THE TWINKLE IN OUR EYES
Posted by: twinklethefluffymarshmallow on: September 20, 2011
Aaaaaah. This adorable fluffy bundle of cuteness is Twinkle Rose, so named by my then 8 year old daughter who thought it fitting that our dog should have a second name as well. Her intention was to call her “Rose”, but who’s ever heard of a dog called Rose??? oops no offense 
Rosy, Rusty, even Gingerbread or Nutmeg but Rose … for a dog?? Next we’ll be having them sleep on the bed, wearing clothes and asking them questions to which we expect an answer! Mmmmmmm
Our fluffy marshmallow became the twinkle in our eyes and lives on May 3 2008. Tallulah our male rabbit (yes, we have a thing about names in our household) after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, had hopped off (in circles might I add) to rabbit heaven in January of that year, and so we promised our daughter that once we found the right breed we could get a dog. And no, we weren’t fobbing her off! The right breed – one that didn’t cause an asthmatic to wheeze, sneeze and come out in unsightly red bumps.
But, thanks to living in the 20th century and the strides taken in innovative dog breeding, a hypoallergenic hybrid hovered in the wings, waiting for said allergic asthmatic to offer it a sneeze- and wheeze-free home. And so we decided to find a little Boomer/Malshi / shih tzu-maltese cross to complete us.
But where to find one?
Actually… she chose us.
DAY 63 – LABOUR DAY?
Posted by: twinklethefluffymarshmallow on: November 26, 2011
So Day 63 arrives and still nothing. Poor old Twinkie looked like she was about to explode and as you can see I’m not exaggerating! I felt so sorry for my fluffy/puffy marshmallow/ Michelin dog. My vet was phoning me every few hours to find out about her progress and of course that made me MORE nervous as he started using words like: ‘uterine inertia, caesarean,’ and I was using words like: ‘WHAT? HUH? OMG!’ Apparently when a litter is too big to be born normally, labour doesn’t progress the way it usually would and thus surgery is necessary – for the good of both mom and pups. Boy was I getting an education! Typical isn’t it? I’d read just about everything there was to read on whelping, got all the bits together (my checklist!) and it turns out I WON’T NEED IT!
Well, that day was one of the most anxiety-ridden of my life! Innumerable cups of joe and a variety of meals passed my lips, but I didn’t taste a thing. The day was a blur of checking on the labour progress – NONE; reading up more info on the internet – A COMPLETELY USELESS ACTIVITY; repeat steps 1-3 for the next 12 hours.
Around 6.30 pm my vet says that if nothing progresses during the night then a c-section is definitely on the cards for the next morning. At this point I just wanted it to be all over – both for Twinkle and my sanity!
Midnight: Twinkle starts labour – panting, nesting, wandering around – all the classic signs. However, not much evidence of contractions! I sleep fitfully and then not at all!
6:00a m: Vet calls to check on progress. Says to bring her in immediately. So off we go…
Tick Tock… Breathe …Focus…
Posted by: twinklethefluffymarshmallow on: November 14, 2011
Tick tock, tick tock… isn’t only the digital clock winking at me when I wake with great force to every little scratch and sniff of our pregnant pooch. It’s also the counting down to the birth day of the long awaited puppies.
According to our very experienced vet day 63 is usually Labour Day for pregnant doggies and…. and….. and…. it’s DAY ……62!!!!!
What to do, what to do. Okay, a good start is a checklist cos that calms the nerves and helps to settle the butterflies and also aids in concentration so that you don’t focus on the magnitude of the event that is actually quite AWESOME – Yikes!
Focus, Breathe, count to 62 – oops not helping!
Ok a checklist:
- whelping box - fashioned by my daughter for over an hour;
- scissors,
- towels (many),
- newspapers (a recycling fiesta);
- dental floss – for those hard to reach… the cord;
- tape measure or ruler that has both inches and centimetres as the cord has to be cut around 1 inch = 3 cm or was that 1cm=? (Ok maybe this shouldnt be on the check list but on the TO BE CHECKED list)
- brandy for the nerves – mine not Twinkle’s
- paper and pen – it’s hard to type at a birth
- remember to watch first and intervene last .. will write that on my hand… maybe on a big sheet of paper in front of the handcrafted whelping box.
- big sheet of paper
Ok, will start the TO BE CHECKED list once I’ve yet again taken Twinkie’s temperature to check whether it’s dropped significantly or not.
If it has… tick tock tick tock…yikes!
BABY MAMA!
Posted by: twinklethefluffymarshmallow on: November 8, 2011
2 of the 5 puppies Twinkle is expecting. Soooo exciting! And the proud daddy is Cuddles! Twinkle and Cuddles - a perfect match! This is the 6 week scan and tomorrow we’ll be back for the final checkup to ensure everything’s on track. Mmmmm, not sure we’re ready for the happy event, but then we planned for this sooooooo…..
She is so sweet and is enjoying all the extra extra attention, although sometimes when she’s looking at me with her big, soulful eyes and her head’s tilted to one side I see the questions: ‘What’s happening? Why can’t I run with the wind blowing my ears? Why can I only play fetch 3 times before my toy is boring?” And my heart just melts, so then there are extra tummy rubs, more laps to sit on, shorter walks and more car rides!
Aaaah Twinkie… the best dog in the world!
Have pet passport, will travel
Posted by: twinklethefluffymarshmallow on: November 4, 2011
Dogs in shopping malls, shops, hotels, restaurants, trains, trams and on a bicycle. Where in the world? The Netherlands of course. Yes, you do have to sometimes put up with that ‘wet dog’ smell while you’re enjoying a kopje koffie met ham en kaas, but most restaurants provide you with a bowl of water for your canine companion and it’s not uncommon to see lapdogs – literally – being fed from the table… even from the owner’s mouth!
Europeans are often more friendly towards man’s best friend than their fellow man. And what a wonderful ice-breaker/ translator/ destroyer of cultural/language barriers Twinkle has been. With her European Union pet passport (the photo for which she insisted on posing in the garden), she could travel virtually all over Europe without so much as raising the hackles of an irate customs person.
And on long car journeys, the tell-tale signs of the need for a ‘rest stop’.
- Stretching and sitting up after a snooze – thinking about it;
- standing up with nose shmooshed against the window – seriously thinking about it;
- little whining noises while shmooshing – TIME TO GO PEOPLE!!!!
Irrespective of where we’ve gone, our fluffy marshmallow has brought a smile, initiated conversations and brought out the dog lovers everywhere. Yes, she is a well travelled dog; having crossed continents by air and left her homeland so that she could make her new home in Cape Town. She’s part of the family … the thought never crossed our minds to leave her behind.
After all… 
have pet passport, will travel! .
Please can we get a dog?
Posted by: twinklethefluffymarshmallow on: September 22, 2011
Please can we get a dog? Why not? Joe has two dogs and a hamster. Elizabeth’s mom let her have a Dalmatian and that’s like having a pony!
Please can we get a dog? When will I be old enough? Why do I have to wait? Did you have a dog when you were growing up? WHAAT? Your mommy let YOU have a dog? Why can’t I have one?
Please can we get a dog?
When?
And so the search began for the ‘right’ dog. The internet provided soooo much (useful and useless) information about every single canine on the planet, but eventually it came down to the hypoallergenic breeds and then being able to find a puppy. And so on the morning of Saturday May 3 we drove to the centre of The Hague to view puppies, having been made aware by breeders that we would find the breed we were looking for. My husband and I told our daughter that we were ’just going to have a look’. I told him the same thing and got it right back. So we knew that we were ‘just looking’ and were all on the same page, reading from the same book, borrowed from the same library!
Why oh why are puppies so cute and adorable and bouncy and yappy and such bundles of delight? They should bottle puppy saliva because one lick from a little puppy’s tongue and you smile; one soulful glance from a puppy you haven’t picked up and you are guilt-ridden; a nail gets stuck in your daughter’s jumper as she bends down to place the puppy back in its box so it clings to her … and you’re sold.
And so we went from ‘just going to have a look’ to buying up half a pet shop’s supplies of super comfy but also trendy dog bed; stainless steel bowls on a stand; travelling cage ( a definite must-have for any first-time dog owner!); a pink collar, pink lead and pink doggy bag holder (no prizes for guessing…); puppy food; puppy treats and of course the ultimate in puppy toys… a squeaky chicken bigger than her.
Twinkle was coming home.
Hello world!
Posted by: twinklethefluffymarshmallow on: September 19, 2011
For all dog lovers, lovers of maltese, shih tzu, malshi, any adorable four -legged friends or if you just want to read stories about a delightful fluffy malshi called Twinkle, hop on the couch!
In my previous life I was a dog – I know this because I have a good sense of smell and hearing! and in my next life I want to be MY dog!
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