Lots to write about.  Firstly, young Murgatroyd is continuing to make excellent progress.  She went for her post operative check up and the vet was delighted with her, and that she had put on over a kilo in weight.  She's now looking slightly less bony but still thinner than I'd like - though with good feeding and care, I'm sure that will come right in time.  The dogs' owner continues to be unwell and is likely to be so for some considerable time so it looks as though the two dogs will be with us at least until Christmas and potentially even longer. Scarily, though, the festive season is only around twelve weeks away and seems to be flying towards us with increasing rapidity.  

The main element of this post though will be about a project I've been hatching this year, and which is now up and running - my new business, Milgi Coats.  I've set up a business selling beautiful fleece housecoats, walking out coats and bandanas for greyhounds, lurchers and whippets.  The business runs online from our website which has a fully functioning online shop which accepts credit and debit cards.  We also accept card payments by phone, postal payments by cheque and attend events with our stall.  We've deliberately purchased a card machine that works in a mobile setting which is perfect for these sorts of events.  

Our first outing with the business was for the South West Greyhound Gathering down in Upottery, near Honiton back in August.  That was quite a small event but still very useful as it gave us some great feedback from customers, including a request for whippet sized bandanas.  Since then, we've tested and developed these and had a batch made for our next outing which was on Saturday to the Great Greyhound Gathering in Nottingham at the racecourse.  This was a much bigger logistical exercise - we decided not to take all four hounds and Andrew's parents very kindly agreed to come over and dog sit for us.  They arrived on the Friday night and we had dinner and an early night.  Then on Saturday, we left the house at 5 a.m.  (not a time I'm normally awake) with Murgatroyd in the boot along with our kit.  We arrived safely and set up our lovely tent and bunting which I made.  In time I will get some bespoke feather flags made, in time for next year's appearances, but we can't do everything at once.  Lots of lovely merchandise and then after a slow start, the day hotted up, literally and metaphorically.  

The sun shone brightly and the racecourse gradually filled up with hundreds of greyhounds, whippets, lurchers, deerhounds, Salukis, and even a few non-pointies.  The atmosphere was wonderful - so happy and friendly, with masses of gorgeous hounds everywhere you looked.   The organisation ran very smoothly and the venue was great.  I entered Callie in a couple of greyhound classes, and sadly she wasn't placed, but the competition was pretty stiff and there were some stunning hounds on display.  

One particularly lovely feature of the day was meeting up with an online friend who I know from another internet forum.  She was attending with her greyhound Sprocket, who is coincidentally Andy's half brother (both by Brett Lee, a very well known and prolific greyhound sire).  I was thrilled to see her, and even more excited when Sprocket was placed in one of the greyhound classes.  She'd also very kindly brought us a wonderful tent warming present - online I'd been jokingly referring to it as the "Tent of Destiny" and she'd had a little plaque made with the words "Tent of Destiny" engraved to hang up in the awning.  Brilliant! We loved it, and she'd even brought some chicken's feet for the dogs too.  What a star.  

The stall did a roaring trade, with sell outs of some fabric and a lot of interest in the whippet bandanas (definitely a good idea) and even in our Christmas fabric range which I'd tentatively taken along.  Lots of people also took cards with our info on for future reference, so I was delighted with the way it went.  Eventually it was time to pack up and make our weary way back to Wales - we were both shattered.  A late dinner and then almost immediately to bed, after greeting the hounds and much needed glass of red wine.  

On Sunday, we all went over to the greyhound field.  Rita and Roger hadn't seen all four hounds hurtling round together - it's quite a sight so joined us before making their way back home. Then we headed back home for a very quiet afternoon of recuperation and relaxation.  

Today's been surprisingly busy, there's been a little flurry of orders coming in after the show which is great. 

I've attached some pics from the weekend. 

Last Friday, as discussed in my previous blog post we travelled down to a quiet part of Carmarthenshire and picked up Callie and Mick.  To us, she is always Murgatroyd, or Murgy so that's how I'll write about her.  We took Andy and Sara with us to allow for introductions.  I was very pleased that Andy simply sniffed bottoms and seemed quite relaxed and Sara was very happy to make some new greyhound friends.  

One thing that greatly concerned us though was Murgy's condition.  She had lost weight and her mouth was stinking - a vile stench of rotting and decay.  Her teeth were mostly black - it was clear she was in desperately urgent need of a veterinary appointment.  In the car going back up the M4, the traffic was awful (Bank Holiday weekend) and we had several cloudbursts that reduced visibility, but we phoned the vet and were able to get a 6.30 pm appointment.  I rushed her in, and sure enough, it was not good news.  Not only did she have severe tooth decay and an infected mouth, this had in turn given her a sore throat and greatly enlarged lymph nodes in her neck as her poor system desperately tried to fight the infection.  She was booked in for a dental on the following Wednesday and given antibiotics to start work on the infection.  Apparently her vaccination was overdue, (the kennel had mislaid her paperwork) so we arranged for her to have that plus wormer and flea/tick treatment.  

Over the weekend, we made sure she was given plenty of soft food and she was eating like a horse - she had been unable to eat the hard food in the boarding kennel.  On the Saturday we took her to the greyhound field and it was lovely to see all four hounds running around and having such a lovely time.  Afterwards we went over to Bristol to the fabric shop then came home.  

On the Bank Holiday Monday, we went over to Rogerstone for the Village Festival and Dog Show, organised by Greyhound Welfare.  We particularly wanted to take Sara, as I knew her previous foster mum, Sian would be in attendance and was dying to know how she was getting on.  We also decided to take Mick and leave Callie and Andy at home.  It was dry as we travelled, but very grey and it began raining shortly after we arrived, with the weather steadily worsening through the afternoon.  Sadly, this affected the attendance, which was quite low for the dog show.  The ground was a slippery quagmire of mud.  Sian was thrilled to see Sara and it was lovely to see Sara snuggling up to her for a cuddle. We took them in a couple of classes, and we were delighted when Mick came home with a 2nd rosette for Best Veteran, and Sara came home with three rosettes from her classes, a 2nd, a 3rd and a 4th.  It was also great to see all the people from Greyhound Welfare and we had a nice chat/catch up.  Then home, to get dry and enjoy a gin.  

On the Tuesday, we travelled down with Murgy and Mick to see Rhian in hospital.  The ward allowed us to take the dogs through the ward foyer and out into the hospital garden - a quiet spot where we could sit and chat.  I was amazed by the reactions to the dogs, both by staff and other patients.  They brought so many people over for a chat, a cuddle and made so many smile - it was astonishing and wonderful.  Rhian was thrilled to see them.  We sat and chatted and the time flew by, then it was time to come home.  We made sure Mick was wearing his rosette when we arrived, and Rhian has kept it near her bed, to help encourage thoughts of recovery and good times ahead.  

We had a quiet evening at home and Andrew had a lovely long bath in a sea of lavender bubbles.  On Wednesday, he was back on the road, back down to Brighton and it was Murgatroyd's big day.  I took her in and felt quite bereft as she was led away from me by the nurse, even though I knew she needed the operation.  I also took Mick in for a check up and for his vaccinations, wormer etc.  As expected the vet was very happy with him, and said he seems fit and healthy.  The day passed and I phoned during the afternoon to check on progress.  Eventually I picked her up around 6.30 and she came out, looking very woozy still.  The vet had had to remove virtually all of her teeth - all that was left were the canines at the front.  I was given more antibiotics, painkillers for her and then took her home.  

Not surprisingly, she spent a quiet night, very sleepy and woozy, then to my amazement, the following day, she seemed as bright as a button.  I kept her at home, and made sure she had her tablets.  She devoured soft food, woofing down pilchards and minced rabbit. Yesterday, she was also very perky and today again she's been amazingly bouncy.  We took them this morning to the greyhound field and she was sprinting round like greased lightning - a joy to see.  She's had no bleeding in the mouth, and best of all, the vile, horrible stench has now gone. 

She is making such an excellent recovery that we are seriously considering taking her tomorrow to the Animal Lifeline Wales charity dog show at Pembrey Country Park.  I've been involved in helping a bit with this, (my friend Penny is chair of the charity), and have done things like organising the printing of the schedules, getting the rosettes etc.  Confession time here - we get the rosettes from Celebration Rosettes in Port Talbot - run by a lovely lady called Heather, herself a keen dog owner with two gorgeous beagles.  I get the most terrific buzz from ordering and picking up the rosettes - it probably dates back to my childhood/teenage years of Pony Club gymkhanas, when coming home with a rosette was a huge and special achievement.  Heather makes the most wonderful creations, and it's fun to look at the different options for ribbons, points, frills, metallics, colour etc.  We've got some gorgeous ones for the various classes and awards and I'm also thrilled that we've got plenty of "Well Done" ones - these help to ensure children don't go home empty handed and are great where there are lots of deserving entrants (like Best Rescue).  

I'll conclude by adding a few pics of the new arrivals taken at the greyhound field.