A couple updates and that's job satisfaction

Two updates to start this blog off. The first is from Dawn, who has the very handsome Edward aka Ted. Ted is from Dolly's litter (reggie the Dad) that celebrated their third birthday on the 29th October and I blogged an update from his sister Poppy on the 30th October with belated birthday greetings to all their siblings. Lovely to hear from you Dawn and Ted looks a lovely boy and especially dapper in his new coat. Thanks for the update and photos.

Hi Jane,
Hope you are all keeping well.
Thought I would send you a couple of pictures of Edward - one taken 
in the summer and one of him on his birthday in his new coat!
Ted is as wonderful as ever - he has turned into a real lap dog and loves cuddling up. He is as mad as ever though - we are still waiting for him to grow up!
Dawn, Wayne & Buffy

New update is a lovely email from Lottie who Felicity has and is from our last litter of pups, born six months ago (Is it really that long ago ?) with Mum being Primrose and Dad, Reggie. Thanks for the very sweet email and cute photos of Lottie, might be a good idea to get a rain coat for Lottie, incase she meets any more large Poodles who try to pee on her. Lol

Dear Mummy, Daddy, Grandma, Aunties, Uncles, Auntie Jane, Uncle David and children, 
As you haven't heard from us for a while, I asked my Mummy Felicity to send you an email.
This last Friday, I graduated from puppy training class and got my certificate for being a clever girl.
I ended up going to the class for the older pups, as all I did at class for the little pups was shout (bark) at them and not concentrate on Mummy or what my teacher Shelley was telling me.
But with practice, I have now learnt 'lots'!
On Monday, I had my first haircut and had a bath and my nails trimmed. Mummy was a bit worried about leaving me at the groomers, but I was ever such a good girl for the lady. So I am very fluffy at the moment!
The two pictures Mummy encloses are before and after I had been.
I really love my walks, sometimes we go round a big lake thats not far from Grandmas (thats Mummy Felicitys Mummys) house. We were on one of our walks the other day and this very big poodle came up to us (he was much bigger than you Daddy!) and almost weed on me!! Yuk!
I'm always very pleased and excited to meet people,especially on our walks and they often say how sweet and cute I am.
We have been hoping to go to the beach and see the sea, but it has been so windy and wet here lately and Mummy says it will be even more windy at the beach, so hopefully we will be able to go there soon on a fine day.
I have been looseing quite a few of my baby teeth these last few weeks to make way for big ones, (which have now come through), so I have been chewing on and biting anything lately! Mummy Felicity puts my teeth that she finds or that I spit out in a little jar.
I still sleep in my Vari kennel next to Mummys bed and do my best not to wake her up too early in the mornings, (I am getting better at this!) but if I need to go toilet then I can't help it!
I love playing with my friend Marley(thats Mummys sisters dog) he's a Border Collie and very middle aged now, but he still chases around with me, although sometime growls at me but I just 'shout' back at him!
I'm still living up to my nickname that you gave me Auntie Jane of 'Lickey Lottie', I still give lots of licks and especially like washing ears, that makes Mummy giggle.
I think I do miss you all (and my brothers and sisters) but I am very happy here and I get lots of kisses and cuddles.
As we will all be six months old this weekend, just want to say 'happy half birthday' to my brothers and sisters!
I will get Mummy to email you again soon,
'Lots' of love,
Lottie - and of course Felicity.
ps. I know I'm still too young to know about 'certain things' yet, but hope you are ok now Auntie Treacle after your little mishap with Daddy -naughty Daddy!

This morning I had a nice surprise as I turned up at the farm I milk for every Tuesday. I pulled up to the farm in my car and as I opened the boot of the car to change into my wellies, I heard it, a cow mooing, not any old moo, the earthy moo that means only one thing, they are giving birth. The calving pens at this farm are just across the collecting yard from the milking parlour and I just always check them before starting to milk and as I popped my head over the third pen along this morning, I got to see a cow just finishing giving birth to her calf. Action stations. Every thing seemed good as I entered the pen, but I did not know how long she had been pushing the calf off and the calf was lying motionless and Mum was a bit exhausted and was not yet getting into tending her calf  by licking it, so I just got hold of some loose straw started to rub the calf down briskly and checked its mouth to check nothing was obstructing it's airway and often this jump starts them into breathing ( birth will be the most precarious journey we will of all taken and we will not recall a moment of it). Thankfully this chap soon took his first breaths and within minutes was lying with his head up taking in his new surroundings. Every thing seemed okay, so I took my leave to start up the parlour and get milking. After a couple of rows of cows being milked, I diligently put my head over the door to check all was still okay with Mum and calf, going in to check Mum was okay, as she was lyed right out, not even stirring when I called her, so I went in and gave her a nudge, for her to sit up looking slightly confused for a moment and suddenly remembering that she had a calf to tend to.
Cows most of the time calf with not to much trouble, but things can soon go from good to bad after what can seem a straight forward calving, milk fever can quickly become critcal for a cow, so any signs of this a quick bottle of calcium can safe you a lot of trouble. Another heart breaking thing that can happen and not much can be done, is the cow has an internal bleed and you return to find them dead or in the process of dying. Birth is an amazing thing and never ceases to amaze me, but as it gives life, it can also take life.
About half an hour after calving Mum was up and starting to mother her new charge, Adrian who I was milking for soon after this appeared and thankfully I could hand over vigilance of Mum and calf to him. He was pleased that she had calved with no problem, as this was her second calf and as a heffer she had a terrible birth with her first calf and as he recalled this, I remembered her calving, as she is a rather sweet looking little cow and very friendly. Her first calving was bad because she had such a big calf and although it was born alive after being pulled off, she had been dammaged badly internally in the process, to such an extent, the vet adviced that she would probably be best not to be bred again and doubted if she would get in calf again. Well, she was got in calf to an Aberdeen Angus and gave birth to another big calf for an Angus cross on her own this morning, so just before I left the farm this evening after milking, I just popped my head over the pen, to take a look at how Mum and son were doing and told her she was a "sweetheart" and watched her has she let her calf suckle, licking him in encouragement and thought, "now that is what you call job satisfaction."

Henry shows he can also be a lap dog