Välkommen Feffe

Vi har fått ett litet (oplanerat) tillskott till familjen - Feffe. Han är en 12 år ung italiensk vinthund som behövde ett nytt hem.
I papperen heter han Mannequin's Black-Beauty. Han är svart och ca 35 cm hög.
Feffe är en glad och aktiv krabat som beter sig om om han vore 12 månader istället för 12 år. Han blev en utmärkt kompis till Pluto som nu fått någon han kan busa med när Polka valt att ta en drottningroll.

Han ska nu få tillbringa resten av sitt liv hos oss - vi kommer att vara tacksamma för varje dag med den här underbare lille myskillen.

Här är en bild tagen från italienarträffen på Gärdet den första helgen då vi hade honom. (Fotograf är Andreas Nicander.)

Bästa halsbanden!

Vi tycker att hundarna ska ha praktiska, enkla (men snygga) halsband.

För 8-10 år sedan fick vi några halsband som har hängt med sedan dess trots daglig användning året runt. Bättre modell får man leta efter. De är skonsamma för hundarna, enkla, praktiska, snygga och lätt tvättbara (40 grader i maskin).

Vi blev så glada när vi hittade samma modell på utställningen i Vallentuna i söndags. De hade just den fodringen och den bredden vi var ute efter. Dessutom till kanonbra priser!

De finns att få tag i hos Christina Gidevall på Carpe Canis - http://www.carpecanis.se/.

Farväl Lisa

Lisa - N SUCH Castello Di Cani Cosa Nostra

1996-01-30 - 2010-08-25

Vår älskade Lisa finns inte mer. Vi tog beslutet att låta henne somna in den 25 augusti. Vid 14.5 års ålder började hon snabbt att tackla av och vi ville att hon skulle få sluta med kvalitet i livet.

Lisa var som ung en riktig bandyboll - en glad studsare som gärna gick sina egna vägar. Med åren lugnade hon ner sig och blev mer av en dam. Men så sent som sista sommaren kunde hon med svansen i vädret fortfarande försöka få igång de andra i lek och bus. Hon var hela livet en tuffing som gärna kröp upp riktigt nära i soffan.

Vi kommer att sakna hennes närhet, nyfikenhet, glädje och och enorma lojalitet.

Hon kommer för alltid att ha en alldeles speciell plats i våra hjärtan.

The bouncing dog

How on earth do you take a picture of a dog that's always bouncing? Yes, Pluto is not standing still for many seconds. And when he is standing in a beautiful pose it's just for a few seconds - as soon as I have reached for the camera he is on his way to something else. It can be a chewing bone that he has discovered, a cat in the hallway, a leaf in the wind or just a scent in the air.

But finally, on one of our evening walks down to the "running field" he heard something and I managed to get my cell phone and snap a picture!

He is in that age now where he is all skin and bones. All that bouncing and growing has that effect. But he is maturing into a very handsome dog. And best of all - he is the sweetest and funniest thing you can imagine!

Hot dogs

The dogs are really slow in this incredibly warm weather. They play around a bit in the morning, but soon they realise that it's way too hot. Instead they try to find the coolest places in the garden and on the back porch. Lisa found a spot among the plants by the fence. I guess she found the soil a bit less warm than any other place.
7 months old Pluto is the one that tries to keep things happening even during the hottest hours, but today he gave up when the temperature reached 30 degrees Celsius.
I have arranged so that they always can find some shade. I placed one of the table fans on the floor of the back porch and soon all three dogs were there. That turned out to be the best solution!
And they have fresh water with ice cubes all day.
No walks during daytime. Instead they get a longer walk in the late evening. (Only problem then is for me - the mosquitos...)

They say it will be even hotter tomorrow...

A difference of 14 years

There is a difference of 14 years between oldest (Lisa) and youngest (Pluto) dog in our family. Lisa is born in January 1996 and Pluto is born in December 2009.
When we got Pluto some weeks ago we really realised how the years have affected Lisa. She is grey in the face, a bit dimmed in the eyes, not that muscled, ears are standing, slower in the movements, likes to sleep in the sofa etc. Of course we have seen all this, but with another IG in the house it became really obvious.
But despite all this she can invite Pluto to playing. She jumps around with tail high and front low to get him in playing mood. I get all warm inside when looking at her behaving like a young girl. Every day with her is happiness.

First week with Pluto

OK, one week tomorrow. But we are so impressed with this little guy that we can't wait to give first week's update.

He is the most wonderful little guy you could imagine. He is everything a six months old IG should be - sweet, happy, cool, relaxed, fun.
First of all he did the 4.5 h long journey by train without the slightest problem. He was curious and wanted to see everything through the window. But after a while he cuddled up and fell asleep.
When we came home he went straight into the family. The interaction with both cats and the other dogs went as smooth as if they had been friends for ever.
He quickly got a grip of the routines - feeding times, the garden etc. It took just a few days until we realised that we could let him run loose on the big field close to where we live. His listens to us and is not going too far away.
We went to Västerås for the weekend. There he met with a lot of new people and dogs - totally 12 persons, 1 baby and 3 dogs. He was totally cool with that. He just played around and won hearts.

So - we are so happy for this little guy!

Pluto

Mannequin's Quello Quando Quando

breed: italian greyhound
sex: dog
colour: fawn (dark)
size: 34 cm (at 6 months age)
born: December 13th 2009
sire: Ch Caeles Magical Mr Mistoffelees
dam: Ch Hesve's Beauty

breeder: Kennel Mannequin's (Sweden)
owners: Per-Arne Jonsson / Johnas Rudberg (Sweden)

health: will be done when he is old enough (knees, eyes and heart)

titles: ---
major wins: ---
top lists: ---



He is 5 months on this picture


Pluto is our latest addition. He moved in with us on June 8th 2010.
He is a very happy, sweet, alert, curious and cool little guy. He walked right into our little family without any problem at all.
He looks very promising from a conformation perspective, but that isn't our main interest.

We are looking forward to many happy years with this little guy. Welcome!

Farväl Ester

Ester - N SUCH Eugenios Tequila Sunrise

1999-04-12 - 2010-04-23

Vår lilla underbara Ester finns inte mer...

Hon blev halt på vänster framben och röntgen visade att benen i handleden inte var normala. På Djursjukhuset i Strömsholm konstaterade de att hon hade erosiv artrit som hade angripit höger handled och sannolikt även övriga leder. I det perspektivet valde vi att låta henne somna in den 23 april, två veckor efter att hon fyllt 11.

Ester har alltid varit vår "lilltjej" - full av upptåg och med glimten i ögat. Hon växte också in i rollen som "first dog of the house" med egenpåtagen rätt att styra och ställa med de andra fyrbenta. Men hon var också den som gärna kröp in under en filt i soffan för att ligga varmt och nära.

En person beskrev henne som "gorgeous" - det är en mycket bra karakteristik av denna klassiskt vackra finlemmade alerta lilla kines.

Vi fick underbara år med denna unika lilla hund. Vi är tacksamma för varje ögonblick. Hon lämnar kvar minnen av glädje. Och en enorm saknad.....