Minnie & Maisie The Story of Minnie and Maisie

The story of Minnie & Maisie

Minnie & Maisie - deanysdesigns.co.uk  Minnie & Maisie - deanysdesigns.co.uk  Minnie & Maisie - deanysdesigns.co.uk


We have always owned large breed dogs, mainly Old English Sheepdogs and we once had a Great Dane. And we have never just owned one dog we’ve always had them in pairs or threes and at one stage we owned 9 dogs at one time, 7 of which were OES.

Although it was hard work with them all with grooming, walking and giving each dog plenty of cuddles it was a real pleasure that they were in our lives. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of their lives. We never had to go without going on holiday, we either went in a narrow boat on the canal and took them with us or family would look after them while we were away. They never ever went to kennels, I’m not saying kennels aren’t good but my lot would have pined without doubt as they were used to sleeping on sofas and lounging around on our bed!

To cut a long story short after our last OES died my husband said he would like to have a bit of a break from having a dog for a while because we had owned dogs non stop for 37 years! I however yearned for a puppy but felt it only fair to agree to this time out, as long as it wasn’t forever.

It turned out to be 18 months of being dog free and in that time we went on lots of holidays abroad and did lots of things that we had been a bit restricted to do before. But while my hubby was enjoying his freedom not having to take the dogs for walkies or get up early to let them into the garden, or go out for the day without having to think about having to get back for a certain time I was the opposite . I felt empty inside, no one came to greet me when I returned, no one kept me company when I was alone and going for a walk didn’t seem right without chucking a ball for the dog. We live 2 minutes from the beach and we used to walk on it every day but without a dog we were getting lazy it just seemed pointless to go for a walk.

In that time without any babies I did a lot of research on different dog breeds. We decided to go for a small breed, one that wasn’t so high in maintenance and one that didn’t perhaps need such long walks after all we were both starting to feel ‘older’ these days. So after a lot of research I decided we needed a Poochon which is Bichon Frise x Toy Poodle. They were hypoallergenic, small, loving, loyal and sociable little dogs ….perfect!

In all my years of owning dogs I have never contemplated getting a puppy from a breeding kennels..ever. I have always had them from within a home environment where they were used to everyday life and everyday noises but this time after many hours searching I could not find my Poochon without having to travel hundreds of miles, apart from a breeding kennels that was an hours drive away. I wrestled with my conscience and after checking out the website and finding their testimonials all positive, we went to choose our puppy but in actual fact our puppy chose us!

We entered the puppy room and the breeder picked up the 3 little girls and the tiniest one was so happy she couldn’t control her tongue. It seemed to be longer than her body! She was licking our faces as the breeder was handing her over for us to look at. From that moment she was going to be mine. My husband was saying ‘have a good look at these other two before you decide’ but no! my mind was made up. We were the chosen ones
She was in my arms and she was staying there, my chin was being washed constantly while we were doing the legalities and paying our money.

When we got into the car I gently lowered her into a large pink tub (I had earlier tipped out my granddaughters Lego from it) on a pile of soft blankets and placed it in the footwell by my husbands feet while I drove home.
She let out a great big sigh as if to say ‘ phew job done’ and promptly went sound asleep. It was the first time she had lay on something with any comfort. She had only ever known newspaper on hard floor.
She was 8 weeks old and although she was grubby from the newsprint she was really healthy. She had no worms or fleas and was bright eyed and bushy tailed, just filthy.

We called her Minnie because she was so tiny.

Minnie and Maisie - deanysdesigns.co.uk

Minnie, home at last

Minnie and Maisie - deanysdesigns.co.uk

The new arrival

minnie and Maisie - deanysdesigns.co.uk


Minnie and Maisie - deanysdesigns.co.uk

teeny weeny tiny Minnie

Minnie and Maisie - deanysdesigns.co.uk

Minnie meets Lola (after a bath)

4 Comments

  1. I have just had a peep at your beautiful dogs, thank you for sharing these Lovely photo’s with us, we had a Westi terrier, up to four years ago, she developed a condition that a lot of her breed unfortunately get, growth in their lungs, which, because of struggling to breath, also caused the heart to enlarge, we had to think of her quality of life, and sadly, had to say goodbye, she was 12 and a half years old, we will in time, have another dog, but, the last 18 months, both my husband and myself have been treated for cancer, mine was a breast lump, and my hubby had Prostrate, he also has diabetes, so, until we can call ourselves more or less fit, it wouldn’t;t be fair to introduce another pet into our family, warmest wishes to you and your family, June x.

    • Ohh poor thing, I’ve heard of ‘westie lung’ I think at 12 and half she did very well though, and I bet she had a wonderful life with you. Minnie and Maisie, although not westie’s are honorary members of our local group of westie walkers. The group does wonderful work for westie dog charities and are constantly seeking out new homes for the many rescues that they get.
      All best wishes to you and your husband for the future, I hope you keep well and keep positive it sounds like you’ve had your fair share of sickness and stress recently, now it’s time to kick the illness and start to live again 🙂

    • Love animals am a. Man answers for mum, get me you helped before

Leave a Reply to Brian Millett Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *