Patsy - Our Miniature Schnauzer
a celebration of her life
Patsy was born on Christmas Day in 2006, and we acquired her from a breeder at around the age of 2 and a half in July 2009. She needed a caesarian with her puppies so the breeder was unable to breed from her again and was looking for a good home for her. She settled in to our 15 acre country house hotel in Wales immediately. These were taken in the first week...
She loved meeting guests and receiving fuss and featured on many Christmas cards over the years...
We trained her well, and she knew she had to lift her paw to say "please"...
In March 2011, we filmed Four in a Bed and Patsy made her national television debut including a speaking part!
In 2013, we catered for a private meeting for the Duke of Cambridge for a second time, and on this occasion, our little princess got to meet a prince!
In August of the same year, we woke one morning to find that Patsy no longer had the use of her back legs. She had suffered from a blood clot, known as an FCE which is like a stroke. We luckily had no guests the previous evening so following a consultation with the vet before they even opened, we rushed her to a doggie hospital in Liverpool where she spent six nights. We were told worst case she would never walk again, best case she would walk with a limp but never climb stairs or jump again.
With complete bed rest for six weeks, lots of physio exercises and a lot of love, she made a miraculous and full recovery. She had shaky legs in her later years but continued to go up stairs until the day she died.
​
Eventually she was able to jump on the sofa and onto the bed again...
In July 2014, we moved to Torquay and she soon relaxed here too...
She loved the English Riviera sun, and the many gifts she received off guests. But sometimes she got too hot and needed her fan.
She loved her twice daily walks in the local park...
The second time we won the title of "Best B&B in the World", Patsy made it onto live national TV with us.
Patsy always loved a bit of fuss and a lap to sit on...
But she was always happiest in her bed (actually two beds on top of each other for extra comfort, along with a pillow and a blanket)...
She once managed to get in between the two beds...
She went to the groomer's regularly, but sometimes after a muddy walk she'd need an extra bath. She didn't really mind the hair dryer afterwards...
After a long walk, she'd be exhausted and snoring away...
As she got older, she needed glasses to read, but was still down with the kids and enjoyed a good selfie...
During the pandemic, Patsy clapped for carers, but she was sad there was no longer anybody to watch go by on the streets...
In October of 2020, Patsy met Patsy when Dame Joanna Lumley stayed with us.
Only a week later, whilst undergoing a routine dental procedure to remove some teeth, the vet discovered a large tumor on Patsy's spleen, and after further investigation found it had spread to her lungs and no treatment was available. She was given a month to live! Best case 3-6 months, definitely not 12.
​
Somehow, yet again, she defeated all odds and continued to trot round happily for another 15 months. We were able to say goodbye every single night and tell her how much we loved her.
​
We took a photo of her every single evening as we said goodnight, just incase she didn't wake up the next day. What we thought were her remaining few days turned into weeks, then months and we ended up with hundreds of photos...
She loved her walks (as long as it wasn't raining), particularly along the coastal path and at Berry Head. She got up and down our steps, and had both of her daily walks even on her last day.
On 9th February 2022, she climbed our steps one last time and collapsed. We took her to the vets, and her time had come and we said goodbye to her. We were loving and fussing her to the end as she fell asleep forever, to wait on the rainbow bridge for us. Our reception area has always been full of rainbows. Now Patsy's beautiful life is represented and will live on in every one of those rainbows.
On 14th February, we collected her ashes from the beautiful Meadow Wood Pets Garden of Remembrance and Crematorium. We had a walk round the garden and enjoyed the views in what is such a peaceful setting. We have chosen to have Patsy's ashes back home with us, and we have arranged to scatter some of them in the grounds of Plas Dinas Country House (our previous hotel) where she spent half of her life. Here she is amongst the blue bells in Wales when we lived there near the spot we plan to scatter her ashes...
​
Update: we scattered some of her ashes at Plas Dinas in May 22.
As we drove home from the crematorium with Patsy's ashes, we saw three or four rainbows on route. Patsy was telling us she was safely at the rainbow bridge.
As one guest put it, Patsy has left a paw print on a lot of people's hearts.
