Half term - half awake - half-hearted blogging

First of all sorry for not blogging for so long. It's a struggle to fit everything in at the moment as you might imagine, what with the show being so close, it being half term - oh and little things like running a monthly magazine!
A few random thoughts - my brain isn't capable of anything ordered, it's just overloaded at the moment.
Britain's Got Talent, isn't it great to see a dog act in the final - but isn't it a miracle? The production crew couldn't be much less sympathetic to animals. All the bangs, slippy surfaces etc. The little dog is obviously bomb proof - and the relationship between dog and owner is brilliant. But what an ordeal - how do you prepare a dog to cope with all of this?
It's our big Cold Wet Nose photoshoot tomorrow, it's for all the amazing award winners. It's been such an honour talking to these wonderful people over the phone, it'll be great to meet them in person.
One of the problems in organising this sort of shoot is that many of the people involved have such busy lives that you can't factor in the unpredictable. I've just heard that one of our award winners is having to cancel tomorrow as the she runs a small Yorkie and Toy Dog rescue organisation and in the last few days she's had a heavily pregnant Yorkie handed in. This morning she went off her food - a fairly good sign that she's about to give birth. So sadly, Amber's five minutes of fame is going to have to be postponed.
However. there's nothing to stop me sharing her story with you lot!

Amber – Yorkshire Terrier and Sue Harrowell
A small miracle she survived

When Amber, a tiny, fragile, almost bald Yorkie, was tied up and thrown into the River Mersey, it could so easily have been the end of the story.
Luckily, some young boys fishing saw her drowning and found an adult to help rescue her. Amber was then handed to the Wirral Dog Pound, where she spent seven days on death row, waiting to be claimed or rehomed. But nobody came for her.
Yorkshire Terrier and Toy Breed Rescue were her only hope.
Sue Harrowell travelled from Lincolnshire to Liverpool to get her. Amber was in a terrible state: she had to have a cancerous lump removed immediately and eight rotten teeth; her nails were overgrown, and what little hair she had was just a matted mass that smelt vile. She was very scared and confused, but she allowed Sue to cut away the hair that couldn’t be saved. She was very weak.
Brilliant vets discovered that Amber’s hair loss was a symptom of Cushing’s disease (a serious hormonal disorder), and, as if Amber hadn’t been through enough, she also needed an emergency life-saving hysterectomy operation to save her from pyometra (a life-threatening womb infection).
Yorkshire Terrier and Toy Breed Rescue is a very small rescue and it does not have insurance to cover vet bills. Amber has already cost a small fortune to put back together, so there is an appeal to help Amber and other dogs like her.
Amber has learned to trust Sue and will never be rehomed now. She is gradually getting better each day and is starting to play with toys.
Sue said, “She is a true fighter and we cannot thank her enough for allowing us to be in her life.”

When (if?) I recover from tomorrow's shoot I'll try to blog about some of the other amazing stories.

One other person couldn't make it, half term meant Jordan was away on holidays. Here's Jordan and Rupert's stories:

Jordan (aged 8) and Rupert (Cocker Spaniel)
The show might have been made for them!

Jordan, was born profoundly deaf. His mum is deaf, too. Jordan had started talking and everyone was pleased with his progress. His dad was hearing and always spoke with him. When Jordan’s dad died suddenly and unexpectedly Jordan became mute. His father had been his access to spoken language. Over night Jordan stopped talking and signing and stopped making eye contact. He rejected his hearing aids. His mother Kerena was devastated by the double blow.
When Jordan’s grandmother gave him a pup suddenly life got much brighter. Jordan really wanted a dog and decided to help with Rupert’s care.
Kerena, his mum told us: “We went to dog training initially Jordan and Rupert were both so naughty!
“Since getting Rupert a happier, more confident child emerged. But with the start of the dog obedience classes Jordan’s progress has accelerated.”
Jordan started to speak again!
Kerena says getting Rupert made her live again, too and start to hope.
Jordan and Rupert are in training to take part in many areas of the Cold Wet Nose Show. One of their favourite events is Dock Dogs – a new canine sport from America. Dogs get to leap off a dock into a huge pool and the dog jumping the longest or the highest wins.
They will also be competing in the BAA agility competition and even the augmented look-alikes if there’s time!
Rupert’s love of swimming was first discovered when he saw Jordan sailing in a lake. The bond between the dog and his master is obviously very strong and the little dog was most concerned that Jordan might need his help. The plucky little dog jumped into the lake and swam an amazing 1,000 metres or more. His zeal to rescue his master almost capsized the boat and Rupert was the one that ended up needing rescuing as he was so exhausted.
“It’s as if this show has been designed for Jordan personally,” said Kerena.

Off home for an early night and a load of vitamins - our photoshoots are always great fun - but so tiring! And after a day in the studio, I'm meeting lovely Liz Nuttall from Organipets for the first time. Perhaps she'll mistake my inevitably dog-hair covered clothing for mohair!
No matter how well behaved the dogs, I always seem to end up rolling around the floor at shoots wrestling with dogs. It's the most exercise I ever get! If the allowed dogs in gyms I'd be a lot more keen.