Gremlin calls it a day

It has been a happy and sad weekend; we had a nice trip to Sam and Lucy's on Sunday, but Saturday ended on a bit of a sad note when Gremlin, Pauline and Chris' Staffordshire Bull Terrier, died.


I'd taken pity on our two dogs and let them sleep upstairs on Friday night, so my day started quite early with a face-licking from Holly at some ungodly hour. Actually, after a bit of a fuss and realising I was not for rising, she settled down and we all had a nice snooze until 7am.

Look at the lump of ice attached to Gravel's
eyelashes. Click on the picture to enlarge

The night had been very cold, it was -16 deg C at Holbeach, about 12 miles away and had been -5 deg on Friday night when I came home. The cold night had created a magical haw frost and all the trees and hedges were covered with a thick coating which looked beautiful on a misty morning.


I took the dogs for an early walk across the fen and it was still hard going in the snow, which had been added to during the week and was now frozen hard and very crunchy underfoot. It was deep enough to be troublesome across the fields and I had to pick my way carefully to find the thinnest covering. Holly and Gravel were not so discerning - they just plunge through, but it was so cold that they soon became covered in powdery frost themselves, while Gravel developed a lump of ice on his eyelashes. Their main problem was that ice was building up in their paws, under their pads and also between their toes. Spaniels have webbed feet, with a thick flap of skin joining their toes. I'm not sure if it's an adaptation to help them walk on snow (like snowshoes) or whether it's to improve their swimming. Wolves also have webbed feet to help them manage in deep snow.

Snow dogs - Gravel covered in frost after his walk. He's
never happier than when it's freezing cold.

Problem for both dogs was that the snow was compacting under their feet and forming large balls of ice. Both of them were stopping regularly to bite off the ice and spit it out. I guess that once they started this, the wet from their mouths would attract fresh snow and they'd pretty quicky ice up again.


When they got back home, they looked so funny that we had to take their picture. I just about managed it, but they were not keen on sitting still for more than five seconds. It sounds crazy, but the garden was so lovely (and I was quite warm after`my brisk walk) that I opened up the summerhouse and we sat in there and had a cup of tea before breakfast. There were not many birds around, but I scattered some seed on the show in the big border and there was soon a little gathering. We hadn't seen any wildlife on the fen. It would have been there, but keeping its distance and a thin mist limited visibility to about 100 yards.


Later, we were shopping in Whittlesey and had just bought all the ingredients for a comforting stew when I got a message from Chris Coakley inviting us round that evening. I called him back when I got in and it seems that a dinner had been planned at Jane and Ian Scott's in Eye (we hadn't been asked). Alan and Jane Crossland were also going, along with the Coakleys, but the dinner had been switched to Pauline and Chris' house at the last minute because Gremlin had been to the vets for an operation on Friday and was to come home that day. They didn't want to leave her home alone after having surgery.


Gremlin is 14 and has not been in good health for a few years - she's all lumps, bumps and bald patches where bits of fur have been trimmed for injections. Having said that, we looked after her for a weekend a couple of weeks ago and she was happy enough sniffing around the garden with our two dogs. She liked to roll on her back on the lawn and also to make herself a little nest under the bushes. There's one patch in the ivy under the corkscrew hazel where she always goes to sit.


She had a growth on a hind leg for a few months and it's gradually been getting bigger. Apparently, it had grown substantially in the last week, so they'd decided it would need to be reduced. The operation had not gone well and she'd lost a lot of blood, had suffered a heart attack on the operating table and required an injection of adrenaline. She did look very sorry for herself, but sat up and greeted us when we went through. However, during the meal, she became distressed and had another seizure. Pauline, understandably, was very upset and we said our farewells so they could tend to her. It was pretty obvious she was on her last legs, so it was no surprise that next day we got a text message to say she'd died and they were going to bury her in the memorial garden that they'd created in memory of Pauline's mum Marion.


I can remember how devastated we were when we had Jack put down and how much I missed having a dog in the house. It's always difficult knowing when a dog needs to go. With Jack, we thought he'd had his chips, but then he'd pull through. Eventally, we decided his quality of life wasn't good enough and we should have him put down. That was one hard journey going to the vet. Jack had jumped out of the car and had been excited sniffing around the car park. I was quite comforted that he'd been happy just before he died (a bit like his old self), but I also thought that maybe I'd been a bit hasty in dispatching him.



Pauline and Chris have taken a different view with Gremlin. She's had lots of quite major operations and a lot of money spent (£1,000 on Friday for the operation on her leg). In the end it was an operation too far for poor old Gremmie.

Above and below: Max climbing in the Cairngorms.

Earlier in the night Max had called from Aviemore where he's on a guided winter climbing holiday. He'd driven up on Friday and stayed over at a Days Inn lodge near Lockerbie on Friday night before setting off early to complete his journey. The conditions were not icy (it was warmer in the Cairngorms than it was in Thorney) but there was good snow and so he was happy with his day's activity. Wind and snow were forecast for Sunday, but he said the guide knew a route that they'd be able to do.


Sunday morning was much milder (just above freezing and the mist had gone). I walked the dogs across the fen and this time there was no worries about icing up of paws. On out way back, I spotted the herd on muntjac to the north of the path. The stupid creatures, instead of heading east and cutting behind us, kept parellel and just in front of us and then decided to cut across to get to the open fen. To make matters worse, they stopped on the path about 100 yards ahead of me with Gravel charging up the ditch towards them. When he was about 30 yards away, they broke and ran across the field. Gravel emerged from the ditch and somehow didn't spot them (I think he depends so much on his nose that he doesn't use his eyes). Anyway, he certainly caught their scent stopped dead and then turned north; thankfully the deer were heading south. by the time he'd realised he was on a diminishing scent, they'd made good their escape. Holly, who was by my side on the path, saw them and gave chase. Lord knows what she'd have done if she'd caught one, but they can keep ahead of a spaniel and she gave up at the end of the field and headed back. Nice to see a large barn owl hunting around Medicine Pond; it flew right over my head and I got a really good view of it.


We had some breakfast, packed the car and set off for Sam's about 10.30am. I've got a new sat-nav made by Navman (£69) and it's better than my old one (which Max has acquired). It's a slightly bigger screen and it also has lane information. The sat-nav wanted me to go straight down the A1, but I guessed it was going to send me through Highgate and Archway where there are serious roadworks, so I annoyed it by turning off on the A14 and M11. I thought it would take me around the North Circular and then down through the A10 or through Muswell Hill, but it went all along Walthamstow, Tottenham and Manor House before picking up the Seven Sisters Road. On the way back it took me north through Crouch End and Muswell Hill to the North Circular and A1, so perhaps I misjudged it and that's the way it would have taken me.


Sam and Lucy looked very well. I think Sam liked his present - a relief map of the Three Valleys area in France, where he has been skiing several times. He's halfway through his final exams and is, understandably, somewhat stressed. He's taken his written exam and will do his practical at the end of this month. If he passes both (and I'm hopeful that he will) then he will qualify as a GP in August and will be able to look for a job. He cooked us a really nice chicken with salad and Lucy had made a splended Bakewell Tart.


It was good for Margaret to get a chance to see them and to visit their flat. I think she's only been once before and I forget how important that is. I'm lucky that because I work in London, I get to see far more of the boys. We stayed at Sam's until about 6.30pm and had a pretty comfortable journey home - a damp, dark night, but the temperature was up to +4 deg C. Margaret (my sister) had come in to spend an hour with the dogs, so they hadn't been left alone for too long.