Today we went Christmas shopping, but I felt a bit tired so I gave Mum and Dad a shopping list so they had to walk round the shops in the rain! They thought my ideas were qa bit strange, cos I wanted to buy yummy food for everyone – the type of stuff that I eat! Well in the end we compromised, and then we went to see my Nan and I ate plenty of cake. Tonight Mum and Dad left me at home again, but at least they brought some yummy piza for me … Westgate

Yesterday I blotted my copybook by walking through Mum’s paint tray and roller: she was using RED pant at the time! luckily I avoided staining my paws and the carpet. I cannot help the fact that I am less steady on my legs lately, I often trip over my water bowl, and last week I knocked over a pile of bathroom fixtures that were waiting to be put up. Well, they should jolly well get on with it and leave the place clear for me.

I was so pleased when Mum and Dad made it easier for me to get round the house this week, but now there are new hazards on the horizon. Mum went out and bought an artificial Christmas tree at the weekend cos she says a ‘real’ one is messy and not very green. Dad has experimented with different trees over the years. First there was his cutting edge cardboard tree (yes, really), then he thought that Persimmon trees were the right thing to use. But this year he is getting a nice synthetic one – no debate!

I know it may sound stange, but my house was really not dog friendly until last week. When we moved in here the stairs were not carpeted. Instead they were painted wood, which may look very trendy but it is noisy, cold and very difficult for a dog to climb. The hous has three storeys so this made life very difficult for me – an elderly dog with arthritis. I had several tumbles because there was nothing for my claws to grip on to, and Mum had to carry me up and down as much as possible. Now we have carpet on all four flights. Not only is it much quieter but a lot more comfortable for me. There are still a few more home conforts missing: next week they are going to get a new TV, and there is a lot of talk about whether they can install a wall mounted tv stand themselves. I hope they do something cos I am fed up with the telly being o the floor. yesterday I walked over the remote and I switched channels with my paw. I thought it was a good trick, but they were not veruy happy.