Thanks for all the reply’s. Still getting used to coming home to an empty house. I think that’s the worst of it. I miss the happy greeting you get from a dog no matter what type of shitty day you may have had they are always happy to see you.

An open letter to Uggski

Mate;

I know that was hard for you, but thanks. I was struggling and I couldn’t go on. I’ve tried to keep up appearances for you but I couldn’t any more, so when it was time, thanks so much for doing what you had to do. I know it’ll make you sad, but try not to be; you’ve been the best owner I could have wished for and today just proved it.

Think of the good times we had together and remember me as the strong fit dog that i was. And when time has healed, do one more thing for me. Give another dog the chance you gave me, so they too can know what it means to be cherished.

Thanks for everything.

Dog.

Sent that to my wife. Now she is even more in bits but a bit happier

Thanks. We’ve both been in bits all day. Not sure why I have posted this really, except it just seems to help putting it into words. Coming home it’s the first time in 15 years there hasn’t been a fur ball to greet us.

So today I had to do one of the hardest things I have ever done. I took my dog to the vet for the last time. RIP buddy.

Thanks for all the suggestions and kind words. Not looking forward to the next few days but will make the most of the time.

last night he perked up a bit and seems his new favorite food is baby food. Sunday chicken roast. Couldn’t get enough.

Ron

ho ho, what a bruiser! No ones mucking with that car, bet he’s soft as shite tho

He is. Probably lick you to death.

I have however been given a point on my driving licence for riding my bike.

Bicycle? How did you manage that?

My favorite. New car security system.

This is the key – from the sounds of it you’ll know the look that says it’s time to say goodbye.

I hope so. We’ve been through a lot together.

So sorry to hear this. This part of having a pet is heartbreaking…

True but the rest makes up for it.

Thanks for the replies.

Creatinine level was around 400. Vet Says it’s about stage 4. So yes we know there is not much time, which is why we are reluctant to waste it by keeping him in a surgery for 3 days.

At the moment he seems happy. Gets excited when we come in, still wants to go for a walk although that’s very slow. Still wanders off to smell everything he can so while he is like this I am happy to leave it.

When he won’t do anything I’m sure we will know it’s time. :(

Thanks.

Tried that but he just turns away. Going to the vet again this afternoon as there may be a way to administer the fluids under the skin ourselves. Also going to get low protein food as that can help. problem with that is it is pretty bland so may need to mix it with chicken stock or some other tempter.

not looking good for the poor fella. :(

As it’s been resurrected I want to hear more about WillH’s Ewok village.

Did it ever get built

I have to say apart from the increased rent our HA was very hands off and it worked flawlessly. It was only when we came to sell that it got to be an issue.

Even then we were able to sell on the open market after the initial 6 week period we had to have it with them. as said before. they were very slow on paperwork but i probably didn’t help my cause by refusing to pay their demands.

I bought a house on the shared basis. I wouldn’t do it again. The reason is that the rent goes up every year. Every year! When I bought the house the rent was £225 for the 50% share. 6 years later it had gone up to just over £400.

The main reason though is that when you come to sell you may be responsible for all the costs. Both yours and the HA. When I sold mine they wanted me to pay for everything yet still wanted half the sale price. Luckily for me I managed to wriggle out of it because they had not got me to sign anything. They kept insisting on it referring to their terms and conditions. I kept asking for a signed copy which they could not produce. eventually and it took a letter from a lawyer to resolve. Their costs were just over £4000.

I have one. Not too hard to setup. It was a bit fiddly to clamp the cable at the dropper end. Seems to work well enough. I bought it because it seems easily serviceable.

You could try *#9900#

I had this issue a while back. The problem I think was that every time you drop or connect to WiFi it writes a log. This clears the log.

Maybe just stop at one of the garages with a jetwash on the way home.

If you do the Garden Route you could always stop at Addo National park near Port Elizabeth. Not particularly expensive but worth it for the elephant. Don’t spend any time in Joburg if you can help it. It’s a dump. Same for Durban. I’m from Durban and there is nothing there touristy of value. Southern Suburb beaches are the best. The only suggestion would be to go visit the Sharks Board at Umhlanga.

Broke my first bones a week ago riding a motorbike. Broke the tib and fib. Pinned and plated. Booked off anything active for the next month. Can’t even drive. Going up the wall with boredom.

Thanks Khani. Second person to recommend them.

Get her to transfer as a gift, (Not sure of the exact process) it to you. So long as she lives for 7 years there is no tax. My Mom did it for me years ago. She still lives in it. I think she has to pay us some sort of nominal rent as part of it but we mostly ignore that.

Would be very wary of following that advice especially the last bit. Unless you want a nasty shock.

As I said before. I was abroad when it was all done and to be honest back then didn’t really worry about it as it seemed a bit wrong to be anticipating the death of a loved one. My brother handled it all and he is a pretty straight bloke so I assume he took advice on it. I still don’t care enough about it to get into it.

If I’m left some money it will be nice. I might be able to go out and buy that really nice bike or, more likely, Wifey will spend it on redoing the kitchen. :D

Should your parents require lengthy care home treatment as they near the end of their days, will you put your hand I your pocket to pay for this out if the assets that would have otherwise scored against the means test. Or are you happy for the costs to be picked up from general taxation?

We may just take her for a long walk off a short pier. 8O :-)

Might be worth looking into as you could still be liable for the tax. Certainly don’t think you have done it for ages so you’ve got away with it now. This could still come back at you

From .gov linked above:
If you don’t pay a market rent, the gift will be considered a ‘gift with reservation of benefit’ and the house may be subject to Inheritance Tax.

I never really thought about it to be honest. Just assumed it was all taken care of. Will ask for a few more details from Bro.

Well as I said. The house was gifted to all members of the family on an equal basis. (4 of us) She did it a long time ago when Dad died as she wanted to sort things out. She is now 89 so has lived a lot longer than she thought. My older brother handles all the details. I don’t know the exact details as I was living abroad and left it to him. All I know is it will be sold when she dies and the proceeds shared.

Get her to transfer as a gift, (Not sure of the exact process) it to you. So long as she lives for 7 years there is no tax. My Mom did it for me years ago. She still lives in it. I think she has to pay us some sort of nominal rent as part of it but we mostly ignore that.

Cars seem to turn people into psychopaths – aggressive bullies who have no care for anyone else’s needs…

The sooner self-driving cars come along the better, driving is encouraging so much unhealthy behaviour it’s astonishing.

Just for perspective, c3500 people died in The Troubles from 1960s-1998 but 1754 died on UK roads in just one year in 2012, and we continue to treat driving as some kind of human right which must be defended at all costs…

How many years were there in 2012? :D

Amazing how quickly those machines cut and strip those trees.

Apparently most of the ones stopped near me were mostly for riding on the pavement. Not for no helmet. A lot of them just happened not to have helmets.

The new Governor of the Bank of England is Canadian so you do get a look in. That’s a pretty influential position IMHO.