This post comes very late, in fact very, very, very late. For which I am deeply apologetic, but at the same I know you will understand why.

Sadly Ollie had to be euthanised back in the summer of 2007.
It was the saddest day ever, but that boy, that gorgeous boy, well he had battled and struggled onwards as best he could, and finally had been taken into the grips of epilepsy, as only it could take grasp him and not let him go.
I saw in his eyes that day that it was time to let him be at peace, so the lovely vet he knew from all his visits came to the house in between the seizures and we said our last goodbye.

It really was the hardest thing we have ever had to do, but our own bravery was there purely to end the suffering of a special dog, a once in a lifetime boy who will always stay firmly in our hearts. Ollie was a dog in a million, of that there is NO doubt.

In his memory, and so that some good can come of his demise, we started a charity called Ollie's Fund For Canine Epilepsy Research, in order to raise funding for the neurologists at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, UK - all of the profits from our fundraising go to them, and is used purely just for canine epilepsy research.
You can find out more here
http://www.aht.org.uk/news_archive.html#ollie
http://www.aht.org.uk/supporting_appeals.html#ollie

Thank You to everyone who emailed asking about Ollie, I'm sure he'll be glad to know he's still around in your thoughts.

If you wanted to check our blog which follows the trail to find Ollie's best friend, our Bracco Italiano Jacob who has sadly been missing since January 21st 2009 please click here
http://missingbraccojacob.blogspot.com/

Sorry it's been ages since I wrote, but well sometimes us boys find ourselves having too much fun ! This time though truth is I was very poorly before Santa Claws came and kept falling down lots and then I had to be carried to the poorly place where they tried to make me better. It was very bad and poor Mummy and Daddy thought it was my last days as they were crying and being very sad. Aunty Tina the poorly doctor came out to see me but even though I was very sick I managed to get up and meet her at the gate as Mummy said if it wasn't time to go then to let her know. So that's why I went to the gate, it was my sign to say i'm not done here yet, so I got myself better and here I am.
I am so much betterer these days, and guess what ? I haven't fallen down for 5 weeks now - how cool is that ! I feel like a new dog since Mummy dropped one of my tablets, and she got me some newer ones, I like them newer ones and hated the old type ones. I am so much betterer now and have been going walkies every day AND keeping up with my Brother and Sisters, so as you can tell I am doing well ~ i'm still going and there's life in the old bones yet.

Anyways, enough of my medical history, coz that's real boring stuff, let me tell you about the last few weeks and what i've been up to.
On the day Santa Claws came to visit I got lots of presents, some nice new toys to demolish and a nice turkey dinner with lots of nice vegetables....YUMMMMM ! I liked the turkey so much that the next day when Mummy wasn't looking and had left the door open to where it was stored, I went in and ate the whole lot, you know just to be social and share in the festivities. I was caught (worse luck) just before I started on the whole honey gammon ham Mummy took 2 hrs cooking the day before. For some reason I don't think she'd have been too pleased if I ate that aswell.
Mind you I did manage to steal a dish of these round tiny cabbage looking things, I think that they are called Sprouts, well after a few hours I was wishing that I never did eat those as they made for embarrasing windipops, everyone laughed at me and I was given the cold shoulder for any cuddles coz they said I was a smelly bum.The cheek of it !
Daddy was right, them sprouts ARE hideous,and I won't be having those again next year i'll stick with the turkey thanks very much :-)
Now let's think back, oh yes, I had a nice time when some friends came to stay over the time when the big clock in the sky sets again, I think it's called New Year, funny coz that happens every year. Anyways, my new friend Barney came to stay too, he's only a young whippersnapper of a Spinone, so I tried to show him the ropes, you now, how to steal off the worktops without being seen, hide in the garden and not come in when called, bark at the fence even if there's nothing there, give out the doggy eyed look to get away with ANYTHING with Aunty Sarah, all the important things in life.Yep, he was coming along quite nicely.
So I was sad when he went home, but i'll be seeing him again soon for further tutoring.

After all that business of people coming to stay and me getting lots of extra helpings of dinner whilst they were about (and not being able to check on me too much) it's all quietend down a bit now and back to normality, at last I can get some peace and quiet after my walk in the woods.Nothing I like more than to be able to stretch my legs on a run, leave my messages out there to say i'm still about (in case word on the wood was that I wasn't)and then come home and sleep it off til dinner time. Yep, It's definitely a dog's life i'd say ~ Well if you have a nice Mummy and Daddy that is.

Be back soon,
Love Olliexx

I think that today my Mummy has finally lost the plot !
About this time last year the same thing happened........
First of all there's this huge big box that comes out of the wooden hole in the ceiling that goes right up to the sky, then another box with all dead twigs and glass in it comes out.

Next thing you know there's my Mummy, a usually sane person (well most of the time anyways!)putting together this sky tree that's all broken, and then, and ya gotta see it to beleive this bit, she puts these stars on it that came out from the sky, and they go all twinkling. She'd finally lost the plot when I saw that she was putting these little 'things' on it, like cherubs, (whatever they is) pearls on a string and reindeers, or Christmas doggies as we calls em.
So ya see, now what's that all about then. Why would my Mummy do that in our conservatory? maybe that's the new place where we are to go wee-wee's - hmmm yep, maybe that's what it is ? Or, hmmm maybe it's where Mummy & Daddy now goes wee-wee's ? I will have to see what happens. Tomorrow I will sit on my favourite sofa out there and see what I spy.

'Nother thing that makes me think Mummy is gone a bit loopy is coz she started these past few days with pressing on my eyeballs. I know, what's that all about then ?
Do you think she thinks they might pop out or they might be lookin a bit loose or somefink?
She seems to do it when I look a bit like I might fall down, but, well surely pressing on my eyeballs ain't gonna hold me up is it. My Mummy is too funny sometimes. She may be a bit loppy loo, but I sure do luvs her. She makes me laugh a lot (and makes nice biscuits too :-0)

Daddy has just bought a new thing to hit for his 'gym', it is very tall like Daddy and he hits it with these big squashy hands he puts on and guess what - it dosen't hit him back. Jacob likes to join Daddy in this new game and likes to chase the fighting man though Daddy said it wasn't a game for Jacob to play as the punching man will knock him over. My lickle Brother Jacob is very brave, I didn't go near the punching man as he was very big and heavy.Maybe another day I will go near him when he's sleeping, maybe we can make friends?

Well, I am a bit tired now, so wil have a sneak around to see what foods been left about, see if anyone has been near the new indoor toilet tree, and then i'm off to get my tablets (YUK!) and into my snuggle quilt at the end of Mummy & Daddys beddie. Night night.
Luv Ollie xx

Mornin everyone

Well, my Mummy saw a nice journal by another doggie epi-friend and she said I should write my own journal, so here I am.

Guess should introduce myself then.
My name is Ollie, my Mummy and Daddy sometimes calls me Olliebobs, or Oy, or other names which I don't understand, but that's when i'm being naughty which can be often.They just don't understand that when i'm hungry I'M HUNGRY ! but i'll tell you about all later on.

Anyway, where was I, ah yes, well i'm a 4 and a half yr old Italian Spinone, and I started to have Grand Mal seizures in Feb '05, and I have been a very poorly boy on and off since then. I think Mummy said I have had about 250 of them now, I hate it when I fall down and my head turns off, afterwards I am always dizzy and I like to sleep a lot, but I do get to have Mummy all to myself and she always lets me sleep on her bed then, so she can keep cuddling me. So it's not all bad, and these days I am trying not to fall down so often, and that makes me and Mummy happier.
I have a Brother who is a Bracco Italiano, a big Sister who is a Spinoni aswell, and my real Sister who is the same as me too, she is what Mummy calls my litter sister, I thought when I went into the big wide world when I was lickle that I wouldn't see my brothers and sisters again, but one day Mummy & Daddy brought Tiva home and I heard mutterings about that my little Sis had been treated not nice by her old Mummy, so had come here to live with us. I was pleased as she came with new toys and some treats that I could steal, and she liked to play a lot, but was a bit shy sometimes. Mummy said we can make her happy here. Well I know that, I have the most bestest Mummy & Daddy as they feed me, I am allowed onto the couch, but not when i'm wet or muddy? don't think they like that, (oh and they don't like the mud in their bed either, and they put up these metal-like gates there for muddy times but again that's a whole new story!) - where was I, oh yeah and get nice treats and walks in the woods where I can wander off.
Sometimes I wander off in the wrong direction, and they I get lost, once I found myself in a strange place and couldn't hear Mummy calling me as I was trotting along too quick. I went into a garden and saw a nice lady who invited me in to share some cake with her and her husband. It was a jammy cake, so it was a good find. I was even allowed on their couch, I thought well my Italian good looks definitely came up trumps ! I had a nice bowl of tea and then I heard Mummy in another room, she was so happy to see me she had water running down her face, I thought the cake was good, but not worth water down the face. She took me home again, that was good as I heard the people with the cake muttering about they couldn't keep me. I wanted to go home anyways, no place like home.

In the summer I had a thing where my tummy swelled up like a big fat balloon, and I had a bit of my tummy taken out, think it was called bloat, I was very sick then, and Mummy said I nearly went to the bridge then. I think I remember that Mummy said I have nearly been there many times, but so far I like to stay home.That bridge place don't sound too bad though, I overheard my old Sisters and Brothers are there, and my friends that used to come walking with us, but don't come now. I thought they just got lazy or I stole too many of their biscuits and didn't want to go walkies with us, but they've actually gone to this place called the bridge. Think i'd like to go there one day, but not yet.I need to know i'll have my couch and a warm bed there first.Anyway i'd miss Mummy and Daddy, so i'll stay here for now and try not to fall down too much.

Well, I think you sort of know me a bit now, i'm glad Mummy said to write this, it'll be fun sharing my time with you but i'm off now to see what I can steal from the kitchen, was sure that I spotted a box of sticky cereal left out in the kitchen, that should be fun to eat, last time they stuck all over the floor and when I went and had a sloppy drink in between munching, Mummy came in and went a deep shade of blue seeing the mess I made. Blue certainly wasn't her favourite colour though ! I can get away with anything with her, she's so soft !

Hope you get some nice walks and treats today,

Luv
Ollie xx