Nearly Wordless Wednesday

The Christmas invader has gone home (and secretly the cats are cheering)

Well like all good things, our time with Indie has come to an end. Although it has been a little chaotic and at times a bit stressful for the poor pup, she seems to have enjoyed her time with us and she is more than welcome to come back again. I think Mojo has some different feelings on this….he stood at our front door and watched her get into the car with her owners. He had one paw up on the screen and I don’t know whether he was saying “bye bye puppy” or “now this time, stay home! Don’t come back, ya hear!!”. For all his fussing, I think he enjoyed having a canine around the place…..especially one who was so happy to be put in her place. *hehe*

I still think she is possibly the most gorgeous lab I have ever met, both in looks and nature. Till next time Indie!

OUUUCCHH!!

I can now strongly sympathise with Rosie, Indie and basically any one else who has severely angered Mojo. OMG the little devil has the sharpest claws in the business! I’ve always assumed that any damage he inflicts with them when he’s having a hissy fit is fairly minor. After all, he’s let me have a little dose of his claws from time to time - usually when giving him a worming tablet, oral antibiotics or trying (with little success) to clip his nails.

This afternoon I received the full brunt of what those claws can do. I’d let Indie inside to hide under my computer desk and as per his usual self, Mojo came in and sat poised on the top of the desk, just biding his time for me to either let down my guard or the dog to stick her head out from underneath my desk. All was well until Indie, bless her black wildly thumping tail, managed to knock out my network cable.

Now I should have just switched to wireless. But I forgot Mojo was still sitting on top of the desk, so I just climbed underneath the desk to plug it back in. Everything was fine, until I backed out and went to get up on my chair. The top of my head of course, was the first thing to come above the level of the desk. Consequently, it was the very first thing he stuck his claws into. All damn ten of them and was he going to let go??

Simple answer, not without a fight!

Usually if Mojo gets stuck into something we don’t want him damaging, like the sofa, a pillow or blanket, I just pick him up by the fold of his neck and he retracts his claws instantly. I’ve since discovered this is very hard to do when the cat is on top of your head and you have a whimpering lab in your face wondering what on earth all the screaming is about. So I did what any female would do when in an awkward position and her attackers legs are in front of her face.

That’s right dear readers, I punched him in the balls…..or where they would be, if he had any left. *hehe*

The effect was instantaneous. He let go and bolted for the couch, closely followed by me doing my best impression of Homer getting cranky at Bart….”WHY YOU LITTLE!!!!”. Meanwhile, poor Indie was still cowering under the desk, not game to even stick her nose out to see what had happened to me. She may just stay under that desk until her owners return from Europe.

Is it safe out there??

It is now Day 16 of dog sitting and it seems that the moggies have decided that they will let the “invader” come inside - providing she keeps her distance. Indie is incredibly submissive and thus very well behaved inside as the moggies have stamped their authority on her at every turn. If she so much as shows that she may step a foot out of line and get too close, they nip it in the bud pretty quickly. She’s found the safest place by far is to hide under my desk or my feet….pity it is such a small space for such a big dog because there is very little room left for my legs to go!

The Christmas Invader

Every year around this time, my friend takes a few weeks off and heads back home to visit her family. If her husband can get time off, he goes too which means I get to look after their beautiful lab Indie!

She’s grown accustomed to my house being her home for the holidays, so she makes herself at home quite nicely and settles in. She has a beautiful temperament - very excitable though - and would love to get to know my cats a little better but they are just not coming to the party at the moment. Indie has had previous exposure to Mojo last holidays - he quickly laid down the law and said “I’m boss” and Indie being the smart dog that she is, readily agreed. But being Rosie’s first Christmas here, she isn’t accustomed to the Christmas dog invasion as yet. She likes her well enough so long as she keeps her distance, which is easy enough while Indie is outside.

In the meantime, there is a strengthened border patrol presence to prevent the invader from encroaching on their turf. Not to worry…I’m pretty sure Indie knows better than to cross the border into moggie territory. *hehe*

Why a pet does not make a good Christmas gift

Everyone who knows me well knows that I am heavily against buying pets as Christmas gifts for other people. Regardless of whether you know the person would like one or not, it just isn’t a good idea!

Mojo was given to me as a Christmas present and I had absolutely no idea he was coming. I had no litter or tray, no food or bowls to put it in and no bedding for the little kitty to go to sleep in at night. And more to the point, I was still living at home and had no idea what my mum would think about it at all! She was pretty mad at first but we are not the kind of people who would turn an animal away. After all, one of our previous dearly loved cats, Puss, also dropped in on our doorstep one day. So out we ran to the pet store, getting everything we needed. Mojo was one of the lucky ones - we were prepared to accept him into our lives and he did not end up in the shelter that year, unlike countless other pets who are bought without consideration every year as Christmas gifts. He was a poorly socialised kitten and way too young to have been taken away from his mother. But with lots of effort, perserverance and forgiveness for his quirks, he has blended nicely into our household - although he remains extremely moody and unable to play without his claws out.

Paris, one of our peachfaces, was another animal that was purchased as a Christmas gift for a nephew. She was boomeranged back to the gift giver, who then passed her and a new cage mate onto us. When she came to us, she was very high strung and would attack our hands if we put them in the cage to change her water or feed. She has since settled down and realised that we are not going to hurt her. She just wasn’t a good choice for a household full of young children whose curiosity often leads them to be far too rough with animals. Not to mention, she was considered to be too noisy as well. Anyone who has owned a couple can tell you they are pretty noisy birds!

I’m not saying that all children lack the capacity to adequately care for a pet, nor am I saying that everyone you give a pet to at Christmas will not want it. But I do believe that if an individual wants a pet, they will seek one out themselves and find one that suits them and their lifestyle. What you consider to be a perfect pet for them may not be what they want. Or they may wish to have a pet but be unprepared for the financial burden of its upkeep. It doesn’t matter what kind of domestic pet you get, they are going to need some level of maintenance - whether it be veterinary care, feeding or cleaning of enclosures. Also, Christmas time is often a time where you feel sorry for those less fortunate and like to do something to help. Pity purchases from pet stores do nothing to reduce the strain on animal welfare societies at Christmas time - yes the animal may end up at a shelter if it is not purchased. But if you purchase it without consideration of its breed, temperament and needs, it could end up at a shelter anyway.

So if you or someone you know would like a pet for Christmas, please give it a lot of thought before you commit to a purchase. If you are considering buying a pet for a friend or loved one, please talk to them about it first.

Remember - a pet is a friend for life, not just the holidays.

Wanted: canine labourers for medium-sized residential project

Preferably with four legs, plenty of stamina, huge paws and a fondness for bones and roo meat! As you can see, site works has already commenced but it has come to a standstill due to the human crew currently being on strike.