Cara...its Irish for friend

I had a dilemma about the title for this blog. Because I recently watched a TED talk called " Before I die I want to " which I really wanted to write about. My dilemma was if I call it that people will think I have had bad news, it's a breast cancer blog I write after all! And I guess the fear of dying before our time is the shared theme for many of us. But another theme is the sharp focus it gives on what you value in life. What in life you treasure most. I have touched before on my bucket -or my personal favourite -the "f*** it" list and I know that when the chips are down top of my list is time with those I love... my family and my friends.

What I loved about the talk is how the project in a very simple way brought a community together. And not only did it come together but they heard each others voices and enriched their community though it. Wonderful. Again it illustrates the power of hearing the voices of communities to build a future. I do know that one of my regrets should my time be shorter would be never to have another dog. That knowledge drove our recent decision to finally make the trip to Dublin, where my daughter works, for the new puppy and to call her Cara...its Irish for friend.

So meet Cara. She is a seven week old lurcher from Dublin. Indeed she really is a little miracle of the dog world. Her Mum, Fay ,gave birth to 15 pups...yes that's right 15! She had to have a Caesarian section as pup number two got stuck. And through her own amazing skills as a Mum and the love, dedication and commitment of the wonderful team at the Dogs Trust in Dublin, 12 of the 15 survived so far. And Cara is one. They are all beautiful brindle lurchers, almost impossible to tell apart. Her white paws and confidence helped her stand out. She coped with a long journey and is now here taking over our lives. She loves her bed and also has found she can climb on to the kitchen chair....this is not easy believe me and it's also rule number 1 that the new pup does not get on the furniture . Currently that feels like telling the tide not to come in. Lurchers have the reputation as loving, placid couch potatoes..... She is living up to that!

And she has already stolen our hearts. Koshka the cat's however remains locked away.  We are working on it and he is enjoying some additional treats too and milking it, let's be honest. There is no doubt that she is helping me already, distracting me with nonsense and cuddles. What's not to like.

Reasons to be cheerful......well of course the puppy, Cara.I am sure you will hear more of her. I must say a big thank you to the team at Dogs Trust Dublin, they couldn't have been more helpful...do pay them a visit if you are nearby. They have some fabulous dogs. And this week we are launching our Breakthrough 100, recruiting 100 very special women. Its a really great project but more about that next week....Now where is that puppy..........