An Ode to Astrid

When I got to my dear friend’s house yesterday I was greeted with some very sad news. His rusty-coloured, loyal Doberman, Astrid, suffered a heart attack on the beach, while he was walking her! The news made my ears sing loudly. I really grew fond of that pooch! She was never particularly aware of her size and as a result she would attempt to climb on my lap or sit, with only one bum-cheek, on the couch trying to avoid being told to ‘get off!’ by looking inconspicuous and watching the TV with much interest. I think her presence will be sorely missed this summer season, void of Astrid snapping at the water splashes we make while playing in the pool on a warm summer’s day. She wasn’t always the brightest of dogs, but she loved us enough to thwart a number of attempted burglaries and she only ever greeted us with affection – ALWAYS happy to see us! My friend and I agreed that the beach was the best place for her to have her last experience on this earth. She loved chasing the gulls and snapping at the waves. R.I.P Astrid xoxo

Steps To Win Your Pet Over.

How do you make someone love you? Gosh, if we knew the answer to that question I’m sure a few more people would be much happier on this planet. But, we do not, and as such we have the wonderful gift called free will. But pets though, have much simpler needs than we do, and so winning them over is a bit easier. The main ingredients are quite simple, namely; a little food, fresh water, a comfortable home, a comfortable bed and some toys. But let us not forget the main and most integral part of this whole combination. Attention and love. A little bit of the old age adage… give and you shall receive is very appropriate here for if your pet feels valued and loved he will obviously reciprocate…eventually.

Animalistic Idioms

In the Mıddle ages ıt was a common occurance for cats and dogs to walk around on the thatch roof as ıt was the only place anımals could get warm ın the long cold wınters, but as england ıs known for ıts wet and dreary clımate ıt was not unusual for cats and the dogs to slıp on the wet thatch. Hence the sayıng; ıts raınıng cats and dogs. Thıs common ıdıom ıs used even today when ıts raınıng heavıly but how often ıs ıt that we are aware of the orıgans of the sayıngs we use? It ıs very often that these sayıngs have some or another form of anımal analogy ın ıt. A few common examples are; Every dog has ıts day, Barkıng dogs seldom bıte, You cant teach an old dog new trıcks, Curıosıty kılled the cat, To play cat and mouse, let the cat out of the bag, to have kıttens, lıke a cat on hot brıcks among many others examples. Next tıme you use one of these try to ponder the ıdıomatıc roots of the common expressıon.

SEE more.

Our sensory perception is a rather limited one. This can be seen when we look at our animal companions, for they experience the world rather differently from the way we do. While dogs see no colour, their hearing and smelling senses are amplified. Bats see the world through sonar vibrations, experiencing everything in three dimensions, reptiles see their world in heat, and only through life do they identify. Does it not make you wonder limited our perceptions of the world is? We really don’t have the capabilities to fully understand and appreciate our environment to its fullest extent. The possibilities out there are infinite, for we can only imagine, and never fully comprehend what our world consists of. If we know of so many other layers of the world, is it not idiotic to imagine ourselves supreme beings? If we don’t ever admit to the probability that there are different ways to view existence, then there is truly no limit to the human ego.

We all matter.

Animals are truly wonderful creatures. It is not unusual to hear of a rescue situations where one animal risks his or her life for another. In this sense it is a rather obvious observation to note that these creatures are not that different from us. Just think of our police force, fire-fighters and those wonderful citizens who discard all caution when faced with situations where lives are threatened. Thus when we hear or read about a dog in Australia who saves 4 kittens from a burning house, we can’t help but think of the stories of dolphins rescuing drowning victims which inevitably link to the thought of humans helping others. This line of thought brings us back to the inevitable conclusion that sentient beings universally feel a sense of responsibility towards each other and so without thought, they are prepared to value other lives more than they do their own.

A little dose of Morality

Mankind should not be judged by the way they treat their equals, but rather by the way they treat their subordinates, and if we, as a whole, are judged according to that standard it is obvious that we will be deemed unworthy. Just take a look at all the atrocities we have committed, in the guise of ‘they don’t feel as we do’, excusing our actions by pretending to not notice and recognise the pain we see in their eyes. By naming these beings ‘animal’ we automatically assign them to a lesser hierarchy, excluding ‘them’ from ‘us’. If we have learned nothing as a species, we should at least notice and deny ourselves the right to pass judgement, for by behaving as we do towards these animals, we become the lesser beings.

I Own You!

Cats are notoriously infamous for their selfish natures! It is no secret that you do not own a cat; the cat gives you the honor of enjoying his or her company and every so often he will deign to let you scratch his ears. As a reward he might bring you a gift that exemplifies his prowess and agility. This gift comes in various forms, from a butterfly to a bird and is usually left in a spot where the stains will remain as a constant reminder of his achievements. This pet is very much still in touch with his animal side. No cat has ever been tamed.

Give a dog a home this Sunday!

Note this Sunday, the 5th of October, off in your diary with a bright red pen! It is once again time for the annual Pedigree Give a Dog a Home event which will be taking place at the V&A Waterfront amphitheatre from 12 in the afternoon. The event sets out to show off the cutest, most adorable and most loving animals that find themselves in need of a home. The Emma Animal Rescue Society is an animal rescue organisation that holds firmly to its pro life policy and often houses up to 180 dogs and 120 cats at any given time. With these numbers of animals in need of a loving home it means that you could easily find the right cat or dog for your family strutting their stuff on the cat walk this coming Sunday!

The event will be presented by a host of celebrities from former Miss Universe Michelle McLean and Good Hope FM’s Bradley Knight to Western Province rugby greats such as Paul Delport, Schalk Brits and Ross Skeate, who will be walking down the cat walk with all the gorgeous pets!

After the Give a Dog a Home event you can also make your way with your new found cat or dog to the Blessing of the Animals event to be held by TEARS in the Company Gardens. This event is open to all and is held in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi and starts at 4pm.

For more information on these events and on The Emma Animal Rescue Society visit www.tears.org.za.

Don't let rainy weather get you down!

Keeping your animal dry during downpours can be really difficult when the rain is unexpected and comes very suddenly! The best solution to making sure that your animal has dry, suitable cover is by either building or buying an animal pen, kennel or shelter. The main point in choosing what will best protect your animal is to make sure that they can be well sheltered from rain and wind, and in the summer months it may be useful to make sure they have a well shaded area to sleep in to escape the blaring heat of the sun.

In building or in choosing an animal shelter make sure that the materials are waterproof and that they keep the inside of the shelter dry as well, if the shelter is properly protected to keep the inside dry then your animal will also be protected from wind, just be sure to have an open area in the shelter that allows your pet to freely move in and out of their little home and leaves an area for fresh air to enter.

By having a shelter to keep warm and snug in your animal will be happier and with the assurance that your animal is safe and able to shelter from the weather you will be less pressed to get home when the weather suddenly changes or the rain starts to pour.

Drying your cat or dog after a bath

Most animals – especially dogs and cats – do not enjoy having a bath but even more than they dislike bathing, animals seem to deplore being dried off afterwards! With many animals the easiest and the best way to get them dry is to gently pat them down with a towel right after their bath. With animals that wriggle around a lot and with long haired cats and dogs this towelling dry may take a while but it is very necessary to get your pet’s fur as dry as possible as wet fur can make them feel cold very quickly.

To dry your animal you may even consider looking into buying a dryer – which is very much like a hair dryer but better suited to drying off your pet. Many animals don’t take too kindly to dryers because of the noise that they make, and the rush of air can be very off putting to animals as well. If you do use a dryer to dry your animal remember to keep the setting on a mid heat range and keep the nozzle a good distance away as to avoid burns.

If at all possible try to bath your dog or cat on a warmer day, but if the weather is not cooperating with your animal grooming plans then just be sure to keep the area you are in as warm as you can and keep your pet wrapped up in a towel.

Getting to know your pet

Chances are that as a pet owner you think of your pet as much more than just an animal and you know that the bond between the two of you is mutual and extensive! But have ever wondered about your pet’s range of emotions? Have you ever asked yourself whether or not your pet really has emotions? Or even more inquiringly – does an animal have emotions? As a pet owner myself my first response is yes of course they have emotions! I can notice mood changes and I swear I even notice changes in my cat’s facial expressions! And purring is not for nothing! They may be completely dependant on us but I don’t think that we should underestimate the capacity and emotional capabilities of our animals!

‘Emotion’ is a big word to understand, it is something we all know we have and that we all experience in great variety everyday – even towards our animals, but it is hard to fully explain what ‘emotion’ truly means and proving that emotion exists is even harder! But considering the loyalty we feel and considering the strength of the bonds that we share with our animals I think it is pretty safe to say that what we share with our pets is a mutually emotional bond.

Breed Profile: Irish Wolfhound

One of the most beautiful and also one of the largest dogs in the world is the Irish Wolfhound. This large animal is most noted for good nature and for its incredible size which generally reaches up to 90cm in height for males and about 80cm for females. When standing upright on their two hind legs these magnificent animals have been known to reach heights of 7 feet and even slightly taller, making them the tallest dog breed – even exceeding heights of Great Danes. With a mildly dishevelled look the Irish Wolfhound is surprisingly easy to groom and does not require vast amounts of animal grooming.

Categorised in the dog breed of sight hounds these are animals that are stimulated by what they see and enjoy playing and chasing playfully around gardens, because of their lively spirits and sheer size they do need to be kept in homes with gardens large enough to suit their own size. Unfortunately these gorgeous animals do not live very long and have a generally estimated life span of between 5-9 years. Despite their size and weight which, can reach up to well over 50 kilograms, Irish Wolfhounds are fast runners and make wonderful animals for competitive coursing.

Animal stories: Macavity the cat

An animal can and very often does bring vast amounts of joy into our everyday lives. Here is a story about just one little furry feline animal that will make your heart beam and is certain to turn the corners of your mouth upwards.

The town of Wolverhampton in England is definitely home to one of the more adventurous and intelligent animals the world has to offer. This town and its bus drivers as well as the bus passengers have taken to a white cat who catches a bus ride in the mornings. The animal is seen most days jumping into the bus at one bus stop and then promptly jumping out of the bus at the next bus. Getting off at the second bus stop may not be too much of a coincidence for this cute animal as it is located very near to a fish and chips shop.

Nicknamed Macavity after the animal in T.S. Eliot’s poem, this impeccably snow white animal has two different coloured eyes – one blue and one green – and sports a purple collar making him unmistakable and his presence on the very same bus every morning makes him a cat of unusual merit. The cat is regularly seen up to three times a week jumping in and out of the bus and is not accompanied by an owner. The mystery of Macavity has passengers and bus riders very impressed and very amused with this clever little animal.

Animal Watch Dogs

The value of a good watchdog can be immeasurable but when you do choose and train your animal to be guard to protect you, your family and your property be sure to have properly trained so that while they are protecting you they can do so with putting themselves in as little danger as possible. An animal will love, serve and protect and with the right training your animal can be trained to respond in the necessary ways and with the correct amount of haste and manner.

Any dog that is trained whether it is a big animal or a smaller dog can be a successful guard dog. A key component is teaching your animal to recognise a dangerous or potentially dangerous situation. One of the first steps is letting your animal know that it is good to make a noise to either attract attention and help or to scare off any would be assailants.

Bigger animals such as Rottweilers, Great Danes and Dobermans are generally perceived to be the better watch dogs as they have both the bark and the bite when it comes down to the crunch but they too need to be properly trained to learn how to react and to protect both you and themselves.

An interesting Olympics thought

We all know the stories that float around about how animal dog meat is considered a great delicacy in Chinese and Korean restaurants. Some of us may think “oh great - that would be interesting to try.” However, for those of us who prefer to see our beloved little domestic animal running around playfully in our back yard, we can quite happily pass up the chance to even think about eating a dog. Most western culture does not believe that animal dog meat has healing or other medicinal qualities so we leave it out of the kitchen and off of the menu so when we encounter cultures that do eat this animal meat we can feel a little shocked at the thought.

For this reason Chinese authorities have decided to ban animal dog meat from restaurants for the duration of the 2008 Olympic Games. Due to the influx of foreigners to China for next month’s Games and in September for the Paralympics the popular animal dog meat dish options have been removed from menu’s and restaurants to make eating out more tolerable for those less comfortable with the idea of eating this more unusual form of an animal meat dish.

Some animal word fun

Animals play a large part in our everyday lives and when it comes to the borders between humans and animals the lines are sometimes blurry – at least they blur when it comes to the descriptive ways of describing a person’s character or behaviour. Here are a few words that we use in day to day speech as common place aphorisms that are actually drawn from a strong animal connection:

From “ass” (as in the donkey) we get the word asinine, which is used to refer to person’s stubbornness or their knack for being as notoriously difficult as an ass. If a dancer is notably graceful and flexible in their moves then we say that they move with a feline grace, referring of course to the fluid and particular elegant movements exemplified by cats. If somebody is extremely slow and frequently late you can candidly call them chelonian – as they share a common trait with the tortoise. And the next time someone is rude or generally ill-mannered you can heartily refer to them as being porcine – that is acting like a pig.

We often use animals and animal related words to concretely describe a person’s attitude or behaviour and the wonders of the connections between humans and animals seem to be ever surprising and never ending.

Animal Scams: beware!

A recent animal scam that has been reported is the selling off English Bull dogs and puppies that presumably do not exist. The scammers tell you about the dogs and then inform you that the dogs are in Cameroon and payment for the dogs and puppies is needed ahead of you receiving the dogs. The scammers front as different companies that deal with the transportation of pets and once a person shows interest in the dogs or puppies they tell you that payment is needed upfront and that your dog will be sent to you by the fronting pet transport companies. Your dog however never arrives, your money is never seen and the companies are never heard from again.

Watch out for these and other animal scams, they can cost you a lot of time and money and certain pet scams that involve actual animals can prove to be harmful to the pets. When you do look for a new pet make sure that you are dealing with legitimate pet breeders and try to see the pets before you actually make any payments.

Animal scams are everywhere and you need to be aware of the different ways in which scammers feed off of animals’ needs and your love for animals.
Let people know about these and other scams and help to protect yourself as well as the animals.

Animal allergies

Have you recently developed allergies towards your pets? Are have you suffered from allergies to animals most of your life and are desperately wanting to somehow bypass them so that you too can be a loving animal owner? Well there are solutions to both of these problems. Allergies toward animals are often caused by an unusually high sensitivity to what is presumed to be caused by sensitivity towards animal fur. Animal fur however is quite harmless in itself. What makes the animal fur so potentially effective on your health are the tiny allergy triggering proteins called allergens.

Allergens are secreted by glands in the animal’s skin and are present in the animal’s dry skin, saliva and urine, because animals lick themselves clean the allergens from the saliva dry out the animal’s fur and can become airborne. The myth goes that long haired animal’s are more likely to cause allergies, but it is not necessarily true as it is not the fur but the allergens on the fur that cause the allergic reactions. By keeping your animals well groomed, clean and by regularly vacuuming up after them you can drastically reduce the chance of having an allergic reaction to your animal.

Animal Antics

Dog training is something that could drastically improve your relationship your animal while it also makes both your animal and your life much safer and easier to handle. By teaching your dog cute little tricks you will not only be teaching them something that will get ooh-s and aah-s from people that you can show off to but you will be forming a lasting bond that builds trust and a firmly cemented relationship between the two of you. Whether you are teaching your dog to fetch a ball or to safely cross a road on a leash you can both enjoy and gain from the experiences and time spent together. Always remember to make animal training fun as dogs pick up on and respond to enthusiasm. Use verbal commands such as come, sit, and walk and fetch to get your dog to understand you and be sure to only need to give a command once – in the beginning you may need to repeat commands for your dog to learn what each command means but very soon they will only need to hear a command once. Be constant in your verbal commands and praise your dog after they have obeyed a given command, while still in training you could even give a treat to your animal after they obey a command.

Animal Help

Your animal is your best friend and your confidant, whether a cat or a dog you know that they are the one friend that you can turn to no matter how miserable you are feeling and no matter how bad of a day you might just have had. Because you and your cat or dog are so close and because you love them you naturally would want to make certain that your pet is well and properly covered for anything that he or she might need. And when you are looking at taking good care of their health it is a good idea to take a look at pet insurance options that will make sure that your pet is covered for anything that they may need in terms of health needs and medical treatment.

Medipet offers you and your animal reliable insurance that is suited to either cats or dogs and will cover your pet for their entire lifespan and will make your life as a pet owner that much easier while ensuring that your pet will be taken care of by qualified and expert vets when and wherever it is needed, without you having to worry about the financial cost.