Summer of 2012

A very long gap between my posts I'm aware. So much has been going on, and at times I'm just overwhelmed by whats been happening that I just don't think to sit back and write it all down. Well tonight is one of those nights where I feel I have some time and energy to reflect the past few months.

So I did it! I got a First Class Honours in my Bioveterinary Science degree which means I met my conditional offer at the Royal Veterinary College to study Veterinary Medicine. Words cannot describe my emotions when I found out. How are you supposed to react when the thing you've wanted since you were 3 years old is given to you! Needless to say I was and still am over the frickin moon!

Graduation was a lovely day and was made all the better knowing that in 4 years time I will be sitting in that room once more, but this time getting the degree that really means the world to me. Yet again very emotional, for me but also my parents. We soon cheered up though once we went back to a family BBQ and party.

The rest of my summer was spent collecting what my college calls AHEMS. That is Animal Husbandry Extra Mural Studies. Basically we have to do work experience at different animal practices (12 weeks in total) to learn about the different species and mainly the UK farming industry. I spent 2 weeks on a my favourite dairy farm, which was lovely. The family really make me feel at home and the cows are brilliant. Lorne was friendly as ever and wouldn't move into the milking parlour until she had a good fuss most mornings and afternoons.

I also spent some time at a riding school which wasn't fantastic as they used me as a glorified babysitter most of the time and I got very little hands on with the horses, but I did still manage to count it towards my AHEMS. I feel confident with handling horses anyway from my experiences when I was younger so it wasn't a terrible thing. I only hope I don't get a bad placement when I'm looking for a pig farm, as I have never worked with them before and need to learn a lot.

As well as working sporadically through the summer I was also given the task of re-writing my dissertation. Not for my degree, but to make it a publishable paper. While my results are interesting in a clinical perspective what it of more value is the observation that the gait the cavaliers suffer could be another result of neoteny. Neoteny is the retention of juvenile traits into adulthood such as large eyes, a large head in relation to body, high flat foreheads, and small noses and mouths. All quite typical of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel aesthetic. I will write a post concentrating on this for those that are interested. Its still not finished but it is very exciting working to get something I have done published for the world to see.

In terms of the dog world. Well Freya, our beautiful bitch from Sweden arrived over the summer and what a star she is!

We travelled a total of 1,919 miles in only 30 hours to get her. But she is worth it! She is a completely unique bloodline to the UK and is the start of our breeding line. I sometimes think "poor little thing doesn't know how important she is!" when shes bombing around enjoying life and diving into muddle puddles during our forest walks. She is a typical Kooiker through and through but we love her for it. As she is my mums dog, they have been going to dog training classes together and she is doing very well. Shes already got her Bronze Good Citizen Award and this was when she was only 5 months old. This is quite funny when we've seen some 2 year olds failing. Her first show is the 17th of October and we are very nervous! We are hoping she gets at least a 3rd place, as then she will be qualified to Crufts 2013, which I know will make my mum extremely happy.

She is not the only import this year. I have heard of two other puppies coming into the UK this year. One a bitch from Belgium and another boy pup from Finland. This is great as that's 3 separate bloodlines coming into the UK population. I only hope these puppies are kept away from the dogs who have already bred, or don't turn into excessive breeding stock like a few certain individuals I could name in the Kooiker UK population. If that happens it has completely counteracted the time and energy put into bringing in new bloodline. Yes its difficult and the process is long, but if we are to ensure the Kooikerhondje is a sound and well bred breed in the UK it needs to be done. There aren't the numbers to be the "top breeder"..

Next week will be good for me, as I haven't been in the show scene for much over the summer and need to get back into whats happening etc. I'm sure my next post will fill in any gaps which may have occurred during the very rainy British summer.