Goodbye Vasko

I'm a little emotional today and had a terrible nights sleep too. Vasko had been getting slightly worse day by day and struggling to get on his feet, mainly due to the colder weather, his age and the fact that most of his life has been lived without proper care. We can only assume that he's been neglected quite badly and his body has taken enough so this morning I took him to the vets in town to be put to sleep. Everything was done quietly and quickly, he was sedated first then the lethal injection given and I stayed with him until the end, stroking him and talking to him. Then he was brought home and buried in our garden.

To be honest I'm glad it's over and that he won't suffer any more but inside I'm totally gutted, distraught and prone to burst into tears at any moment, in fact I'm crying now typing this and the tears are more anger than anything else. I know we did the right thing but still can't accept the blase attitude to animals and suffering here. We were not to blame for this poor dogs bad life and hope that at least his last 4 months with us were full of kindness and compassion. He's been fed, cared for and loved even though he wasn't really a dog you could cuddle.

I'm not naive enough to think I can save all of these poor animals, but even a few moments of kindness can, I hope, make a difference to some. On a brighter note, our neighbour's goat, Marta, gave birth to triplets this week, but hubby has already said we can't have one lol......he knows me too well!

We are having a new phone line installed hopefully next week that should make it easier for friends and family to keep in touch with us. Our current service See my earlier rant Here is rubbish and the phone line rarely works so we're having a fixed line installed that isn't dependant on electric and shouldn't go off in a storm. Although it will only be for the telephone as there aren't any digital lines/cables this way yet and may not be for some time.

That's enough for today and I'll be back to blogging when I feel a little more positive. Luckily I don't usually stay down for long and something happens to put me back on the right track. So I'll end this post with a simple goodbye and god bless to my Vasko, who's no longer in any pain and can't be hurt anymore. RIP little lad.

Going with the Flow

Today has been relatively busy again and I've been into town to sort a few things out and buy pig feed. Charlotte and her bunch of hooligan piglets have also been busy and managed to break the partition wall separating them so once again all of the pigs are in together. It does seem though that Charlotte's milk production has dried up and to be honest she's not overly interested in her offspring now and is shouting for the boar. We'd already decided that she needs a break from motherhood so won't be taking her to the boar this time. She'll have at least a few months off to get back her figure!

The chickens are moulting right now so egg production is almost nothing and their run is looking a little messy to say the least. Hopefully we'll get in there and give it a right old clean up and sort out before the winter shows itself. This week the weather is much warmer again, the sun has been shining and autumn is going ahead as it should be. Last week we hit a low of 3 degrees C during the day but today has been somewhere close to 18-20 degrees C.

I've still not managed to get out and about with the camera (probably because I have no idea where it is) and would like to go off on a wander to see if I can find some sloes. Last year we made sloe gin for the first time and it was lovely. Despite not being a gin fan I really did enjoy it and would like to make some more for christmas time.

Hubby is due back in a couple of days and I'm really looking forward to seeing him again, it seems like weeks since he left although I know it hasn't really been that long.

Vasko dog has been given a small reprieve for the next few days and is moving about a bit more again since the weather has warmed up. But I know it's only temporary and no matter how much it upsets me he has to be put to sleep or he will suffer. People keep saying that I've done my best and at least he's had a good few months, which is true, but I also feel so annoyed that his previous owner let him get in such a state that it's come to this. Even after 4 months of regular food and attention, being cared for, treated, bathed and had some comfort it's not good enough. We'll never know exactly how old he is and I'd guess he's not far from 8-10, which by Bulgarian standards is ancient but by mine is still middle aged. Maybe one day things will change here regarding animal care and treatment. There are a few rescues trying to help and doing a great job but it's not enough and animals are still suffering from neglect and cruelty. Vasko is by some standards one of the lucky ones, but I think we are just lucky to have him here........even if it has been only for a short time.