Holidays with you

Holidays with you , aren’t the same as before.

We are not quite as rested and calm anymore.

We never quite know from one break to the next,

Will we be carefree  or will we be vexed.

Making a tick list of things just for you.

The long lead, the short lead, some bags for your poo,

Some bowls cos your fussy and know what you like.

A bed so your comfy and cosy at night.

Remembering Monday, to shop for a willy.

So we can unpack and you won’t be silly.

Remembering Tuesday, that Monday is done

And the man on the stall and his willies are gone.

So driving to town for a chewy to eat.

Paying a fortune for a ‘pets at home’ treat.

You munch it but blimey! What ever’s  that smell?

It seems that trachea doesn’t sit very well.

We arrive at the site and you see there’s a mole.

You try to evict him by digging a hole!

Even on holiday, work never ends.

Are you plumping the cushions or just making friends!

Over the Deer park, your lead comes undone,

With breath held, we pray, there’s no Fenton, rerun.

But no, you wait nicely to go on your lead,

This time not having to beg and to plead.

Sleeping with legs tucked up under my chin

We brought you the bed but you wouldn’t go in

Good morning cuddles and tumbling and leaping

Pulling of pillows and under quilt creeping.

We buy you a lolly, all milky, to lick

Try not to chew it No! Don’t eat the stick

We worry for one day we worry for two

Then carefree, you pop out a lolly pop poo.

The man in the cafe laughs at our tale.

Says they don’t really have doggy ice cream for sale,

But he makes one just right for a doggy to lick.

This time in a cornet and not on a stick

Made up fun games of the terrier kind.

Rolling down hillocks and mounds that you find,

Again and again til your heads in a spin,

Then you look for a mud pool to roll around in

Terrier bungee when your on your long lead,

You find a good run and then take off at speed.

You judge it just right and fly through the air,

and twang in the grass, with the wind in your hair

Holidays with you, are the best kind of fun,

We dance in the rain while we wait for the sun.

Seeing the world through a terriers eyes,

A joyful adventure, A constant surprise.

Dad (Fathers day 2015)

D is for dance, like I do when you’re home

and you give me a stroke and a small crunchy bone.

Twirling and spinning, I’m happy to see you

You tell me I’m beautiful, sweet little muffy moo

A is for action, we’re ready to go

Adventures are waiting, we walk with the flow

We are never quite sure what nice smells we will find

I can be a minx but you’re never unkind.

D is for digging, a hobby of mine

Sometimes you let me, just so I don’t whine

If I find a treasure, from digging so deep

I’ll take it to you and invite you to eat

This poem spells DAD and that’s a great word

one of the nicest that. I’ve ever heard

Each time I hear it, I feel fuzzy inside

Whenever I can, I’ll be right by your side.

Fathers day 2014

When I came to live with you,

It was pretty plain to see

You didn’t really want a dog

especially one like me.

I was a little mixed up

cos my life had been quite hard.

I never had a proper home,

a family or a yard.

We looked each other up and down

and sighed a few big sighs

but I wanted you to like me,

so I told you with my eyes.

Now that lots of time has past

filled with love and walks and snacks

Its plain for everyone to see,

that, we are a perfect match.

A sweet after thought

A sweet afterthought: (Muffin’s Story)

No dogs at the shelter, they told us that day.

They might get upset, when the kids come to play.

With heart feeling heavy, we walked to the door,

‘Wait’, they called over, and hope rose once more.

We waited again, as they talked in hushed tones.

They looked on their forms and spoke on their phones.

We were told about Muffin, still being assessed,

but you’d made friends with everyone, even the vets

We went out to meet you, it was cold, it was dark.

They moved your doggy pal, because he liked to bark.

You came running over, excited and whirly

Your fur looked all black and crazy and curly.

The lighting was dim and we couldn't see well,

Not a fact of your life, before now, could they tell,

We left you that night but we swore to come back,

So you could come home and be part of our pack.

You got sick the next day, so you stayed a while longer.

Just ‘til you started to feel a bit stronger.

The days went by slowly, we longed for our pet.

You were grumpy with everyone, especially the vet.

It was all hallows eve when they let you come home.

You got straight in your bed and you ripped a toy bone.

Your manners weren't good and you wee'd on the floor.

You pulled on your lead and you whined at the door.

‘She looks just like Toto,’ we heard over again.

I'm not sure that Toto, was as much as a pain!

‘I think she’s a Cairn cross,’ said those in the know.

To the Cairn terrier forum, for help I did go.

I read about Cairns and their rascally stunts,

the digging and chewing, the barking, the hunts.

About chewing up beds and removing the stuffing.

Sounds almost exactly like you, little Muffin!

You taught us a lot, our Halloween dog.

You changed us inside and you helped clear the fog.

Who would have guessed that the answers we sought,

would come in the form of a sweet afterthought.

What's my name

I am a dog with many names

I really don’t know why

sometimes, I am Scruffy girl

and sometimes cutie pie

When I’m full of tricks and stunts,

they call me ‘Monkey Moo’.

The house is full of laughter

As I run by with a shoe

Sometimes I can be a rogue,

I know! unbelievable, but true.

When ‘Muffin’ is said sternly,

I’m usually rolling in some pooh

At times when I am ‘Muffin’

I can have some middle names.

Like ‘Muffin Oh for heaven’s sake’

or ‘Muffin you’re a pain’

Dad, he asked the groomer once,

‘Can you trim my Muff?’

He thought, he was funny

but then, Mum went in a huff!

My best friend Sophie, gives me treats

And I give her, the snuffles

We dance and play and cuddle up

She calls me ‘little Muffles’

They call me ‘Muffly wuffly’

or ‘Moosey woosey woo’

Sometimes I’m ‘The Muffster

or ‘little Muffy Moo’

Mostly I’m just ‘Muffy’

And thats alright with me

I’m quite sure that a ‘Muffy’

Is a special thing to be

The name I like to hear the most

Is always said with love

Even when the day we’ve had

Hasn’t been so good

I go outside, the light grows dim

I know I’ll hear it soon

I munch my bedtime treat, and wait,

‘Goodnight, sweet Muffin Moon’

Perfect

Perfect

Your tail is too curly, Just like a pig

Your Manners are poor and you’re not very big

your legs are too short and they bend the wrong way

You snore in your bed at the end of the day

Your ears are too pointy, you look like a bat

You won’t wear a coat or a jumper or hat

Your fur is unruly it’s always in knots

You will roll on a dead thing, just after it rots

Your body is long, Like Gnashers, you’re tatty

But you don’t like the brush and can get a bit ratty

You grumble and swear if your dinner is late

Not a morsel of food will be left on your plate

Your eyes, they are covered you can’t see through your fur

You zoom through the house til you’re only a blur

Your temper is firey, you are quick to mouth off

You can pull on your lead til you splutter and cough

Your skittish outside when the night starts to fall

You sometimes won’t ‘leave it’ or ‘come’ when I call

You dance in the water no matter how dirty

You’re a little bit strange and your habits are quirky

Curled like a coil, that tail starts to wiggle

and it fills me with joy that bursts out in a  giggle

Your short legs are strong, you can run very fast

And you snore cos you learned, you can trust us, at last

When your bat ears point  high and your eyes fill with light,

I know you’ve heard Dad, coming home for the night

When you are smelly, you play in the bath

Jumping and splashing and making me laugh

Your body’s just right to fit curled  on my knee

Your fur’s  beautifully grey and as soft as can be

Whatever we feed you, we know you will finish

You eat all your meat and even your spinach

When your fur’s brushed away, your eyes, black like coal,

glisten and shine like your beautiful  soul

The barking’s  all bluster, but you'd die for your pack

The noise making up, for the stature you lack

You snuggle inside when the night starts to fall

and mostly you ‘leave it’ and ‘come’ when I call.

My terrier angel, My sweet contradiction,

Eclectic and beautiful, flawed, yet perfection