Pets Rock Blog

Yesterday (4 October 2009) I spend the day at SAGA (the South African Guide Dogs Association)’s fun day in Johannesburg. There were Labradors, Golden retrievers and dogs everywhere so the carnival was certainly the best part of my Sunday.

I only got their at 11:30, because none of my friends actually wanted to get up and go and I was dreading having to drive on my own in unfamiliar territory  (so thanks to the friend who did go with me).

There was a flea-market and I just had to buy some SAGA merchandise. We bought some food from the food stalls, had some cofffee in the tea garden and enjoyed some entertainment.

First we watched trained dogs performing tricks. It’s amazing how clever dogs are. This was followed by dancing dogs.

A guide dog and service dog demonstration then followed, which was even more impressive. They had kids from the audience trying to feed the dogs hotdog buns, but they dogs (being “on duty”) incredibly ignored these distractions. They also ignored the balls that the children played with right in front of them. Guide dogs learn to ignore distractions dogs would naturally fall prey to such as other dogs, cats, children, food and toys.

Finally, to great amusement of the crowd, there was a competition between Bailey Schneider from Jacaranda FM and former Big Brother house-mate, Margret “Mags” vd Westhuizen, to see who could best operate a guide dog, . Both we’re blindfolded and partnered up with a volunteer “man”. They then had to walk to the other side of the arena to get the correct change (while still being blind), walk back to buy some clothing items and dress their man. The man then had to take the dog to the opposite side of the arena to fetch some water, bring it back and pour it in the bucket. Then the girls had to fetch water. Bailey narrowly won and Mags good-naturedly joked that the race was fixed.

We ended our day with a tour of the kennels where the dogs sleep. They were very happy for the never ending attention as we petted them through the bars.

It’s not very often you get to play with a guide dogs. When you see a guide-dog on duty, do not try to distract it. The dog has to stay focus on her job, for the safety of her owner.

Read: My post on Guide Dogs.

More about: SAGA

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more Fail Dogs

I do not recommend washing your dog in the dishwasher… And don’t even think of trying this with the cat.

How to give pills to cats:

1. Gently pick kitty up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if  holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat’s mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.
2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.
4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle kitty in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of 10.
5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.
6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, holding front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold cats head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat’s throat vigorously.
7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines from hearth and set to one side for gluing back together  later.
8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with its head just visible from below spouse’s armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force cat’s mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.
9. Check lable to make sure pill not harmful to humans, dring glass of water to take taste away. Apply band-aid to spouse’s forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.
10. Retrieve cat from neighbour’s garden shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
12. Call fire-department to get cat down from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbour who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.
13. Tie cat’s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table. Find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Force cat’s mouth open with small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and 1 cup of water down throat to wash pill down.
14. Get spouse to drive you to emergency room.  Sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Stop by furniture shop on way home to order new table.

How to give pills to dogs:

1.Wrap pill in food. Give food to dog.

Dislaimer:
I have seen this joke (or a variation thereof)  on several websites, so the source is unknown. However, I found it funny and wanted to share it with you all.

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“The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.” – Andrew A. Rooney

I came across an interesting article about potcake dogs the other day and I thought I’d share it with all the pro-adoption dog-lovers…

Potcake dogs are mixed breed dogs from the Bahamas, especially Abaco.
They got their name from pot cakes, the crust that forms at the bottom of a pot of peas and rice, which these dogs were traditionally fed on. These dogs are considered, by most, to have good characters.

Though some humans still see these stray dogs as a pest, many are adopted by dog-lovers who welcome them into their families. Rescued potcake dogs are highly regarded in the Bahamas.

Many of the pot cake dogs have become celebrities. The government is bringing out four postage stamps featuring potcake dogs based on the paintings of Bahamian artist Alton Lowe. The potcake dogs that will be featured on the stamps are Turtle, Oreo, Tripod and Amigo.

Amigo is another homeless dog rescue success story. He received a Good Will award from the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF), which was presented to him by the actor Alec Baldwin. He was also used in rescue operations following hurricane Katrina. He died in September 2007 after battling cancer. I think this is a prime example of what any stray dog can become if he is given a loving home.

In South Africa, we have no shortage of homeless dogs. Many people do take in abandoned pups, but many more still buy dogs. Please consider adopting a dog from a shelter or even from it previous human (owners who move and cannot take their pets with usually try to have their pets adopted privately through classified ads before taking them to a shelter.) There is no excuse for letting animals go on being homeless and abused.


Read more about potcake dogs on Abaco Life
Pictures courtesy of: Jim Kerr

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