Today We Are Six

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Siddy turns six years old today.
I’d forgotten til I looked at the calendar this morning …. Luckily dogs don’t take too much notice of the passing of time – unless they are waiting for treats that is……

As I prepared this small post in praise of my little companion it struck me that here is the very reason why everybody should have a dog – and most especially those of us who live alone. This guy, named (in case you never knew or may have forgotten) after the prince who became the Buddha, Siddhartha, because the day I first met him and held him in my arms he settled in peaceably, gazing up at me and the woman said “Oh, he looks like a little Buddha there in your arms.” And I thought ‘well, that can’t be a bad thing!’ And he really has enriched every day of my life since.

He takes me walking not once but most often twice every day and makes people smile at us as we walk along. He reminds me what time it is when I lose myself in my art or craft or a good book. Treat time, play time, dinner time……. He pays attention to every move I make and needs me always to be kind. He tells me when someone is approaching my gate, when the postie is at the box, when certain cars pull up outside. He makes sure I cuddle something warm and furry several times a day and that I laugh out loud regularly. He asks that my eyes soften at least three times every day as I tell him what a good and super little fellow he is and he makes me aware that right now is the best time to be doing whatever it is we are doing.

Baby Siddy – taken the day we met, the day he stole my heart…

Siddy six weeks old
July 2014 Siddy takes me to the beach
October 2014 – In need of a hair cut

Almost a year into our relationship Siddy was temporarily deserted when his mumma took off to the US for a couple of weeks to visit with some blogging pals and Siddy spent his first birthday with his second favourite person, Danella. He missed his mum though

Luckily, by this time he was good friends with his kitty

But after that we settled into a routine of simple daily life, interspersed with a few adventures. And so the years have passed on by.

There’s treat time

and cheese time

And mumma time

Siddy still brings joy to every day, loves people more than other dogs and is just managing to survive lockdown – but only just….

Right now I’ve never been more grateful to have this little fellow in my life. He still bounds out of bed every morning, comes at me like a wriggling torpedo, tail waggling his whole body. Good morning, good morning! Let’s have breakfast. Let’s go for a walk. Let’s have at this day!

When I feel the anxiety rising I can look at him and know right here, right now, everything is actually alright. There are things to do, fetches to be fetched, growled at, tossed about. Cuddles to be had. Treats to be entreated for. Comings and goings to be observed out the window. Naps to be taken. Mealtimes to line up for. A spot of hoovering to be done when there is food preparation going on in the kitchen. And sleepy time comes every evening. A kiss, a cuddle and a carry to bed because when a boy is just too tired to make it there himself, his mumma can help out……. All is well in Siddy’s world and therefore in mine.

Happy Birthday Siddy ❤

Thanks for coming by today, we love that you did!

81 thoughts on “Today We Are Six”

  1. Do want to know about guilt. Here I am, every morning and you get up two hours before I do, yet you wait and then regular as clockwork there you are commenting on my blog and I haven’t been to your blog for eons. And what is more, Siddy is ‘xaclly what I need but I’m not allowed to have a dog in mu unit. So now I will go back to my settings and make sure I haven’t hit a button which is why I haven’t been getting notifications. And now I need coffee. But I will take some time and browse back through your posts. Lots of warm messages from across the ditch.

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    • Well hello John 🙂 Lovely to see you pop by. I think it is a shame older people aren’t allowed dogs as companions. It’s a proven fact that people who live with pets. particularly dogs, are happier and healthier and less inclined to depression and the other ailments of loneliness. It’s probably quite easy to miss my posts – I’m quite erratic and if you blink and miss it there won’t be another one along for weeks, sometimes months. But yes, I do read every morning over my first coffee of the day and then again at lunchtime or whenever I’m moving between activities, so I can mostly keep up with all your posts and enjoy reading ’em. I’ll see you as usual tomorrow morning ❤

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  3. He’s gorgeous! Happy Birthday, Siddy! When I saw written ‘Baby Siddy’ I immediately jumped to ‘Baby Ziggy’ who was our wee Main Coon cat, who died when he was only nine, about 3 years ago. He had such similar qualities and loved life, always curious, always fun. We really miss him. So every day with your Siddy counts and i love that you shared him with us :>)

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    • Orlando is a Maine Coon Lynne, so I can imagine your sorrow when you lost your Ziggy. I’m pleased you enjoyed this little tribute to my favourite doggo – I adore both my little fellows and am very fortunate to have such cool stable mates at this time 🙂

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  4. Happy birthday, Siddy. What a beautiful post, Pauline. You almost make me feel that I need a dog. I’m so pleased you have Siddy to keep you company and allow peace to reign in your isolation. Enjoy the opportunities these changing times bring. Stay safe. Thank you for your positive post.

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    • Thank you Norah 🙂 I do understand that not everyone wishes for, or is able to have a dog – but, if they do , they should! 🙂 I hope you are doing well too, making the most of new opportunities and staying safe and well. Happy Easter, much love xo

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  5. Happy Birthday Siddy! Everything you say is so true. Without Yarn Rascal I would be lost, especially now at this time. Yarn Rascal is just one year older the Siddy. Happy BIrthday again SIddy. You are a wonderful little soul who brings so much love and goodness into your Mama’s world.

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  6. I’m so so sorry Siddy, I’ve been so busy in the garden over the weekend I’ve only just got back to reading blog posts. Wishing you a very very very very HAPPY belated birthday. Your Mum is absolutely right, everyone should have a dog. Tell her also that this is a beautiful post and thank her for sharing. Big hugs from me and a snuzzle from Harry xx

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  7. A most enlightened post about the love of a good dog named Siddy. He lives in the moment, like a good Buddhist, dwelling neither on the past or the future. We can all learn from that in these difficult times. Every day, I thank the heavens for our little dog who insists on his twice daily walks and makes us laugh at least that many times a day. As always, Pauline, thanks for brightening the blogosphere.

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  8. Oh, Pauline, this is a lovely tribute to your sweet boy. I remember his homecoming well. You went out to get an adult dog as I recall and came home with a puppy. Rightly so it would seem. How lucky for me that I got to meet him and his Momma, and the auntie’s too.

    Anxiety is a bear. It’s suffocating and hard to put down. But if one must shelter in place, by golly, having a sweet fellow like Siddy and his roommate O making it livable. Sending a big hug your way, and extra cuddles for the birthday boy. xo

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    • That’s right! I did not fancy raising a puppy at all, especially with O never having lived with one. I was right to be wary of it too 😀 Those first weeks were complete and utter chaos – but still, even with all that, I was melted 🙂 I really missed D for the two weeks we self isolated, even though we talked and videoed regularly. Now she is able to visit again and that is lovely.

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      • I seem to remember Orlando hiding on high surfaces when possible. It warms my heart to see them so snugly together. Is your self-isolation in New Zealand over? California just added another month.

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        • Your memory is better than mine Alys 🙂 I had forgotten that Orlando took to living on top of the fridge for the better part of the year and travelled around the house without ever touching the floor 😀 We are still in isolation and will be for another two weeks at least. (though I haven’t listened to any news for three days so may be a bit behind the ball game) D and I share a bubble now. We can do that here when people live alone they can choose to bring two solo bubbles together as long as they don’t then interact with other bubbles. Can you do that too?

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          • Pauline, this is fascinating! I’ve not heard of the bubble, but it makes sense. Does this mean that D is no longer going to work? What trying times. I’m glad you’ll be able to share time and space in real time.

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            • D is working from home Alys. She was on track to do that anyway when the government closed the entire country down. ‘Bubble’ was quickly coined here by our lovely PM when she first gave us descriptions of how isolation would work. And now we all happily refer to our bubbles and their bubbles and the police are kept busy trying to contain the folk who pop out of their bubbles because they get bored or just don’t want to play the coronavirus game ……

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                • Oh Ha! Very good – now you are taking up poetry to add to your box of talents 🙂 Yesterday it was announced that as we are tracking so very well we will stay one more week at Level 4 then move to two weeks at level 3 (often referred to as Level 4 with takeaways (take-outs to you Americans I think) and if nothing too awful results we might get the opportunity to live at L2 after that. Which is as close to normality as can be got at this time in our shared history. Our borders however will remain closed for the foreseeable future. How are you doing in California?

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                  • Ha! Box of talents, eh? You made me smile.
                    We don’t have “levels” here, though I wish we did. It’s a clever way of looking at things. We had a bit of stunning news yesterday, though. Here is the quote from the Guardian:

                    “Health officials now say two people died from COVID-19 in California in early February before the first reported death from the disease in the United States.

                    Santa Clara County officials, in northern California, said they now know a 57-year-old woman died in her home on 6 February and a 69-year-old man died in his home on 17 February. The woman, Patricia Dowd, was a San Jose resident, according to public death records.

                    The first official recorded death in the nation from the virus was reported on 29 February in Kirkland, in the state of Washington. Before the results from the three deaths, officials believed the first case of community-transmitted coronavirus in Santa Clara county had not occurred before 28 February.

                    The medical examiner-coroner of Santa Clara County received confirmation on Tuesday that tissue samples obtained during autopsies and sent to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested positive for the virus, officials said.”

                    So it was here in our midst much earlier than thought and appears to have started in the US here in San Jose.

                    I’m proud of our County’s response to a number of things. We were the first and earliest county to shelter in place, and that seems to have paid off keeping the numbers down. Statewide, they’ve finally realized that leaving homeless people to fend for themselves will bring about more death and misery, so the state has lined up thousands of Motel 6 motel/hotel rooms to house the most vulnerable. I hope this can become a long term solution for permanent housing. Stay tuned.

                    I’m so grateful we visited you in 2018 and that you were here in 2015. Otherwise, that chance may never have materialized. xo

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                    • The ‘Levels’ thing has certainly made the way we view our processes very very clear. You have to be a complete numpty not to understand what is required – and we have a number of those sadly. I think as more info becomes available to the health services generally more is being known and understood about this pandemic – but it only takes a single slip up for dozens to be put at risk. And of course the more we move around the easier it is to spread. The disadvantaged being cared for is always a point of good news and something I look to see coming out of this time – not just for now – but forever. Well done San Jose!

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  11. Oh sweet Siddy, I’m so happy you and mamma found each other. It’s a love affair for the ages. You make everyone you meet smile and wish they had a puppers just like you. I can picture you flopped in moms arms as you make your way at night. Ears dangling, floppy paws and a your little nose ready for kisses, a complete dreamboat. Happy Birthday Siddy ❤ Keep well and mom too through this epic mess. xoxo K

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    • Poor Siddy is desperate for his visitors to return to him – isolation is not a thing sociable little fellows bear very well. Luckily Danella has just completed her two weeks isolation and can join her bubble with our bubble again that will make the epic mess harder to bear for us both! Although I have to admit, I’ve never been so busy on videos and social media – my heavens, my usual hermit like life style has quite gone out the window. I am desperate for some alone time 🙂 How are you doing with it all?

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      • Oh brilliant, Danella can join up with you ! That’s sure to bring smiles all around. We’re actually doing quite well. Jim works from his new office all day and I toodle around either doing house chores or crafting or on the internet. I have a subscription to Big Picture Classes and really enjoy them. There’s a class for just about anything you can imagine. I’m learning new things on iMovie trying to become a YouTube’r and enjoying paper inspiration from friends around the world. I do miss seeing my pals though but I know this is important, self isolation is the least that I can do. xoxo K

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        • I was just saying to D yesterday that you would be a brilliant YouTuber!! Watch out world 🙂 and yes, isolating is all we can do to help the world – it’s good to keep that foremost in our minds when we start to get antsy isn’t it 🙂

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  15. Happy Birthday to Siddy. You capture the joy of dogs (pets) to a tee, Pauline. They live in the present and remind us to do the same, to enjoy the simple moments of life in the now, that life is all right. What a sweet post and wonderful companion. Keep enjoying each other. ❤

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  18. You know I loved this, Pauline! Happy birthday to my pal Siddy. He captured my heart as well. I love the photo of the two of you…so sweet! I hope Siddy has the best year ever! ❤

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  19. Aw cute. Love his whiskers puts my efforts to shame… btw have you joined Trumpcats with Orlando? Jenni is going stir crazy so her mog, Bozzy, is being embarassed… I’ll mail you the pic since ive never worked out how to put them on comments

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  20. I am SO glad you have him! These are difficult enough times to endure and to do so without a pet would be so lonely! Give the sweet boyo a big birthday hug from me!

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  21. Happy birthday Siddy. You have written a wonderful tribute to him, it so describes a dog’s view of the world- whatever you are doing they want to do too, their inbuilt body clocks are so accurate, and they nag so wonderfully.. meal time, walk time, cuddle time even bedtime. The clonk of their head on your knee the gentle nudging… they have mindfulness down to an art form. Hurrah for dogs and three cheers for Siddy xxx

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  22. A big Happy Birthday to Siddy.
    I echo everything you have written about having a dog apart from the carrying up to bed bit as my two weigh over 20kg a piece 😮 Even if Mr. Tialys had got stuck over in the U.K. instead of here when the lockdowns started, I wouldn’t have considered myself completely isolated with Flo and Stan by my side.
    I can’t imagine ever being without a canine companion

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    • Quite so …. And as to the carrying to bed bit, young Sidd hits 10kg when he’s on the porky side, which he aspires to regularly, a bit like me really – and that is quite a heavy and solid bundle to heave up off the couch. Luckily for me, even though he is ‘fast asleep’. a little upward jump always comes from him to assist in the raising up part of the process…… 😀 These are the little things they do that keep our hearts light ❤

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  23. Happy birthday, you most excellent doggo 🙂 He really does have a wonderful smile!
    Mouse wants me to send sniffs and licks, and says Siddy can run around his backyard any time, and he doesn’t mind sharing his cheese. Which if you know Mouse, is saying something. I’m with you on the blessing our furry companions in what are otherwise rather solitary lives. I’m so glad you have a creature to love and be loved by.

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    • Thanks Kate – he’s a super wee fellow! And I agree, us folk who have chosen to live alone, or had aloneness foisted upon them, are so much better off with a pet really. I’m seeing how hard the isolation is for those without and that has made me even more grateful for my two wee fellows – and really I cannot imagine life without a pet in the house! Now I have to tell you that when I read out to Siddy that Mouse was willing to share his cheese, Siddy’s eyes lit up. He is terribly keen on both the name and the edible, and ran to the door – there is a dog down the road named Mouse and I think that is what came to his mind…. 😀 (There are a plethora of ‘Mouse’s’ in our life both virtually and in daily life – I wonder why this is such a popular name for cats and dogs…….)

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  25. Happy Birthday, Siddy and thanks for taking such good care of your mum. There are no coincidences. He was meant for you, Pauline. Even in lockdown, walks are essential to health and well being. I’m so glad you three have each other.

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  26. Happy birthday to Siddy!!!! I love that picture of you on the beach, Pauline. I saw your notice on Twitter. The little guy is really a bundle of beautiful energy. My niece in NYC is house sitting for friends who went to a second house in Utah before all hell broke loose and decided to stay there for the duration. They have a cat, and she said it was really nice to be there with someone else. I am hoping she can continue to stay safe there. I am still tucked up in my cozy home, but without a dog!

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    • Hi Lisa! When the little fella stops, I stop. I can’t move him if he goes the other way or simply sits down. Luckily for me he is a well behaved doggo and follows commands – mostly 🙂 I didn’t realise Twitter was still picking up my posts – I never go in any more. Glad to hear your niece is comfortably settled in somewhere for the duration with a companion. And I know you are in your lovely apartment complex – a pity about the lack of a pup though. Along with retirement that would be my top two recommendations for a happy life <2 I've really only just caught up with how bad things are in the US and I'm so sorry for all the lovely people who live there. This virus is bad enough for the world without having these moronic leaders looking out just for themselves and making no, or bad, decisions for the people. Stay well, stay safe xo

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