Raining. Again.

 The builder has been, put in a beam, and gone again.  If it would stop raining, he would get the Gib-board and do that.

Out the office/craftroom window. There should be hills in the background.

So we have been:

Sitting on the window sill

Sitting on window sill. Glaring at dogs.

Snoozing under the big desk (a kind human kindly rearranged her belongings so that there was room for two dogs.)

Snoozing Neve

 

Finishing off some Christmas gifts.

For a friend

Gifts for collegues

Now that the builder has gone, some of us will do housework. I guess the others will continue with sitting and snoozing.  🙂

Tennis Ball Troubles

 Usually on a Thursday afternoon Ruger, Neve and I, with our friends Kaz (the human) and Tylar ( the canine) go to the dog park to play.  But not when it is pouring with rain. As it is today. So we didn’t go today, but I’ve been meaning to post some photos from another trip.

The general turn of events is that Ruger snobs the girls – certainly the canine girls – and devotes his complete attention to the true love of his life, his Frisbee. And the girls spend their time chasing and swapping tennis balls, while Ruger keeps his nose out of their games.  So the week that we went to the park with no Frisbee was a total disaster.  (See here for a lost Frisbee report.)

Ruger kept stealing the tennis balls off the girls (a tennis ball will surfice when there is no Frisbee avilable) and trying to carry two or three in his mouth at the same time. Which he can’t do.  So one or two would always get dropped, the girl dogs would not want to go and fetch them back, then Kaz or I had to go trotting down the field to do the fetching. And, as you know, that is NOT how the game is supposed to be played.  

So we had to mail order him a new Frisbee ASAP. We only got a few  pictures of the first day we went and played with it, but here are a couple:

i don't mind the grass really ...

I'm going to carry it all the way home and I'm not gonna drop it.

 Some dogs have  a different idea of fun…..

Mud?? Nope... not me. No sir-ee. I did not see any mud. At all. Not even one teeny tiny patch in the whole big paddock. I swear, I did not see any.

Tylar, looking laid back as usual. She is one cruisey Hunterway/Lab cross.

Let Sleeping Dogs…

A Blissful Boy (who presented his belly for rubbing when approached with camera)

 

Promised to some readers a few days ago, and finally posted!  ‘ What to do on a rainy day’  pictures of the two local canines.

The Lounging Lady Neve (who did not appreciate the camera disturbing her slumber!)

 

A Postcrossing or geocaching post will be coming up later in the day. (Or perhaps both!) Five new Postcrossing cards have arrived this week – very cool!!

Cat Conversation

 

“ Mehhhh, this one’s no good. No comfy bits of paper to sit on or pee on in here.”

“ Hmmm… where can I try now? ...... that littlest dog won’t be wanting her special sleeping spot anymore, will she? Well then, I’ll just take it over, thanks.”

Introducing Kelty the Cat Burglar!

It seems that Kyle (now to be known as Kelty*)  has taken up permanent residence at our house. It also seems that he has taken up residence in one of our drawers. Which he opens himself.

It looks like he is going to be a personality plus cat.

Kelty takes up residence

One day last week when PB got home he was very puzzled to find the drawer that he drops all those bits of paper that ‘might be important one day’ in to, was open.   Now it was possible that I had looked for something in there and forgot to shut it. That happens somedays around here. So we thought nothing more of it.  Today, shortly after we brought Kelty back from the cattery, there he was sitting in the draw! (Which had 100% definately been shut when I last saw it.)  PB was out getting the dogs, so I took a photo for evidence. But there was no need for that, as he’s there again now after a short session of hiding under the bed.

He also doesn’t like chicken. Very strange.  It had been intended to tempt him out from under the bed. Not that it was needed.

Needless to say, there were other mouths ready and waiting to consume the chicken bit that he had turned down.

*Kelty is a small town in Scotland that some of PB’s maternal ancestors came from.  PB’s mum claims that when she wins the lottery she will take us all to visit. ….. pity she doesn’t buy tickets …….

Does he look like a Kyle…… ?

Well, I got sucked in. I guess you have to expect that when you volunteer at a place like the SPCA. This is Kyle.

Is this a Kyle?

He’s home visiting with us at the moment to see how he gets on with the dogs.  So far he does not sit still for 2 seconds when I go in to see him (he’s hanging out in the bathroom) so these are the best photos I can offer.  He smooches alot and purrs like a jet engine, so he definately loves humans anyway. The manager says he must be someone’s pet, but no one has claimed him after 12 days, so he’s up for adopting.

But the question is: Does he really look like a Kyle?? That was the name he got allocated when he got brought in, so we can change it if he stays.

Slightly better shot

Anyway, if any of my doggy readers out there in cyberspace have hints  or stories about introducing adult dogs and cats to each other, now is the time to tell me.  No matter where you blog, or if you don’t, you should be able to comment.

BTW – I’d forgotten how cat logic works. He has got a big pile of comfy blankets in the corner. He has chosen to snuggle down on the damp shower tray……….

Neve, the Outreach Therapy Pet

…. at least, Neve has passed her first assessment towards becoming a therapy pet.

This is a programme that has been operating in our largest city, Auckland, for some time now. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of our little rural town is hoping that we are going to be the second place in New Zealand that has this programme.  It seems that the rest homes are keen to have pet visits, and one school is keen to have children take part in the ‘Read to a Pet’ programme.

Future Therapy Pet practicing her smile.

So Neve had a great time at her assessment this afternoon, and smiled and wagged happily through having her tail pulled and ears mussed and wheelchairs run at her, umbrellas opened, people crowding her, meeting strange dogs and people and other such indignities. She failed dismally at ‘not -eating -the –bowl-of –food- randomly-lying -on -the -floor’  when off lead,  but everyone’s allowed one failure.  (I guess we will have to work on that one a little more!!!!)

Next I have to do some training and pass a police check, we have another assessment within an establishment like a school or rest home, and then if it all works out, she’ll get her own little Therapy Pet bandana, and we’ll be able to start doing regular visiting in whatever establishment we get matched with. We’re looking forward to it!

Link for more information about Outreach Therapy Pets.

Video of some of the  Auckland Outreach Therapy Pets.  I suggest you turn the music off…….. remember, you have been warned!!!    🙂

 

Oh where oh where has my little dog gone?

…at least  not so much my little dog, as his Frisbee.  How can a dog who is about as attached to his Frisbee as I am to my GPS manage to lose it?  Or perhaps I’m the one who has lost it? Whatever the case, Frisbee is not to be found anywhere despite a morning spend in part intensively looking for it, then sporadically looking for it between other household chores.   We have found: 

one half of a pair of knee high tights – long thought to be digested by a canine gut,

several shoes and slippers – not exactly lost, but not exactly where one would expect them to be (no, I lie, in fact a dog bed is quite a normal place to look for one’s footwear around here!)

two tennis ball – long ago forgotten about but quickly seized by said canine who has misplaced his frisbee, for a quick game of ‘ hide the ball under the blankie,’

a misplaced dog towel – we have grades of towels here ranging from human, to dog, to only fit for rags, and this one was somehow in with the dog blankets (oh yes, we have grades of blankets  too – don’t you???)

the axe – well that was a bizarre find, I can only assume PB knew it was behind there even if I didn’t,

a few gazillion dust bunnies  – if you looked the places at your house that we’ve looked today I am quite sure you would find dust bunnies too.

But no Frisbee.  And when I ask said dog to ‘ find frisbee’ he stares at me blankly,  no doubt thinking something along the lines of, “ Daft human, does she not remember that we left the Frisbee at the park last week?”

Because that’s the only conclusion that I can come to, that we did inadvertently leave the Frisbee at the dog park last week, or at least said dog dropped it somewhere along the return journey  – he insists on carrying to home himself, but employs a human slave to carry it to the park – and the humans didn’t notice.  With three extremely boisterous dogs, two somewhat absent minded humans and the accumulated collection of leads, tennis rackets, balls, toys, towels and other assorted necessities, it is quite possible we left something behind.

Ah well, my little task for the afternoon will be getting online and finding a company that will post us a new one before our doggy play-date at the park with Karen and Tylar next week (Karen being the human and Tylar being the dog.)  With above mentioned dog continually stealing the tennis balls from the canine girls and the human girls getting sick of trudging all the way down the field to get the balls back again, we didn’t have as much fun as we usually do.  So unless he masters the ability to fit two or three tennis balls in his mouth at once, or we get a new Frisbee, we are all doomed to more ball stealing and trudging.

So if you happen to have any insight as to where a round red rubber dog Frisbee would go when it were hiding, do let me know ……..

Of cats & dogs

Cats because I spend the morning at our local SPCA cleaning out cat cages. I’ve only volunteered there twice so far, but have already encountered all kinds of small sadnesses such as the poor pregnant kitten this morning, probably only a couple of months away from her own mother. And another feisty young half-wild cat that came in last week and unfortunately had to be euthanized  as it was never going to settle enough to be found a home.  And the injured cat that was new in this week – very affectionate and obviously a family pet, but not micro chipped , so it will be only luck if she is returned to her owner if she recovers.

So people,  please please micro chip your pets. 

Cone head Neve

And as for dogs: the photo almost says it all. Those that insist on licking the sores on their legs and making them worse rather than better WILL have a cone put on their head!!!! And if they did not fight with their brother, they would not have bites in the first place!

A little cache placing.

 Despite the weatherman’s predictions, it was lovely and sunny this weekend, so garden work was first on the agenda for us.  But surely no one could be expected to use up an entire sunny day doing gardening, so later in the day we went on a little cache placing trip. 

Darnell & Ruger

Darnell & Neve

Firstly we rescued this cute TB Darnell the Domesticated Dingo, from one of our caches.  His owners were keen for him to continue his journey to Australia.  So he’s just visiting with us for a little bit before be drop him off close to an airport. Here he is hanging out with some new friends.

We placed a new cache End of the Road GC20J4V. When we submitted it today our reviewer Curglaff published it with about 30 mins which is always reassuring!  It’s a cemetery cache. I find cemetery caches really interesting and thought-provoking , and always such restful  & peaceful spots.  This is our third cemetery cache, and the feature here that I wanted to lead people to is a wooden ‘gravestone’  so old that any information is worn right off it. It’s surrounded by a very rustic picket fence, with long grass growing all around.  A very tranquil final resting place.

 We’ve got another cache in the works as well – PB just constructed the container for it tonight.  Just a drive-by, but hopefully it will provide a bit of a challenge, so I can’t say too much more.