Lucky Escape

Today, TJam was amusing herself before her flight home, and she sat down in a lovely park. The above police car drove along the path and slowed down.

Officer of the Law: *waves*
TJam: *waves back*
Officer of the Law: How are you?
TJam: Good (see how she picked up the lingo in under a week), thank you (ever polite)
Officer of the Law: *gets out of car and walks towards TJam*
TJam: Am I doing wrong?
Officer of the Law: (thoughtfully) I don't ..... thiiiiiiiiiink so.... You're wearing a blue shirt, not a green shirt.
TJam: Oh good

Officer of the Law: Have a good day *Turns and walks back to his vehicle*
TJam: You too (she's so gangsta)
Officer of the Law: *Drives off*
TJam: *doesn't have to accompany said officer to the station. Or produce any papers. Which was a blessing as she didn't have any on her*

The end.

Halloween American Style

During their stay, Gingerted and TJam have been impressed with the Americans' Halloween decorations. When they first arrived, they thought that a 9 foot high inflatable pumpkin, spider and ghosts was the wildest thing we had ever seen, but that has been kicked into insignificance by the home made illuminated graveyard (playing organ music) with scream emitting headstones, a werewolf on the roof and moving ghouls (with genuine skulls) hanging from the trees.

Reunion

Apparently TJam has been partying all weekend to celebrate 15 years of the camp she worked at. It sounds like great fun: pool, dancing, laughing, speeches, and catching up with friends.

Only service dogs were allowed, which Beanz and I definitely are not.

Chips v. Catfood

At first, it was Chips 1, Catfood 0 but now it is looking more like 1 all. Not so funny now, when my ribs look like I've swallowed a football. TJam has a plentiful supply of pine floor cleaner, ready for the morning.

MP3 Player

TJam got an MP3 player today, for her trip the States. She spend 10 minutes downloading all her music onto it and 45 minutes working out how to put the carry strap on.

Computer Up and Running

It's ok everyone, you can stop worrying. We have had some trouble uploading our blog due to some technical hitches. Did you notice how I slipped in that bit of jargon? For TJam's mum's information, a blog is short for weB LOg. See what the techie freaks have done? Made a single word out of two words.... clever huh?

Anyway, it seems that yet again, our attempt at an August blog has been foiled. Aug 2005 looks like it's never going to happen, so we'll have a go with Aug 2006, but if it doesn't appear by November, don't go looking for it.

Dear Slug

We don't know where you live. Nor do we know where you got the idea that it is ok to snuffle around our kitchen counter every night and slime everywhere. You are mistaken and this has got to stop.

Garden Party

Today we, and all our friends from Rivington, were invited to Archie's garden party. Everyone was there, B1, Chester, Fallon, Jake, Jeff, Vinnie, Rosie, Nero, Archie and us. It was quite a squeeze.

The humans had lovely food expertly prepared by Mary and Bernard, and there were bacon flavoured bubbles provided by the bubble machine. Sorry B1, no scones for dogs :(

Country Smells

Living in the country is very nice and we wouldn't change it. The farmer spraying his crops with chicken excrement is great for dogs and not very nice for humans. They do not like hanging their washing outside to dry with that smell. Nor do they like going to a meeting wearing clothes that have dried outside in the country at this time of year.

Looks like TJam learnt a lesson today.

Summary of July

Brain capacity spent worrying about the cat = 80%
Time spent thinking about living on a narrow boat = 20%
If you wanted anything else out of us this month...
maybe August.

Reunion

Let us now draw a line under this cat episode. Last evening, we went for a walk, calling along the vicarage wall. Then we came home. About 2 minutes later, we got a phone call from our friendly neighbour saying, "We think your cat is here. We heard you calling and then she ran through the garden!" Leads on in 10 seconds flat, Bamgee made a dash for the treats, and we went up, called, and Carls popped up onto the vicarage wall. Another call and she came over meouwing. She was a bit jumpy but we picked her up and carried her home.

2 pouches and half a dish of dried food later, examination revealed her wounds to be healed and her to be in general good health. She was just a bit wide eyed, jumpy and very very very hungry.

We will never know whether she intended to come home or not, or whether she just got disorientated and decided to stay where she knew she was surviving. there are a million other possibilities

She has slept on the landing all night and is calmer this morning. She asked for food at 2am and again this morning (some things never change).

Nicole (our vet), your work wasn't in vain and to our neighbours, thank you for your informative phone calls that lead to this recovery.

End of this installment (I hope).

In other news, Bamgee is having building work done on her house, and Dr Noisette came round and we had a lovely afternoon.

Sighting

Lots of exciting things have happened in the past couple of days.

On Sunday we spent all day walking along the canal looking at boats and stopping off at the pub. Us dogs were very well behaved. TJam has been somewhat pre-occupied though, as Carlsberg hasn't come home since 16th July. TJam has delivered fliers to her neighbours and someone has phoned this evening to say they saw her last night, so at least she is still alive. We have also been told that she usually sunbathes on the farmer's trailer, but that a ginger cat has now taken her place. We keep our paws and fingers crossed.

Wild Week

Carls has had her stitches out, collar off and promplty went awol. TJam says she did not fork out over £300 for her to go missing. They will have words on her return.

On the Mend

Bamgee brought Carlsberg some poorly cat milk. It is like lucozade but for cats. She managed a purr this evening. Carlsberg that is, not Bamgee.

Drain is Out

Hooray!

Nicole, the vet said that she did not swear as per TJam's description of the consultation. TJam agrees that she was probably mistaken but they have agreed to leave it there for dramatic effect.

Quiet Day

Hooray.

9 Lives

TJam barrackaded Carlsberg upstairs and went to work. A clothes airer, a baby gate with 4 inch gaps and a sheet of metal and a box blocking off the catflap. There was no way she was going to make it downstairs anyway wearing her buster collar, and also she could hardly walk.

TJam went off to work and came home at lunch to check on us. She went up to see Carls, but there was no cat there. She looked under the beds, in the cupboards, behind the door... there are only so many places a cat with a buster collar on can hide. No cat. In disbelief, she looked in the garden. No cat. She kept saying, "She MUST be upstairs. She CAN'T have got out. She treble checked and quadrupal checked but no cat.

Finally, she put our collars and leads on. We needed to go out anyway, as I had broken into our holiday supply of dried food. We led TJam down a different path from usual. We walked behind the houses and past a sports car. Beanz got down and started sniffing. TJam had a look under, but she couldn't see anything and pulled us on. Beanz lay on the floor and started wagging her tail and sniffing hard. TJam double checked, and there, right under all the bodywork, was our frightened little cat with her buster collar sprung open.

TJam phoned Pin who came to help. TJam pulled Carls out from under the car and then wrestled her back to the house. Carlsberg did not want to be carried but she had to come home.

She is now sulking upstairs and has a bleeding foot on top of everything else. So she is off to the vet's in a minute for some pain relief and a check over. She was not supposed to jump over the fence 24 hours after surgery so she will probably get a talking to. Or TJam will.

Updated 8pm - the cuts on Carls's paws were from where she HAD BEEN ATTACKED while going outside. The wounds would have become abscesses but for the fact she is already on that many antibiotics. So she had a painkilling injection and came home and is already looking much more spritely. We are optimistic.

Beanz is the queen. She quite possibly saved Carlsberg's life. We are so happy.

Comfortable Night

The Carlsberg fanbase will be pleased to know she spent a comfortable night and even dragged herself up onto the bed twice and fell off it once. She decided to explore and master her lampshade-head-thing at 5am and is a lot brighter now that it is 7am.

TJam has now also learnt how to spell abscess. It's from her hours trawling the internet to look up normal cat respiration rates in her over anxious state at midnight last night after Carls tried to jump off the bed.

All is much brighter this morning, and a big thank you to all our friends who have mailed, texted and phoned. We appreciate it.

Abscess Revisited - with style

Poor Carlsberg has not been feeling at all well over the weekend and yesterday she just laid on the landing all day and night. This morning, TJam took her to the vet, who said, "Sh*t!" (sorry to any under 16s) "Is there any chance she could have been shot?!". Well, there are loads of kids that shoot over the back, so it was a distinct possibility. Carlsberg stayed at the vet for x-ray and surgery.

1pm - the vet has just phoned. It was not a pellet, but huge abscess that stretches from her back, all the way around to her groin. She will need a drain. She can come home tonight.

Evening: this is what she looks like now and we have never seen anything so pathetic.

The drain goes in the top of her back here:

and all the way down to come out of her belly here.

TJam made her a comfy bed, but Carlsberg got up and balanced herself on the cardboard box and fell asleep and that is where TJam has left her. She isn't allowed to be around us dogs because we will try and lick her wounds and we're not allowed.

Carlsberg has to go back to the vet on Wednesday.

Abscess Revisited - with style

Poor Carlsberg has not been feeling at all well over the weekend and yesterday she just laid on the landing all day and night. This morning, TJam took her to the vet, who said, "Sh*t!" (sorry to any under 16s) "Is there any chance she could have been shot?!". Well, there are loads of kids that shoot over the back, so it was a distinct possibility. Carlsberg stayed at the vet for x-ray and surgery.

1pm - the vet has just phoned. It was not a pellet, but huge abscess that stretches from her back, all the way around to her groin. She will need a drain. She can come home tonight.

Evening: this is what she looks like now and we have never seen anything so pathetic.

The drain goes in the top of her back here:

and all the way down to come out of her belly here.

TJam made her a comfy bed, but Carlsberg got up and balanced herself on the cardboard box and fell asleep and that is where TJam has left her. She isn't allowed to be around us dogs because we will try and lick her wounds and we're not allowed.

Carlsberg has to go back to the vet on Wednesday.