A Life
Full of Animals – part two
Dominie and Jenna. Jenna could barely step over the threshold!
We have always been available to look after our adult
children’s dogs. Taking care of Foxy, Gillian’s fox-red working Labrador puppy,
made us realise how much we liked and missed Labradors, and so Jenna came into
our lives from Shropshire. We asked for the biggest black bitch in the litter,
as she would be living with Dalmatians, which are quite big dogs. Well, she had
big paws and that’s as far as it went. She remained a little dog with big paws
throughout her sixteen years.
Playtime with Frodo
We didn’t know there were pheasant in the forest where we walk, until Jenna flushed them. She also chased deer and would disappear into the distance, so we put a cow bell on her, to hear when she was near and an electronic tracker, so that we could discover where she’d been. We think it was because she had Dalmatian companions, who don’t generally retrieve, although they can, and are built for long distance running, which she wasn’t. Once she had Labrador friends and relations she never disappeared again.
Jenna with tracker
Jenna was a very sociable dog. Whenever we were out walking
and saw people in the distance she would always go to greet them, even if she
had never seen them before. Once she had done that, she would be content to
come back to us. She maintained that endearing habit almost to the end of her
life.
Her half-brother, Gus, four years her junior, pointed out to
us the difference between dogs and bitches. We had always assumed that bitches
were easier, even though we had had dogs as well as bitches. They are smaller
than dogs, generally, Dominie being something of an exception. The Jack Russell
and Dalmatian bitches were biddable and faithful, but Jenna, our first Labrador
for nearly forty years, reminded us that this particular breed is different.
We had forgotten how independent they are. Jenna was friendly
and loyal but inclined to follow her own path, which was actually never far
from ours. Gus stayed close to heel and like Buddy Liver-Spots before him, spent
much time and energy trying to keep his pack together. His most worrying times
came when we had an extended family walk with several dogs. As the line of
people lengthened, so he rushed back and forth from end to end, trying, so we
thought, to chivvy the laggards to increase their pace, and the leaders to slow
down.
An exception to this rule was Buster, Bertie’s brother, who
went to live with Gillian and her family in Dorset. They were beautiful fox-red
working Labradors. While Bertie was a sensible, sober dog who never wanted to
be found wanting in the behaviour stakes, or anywhere else, Buster was
capricious. He enjoyed charging off in all directions. Bertie enjoyed greeting
other dogs, but once introductions had been made, he was happy to return to us.
He was a perfect gentleman with a wonderful smile. Gus’s smile showed just his
front teeth but Bertie’s was full and wide and accompanied by snorts of
pleasure.
Three days after Frodo died, Roxy was born in Shropshire, (all our Labradors have come from the same
kennels in Shropshire, where the dogs are bred for temperament first and
foremost) and it’s fanciful to think that some of his spirit was reborn in
her, mainly because she is a counter-surfer, the only Labrador we’ve known to
do this, although Gilbert is showing signs of following in her paw-steps. In
every other respect, she’s her own dog, friend to all, human, canine or feline.
Jenna, Gus and Bertie all died within eleven months, which was
heart-breaking. Gus and Bertie died in August and October last year so Roxy rapidly
went from being the youngest to the only dog and she was really depressed. She
had never known life without another dog and although the cats were company it
wasn’t the same. So, in January this year, Gilbert came to live with us.
At the time of writing, both cats have
taken refuge from Gilbert inside the fire guard and are about to start taking
lumps out of each other. A stern ‘No squabbling’ from me usually stops them in
their tracks. Although they’re litter brothers, they are very different. Herschel
is a standard Ocicat, spotted and striped and a third bigger than Jellicoe.
Jellicoe is a classic tabby-patterned Ocicat, now known, bizarrely to my ears,
as an Aztec. They are extremely affectionate and always in our company. Their
brother, Isambard, died when he was seven.
Our first two Ocicats, Winston and Monty,
also died young. Monty was only three and Winston was six. Our vets did their
best, but were puzzled. As one set of medications sorted out one problem it
revealed another and it became a roundabout of symptoms and decline. They were stunning
animals.
We then had a couple of years without any
cats until one day we were startled by a house mouse. I like mice, the pet
variety, but didn’t want to encourage wild mice, so we did our research and
acquired the three brothers ten years ago. Barry says they were his best ever birthday
present.
Herschel
We haven’t had house mice since and
Herschel regularly patrols the integral garage. I don’t think they’ve ever caught
anything indoors but have certainly captured rats and mice in the garden. A
foolhardy young squirrel met its end from Herschel and Jellicoe has killed a
wood pigeon, which he dragged through the cat flap and deposited at the foot of
the stairs. Happily, birds do not figure largely in the death statistics and, unlike
the Burmese, they don’t trap frogs. They are not avid hunters and prefer to
spend their time in the garden lounging in high places and looking beautiful.