GoodBye 2022! the highs and the lows..

I hope that everybody had a wonderfully peaceful, merry and happy Christmas and New Year. It seems forever ago now, but I have to say it was the first Christmas season in many years as a dog breeder that I can actually say I had a bit of time to do, well, absolutely nothing! Of course, all the doggies and puppies got fed, cleaned, snuggled, exercised, played, and the rest, etc. etc. etc. as normal, but in between times, I actually got to sit (and dare I say it, relax 😲)... Unfortunately , for all the wrong reasons, the reason was not for a relaxing break, it was because of what 2022 threw at me...😕

The first half of 2022 started off fabulous, a normal year, normal duties, new litters, beautiful new puppies, new puppy owners, all hunky dory. Then in April I started out on three months of super hard slog studying to gain the UK's very first ever recognised Dog Breeding Qualification that is now required for Dog Breeding Licences. I was super proud of myself, and my motivation levels hit a peak and I had so many new plans for our future breeding adventures... Then!  that motivation all came crashing down in July when I tore my hamstring right behind my right knee 😭 I suddenly found myself in a lot of pain, unable to walk, unable to do a lot of my daily jobs with the dogs and pups, unable to drive... my partner John, jumped in and took over a lot of my jobs, and we continued on as a great team whilst I underwent GP visits, hospital appointments, physio and rest... However, putting all of my weight onto my left side whilst my right knee healed, exacerbated an old hip injury, and I was also starting to get a lot more pain in my left hip. It was taking over the pain in my right knee. I had x-rays and physio and my knee got better (well, it is about 85% better, we are still getting there)  but my hip got worse. Xrays taken and compared to previous x-rays of my old hip injury, showed that I had osteoarthritis and it has deteriorated so quickly and is now pretty much bone on bone. I am now hobbling around like a 90 year old with a stick, crutches and pain. Yesterday (Friday 13th Jan) my Physio felt the need to refer me to orthopaedics for assessment for a new hip as i am in pain pretty much 24/7 and pain relief is just not cutting it....
At this time, I am now waiting for my surgery assessment, that could take a good 6 months to come through (I have nothing but admiration for our NHS and nurses, I am in awe of what they do, so I am not going to complain about the waiting time, it is what it is), once I have had my assessment, then if they approve the hip replacement, which my physio says that at my age and lack of current mobility and amount of pain that it is causing me, it is pretty much a given that surgery will be the only option, it could then take another year and a half wait before the actual surgery. So as I sit here typing, on the 14th January 2023, when I should actually be on my feet and getting my doggies out for a good run in the fields (which is what my partner has just gone to do) it looks like I "may" get a new hip by January 2025, if I am lucky, in the meantime, I will be using my stick or crutches, and trying my hardest to carry on as normal. it is very painful, very debilitating, very demoralising at the age of 54, and actually, very scary to think of what is going to happen. between me and my fabulous partner John, we are going to continue with what we do as much as we possibly can, I will not just sit back and start to vegetate. john says I am a bad patient because i will not stop and rest, but i cannot sit back and watch everything that I have built up over the past 20+ years with my dogs suddenly start to fall apart. I will do as much as my hip and knee allow me to do, and I will have slightly longer rest periods than i ever used to have (LOL, I never used to have any rest periods ???). We will continue to breed our fabulous doggies, we will continue to raise our puppies with the best ethics and love and care and attention to detail, and we will continue to help and support new owners as much as we can, between us.

So, when you come to my home to view my pups, or to collect your new little bundle of fur and love, you are likely to see me on crutches, hobbling around and finding it a little dificult to bend to pick up your pup for you or hand over your puppy pack etc... but please understand, i will not compromise on the raising of my pups. i still intend to breed and raise the happiest, healthiest, most loving and confident pups as I have always done. 

When the time comes to have my surgery, it is a given that we are going to have take a long break, my partner cannot do everything, so there may be a few months where we have no pups available, but it looks like that time will be a good couple of years off yet, so in the meantime, please bear with me. My priority will be to my pups, and things will inevitably take longer for me to do, so the amount of time I spend at my pc, or taking pictures  or videos of my pups may be less than normal, but when you come to collect your pup, they will be the same, happy, confident, healthy pups that you have come to expect from me over the years...

So, thanks to 2022 for taking my world, sucking it all in, chewing it around and then spitting it out and turning it all upside down 😏 but you will not win, I will come back even stronger.... 😜

Roll on 2025 , bring it on..