From Leo new home, the email was entitled "Leo the chancer"
Had a great laugh reading this, 2 Dogs In Distress doggies getting to know eachother!! Woody was adopted last year.

Day one of Leo in his new home is coming to a close. As I type this he is asleep in Woody’s bed That is not a problem as Woody has never slept in his bed except by sheer accident. Leo has a lovely new bed and he thinks that it a great place to hide the ball..

Today we went with the flow. I collected Leo from Sandra just before lunch. Thanks to Sandra and the DID team for taking care of Leo. We drove home with Woody riding shotgun ie strapped in but with his head between the two front seats to show who was boss. They were both very good in the car and when I got home I realised that both dogs needed a nap so we arranged ourselves on the couch starting with me in the middle but that was not to Leo’s liking so he had to move to Woodys side. They were stuck together until Leo started to snore and Woody bailed to a nearby armchair. They spent a good while in the garden playing chasing and doing other things not mentioned in polite conversation but that calmed down after a few minutes.

Leo likes his grub and is a much better eater than Woody. He made short shift of his dinner and then went over to Woody’s bowl and ate a bit of his dinner. I will have to watch that as I dont want Leo to overeat on a regular basis.

When my daughter came home the two boyos went a little mental before having another little nap while I went to the gym for an hour so they were full of beans on my return and Leo in the meantime had remembered how to climb on the couch and climb the stairs. He cannot get down the stairs without human assistance ( I picked him up and brought him down 3 times while he practiced climbing up the stairs..

We had more games in the garden by lamplight and finally at 11 pm in desperation I threw a lead on the pair of them and walked them round the block. That was their first walk together because they were too busy having fun and naps all afternoon. That seemed to do the trick and they both realised that they were tired. I include some pictures of the hero including Leo the beggar. No Woody is not a saint. He is on the far side of the chair begging. I also include Leo in front of the fireplace and the boys on the couch.

I am going to bed wrecked and I cannot wait for tomorrow.
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From Leos forever home:
Just a quick note to say that Leo had his little operation yesterday at the vets in Terenure. He came home starving and was not too impressed with a light supper of boiled chicken. The first picture is Leo doing his Oliver Twist impression We all went to bed early and after being a little restless for a while Leo slept for a large part of the night. Luckily it was raining this morning and I could persuade Leo and Woody that it was not worth going out. We spent the morning on the couch. I attach a picture of Woody doing some intensive nursing. Even the couch loses it appeal and the boys are now busy checking the doggie beds for stowaways or more likely any stray food.
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I really think Leo’s Dad Jim should start writing a book!!!
His last update made me smile, this one is a laugh out loud one
Chapter 2 is entitled – Dogs don’t do Winter time.
Leo called me this morning around 5 a.m. to bring him outside to
the toilet and by the time he had finished Woody was down to tell me that it was time to get dressed. So I am typing this after a walk in the park which began in darkness and ended just as dawn broke. Leo and Woody are asleep beside me on the sofa.

Leo is well over his little operation.Within 24 hours of the operation Leo was in his element and did not notice that he had a big plastic bucket on his head ( By the way I was very impressed with the vets in Terenure. They gave Leo great care.)

Leo and his big brother Woody continue to be the best of pals. They are inseparable. They sometimes play chase around me barking and and Leo hides behind the sofa because Woody cannot fit there. Woody then decides that he had enough and gets up on my armchair because he thinks that Leo cannot jump up there and will leave him alone. Leo is now quite confident when jumping and just jumps onto the chair and climbs on Woody. Other times Leo dances around the floor, play-bowing and growling until the chase resumes.

I never realised that Woody was such a good dog until I adopted Leo. Woody can be a stubborn wee git but is a saint compared to his new brother. Leo is a chewer, a shredder, a sock thief etc. In fact he will take anything he can lift and for a dog with a small mouth he can lift a lot. Leo also copies his big brother in many things. In the morning Woody does his bum in the air stretch at the top of the stairs and Leo copies every move. I now have two assistant landscapers specialising in drainage (holes) and material relocation (stones). Because of this I have a new use for hanging baskets (to protect the edges of the holes while the grass recovers) and I have a new occupation, stone reclamation. I spend my time confiscating stones from Leo and Woody and there are stones in my pockets, on the mantle piece, on window sills etc.

I have discovered recently that Leo is not just a shih tzu. He is a cream terracotta bearded shih tzu. I was making an adjustment to the dog door which leads from the garden into the utility area. Neither Leo or Woody will not use the dog door because the noise of it scares them so the dog door is removed and I was fitting a hood over the hole. On my way back to the shed I noticed Leo was lying in a little patch of white grass with something in his mouth. I asked myself where did the little brat get the talcum powder then I realised that the tin of talcum powder was a paint tester from B & Q. It meant an immediate visit to the the kitchen sink where Leo got a quick facial. He was none the worse for his experience if a little bland around his gob. I caught him before he got any paint in his mouth.

Leo now trusts me and will leave Woody on the sofa to follow me to the kitchen or up the stairs although he usually stops at the turn of the stairs so he can keep an eye on us both. There was a funny side to this but it took me a while to see the joke. A few nights ago I left the two boys asleep on the sofa and went to bed. About 2 a.m. I heard Leo calling me from the bottom of the stairs so I brought him out for a wee. I went back to bed and he started to call me again. This time he brought me into the front room. He wanted me to sit on the sofa so he could go to sleep touching both me and Woody, if you don’t mind.

Just as well that I love Leo because if I did not I would have to kill him.

I attach one picture of the best buds taken wile Leo was sporting his bucket. I cannot go for the camera this morning because Leo Is a light sleeper. Probably just as well because they are a right pair of "scruffy murphys" this morning.
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