Tag Archives: Daisy

About Daisy

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The more observant of you may have noticed that there have been very few posts over the last few days. That’s because we have been busy looking after Daisy. She is not well and it seems her old age is catching up with her.

Last week she had two seizures in the space of 24 hours where she collapsed and did her best impersonation of a dead dog. Both times she recovered, picked herself up and soldiered on in her own unique way but it gave us a huge fright and she was off to the vet in record time.

Daisy has a heart problem and takes medication to manage it. Julia our vet thinks the medication needs to be changed so Daisy has had a thorough check-up, X-rays and now is booked in for an ECG this afternoon at a cardiologist in Florence. (We didn’t know there were dog cardiologists but apparently there are.)

Sick Daisy and friend

To complicate things in the last 24 hours she has started to fall down a lot when walking (or even just standing) which meant another rushed trip to the vet and further discussions in a mix of English and Italian and occasional arm waving.

It seems that the falling down is probably not related to her heart and is something else – most likely a neurological infection that is affecting her balance. The catch 22 is that we can’t treat the infection until we know what state her heart is in as that will affect the medication used to fight the infection. So we are waiting for the ECG to be done this afternoon. It is a long wait.

Daisy of course doesn’t know all this medical stuff and just thinks life is miserable. She has to be carried everywhere as she has given up walking. And her favourite treats and even Jean’s famous roast chicken dinner won’t cheer her up. Right now she is asleep in the bed next to me with her head buried as far under the pillows as possible.

If I were her I would do the same.

Roman Holiday

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After the departure of Gill, Andre, Josh and Jordan to Venice and Slovenia, the remaining team headed south along the A1 to Rome.  We arrived on Saturday and drove around Rome (scary) dropping Mike and Charmaine at their apartment, their rental car at the Hertz depot and then finding our hotel.  We had discovered a place to stay – Hotel Barocco – online.  It is located on Piazza Barberini and, importantly for us, it welcomed dogs (unlike the hotel we usually stay at in Rome – Barberini).

The temperature over the weekend was around 29 degrees so the girls could come along on our walks.  They got to see the sights and, more importantly, for them sample the smells of Rome.

The first night we left the girls in our hotel room when we went out for dinner, thinking they would sleep after the drive south.  We arrived back at about 11pm and were informed by a slightly disturbed front desk clerk that the girls had barked and kept other guests awake all evening.  We were in danger of being evicted.

Barking struck us as unusual as the girls are normally quiet unless disturbed.  It turned out that a poor housemaid had gone into our room to turn down the bed and was met by a barrage of barking, growling and general dogginess.  She left the room in double quick time but the damage had been done and girls kept on barking.

Suffice it to say from that point on we made extensive use of the “do not disturb” sign when they were in the room and in the evenings the girls came along with us to experience dinner in some of Romes most popular restaurants.

Girls out and about in Positano

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Today the girls got their first taste of Positano with a walk from our villa to Eden Roc Hotel and back.

The stop at the hotel was an excellent chance for a drink and to catch up with Carlo who manages the bar and restaurant.  As always he had some great tips for places to eat in and around Positano although tomorrow evening we will be enjoying his hospitality with dinner on the terrace overlooking the bay.

On the way back to the villa Jean and the girls posed for the classic Positano photo.

Welcome to Positano

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We arrived in Positano on Saturday after a 5 hour drive from Tuscany to the warmest, friendliest greeting from the staff at Eden Roc Hotel.  We aren’t staying at the hotel but have rented a villa they own called Villa Greta.  The villa is situated just along the main road, 10 minutes easy walk from the hotel.

When we arrived there were fresh flowers on the table, wine and fresh fruit in the fridge and a home made cake on the bench. A lovely touch by the hotel we thought.

Compared to our cottage in Tuscany the villa is huge and everyone is enjoying the additional space and various mod cons – like a dishwasher.

The dogs have recovered from the drive south and have settled in.  They already bark at everyone walking past on the street – much to the delight of the locals.

We normally arrive at Positano later in July but the good news is that the weather is great and the temperature is around 30 degrees.  The town doesn’t feel packed and the superyachts are just starting to arrive in the bay.  The bonus is that we can use the hotel facilities – pool, bar, restaurant, did I mention the pool, etc – so we have the best of both worlds.

Visiting Buonconvento and other things

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In the last few days summer has really arrived in Tuscany. Temperatures have been around 30 degrees and the pace of life has slowed accordingly. Today we spent the middle of the day beside the pool and only when the temperature had dropped in the early evening did we venture out.

Jean and the girls at a cafe in Buonconvento

About 15 minutes down the road is the town of Buonconvento, a delightful place with an old town centre that has been developed over the years. We stayed in a villa only a couple of minutes from the town in 2004 and remember the town as utilitarian at best. Now it is a thriving tourist and artistic centre and definitely worth visiting if you are in the area.

The trip there and back is through farmland much of which is now planted in Sunflowers which are starting to bloom. When our visitors arrive in mid July, they should be looking great.

The girls

When we arrived back at the cottage the daily display that is the sunset was well underway. Although a camera can never do justice to this spectacle, here’s my best attempt.

Sunset over Siena - June 28

Jean and the girls in the Campo

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I thought I had posted this photograph before but looking back, I haven’t.  It’s the day the whole family went to Siena.  And in true form Jean is looking lovely, Poppie is looking cute and Daisy (partly obscured) is, well, see for yourself.

The Mowday family in the Campo, Siena.

Daisy is getting old

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Daisy had her 14th birthday in January.  This would make her about 85 in human years and like any elderly person she is slowing down.  Things that were easy for her a year ago are now a challenge.  A walk around the property in the evening wears her out, her back legs seem to have a mind of their own occasionally, and when she does the head to tail shake on the tiled floor often she ends up flat on her stomach with legs splayed.

Admirably she take all this in her stride and soldiers on.

She is still her cantankerous, independent, stubborn old self.  She dutifully protects the cottage from any potential intruders including Mrs Patrizia and Fabiana when they deliver our fresh laundry or simply call in for a chat.

Daisy sleeping

Lately Daisy has struggled to jump up onto the bed at night and will grudgingly accept a helping hand up when it’s offered.  If no help is forthcoming being Daisy she simply finds somewhere else to sleep – in this case on my neatly folded clothes on the shelf just inside the bedroom door.

Dogs in hotels, bars and restaurants

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The concept of taking our girls into a bar or restaurant in Wellington is inconceivable.  Here it is the accepted norm, in fact hotel and bar staff are quite surprised that we would even ask if it is possible. “But of course” was the standard response matched with a look of surprise.

So for the last week (and in the UK also) the girls have learnt about eating out. We always thought that Poppie would be good around other people, food, noise and the bustle of a bar or restaurant.  We weren’t quite so sure about Daisy.

Our friend Andre nick-named her Walter (after grumpy Walter Mattau’s character Oscar in the TV series The Odd Couple) because she would sometimes greet him or the kids with a growl and a nip at any hand that was in reach.  It’s fair to say Daisy isn’t good with people.

In a bar or restaurant she potentially was dynamite.  And the first times we went into assorted pubs in the UK she had her moments – and a fair bit of time out on the street being walked up and down to cool off.  On one occasion she exceeded herself and christened the pub carpet but, as someone pointed out, it was no worse than what happened to the carpet on a Friday night anyway.

By France she had the whole thing under her belt (or should that be collar) and no matter whether it was a half full local bar or a packed fine dining restaurant she behaved herself perfectly.

Up to a point.  The only thing we have to master now with Daisy is other dogs.  Daisy plus any strange dog means chaos because Daisy clearly thinks she’s a German Shepherd.  She has no fear of other dogs and barks and snarls at them, anytime, anywhere.

It’s good we have something to work on over the next few months.

The Dogs

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“You’re taking your dog?  No, really?” was pretty much the standard reaction we got when we told people the whole family was travelling to Italy.  For these of you who don’t know, our family consists of Daisy and Poppie – Bichon Frise dogs which can best be described as small, white, fluffy with attitude.

Thanks to the team at VenturePet in New Zealand, Jean’s diligent research on moving dogs around the world and around $5,000 they made the trip to the UK.

Heathrow's Animal Reception Centre

After we arrived at Heathrow, collected our bags and collected our new Peugeot lease car we drove to the aptly named “Animal Reception Centre” to collect the girls.

This was where all the paperwork, vaccinations and research came together.  The wait seemed eternal as other people received their dogs or cats but there was no sign of our girls.  There was nothing we could do, we just waited.

Waiting, waiting, waiting ...

The process was complicated by a computer failure at the centre, but eventually we signed everything we needed to and two noisy happy dogs emerged from the bowels of the building.

In true Bichon style we heard them before we saw them but when they arrived the reception centre lobby turned into a sea of swirling white Bichons much to our relief and the amusement of everyone else.

They're here!

A week later they are displaying no ill effects from the trip apart from a little jet-lag.  In fact as I write this, they are both spread eagled on the bed beside me snoring happily.

Jean was so organised before we left that we had an appointment with a vet in our local village.  They have now had check ups and we are going through the process of ensuring they are safe from all the bugs that we don’t have in New Zealand, but they do have here – and in Italy.

They also have been issued with genuine EU Pet Passports – so roll on Italy.

Every journey starts with a single step. This is ours.

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Italy is about as far from New Zealand as you can get – both geographically and culturally. We’ve experienced wonderful holidays it Italy for the last decade and the nagging question has always been – what would it be like to live there?

The only way to answer that question was to step out of our comfortable lives in New Zealand and into whatever a life in Italy has to offer. We did that on Wednesday April 6, 2011.

It sounds easy if you say it quickly. But it meant leaving behind family and jobs, renting out our house, storing our precious things and, most importantly, bringing our girls Poppie and Daisy along for the trip.

Poppie and Daisy are our dogs. Small, furry, white Bichon Frise. And they are definitely part of our family.

So what sounded so simple to say turned out to be a tad more complicated and I’m sure the fun is only beginning.