9 Sep 2019

Fast and faster Bella and Daisy

Well, these two little whirlwind dogs keep you on your toes and fit and healthy too. Running up and down hills is their favourite past-time and the newer the place and steeper the hills the better it is! Undaunted by steep slopes, Bella at 10 years old is fit, healthy and stoic, nothing much bothers this little dog, she loves to smile when you tickle her tummy and is affectionate, companionable to other dogs as well as humans and is a fabulous all-round dog we have become very fond of. Daisy, Bella’s pup is a different nature, she is energetic and loves to run everywhere but always keeps her mum insight. She loves a good stroke when you’re watching the TV at night and will sit for hours without moving for this delight. She has eyes one could melt in the colour of dark and dreamy chocolate. With soft silky fur, she picks up burrs everywhere so a nightly de-burring is always in order! They both love dirty, smelly, green water! The dirtier and smellier the better! So a bath is often in order too. Both are fed on a raw meat diet and have around two hours walk a day which seems to keep them healthy, happy, energetic and a joy to behold.

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24 Aug 2019

Amber, Scrappy & Felix

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The three rescues

My name is Amber and I\’m a bossy, affectionate mixed variety rescue dog from Greece. I\’ll lick you to death and love a scratch behind the ears. My favourite game is chasing Felix, the rescue cat around the house! I also love a game of chase with Scrappy the rescue also from Greece. My pet sitters think he might be a sheepdog cross terrier. He certainly likes to heard sheep as well as growl and bark like a terrier.

We\’ve all enjoyed having the pet sitters here to stay and have been to some interesting and different places. we even went to the old age home to cheer up the residents! We much prefer house sitters to kennels.

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18 Aug 2019

Barking friendly work places!


Photo by Nick Turner on Unsplash

Has the world gone barking mad? Or has the world finally recognised the value of animals? Personally, I’d like to think that at long last animals are being recognised for the valuable contribution they make to our society.

As a little girl, I used to get so upset by other children throwing stones at animals and often got myself into trouble by standing in front of the stones!

Now let’s hope times have truly changed, as more and more workplaces are accepting dogs or creating dog-friendly environments. Millennials it appears are not only increasingly vegan but they also value having dogs in the office!

So if you want to create a dog-friendly office then here are some tips:

  1. Consult your employees – see how many are in favor and address the concerns of those who are not. Ensure no-one is allergic or phobic.
  2. Research – talk to other companies that have introduced a dog-friendly policy. Find out how many of your employees have dogs they can bring?
  3. Get the board-on-board and ensure everyone agrees and backs you up.
  4. Define numbers – how many dogs are allowed per day and which days?
  5. Allocate areas – animals need to know their barriers and where they can go to relax, refresh, smell and communicate with other dogs, and be alone!
  6. Ensure everyone knows the benefits – it’s been shown that animals increase productivity in the workplace.
  7. Join Pets at work alliance they are there to help.
  8. Ensure that the dogs that are brought into the office are content, enjoy the experience and get enough exercise, perhaps a group of employees could walk them at lunchtime if it’s cool enough.

If you do the research and define the areas you too can reap the barking-friendly office benefits. And don’t forget to follow us and let us know how you get on.

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6 Aug 2019

Nala
Which means beloved in Swahili

A beautiful Bengal cat the lovely Nala, waited like a dog to greet us at the door! Serene, soft, sleek, and silky to the touch, this lovely Bengal cat is very quiet, and timid and stays in the house and garden. No fences are required as she does not wish to escape, Caroline her owner loves her dearly and looks after her well, with delicious food to tempt her and a water fountain, cat flap, scratch pole, cushions and all, what more could a house and garden cat want?
Nala’s name is somewhat fitting, for she is a very beloved cat. We loved looking after her and received cuddles and purrs every evening which we thoroughly enjoyed.

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1 Jul 2019

Sniff Sniff Sniff

Photo by Marek Szturc on Unsplash

Many times I’ll see a dog owner pulling their dog away from a place with a really great scent! I wonder would you like it if someone pulled you away from the scent of freshly made coffee, a loaf of newly baked bread, or a bouquet of roses? Dogs possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to a humans 6 million. Part of a dog’s brain is specifically devoted to analysing scents, and proportionally speaking is 40 times greater than humans.

Dogs can detect odors in parts per trillion, Alexandra Horowitz, a dog-cognition researcher at Barnard College, in her book ‘Inside of a Dog’, writes; “While we might notice if our coffee has had a teaspoon of sugar added to it, a dog could detect a teaspoon of sugar in an Olympic-sized pool! “. Try listening to Alexandra’s very interesting Ted talk on how do dogs ‘see’ with their noses? Landmarks on lamp-posts, trees, stones, and pavements are an absolute story to your dog. When trained our dogs can tell you all sorts of things, they can help us find bombs, drugs, cancer, and many other things, so please just let them smell that scent on your walk!

Mark Scott from dog caring daycare; dog-stroll.co.uk actively encourages the dogs in his care to smell with the Sensory Garden he has created after attending a study on how dogs can self medicate. His sensory garden is a great example to us all of what we should and could do to keep our dogs interested and entertained with edible plants, tunnels, a straw pit, bamboo forest, and a willow dome. So if your dog is wanting to stop and ‘smell the roses’ then let them, you never know it may save your life one day!

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15 Jun 2019

The Rise of the top dog


Tamara Bellis

The British are animal lovers and in the past few years dog ownership seems to be ‘on trend’. And with this trend comes caring for your pet with the best food, beds, and attire. A few clever British companies have linked to this trend and are making accessories for dogs.

One such company is Ruby Rufus makers of cashmere for dogs! I’ve always wanted cashmere myself as I know it’s super warm and comfortable too. Businesswoman Ruby Rufus Isaacs started designing a collection of cashmere jumpers chihuahua’s to keep them cosy. Her friends liked them and wanted some too and when Pets pajamas online pet boutique saw them they wanted to stock them. Now stocked in Elphicks and many other luxury stores Ruby Rufus cashmere has been seen on many notable dogs including Kylie Jenner’s greyhound Bambi from Italy and Marc Jacobs dog Neville a staffy. Instagram-famous dog Tuna with over 2 m followers, loves this brand and with his tiny body and short coat he’s definitely in need of something to keep him warm. You can see him wearing Ruby’s designs at tunameltsmyheart.com. Ruby’s sweaters have become the very thing you want your little treasure to be seen in, for warmth and comfort.

Some people buy loads of jumpers so they can dress their pet differently each day, others just buy one practical cable knit. Her designs work for small and bigger dogs too.
Like us, Ruby borrows dogs as she also travels a great deal. We’ll certainly be on the lookout for stylishly dressed dogs. If you want your dog to be stylish and the ‘top-dog’ then check out

instagram.com/rubyrufus.

ipet photo

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10 Jun 2019

British Blue Moo

I’m a rare British blue,
But really who knew?
I’m pampered and spoiled,
Whilst my owners do toil,
I just like to sleep all day,
On the bed or the stairs,
The garden is my place to play,
But I also like to snore and sigh,
Until the clouds, all go by,
I wake up for some food,
But only if I’m in the mood,
For a scratch under the chin,
And that’s just where you should begin,
And you should continue to stroke
Until with my paw, I will poke,
Or nip gently at your hand,
I’m gentle and soft,
Pretty with beautiful eyes too,
I’m Morrissey Morrissey Morgan or Moo to you

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3 Jun 2019

It’s a cat’s life!

Amber in the vegetable garden

‘Oh, what a hard life’ cats lead, going from one meal to another via sleeping, prowling and stalking! Certainly, tabby cats Amber and Poppy like a good dinner served on time, followed by a role in the sun on the cement path, to scratch their back and then a lovely sleep in the sun lounge on the chair. It is said humans have superior intelligence, really seems to me that a cat is more intelligent! Who works all day to put a meal on the table for the cat and our families – that’ll be us, humans, then! Who labors in the garden making it habitable for family and animals – again us humans! Who eats and sleeps all day – why the cat!

Cats are intelligent and know who’s their owner and who’s not, it’s taken Poppy and Amber a few days to get accustomed to us and bear their tummies to be tickled and their neck to be scratched. They also will come and sit on our knees at night too and relax and purr.

These two tabbies are a pleasure, very easy to look after. Their only unendearing trait is bringing in various creatures from the garden. We’ve had half eaten mice and a living slow worm who was not particularly happy with being brought into the kitchen but was unharmed so we were able to return it to the garden – they are a protected species in the UK after all.
We’d happily look after Poppy and Amber again any time in the future.

And the icing on the cake is that it’s near to my Dad in Burwash so I’ve been able to spend quality time with him too. What more can one ask for?

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29 May 2019

Meow Meow says Poppy and Amber we’d like some food!

Apparently, cats find it harder to learn their names than dogs do – who knew? As we all know cats know how to do many things perfectly such as catching mice, birds, rodents, what the sound of a rattling ‘Dreamies’ packet sounds like from the bottom of the garden!

I’ve certainly found out that both Poppy and Amber know their names perfectly and will come running either for me to open the door – Amber or for food Poppy and Amber. These two tabby cats are sisters although Amber likes to steal Poppies food given half the chance – not very sisterly behavior or is it? Having never had a sister I’m not sure but for those of you who have siblings, you probably know better than I.

These two are the perfect cat companions demanding very little except the odd scratch around the neck or on the tummy. Poppy likes to sleep in the sunroom and will happily stay there all day long or in the vegetable patch. Amber strangely for a cat, likes to follow you around, but beware that doesn’t mean you can cuddle her! Oh no, a little tummy tickle is all she will tolerate!
We’ve greatly enjoyed our catsitting sojourn, and would happily come back and look after Amber, Poppy and let’s not forget the tropical fish too.

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29 May 2019

Pussycat pussycat I love you – but do they love us?

Dogs have always been my passion and wild animals too, but cats have always been somewhat of a mystery I must confess. Although they have been domesticated for thousands of years, first by the Ancient Egyptians who might have first domesticated them over 4000 years ago! So the ‘Felis catus’- cat to you and I have had a very long relationship with us humans.

With rodents in plentiful supply, cats were deemed necessary to most ancient peoples. However, recent studies show, and I’m sure most cat owners would agree, that they have remained unchanged for thousands of years. In fact, Casey Smith who writes for National Geographic says that – In a new comprehensive study of the spread of domesticated cats, DNA analysis suggests that cats lived for thousands of years alongside humans before they were domesticated. During that time, their genes have changed little from those of wildcats, apart from picking up one recent tweak: the distinctive stripes and dots of the tabby cat.

Researchers surveyed the DNA of more than 200 cats spanning the last 9,000 years, including ancient Romanian cat remains, Egyptian cat mummies, and modern African wildcat specimens. Two major cat lineages contributed to the domestic feline we know today, they report in a study published Monday in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

And so I can only conclude that cats have chosen to be domesticated, and have us running around them, feeding, stroking, tickling and waiting with anticipation, all be it with hesitation sometimes for that flick of the tail which signifies that they’ve had enough of your stoking and would now like to be left alone. But, don’t forget to feed me!

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