June 25, 2008, 5:41 pm : I forgot!

Filed Under: Pets
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How could I forget to post about my Megs’ new friend!? (Above is the best pic I could get of her on the day!)

Last month we took Megs up to the Moor and for the first time we met up with a friend of my sister and her dog, Brummel.

They had great fun running about a field, here they are sucking up to my sister, it’s more than likely she had either treats of a tennis ball in her hands at the time.

Of course Megs is a bit of a wimp. She always plays the lowest of the pack, so when Brummel said hello she just turned into a curled up lump on the grass.

It was a good day, except it started to rain, as it got worse we tried to shelter under some trees, but it still came through. We got back to the friends house and had to borrow some towels to keep warm and dry Megs. Although she doesn’t like the rain, one of her favourite things is getting a towel dry so she was a very happy pup by the end of the day.

December 10, 2007, 5:16 pm : Franc with sound

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Ok, it’s the sound of the TV and some of me (horrible voice, I know), but this is the first video I’ve taken of her with sound attached.

September 9, 2007, 12:10 am : 27. Go for a proper walk on the Moors

Filed Under: 94 Things, Pets
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Today my sister and I went for a walk on Dartmoor with our dog. While this doesn’t seem all too exciting, it really was, and I’ll explain why.

We have had our dog for 10 years now and from the day we got her home from the rescue she has hated being in a car, she gets car sick and will normally either throw up or poop. But today we thought we would at least try, she has calmed down a lot since she was a puppy and we were taking her in our, smaller, car instead of dads where she has to sit in the big boot and gets flung around any time we go around a corner or hit the brake. We started by preparing the car in case she was sick, covering the back seats with an old shower curtain and some towels. When all the equipment was ready (leads, water, treats, etc,) we got the bean bag she normally lies on and put it in the back of the car. My sister then got in the car and I handed her the lead so the dog would jump in. It’s a three door hatch back so I pushed the seat back into position and got into the drivers seat. Setting off she wasn’t sounding too stressed, my sister was holding on to her and had treats to keep her attention. The plan was to see how she was once we got to the top of the road, we got there and while she was whining a little we decided to keep going.

As soon as you get on the moors there’s a small cafe on the left, we stopped there deciding to do a short journey first time and try going further another on another trip. After getting past the gate behind the cafe we switched to the long lead so she could wander about a bit. She was loving it immediately. A normal walk for her is about 10 minutes long up the hill we live on and back down again, same old houses everyday and we all just want to get back as soon as we can, but this time everything was new and fun. Even for us, we could look at the views around as well as watch how much the dog was enjoying it. On our usual walk she is always pulling at the lead and jumping at people and dogs we pass by but this time she just walked a bit a head of us, sniffing about, when we came to people or dogs she paid little to no attention to them and wasn’t even too bothered when we passed a group of ponies. In the end we managed to walk for about an hour and a quarter on a beautiful sunny day. We stopped at the end of the walk at the cafe. Before we could get back to the car to get the water bowl another dog walker gave us a ice cream tub full of water, which was nice of them, except I got the feeling they were telling us we should have thought to bring our own, when we had and had also been giving her water from a bottle during the walk. Finally we had some lunch and took the dog for a quick walk to let her pee and then headed home

I think I got the better end of the deal, sitting in the back of the car on the way home as the dog was so tired she just lay on the seat panting.

It really was a great day, and not only did the dog have the best walk of her life so far, I got to cross something off my list. Hopefully we will be able to go on more walks like that with the dog, as i said getting further onto the moor each time.

August 12, 2007, 4:23 pm : I have the worlds CUTEST pets!

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I took this video a little while ago, I’m glad they all get along so well. (Sorry about the bad lighting.)

And last night I managed to get a pic of Shammy eating her hay, I love guinea noses!!

August 2, 2007, 12:16 am : Cages

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Sometimes people at the art group I go to leave things for others to take, I’ve seen pots and pans and shampoo, all sorts really. For a few weeks there had been a hamster cage that no one had really paid much attention to. I asked about it and was told someone had shown an interest before me and I could have it if they said they didn’t. Last Friday I went in as was told that the other woman had decided against and it was all mine.

I got it home, worked out what was what and started setting it up, during which I realised the bottle that came with it had rust inside so I would have to use an old one I already had. Once all the straw was in and everything in place like the food bowl and house I picked up the water bottle to see where it fit and realised it was the wrong kind, even though it was exactly the same as the one it came with. The cage had come with a bottle that you bend a bit of wire around to hook to the cage, but the cage doesn’t have bars to hook on to, it’s all plastic with a barred door on the top. For the water there is a hole in one side so to attach a bottle it would nee suckers to stick to the plastic. So until I’m able to find and buy such a bottle the cage move will have to wait.

I also feel a bit guilty because, although there is more in this new cage, like a ramp to run up and down, it is a little smaller than the one Honey currently lives in and I feel a bit bad to put her in the smaller cage, of course my only other option is to buy a second hamster to fill the smaller cage, or maybe 2 smaller hamsters, like Chinese hamsters, but they could get out of the cage bars unless I bought a square of bars to place across it so the holes were too small for them to escape through. Or the final, less appealing option would be give the cage to my sisters friend, this is of course only less appealing because I want more hammies!!!!

July 19, 2007, 11:22 pm : Home and rested at last

Filed Under: Friends, Pets, Random Life
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From last Friday, until yesterday, I was yet again in London with my best friend, Robin. Of course I’ve barely had 2 minutes to myself when I’ve been awake enough and relaxed enough to settle back in. My week away was both fun and stressful. Robin and I met up with a few other friends on the Saturday. We pick them up from various stations and eventually had a few drinks in a pub just outside St. James park. Robin and I left early to take two others to their train home from Paddington. We then slept for most of Sunday. Monday we met with a few less of the same friends, we went all the way to Essex to meet up and then back in to London to pick up two of their suitcases. We had a couple more drinks before heading our own ways. We were supposed to meet up again on Tuesday before the last people went home but were both too tired to go out so spent another day resting.
The whole week was stinking hot (and I really mean stinking). The tube is not very fun in heat, and neither was the train ride home. Of course once the train got into Devon I started to notice the big black cloud following us.
My sister picked me up from the station and we chatted about the week, what we’d each been doing, how the pets were etc. At this point I was smelly and tired and just wanted a shower and a nap, but upon getting home I was told the boiler was broken, so no shower, and the mess in my room the rabbit left was so bad I couldn’t rest until I had cleaned it. I then had to unpack and take my washing downstairs (I generally leave unpacking for a few weeks but the case was bigger than normal and couldn’t just be stored). And after all that, when I could finally lie down, which is when my second wind kicked in, I was still exhausted, but just couldn’t settle to sleep. I tried to play a game with Robin but it wouldn’t connect, so we chatted on Skype for a bit until I could finally sleep.

As for today, I was meant to have an appointment with my social worker, but I didn’t get up soon enough to drive my sister to work so I could have the car for the day. So I missed that and had to rearrange for next month. I slept most of the day and as soon as I got up I had to sort out the cages and my room. I of course, being me, forgot I needed to go out for more sawdust and had the guinea and rabbit out of the cage and bagged all the old bedding before I remembered. I had to make a quick run to Tesco for an over priced bag and rush back again to finish cleaning out. Once I was done with the cages, I had to vacuum the floor, which is something I’ve done more regularly since bringing Franc home (straw gets everywhere while she’s out of the cage).

After all that I was able to have a nice hot shower and get rid of that horrible sticky feeling from the hot days.

So finally I am done, I can rest in my own clean room where I feel comfortable. Of course, I do wish I could still be at my friends house, his company is better than any.

July 9, 2007, 5:02 pm : Better picture of Franc

Filed Under: Cute, Pets
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She’s settling in well. She loves running around my room, and when she isn’t doing that she likes to sit on top of the guinea pig house.

Thinking about it, I haven’t posted an updated picture of Honey since I got her. She’s a bit of a wriggler so its hard to get a good shot, but here is one of her right before she fell off the wheel.

July 5, 2007, 4:14 am : Bunny Rabbit

Filed Under: About Me, Cute, Pets
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I had my day nicely planed out on Tuesday. First i had to drop my sister into work so i could have the car for the day. Then i had to go to the doctors office to pick up a letter, then back to town. I parked in the mall and walked the short distance to Blue Banana, went to the back of the shop and asked for my eye brow to be pierced. They told me the room was being disinfected but i could fill out the forms and pay then and come back at midday. It was a little longer than i had thought, but i went window shopping in the mall as i had planed to do after i got my eye brow done. It had been suggested i have something to eat before i went back so i had an early lunch then headed over.
Long story short, i bled, a lot. I’d had it pierced before but that fell out, so the new one went through scar tissue, which hurts as well as bleeds. But it does look good in my opinion, it’s purple and in my left eye brow.

I intended to spend the rest of my day doing art at my local Mind, i don’t normally go on a Tuesday, but thought i would for a change. Of course as soon as i got there i was told the art group was cancelled due to lack of staff and everyone had to be gone by 2pm, this was about 12.30pm so i decided to sit there and chat a little until 2 so i actually had something to do before having to pick my sister up at 5.15.
Of course, after i left the group i still had 3hrs to kill so thought i would go to the market at the bottom of town. This is where things went wrong in a very good way. There is a pet shop in the market, which i don’t like very much. I got my hamster there and still feel she was too young to have been sold. Another thing i dislike about it is the tiny cages they put rabbits and guinea pigs in. One of the cages is at most 2 foot by 2 foot and tucked under a load of other cages so it’s almost out of sight. In there was a small silver rabbit hardly moving. I did ask if she was ok in there and they told me she was fine, they just told me they sulk when in smaller cages, my only thought was, “of course, they have no space for anything else.” I thought a while about if i could afford to keep a rabbit and in the end i just thought i had to get the poor thing out of the tiny cage, if it then turned out i wasn’t able to look after her i would find her a good home that could. So i paied for her and told the shop staff i would be back about 4.30 to pick her up so she didnt have to stay in a(n even smaller) box for too long. I walked around the market a bit but that doesn’t take long so soon enough i was sat outside the pet shop just waiting. After a while though, the keeper came out to me and explained that the breeder had called and was worried about the rabbit, they weren’t well and wouldn’t be sold to anyone, the breeder was coming in to take them back and bringing two healthy ones with her. I said i would have a look at them and decide if i still wanted one (i was thinking that if they were the same sex they would both go in the larger cage so i would leave them, but different sexs i would take the female (so the temperment is more likely to be suitable with the guinea pigs). It turned out it was a boy and a girl, both completly black, netherland dwarf / lionhead crosses. They were beautiful, but i could only take one and the girl was kept aside for me. It wasnt too long from then until i had to get my sister so i got the rabbit box and walked back to the car. Securing the box in the front seat i drove to the car park by my sisters work and got out the bunny to hold while i waited.
She was late coming out, and in that time i saw an old science teacher come and go from the car park and even had someone mistake the rabbit for a puppy, but they still thought she was very cute. Finally my sister came out, but once she saw the rabbit she asked a bit about it then asked to take it in to her office to show some people how cute she was. Few minutes later she was back in the car and we headed home.
I think the rabbit softened the blow of the metal in my head, there were fewer comments on that than the new fluff ball. She settled in very well to her new home and is getting along great with Shammy and Connie.
So, here is the latest member of my furry family, Franc the rabbit:

And to explain the name, like with pork products for hamsters and cosmetics for guinea pigs, rabbits are named after money as males are bucks and females are does. Don’t worry, the logic works for me!

June 11, 2007, 1:42 am : Guinea Pigs

Filed Under: Cute, Pets
Discussion: C[1]mments

I went out on Thursday, i had the car as i’d driven my sister to work so i could make an appointment. Well, i’d had a bad week mostly so thought i could cheer myself up in the pet store, looking at all the cute furry creatures. The brids were beutiful, the hamsters were so cute in their sleeping pile, they even had a pair of tiny tortoises in a tank.
Recently one of my friends bought a guinea pig and called him Oscar. Well right at the back of the shop are two pens, the nearer of them had two boy guineas and and a boy rabbit, the pen behind had three girl guineas. I spent a while talking to the shop assistant, which i normally hate doing, but i get hyper and talkitive when i haven’t slept. So, after about half an hour of asking about what cage, and how to care for them i said i’d think about it, see how much money i had and talk to my sister before i decided.
When i got home i told my mum what i was thinking and, surprisingly, she liked the idea (though she did tell me she would never hold or touch them - she has mild rodentophobia). She thought that instead of talking with my sister i should surprise her and get them before i picked her up from work. I gave my room a quick tidy, so the cage had a place to go, and checked i would have enough money in the bank for it all, which i did, just, then headed back to the pet shop.
I spent about another 2 hours in the shop. We, the shop assisant and i, talked more about do’s and dont’s of guinea pig ownership and took a look at the three girls (the boy’s were already sold). There were two tricolour and one brown girl, all short haired. The assistant first picked up the brown one to show me but noticed one of her eyes looked watery and swollen. She checked it with the manager who agreed the guinea should be seen to by a vet before they could sell her. They had told me they had a seven day returns policy if any health issues showed up but if i took the brown one home knowing about its eye that policy would be void. I felt bad, but we looked at the other two, the tricolours. They were beautiful, the markings one them were totally different so they could easily be told apart. One of the things i had brought up with the assistant was that i knew guineas were social animals and needed a lot of company, and it was generally better to go with another guinea than a rabbit as they have been known to harm guineas and that chances are my company wont be enough. The result of this is of course i had to buy two of them, and as the two tricolours were more than likely sisters they were most likely to get along and both looked generally healthy.
So that was it, i decided to buy them. The next thing was to sort out what cage i wanted. The pet shop i went to is brillient, they have a starter kit for every animal. So, in the case of the guinea pigs, i could get; a cage big enough for two with house, bowl, water bottle and hay rack, a bag of complete food, a toy, bag of hay, bag of straw, bag of sawdust, mineral lick, animal friendly disinfectant and a book on guinea pig care for £55.99, i added a wodden tube, a portable carrier and a cage fan for hot days to it. It’s a good thing i don’t believe in omens as things wouldn’t have been good for me, first with the brown guineas bad eye and then when i chose the cage i then found out they were out of stock, only had the one on show left. But they agreed to get that one down from the wall and clean off the dust. The day was boiling hot and even in the air conditioned store i was feeling thirsty so i left to get some water at a near by shop while the assistant got the kit together, when i got back it was laied out so all i needed was to pay and get it all to the car. Paying was easy, if painful to my bank balance, but i needed help getting the cage out so a male shop assistant was asked to help. I left the guineas in a box in the shop deciding i would come back for them after taking everything else out so they didnt have to sit in the hot car while i fumbled about with everything. Once the guineas were in the car i made sure all the windows were open and the box was secure in the seat and headed home.
I took the guineas in first then needed dad to bring the cage in while i carried all the bags of supplies up to my room. i quickly set it all up, put in the beding, food, water and furnishings, then opened the box to put them in their new home. As tempted as i was to get a first photo of them i thought it best not to as they were cuddled up in a corner looking quite scared, they had after all been in a small dark box for about half an hour. Lifting them carefully i put them in the cage and left them to settle in.

Of course being me i couldn’t just give them average names. For hamsters the name must be some sort of pork product, rabbits should all be currency (as males are bucks and females, does), but i never really seriously considered guinea pig ownership before, so hadn’t thought what route to take. I did think a while ago that naming after countries might be an idea, but it wasn’t too appealing to me. Of course i then ralised what guinea pigs are most famous for - scientific testing, cosmetics inparticular. After that it didn’t take me long to think of Shampoo, and for a secong guinea pig, what goes better than Conditioner?! Of course i like to shorten names, so my two little girls are called Shammy and Connie.
It wasn’t long before i managed to get my first video of the two so here it is;

The larger one with an orange bum is Shammy, and the smaller ove with red only on her ear is Connie. Both are still settling in but are much loved in their new home.

March 17, 2007, 4:02 am : New Hamster

Filed Under: Cute, Pets
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I know it hasn’t been long since i lost Scratch but i’ve been lonely without her and decided to get a new one today, well yesterday seeing as it’s 2am now. My sister and i went to the pet shop, my sister having been the day before and had chosen her favourite, when we got there they were all happily sleeping in a big pile at the back of the cage, with one occasionally waking up to walk over its sisters to sleep at the back of the pile. Soon enough though they started to wake up, hamster yawns are fantasticly cute by the way. There were two we liked the look of, the one my sister had picked out yesterday, which had white and cream fur and an all black one. We watched them for a while to see how they acted, if they looked friendly and so on, finally we decided on the black one, she seemed very sweet. The shop assistant fished her out of the tank and put her in a carrying box, which for some reason advertised bird food, she advised us on which wheel was best to buy, the one i had Scratch never liked, it didn’t look too comfortable.

We got her home, i’d already made up the cage so she was ready to go, i opened the box and put it in the cage, she wouldn’t leave it on her own so i tipped it up and she slid out. I didn’t pick her up as she had already been through a lot, she was obviously scared and the first thing she did was run and hide under the hay in a corner. She calmed a little after a while and i was able to stroke her a little but still didn’t pick her up. I left her to it and she explored her new home, she seems to like hiding behind her wheel, i was please to see her discover her food bowl and water bottle, i always worry a new hamster wont find them. She’s had a lot of fun running on the wheel, everytime i see her she runs and runs then a paw slips off the side so she stumbles, so she has to start over and then she just does the same over and over, it’s so funny and cute.

Of course being me, i had to name her after a pork product, so this little girl is Honey Roast Ham(ster).