BeastBlog: June 2008


About The Beastly Beasts - By The Beastly Beasts

This is where we, the Beastly Beasts, tell you all about what we've been up to.

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Love and licks,
Kai, Monty, Jack, Troy, Lucy, Mack, & Rosie - The Beastly Beasts

26 June 2008

BloodBusters

When your blood's run dry,
And your plasma's gone,
You need some more,
And it must be done,
Who ya gonna call?

BloodBusters!!

And that was us yesterday - The Beastly Beasts became BloodBusters.

Earlier in the week dad spoke to Aunty Wendy from Pet Blood Bank UK on the telling bone. Seems that they had had lots of people asking for blood and were really running short. It was about time for us to donate some more so she wondered if we could do it like now and they would come to Beast Barracks to do it seeing as we had all done it before and never had any problems.

Caroline Finding Monty's Vein
Caroline Finding My Vein

So yesterday Wendy, Heather and Caroline turned up at our kennels to get our blood. You would not believe the amount of stuff that they turn up with. But it was all dead efficient and soon the table was in the kitchen, equipment on the worktops and they were ready for us do donate.

The normal routine is we go in one at a time, get our leg and neck trimmed, get a bit of blood taken from the leg to see if it's OK, then if it is we go into the next room to do the donation while the next Beast get trimmed and tested. Today was a bit different, we all had the tests first then we all gave blood; it worked pretty well.

Wendy's the boss and has taken our blood before. Heather was there to help out and Caroline was learning to put in the needles. She did all the positive blood Beasts, but Jack, Mack and me have negative blood and she let Wendy do us as we are more important!!

Troy about to Donate
Troy being Swabbed by Wendy just before Donating

We've all made at least three donations, for Kai and Troy this was their fifth!! And this time we all get a full blood screen, which I hope will show my blood is still OK; I had some raised enzyme levels last year which stopped me donating for a bit.

The great thing is that PBBuk now have about 1,000 dogs that donate blood and who knows how many lives that has saved? It's great being part of it and knowing that just for having a ten minute snooze with a needle in your neck you are helping hounds that really really need it.

Our friend Fisher turned up so he could have a sample of his blood taken to see if he can donate next time. He was dead good for a Labrador - they tend to be a bit wriggly (not like us - we have a snooze) - and if is blood is OK should be good to donate.

Kai after Donating
Kai after Donating

It took nearly five hours to do us all, and then the girls had to go back to the lab and process our blood. All we had to do was have tea and a snooze; I think we got the better deal. But from the sounds of it our blood will be going to help dogs that need it almost straight away and somehow that makes us all a little bit extra proud of what we did.

22 June 2008

June Whoite Lodge Walk

The June Walk seems a whoile ago now, but dad's been busy an' we don't get to use the 'puter unless dad lets us. Still, better late dan never ehh?

So de other week - on de 8th June - we were at Rutland Water for de Whoite Lodge Walk, and a glorious day it was too; de sun was shinin', de sky was blue and just a bit of a breeze from de lake.

Rutland Water
Rutland Water

Talk about spooky dough; we turns up at de car park an' when we get out de BeastBus dad says "Hi" to dis other guy. Turns out it's a friend of dad's who lives further away from Rutland Water dan us - he was roiding round it on a bike - an' we park next him dat very day!!

Anyway, de other Lodgers were parked down de hill so we walked down to join dem. When we arrived Sol shouted at Rosie an' Rosie shouted at Sol and dad shouted at Rosie and Aunty Alison shouted at Sol. Luckily dat was all de shoutin' over for the day and Sol and Rosie made up.

As usual Dad distributed various Beasts to help look after some humans dat didn't have hounds of dere own. Lucy went off whit Aunty Brenda and Kai went with her friend Helen - she taught he was great, and Oi looked after a human puppy called Charlie.

Kai and Lucy
Lucy and Kai with Brenda and Helen

You hear about some human puppies don't have de respect for things and no interest anytink. But let me tell you dat dis young lad is nuthin' loike dat; he's a great lad and his mum and dad should be roightly proud of him. In fact he's so good he didn't really need much in de way of lookin' after so I could on whit' me sniffin' an' weein'.

Jack and Charlie
Me and Charlie

We was on de north soide of de lake. De walk takes you true de woods - where de ground was still wet - along de path and to de cafe. Dere was lots of other people on the path and loads of humans on boikes; I got de feeling dat some weren't best pleased dat dere was so many hounds walkin' along.

When we got to de cafe we were all pretty hot - it was really sunny - so dad went a got us ice creams to share. Kai - as usual - turned his nose up at it, Monty, Troy and Lucy had some and Mack, Rosie and me got stuck in - we loike our ice creams. Some of de humans dat were around taught it was funny dat hounds eat de ice cream.

Den we found some trees to get some shade and had a chat with everyone and shared our liver cake. For a moment it seemed dat even Suggs moight take it from dad, but he wouldn't. Some of de humans dat weren't on de walk came an' had a chat too; as usual dey were amazed to see so many of us in de one place, an' as usual we got to have a stroke from de puppies.

Under the Trees
Under the Trees

Den it was toime to head back and we had a noice wander with WC Mortimer an' his crew. When we got back to de car park dere was more treats being handed out including some new biscuits commissioned by Max an' Tiny - dey were pretty good.

Jack and Charlie
Me and Charlie

Oi enjoyed lookin' after Charlie - he's quoite easy to look after really, a foine lad - but I had to give him back to his mum and dad. But we've decoided we'll walk together on other walks. Lucy and Kai gave dere humans back and we headed home having had a really noice afternoon.