Before finishing I just want to give a little mention to a very special TJ who died well before his time and who we know will now be happy in the arms of the original TJ who found him when he was a lost, abandoned pup. Both missed more than words can say.

So, now it’s goodnight from me and these little monsters below.

Sue x

First of all the excellent news that this beautiful Husky has been homed after such a long wait. There had been several offers from people but Danielle will only rehome when she considers the conditions are totally fitting to the dog. So, to agree to a Husky going to live in the South of France, for example, is just nuts. Huskies need a cold climate and finally THE person has arrived, so the lucky dog will be going to live in Switzerland ! It is a lovely story actually, the daughter of a couple who live nearby always goes to visit Danielle when she is in town and walks dogs for Danielle. Ever since the Husky has been with Danielle (over six months now) the kind girl would take him on REALLY LONG WALKS. They bonded beautifully but the living accommodation in Switzerland was not suitable for dog adoption. That situation has changed and much to everyone’s delight girl, partner and Husky are starting a new life together.

New additions here at Poorpaws too. I looked after a couple of dogs for a month for Danielle when she was away recently. a lovely couple of dogs, both of whom had confidence problems, one had no confidence and growled at me at first, the second too much confidence and tended to use his teeth too much, not only for eating ! They settled in here well and used to play beautifully together. I had to leave a lead on the nipper one so that I could get hold of him without going for the collar (lots of dogs don’t like that). Well, when Utah realised that by taking the lead in her mouth, she could drag Robbie around the garden, she thought that was great fun. As she is bigger it was not really a fair game, so I finally decided to take the lead off and they would race around the garden like lunatics have the best time. So, come Tuesday it was time to take them back to Danielle. With a heavy heart I took them back, convincing myself that it was best for them. When I left them and Utah realised I was leaving without her, she howled. Well, I speak ‘dog’, and she was definitely saying “I trusted you and you betrayed me”. Tears all the way home, a sleepless night ……. and this morning I am off to get them back.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to all who came to the Book Bonanza on the 23rd. So lovely to see you all and to receive all your lovely comments. Apologies for our ‘over enthusiastic’ cashiers, they mean well and I love them. We arived with 100 boxes of books and left with 50 so that was a huge success in my book – see what I did there ?! We took 1,660 euros on the day and with more donations coming in, I’m hopeful of getting to 2,000. Thank you also for the fabulous cat food donations which have been very gratefully received by people who need a helping hand. I know I say it each time, but I really do enjoy preparing the sales and from the many kind remarks I know you enjoy them too. I try to get as many up to date books as possible and, please, if any of you are looking especially for any author or title, do let me know so I can look out for them. Older titles often don’t make the cut and get into the sale, especially if the condition is not that good, but I may be excluding just the book you are looking for, so do drop me a line.

Well, the weather is looking Spring like at last and I am attacking our garden – this year with help !!! We have a very large garden, most of which is left wild, but I do like nice ‘cosy’ corners. The friend who is helping me does make me laugh, I can’t bear to throw away any piece of junk, but “Non, Suzanne, ca c’est moche, faut que ca part” says Virginie, and, of course, she is right ! She is working miracles and is achieving exactly what I want. Mind you, I notice that prices for even little plants in garden centres have boomed. Photos, next newsletter !

I can hardly believe that we will be off to Ile de Re in two weeks time, my reading box is packed with books I know I will need a push to get in to and I will have the time to do just that, not just diving in and out for ten minutes at a time. Bliss !

Sue x

Well, no of course my mobile ‘phone did not miraculously start working on the 1st February !!! So back down to Leclerc after giving the ‘phone a weekend to pull itself together and start working. The lad who looked about ten, who had ‘dealt’ with me a few weeks previously did, I am sure, a mental ‘eye roll’ when he saw me approaching. Hi sighed as he took my ‘phone, pressed a few buttons, then his expression changed. Oh, the old lady is right, this ‘phone is not working ! However, a quick call to Reglomobile on a secret number and abracadabra, we had lift off. Apparently on the previous visit the Reglo person had set everything in place but had ommited to press the button to get everything going. I am happy to report that all is going well except that I still cannot received calls on the mobile at home because we have no mobile reception here. Unless (!) you use Whatsapp, but that’s a whole new ball game.

Adoptions have been going well at La Mere aux Betes and Danielle is abot to take her well earned annual visit home to Switzerland so the refuge will be closed from 9th to 31st March. The poor husky is still looking, but one piece of excellent news is that Rex the Springer who we suspect of being deaf and who was to be transferred here to Poorpaws tomorrow has had a brilliant stroke of luck in the form of a lovely guy who ‘lost’ his elderly deaf dog last year and who has decided that he is ready to take in another companion. When he saw Rex on the website he felt that he is exactly what he needs. So Rex will go on a trial period whilst Danielle is away and we are all crossing everything that all goes well.

No need, I am sure to remind you that our next Book Bonanza will be on 23rd March and I am collecting and sorting like mad. I know I say it every time, but we really have got a great selection of excellent condition books. Some brilliant authors, old and new plus some old favourites who I have included having found that when I left some out, there was sure to be someone looking for just that book.

As you all know, Poorpaws and La Mere aux Betes, primarily help out dogs in need, but we are fully conscious that there are very many cats who don’t have such a good life either and there are just as many people helping them. I know of one elderly lady who gives an enormous amount of time, and more money than she should, feeding the many strays around where she lives, plus getting them sterilised. Then there are many families who are struggling to feed themselves let alone their pets. So, at the next Book Bonanza there will be a bin outside the door for any cat food you would like to donate, be it croquettes or tins. These will be distributed to persons in need of a bit of help.

Oh, I managed ‘no biscuit February’, but ate more cake, so that was a bit of a farce. Can I do no chocolate March ? Well that’s been a no no already, perhaps I’ll try again April ……….

Take care,

Sue x

Again I am sorry to have to start the newsletter with the report of the death of one of Poorpaws’ first pups adopted. Dear Elmo bade his owners farewell on the 9th January after spending 15 years with Becky and Tom. He was just a fabulous dog from the day they adopted him and I am so happy that they all found each other. I just hope Olivia was there to welcome Elmo to his ‘new home’ I am sure they will be having great fun together.

Well I did it ! Dry January, ticked ! It wasn’t that difficult after all and one definite benefit was that I slept so much better. I find that I sleep for about an hour after going to bed, then lay awake for a couple of hours before grabbing a few more zzzzzzz. Alcohol free and I slept six, seven and once, eight hours non stop ! Brilliant. I’m not giving up the sauce completely but certainly intend to keep it limited.

Next challenge ? Biscuit free February, now that will be a toughie !

This month we had fibre connected. We were assured that the laptop connection would be much faster so went ahead. Huh, no difference whatsoever. I have also had problems with Reglomobile. Trying to get through on the ‘phone took two days then the lady I spoke to did not seem to understand that we have no mobile reception here. In the end, she got snappy with me and I got snappy with her. I ended up going down to Leclerc where a very nice young man and lady took 45 minutes to sort out the problem and assured me that my ‘phone would work perfectly from 1st February. We shall see. Amid all the frustrations I realised that I have lived for 70 years without a mobile ‘phone, so will it really matter if I continue my life without one ? All it does is take up more time with Whatsapp messages – no I CANNOT ignore them !!!

Danielle has had quite a good month with all the pups she had going to new homes except for one little beauty – look on the adoptions page, OMG a real aaaaaahhhh ! There are so many dogs on that page at the moment, all of them beauties and dear, possibly deaf, Rex, faces a long time at the refuge unless a guardian angel presents his/herself.

I am gearing up towards the next book bonanza (23rd March) and am actively collecting now. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but please, please, please, good condition books only. I recently had to throw away two huge bags full of yellowing, damp, old, stained books, complete with the dead insect collection which was included. I think people think that oh, second hand books are acceptable in any condition but, durrh, no ! So, paperback novels are the most popular, auto/biographies, historical fact and fiction are good too. Please no out of date maps and travel books. This sale’s treats are hard back books at half price (so 50 cents) and childrens’ books are, again, free. There are some cracking hardbacks which people seem to ignore, possible because they are heavy and can give you quite a blow if they fall on your nose when you fall asleep when reading in bed. My solution, keep them next to your fireside chair and keep the paperbacks for the bedside table. If you have books to donate, get in touch and I can arrange to meet up or collect.

Have a good month and if anyone sees a hot yellow planet floating around, send it down to the Lot please.

Sue x

Eek, why oh why did I agree to do ‘Dry January’ ?! I would not consider myself a heavy drinker, a glass of wine or two with supper, then usually I fall asleep before even finishing the second. Get the Prosecco out and I may make more of an effort ! However, I must admit to an excess of alcohol over the Festive Season, partly because Ernst and I were up in the mountains at La Clusaz staying with his sister and her husband and family and boy can they put it away !!

I was also drinking for other reasons, to deaden the pain and try not to be the spectre at the feast. You see my beloved Olivia, the love of my life, died unexpectedly the week before Christmas. She was not ill and was not even six years old, but I got up on the Friday morning to find her dead in the garden.

I know many of you will know the pain of losing a much loved dog so I don’t need to describe the absolute agony. She was a bit of a runaway rascal and I just thank St. Cadbury that whatever happened, happened here in the garden and not when she was on one of her hikes.

I must also mention Dotti, who was adopted by Sheila and Bob when she (Dotti) was eleven months old. She died in October aged a good, very good, 16 years old !!!! I know Sheila and Bob are suffering and I can only thank them from the bottom of my heart for giving Dotti the happiest of happy lives.

A good friend sent me a quotation when she heard about Olivia, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” …..which immediately set me off again but it is a lovely sentiment.

Right, tissues away. I hope you all had a happier Christmas and fingers crossed that 2024 will be a great year.

What would make a great year for Danielle (La Mere aux Betes) would be if some (all !) of the dogs she has there could be adopted. She has some beautiful ones there at the refuge in Castelnau and if I was younger, she would have a lot less. The little dogs go like hot cakes, but the medium size and large dogs take longer. Personally I prefer medium to large, they are more difficult to trip over ! Let’s hope that my February waffle starts with adoption successes !

Can I here make a plea for everyone to put their telephone numbers on to the collars of your dogs in indelible marking pen ? It really would make life easier for those charged with taking care of lost dogs. There was a case before Christmas when two dogs went missing, were found, then escaped again, then were missing for several days. A lot of people put in a lot of work to get them back home and it all could have been settled very quickly had there been a number on the collar. Don’t bother with the medalion things, they come off as I well know. Number on the collar is the only sure way of getting your dog back. Not everyone will take a dog to the vet to see if he/she is chipped, but if there is a telephone number, easy peasy !

Right, 6pm (nearly) time for a little apero ….. oh nooooooo !!!

Sue x

Somebody sent this to me and I thought it was rather sweet …….and so true !

So, November, what went on ? Of course there was the book sale on the 4th which was wonderful as usual. Fewer people than usual so therefore slightly smaller takings, but a very respectable 1,700 which meant the vets’ bills were settled and there is enough in the tin for dog food and treats for a few months. A huge thank you to all of you who braved the wet and windy weather, and thank you also for the kind comments and pleas to keep going. I love books so I will keep on for as long as I am able and as long as you keep coming. I think next time I am going to have to look out for young muscle to help load and unload the van, that is becoming more problematical when most of us have dodgy backs now and there are very many heavy boxes to shift. I must apologies also for the number of punaises diaboliques (stink bugs) in the boxes ! I went through the boxes the night before the sale but clearly missed a few of the beggars !! Hopefully the Winter will get rid of them and I will check more carefully next time.

Danielle is absolutely snowed under with very adoptable dogs and is unable to take any more until a space becomes available. She does an amazing job there on her own taking great care of the dogs -plus other animals who find their way to her door – doing all the feeding, walking, kennel cleaning and maintenance work alone ,with a little help for the latter. So, if anyone living near Castelnau has time to spare and can give a hand, mainly with cleaning kennels, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Mostly she is asked for small dogs weighing under 10 kilos but these are few and far between. These requests usually come from elderly people but quite honestly I think an older medium sized dog would be better, because the little ones can so easily trip you up.

Our Brittany Spaniel Isabella is giving us some sleepless nights at the moment. A couple of months ago she was coughing non stop and I ended up taking her to a clinic in Toulouse to get grass sead heads removed from her throat. All was good for several weeks, then she started coughing again. To cut a long story short, it seems that a grass sead which couldn’t be removed because it was too far down, has shifted to a lung and may be doing serious damage. An operation is out of the question, much too major and she is not in the first flush of youth. Apart from the cough she is as perky as always, running around and eating well, so it’s fingers crossed that the situation doesn’t deteriorate.

I went to England for 48 hours for the funeral of a dear friend and on the flight over, got chatting to a lady who lives in Nice (I used to live just along the road) and was going to visit her son and daughter in law in Southend on Sea, where I lived until I was in my twenties. Then on the way back from the funeral I sat next to a French lady who had lived in England for over 40 years and she was coming back just for 48 hours for her Mother’s funeral ! On the Sunday I left Toulouse in brilliant sunshine and arrived at Stansted in pouring rain, then on the way back I left Stansted and arrived in Toulouse in a rain storm. In fact the pilot had to have two goes at landing ! (The second was successful !) My friend Tricia, whose funeral I went to, was one of the kindest gentlest people I have ever known and clearly many thought the same, there were 200 people at her funeral, including pupils of hers, now adults, who said she was the kindest, most favourite teacher in the school. She always had time to listen to the children and help with any problems being to do with school or home. Sadly missed.

I’m off again on the 7th for a pre Christmas get together with pals in England, then a big change for Ernst and me, we are going up to Annecy and La Clusaz for Christmas to be with Ernst’s sister as she celebrate’s her 80th birthday on Christmas Day. She has booked a restaurant up in the mountains for dinner and I’m not looking forward to that. Last time we went there, we drove up a certain way, then transferred to a sort of snow mobile. On the way down I, being the smallest, was put on to the front of the machine with just two handles either side to hang on to as we hurtled down in the snow. I reminded myself of Bette Davis in the film Now Voyager with Claude Rains where, at one point, Bette Davis goes out on a yacht with a much younger man, the weather changes and gets stormy and Bette Davis tries to pretend she is having fun whilst being blown about all over the place. That was me, smiling and laughing whilst all the time thinking ” Get me out of here !!!” Hey ho !!

Have a lovely Christmas and if you are thinking of getting a fourlegged pal, do go to La Mere Aux Betes and give a dog the best Christmas present ever. Danielle has got some really lovely ones there at the moment.

Sue x

Today, being all Saints Day, or as they say here in France ‘the day of the dead’, I thought I would slip in a little ‘In Memorium’. Over the last couple of months I have had emails from adopters from way back when Poorpaws started, advising me that their adoptees have died. These four dogs were all adopted at about the same time and all left very closely too. I won’t say they went to ‘Doggy Heaven’ because I know that they all lived in doggy heaven on earth, so I hope they had a great reunion wherever and are telling stories of their happy lives and travels.

Riley, oh Riley, what a shock we all got when you arrived, having been told you were a lovely little dog. Lovely yes, certainly, but ‘little’ ???????? I thought I would be taking you back home but Brenda and husband, gasped and, after getting over the surprise took you anyway. Brenda tells me they never regretted it for a minute and they had thirteen happy years together. Now I understand the meaning of ‘life of Riley’, he certainly had it !

Olga, you gorgeous girl. A very special lady you were, being a daughter of our own dear Tega who, after outliving two owners, died back here last year. Olga had more luck than Mum, she had only one home and a very special, happy, long life as an ‘only child’ with Silke and Adam.

Here is trickster Oscar whose adoption still makes us chuckle. When Oscar was a pup, see above, I thought he looked a bit like a Rottweiler, so, having friends and neighbours who were Rottie fans and were ‘sans’ dog at the time, I asked them to come and look at him to see if they would confirm my thoughts. They came, they saw, and Oscar conquered ! Nah, as you can see from the above photo, he wasn’t a Rottie but they adopted him anyway. What a handsome boy he turned out to be ! He lived just over the road from us for many years and I would often find him at our gate as if asking “anyone coming out to play ?” Then having lived here in the south of France, his owners, Wynn and Paul moved up to bonnie Scotland where he ended his days.

Finally, here is Houston (with brother Hector in the background). These two gorgeous boys were adopted by friends, Olivia and Laurent, down on the Cote d’Azur. They had seen the boys on the adoptions page and couldn’t decided which one to take, so took both (as you do). They went to an animal loving (mad !) home where they had a fabulous life amongst children,cats and other dogs. Hector died a couple of years ago and Houston followed a month ago, so a big gap now in the family. They still have Holly another Poorpaws lady, who is now twelve and I am sure she will be joined shortly by a new pal to help her get over the loss of her ‘brothers’.

Thank you a million times to the owners of the above and, indeed, to all of you who have welcomed a previously unhappy dog into your loving homes.

If you haven’t already done so but are thinking about adopting a rescue dog, take a peek at the adoptions page of this website to see the gorgeous beasts who are so in need of happy secure loving homes. Also, if you are on Facebook, keep checking in to Danielle’s page ‘La Mere aux Betes’ for up to date news.

I am now on serious countdown to the book sale this Saturday. Books are sorted and stacked and I am delighted that we have so very many good books, many authors I had never heard of but am discovering, along with some old favourites you may be rediscovering and enjoying. Salle des Fetes, St. Pantaleon, 09.30 to 15.30.

From time to time, I receive telephone calls from people looking for help or advice on dog situations. I am more than happy to help if I can and if I can’t I pass them on to Danielle. Danielle is much more knowledgeable than I am, with years more experience. When I get such calls, obviously I note down telephone numbers with names and/or something to remind me what the call is about. However, the other day, I came across a number in my book with no name and no clue as to what the call was about. I was huffing and puffing, so cross with myself and Ernst asked what was the problem. I explained, he leant across the table, looked at the number, then looked at me ……. “it is your number” he said !!!!! Hey ho !

Hopefully you will brave the weather on Saturday !

Sue x

PS If you are wondering why I didn’t recognise my own number, it is because (I think like many people in my age group) I don’t use the mobile much so can only remember the number if I am actually dialling it. So if someone asks, I have to mime dialling on the keyboard. I am sure I am not alone ……… am I ?!

First of all, the EXCELLENT, FABULOUS news that Pirate, who has been waiting over a year, has gone to a new home. I don’t know the details yet as I am away, but this has (partially) restored my faith in humanity !! Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant !

As I said, I am away on the Ile de Ré at the moment for our annual R and R, so I am not up to date with what is going on in our dog world but I do know that Danielle has taken in a lot of dogs since I left, so please go to her La Mere aux Betes facebook page to get up to date information.

We arrived here on the 23rd September and have treated ourselves to two weeks instead of the usual one. Good thing too because on day two we went, as usual, to rent bikes for the holiday and set off on our usual first day ride to Loix which is about twenty minutes from where we stay in La Couarde. Ten minutes down the road Ernst, who in the thirteen years we have been coming here, has never fallen off his bike (unlike yours truly), took a nasty tumble and was lying in the middle of the road (you don’t bounce too well at 78) whilst I risked life and limb stopping the traffic. (Mind you he was soooo Mr. Grumpy for a few days I told him that next time I’d let the traffic do its worst !) After a night of extreme pain in his left hand, we went to the pharmacie in the morning to get pain killers. The pharmicien took one look and sent us to a doctor, who took one look and sent us to a radiologist with dire warnings of a possible operation. Eek, please no !! Luckily, ‘just’ a hairline fracture and we returned home with Ernst sporting a velcro sort of splint. We returned his bike as it was clear he wouldn’t be pedalling for a few days. In fact he hasn’t got back on a bike and we go home in a couple of days. So I have been riding solo, which in actual fact is not so different from when we are out together as he is always way ahead of me !

This morning I cycled to one of the villages on the island and Ernst drove to meet me there for a coffee. After we had drunk our coffee I started walking back to the car with him, when he said “haven’t you forgotten something ?” “What ……… oh crikey, my bike !!”

Mum always said sea air is good for you, see how we have grown !

So, not much to report this month, don’t forget the next Book Bonanza on 4th November, some great stuff, reccomendation boxes from trusted regulars and …. Christmas cards (sorry !)

I just wanted to share with you a couple more photos, one of our Josie, always ready with a smile when the camera comes out. Josie was born with badly handicapped legs and it was not sure that she would not have to be pts, but the lovely Dr. Cross (who, I may have mentioned, I should have spent my life with …) said that operations would be too painful for a puppy, but to just wait and see how she copes. She copes very well thank you and has done for 10 years, disappearing for hours some days when out on a walk. She staggers home exhausted, but the smile is always there.

…….. and, finally

Mum will be home soon babes !

Sue x

Ouf, so that’s August done and dusted and I have to say that I’m not sorry. I like the sun but that was nuts. Ten days ago we were finding it impossible to sleep in night time (NIGHT TIME !) temperatures of 30° and this week when I got up to walk the dogs it was 9° ! We had a few cooler days last week but are creeping up to the 30s again now.

Of course, the hottest week of the Summer was my most busy/eventful. I managed to prang my car, my fault entirely, by not putting on the handbrake properly. The car took a little backwards stroll by itself and stopped against the wall of a house. I was SOOOO angry with myself, usually when I stop, I put the handbrake on automatically, a bit like putting on my seatbelt. Goodness knows why I didn’t then. Having got out of the car, I didn’t realise that it had gone walkabout and I went to visit a friend for a 45 minute catch up. When I let her, after a split second of “oh, good grief someone has stolen my car” I saw it resting gently against the neighbour’s wall. Long story short, we finally agreed that I would pay him for a pot of paint but in the meantime he had called the gendarmes (don’t blame him, all he knew was that he had a rogue car against his wall with no sign of the driver) and they arrived lights flashing (whaaaat ?!) and I was breathalysed – at 10.30 in the morning ! Damage to the car, a broken back light.

The next two – hottest 41° – days there was a 70th birthday lunch and a 70th birthday party. I didn’t stay late to the latter as I had to be in Toulouse at 8.30 to take one of our dogs to the vet. She had been coughing violently for a week or so and after her heart had been checked and she had been on medication for her throat, none of which worked, our vet said I should take her to a clinique in Toulouse. Eek ! I can just about get to the airport and back and friends know never to chat until I get back onto ‘my’ motorway. I looked on the map to find out where the clinique was and was in despair, there was NO WAY I would find it. Tat de la la (that’s a trumpet sounding), over the hill comes the cavalry in the form of my wonderful friend Gaynor, who poo pooed the idea of me going on my own and offered to drive me. Such relief. That is a friend, ready to leave home at 6.45 in order to get to the vet in time for the appointment. We made it in good time (though I would never find the place again) and after a coffee/chocolate, we proceeded to Ikea where damage was done. During lunch I received an email from the vet (together with much too explicit photos) showing that Isabella had THREE of those horried spiky grass heads, stuck in her trachea. We picked her up from the vet and were home (over 500 euros lighter, but she is l’Oreal – worth it) by 5. Simples !

Then on the Sunday was the clothes sale at the Montcuq vide and I am relieved to say it was the last one we will do. It wouldn’t be so bad if the venue was in a large field or carpark, but it is in the tiny little lanes up in the old village and getting there, unloading and getting the cars away and parked, along with lots of other people, is a nightmare. Then of course it is the same thing in reverse in the afternoon. I was so grateful to another lovely friend (where do I get all these brilliant people ?!) Sophie, was there at 6am to help us unload and set up. We made 440 euros, which is not to be sneezed at, but is much less than usual. I think people are giving less clothes away now that there are so many websites where you can sell them. Anyway, I have decided that at 74, I am too old for all the work that goes before a sale and the exhausting day. It used to be fun, but isn’t any more.

Meet Spouky, a lovely 9/10 year old dog whose owner has ‘moved on’. Spouky was in very grave danger of being pts when I agreed to take him in. I was going to keep him (and still will if a good home cannot be found) but he is such a lovely boy, gentle and loves a cuddle, he would be ideal for an elderly person looking for a friend/companion. A fenced in garden would be essential as he does like to roam if given the chance, but mostly he just wants to potter around,sleep, eat (he loves his food !) and be loved. As he is elderly, there will be no adoption fee, but if a donation, however small, is offered, well, it would be churlish to refuse n’est ce pas ?

Danielle has had a lot of problems with her internet so has not been able to do her updates, but she is now back on track and I will therefore be updating the adoptions page tomorrow.

More next month when we will be in the middle of our annual holiday on Ile de Ré. Hooray !

Sue x

Does anyone recognise this photo ? I found it in a book (Lost Souls by Michael Collins – very good !) which has been donated in a box of books for the next book sale. It is a beautiful photograph and I am sure whoever it belongs to would wish to have it back.

I often find notes, shopping lists, shopping receipts in books, obviously being used as bookmarks. Sometimes postcards, which I return if possible and once a very ‘personal’ card which, from the text of the message, had been sent to someone who perhaps it should not have been sent to ! I didn’t return that in case I returned it to the wrong person.

I was in England a couple of weeks ago and a very busy week it was too. A night with friend Jan in Braintree, then the bus up to London where I met up with Sue and we got the train to Pangbourne for the ashes ceremony of my lovely friend Annie who died in February. A couple of nights there celebrating Annie’s life with her friends and family, then on (again on the bus) to Birmingham where I spent the night with a couple of pals from our Cote d’Azur days. We hadn’t seen each other for 16 years and it was just like it was yesterday. From there yet another bus up to Leeds for a weekend family reunion. That was great fun too. Sadly, the weather having been lovely for the whole week, it poured down at the weekend which meant that the al fresco dining was moved indoors. It was lovely to see my brothers and their families again, the last reunion having been pre covid, even if it was pointed out to me that the only person in the family smaller than me now is my great niece Maggie Ann, who is six !

As I said, most of my journies were by coach and I can highly recommend it. Comfortable, on board wifi and much, much cheaper than the train. Ok the buses reached their destinations about half an hour late each time but hey, who cares when you’ve got a good book and a sufficient supply of Cadbury Twirl Bites ?!

Dog adoptions have been going well but I have to apologise if you were hoping to adopt one of the promised Border Colley pups, they were given to another refuge. Can I put in a plea for the beautiful black Lab, Pirate, we have had for far too long. Yes, he is boisterous, yes he is a greedy git, but he does deserve the chance of a family life. Just a large fenced in garden and plenty of food and he will be so happy. It breaks my heart that he is passed by time and time again.

I committed a huge booboo this month ! I mistakenly put the wrong photo next to a young dog up for adoption. A lovely couple travelled three hours down to see what they thought was a Border Colley mix, only to find that dog had been adopted months ago and the dog described was in fact a Brittany Spaniel/Setter. I felt terrible as you can imagine. Anyway, after chatting with the couple I suggested they look at the Brittany who is a fabulous little chap and ………… fairy tale ending, they took him home and are delighted with him, saying obviously it was meant to be. Phew !

If you haven’t caught Ab Fabba on stage yet this season, they will be performing at the St. Daunes (five minutes from Montcuq) Marche Gourmand on Thursday 17th August. Go along, take your families and Summer guests, you won’t regret it.

Oh, nearly forgot, I’m collecting clothes for our usual stand at the Montcuq vide Grenier on 27th August, so if you are having a sort out and you have good condition clothes you don’t wear anymore, please get in touch. Donations have been few and far between over the last few years as a lot of people choose to sell on Vinted (and I can’t blame you) or donate to Emmaus, laudible but we sell cheaper than they do.

Love,

Sue x

I’m very happy at the moment with 25% sad. Very happy because it is Wimbledon fortnight and sad because of all the problems in France at the moment. It just breaks my heart to see on the news in the evenings films of people rioting and causing havoc and mayhem. What on earth good does it do to smash places up, destroy and set fire to anything in your path ? Why don’t people realise that they are only making their, possibly unhappy, lives even worse by destroying and looting shops, supermarkets and forcing places and people to barricade themselves in to feel safe. When will the silent majority win over the destructive minority.

So, two weeks of non stop tennis, having already had Roland Garros, Queens and Eastbourne, we arrive at the ‘biggie’. I have a friend coming to stay for ten days (luckily a tennis fan) and she has been warned that I already have several jars of ready prepared (bought) pasta sauces, frozen lasagne, and fresh food will probably not be in evidence unless we go out (lovely tapas bar in Montcuq) or Ernst takes over the cooking. The latter I must say is prefential to my cooking !

The only ‘blip’ to the above is that Jan and I fly back to England together on the 16th ………. Men’s Finals Day ! Such bad planning, but usually the semis are better than the final anyway. I’m going back to England just for a week for the planting of the ashes of my lovely friend Annie who died in February, to visit pals from a long time ago in Monaco and a family reunion up in Leeds. All of which I am looking forward to – well apart from Annie’s ashes, but you know what I mean.

Adoptions have been fast and furious with dogs flying off the ‘shelves’ like hot cakes. I cannot understand why the black Lab has not been adopted. A super dog, ok a greedy git but hey, he’s a Lab ! And Suzette, oh my goodness what a peachy peach of a dog yet she gets passed by time and again. As I type someone is coming to see Tulk, so fingers crossed for him. So many abandons at the moment, many as a result of couples breaking up so people moving out of houses to apartments where the dog doesn’t fit in. Also a sad case of a poor dog taken to Danielle pitifully thin and so nervous. We suspect mistreatment by the young child. Please, please, please, do not get a dog until your child (whatever age !) understands that the animal IS NOT A TOY !!!

Also, I’ll now give out my annual plea, it is fete and market time in France and noisy fetes/markets ARE NO PLACE for poor dogs. So often I see them being dragged around in the heat, in the crowds, where all they see are the backs of legs or they are tied to chair legs whilst the owners enjoy a cool drink with no thought to the poor dog sweltering underneath. LEAVE YOUR DOGS AT HOME IN THE SHADE !

Talking of fetes, a brilliant one every year is the Marché Gourmande at Tournon d’Agenais, Lot et Garonne, on 21st JULY. The very excellent AbFabba will be providing the music to eat, drink and dance to. Don’t miss it !

Sue x

Starting off this month with a photo of our Olivia (she’s the one with her head under the steps) and her sister Willow who is spending a couple of weeks with us. (Hmm, perhaps I should have tidied up before taking the photo !) Their Dad is a Newfoundland and Mum a sort of German Shepherd mix. They absolutely adore each other and Olivia goes into a sort of ‘down’ time when Willow leaves – though it doesn’t last long when she realises she gets all her sleeping space in my bedroom back to herself !

If you are looking for a dog, I strongly recommend that as well as looking at the Poorpaws adoption page, you also visit Danielle’s Facebook page – La Mere aux Betes – to get the latest news. I am not on FB and can only occasionally access Danielle’s page, so am not always right up to date. Can I here put in a vote for Suzette ? An absolutely darling of a dog. As well as being very pretty, she is so gentle and loving and I’m having to be very strong not to grab her and not let her go. Danielle also has some Border Colley pups, (two boys left) who will be ready to go in a couple of weeks. A word of warning though, Borders need brain stimulation, not only lots of exercise. They need to work their ‘little grey cells’ too. Quick to learn however, they are a very rewarding dog to train.

I’ve had a very peaceful month of May as Ernst has been away with his sister, Karen, making a friends and family tour of Germany. I assume he had a good time, but who knows ? Trying to get conversation out of Ernst is worse than getting money out of my purse !! I do know that one day they were driving to their brother Fritz in Erlangen and Karen got the spelling wrong by one vowel and they ended up 200 kms away from where they should have been. Karen said that had it been her husband with her, all hell would have let loose but Ernst just said “ok so we turn around”. Nothing if not laid back my guy !! (Also absolutely bally infuriating at times too !!)

Whilst they were away I painted the kitchen and painted a larged wooden bookcase a very deep blue. It took Ernst a week to notice. Hey ho !

Love,

Sue x

I don’t know about you but we love having friends round for drinks and/or supper, BUT I HATE COOKING and I am not a good cook. I start out with the best of intentions, keep recipes nice and simple – no more than six ingrediants please – but still the food does not taste as nice as it looks in the book and usually bear no resemblance to the photos. I have friends who adore cooking and who have shelves and shelves of cookery books, whereas I have about six. Saint Delia, a couple of pasta and salad books, Jack Munro (cheap and cheerful) and a dessert book. Oh, a couple of soup books too. Now those I can do, soups. Anyhow, last evening we had a jolly table of eight people and I started off with asparagus with a sweet and sour vinaigrette made with grapefruit juice and decorated with grapefruit segments. I thought it wouldn’t look much on the plate so I decided to add a couple of those little goats cheeses which are breaded and which you can heat in a frying pan. Easy peasy. It was only when Ernst and the guests were having aperos and I was ‘plating up’ that although I had intended two little cheeses per person, I had only bought twelve. Er, what ??!! So apologies made and some of us were happy with one cheese. Lovely understanding friends.

The main course was vegetarian Shepherd’s pie with baked red cabbage and apple. Great, tasted good. Then cheese, then dessert. It was when I went to the fridge to get the cream to go with the ‘sort of’ Eton mess, that I found the plate of beautifully prepared grapefruit segments, all pealed to perfection, to go with the asparagus. I was furious, all the time I had spent making sure they were pith free (Ernst does NOT do pith). Of course we all had a good laugh but I was so disappointed. Luckily Joy, just back from England, had brought some ‘Coronation Fudge’, so I drowned my sorrows with that whilst the others gorged on Kirsch filled chocs bought for us by Danielle in Switzerland.

That was not my worse cooking faux pas, I once served up an apple crumble I had made a couple of days before the supper it was intended for and which had been in the freezer. Only problem was, I took it out of the freezer in ample of time …….but forgot to cook it !!

Anyhow to the job in hand, I am delighted to tell you that Falco and Teddy have gone to great homes, Danielle is back and the dogs are coming in thick and fast. A couple of the new females are waiting to see the vet to make sure they are not ‘with pup’, fingers crossed because if they are we have to wait until they have the pups and the pups are weaned before we can home them. I’m hoping to have the adoptions page up to date and running just as soon as Danielle sends me all the details.

It’s that time of year again, the village fetes are starting and the Roquecor one (19th, 20th, 21st May) is always good value. AbFabba will be singing in the evening of the Saturday so it’s worth going just to see/hear them.

Enjoy the Coronation if you are going to watch. I am a royal family supporter whereas most of my pals are not, so I will have the ‘telly’ on and luckily Ernst will be away so no harrumphing and moaning in the background. Whatever your feelings, this is history in the making.

Adoption page should be up to date in a couple of days.

Sue x

I am delighted to say that I have only good news today !

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who came along to our Bonanza Book Sale. It was a lovely day and I was really happy to see so many people delving into boxes of books and leaving arms and bags full. It was nice to receive many compliments about the condition of the books and thanks for deciding to carry on with the sales. I have to make one small apology for our new cashiers ! I didn’t have much time to train them up and didn’t realise that their arithmatic was slightly suspect. I overheard a few times “9 books Sir/Madam, ok 9 times 1 euro, I think that makes 10 doesn’t it ?” or “13 books ? Nasty number 14 might be better” ! Dear Patna, Anna and Gaynor, always there to help !! Anyway I think everyone took it in good part and had a good time. We raised 1,762 which when post sale donations were added, went up to 2,029 ! Our vets and food suppliers were thrilled (and relieved), and hopefully, notwithstanding any major crises Poorpaws hopes to stagger through to the next sale on the 4TH NOVEMBER ! This is a bit later in the year than usual due to our valiant and gallant ‘mate with a van’ taking off to do cross country motorbike trials around Europe in September and October. So, please save all your Summer reads to pass on to me.

Tao in his new home.

Timour (now Django) in his new home.

Very good news on the puppy front. Whilst Danielle has been away I have been successful in homing four of the puppies and one dog left with me. Only left are Teddy and Talco. I was amazed, thinking Talco would go first, but no, he is still here. A lovely bundle of fun and I think he will be possibly on the large Labrador size. Teddy is my delight and I am desperate to see him go to a loving home. He is absolutely beautiful and very bright, catches on quick. Both Teddy and Talco are now larger than in the photos on the Adoptions page, obviously.

More good news, (this page just keeps on giving this time !), after a year of waiting, our tilers finally came and laid new floors for us. When we built the house we couldn’t afford anything much decent to put on the floors and this showed after years and years of puppy pee and spilt liquids. Now we have beautiful ceramic tiles which, if you didn’t know better, you would think were wood. The guys were worth waiting for, they just got on with it, didn’t stop for lunch and had infinite patience with dogs and pups getting in the way. In fact one of them adopted a puppy who is now riding shotgun as proud as Punch in the guy’s van !!

Now I just have to persuade Ernst that shutters would be a good addition ……..

Have a lovely Easter weekend and eat as much chocolate as you can! It is a well known fact that eating chocolate during a religious festival is strictly non fattening !!

Love,

Sue x

I think I may have to retitle this page as obituary column instead of news.

On the 21st February, my dear, lovely friend Annie lost her battle with lung cancer – never having smoked in her life. We had been friends for 50 years, the close friendship never changing even when she went to live in Hong Kong and Malaysia for many years and then I moved to France. I was proud (but nervous !) when she asked me to be Godmother to her first son, Liam, but luckily for Liam I was never needed to help with any major decisions and he is now well old enough to make his own. However, I am ready to step up to the plate if needed ! As well as being a wonderful caring mother, (which spilt over into our friendship, Annie would always check if friends needed ‘to go to the loo’ before going out !) Annie was great fun always the first on the dance floor and if the dance floor was crowed, well, a table would do ! Wherever you are now my lovely friend, I hope you are dancing on tables.

Whilst visiting Annie just before she died, one of my special dogs, Jip, a Brittany Spaniel, was very ill at the vets and to round off a sad week, he was pts.

Jip was one of the best, he was a wonderful friendly dog who always welcomed newcomers into the ‘pack’ whilst the rest of them always need a couple of days to get used to a new face. I miss you babe, so, so much. You should have had many more years yet, but, boy, you enjoyed life.

Moving on, anyone looking for a puppy, just go to the adoption page where you will find pups in abundance ! We are anxious to move these on asap as Danielle will be away from 10th to 30th March and although she will leve them food and water, it would be better if they are in new homes. KIDDING ! (about just leaving food and water) there will of course be someone there to take care of the dogs in situ, but it would be so nice if the pups moved on before. NO VISITS to the refuge will be possible during the time Danielle is away.

If you are not looking for a pup, just take a look at Snow ! A fabulous dog who would love to be adopted by a very active family.

As for me, well I’m up to my eyes in collecting and sorting books ready for the 25th March. I have enough now thanks to the biblio generosity of lots of lovely people and am as happy as a pig in the proverbial in my shed going through them all wondering how many I have time to read before the sale !

Just a quick reminder that the English film ‘Living’ or ‘Vivre’ to gi it its’ French title will be shown in English at the Salle d’Animation in Montcuq on Sunday 5th March at 3pm.

Brrr, it’s jolly cold isn’t it ?!

Love,

Sue x

So, the chilli recipe said to add a couple of squares of dark chocolate. Now I’m a chocolate girl, albeit milk or white, but hey adding chocolate to anything is fine by me. So, in went the choc. Oh yeuk, double yeuk, pah, spit – disgusting !! Even Ernst who has put up with my, at best, passable culinary efforts for over 25 years, looked at me doubtfully until I gave him the nod and into the bin it went. I wouldn’t even let the dogs have it ! Hey, cheese and biscuits is fine for supper now and again, n’est ce pas ?!

Sorry to say, another Poorpaws resident has put his paws up. Dear Teddy left us this morning. He had had a long and happy life. I took him from the Carcassonne refuge when a friend saw him on line and wanted to adopt him. Sadly, when she saw him in the flesh, she wasn’t so keen but did adopt another sad soul. So Teddy came to us and was soon adopted by a lovely guy who adored him. They had many happy years together until the guy died and Teddy came back to live here. He made it to 17 years old, which is some going. Hopefully, he and his owner have found each other (crap I know but I like to imagine it) and are happy again.

Moving on to happier things, there have been many adoptions since Christmas, but ………a record of dogs being abandoned too. Nicky the dachshund has gone to a lovely home, Tania will very shortly be going to a new life and dear Tinkerbelle is off and away too. Excellent news, Raven one of the Pointers being offered for adoption without a fee because he has been waiting so long, has gone to a great life which is brilliant for him, however, it means that poor Nairo, his kennelmate, is now on his own and lonely. He keeps climbing the fence but not to run away, but just to look for Danielle. Proof that he is a lovely faithful dog, so, please anyone considering a dog but doesn’t have the adoption fee however can offer a great home, please don’t hesitate.

Danielle has A LOT of puppies at the moment, some ready to go now, Jack Russell crosses, Braque and some perfectly delightful black and white mongrels. Then, around mid February there will be some beautiful Labrador mixes of just about two months in need of homes.

Please, please, please make sure your dogs have your ‘phone numbers written on their collars. If you lose your dog, even if he/she is chipped and found, not everyone will take a dog to the vet to check to see if there is a chip, but everyone will call if there is a visible ‘phone number. A very close friend had a huge scare on holiday in Spain recently when her little Bichon was chased by another dog, but thanks to social media she was found quite quickly.

Finally, many, many thanks to those of you who answered my call for books for the Book Sale. There has been some really great stuff coming in. From now on in, just novels please, no more gardening / cookery books, I’m drowning in them !

Keep warm !

Sue x

I know, I know, so late again but quite honestly I haven’t got back on track since Christmas. My pal Susie has been here for nearly two weeks and only just went home on Wednesday. Whilst I miss her (she really is a four star houseguest) I have to say that it is lovely to get back into my own bedroom ! To say we were busy over the Festive Season would be an understatement. I think we had something ‘on’ for 11 out of the 13 days she was here. Lunch on the 24th had to be rebooked for the 1st January because I was suffering from a stinking cold – which is only just on its’ way out ! Where I got it from heaven knows. I left home on the 23rd to go to pick Susie up from Toulouse, in perfect health, then by the time I got to the airport my throat was sore and scratching and my nose streaming. Anyway, I got through Christmas and our Festive Fizz on Christmas Day – much depleted by friends having moved on to Spain or back to England – on relatively good form before collapsing in front of the fire and dining on left over nibbles.

I started the new year on 1st January in a spectacular fashion. Susie, Ernst, friend Paulette and I went to our favourite restaurant for lunch, looking forward to a fab meal (which it was !). However, when the poor waitress arrived with our aperos she lost control of her tray. I realised this when a glass of kir splashed across my lap, then, before I could stand up, it was raining kir and glasses. It was in my hair, down my front, down my back and pooling on the chair, meaning I had a very wet behind and had broken glass all round me ! I just burst out laughing and other amazed faces around me joined in when they realised I wasn’t going to throw a wobbly. The poor, poor, waitress was completely distraught and couldn’t apologise enough. I kept telling her not to fret (I did that job for years so I know how she must have felt). She brought me another chair, mopped up the floor and I dried myself down as much as I could with a seviette. My trousers were very wet but there was nothing I could do about that. We then had a very delicious lunch but kept breaking into hysterical laughter everytime we thought about it. As a friend said to me, I might not remember all my New Year’s Days but I’ll certainly remember that one !

Now to dogs. Danielle has loads and loads of dogs looking for homes, so if you are looking for something to MAKE you carry on your new year resolution to get out an walk more, what better way of doing it than giving a dog a loving new home at the same time ?! As soon as Danielle manages to get photographs to me, there will be lots of new faces on the adoptions page, but spare a thought for the ones already there many of whom have been waiting for so long.

I’m heavily into book sale mode now and really need a lot more good condition paperback novels in order to give you a really good sale. So please, do not hesitate to get in touch if you are having a turn out, I can collect or meet up with you easily.

On Sunday 8th, the English film Armageddon Time, starring Anthony Hopkins, will be shown at the Montcuq Espace d’Animation at 3pm. Don’t worry it is not an ‘action’, blood and thunder film, but a story about a family. I hope many of you will be there.

Sue x

PS No, I didn’t get a greenhouse heater !!

Oops, December seems to have crept up on me without warning ! One used to be able to tell when it was December because everything Christmassy would come out, but now, if you went by that rule you would be forgiven for thinking that September, or even August was the twelfth month ! I am an unashamedly Festive Season lover, I love the lights, the decorations, the present buying (not so much the cooking) and everyone seems to be in a better mood. Except for the unpleasant man who told me I was too old to drive and should take another driving test, after HE had reversed into ME ! Then there was the guy in Montcuq who had parked his work van blocking one of the tiny roads up near the church and I had to get through to take an elderly lady to the dentist. He very rudely said I would have to reverse back. Hah, you must be kidding I said, I just do not do reversing, I would rather abandon the car than try to reverse around all those little streets. He grudgingly, and I mean GRUDGINGLY moved his van which was no hardship as he was at the end of the road, he only have to move about ten metres. But what is the matter with people ? Why can’t they just smile and help out ?!

So, back to Christmas, I am an absolute sucker for Christmas films and there are two books I always read at this time of the year, one is ‘Skipping Christmas’ by John Grisham, a laugh out loud book, but don’t watch the film of the book ‘Christmas with the Kranks’, absolute ‘krxp’. The other is Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg, an absolute delight.

They say you learn something new every year and I learned something last week. I have a pink rain/walking jacket – bought for a hiking holiday in Japan a few years ago, – the thinking being that if I got lost in a forest, rescuers would be able to find me easily, then I realised that so would the bears, but I digress – the jacket is great and is still going strong. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the hood, which, when in use, came down so low in front that it covered half my face and I could only see the ground in front of me. Well, when I put it on last week to take the dogs for a walk, I noticed a bit of velcro on the hood, and then another bit further back, durrrh, I could velcro the two bits together and, hey presto, I could see the path in front of me !

A week or so ago, Danielle and I went to collect two elderly dogs whose owner had died a year ago and who had been in kennels ever since. They are now here at Poorpaws and are a true delight. They are Fauve de Bretagne crossed with something smaller, so not a tiny dog, more medium to small, about Spaniel height. They are ten year old sisters and just need a fenced in garden to roam around in and protection from the elements – cosy beds inside would be even better. Very affectionate and loving, perfect for any retired couple/person.

Danielle has been having a bumper time regarding adoptions in fact so good that in a couple of cases, no sooner are they on the website than there they are gone ! Sadly there are two or three who have been with her for over a year and although they are happy and well cared for, it would be so nice to get them their forever homes.

Oh, before I go, I am ready, waiting and willing for any good condition novels you want to pass on ready for the book sale in March.

Until then, I hope you have exactly the Festive Season you enjoy.

Love,

Sue x

I’m sorry to say that again, I have to start my monthly verbal ramblings with the news of a sad loss. Dearest Balto went over the rainbow on the 25th September at the amazing age, for an English Setter, of 18. I so, so wanted him to fall asleep and die at home. He had been incontinent for months, was blind and nearly deaf and had an almost undetectable heartbeat. However, I came home from coffee with pals to find him in a bit of a state and he couldn’t stand up, so the decision was taken. The vet reckoned that he only had a couple of days left, so should I have waited ? No. So, another large empty space here at Poorpaws. I, and friends who loved him, miss him a lot, though do I miss washing the kitchen floor and Balto’s nether regions every morning ? Hmm, tough one.

The hunting season is well under way, so please take great care when out walking your dogs. Even non hunting breeds can get excited at the noise of gunshot and because of the hunt the deer and boar are moving around more and crossing areas where they don’t usually. When dogs get the scent of a deer they will sometimes follow them for miles and miles, right out of their locality and comfort zone. Two of my friends have recently experienced their dogs being taken out for the last pee of the day, only to see them disappear into the distance. Thankfully all returned but all stayed out all night, which meant a sleepless night for the owners. I am not, of course, a fan of hunting, I hate it, but I am always courteous and polite to hunters as they know the countryside and can often spot a stray dog in the wrong area. A few times hunters have found dogs I had lost, in the early days before we were all fenced in. The fencing does not however, stop my dogs occasionally going awol when on a walk ! I have to decide which dogs walk well together and which will be off and up to mischief as soon as they realise that we are heading home !

We all need a good chuckle sometimes, especially with all the shite that is going on all over the world at the moment. So, give yourselves a treat, come to the Quercy Troup Players pantomime and give your laughing muscles a good work out ! They are putting on their unique interpretation of Dick Whittington and panto style groans are guaranteed. Saturday 26th November at 8pm and Sunday 27th at 4pm. here is the poster which gives all necessary details.

Wow, hey, look at that ! I managed to insert a photo in the middle of a paragraph, without Colin, my patient computer guru being on the end of the ‘phone !!

I am already collecting books for the book sale in March, so, please, send me your read, your future homeless, your taking up space, good condition paperbacks (preferably, but others can be considered) and I will welcome them and give them shelter. (Apologies fo Emma Lazarus !)

Brrr, getting chilly in the evenings now, so it’s extra straw in the kennels, plants getting ready to go in the greenhouse (wonder if Santa will finally being me a greenhouse heater this year !) and reading in front of the fire to look forward to !

Well it’s November and I haven’t even mentioned Christmas yet ……..oops !

Sue x

Thank you so much to those who sent kind messages following my loss of Hailla, so many said they understood exactly how I felt, and, as we know, this is something we have to go through when owning and loving our pets. I’m getting better and can now look at photos with happiness and not so often through tears.

Enough ! Moving on. A HUGE thank you to Jackie who, with her husband (?) have adopted George and Jessie, the seven year old cats. The owner had given up hope and then at practically the last minute, along came the cavalry in the form of Jackie and the owner was highly relieved to see her cats go to such a lovely couple.

The night before the new format Book Sale I was really nervous that people wouldn’t come without coffee, cakes and soup on offer. I needn’t have worried. Despite saying, as usual, the start was 10 am, we had people long before, mainly because they had to go to work. So for the next sale the official start will be 9am. We took an amazing 1,641 euros which was split between Poorpaws and La Mere aux Betes. The ‘Sue Has Enjoyed’ and ‘Sophie’s Choice’ boxes were a success and will be there again at the next sale, along with special offers. The next sale will be Saturday 25th March 2023 and I am already collecting books, so please get in touch when you have some to donate.

I would like to contact a lady who came to the sale and wrote down her email address for me so that I could get in touch to arrange to collect some books. The problem I have is that I cannot read the email address and attempts to decipher it have bounced back. So, if you know anyone with an email address which looks like (but isn’t !) B.barbaraSzih@icloud, please ask her to contact me !

Since the book sale Ernst and I have had our usual week on Ile de Ré. This was the 11th time we had been to the same gite (we quite like it !) and it was just the perfect week with lovely weather but not too hot.

Now to dogs ! I am more than DELIGHTED to say that Finette has been adopted and gone to a wonderful home. She had to wait quite a while but it was worth it. Pocker has gone to a new home in Germany, another one who had to be patient for months. There are quite a few on the website who seem to get overlooked through no fault of their own and who are gorgeous dogs, Raven and Sirius being just two. So when you are looking, give them a second look.

Ab Fabba will be appearing in ‘Those Were the Days Too’ a musical presentation of the 70s and tickets are selling well. Don’t miss out go to www.quercymusique.fr for details of tickets and dates. Dressing up 70s style is encouraged but not obligatory !

Enjoy the cooler weather, and, as the evenings get darker, curl up with good books ……..and then pass them on to me !!!

Sue x

August 12th, the day my heart was shattered into little pieces. I think I have mentioned before, the wonderful ten year old German Shepherd dog Hailla (pronounced Hiya) we took in just over a year ago when her owner was taken into a nursing home. Hailla was a pearl among dogs. The most loving, patient with other dogs, obediant, faithful dog I have ever had. Although we only had her a relatively short time, I felt that she had been with me for all of my life. Any time I went out, she would be there waiting at the gate when I returned, giving me a rapturous welcome and several times during the night she would push my bedroom door open, come in, poke her head over the bed to check I was there and let me stroke her then go out again. No more. After a very short illness three weeks ago, she died. She was off her food for a couple of days so I took her in to the vets and they kept her overnight to do some tests and keep her on a drip. Nothing, but nothing, nothing, nothing prepared me for the devastating news over the ‘phone, the next morning, that she had died in the night as a result of heart and lung problems. My beautiful girl, gone, on her own. The only consolation I have is that I was told she died at about 8 am and at that time I was up on the plateau walking the other dogs and thinking so very hard of Hailla, I hope she felt that. To say that I ‘lost it’ when given the news would be to understate it. In fact I was worried I would never be able to put my foot into Prayssac ever again. However, I have since seen the lovely Xavier who assured me that it was “normale, don’t worry, pas de soucis” That was three weeks ago and I still wake in the mornings with the pain and wonder momentarily why I feel sad, then it all comes back. In 20 years of dog rescue I have had to say goodbye to many dogs and it never gets easier, but usually I am prepared, the dog is either very ill or very old. Of course it is horrible, but putting a dog out of misery and suffering is usually the kindest thing to do. I know many, many of you have been through the same sadness and when you tell me of your losses and I say I am sad for you, it is not just words, I really do feel your hurt. The worst thing I had to do was to go to the care home and give Hailla’s previous owner the bad news. He had been expecting a visit from us and his crying was almost too much to bear. I don’t think I will ever get over Hailla but hopefully one morning I will wake up feeling better and almost miss the pain. At a recent Marché Gourmande at Tournon d’Agenais, the (brilliant) Ab Fabba dedicated a song to Hailla, it was ‘When You Say Nothing At All’. Listen to the words, just totally perfect and I cannot thank the girls enough for introducing me to the song – which I play every morning before I get up and just before I go to sleep. I hope you hear it Hailla and know that I love you so much and you will always be with me.

Ok, let’s move on to happier things. Last Sunday Danielle and I did the vide grenier in Montcuq selling, as usual second hand clothes. Boy was it HOT !!! We had to keep taking it in turns to go and stand in the shade to avoid passing out. I am very happy to say it was well worth it and we raised 600 suros !!! So, a huge thank you to helpers throughout the day – some starting at 6am !!! – also to all those who donated really great clothes. I am slightly worried that there may be a certain person now moved back to England, who may be startling her new neighbours by walking around naked having had a huge turn out before leaving !!! Oh, before I forget, I was chatting to a very nice gentleman at the vide who was offering to volunteer at La Mere aux Betes. He gave me his email address and I promised to be in touch and send him details of the book sale. I am devestated to say that I have lost the piece of paper and cannot even remember his name. So, if by any chance anyone knows who he is, PLEASE, please get in touch with me.

With regard to dogs needing homes, I would love to find a home for Finette a simply adorable dog who has been at the refuge for far too long. A gentle loving soul, she only asks for a garden large enough for her to run around in and/or long walks with a loving owner. Finette can live outside so long as she has a cosy shelter and protection from the elements. She just needs to find that special someone to love her. Her ‘parkmate’ Raven has also been looking for a very long time but just seems to get overlooked. Heaven knows why, great dogs both of them. Puppies can be homed easily and there is just one Dogue d’Argentin croisé left looking – see Danielle’s La Mere aux Betes facebook page, you don’t have to be on FB to access Danielle’s latest news and to meet the lovely dogs she has seeking their forever homes.

Right, I’m off back to sorting out books for the sale THIS SATURDAY 3rd 10am to 4pm at the Salle des Fetes, St. Pantaleon, Lot. Really great books and dvds, special offers and sweeties, what more could you want ?? Sorry ? Cakes and coffee ? Sorry that ship has sailed but you are welcome to bring your own refreshments.

Don’t let me down, see you there !

Sue x

Well, to put it mildly, PHEW !!! I love the sunshine but even I am thinking about relocating to the north of Scotland !! I thought I’d start off with a few photos of bits of my garden as it was at the end of June but if I took the same photos now they would be starkly different. I do not have green fingers but I love making little corners look pretty, however with the lack of water most of the plants have been gathered together in a shady part of the garden to make watering easier and more economical. The second photo is my favourite coffee/reading spot, now impossible to sit in after 10 am and before 8pm. We have a very large garden which is largely taken up by dog parks and kennels and the rest mostly left to its’ own devices. Great for wildlife but not good for dog poo hunting ! Sometimes I long for a cottage garden and I do my best but it is just not possible to recreate such an environment when you live in the south west of France. The problem is I just don’t like the water storing plants with thick leaves.

I think Ernst is a secret member of the water police, always tut tutting behind me whenever I approach a tap ! So, all water that can be conserved and used again, is. God help me if I forget to take a bucket into the shower to catch every drop which bounces off me and I won’t explain the toilet rules, suffice to say, if anyone pops by I have to remember to quickly go and flush in case they want to spend a penny !

Please, let it rain soon !!

Adoptions, after a worrying lull, have been great. Dear Olly is reserved to go to a wonderful home once her adopter’s holiday guests have left – always wise to take a new dog into a calm, peaceful environment. Just one little boy Bruno de Jura pup left. If you are hesitating, Bruno de Juras are the gentlest, loving dogs. We have had a couple who have transferred from hunting dogs to wonderful pets without any problem. So if you are lucky enough to get one from a pup I can almost guarantee you’ll have a winner. Poor, poor Rouky, after years of being loved by all around, he now finds himself (due to a death in the family) in dire need of a new loving home with someone or someones who will understand that he just wants a peaceful last few years and does not want any other animals around.

I did the St. Pantaleon vide grenier along side Danielle last Sunday and although it was worth doing, it was a shame there were not more visitors, mainly probably because apparently it was advertised not as being at St. P, but at ‘Barguelonne’ !! This is a result of three villages – St. P, St. Daunes and Bagat – being grouped together as Barguelonne en Quercy.

On the 28th August, Danielle and I will be running our usually successful clothes stand at the Montcuq vide – back in the village, yey ! – so if anyone has good quality unwanted clothes, ladies only – please get in touch so I can collect/meet up.

The following Saturday – great planning Sue – is the new format book sale. As usual hundreds of books at 1 euro each, dvds are down to 50 cents and cds 20 cents. A ‘Freebie’ box, donations box, ‘Sue has Enjoyed’ box and a ‘Sophie’s Choice’ selection have all been introduced. There will not however be any refreshments, so no coffee and cakes. I know that for many of you, our ladies’ cakes are …… well the icing on the latter, but I hope you will still come along, support Poorpaws and La Mere aux Betes and go home with some really great stuff for your Winter (eek !) enjoyment. If all goes well (fingers crossed) I will continue with the sales which, hand on heart, I adore planning for.

Keep cool,

Sue x

So here we are, half way through Wimbledon already (oh, happy Independance Day to American friends) and the kilos are piling on. Why does watching all the super fit tennis players not inspire me to keep fit, but give me fits of the munchies ! Ok I am not fat and am fairly fit through dog walking, but I sit through Wimbledon every year – my second to favourite time of the year, the first being our holiday on Ile de Ré – and although thoroughly engaged in what is going on on court, at the back of my mind I’m thinking “what can I eat next ?” ! “Hmm, last thing was a banana, that’s not fattening is it ? So can I have tea and cake now ? Perhaps not at 2pm, so perhaps a biscuit, half a biscuit ? Perhaps I’ll make a banana bread, that’s healthy, not sure if mine is healthy though as I always add white or milk chocolate ” And so it goes on ! Devil in my head 40 to self control, love.

During SW19 fortnight all invitations are declined (well, all two of them) but I was duty bound to go to Ernst’s end of season choir lunch on Sunday. I reckoned that, as it was to start at 12.30, I could be out of there and home by 3.30, which is 2.30 in England and I wouldn’t miss much. Ernst had to get there early to help put up the tables and I was to follow on with a salad. I sort of knew where it was (Sauveterre) but checked on the map first. I left myself 40 minutes to get there, but an hour after leaving home I was driving around thinking “where the hell is this village ?” ! I kept referring to the map which took me all over the place, at one point practically in front of my friend Gaynor’s house. I early stopped but thought that was unwise, I would be even later. I finally arrived at 1pm thinking I was so late, but in true French style, they hadn’t even had the apero. I had an apero, starter and main course, then made my excuses before the desert and left. Ernst explained how to get home and I was there in half an hour. When Ernst came home later, I showed him the road I had been following on the map and said I couldn’t understand how I got so lost. He patiently explained that the ‘road’ I was following was the deparmental line between the Lot and Tarn and Garonne. Egg on face.

I’m busy planning the new format book sale and it is likely to include new ideas such as a ‘Freebie’ box, a ‘Sue has enjoyed’ box and, hopefully, a ‘Sophie’s Choice’ box which will be books recommended by friend Sophie who ran the much missed second hand book shop in Montcuq for a long time.

Of course, the sale is all in support of dog rescue, not just my book addiction ! We are ‘down’ to ten dogs now and won’t be taking in any more as we don’t want to pop our clogs and leave them as orphans, but Danielle who constantly has an average of about 20 has huge monthly expenditures and receives no official financial support. She does a really great job and never, ever refuses to give help and/or advice.

Adoptions have been good this month, Lizzie has gone to a lovely Dutch couple I know who have adopted from us before. She is in for a great, happy life. Scooby the Border Colley has been adopted and one of the best pieces of news is that Stella, the Bleu de Gascoigne who was found in a skeletal state has gone to a home where she will be loved and cherished. Scouby, the eight year old has been snapped up as have all but one of the pups. Just a little female left, so don’t hesitate !

Enjoy the sunshine !!

Sue x

So, smack on wrists for last month’s ‘newsletter’, I honestly did mean to add more to it but stuff got in the way. After the week away my friend Sue stayed on for a few days then a week later I went to England for a week mainly to go to the much covid delayed Andre Rieu concert at the Wembley arena. I arrived in England on a Monday where Sue was to meet me at Gatwick before we got the train to Paingbourne to stay with a friend for a couple of days. The visit got off to a confused start when Sue and I insisted we were both waiting outside M and S in arrivals but couldn’t see each other. Of course we were at different terminals (for once I was in the right place !). Consequently we missed the train we were supposed to catch but, hey, no problem compared to the delays and cancellations people are currently having to deal with. The visit was a few days of lunches and meeting up with wonderful pals I hadn’t seen for about three years, then it was AR Day !!!

The concert was wonderful and I have to admit to a few tears when it started.  I don’t know if you have ever seen any AR concerts but they always start with him and the orchestra walking down to the stage through the audience to ’76 Trombones’.  It was due to start and 8 and dead on time, the music struck up and we were off.
> I wondered if I would recognise any of the orchestra and they were all there, plus his Three Tenors, his three sopranos and the usual female ‘backing group’.  The ladies were all in amazing ball gowns and the men in evening suits.  There was comedy, classical music, popular music, everything you see on the tv, even down to him shouting out at the end “You are tired” “You have to go to sleep” whilst we all, like idiots shouted “No, no, more more”. !!  I hugged Sue so tight at the end that I bruised one of my ribs !!! 
>
> I have to add to the above that I have never seen so many badly dressed old people in one place at any one time !  Thank goodness Sue and I were there to raise the bar, if not to reduce the age average !!!  Also I was disappointed that all around the main auditorium were tacky fast food stands and people were coming in with burgers, chips and popcorn – it wasn’t a flipping football match for goodness sake !

Whilst I was away, I gave a great deal of thought to books ! As you know, my idea after the last book sale was to start selling from our garden shed but sadly this is not possible, because of the bad state of said shed. So, really wanting to stay with books but not wanting to go back to the old format and possibly demanding too much of friends, I have come up with the idea of a ‘Just Book Bonanza’. Basically, same location, same great selection of books, cds and dvds, but, no coffee, cakes and lunches. This means that with just ‘muscle’ help in putting up tables, loading and unloading boxes, I can pretty much run the sale on my own. I sent out an email to my book sale mailing list and have to say I have been delighted with the response. Lots and lots of replies supporting the idea with some saying they will bring their own coffee ! Therefore the first ‘Just Books Bonanza’ will take place on Saturday 3rd September and I hope to see lots of you there.

Now, dogs, of course the little Yorkie mix has been snapped up and we are desperate you find homes for the Pointers who are fabulous dogs and would be great companions for any household with a good garden, who like long walks and generally an active life. Coming soon an Australian Colley and some drop dead gorgeous pups. Watch this space !

Sadly, we have had to say farewell to two of our ‘gang’ recently, Tega a 17 year old Malinoise who outlived two owners and who was a darling. I was hoping against hope she would hang on until the daughter of the last owner, who was coming over from England on holiday, got here, but sadly Tega just couldn’t wait.

Then, our famous Tiny, a grey and white poodle of 16 years who was adopted twice when he was young ….. and returned twice because of his unsociable behaviour. He was fine if you just wanted to stroke him, but try to put a collar and/or lead on and he turned into a pitbull. Goodness knows what had happened to him before he came to me. Anyway, here he stayed, thanking me by nipping me on several occasions and generally making himself unpopular. But I loved him and when he got very old he stuck to me like glue. Several health problems got the better of him and he got more and more confused so I decided it was time. 16 is not bad for a poodle ! Of course I felt very sad and guilty after, but I do believe it was the right thing.

So, with numbers going down (just ten now) so the food bill reduces slightly, but with an increasing numer of oldies …… vet bills go up ! You just can’t win !!

Oh well Wimbledon soon !!!

Sue x

Just back from a fabulous week on Ile de Ré with a couple of girlfriends. Brilliant until we realised that one of us couldn’t ride a bike !!! However, thanks to the super inter village bus service, Susie was able to meet Louise and me wherever we had cycled to, for lunch and/or shopping. She also discovered a lovely beach restaurant that we were not aware of !

Anyhow this is just a ‘quckie’ to tell you about the Table Top vide maison to be held at Pat Lockett’s house, just outside of Montcuq, prior to her – sob, tissues, – departure back to live in England. All proceeds are to go to Poorpaws and since the book sales are no more, your support will be much appreciated. See poster above for details.

More later.

Sue x

So here we all are, minus one who is in Australia and plus two helpers, lining up just before the start of our final Book Sale last Saturday ! When I woke up and saw snow I thought we were doomed but no, the hall was quickly heaving and the queue at the cake table was two or three deep – not surprising looking at the yummy display of cakes on the table. It was a marvelous day with many peope saying lovely things, thanking us for the sales and saying how much they would miss them. The final total was 3,000 euros thanks to a last minute donation by a lovely couple which took us ‘past the post’. I had very mixed emotions and have to admit to a few tears when everyone had left and I was there ‘tweaking’ the boxes ready for the big clean up on Sunday. We had a great group to help and we worked like a well oiled machine, so that it was all done in under an hour and a half. Then we had a coffee and just about scraped enough left over cake together to enjoy.

The end of a wonderful era and now it is onwards and upwards. Ernst and I have plans to get our shed into tip top condition, instal some shelves and open a Book Shed. I am a serious book junkie, I need books around me like some people need music, and would miss all the sorting and finding new authors to try. So I will still be taking in books and will let you know when we are open for business.

On the Sunday afternoon I went to see the English film in Montcuq. it was PIG with Nicholas Cage, about a recluse whose truffle pig is stolen and his quest to find it. I thought it would be a feel good movie with a happy ending. Wrong. I came home a traumatised blubbing mess. It reminded me of when I went to see ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Braveheart’ many years ago, having been assured they were really good films. I spent nearly the whole time sitting on the floor of the cinema with my fingers in my ears.

Danielle is now back from Switzerland so the dogs are available for adoption. Sometimes my adoption page is not up to date because by the time Danielle gets photos to me, the dogs have been adopted so I would recommend that you go to her Facebook page La Mere aux Betes to see the latest ‘intakes’. It doesn’t matter if you are not on Facebook (I’m not), you can still see her posts. If you don’t speak French, get in touch with me if you see a dog you think you would like and, in fact even if you don’t speak French, get in touch, because Danielle is always very busy but I can get through to her.

I’m going to have a wonderful break at the end of the month, off to the Ile de Ré but with a couple of girlfriends this time. This should be serious fun !

Just to sign off, to the people who dumped two dogs in Castelnau Montratier and left them to starve, I hope your lives are miserable to the day you die. Miraculously they were found in a skeletal state and are now in care.

Love,

Sue x

1st March, first day of Spring, glorious. 2nd March, second day of Spring bring out the thermals again !! I am sure that, like a lot of you probably, the sunshine over the last week made me sort out the greenhouse (chucking out the geraniums which didn’t make it, definitely getting a heater for next Winter !) and generally walking around the garden making mental notes of Things To Do ! However, I read an article telling me not to be misled by this Fool’s Spring and not to tidy up too much. Many ‘wee timorous beasties’ are still hibernating and not ready to wake up yet, lucky things. So leave the piles of leaves and old branches for another month. Ok, if thems the rules, lead me back to my chair and books !

Speaking of books (see what I did there ?), our next and – tissues at the ready – last, Book Sale, will be on 2nd April at the Salle des Fetes, St. Pantaleon, as usual. We are all getting older, only two of us are able to shift the boxes now, and, two of our core team members are moving back to England this year. We have all had great fun running the sales and that’s how I want to remember them, not everyone thinking “Oh grief, it’s the bally Book Sale time again” ! I, especially will miss them a lot, I have loved picking out books for you to enjoy – and, I must admit, discovering new books and authors myself. Because of the above, I will be keeping a good stock of books here at home where people are welcome to come and browse /buy. Just contact me.

I can’t write this month’s blog without giving thoughts to the poor people of Ukraine. The news every day is heartbreaking and I can hardly bare to watch, but I force myself, bearing in mind how lucky I am to be doing that, watching instead of living it. I remember in the 1950s my parents took in three Hungarian refugees – no mean feat when we were already a family of four children. They were two women and a child and they remained friends with my parents for many, many years. Of course, at six years old I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t speak English and, why I had to give them my bedroom !!

Danielle, La Mere aux Betes, still has many dogs in need of a good home, take a look at her Facebook page and my adoptions page. Danielle is due to go home to Switzerland for a couple of weeks, so the fewer dogs she leaves for her dog-sitter, the better.

Fingers crossed, next month there will be better news.

Love,

Sue x

Ouf ! So that is January done and dusted and I am quite happy about that. The cold I had over the Festive Season hung on and on until I threw in the towel and went to the doctor. Long story short he prescribed a huge dose of vitamin D and, hey presto, I feel good again. I would have been just as happy had he prescribed a holiday in the sun paid for by my mutuelle but apparently all the monthly payments I have made over the years, don’t cover that.

I remember a few years ago we had a fantastic February and actually got tshirts out, wouldn’t it be lovely if that happened again ? I am so fed up with not being warm enough. We don’t have central heating and rely mostly on a woodburner in our kitchen …… and thermal underwear !

Fingers crossed that we get our travel freedom back soon without having to test every five minutes, and that I finally get to the André Rieu concert at Wembley which has been postponed for two years now. Talking of concerts, we went to the wonderful New Year Concert of the Orchestra of Cahors last weekend. It was brillliant, however sadly, I fear that the thing that people will remember most is the moment when the conductor lost his grip on the baton and sent it flying across the stage !!

We had quite a few adoptions in January, but one lovely Brittany Spaniel pup was returned because the new owners felt he was not ‘connecting’ with them. The pup must have had some short of bad treatment in the past and although, on his own, he is a happy little chap, it is true that he is not bothered with people, so heneeds someone who is going to have the time and patience to bond with him.

This week we had our first Book Sale meeting of the year, to start preparing for the sale on April 2nd. I say ‘start’ but I have in fact been collecting and sorting since the last sale. Consequently we can only now take good condition paperbacks as we are ‘booked out’ with cookery, gardening and coffee table stuff. Sadly the sale in April will be our very last one so we are hoping that it will be a ‘wowser’ ! We will be celebrating our tenth anniversary and hope to go out in style – because the vet and feed bills won’t stop ! The problem is that two of our team who are our star bakers will be moving back to England this year, plus, we are (shh, whisper it) all getting older and it does take a lot of hard work and muscle setting the sales up. However, I am hoping to keep a good supply here, setting up shelves in our shed so that people can come and buy from me. I won’t be able to offer great cakes but should be able to rustle up a tea or coffee !

Keep warm !

Sue x

I know this is a couple of days early, but I didn’t want to start the New Year with a grouch, so decided to end the old year with one.

Thank you (not) all those Brexshit voters ! Thanks to you, it has become a morning’s work to send a gift to the UK and the cost of same is unbelievable. I try to do the good thing by shopping in local shops, sending French gifts and avoiding the ‘A’ company. (Amazon to anyone who has chosen – and I admire and envy you – to stay off grid for the last five years.) Then you wrap your gift, not in brown paper but in a box with ALL sides so sealed with brown tape so that the recipient might just succeed in opening the gift by August 2022, and off you to à La Poste ! If you go to our little Poste in St. Daunes, you will be greeted by a lovely young lady who will do everything for you, fill in the necessary forms on line, print off the customs declaration, then, sheepishly ask for a sum which would be enough to feed a third world country for a couple of days. Or, you may have the experience of a friend who queued for 25 minutes OUTSIDE her Post Office, only to be sent away to download and print her own declaration. Her granddaughter (luckily too young to know about Christmas) will NOT be receiving the beautifully hand knitted Snowman until they can meet in person. (Actually, I’ve got sights on the Snowman myself and I only live 20 minutes away !)

Then there are the hundreds of Brits over here who were so looking forward to friends and family coming over for Christmas and making up for being confined and curfewed last year. Yey ! Everyone was so excited, flights were booked, train tickets bought, lifts to airports and stations arranged. Ha, everyone ready ? Good, because, yah boo sucks, you ‘aint goin’ and your friends and family ‘aint coming. Don’t tell me this is a result of covid. It is a result of Brexit. Boris and Macron cannot stand each other and need their heads banging together. When covid numbers are going up in their hundreds of thousands every day, what is the point of closing borders ? We are all going to get it at some time but the vaccinated won’t die from it. As for the non-vaccinated, well that’s your choice but you have to be prepared to take the flak if you get it and end up in hospital, taking the bed from someone who needs it.

I heard of an English lady who runs a gite here and only rents to Brits ………… and she voted Brexit. I can’t bear it. I keep asking people to name one good thing that has resulted from Brexit and, do you know, not one single person has been able to give me one.

So, again, thank you (not) Brexit voters, for making life more difficult for everyone.

Ok, that’s it, my final grouch of the year ! I hope you all had a good Christmas, even if it was spoilt by the above. We had our usual Christmas Fizz with friends coming round on Christmas Day, then I was struck down on the 26th with what, if I hadn’t had the flu jab, I would have thought was the flu (drama queen ? Moi ?) and after reading about cold syptoms being the same as covid, and despite being three times jabbed, I had a couple of tests which were both negative. So I had the good old common cold which has lasted for four days and has strict instructions to leave before New Year’s Eve.

The Adoptions Page will be updated tomorrow, so take a peek, especially if you are looking for a VERY mischevious puppy !

Love,

Sue x

So, here we go again, it’s that time of year and, I have to admit, I love it ! I am not a religious person so that part of it doesn’t come into it for me, but I just love the atmosphere, the decorations and the fact that everyone seems to be just that bit happier. I am, as my friends know, a candle freak, so anyone going to Ikea over the next couple of days may find the Christmas fragrance candles rather short in supply !!

Hopefully this year we will all have more freedom. At the time of writing there are no restrictions announced and my pal Susie is due to come over on the 23rd. Fingers crossed nothing changes before then.

My present ? What I would LOVE is for Praline and Pocker to find new homes, they have been in the refuge for so very long. Praline is an absolute love bug but is a bit of a devil with cats and escaping ! Pocker is a particular dog who will love and be faithful to his owner, but would prefer to be the only one. He is not anxious to share. If you live in an isolated area, Pocker’s appearance would put off any uninvited visitors. So wouldn’t it be great if these two got new homes for Christmas.

We have a beautiful Brittany Spaniel puppy looking for a new home. Take a peek on the adoptions page and you will see just how gorgeous he is. I am sure he will not be with us for a year ! I would take him myself as Brittanys are my favourite but I think Ernst would leave me, our numbers are finally going down. Ernst / Brittany Spaniel ?! Hmm tough decision !!

Sadly, we ‘lost’ another dog a couple of weeks ago. Blackie, a very old Border Colley (who mistakenly was initially blamed for the attack on Tiny this time last year). Blackie came to us over five years ago when his owner was taken into hospital. He was a bit of a grumpy soul ( Blackie not the owner – but hey, who knows !) but he loved me and did his best to fit in. He had been incontinent for quite a while and a bit wobbly on his legs, but when he could no longer get up, it was time to let him go peacefully.

Something else I had to let go peacefully was my wonderful old car. A 21 year old Citroen who had never, ever let me down, even though I had not treated it well. Sadly she failed the control technique quite spectacularly and would have cost too much to repair. I wanted to keep her in the garden for the dogs but the insurance was ridiculous, so, she went. I took her to M. Tanguy in Montcuq and arrived in tears. He was very worried and thought I had had an accident in the new one ! Bless him, he took me into his daughter’s office to see her new Australian Shepherd puppy, to take my mind off the car – and, I am sure, to stop the tears poor guy !!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Festive Season, I will join you in the festive atmosphere after next Tuesday ……..dental appointment, aaargh ! I am such a baby and get into such a state, but our pharmacie is running short on paracetamols because of me, so it is time to bite (no pun intended) the bullet !

Remember last year I was hoping for a greenhouse heater ? Never happened. This year I want mats for my ‘new’ car, so if you happen to meet Ernst anywhere, just drop a hint. Actually, no, a hint is no good, just tell him !!

Have a brilliant time and I hope you all get to where you want to be …… and get back !

Love,

Sue xx

First of all, apologies for being so late with this month’s update ! A week ago my laptop was hacked ! I thought unplugging everything and ignoring it for a couple of days would sort the problem but no. I took it to a really nice chap in Cahors who, within seconds, got me back to my screensaver photo, then kept the laptop for a couple of days to ‘clean it out’. I asked him if I should get a more efficient protecion programme but he said that quite honestly it would make no difference. He did say however that if it happened again within a week, he would have to ‘take everything off the computer’ and effectively start again. OMG ! So if you don’t hear from me again you’ll know I have given up ! I always said that when I come out of dog rescue I would ditch the computer and never use it again – yeah, right !

Ok, get the tissues ready before you read much further ! A lovely lady called Doreen sent this poem to me, and to anyone/everyone who has had to make ‘that’ decision. It will make you cry – if you are not a robot – but it helps.

Today you did the bravest thing, today you set me free.

Thank-you for showing me the ultimate dignity

I ‘m sorry that my leaving has broken your kind heart

But we knew this day would come, the day we had to part

Don’t think I did not hear every last word you said

Don’t think I did not feel your trembling hand touch my head

Today you did the bravest thing, today you set me free

Thank-you for a wonderful life, thank-you for loving me.

This was particularly poignant to me in October as two of our oldies left us. After all the years of caring for dogs I should be used to it, but, no, it never gets easier. Dear Caline (cancer) and Nina ( kidney failure) were both of a jolly good age, 203 between them ! So, we are down to 13 now – I’m failing miserably in my aim to get to single figures by the time I hit 70 !

Our book sale in October was less successful than usual but we still raised 2,000 euros which was amazing considering that footfall was well down. I was quite disheartened at first, the sale means a lot of hard work for many people, but reasoning sensibly, there were quite a few reasons. Firstly we clashed with half term in France AND England, so many people were celebrating being able to travel again to see family and grandchildren. Then there are more people than I realised who are not vaccinated / do not have Passe Sanitaires, so, sadly we had to exclude them, not wanting to face a possible 1,500 fine. I heard some people (obviously not regulars) said they didn’t want to touch second hand books “just in case”. That I do not understand, books in our sale have been stored for the required time before going into the sale boxes and, quite honestly, do those people think that no-one has touched a new book before them ?! Not possible. However, although I don’t agree with anti vaccs people, I totally respect that they are entitled to their own opinions and plans are underway to convert our storage space into a (VERY) small ‘bookshop’, so people can make an appointment to come and browse alone.

Staying on the book sale subject, next year will be our tenth year of sales !! We intend to make this a Really Big Occasion (and possibly our last, depending on various factors). The proposed date is Saturday 2nd April and we will be ‘open’ for a longer time, rather than opening on the Sunday.

On the dog front there have been many adoptions, Robin and Marley have gone to new homes, I cannot understand why Spot is still with Danielle, what a lovebug he is, and Black, ok, ‘just’ a black dog but boy, what a darling. If you are hesitating, hesitate no more, Black will enhance your life !

Viruses, bugs and hackers permitting, I’ll be back at the end of the month.

Sue xx

Happy Birthday brother Phil !

Our holiday on Ile de Ré was jinxed this year. As I told you last month, we had to cancel our second week, then half way through our first week, we had a call to say that an elderly friend of ours had died, so we had to leave early for the funeral. Still, we came back with happy memories as usual.

A few weeks ago Jip, one of our Brittany Spaniels decided to go walkies on his own and didn’t come home until the evening. He was sat outside our back gate and, strangely, when I opened the gate and called him in, he just sat a looked at me pitifully. Me, all heart, said to him impatiently “oh come on Jip, stop mucking about”. He then walked very slowly to the gate and it was then I saw to my horror he had a coil of barbed wire attached to him. How he got home I’ll never know. It took me about 40 minutes to free him and, amazingly, the only damage done was a bleeding ear. Dogs’ ears bleed profusely when injured. I mopped him up and disinfected the wound and he was his usual happy self. A couple of days later I was fondling his ears and realised there was a hole big enough for me to get my little finger through ! He could have had one of those strange big black stud earrings that some guys wear ! Off to the vet who proposed either stitching it up or making a hole in the other ear and buying earrings ! I plumped for the first suggestion. However, sadly, it didn’t mend and poor Jip ended up having the bottom of his ear cut off. I decided to buy him some paints and a canvas to see what he could come up with but, sadly, no talent there !!!

I’m delighted to report that lovely Roxia has gone to a fab new home, in fact she is tobe the sister/playmate of Ivanoe a gorgeous chocolate Lab, adopted from Danielle.

You all know by now that I cannot take in any more dogs, the 15 I have will now be here for life and although some of them are really old and ‘knockin’ on heaven’s door’, they are not actually going through the door ! So, no room for more which is why I work closely with Danielle Diczy of La Mere aux Betes refuge at Castelnau Montratier. Danielle has many dogs who need more education before being put up for adoption and at the moment she is also trying to help an ex chasseur who has quite a few dogs who live in good conditions and who the chasseur wants to keep and care for. The problem is that money is short and Danielle is asking for donations of croquettes to help him out. To rehome the dogs would be a problem and the guy doesn’t want to do that. Danielle would also be very grateful for any veterinary medications you may have at the back of a cupboard and which you don’t need any more. The sell by date is of no importance. So if anyone can help, please contact me.

Another way you can help is to come to the Vide Grenier at St. Laurent Lolmie (Lot) on 10th October where both Danielle and I will be selling a great selection of items, from bric a brac to excellent condition second hand clothes.

Now, our Autumn Book Sale – yey ! The weekend of 23rd/24th October, here in St. Pantaleon at the Salle de Fetes (10 am to 2pm Saturday, 10 to 1 Sunday). A really great selection of fabulous condition books (classics which I cannot bear to dispose of may be less than pristine) all at one euro each, plus our famous excellent home made cakes. Samosas are back (!) and lunchtime soup home made by wonderful Walter. Our dear musician Ray cannot be there but Peter Quinsee will be there to provide music for us. Please, please, support us if you can. PASSE SANITAIRE AND FACEMASKS OBLIGATORY !! Sorry folks but it’s the rules and we all want to keep safe !

With love,

Sue x

So, there I was happily updating the adoptions page when the date suddenly came out and smacked me between the eyes, 3rd September ! Where do the days go ?!

Last month I said we would be selling clothes at the St. Daunes vide grenier on the 8th and indeed we did. Sadly it was a pitifully small vide whereas usually St. D has stalls right through the village and on to the adjoining field. This time just stalls up the village ‘main road’. However, we managed to raise about 350 euros, better than a poke in the eye with a wet umbrella but only about half what we usually make at Montcuq. Still, two months of dog croquettes paid for ! It was a really hot day which was fortunate as the previous week had been dreadful.

August was a funny old month weatherwise wasn’t it ? I kept waiting for Summer to really start, but it never did. Ok some very hot days but very few of the warm balmy evenings I remember from previous years. Still, mustn’t grumble, we weren’t fighting forest fires or coping with terrible flash floods.

I have spent most of the month sorting out books for our next sale (23rd/24th October) and would like to thank those who have donated so far for the excellent selections. My main problem now is to read all those I want to before the sale. (Doreen will you make it this time ?) A couple of times I have chosen books with recommendations from famous respected authors on the front. For example “One of the best thrillers you’ll read this year – Val McDermid” or, “The twists just keep coming – Harlen Coban”, only to find that the books are total rubbish. This makes me mad, in fact, so mad, that I found contact email addresses for both those authors and emailed them to ask “Seriously ?! Have you actually read this book ?”. No reply from either. Funny that ! I have started sticking stars on the books that I have read and enjoyed and one book which I felt compelled to stick two stars on, was The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. The true story of a couple who, due to circumstances beyond their control (no spoilers here) found themselves homeless and penniless AND at the same time found that the husband Winn had an incurable disease. Instead of accepting a council house and benefits – which they and thousands of others were/re entitled to – they decided to deal with their situation their way and their way was to pack up knapsacks and to walk the Salt Path. A brilliant book, read it even if you read nothing else this year !

Ernst and I are off on our usual annual jaunt to Ile de Ré on the 18th September. We were to go for two weeks but Ernst’s sister has sold her house and, sod’s law, what was to be our second week is the week the house has to be cleared. So all family hands on deck. Never mind, definitely two weeks next year !

Sorry about last month’s promised puppies, they were homed before I could get fingers to keyboard !

Happy September to one and all !

Sue x