Olaf

Another post that I wrote and didn't push the publish button on.

Olaf: July 2002 - October 2016

Olaf had never been a particularly cuddly cat and didn't enjoy being picked up so I didn't. At his annual MOT in January this year he had lost some weight but not a lot, nothing that a more mature cat might not loose from leading a more sedentary lifestyle.

In September he had a bit of an upset tummy which didn't really go away so he got whisked off to the vets, that's when he got re-weighed and had lost a lot more weight. You couldn't tell from looking at him, he was still very fluffy and was his usual talkative self with a voracious appetite but loosing weight very rapidly.

We went back and forth to the vets a few times and we very soon had a diagnosis of lymphoma. We gave him a good chance and he tried very hard but in the end the Lymphoma won and we said goodbye to Olaf.

The house is a lot quieter without him to pass comment on everything and he will be missed. Linus and Hilda are missing him but all three of us are slowly adjusting.

Linus (top) and Olaf working hard to prevent me from decorating

A Trip to the Co-op

Last night I had to take a quick trip to the local co-op as I was out of a few essentials for some baking I was planning on doing and decided to walk.

I had not realised how well known Holly, and therefore I, had become. I was stopped a few times by people enquiring after Holly and in each case they were upset to discover she was no longer around. So my quick walk to the shops which is half a mile each way, took a little bit longer than anticipated.

I still managed to do my baking although it was very odd not to have to share the licking of spoons and bowls.

transportation

When I got my first two cats I was told they didn't travel very well, and for the journey home they howled and cried and made the most revolting and traumatic noises for the whole 8 minute car journey. I thought it was because they were large cats and there was only 1 carry-box that they were both squished into, so I bought a second one so they could travel in more comfort than before. It didn't make any difference.

For the next few years they didn't go anywhere except the vets a very noisy 3 minute car ride away and one house move which was a 15 minute journey. Then I had a holiday, they were going to stay at my Mum and Dad's house 45 minutes away in the car and the thought of listening to them for all that time almost made me cancel the holiday. But I thought that if they got used to the car they would at least start to travel quietly. So in the evenings and weekend they went on lots and lots of car rides, each one as noisy as the last. One day, a couple of weeks in, I had someone else with me and as we were on a very quiet road I decided to let one of the cats out of her box. Instant peace and quiet from the cat now sat on the passengers knee looking out of the window. On the way back home the cats swapped places and again the one out of the box was quiet. The next day I went out and bought a couple of harnesses and from then on they got to travel loose in the car. Mono and Fluffy soon found the parcel shelf in the car and from then on if there was not a passenger or a cushion to sit on (they never once tried to help me drive) they would sit on the parcel shelf watching the world go by. I once stopped in a supermarket car park with both cats in the car. As I was returning I heard a small child telling her dad that there was two cats in that car. He obviously had not looked because his reply was "no darling, those are dogs".

Mono accepted travel as a necessary evil, but Fluffy loved to travel and it turned out she was a bit of a speed freak. At speeds of up to 45mph she would sit quietly, but any faster than that and her nose was glued to the window and you got a running commentary on everything she could see. The only other time you got noise from her when travelling was if it had rained, then she exclaimed delight and amazement with every puddle you drove through, especially if it caused a wave to shoot up. There are two ways to the vets and if it had rained we always took the back route that was more or less one long puddle, just for Fluffy.

When Linus and Olaf joined the household they too were introduced to car travel. Olaf is not too keen and prefers to be in his carry box. Linus too loves car rides, but can only travel outside of a carry box when there is a passenger to keep an eye on his escapades. When the car stops he will leap to a window and bang on it with his paws to gain the attention of pedestrians, and if it is raining he has to be locked away in his box otherwise he hurtles back and forth across the dashboard trying to catch the windscreen wipers.

I think I was very lucky with Holly, she too loves to travel. When I first got her and was waiting for all her initial vaccinations so she could go outside I would take her out in the car. I worked it out, in that first 4 to 6 weeks Holly travelled about 750 miles in the car, so it's not surprising that she considers it her second home. She learnt not to get out until given permission and to travel wherever in the car there was room. Mostly she travels in the boot, but sometimes on the back passenger seat and very occasionally on the front passenger seat depending on who and what else we have in the car. Sometimes she has travelled sprawled on top of passengers, she was comfy but they spent the journey shuffling and shifting so that 25Kg of dog didn't cut off the blood circulation to their legs.

Before the serious wobbles and the wheels I regularly took Holly on public transport where she learnt to lie under the seats on the bus and train. I have had a think back and I suspect that she has probably travelled further and on more modes of transport than quite a lot of people.

She has been in buses, coaches, cars, vans and taxis (the driver of the coach that replaced a train refused to let her on so the train company paid for a taxi for us to get to our destination). On trains, electric, diesel and steam. When we went to the Isle of Man so she travelled in a catamaran to get there and then on the Narrow Gauge Steam Railway, horse drawn Trams, electric Trams and the electric Mountain Railway which are on the Island. In 2012 we were on Holiday in Southwold and she didn't bat an eye when asked to hop into the rowing boat that is a ferry across the estuary to Walberswick. She looked most disappointed that the journey was only a few minutes long.

The biggest problem I have had with her travelling is when we are out and about walking and at a bus stop when a bus stops.  She will just hop straight on the bus and look most put-out when asked to get off again, if I have my travel-pass on me or some change I have been known to get a ticket for a stop or two just so she can have a ride.

On the Manx Horse Drawn Trams

The Isle of Man Steam Train

Looking out of the window on the IOM Steam Train

The Southwold to Walberswick Ferry

908.79

I found an old notebook this morning. I had forgotten that in the early days of diagnosis I kept a note of how far Holly and I had walked, although to be more accurate it was how far I walked. Holly does as all dogs do, ran up and down and round and round when not on the lead so would have gone much further.

The entires start on the 8th October 2011 and the last entry is from 7th July 2012. Not every day is recorded, some days say "plus swimming at Pugneys" and one week is down as "Away on Holiday, out and about all day every day!" I know that year we went to Northumberland and had a two mile walk on the beach every morning and evening in addition to wherever we went during the day.

But the 261 entries that there are tot up to a grand total of 908.79 miles.

Photo Favourites III

This one could almost be called Snow and Sand

A rare photo of Holly on the beach where she is dry!

I have no idea why she had not gone racing in to the sea as normal.

Holly destroying a pristine snow covered field

Linus exploring the back garden in the snow

A footprint size comparison Holly (R) & Linus (L)

From snow to ice, Linus keeping cool one Hot Summer

Holly's usual place in a bird hide

Holly's Labrador genes shine through as she makes sure that every last crumb is eaten from a bag of dog food before it is used for other things

Fluffy Fireworks

Many years ago I had a holiday on the Isle of Man and Holly came too. I worried about her being in the car on the catamaran, so I measured the inside of it and bought a crate with slightly smaller dimensions.

You may have spotted the error in the plan already, I had measured the inside of the car but not the size of the boot opening, the crate would have fitted in the car if I could have got it in there. I tried putting it in flat but there was not enough space to put it up inside the car. So in the end Holly travelled loose in the back of the car and was fine on the journey.

So I now had a nice big crate, but what to do with it?

Over the years it has been used to contain a kitten (Linus) and as a safe place for a confused cat (Olaf) and as somewhere to confine various critters (mostly cats) to when they were ill.

Holly did sometimes use it, usually in and around the 5th November every year. I would put the crate up and fill it with duvets and blankets and drape the outside in towels and sheets to make a cosy cave. When the first firework went off she would go and bury herself in the duvets and blankets and stay there until they stopped.

Then one year she wouldn't stay in there. Every time a firework went off she went to the crate and, if I encouraged her, she would get in. But she would not stay in there. It took me a couple of hours to work out what was wrong, she was all alone. In previous years Fluffy had joined her in the crate and stayed with her until everything was quiet. Fluffy was not bothered by the Fireworks but it had never occurred to me that she knew that Holly was frightened and needed some company. The year Holly wouldn't stay in was the first Bonfire night without Fluffy. Linus and Olaf would go in with her but would not stay.

My plans for that evening, and every subsequent night that fireworks go off, were scrapped. I transferred all the duvets and blankets onto the sofa, wrapped Holly up in them making sure I had an arm or a leg under too so she had some physical contact with me, and spent the evening watching t.v. or listening to music and reading a good book.

Photo Favourites II

A few more photos from the archives

Linus demonstrates the art of elegance - feline style

Mono spent a lot of her time on her back waiting for you to rub her tummy

If Fluffy didn't want her photo taking she simply shut her eyes

Linus suffers from an inflated ego, this is him in his "worship me" phase

The inflated ego does mean that he can wear an empty salad box with dignity and pride

Holly does impressions, this is her take on the Turner and Hooch drool scene

The Trouble with Training

Holly came to me when she was 7.5 weeks old and I started her training immediately. Nothing too serious, just saying "sit" when she naturally sat and other key words and phrases at the appropriate time to start the connections between action and words.

I also signed her up with the local dog training group for puppy socialisation classes and for the basic road safety obedience training.

Puppy socialisation started when she was able to go out after her vaccinations. She didn't really enjoy the classes. Even then she wasn't keen on boisterous bouncy puppies and would simply walk away from them and come back to me. She did play quite happily with a few other calm and quiet pups when the bouncy ones were out of the way and she loved the ladies running the sessions.

When she was about 6 months old she started the basic road safety training classes and loved them. Her basic skills expanded and she developed a real enthusiasm for learning. She passed the basic exam with flying colours and was invited to join the intermediate group.

After a couple of weeks off we started the intermediate group. This stretched not only her mind and abilities but mine as well. She hated the out of sight down-stay, but after being taken into the room where all the handlers went to she did start to stay provided she was placed directly opposite the door. The emergency stop was great fun because it was a polished floor, her legs stopped on command but she was moving at such high speed in the recall that it took several more feet before she came to a halt. The exam was entertaining, I had to be given written instructions. The trainer would call out to you to turn left or right, to go at a slow or fast pace and when to leave your dog in a sit or a down. Only Holly was also listening to these instructions as well as the ones from me. So by the time the exam came round she was starting the turn or the change of speed before I had told her to. So we had to do without verbal commands from the examiner. Holly came second out of the whole group in the exam and got a rosette and a trophy. I still have the rosette but the trophy had to be returned after 10 weeks for the next group.

After the intermediate came the advanced group. This wasn't formal training sessions like the basic and intermediate, but more a social gathering once a week that built on the skills and gave the dogs something new to learn.

I had always taught Holly to obey hand signals as well as voice commands as I am prone to laryngitis. One week the dogs were all laid down on one side of the hall and the handlers were stood on the opposite side with our backs to the dogs. The idea was you would issue a voice command and get your dog to change position. It was Holly and me to go first. The instructor asked me to get her to sit. So I called out for her to "sit". No reaction. I tried again, still no reaction from Holly. So I bellowed out in a proper sergeant major command voice "SIT!" The instructor burst out laughing as every dog except one had changed from a down to a sit. The one dog still in a down? Holly. I put my hand behind my back and gave the hand-signal for sit and she instantly sat up. She may be fairly clever but she also has a stubborn streak.

Every year there was an exam for the advanced group, nothing too formal and more of a social afternoon. Two particular tests remain firmly embedded in my mind.

As this was the advanced group we did a certain amount of work outside (in an enclosed area) when the weather was favourable. On the exam day the out of sight down stay was conducted outside. The dogs were all lined up and put in a down and then the handlers walked behind a building so we were out of sight. We heard laughter from the examiners and a few moments later a parade of dogs led by Holly appeared round the side of the building. She wasn't going to let me out of her sight and when she got up and moved the rest of them followed. We tried again with the same result, so Holly had to miss that test.

Back inside the hall and one of the tests was a retrieve. No problems you may think. Lots of problems, the dogs were being asked to retrieve a sausage!

There were two lines on the floor about 15 feet apart, you left your dog at the first line and went to place the sausage on the second line. You then returned to the first line and were not allowed to step over it again until the end of the exercise. Mostly the dogs just ran to the second line, ate the sausage and returned. Holly got some marks for style. We had been warned about this task a week before the event so she and I had been practising with frozen hot-dogs. The sausage on the day was a vegetarian one as it was thought this would give the dogs most chance. Holly went to the second line, picked up the sausage and started back towards me with the sausage. She stopped a couple of feet short, sat down and ate the sausage before taking the last few steps back to me. Some marks awarded for effort, none for the actual retrieve but several for style.

Shortly after this we moved house and couldn't make those training classes any more. But I still run Holly thorough training routines to keep her active and thinking. Linus joins in as well, he worked out that it was a good way to get a treat. So while he may not win any rosettes for obedience Linus will come on command, sit when asked to and walk to heel - provided, that is, that he feels motivated enough to earn a treat.

Photo Favourites

A few more favourite photos from a trawl through the archives.

When Linus arrived he was only a tiny little thing, but he loved Holly right from the start

He could have gone swimming in the water bowl!

But then he grew, and grew and grew until 1 year later he was too big to sleep on Holly any more, she now uses him as a pillow

Most dogs when they get neutered/spayed object to having the bucket on. Not Holly, she didn't see it as a problem and carried on life as normal. This is her less than 24 hours after being spayed and having her dew claws off (she had got them snagged several times so the decision was made to remove them for future safety)

 The Maths worked for once.

2 cats + 2 boxes = 2 happy cats

Alternative maths

1 holly + 1 puddle = 1 happy dog

How to say walk without the word walk?

I've mentioned before that Holly is fairly intelligent and that I have always encouraged her to use her brain.

Most of the time this is great, however it does have some disadvantages.

If I fancy a bit of company on a walk I will phone a relative or friend and ask if they want to join us. Often the answer is yes but can we wait an hour or so while they finish whatever they are doing?

Holly listens to me when I talk to her (someone has to) and she quickly learnt the words walk and park, which meant I would have an over-excited dog for an hour while we waited for everyone else to be ready to go out.

So when she learnt the words "Walk" and "Walkies" I moved onto spelling it "W. A. L. K." that lasted a couple of months, so it was changed to "Going Out" and then to "O. U. T." We then progressed onto "Taking a Stroll" and "Stretch the legs".

It took a while for her to work out "A You Know What in the You Know Where" as meaning a walk in the park.

"Blow the cobwebs away" didn't last very long but "Perambulate" took almost 6 months.

As for where we go I had the same problems. "Park" was soon worked out as was "P. A. R. K." so we changed it to "Field" or "Recreation Ground" ("Rec" for short) then "The Place Opposite the School". The one that lasted the longest was a suggestion of my Dad's "Municipal Gardens"

As you might imagine, strangers sometimes wonder what on earth I am talking about when I say "We are going to Perambulate through the Municipal Gardens"

As a family we do quite a few crosswords which may explain some of the alternative ways of saying "Go for a Walk in the Park"

Happy New Year

The Menagerie would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014.

Most news outlets take the new year as an opportunity to review the past 12 months, I am going to share a few of my favourite photos taken over the years.

Many many years ago I looked after some guineapigs, Fluffy thought they were fascinating and would spend hours sat on top of their run 'talking' to them. They were not in the slightest bit frightened of her and spent as much time sitting in the run chattering back to her.

Olaf doesn't really like having his photo taken, but I did manage to get one of him snoozing with his tongue stuck out

Holly loves the beach, our progress can be mapped by disgruntled seagulls, shredded seaweed, rolled in dead marine life and craters in the beach.

Holly was only a tiny little scrap when she came to me.
This is our first meeting when she was 6.5 weeks old

I had originally been going to get a retired greyhound, but somehow came home with a 7.5 week old puppy who wasn't going to let size matter when it came to bed.

This was her at about 8 weeks old

And with the same toy on her 1st birthday, she used to be able to walk through it, but now it gets stuck on her head!