Category: Dooley’s diary

For more from Dooley please see his new Diary website at:

sithean.com/dawgdogs/diaries/

This morning whilst Helen was at the Rescue she stopped work at 11o’clock and was silent for a couple of minutes, lost in her thoughts.

I wasn’t.

I’d been quiet all morning.

At the start of the Two Minutes Silence I started barking

Loudly.

I barked for two minutes constantly and then stopped.

Griff said that I have no respect, which; to be fair, I usually don’t.

But this time I did.

If a dog like me was quiet for two minutes at that time, no-one would really have noticed anything special in that.

So I Barked Loudly.

Animal Aid have been selling purple poppies in rememberance of all the animal victims of war.

Animal aid

Remember the fallen

and Bark Loudly when the expected thing to do is remain silent

Today I thought I would surprise Helen.
We went for a bit of ball throwing which I love.
I particularly love to catch the ball before Rocco and then run off with it.
This infuriates him and is worth every extra minute of me running
really fast with Rocco in hot pursuit.
I have been watching the flyball on TV and have taken a keen interest in this sport, not in the way
that men become ridiculous over football and completely obsessed by this pointless game, I know that I could be really very good at fly ball.
The ball interests me so much that I have completely forgotten that I used to like to chase cyclists and runners.
I drop to the ground, wait for the ball and off I go at super fast pace.
Sometimes Helen tries to trick me by pretending to throw it one way and then another,
I’m getting wise to this trick.
Helen says that now I have the job of chasing the ball I have given up some of my other less popular jobs.
I’m much better when meeting other dogs and people out now and pay them no attention at all unless of course it is a pretty lady and then I fluff up my tail and run really fast so she can see how fit I am.
No dates as of yet but I live in hope.

Anyway back to me driving the Volvo.
After our walk we went for a drive in the car and just to show how good I am I lay down in the foot well and had a snooze.
We then went to meet Tom at Companion Care who has kindly offered to help the rescue with the neutering scheme and Helen took us in with her and I sat quietly in the waiting room.
This is also an improvement for me, I even licked Tom’s hand and when a noise
startled me instead of reverting back to my old habit of nipping someone
I looked at Helen who told me to be still and I was!!
Which is a BIG step forward for me.
After our visit we went back to the car and I had another snooze.
On the way home we stopped at the Rec again and had more ball throwing,
then we were bundled back into the car and went to the shops.
Helen had to pop into a shop to pick up some dog food and
I could see from her face that she was quite worried about leaving me
in charge of the car.
In the past I would run from back to front and eat it but today much to Helen’s delight when she came back to the car I was sitting in the driving seat in a calm and grown up manner.
I’ve seen children doing this when their parents leave them in charge of
the car but instead of hooting the horn and turning the steering wheel
from side to side I went one better and sat there like a responsible
driver and ignored all distractions.
I am thinking of taking my driving test next so wish me luck!

I was just looking at the website to see how some of my old pals are getting on when I noticed this on my page:

progress update: 19th Sep

READY FOR REHOMING !!

Dooley has now been at the Rescue for several months ‘in rehab’.

He has made very good progress and is now no longer the very fearful dog he once was.

We are now looking for a permanent home for Dooley, one that will be able to continue to improve his confidence and recovery.

He is very used to other dogs at the Rescue, but he is still a little eccentric in some of his ways.

We will be looking for an extra special home for him, with someone who understands nervous collies and who has the patience to care for him.

It may be that Dooley is more suited to a home which is not a domestic family situation, since he needs to be worked and active to find a good use for all his nervous energy.

Like his fellow rehab dog Rocco, he needs someone who is prepared to visit him at the Rescue repeatedly until he gets used to them enough to build up a trust.

If you think that you may be able to help Dooley,

please contact Helen

for more details

–

At first I was a bit surprised because I thought I’d been rather good lately and hadn’t expected to find my name at the top of the rehoming list.
Rocco says that it isn’t because I’ve done anything wrong, quite the opposite.
He says that he is now on the list too, and it means that he is now ready for a permanent home.
He said that Helen must have decided that I’m a Care In The Community case and thought that was so funny he rolled around the floor in hysterics.
He wouldn’t explain why it was so funny so I laughed too even though I wasn’t quite sure what I was laughing at.

I hope that I shall still be allowed to write my Diary when I’m at my new home.
I’m looking forward to spending untold millions on Bonios once some Hollywood producer approaches me for the movie rights.
I’m also hoping that I shall be rehomed to someone who will buy me a special collar.

It is kind of exciting to think of the Big Wide World out there and all the Things To Bark At,
but I also feel a little bit scared too at the thought of leaving familiar surroundings.

Rocco says he’ll give me a mobile phone so we can still talk late into the night and Put the World To Rights.
I do hope that I’ve been Good Enough to find A Good Home…

I only barked at one other dog today,
and Helen took my lead and then told me to “Shut Up!”
and I didn’t bite her!

See how much I’ve improved!!

So then I sat down and Looked Really Good

I must clean off my paws before I get into the Volvo.
I must clean off my paws before I get into the Volvo.
I must clean off my paws before I get into the Volvo.
I must clean off my paws before I get into the Volvo.
I must clean off my paws before I get into the Volvo.
I must clean off my paws before I get into the Volvo.

The front is a No Dog Zone, it is for Proper People Only but it is an essential part of my training.
On the way to the walk I put my muddy front paws on the dashboard like I’ve seen the man do on the advert on the telly.

But on the way back I’m very good and sit like I’m a Proper Person on the front seat.

Maybe they think I am a Proper Person now!

I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo
I must not eat the Volvo again

Recently I’ve been improving so much that I’m now allowed to be in the back of the car without having to go in a sky cage.

I can always usually often sometimes occasionally be trusted not to try and bite the car to bits when I see another dog out of the window, or Something Else To Bark At.

Being free I can try and round up all the other dogs in the back.

Rounding Things Up is one of My Favorite Things To Do.

If I get too excited rounding everyone up then being in the back of the car also means I can run right to the very back whenever the Shakey Bottle appears.

This means that Mutley is between the Shakey Bottle and me, which is a Very Good Thing. It also means that I can see out of the back window.

There are always Lots of Things To Bark At out of the back window, but I try and remember not to bark too much as it only upsets the Shakey Bottle.

Helen is used to looking in her mirror and seeing the drivers behind laughing at me, particularly if we are in a traffic jam. I don’t know why they laugh.

Sometimes they almost crash because they are watching me. I’m sure they would not even stop laughing if they crashed.

This last week we’ve been going on adventures to play with Takoda. Takoda is not staying at the Rescue because he’s Just Too Big and has Too Much Energy All The Time. So we go over to take him out for walks during the day. This week it has been so hot that we’ve been spending lots of time jumping in and out of Pools and Ponds to cool off.

I love Pools and Ponds, they always provide lots of opportunities to get messy and discover Smelly Things.

I’d like to be a Smelly Thing, but I’m in enough trouble with Helen as it is.

So I try and encourage all the other dogs to get covered in Smelly Things, and then Round Them Up instead!

The Shaky Bottle is one of Helen’s Magical Artifacts.

It has extraordinary powers and Compels Obedience In All Known Dogs.

Even me.

It doesn’t look very scary to the untrained eye. It looks like an empty old plastic green lilt bottle, which might make A Good Chewing Object.

But no dog ever goes near the Shaky Bottle to try and chew it.

This is because the bottle contains some Stones of Arcane Wrath.

Helen and her friends know how to awaken the Stones of Arcane Wrath and then they make a noise most terrible which causes all us dogs to Instantly Cease Mucking About.

I must admit I used to be scared of The Shaky Bottle, and even now that I’m several months older and so Scared of Nothing At All, I still know that it is best not to be Shaken At.

The Shaky Bottle usually appears when we’re in the car.

More specifically it seems, it usually appears when I’m in the car.

When I ride in the front with Mark, Helen gives him The Shaky Bottle and I know well enough to stay in the footwell.

At least some of the time.

When I forget and try and jump through the window, chew the gearstick, or change the Bauhaus tape, The Stones of Arcane Wrath are invoked by the magic Shaky Bottle.

Even Mutley knows not to mess with The Shaky Bottle. Mutley is my hero but when he tries to climb into the front when Helen is driving, or if he starts singing his Epic Ballad of Constant Barking, the Shaky Bottle soon brings him back into line.

Even Rocco can’t explain coherently why it is so disconcerting to be Shaken At, and he thinks he Knows It All.

He also can’t explain how the Stones of Arcane Wrath ended up becoming trapped inside in the first place. Helen must be a Wielder of Magical Power herself. No wonder they are so angry, all that Arcane Wrath, and they can’t get out of an old plastic pop bottle.

I laugh at them!

But only when I’m very very very sure that they can’t hear me …

I’d better relate why I’m in such disgrace that I think I’ve lost all hope of ever getting a Special Collar.

I must tell everyone that I’m normally a very clean dog.

But …

I forgot what I was doing and pee’d on Helen’s shoe

And her foot

And a lot of her leg

At first she was so surprised and shocked that I had time to hide behind Harley before she realised.

Everyone was shocked, even the new pups.

I was shocked too, once what I’d done had time to sink in.

Helen didn’t want what I’d done to have time to sink in, so she had to go and wash straight away.

Now everyone knows it was me who got us all into The Trouble Over The Wellies.

I bet I’ll be sent to the top of the rehoming list now.

I’ll have no chance of getting a Special Collar ever.

I’ll have no chance of getting any bonios for a while either.

I hope Helen sees the funny side of it soon