Rest in Peace, Panda and Pandora

This last month was very sad as my two beautiful puppies, Panda and Pandora were killed.

They always went walking in the woods every morning, well scampering and running through them. We tried to keep them in by fencing off the front garden, but they would dig holes under the fence, and when we blocked it all off using concrete blocks, Pandora would jump the 6 foot fence and work on one side while Panda worked on the other and between them they would escape.

There was no problem with them running free as they always came back - but the issue was they chased and killed chickens. That is a no no in the campo.

This particular day they left before dawn and never returned. Danilo investigated and found out they had killed a prize cockerel belonging to a General. The General ordered them poisoned, and the worker put down meat laced with la nata, which is a very powerful poison made from caterpillars which the Taino Indians used to put on the tips of their spears and arrows. They ate the meat and died almost instantly.

Danilo spoke to the poisoner, and he apologised, but he had to do what the General said. He buried the dogs where they had died, next to each other, in their favorite woods.

The house has been strangely and horribly quiet since they died, and the other dogs, as well as me, miss them terribly, The only solace is that although their lives were so short, just over a year, they had a fabulous life and were always so full of joy.

Moving on to happier subjects.

It has been a busy month on the book marketing front. I did my first twitter Question and Answer session, which meant a brushing up on my tweeting skills for what was a fast and furious hour of answering questions about "What about your Saucepans?" The book now has nearly 100 five star reviews on Amazon, which is very gratifying. Early next month I am off to speak to the International Women's Club in Santo Domingo which I am looking forward to.

DRSisterhood completed its first divorce last month, and since then we have been flooded with divorce enquiries, completed a second one and now we have another three on the go and more lining up afterwards.

I had a phone call from the Ministry of Interior and Police a couple of days ago. Remember my interview is on April 2nd for my citizenship application? Well that is Easter Thursday which I thought was a tad odd and most annoying as getting home would have been a nightmare as the buses are always full of people leaving the capital. The man who telephoned told me that there had been a mistake as the Ministry was closed on that Thursday, so they have to change the date. Guess what? It is now on the same day as my speech to the IWC. Speech is in the morning and interview in the afternoon. Perfect timing. I now have to learn the answers to 50 questions about the country, its geography, history and politics. Luckily you get the questions in advance, but they are a tad obscure, such as who sewed the first Dominican Flag!

We continue to be busy with visitors, and the last month has seen Anne from Canada here for five days, Catherine from the UK and Canada here overnight together with a delivery of walnut whips, and Gillian from the UK together with her Dominican fiance and a delivery of suet, Bisto, Oxo cubes, custard powder and more chocolate. I have been very spoiled.

And finally, remember Belinda had a visit from a non bonking Great Dane. Well that was seven weeks ago, so if she is pregnant then she will give birth in two weeks. Everyone seems to think she is as she is getting fatter, but I am not convinced one way or the other. Searching on line says such useful things as take her to the vet for a scan, but seeing as there are no vets here that is not going to happen. I suppose I will know for certain if she delivers puppies in a fortnight, so watch this space for news.