Tiffany's last post

 Tiffany had a good life that kept her interested in all things. She loved the water and would prefer to swim rather than walk. We had many adventures together, travelled all over Australia and competed in almost all the states, Her Master Agility title was from qualifications in SA, Vic, ACT Qld and NT.

Tiffany was a very independent dog that knew her own mind. Good sometimes, like when we were tracking, and bad sometimes when we were in Agility and she wanted to run her own course but we always liked to work together. She loved Retrieving, but her love for the water meant that she would leap into the water, retrieve the dummy and then swim in circles until I went in the water to drag her out,

At 11 years old she was diagnosed with bladder cancer. The vet gave her 6 to 12 months, but she lasted over 600 days on chemo treatment because she was so tough. 

Throughout the chemo, she never gave up her independence. She would be first in the swimming pool, always ready to fetch her ball, and was the first awake in the morning, telling us "The day is here, let's get on with it.'

Sister Hannah would follow Tiffany's lead and join her in her escapades, maybe not quite as enthusiastically but she was ready to aid and abet Tiffany, They were very close and did everything they could together, Often when they were sleeping you could not tell where one ended and the other one started,

Then one day in April 2022 Tiffany lost the use of her back legs. She would still try to run, dragging her legs behind, still trying to be active. The vet gave her some medication which worked and for a while, she could walk unsteadily and be her normal self. Unfortunately, it lasted only a week before she lost her legs again, and this time Tiffany gave up. The cancer had spread to her spine, and several lumps developed on her body and face. We were left with no choice but to end her suffering,

On April 20th 2022, Dual Champion (Tracking) Sherbrooke Tiffany Ale, ADM, JDM, RAE, SDE, GDE, SPD, and CD left us.

Tiffany would have been 14 years old today. She has left a mark on my soul that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Her impact on everyone that knew her was profound which means that Kathy, Hannah and myself were deeply impacted by her life and the love that she gave us,

Christmas 2021

 

Merry Christmas to all our friends and their humans.

We have been very quiet for a long time due to many reasons. The pandemic stopped us from travelling, Keith had his feet operated on which also kept us home, and then Tiffany has cancer in her bladder that has caused us lots of problems. 
Tiffany has been on chemotherapy for 400 days now, which is much longer than the vet expected. She is good at the moment. Apart from a need to pee frequently and getting tired quickly, you would not know there is anything wrong with her.

I have had a brief spell in the Vet Hospital when I had a melanoma cut off my nose. They got all of it so there should not be any further problems.

We are both retired from competitions now. Our hobbies are chasing the feral cats on the block, barking at the Garbos when they pinch our rubbish and reminding KnK when we are due for a feed.

Tiffany and I hope everybody has a safe and happy holiday period and that next year is better than the last.

Taking Life Easy

Here we are on guard at home, ready to leap into action the instant a noise loud enough to wake us up occurs.
It will have to be a really loud noise because we have both gone a bit deaf.
I have retired from competition because I can not hear Keith's commands when I get in front, I limp a bit after exercise and Keith cannot run as fast as he used to.
Hannah has also retired as her hearing is failing and she cannot hear Kathy's commands, her legs are not as good as they used to be and we both prefer to lie in the sun these days.
We have had a quiet life for a while, not many trips away, although we do have some weekend trips coming up soon. Hopefully, we will be able to visit our interstate friends next year because we love to travel.
Have to go now, it looks like Keith is going to clean the swimming pool so we should get a swim then.

Its nice to go traveling.......

but its so much nicer to come home. We enjoyed the Cape, meeting old friends from Cairns, Atherton and Townsville, we had a good time with Maggie, Tessa and Stella. We have seen lots of new sights, travelled down some remote roads and seen the terrible effects of drought first hand.
Being home after the travelling means we can stretch out in the sun in our own backyard, play games and do what we want when we want to. It's nice to visit all these places, but it is nice to be home.

Cape York Revisited

What a difference 8 years makes. The top picture shows me at a rest area on Cape York when Hannah was only 4 weeks old in August 2010. Then I brought Hannah to visit the Tip of Cape York and on the way back we stopped at the same rest area in August 2018.
The sign has faded, they put in a drop toilet and a bin. They paved the road up to it and made a big parking area.
 The view from the top was the same, and I enjoyed showing Hannah around all the sights on the Cape, so now she knows what I am barking about when I remember the previous trip.

The Tip of Cape York

Four Tollers and a Havanese made to the Tip of Cape York, the most northern point on the Australian mainland. It has been a good trip so far. The road is much better than when I came up here 8 years ago, at least we could sleep for most of the time until corrugations in the road woke us up. It was a long walk across the top of the ridge to get to the tip, but we all made it easily, just having to wait for the humans to catch up. Someone suggested we take the lower path back and that was difficult and took us close to the mangroves. No crocodiles there so nothing to worry about. The pic shows me, Hannah, Tessa, Stella and Maggie posing under the famous sign.

Bush Dogs

Here are the 5 of us at Brunette Bridge on the Tablelands Highway. We have moved on since this pic was taken, one night at Hells Gate (pretty good really) then on to Karumba for a day or two.
We have had some good runs and plays, but we are restricted as we are in the bush with lots of open spaces to get lost in. Crocodiles live in the creeks and a dog makes a nice snack for them, so we don't get many runs unless it is safe.