This is the news from 2009 - some of the links may not work as this is now archive news.

November & December: It was another hectic month, November Leo wise, I started up the Leo Agility Training Group again for the winter while it is too cold for Wet Leo's and we had our first four session so far. For more details on this groups activity check out our website Leo Agility.

I also helped out at my local agility clubs November show and it was an all day event with 140 dogs entered into 18 classes it took ages and was a very tiring day.

I also attended the LCGB AGM, as a committee member it is my duty to be present at this event to answer any questions that members may have and to help support the other committee members.

This was also a very long day, having set out at 7am to get to the venue in plenty of time, the proverbial spanner was thrown in my way, I came across a Muntjack deer injured in the middle of the road just outside of Warwick, I couldn't just leave it to suffer so stopped the car, picked the poor creature up and put it in the back of my truck, hoping its injuries weren't too bad. I then had to find a vet in the area, being so early in the morning the only service available was an emergency vet, it took me 3/4 of an hour to find the place. The vet there was wonderfully kind and although they did their best the deer had be put to sleep to prevent any further suffering, it had broken its back in two places. So I turned up for the Pre-AGM Committee Meeting covered in blood splatters, a quick clean up put me straight. Luckily the rest of the day was uneventful with a positive meeting.

December saw me help out with the assessment of 4 dogs on a LCGB Leo Temperament Assessment Day organised by Sharon Springel and held in Coventry, this was a long and tiring day but it went very well. With both Bill Crawley and myself furthering and finishing our training ready to be let loose on the Leo population.

It has been a strange Christmas in our household this year being the first without my Dad who we all miss terribly, but I have many happy memories to help us through the festive season. The dogs always give me plenty to keep me occupied and with Indi having her 'sixth sense' when it comes to my sad days I doubt she will allow me to be sad for very long, she always comes up and is most insistent that a cuddle is what I need whether I want one or not and it usually works having been pinned to the floor on many occasion unable to move due to laughing with Indi sat on me.

Well I do hope you have all had a very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year. Here's to a happy and calm 2010.

Becki, Jamie, Willow, Ti, Indi and Rudi.

31st October: Its been a hectic month, I haven't had a weekend free in 9 weeks, volunteering for LCGB organised events and with November round the corner and Leo Agility about to start again I'm not likely to have much of a rest until Christmas!

We had our final day in the water at Wet Leos Water Training for this year (3rd Oct) and it was great fun although freezing cold. We organised an american style lunch with everyone bringing food, drink and goodies to eat. Both Fiona and I were delighted to receive gifts and cards from all the members of the group as a thank you for organising this year sessions, so thank you to everyone it was a lovely surprise. Ti seems to know that the season is at an end and is looking really miserable, he still gets his walks and fun trips out but its not the same as splashing about in the water having lots of fun with his Leo friends. I think the few sessions of hydrotherapy that I have planned through the winter will help cheer him up.

I attended this years LCGB Champ show in Nottingham on the 18th, I traveled up the night before with Jamie as it was over 3.5 hours to drive and I didn't fancy a 4am start on the Sunday. We stayed at a travel lodge which was just 5 minutes away from the show venue so I wouldn't have too earlier a start! I was there to help set up the ring and where necessary help out during the day along with the other members of the clubs committee who all worked really hard. My job for the day was to take as many photos as I could, about 600 in the end, of all the dogs and the days events, this was done as a gift for Fred Inwood who sadly was not able to attend this event for the first time ever. I am sure he will enjoy looking at all the images of the day and all the lovely Leo's who were shown. It was great to catch up with so many people I haven't seen for ages.

This month I also attended the joint GSDA/LCGB AF Seminar in Birmingham on the 24th October, this was something I've been desperately waiting to attend and I asked many questions on the day about this disease that has changed my Willow so much. I learned the following things from the seminar that I would like to share with you:

* The specialists can now conclusively confirm that anal furunculosis is a disease that is genetically passed down from parents to siblings regardless of breed. Both parents MUST be carriers for an offspring to become ill from the disorder, at the very best any resulting offspring from two such parents will be carriers of AF even if they do not go on to show clinical symptoms and suffer the full disease.

* Treatment - Standard and most successful treatment is Cyclosporines (if your dog can tolerate it) usually combined with ketoconasol and/or doxycyline antibiotics which seem to have the most success in treating the disease. Surgery to remove any left over lesions after treatment is more successful than cryosurgery as a first line treatment to remove fistulars. Some dogs eventually come off treatment altogether but some have to remain on a maintenance dose for life. Sadly nearly all AF sufferers relapse at some point with a % of those having to be euthanised due to worsening of the condition.

* Removal of anal glands was seen as unnecessary and no proof was found that it prevented or caused the disease also that it did not cause the return of the disease (unless anal gland disease was actually present at the time).

* Inflammatory Bowl Disease (which is also likely to be familial) was also considered to be a major identifier in dogs that were 'likely' to suffer from AF, dogs that suffer repeated bouts of diarrhea, colitis and other bowl disorders should be monitored very carefully in later life and were considered early identifiers for possible AF, with nearly all AF sufferers having a history of one or all of these disorders.

* There are two types of AF that seem to be at work, 'MHC gene affected' which is when a dog suffers early onset (ie when 2yrs and under) or the 'non-MHC gene affected' which means onset later in life, from about 6yrs onwards. MHC being a more severe form of the disease.

* Diagnosis - can be and always has been visual, its very obvious from the look of a dogs back end that they are suffering from either fistula or ulcerative AF and diagnosis by biopsy is seen in most cases as unnecessary. Fistula is the worst kind to have as it is more damaging to the dog and is more painful, can take longer to heal and be more difficult to treat (sadly this is the type that Willow has) it looks like a lesser condition visually than the ulcerative, which is more pronounced but less painful and heals more quickly in most cases.

* Management - medical treatments available as stated above can be very successful, along with others but must be combined with very careful diet and lifestyle to ensure a good outcome and longevity for the dog.

* Stress - whilst stress is a factor in any and all diseases it was not considered a major factor in AF, a dog MUST be genetically pre-disposed to the condition in the first place in order to suffer, i.e. it must have inherited it from BOTH carrier parents, in order to be affected by the full disease.

The most important thing I brought away from the seminar was that all of the specialists that presented on the day shared the same opinion 'that openness about this disease is crucial in order to identify carriers and sufferers', this means that we can then move forward in eradicating this disorder completely from our breed. At present this is the only way to track the disease and help reduce the occurrence of it from any breed altogether until a DNA test can be developed to identify all such dogs.

Whilst at the seminar both myself and Sharon Springel of the LCGB Health Committee, recorded the full seminar to put onto DVD including the whole days presentations and discussions (which we both took on behalf of the LCGB Members who were unable to attend) this will soon be available from the LCGB.

Well that's all for now, so until next time take care. Becki

August & September: Its been a hard few months in the Leonius house hold, at the beginning August just as we thought Willow was out of the woods we had to rush her into the vets for intensive care after she collapsed on the floor, she was unable to stand and was very poorly. After 24 hours of intensive care she was allowed home heavily medicated and further investigations showed she suffered from a nasty case of pancreatitis. Being imunocompromised and suffering from AF means she was literally floored by this condition, which if not treated quickly can be fatal. She has recovered slowly and steadily and further test to make sure nothing more sinister is going on have been done and come back all clear. We must now watch her carefully to ensure she does not come down with anything else while she recovers.

We must also share the very sad news with you that Bones from our first litter passed away this September. Bones suffered a sudden and unexpected stroke, which left him paralysed. Unable to walk and with his systems shutting down, his devastated owners Jo and Ian moved heaven and earth to try to help him but with a very poor prognosis from the vets they did the kindest thing they could and put him to rest. I can honestly say that both Jo and Ian have been the very best of dedicated owners and I could not have been happier or luckier that they took home one of our babies, even if it was for a much shorter time than anyone had planned. They have our very deepest of sympathies at this sad time and we share their loss with them.

Hug your Leo's and remember that every single day with them is a blessing.

Until next time. Becki

June & July 2009: Its been another busy few months. In June it was my absolute pleasure to help out at a Leo Fun Day organised by Louise Baldwin at her lovely home in Hampshire, everyone who came and helped out on the day deserve medals for the hard work they did to pull the day together. There were many fun events for people and dogs to take part in and the LCGB Shop was on hand to help raise funds for the club. As well as the fun side there was the more serious side to the day, the collection of blood samples for the conditions AF and LP/PN taken from dogs who attended. I spent 5 hours completing blood forms and information for the owners of dogs who came to support the day, while their dogs sat patiently and had their bloods taken, not one dog was a problem and it was a testament to our wonderful breed for their temperament. The qualified vets in attendance were dedicated and gentle and a credit to their profession. Two of my three dogs were included in this collection with Ti and one of his litter brothers being affected with possible LP/PN and Willow diagnosed with AF this was a crucial donation to make. It was an event that was very well supported and over 30 samples were taken to go towards both disorders from many different lines of dogs. This should go a long way to help the research being done in the USA for LP and in the UK in Manchester for AF. Hopefully this will help advance the tests that we all so desperately would like to have to help the health of our lovely breed and eradicate these disorders once and for all. All the people who attended the day must be thanked for their patience and dedication. For those of you who were not able to attend one of the 3 fun days where blood was being collected and that might like to donate more samples to the AF study in Manchester, UK, could take your Leo to their vet for a simple blood test and send it to Manchester, the details of how to do this are attached here, it is extremely important that related dogs to those with AF as well as unrelated dogs send in samples so if you can find time to donate a small sample of your Leo's blood please do all information given is completely confidential so owners and breeders alike are assured discretion.

Whilst at the fun day in Hampshire I was delighted to meet up with Jo and Ian Wainwright the owners of Bones from our first litter. It was lovely to see Mum and brothers reunited and we have some pictures which we shall try to get uploaded soon of Bones with his mum and brother.

In July I attended a Temperament Assessment day in Coventry organised by Sharon Springle, to help out at this LCGB organised event and to learn about running these events in an area near me for owners who would like to have their dogs assessed. Hopefully this will be something that will be regularly taken up by Leo's owners as their dogs grow up to monitor the temperament of our breed.

News on Willow, she is doing really well, she's now off medication and back on normal food, she has gained back most of the weight that she lost and is looking much better. She does however still have the emotional issues that have come with this disorder but we are getting used to these and working around them, she is still my beautiful girl and I adore her.

Indi is recovering from a recent spay operation, she has been kept quite while she heals and hopefully her stitches will be removed in a weeks time. We decided to continue with her operation after much serious thought, not being able to use Ti due to his genetic history and only really wanting one of his pups we decided to continue with this decision. She will be a much happier dog without the stresses of seasons which she did not cope with very well and it will make home life much easier with less hormones flying around all over the place.

Ti continues with his water work and is doing really well, we hope to take a C test this year to further his water work development. He has gained a good amount of weight since having his castration last year and is looking good, he is still a bouncy fun loving boy though and apart from the loss of his crown jewels he is the same boy he has ever been.

Well that's all our news for now. Until next time, take care.

May 2009: May has been a very busy time, the Dogs are enjoying their events with the Wet Leos well underway and Agility Leo's which is now on hold for the summer until the cooler weather comes back, they are hardly ever in the house these days enjoying the freedom that the summer gives them in the garden although they did have to spend a few days housebound when we had a small swarm of honey bees make short term home at the bottom of our garden. Luckily they have now moved on and found a more suitable home elsewhere and the dogs can now return to the rest of the garden to run and play as usual.

In other news I must draw your attention to some important news, The Leonberger Club of Great Britain are holding 3 events to help in the research of two conditions that occasionally affect our breed, Inherited Leonberger Polyneuropathy and Anal Furunculosis, both of which are disorders that my dogs Willow and Ti suffer from.

I would like to encourage any of you who visit this site and love your Leo's to come along, there will be a range of activities at the different events so come along and join the fun while doing something worthwhile at the same time. At each event qualified vets will collect blood samples and pedigree details for inclusion in two critical areas of research; Inherited Leonberger Polyneuropathy and Anal Furunculosis, the aim is to ultimately identify the gene(s) responsible and hopefully eliminate them from our breed through a simple blood test. So bring your dog and your registration documents as well as a copy of the pedigree for each dog. They are at the following venues:

Fun Day in Hampshire on the 14th of June. For details and to book a place call Louise Baldwin on 01794 340 296 or email her at: louise.baldwin@ virgin.net

Fun Day in Enfield, North London on the 14th of June. For details and to book a place call Sharon Springel on 0208 444 0727 or email her at: springel@btinternet .com

Fun Day In Staffordshire on the 12th of July. For details and to book a place call Penny Dabell on 01782 503 946 or email her at: pennydabell@ aol.com

I hope you can make it and perhaps we shall see you at the Hampshire event where I shall be helping for the day.

That is all for now. Take care until next time.

30th April 2009 - It has been a while since I last updated our website, this is due to the very sad time we have been faced with, as a family we bore the loss of my beloved father, a man who I admired and loved more than I can say. He passed away suddenly whilst on holiday in Wales back in March from Acute Heart Failure. The loss of any family member is a difficult thing to deal with and it has been thanks to many very close friends inside the Leo world, as well as outside, that I have been able to cope with such a loss. Everyone who stepped in to take the reins of the Wiltshire Wet Leo's and the Leo Agility Training groups that I usually run have to be thanked most profusely, all concerned did a wonderful job to continue the groups while I had to take time out with my family. Thank you to you all for doing such a fantastic job, you know who you are and I am forever grateful for your kind support and caring words and help during this time. I also have to thank the many people who shared their sympathies with our family your kind words meant a lot to us all.

Next an update on Willow, many people have phoned or written to me to ask how she is doing and I would like to thank everyone who has sent cards or best wishes and kind thoughts to her and to us, I have been deeply touch by the kindness you have shown. On the whole she is doing much better, she has her good days and bad, but we have hope that she may be coming out the other side of it, I am always reluctant to let my guard down or raise my hopes too high as when I do something else happens with her and we end up rushing off to the vets again. She has regained about 1kg of the 3Kgs that she lost initially but this was hard fought for and feeding a dog that is hungry but that will not eat is a difficult task, anorexia is a part of the AF condition symptoms and it is hard to watch a dog that is hungry but that will just not eat. In an effort to raise Willows spirits, and whilst she has been well, I have taken her to the odd class of agility where she was like the 'old' Willow I know, but it exhausts her and for days after she barely gets out of bed. I never let her do too much at the class but she does so enjoy it and its the only thing she looks forward to, even her usual walks don't seem to bring her round from her depressive states some days but the mere mention of 'club' and she's at the door waiting to go, so how could I refuse her.

On the topic of agility, and with Willow currently still in recovery, I have started to train Indi up in the art. She has taken to it like a duck to water and is showing great promise, she is a quick learner and fast on her feet so I expect she will be up to doing an entire course by the end of the summer. She will however have to take a break as she will be spayed once her latest season is finished. I may even her for some agility competitions later this year as she is still a very young fit and healthy dog and I know she will love the exercise and socialisation.

Ti is doing really well, he is his usual mad, dopey, happy self, now fully recovered from the 'snip' he had back at the end of January, his personality has not changed a jot and the benefits of the operation are being seen already, he has started to put on weight which was always a problem for him and his reduced hormone level means he gains the weight easier than ever before. I was worried that his personality might change once he had been castrated but, if it has, I can't tell the difference. With Water work back on the menu too he is as happy as a pig in muck. Water Work training began again in April and although I missed the first session due to my Dad passing away I did manage to make it to the second session and am really looking forward to starting our training 'proper' when the sun comes out and it warms enough for us to stay in the water for longer (its just so cold at the moment).

Rudi is fine, he spends most of his day ordering the bigger dogs around and they always give in to him, I think he is a Leo at heart, Matty continues with his training and all the children just adore agility we have some competitions planned for him on the odd Sunday that we have spare so we shall let you know how he gets along.

We were delighted to receive some images of Tucker with a very nice new haircut. The Lion cut is one that is helpful for dogs with symptoms of suspected LP, it allows them to move without any restrictions from profuse coats and helps to enable the owner to watch how the dogs movement is changing and keep an eye on muscle wastage. I have added these photo's to his page so take a look and see what a Lion dog looks like. Thanks to Deb and Phil for staying in touch on Tuckers progress and for taking such wonderful care of him.

Well, that's it for now.

Bye for now. Becki and the Lions.

28th February 2009 - We start with an update on Willows progress with her condition of AF (anal furunculosis). She has now been on treatment for just over 2.5 months and in some ways she is doing better, the lesions on her rear end have gone so the risk of infection has been reduced, but the damage internally has left her suffering from constant bouts of mild diarrhea and colitis for which she has to have regular medication. The drugs she is on for the majority of the effects of AF have reduced her coat to a dull thin covering, with no undercoat, that is in very poor condition. The new diet she is on has left her perpetually hungry but as we cannot deviate from it without risking severe attacks of colitis she is reduced to a state of hyperactivity and a hunger that is very hard to satisfy, as a result she has also lost nearly 3kgs in weight. She is no longer able to attend Agility with me as the excitement starts her tummy off, and the risk of infections are just not worth it. Anyone or any breeder who thinks for one tiny second that this disorder is anything short of extremely serious are deluding themselves.

In other very sad news we were recently told that one of our puppies from our first litter, Tucker, was diagnosed with suspected LPN showing all atypical signs of this awful and debilitating disease (also known as ILP or PN). Tucker had been poorly for a little while and his owners have taken the greatest of care to ensure the vets did every test that they could to find out what was wrong. They turned to us for help and advice and we forwarded information to them on Leo related disorders that might cover the symptoms that Tucker was suffering from, one of them being on LP, to pass to their vet. Initial tests showed a very under active thyroid problem which was treated but once this was stabilized his symptoms of LP were even more pronounced with the increased in his energy level. With all other possibilities ruled out the vet has diagnosed suspected LP. We are of course devastated by this news and more so for Deb and Phil and will be here for them and all our puppy owners whenever they need help or advice, in whatever form that needs to be and are in constant contact with all of them.

We have of course notified everyone connected with our litter of this new LP connection.

We also as a result of Tuckers illness notified the other puppy owners to be aware for this disorder and requested that they all organise to send a blood sample from each of their dogs from our first litter to the University of Minnesota for entry in to the genetic study being done to identify the markers for the LP disorder in the Leonberger. This will help to provide a test that owners and breeders can use to identify potentially affected dogs and remove them from breeding lines in order to eradicate once and for all this hideous disease from our beautiful breed. We shall be doing this in the next few days and anyone else interested in doing the same from any Leo they own should do the following, it doesn't matter if your dogs are ill or well both are needed:

Have your vet send 10ml EDTA blood (purple top) with your dog's registered name and a pedigree if possible to:

Dr. Ned Patterson

Small Animal Medicine and Genetics

University of Minnesota/College of Veterinary Medicine

C303 Veterinary Teaching Hospitals

1352 Boyd Ave.

St. Paul, MN 55108

Phone: 612 625-5799

Further information on this can be obtained from the LCGB Health Committee.

On a brighter note, Ti recovered really well from his castration, in fact you would never know that he had even had the op. He was out bouncing about the garden two days later and then in the snow not long after that without a care in the world. The healing power of the dog is amazing and will never cease to surprise me.

Indi has been a constant source of comfort and stability to me, she is the most loving dog and has always been acutely aware of my moods, she gives me comfort at times when I am low and rests her head on my lap and is just 'there' at those moment to remind me what our dogs are all about, companions and friends so loyal they deserve so much more than we ever give them. She has really enjoyed playing in the snow this year and we had nearly 1.5 weeks of snow on the ground which is unusual in itself.

Rudi is his usually cheeky self and continues to do well at agility practice, the children continue to enjoy their session of agility training with me but this has been limited recently due to the snow preventing us getting to the venue.

The Leo Agility Group continues to do well at their training and the website has been updated with the latest news and some pictures, so pop along to see what we have been up to at www.Leoagility.co.uk. There is also the www.wiltshirewetleos.co.uk news which is also up-to-date.

I am hoping very much that next months news will be better, I don't think that it can get much worse!

Becki

31st January 2009 - Firstly I would like to wish you all a happy new year and hope that you all had a nice christmas. We have a mixed bag of news this month, some bad, some good and mostly that which happened over Christmas.

I will start with the bad news first, Willow, my beautiful darling girl, was taken very seriously ill in November and we had to rush her to the vets for treatment, she had to be sedated as she was in too much pain to be examined by the vet and was diagnosed with AF (Anal Furunculosis also known as Perianal Fistulas or Bobtail). This awful and very serious disorder is an immune system disease, the body turns against itself and attacks the tissue in the bowls and anus. Other symptoms once the disorder takes hold are loss of weight, and Willow has shed 2 kgs which she can least afford to lose as she has never been a particularly heavy dog, she is now on a special diet and we hope this will help to control this disorder. Willow also suffers as a result of this condition from severe colitis, yet another side effect of AF and howled in pain at the height of her problems, even though we had her on the strongest pain killers that the vet could prescribe for her, it was touch and go for 4 days until the medication she was given started to take hold and win over the problems she was facing. Not all dogs respond to treatment and sadly in many cases the kindest thing is to put them to sleep. I held out in the hope that Willow would make it through and I thank God that she did. She has reacted to the medication extremely well. The only problem is that the medication is an immuno-suppressant, which means that the patient will become more susceptible to infections and over long periods of use can lead to a loss of bone marrow production, inhibiting the ability to fight infection or diseases like cancer, so I will have to be extremely careful with her over the next few years having regular check-ups, and as with all medication its very expensive.

For more information on this disorder I have put some links here on articles about the problems that come with AF and how to treat it:

http://www.videxgsd.com/Anal_Furunc_1.htm

http://www.provet.co.uk/health/diseases/furunculosis.htm

http://www.martinandcarrvets.co.uk/Anal%20Furunculosis.pdf

http://www.videxgsd.com/PDF/Anal%20Furunculosis%20(1).pdf

This will enable you to make yourself aware of this disorder and how to spot the signs and symptoms for yourself. AF is becoming more prevalent in Leo's, with them being mentioned in scientific data more often now than in the past as a breed that suffers with this condition. For many years this disorder has been the bane of the GSD owners, with 84% of all known cases in the UK being attributed to this poor breed, lets hope that this doesn't end up being the case for the Leo. It has been scientifically established that it is genetically passed on and the marker has been identified in the GSD, I my opinion as a precaution any dog from lines affected by this disorder should be removed from breeding stocks.

As a result of the possible genetic links we made the decision to remove Ti from our breeding program and have him castrated with immediate effect, in fact, he is recovering from surgery as we speak. We as breeders were not prepared to use a dog that could add a genetic mutation to the breed we love so much and the only responsible thing to do was to remove him from breeding stock. As a direct descendent to Willow, we were not prepared to take the risk and use Ti then risk passing on this disorder to any resulting puppies. If other breeders would make the right decisions and do the same with such disorders we would not have the problems with LPN that we see today. We have of course notified Willows breeders of our discovery of AF in this line.

This of course means that we shall no longer be planning any litters of pups and have taken the precaution to notify all our puppy owners from our first litter to be aware of this disorder and to keep an eye on their dogs in the future just in case they start to suffer.

We want to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone we have so far turned to for advice on this topic and for the help and reassurance, understanding and support they have given us. Also a huge thank you to the list of puppy owners who were waiting for a puppy from us, thank you for being so understanding regarding our decision, I know you have all been waiting for a long time for one of our pups and you have all been so kind in your thoughts to us.

In other news we want to take this opportunity to wish one of our puppies from our first litter a 'Get Well Soon' Tucker who has been poorly recently with a thyroid problem should be on the mend soon due to the love and devotion of his owners, we know that Deb and Phil are taking the best care of him.

On a more positive note, I have been busy holding the first two sessions of the new Leos only agility training group I set up in January. The Leo Agility Training Group held its first two training days this month, we had a brilliant time with all the dogs doing really well, if they keep learning at the rate they are, they will be experts in no time at all. We had 3 two hour adult sessions and a single 1 hour puppy session, all 17 dogs attended and it was great fun, for a full review of how things are progressing check out the groups website for more details www.Leoagility.co.uk.

Wiltshire Wet Leo's will start again in April 2009 so check out the dates at www.wiltshirewetleos.co.uk I am looking forward to starting wet leo's again and have missed this activity as much as Ti has. There is now a membership fee to join to help pay for the use of the venue, so check out the latest news for details of how to join and how much it will cost you.

Indi will start Agility training soon, she has moved on from Obedience now and with no puppies planned with her she can move on to more active things I am sure she will enjoy this activity as she is really bright, light on her feet and fast on the foot.

Rudi is continuing to improve in his agility training and Matty, Josh and Emily now share him during a special session I hold for them on a Thursday after school, we meet with a friend and her 2 children and the all have a 'kiddies training session' they are all doing really well and have become as mad about agility as I have, its lots of fun for them all. We have no competitions currently planned but we shall look toward the middle of the year once it has warmed up a bit when Matty will hopefully run Rudi in a few competitions.

Well that is all our news for now, as I said some bad, some good, but I still have my beautiful Willow with me for now and I shall cherish every second with her that I can.

Give your dogs a great big hug, be they Leo's or any other kind, and remember they are never with us for long enough.

Until next time bye for now, Becki.

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