Everyone who knows me personally knows that my dogs are my life. Without them my life would be empty. Sure I would have more freedom but I choose to forsake that and have the unconditional love that they have always given me.

During the early weeks of December 2019 I noticed that Seven was loosing weight extremely quickly and he was beginning to shake uncontrollably. He was not having seizures but all was not good. I became frantic. Finally managed to get him to the vet after a number of emergency calls. Upon seeing him, they too did not know what was going on with him. It was decided to bring in a special vet from Cuernavaca to perform blood and urine tests. The results were studied by all three vets and it was determined that he was having acute liver failure. Why or how we would never find out. I came home with an array of medications that would cover a two week period, along with a specific diet. I was beside myself. I could not loose my soulmate, not now, not at such a young age. I hugged him so much. I cried. But miracles do happen. Seven, my soulmate made an amazing recovery and it was the best christmas present I have ever received. He was soon demanding that his frisbee be thrown at any given chance. I knew he was on the road to full recovery. Martha and her husband in Tepoztlan saved him and I am forever grateful. Beautiful people who care first and foremost about the animals that are brought to them. If I had been living in Canada, the vet bills would have probably been over two grand. Everything is cheaper here in Mexico and the total cost was around $150. Would I have spent the 2 grand + if I had been in Canada? You bet your bottom dollar I would have.

Early one morning sitting on the porch having tea watching the dogs play, Fabian heard some cries, puppy cries, from the highway next to the house. I couldn’t hear them due to my fading hearing but he rushed over to see what it was all about. Within five minutes he placed this very scared puppy into my lap and rushed back to try to find the other one, her brother. I now had two very scared puppies in my lap. It did not take long for them to relax knowing that they they were now safe. They soon began to play with the pack although Seven was like, really mum, more dogs? I asked Fabian to find homes for them. Not an easy thing to do in a small town where many people let their dogs run free without any sterilization. Consequently there are many puppies that are just thrown away. A hard reality. Poor souls had fleas and were full of worms. We named the little girl Zero and her brother Spot as he had a huge black spot on his back. Fabian pleaded with me to keep Zero and I caved. My friend Helen agreed to take Spot as she had just lost her beloved dog. So for the moment I now had six dogs to take care of, Seven, Stella, Siete, Eight, Zero and Spot and Tai, the cat.

Pamela, my first friend in Tepoztlan contacted me and said she had just taken in a blue heeler and the “breeder” had more. I agreed to have a look. The guy comes over with 3 puppies around all male., 6/7 weeks old. His story was that their mother was injured and could no longer feed the puppies. Yeah whatever. I sat down with all three in my living room. Bang. The one that immediately came over to me now became mine. Welcome Six to our fold. For awhile, before Helen took Spot home I had seven dogs to care for. To be honest it was not what I had in mind and I did become slightly agitated. Sure it was fun and games for Fabian. He was at work 6 days a week, 10 hours a day. But for me I felt drained from the responsibility. Having almost lost Seven and now with 3 demanding puppies which I was not prepared for. It did cause some strain on the relationship I had with my roommate but once Spot moved in with Helen and the pack became six, we all fell into a routine. Six was to be “our” dog but because I was home 24/7, he soon became mine. And true to his name, he was always at my 6 o’clock.

The breeder. I did not like him. To me he was a backyard breeder. That became very evident. When Six was around 10 weeks old he had two mild seizures. Martha, my vet told me that this is not the first time that dogs from this man had found their way to their clinic because of the same. He doesn’t care. It’s all about money. Granted by Canadian prices of heelers, Six was not expensive – $75 but that is a considerable sum for most Mexicans. We told him what happened and he said that he would no longer use the female for breeding. To this day, I do not believe a word he said, cos quite honestly like all backyard breeders, they don’t give a shit. Martha suggested that I give Six drops of CBD oil rather than go to the prescribed medication route. Four years later, with CBD every day, Six has not had another seizure. If your dog has seizures perhaps it is something you should look into. I swear by it.

For the next few months as you can imagine, my days were filled with puppy care. Toilet training – yikes. Zero was great and soon learned that pee and poo was not allowed in the house. Spot was not too bad but Six was a devil. He reminded me of Seven who was also a bugger to train. What is it with some males that they have to pee on every corner of the house. Eventually, finally they all figured it out. I left no water in the house at night time and insisted that before I hit the sack, it was outside for the final pee. I had to coax Seven and Siete with treats but needless to say I had enough treats for them all. Fabian would ask me why are you doing this? I simply said, well you take a pee before you go to bed don’t you, so why should it be any different for the dogs. I could see that statement computing in his brain and then he said, yeah that makes sense! Men!!

The months were also filled with expanding the garden. Tepoztlan is in a valley and very fertile, the climate is perfect with enough rain so I was eager to see what would happen. Fabian brought many succulent cuttings home and I purchased what I could from local growers. The garden was really beginning to take shape. I was in heaven in my little piece of paradise. Surrounded by my dogs and watching my garden grow. A beautiful time to relax and enjoy.

It was also the time during the dawn of 2020 the world became aware of COVID. The restrictions. The lock down. No flights. The vaccinations. All hell was about to break loose. Whether you believed what was being reported or not, it affected your daily life. In retrospect, knowing what I know now, I would not have gone the route taken by the vast majority of people, including me. The lock down, the restrictions ruined many people’s lives. Sure the vaccinations saved many people from getting the full blown virus. But the lock downs, the restrictions? Total insanity. More on that in future posts. Now is not the time.