persephone

excerpt : ( the last bit) People agonise over getting a pet and all the responsibilities involved when in reality you should be worrying about the end of the relationship. It’s a double whammy for parents who love the animal but also love the heartbroken kids – I would seriously swap various humans if I could get Silkie back for the kids. Sacha and Daisy are only two, so hopefully further tragedy is years away – though I know it will come eventually and for the first time I’m wondering if we’ve done our kids harm by having pets. It’s glorious when all goes well, though training, picking up poo and paying horrendous pet bills are nothing compared with hand-feeding elderly animals, carrying them to the loo when they are too shaky, worrying that every illness will be the last and trying to soothe away the anguish on the children’s faces when you know they know things don’t look good. Even the pain of having my knee broken last year by the whippet pales into insignificance beside our current agony. I also feel strangely angry with our animals for dying and guilty that I couldn’t save them for my children. There’s a rock on my chest – and I know that to anyone who doesn’t have pets, I must sound like a fool – and I have suffered genuine bereavement when my dad died, but this also feels suspiciously like the real thing. Watching my children being almost unable to breathe or move for grief makes us seem not such brilliant parents after all – seriously, do the benefits of always having a tiny furry shoulder to cry on make the eventual agony worthwhile? Why is the death of a pet so painful? Jon Patrick, consultant psychiatrist in psychotherapy: “Joan’s feelings aren’t unique or unintelligible. She suspects this grief for her cat is “like the real thing” but from a psychoanalytic perspective it is the real thing. The family have dared to get their feelings entangled with their animals, and this process of untangling during bereavement is a pain not dissimilar to depression. We lose not just the object who dies but also the parts of ourselves we locate in them through unconscious projection – a risk we take when we project parts of ourselves on to any other thing, whether it be a pet, football team, child or partner. Love often physically hurts. “The good news is that time heals but the loss will remain, which – it seems to psychoanalysts – is as it should be. Denial of these losses, or too quick a replacement of our pets or other loved objects, leaves their predecessors ungrieved for. It robs us of the chance to do the psychological work required to truly move on and also to keep hold of our loved ones with us when they have gone.”

When you leave her ..make sure toys are 'fresh' ..alternate toys every few days leave her with a treat dispenser ..and for bedding , just a couple of op shop blankets

@Vizsla Lover I am sorry you feel so sad , but glad you found out before moving in . The right place is waiting for you

Oh dear! Problem child .... Here's hoping he feels better soon ...

A vet check is a good start My first thought, because I had one wee small hours bile upchucker was this ;) Their tummy is emptied, and gets uncomfortable with no food to absoorb bile/acid ..so they get rid of the irritant! Easy fix, if so ;) It involves a nice late night snack . All Kieran ever needed was one or two bonio bikkies No more vomits. fingers crossed it's an easy fix.

Is the vomit recognisable food, or bile , or froth , or liquid ?

noice, teekay

I have no idea what week this is ... : a 'played with' smart phone image of some of my 'backyard'

THANKYOU for sharing these are wonderful. if you look closely, see how the green truck tourists'faces change LOL. !!! I LOVE the muddy warthogs & the vervet monkey

Those photos are wonderful!! The new gear and a good eye have transported me to the green and the wild . Thank you for showing them

Hmm, designer razorwire very attractive ;) I would feel pretty safe in that house !The dogs look beautiful

As it should be

It's another world .... thank you for sharing these . Lots on which to ponder ....

That sounds a bit too full-on to me . I think you are wise in taking pup out ..and not doing it again . There's socialisation , and there's free-for-all . 6 dogs in a small area like that .... anything could happen .

LOL love this !

Ah... sorry, juice forgot to whom I was talking fair enough . if dog is not a chewer ... a hard flat plastic ice brick thingy or 2 would probably work for that sort of thing

if metal is too hot to touch in the car ..then maybe it's too hot to take dog anyway? The bottom of the crate will need to be well insulated ...otherwise it's a baking tray you really need to have a foil- based bit against the crate bottom ..to reflect heat back ..NOT absorb it like any ordinary material will then , I suggest something either really thick and solid .. or a 'platform' to allow for some sir movement ..and space away from that heated floor. In our dog kennels, we use plastic bread crates etc ;) with bedding on top . They stay dry as well. A 2 L bottle of frozen water or two in the crate? Even the coolmats would quickly absorb heat from the crate , as well as that from a dog ..and get really warm fast . refrigerating them first helps a bit . For actual 'bedding' perhaps try layers of shadecloth ;) fold and fold until there are at least 6 layers .The amount of air in this helps keep things a bit cooler ...

wish!! :D

OK ... some Naked Ladies

@denali BIG Scrat

Oh gosh - it would break my heart to rehome a 'senior' citizen ...unless it was someone they knew and loved going to visit I would be constantly wondering and worrying about what was happening /how they were ... Thinking of you,....

large wings - semi frozen are my choice ... I don't use necks for anyone nowdays . You could also use a 1/2 chicken frame No risk og gulping there.

Fennec foxes are very appealing looking critters

there will be photos !! my favourite day of the year