Pentland Pet Services Monthly Newsletter - April
This month’s Newsletter begins with a “Dog’s Tale” that I hope you will enjoy as much as I did on hearing it from Claire.
So here is “Rufus’ Day Out” with the alternative title “The Gatecrasher”...
Rufus, the King Charles Spaniel, is one of our regular lodgers who always manages to amuse us with his antics. However this particular one surpassed all previous adventures.
There is a gate at the bottom of Rufus’ garden that has a dodgy hinge resulting in the gate swinging closed unaided.
One particularly sunny day Alistair, the youngest member of Rufus’ human pack, was entertaining some of his pals in the garden. Unbeknown to everyone the gate that had been opened to admit an excited youngster had swung closed with Rufus on the outside.
With all the accompanying business of keeping several seven-year-olds amused, Claire had not noticed the absence of Rufus, so when she received a phone call advising “we think we have your dog,” Claire was both surprised and concerned.
The caller assured Claire that Rufus was fine and supplied the address from where he could be recovered. As Claire neared the address she became aware of children’s voices and the unmistakable smell of barbecue.
She was met by the lady of the house who directed Claire to the garden where there was a children’s party in full swing and there, sitting in the middle of the throng receiving a great deal of attention, plus the odd titbit from the barbecue, was the bold Rufus.
It appears that on finding himself locked out of the garden, Rufus did not panic and, being the opportunist he is, found his way to another garden where he was welcomed as a VIP and treated accordingly.
Claire said that there were several lessons learnt from this event:
1) Fix the gate.
2) Always ensure Rufus has his collar and tag on, and
3) Never be surprised at Rufus’ ingenuity.
April as expected was a very busy month with the start of the lodging season.
Bailey the Golden Retriever had a couple of lodging dates during April that thankfully coincided with the nice sunny weather.
Bailey is no longer the pup who stayed with us last year but now a handsome young dog that loves the company of other dogs and is very well behaved.
This month’s Newsletter begins with a “Dog’s Tale” that I hope you will enjoy as much as I did on hearing it from Claire.
So here is “Rufus’ Day Out” with the alternative title “The Gatecrasher”...
Rufus, the King Charles Spaniel, is one of our regular lodgers who always manages to amuse us with his antics. However this particular one surpassed all previous adventures.
There is a gate at the bottom of Rufus’ garden that has a dodgy hinge resulting in the gate swinging closed unaided.
One particularly sunny day Alistair, the youngest member of Rufus’ human pack, was entertaining some of his pals in the garden. Unbeknown to everyone the gate that had been opened to admit an excited youngster had swung closed with Rufus on the outside.
With all the accompanying business of keeping several seven-year-olds amused, Claire had not noticed the absence of Rufus, so when she received a phone call advising “we think we have your dog,” Claire was both surprised and concerned.
The caller assured Claire that Rufus was fine and supplied the address from where he could be recovered. As Claire neared the address she became aware of children’s voices and the unmistakable smell of barbecue.
She was met by the lady of the house who directed Claire to the garden where there was a children’s party in full swing and there, sitting in the middle of the throng receiving a great deal of attention, plus the odd titbit from the barbecue, was the bold Rufus.
It appears that on finding himself locked out of the garden, Rufus did not panic and, being the opportunist he is, found his way to another garden where he was welcomed as a VIP and treated accordingly.
Claire said that there were several lessons learnt from this event:
1) Fix the gate.
2) Always ensure Rufus has his collar and tag on, and
3) Never be surprised at Rufus’ ingenuity.
April as expected was a very busy month with the start of the lodging season.
Bailey the Golden Retriever had a couple of lodging dates during April that thankfully coincided with the nice sunny weather.
Bailey is no longer the pup who stayed with us last year but now a handsome young dog that loves the company of other dogs and is very well behaved.
Bailey, from pup to young handsome dog, and Rufus the
roaming barbecue boy ("you going to eat that sausage?")
Finn, another young Golden Retriever had his first lodging experience with us in April and, like Bailey, proved to be a very respectful lodger.
As a therapeutic exercise to help with his hip dysplasia, Finn attends Hydrotherapy and I had the opportunity to accompany him along with his owner Audrey for one of his appointments at the Roseburn K9 Hydrotherapy Centre.
I was very impressed by the facility, which is run by Linda and Niko.
Linda and Niko previously worked for many years in animal rescue in Greece, returning to Scotland four years ago and setting up the Centre from their home. They are truly interesting and caring people and I would encourage you to check out their web site with a view to treating your dog to a session:
www.roseburnk9hydrotherapy.com
Next lodger to arrive was Jed, a sixteen-year-old Border Terrier, and a wonderful character.
He is our eldest lodger and apart from being very deaf is still very sprightly for his age.
roaming barbecue boy ("you going to eat that sausage?")
Finn, another young Golden Retriever had his first lodging experience with us in April and, like Bailey, proved to be a very respectful lodger.
As a therapeutic exercise to help with his hip dysplasia, Finn attends Hydrotherapy and I had the opportunity to accompany him along with his owner Audrey for one of his appointments at the Roseburn K9 Hydrotherapy Centre.
I was very impressed by the facility, which is run by Linda and Niko.
Linda and Niko previously worked for many years in animal rescue in Greece, returning to Scotland four years ago and setting up the Centre from their home. They are truly interesting and caring people and I would encourage you to check out their web site with a view to treating your dog to a session:
www.roseburnk9hydrotherapy.com
Next lodger to arrive was Jed, a sixteen-year-old Border Terrier, and a wonderful character.
He is our eldest lodger and apart from being very deaf is still very sprightly for his age.
Young Finn and Jed, the elder statesman of Pentland Pet Services
I managed to find an opportunity between lodgers to meet a young rescued Labrador called Indi, along with her owner Trish, for a training session.
Indi proved to be a very quick learner with an eagerness to learn more, so hope to slot in a couple more sessions over the next few months.
It was with great sadness I was given the news that Jak, the young Jack Russell, had been involved in a freak but fatal road accident.
I know you will join me in passing our deepest sympathies to Helen and Donald on the loss of their lovely boy.
Sadly the bad news continued as during the latter part of April I heard the devastating news that CubbieRoo, one of Mary’s young Deerhounds, was found to have tumours in his spine.
After a dash to Glasgow Veterinary Hospital Mary returned without him.
I had been with Mary the previous week at which time CubbieRoo had appeared his usual happy, bouncy self so it was shocking news.
Ailsa, CubbieRoo’s litter-mate and best pal, is perplexed and lost without him and of course Bill and Mary are still in mourning and disbelief.
I have decided that I shall take two plants with me on my next visit to Holy Isle and request they are planted in memory of CubbieRoo and Jak.
For those of you who have not already done so could I suggest putting a dog first aid kit together that includes tick removers.
Spring, and particularly Summer, bring some potential problems for our dogs such as ticks, slug pellets, stings and even grass seeds that get lodged in paws.
Hopefully you will never have to grab your first aid kit but it is still a good idea to have one to hand if required.
Another tip from my two current lodgers Mac and Ozzie is “PlaqueOff.”
This is a granule you sprinkle on food, which has proved very successful in keeping down tartar and plaque, plus deals with bad breath. I believe this is available from Pets at Home.
Looking forward to meeting up with everyone on our walks.
Let’s hope the nice weather continues and that Rufus sticks to his own garden for future barbecues.
Anne
I managed to find an opportunity between lodgers to meet a young rescued Labrador called Indi, along with her owner Trish, for a training session.
Indi proved to be a very quick learner with an eagerness to learn more, so hope to slot in a couple more sessions over the next few months.
It was with great sadness I was given the news that Jak, the young Jack Russell, had been involved in a freak but fatal road accident.
I know you will join me in passing our deepest sympathies to Helen and Donald on the loss of their lovely boy.
Sadly the bad news continued as during the latter part of April I heard the devastating news that CubbieRoo, one of Mary’s young Deerhounds, was found to have tumours in his spine.
After a dash to Glasgow Veterinary Hospital Mary returned without him.
I had been with Mary the previous week at which time CubbieRoo had appeared his usual happy, bouncy self so it was shocking news.
Ailsa, CubbieRoo’s litter-mate and best pal, is perplexed and lost without him and of course Bill and Mary are still in mourning and disbelief.
I have decided that I shall take two plants with me on my next visit to Holy Isle and request they are planted in memory of CubbieRoo and Jak.
For those of you who have not already done so could I suggest putting a dog first aid kit together that includes tick removers.
Spring, and particularly Summer, bring some potential problems for our dogs such as ticks, slug pellets, stings and even grass seeds that get lodged in paws.
Hopefully you will never have to grab your first aid kit but it is still a good idea to have one to hand if required.
Another tip from my two current lodgers Mac and Ozzie is “PlaqueOff.”
This is a granule you sprinkle on food, which has proved very successful in keeping down tartar and plaque, plus deals with bad breath. I believe this is available from Pets at Home.
Looking forward to meeting up with everyone on our walks.
Let’s hope the nice weather continues and that Rufus sticks to his own garden for future barbecues.
Anne
