Happy New Year to Alfie’s Extended Internet Family

All is well, we are having a very nice and snowy festive season, which is heaven for Alfie. Here’s some new pics for you.

Wishing all of you & your doggies a happy, healthy and fun filled 2010!

Em & Alfie <3

Well, I guess you all think it’s wayyy overdue for an Alfie update!

All is well with us. Alfie is doing really great - he’s 18 months old now and you’d never think there was anything wrong with him at all. He’s a bit on the small & skinny side, and tires a little easier than the rest of the gang, but certainly nothing obvious.

Our new home is great - all 4 dogs are loving the big garden & fabulous walks they are getting to do now. Alfie has discovered his love of water and is acting like a proper water retriever! Flyball training is still a lot of fun for him, though he still prefers to do it for furry balls and won’t bring a normal tennis ball all the way back - obviously way too boring for a gundog!

Of course you’ll be wanting some recent photos?!

We are planning on adding to the brood soon - but not dogs this time, we are going to adopt some rescue hens! Check out The Battery Hen Welfare Trust and The Ex Battery Hens Forum for more info on rescuing ex-batts!

All the GSD puppies beautiful Poppy produced were successfully rehomed to great new homes, as were the summer’s kittens. I have moved jobs to a big referral hospital so am finding that interesting, hard work!

In other sadder news, I can report that Apollo, the Boxer with cancer my mum was fostering for the RSPCA, died in August. Run free big man.

Hope you are all well!

Em & Alfie <3

A few piccies from Alfie’s first Starters competition at Raby Castle in Durham last weekend - he only ran 1 leg per race but did really well and came away with a big fat first rosette! Not bad for a puppy who was never expected to live past his first birthday

Look at the Devil Horns in this one LOL!

My very happy boy with his lovely first rosette

I am so proud of him!

He will be doing some more Flyball at Scarborough next weekend - Sunday 26th July - where hopefully a few more fans will be there to cheer him on!

Then we’re off to Liverpool Uni for his Cardiac MRI on Tues 28th - will keep you posted on that one!

In other news, I have gotten myself a new job & a new house so we’ll be moving again soon, Alfie’s gonna love the new place!

Much love, Em & Alfie <3

Alfie has been doing a bit of light flyball training for a few weeks now, and I am so pleased with his progress. Of course we are not taking it seriously, it’s just for fun and he certainly sees it that way - ears & legs flying, a huge silly grin on his face the whole time. He is easily distracted especially by people he thinks might fuss him as he is very social. We managed to get him to do a full run for a fleecey tugger rather than a ball as he enjoys this more but this week he actually did one full run for a plain old tennis ball, we were all so chuffed! Our training is helping us in a lot of ways, ,giving him something different to do and think about and improving our relationship too the way training in a dog sport always does. I look forward to potentially taking him to a starters competition this summer and I’ll be sure to get you some photos of Alfie the Flyball Dog.

In other news, the implant has taken effect and Alfie is back to his normal lovely non-randy self. I am pleased! And it’s shown us that if he goes back to the way he was once it wears off, we probably will need to have him castrated. I guess we’ll figure out whether it’s the right thing to do once that time comes. Oh, and Alfie starts his therapy visits to a local nursing home next month - July is going to be very busy for us what with the flyball season, therapy visits and of course his looming MRI scan.

Look how grown up he’s looking

Oh and for anyone who doesn’t know Alfie’s story in full, you can read it here: http://www.dogmagazine.net/archives/1569/alfies-story-a-brave-dog-who-battled-back/

Barks!

Em & Alfie <3

Alfie says Hi and a big tail wag to all his friends online!

We have some news to tell, some good and some not so good, for Alfie anyway LOL!

We’ll start with all the good news - Alfie is doing really well, in fact you would not know there was anything wrong with him. He is booked in to return to Liverpool for a Cardiac MRI in July (just a couple of days after the one year post op point!) and hopefully they will be as pleased with him as they were on his previous visits. Alfie has started Flyball Training with our club - just for fun, of course - and has his second session tonight. He was more interested in all the people to fuss him than going to get the ball, but he was so happy and full of joy at being able to play when he normally has to watch the others from the outside! He is also hopefully soon going to do his first therapy placement, we are hoping to meet up with the manager of a local nursing home in the next couple of weeks to organise a visit. He seems to create happiness around him so should help to cheer some elderly patients up.

The bad news isn’t really bad news, but it might be if you’re an entire male dog! As I am sure some of you might remember me saying, because of Alfie’s heart condition it is best to avoid anaesthesia if we can help it. Of course this ruled out castration, unless he needs an anaesthetic for something more necessary. Well, and I’m sure some of you might sympathise with this if you have/had an entire boy of his age, he has been driving us up the wall with humping and generally being a very “male” boy. Being very into our rescue dogs, we’ve never had a dog we couldn’t neuter before! Anyway, to cut a long story short, we have had an implant put into Alfie (about the size of a microchip) with a needle, that will last 6 months and will help with any testosterone-related behaviour issues. Hopefully it will work (it takes a few weeks!) and cut us some slack.

And as I’m sure it’s overdue, here are some recent pics!

And to show off my other 3 a little … I know there’s plenty Bean lovers out there!

Hope you forgive us for not updating in a while!

Em & The Ruffs <3

Alfie is 1 year old today!!!!!!

This is a big milestone for him and for me, as he came so close to never making it to his first birthday. But thanks to everyone who supported & donated, he has!

And here’s to many more years together!  

Click below to watch Alfie’s Birthday Montage Video: (and leave your comments!) 
Happy Birthday Alfie!

And here are a couple of photos taken yesterday 

I am so pleased I saw that photograph that day last July - all the hard work was more than worth it!

Happy Birthday Alfonso!

Hey all,

Sorry once again for the lack of update lately, we’ve been SO busy!

Alfie is doing really well and is still his normal happy & active self, though at the moment he has mild kennel cough and a urine infection, bless him. Here’s a recent photo - as you can see he still adores his best friend Bean <3

More on his diagnosis from Liverpool Uni… well, his “new” hole into his extra chamber is still patent and working well, and the vets are very happy & amazed with how well he is doing. The second, more minor defect, the double chambered right ventricle, is however slightly worse, and is now causing a moderate obstruction. We’ll just have to see how this goes, but for the timebeing Alfie is doing great.

We’ve been really busy rescue-wise and have had lots of unwanted animals looking for new forever homes. One of these cases is Poppy, a recently rehomed GSD who was pregnant, unknown to the rescue and her new owners. Well the obvious happened and Poppy had 10 puppies in one of our foster homes last week. We think the puppies are full German Shepherd, since she lived with an unneutered male in her previous home, so in 7-8 weeks time they will be looking for good experienced homes. Anyone interested can email me - emma AT ruffdogs.co.uk 

The other thing keeping us busy is our first abandoned litter of kittens of the “Kitten Season”… these little mites were taken to one of the local rescue centres who gave them to me. They are almost 2 weeks old and adorable, and all feeding well & getting bigger. Alfie loves them and likes to sit with us every feeding time.

Em & Alfie <3

Well we are back and it’s good news - the hole they made in Alfies heart is still patent and working well. They are very pleased & impressed with his progress and think he is extraordinary - of course we all already know that!

Will update in full when I get the vet paperwork.

Em

(PS) Apologies for temporary photo issues - hopefully will be sorted soon.

We have a big day ahead!

Me & Alfie will once again be making the 7 hour long round trip to Liverpool tomorrow, to have him checked up & reassessed by his wonderful cardiologist. We now need to see whether the hole they made into that extra heart chamber is big enough for his adult heart. I think all will be fine - he certainly is! I am really excited to have him “signed off” from their care.

Please wish us luck & think of us tomorrow - will update when I get home!

Alfie LOVES this snow

Think you’ll all agree he’s looking well!

Em & Alfie <3