Belongings

Nancy was fed three small meals a day because if she ate too much in one go she would be sick, breakfast first thing always before I had mine, lunch at 1pm and dinner at 6pm, if it was 1pm or 6pm and there was no sign of food coming she’d rattle her metal food bowl with her front paws, but only if I was in the same room, if I was anywhere else in the house she would find me and bark at me until I got up to feed her.

Nancy had a few beds, a plastic oval one that used to belong to a cat, we traded a cat carrier for it, kept in her crate, handed down from my Mum’s dog, Luka; a soft rectangular one that used to be in my office/spare room, then moved next to mine when I got my new bed, she used to sleep in my old bed with me; and a squishy round one to replace the one in my office/spare room. Three beds, like Goldilocks!

Nancy inherited lots of things over her lifetime, one of those was this mat, it had belonged to my Mum’s cat Bephi, l used to put the mat on the floor and Nancy’s food bowl on top of it to stop it moving when she was eating, Nancy still managed to move her food bowl around the floor and I spent a fair bit of time looking for it under and behind things.

When I dug Nancy’s grave I laid a red tartan blanket in it, under Nancy, and covered her with a pink blanket to stop the clay from falling on top of her.

Nancy was unfortunate in that she ended up wearing these plastic cones a good few times, once when she had to have a nail removed, then when she had pyometra, another time she stuck her nose under a big solid gate and there was a dog on the other side who bit her and tore her mouth, and then another nail, this time her dew claw, had to be removed, she also wore a cone to get her out of the habit of biting a wart that she had on her hind leg, it worked and we avoided another surgery to remove it, she was a trooper.

The day Nancy had her ultrasound I forgot to bring poo bags, I had to ask a passing couple walking their dog for one, I still have it, along with these others I found in my coat pockets after Nancy was put to sleep.

When Nancy was a pup she had bells on her collar so we always knew where she was.

I started keeping a notebook for Nancy in 2015 after the vet asked me to, I can’t remember why exactly, she had a few health issues over her lifetime, the notebook habit stuck and now I have a small box full. The last entry in Nancy’s last notebook is two measurements, 24 x 18 inches, the size of Nancy’s grave and 6 x 3.7 centimeters, the size of the growth on her spleen.

Nancy wasn’t big into toys, she could take them or leave them, my sister used to buy these bears for Nancy and my Mum’s dog, Bobby, Nancy used to eat the bears ears.

Nancy knew loads of tricks, but would not perform unless she was guaranteed a treat.

Nancy won lots of prizes! A silver plate for coming second in the St. Leonards Vintage Harvest Day dog show that she was invited to enter, two first prize red rosettes in dog shows at the Scurlogstown Olympiad and the Trim Vintage and Veteran Car Show, a bag of dog food that she promptly nibbled the corner of to get at the contents before I could carry it home, a third place yellow rosette in the dog show at the Royal Meath Show and a life-size framed photograph of herself for coming first runner up in a competition run by Leinster Horse and Pony Rescue!

Nancy hated having her front legs and paws brushed and cutting her nails was a two person job, one to distract her with treats while the other cut her nails.