PET'S CORNER

[Stanley]

My mate Phil looked after Jack yesterday and last night when I rang him to say I was back (and book him again for next Thursday) he told me that Jack was an ace dog and a credit to me. He knows dogs and that really pleased me..... Jack was overjoyed when I got back, dogs are wonderful!!

[Wendyf]

Dennis seems to be making a good recovery. He is now going outside for a few hours a day and is moving well with only a small dose of painkillers. Its good to see...I thought he was a goner.

[LizG]

That's very good news Wendy. Dennis obviously had very different ideas!!

[Stanley]

Wonderful news Wendy! I hope he keeps up the improvement.
I heard a scratching on the back door while I was in the shed yesterday. I had locked Jack out in the rain..... He never barked, waited patiently for almost an hour then scratched on the door.....

[Stanley]

I watched the Horizon programme on BBC4 about dogs last night. Fascinating stuff about the ancestry of dogs and their relationship with Man. I can bear out all they said about the interaction and was pleased to see my suspicions conformed about the benefits to both dog and Man from the interaction. I have always said that living with a dog is good for you and the evidence is that dog people have fewer heart attacks and when they do have one, recover quicker. Thanks Jack! (But I am reminded that he is actually a small wolf! This explains why he occasionally growls at me and puts me in my place......)

[Wendyf]

Dennis had a blood test on Monday and the vet phoned yesterday afternoon with the results. Good news!! The drugs are working and whatever the test counts is down from 689 to 48....normal is under 35 so a bit further to go. Expensive but worth it to keep Dennis happy. (It's the same drug that is used to help Parkinson's patients.)

[LizG]

A great Christmas present for you Wendy.

[Stanley]

That's cheering news Wendy on a gloomy morning. You deserve a medal for your devotion and care.....

[Stanley]

Jack has picked up on the atmosphere and is acting impeccably. Don't ever tell me that animals can't recognise what is needed of them!

[Wendyf]

The large animal practice at Stanley House vets do regular "Equine dental area visits" where you pay for the treatment but not the call out cost, saving about £25. We were booked in for yesterday afternoon and the ponies got their teeth sorted by the lovely Morven who is very gentle and endlessly patient. Equine dentistry is a terrifying thing to watch for the nervous owner. First a huge metal gag is used to hold the mouth open, then various long handled files and rasps are deployed to take sharp points off the teeth. Dennis wasn't too happy about his treatment yesterday and we all circled the stable about 10 times while Morven rasped away. Luckily for him he has very good teeth and didn't need much doing, poor Sparky however has problems with his and always needs some serious attention. His teeth are well worn and a little higgledy piggledy and one sharp point was sticking into the side of his cheek and causing an ulcer. Morven decided she needed to use a power tool to do the job, but that was in the other vet's vehicle, so she went away to collect it, (after coming in for a cuppa and admiring my kitchen). Anyway an hour later Sparky had been sedated, the offending tooth was quickly sorted and all other nasty uneven surfaces "floated" level. He should be able to eat in comfort for another few months!

[Stanley]

Your dedication to those animals is a credit to you Wendy. No wonder Col is so well! (Did Morven have a look at his teeth while she was at it?)
Treasures in heaven......

[LizG]

When I was involved in the local pony club we used to arrange for the equine dentist to visit annually. Everyone was invited to book their pony in for a check up. It was amazing how many owners had no idea that it was necessary.

[Stanley]

If an animal's teeth aren't right it is in trouble. It was one of the things I checked when I was vetting cattle for Richard Drinkall after he had bought them. It said something that he trusted me to do this and I don't think I ever missed a serious fault......

[Wendyf]

Sparky belongs to the rescue charity HAPPA and I have him on loan on the understanding that he is cared for to their standards. Teeth checks, foot trims, worming and tetanus injections are expected to be done regularly.....not that I wouldn't do it anyway
Morven is from Scotland, she came to Colne a number of years ago straight after her training and helped me with my old cob Robbie. She then went back to Scotland to get more experience at one of the big Equine hospitals, either Glasgow or the Dick Vets in Edinburgh, then worked at the same Lanark vets that I used when I lived up there, so we have people and places in common to chat about.
All the large animal vets from Colne are lovely people, and it's always a pleasure to see them. Mind you, a lot of my money has gone into their coffers over the years!

[Stanley]

"Mind you, a lot of my money has gone into their coffers over the years!"
That's the Treasures in Heaven bit Wendy......

[LizG]

It's been very sad in our house this week. We had our little dog, Connie, put to sleep on Monday. She was almost 15 and had been very well up until just after Christmas. It turned out she had a tumour behind her eye which was also pressing on her brain. We have buried her in the garden and bought a white crepe myrtle to plant for her.

You don't realise what a huge part of your life they become until they are no longer around.

[Stanley]

I'm so sorry to hear that Liz, I know what it's like and it is just as traumatic as a human dying. 15 years is a good life, she must have been well looked after. You are lucky to have had so many years of unconditional love. Big hug from Barlick.....

[Wendyf]

Sad news Liz.

[Cathy]

Feeling for you and your family Liz.
All the best.

[Moh]

Understand your sadness Liz. I still get upset when I think about our shitzu Sam who we lost 8 years ago, he was only 6.

[LizG]

We've buried her near our garden seat and we've been out and had coffee with her as well as a glass or two of wine. We've had a few dogs during our married life but never one like this little one. (She was a shitzu cross Moh) She's traveled right around this big country with us in our caravan. I'm still looking for her every time I come inside.

[Stanley]

We had a two hour outage last night so I had to get the Vapalux lamp out. Good practise. However what surprised me was how affected Jack was when everything went dark and quite. He stuck to me like glue until I got the big paraffin lamp going.

[Stanley]

I am not as other men this morning due to a sudden acute pain in my right thigh. I had to use my trusty shepherd's crook to aid very slow walking and we have managed a short walk and a good delivery by Jack. This dog never fails to surprise me. Normally he is eager to get to the Green and tends to pull a bit, once he has had his dump there he doesn't pull. This morning I was painfully slow but he was a perfect gent and walked on a slack lead. He obviously recognised that I was hampered and was quite simply perfect! A smart pup......

[Whyperion]

Assorted cats have come and gone. The local ocelot marked tabby disappeared about a year ago, and at present the visiting cats include a marmalade tabby, a stone face male tabby that is quite easy going, and next doors rather large black cat with a white marked nose who seems to think he is in charge of everything. Tia, a tabby has come from a friend of the wife, her daughter turns out to have a skin allegy to the cat, so she is now relatively settling in on the cushions on the sofa, she started fighting at stoneface, so he is banished to the back downstairs shower room for feeding, she also fights herself in the reflections on the window. Humbug was a fairly uncared for cat of a neighbours, but she died on our bed a couple of months ago - she had fairly picky eating habits which did not help - liking the cat food jelly and gravy but not the food unless I laced it with kitty treats, not that stoneface minded - he ate all the left-overs, but I think Humbug has been mistreated in the past, and like Tia, maybe taken from mother at far too early age and failed to develop good joints and digestive systems - Tia can only have small cat food packets - too much in one go is making her sick.
I'll find some pics when I get time

[Stanley]

Everyone who has a dog as active as Jack knows that one of the keys to a quiet life is to give them as much entertainment as is needed to keep them on an even keel. Jack has certain periods during the day when I allow him to have a hard rubber ball to amuse himself with. The key is that the ball has to be hard! Mrs Marsh always comments on how clean his teeth are and this is because he chews his ball.
The situation was that the yellow ball he has had for the last couple of months was no longer a ball, it was triangular and easier to destroy so I decided it was time for a new one. While I was in the pet shop getting his rawhide bones (the evening's preferred chewing medium) I saw a hard rubber ball with lobes so I bought it and a smaller hard rubber ball for stock. When we got home and the next ball period came round after he had eaten his tea I gave him the new ball.





Five minutes later this was the result. Jack one Stanley nil! So I ditched that one and gave him the smaller hard rubber ball. This morning I gave him the ball again after we had had our walk and here's the result after another five minutes....



I had to admit defeat again and have given him another ball from stock, slightly larger. It remains to be seen how long it can survive. At the moment he hasn't broken through the skin but I am not optimistic!
If any of you are passing a pet or sports shop, please call in and see if they have a hard rubber ball about the size of a tennis ball. If you find them get three I shall pay for them gladly!