In our house we have a bit of a competition between the respective merits of the Personal Computer and the ubiquitous Mac.  They all have their strengths, of course, but the boys tend to prefer Apple hile the girls just like a normal PC.  After all, it does what it says on the packet.  As long as the machine has enough notebook memory, then it should do the job most of the time.

I am sorry to have to write this but Kevin is very ill at present. His chronic ear infection has worsened suddenly over the past five days and we took him to the vet. We know already that the deep infection would require a very involved operation, cutting into the skull and we ruled that out long ago. Kevin has an irregular heartbeat that has worsened as time progressed, and he has now developed kidney problems. He drinks a huge amount, meaning that he has to go outside to pee every two hours during the day.
What has happened recently is that the infection has appearedas a swelling outside Kevin’s ear, just below the ear lobe. It really looks like a separate infection outside the ear, but our vet says this is an extension of the deep ear infection that has continued for so long. For Kev, this resulted in a loss of balance so he was walking (staggering) along and falling over – it is heartbreaking!

‘He’s so cute’ said the young women passing by our house today. Dad says it is strange that an old doggy like me has such a young-looking face. He hopes that ladies are talking about him but he has to admit that I have more fans than him! I have lots of days lately when I feel stiff and tired, and it shows more and more lately. But when I decide to have a play biting session with Dad, I can look like a very young dog. At least I still have some life in me, despite my fifteen years: although I am probably too old for the las vegas strip.

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!