Pet sitting

I am Currently needing to baby sit two cats and a dog. This involves the usual remembering to feed and water them, cleaning up the back yard and taking the dog for ideally 2 walks a day. This started of famously with one of the cats vomiting all over the floor when I got home the first day. The dog routine has been going well though I have had to get creative about the afternoon walk since I work in the afternoon and any time before 5 is too hot for her to enjoy a walk. We have been going to the beach a bit and the kids have joined in the exercising of the dog. 

I say it is too hot before 5pm however current weather is making a lie of this. It has been horrible weather today and yesterday, cold, windy and sporadically heavy rain. Today I went to the beach with the dog to throw the ball. We had the whole beach to ourselves for a very good reason, nobody else was mental enough to be out in such revolting weather. The wind was so strong it shoved you along like a hired goon, then on the way back into it you had to lean forward and shove into it. Throwing the ball with the wind was a good plan, it traveled twice the distance of a normal throw and the dog had difficulty finding it. I didn't throw the ball into the wind because I suspected it may end up hitting me in the face. So this is November and 2 more days till summer.

Last night I went to bible study (like I do) and got home (as expected) to find a lovely gift (not wanted or expected) all over the floor from a cat. Somebody had returned dinner all over the floor in a revolting puddle. Surprisingly I was not thrilled about cleaning it all up. 

I got them back today though by brushing them while they were eating their minuscule serving of dinner tonight. They were lucky to get any but they were hovering so hopefully. 

Also one of the cats has developed a habit of coming in to my room in the wee small hours to rearrange my things (she seems to think they work better all over the floor) and then to lie on my back/tummy/side and go to sleep before launching suddenly out the door with a tremendous kick just when I have forgotten she is there.

Dogs

I like dogs, I will never get a puppy (famous last words) after taking a pretty big part in raising the Labrador puppy on the farm, and donating the occasional personal item to her enjoyment. I still like dogs though and really enjoyed playing with her and training her to fetch, crawl, play hide and seek, and go and find the old dog for breakfast time.

Today I was visiting a friend in Ashtonfield and on my way back saw a boxer, complete with a collar, running about the road. I called it, figuring if it came, I could take it home and thus call it's owner or take it to the vet, if it ignored me, well I tried. It rushed over to me with a look of dribbly joy and I read that its tag told me its name and some of the phone number. I took it home and it followed me pretty well, much to the relief of the lady with a pram that we happened upon.

When we got to the vet I said "I found a dog, I can't read the number on the tag, it leaves out some fairly important numbers." He said to read out the numbers so I read "0, 4, 0, 5, something, 3, something, something, something, something." Mum walked in to hear this and said "that's not very useful is it" The vet came and put a lead on the dog and took off the collar thinking the wriggly dog was preventing accurate reading... not the case. I find it odd that he wouldn't think "Maybe she already thought to ring the owner and save herself a drive to the vet." No he assumed I had not thought of that and rushed immediately into his helpful presence.

Happily the dog was micro-chipped and he should be back at home soon.