The Cottage Smallholder


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Update on the remaining Min Pins

Dr Quito our Senior Min Pin

Dr Quito our Senior Min Pin

It’s been seven weeks since The Conteesa died suddenly in her sleep. Danny buried her in the garden under the greengage tree that Celia of Purple Podded Peas fame gave us a couple of years ago.

In retrospect I believe that this was the perfect end for The Contessa. No long lingering illness. She just went to sleep and never woke up. I was worried about her blindness too – she’d lost a lot of confidence. Perhaps her sense of smell had diminished too. A couple of days before she died I had to lift her onto her ‘safe place’ on the sofa. From there she’d growl at every passer by, Min Pin and human, unless she was asleep.

I used to hope that in her dreams she could see.

The Contessa’s sudden departure rattled our remaining Min Pins to the core. Dr Quito – now in his 13th year – has only just stopped crying in his sleep. Inca has been acting strangely too – leaving her post as guard at the bottom of my bed to sleep up near the pillows with me and Dr Q. This used to be The Contessa’s spot.

The Contessa was very much Danny’s dog. Min Pins are like that – they choose one human to attach themselves to. Danny and TC had a very special relationship. She was forgiven indiscretions that would have had me frothing at the mouth. But the close relationship was heartening to observe. The Contessa would regularly scratch on the Rat Room door to prise D away from his desk to give her a cuddle on his bed.

Since she died we have given Inca and Dr Quito lots of TLC. In fact we overdid it at first and Dr Q ruined a lunch party by standing under the table and barking for treats!

There have also been quite a few dog fights as Inca – aged six – tussles for the leadership role. So far Dr Quito has kept his nerve and remains at the helm of the Min Pin ship.

Luckily for me, I still hold the role of head dog and the warring factions defer to me. Min Pins need quite a firm hand as they are intelligent dogs and are well know for taking advantage of soft hearted humans, like Danny. Each evening the Min Pins and D snuggle up under the rugs on the sofa together in a happy doggy paradise. At bedtime the MPs transfer their allegiance to me and they creep under my duvet to share the warmth of the hottie.

 


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4 Comments

  1. Captain Shagrat

    Swapping allegiance indeed 😉 I remember the lovely Harry lab jumping into my mum and dads car when their hols came round. Not a backward glance the little sod. Bless little contessa.

  2. Dogs are just wonderful. The memory of them lingers for a long time. And never turn down a snuggle with a dog! Priceless!

  3. casalba

    Dogs certainly do attach themselves – Mr B is by my side, whilst Dr M is Dan’s dog. Also, they are brothers from the same litter – it’s so difficult to take just one to the vet, that we take them both. (I am dreading the day when -if- one goes before the other.) Poor Dr Q and poor Danny too.

  4. Jean D

    Poor DrQ.

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