Jumping Jack Flash !

                                PIP, THE DOBERMANN PUPPY’S  DIARY 

                                           as told to Alexandra Bastedo

Just at the moment that my life was becoming boring  in its sameness I discovered that I had a real talent for jumping  and have since achieved such heights that  life has  become a lot more interesting as areas that were denied to me have now become extremely accessible— even the cars parked at the sanctuary which always have cats’paw marks on the bonnets and roofs now have my canine imprints as well!

Animal diaries and blogs about the ABC Sanctuary and the serialisation of Alexandra’s book “Beware Dobermans, Donkeys and Ducks” can now be found in the ABC Friends section of the website on www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk

The Indignity of It All

                       Pip the dobermann puppy’s diary as told to his mistress Alexandra Bastedo.

                        How could she! I know the commands sit, wait,stay, heel and come perfectly well. Admittedly I don’t often choose to obey them but that is another matter. Apparently the police force prefers to use German Shepherds as they do what they are told whereas dobermanns think about it first and decide whether it is a good idea.

                         Well I was dragged off to dog obedience classes. At first it has to be said I didn’t know what I was in for as we  entered the strange village hall. There were 6 miscellaneous dogs smaller than me so, tail held high, I growled a greeting to let them know I was top dog.”What a cocky fellow!”said the instructor “He is very full of himself.”Then the nightmare started as I was endlessly told to sit, heel, and stay like all the other idiotic dogs that obeyed the inane commands without question.

                           Why sit in the middle of a cold floor for no good reason? Why walk monotonously to heel round and round and round a room? Why pass by a Cornish Pasty on a Hostess tray without eating it? Well, I can tell you after initially obeying the commands more out of surprise than anything else  I soon got fed up and flatly refused to do anything at all. My mistress cajoled, pulled, pushed, and threatened to no avail – I refused to budge. “I’ve never had one as bad as this before” she said. Finally another lady came over. “I have a lot of experience with recalcitrant dogs- let me try” she said.

                         “Well I wasn’t about to respond to a total stranger so I stood when she said “Sit” sat when she said”Stand” ,came when she said “Stay”,stayed still when she called “Come”, stood up when she said”Down” and laid down when she said “Up”. “What a contrary dog” she said “But I have a trick up my sleeve.” Suddenly I began to find her more appealing as the aroma of fresh sausage emanated from her hand and it occurred to me that if I did what I was told I might actually be given some. Well, that was it- every time I obeyed her command I was given a piece of succulent sausage. In fact such was my motivation that I was voted top of the class. My owner meanwhile looked on in total amazement. “Bribery” said the lady “Is the only solution with a rambunctious dog like this. ” I have never had to do that with any of my other dobermanns before” said my mistress. “Well you have been lucky until now” said the lady “But he is an obvious foodie so that’s the route to go”.

                                         Since then life has improved immeasureably as I get tit-bits every time I do what I am told and Nellie - my fellow dobermann-who used to do everything for nothing is rather pleased as she has muscled in on the act and gets something too.

                                         My love of food though did get me into trouble over the holidays. My master and mistress were hosting a Christmas party for the thirty volunteers  at the sanctuary just before Christmas. To this end they had spruced up the house and put up pretty decorations. This included a rooted Christmas tree with fairy lights and coloured objects including chocolates in silver and gold wrappers. Well  I went into the sitting room while they were in the kitchen preparing mulled wine and mince pies and discovered myself alone with the Christmas tree with the chocolate ornaments. With all the titbits I had been receiving I naturally presumed they were for me and started to remove them. The trouble was they were fairly well attached so I had to pull the tree out of its pot and drag it round the room. I did make a bit of a mess but did succeed in locating all the chocolate ornaments and gobbling them up with or without wrappers. Suddenly I heard footsteps and a scream. “What have you done” yelled my mistress as she surveyed the devastation caused by the mud, the pine needles and shattered baubles. I skulked off to my  cage and decided to stay there while the hoover and broom appeared to rectify the situation. I was subsequently locked in it for the duration of the party but didn’t really mind as by then I was feeling a bit queasy. It seemed a good time was had by all except me and the following morning I sicked up a lot of bits of  silver and gold paper. Still I was better by Christmas Day and Nellie and I very much enjoyed the bones,pizzles, hide chews , squeaky toys and carrots that we found in our stockings.

                                                     By Alexandra Bastedo

Copyright A.L.Bastedo

                                                      Alexandra Bastedo is the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary at www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk which is dependent on volunteers and donations and adoptions to continue its rescue work. Any contribution no matter how small is gratefully received. We will shortly be offering membership of the sanctuary on the websit e which will include access to blogs and articles on animal health and free entry to our open days.

Motoring is such fun!

                          The story of Pip the dobermann puppy as told to his owner Alexandra Bastedo.

                                             www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk

 

                            I have to say the house has become rather boring. The curtains that I pulled off the curtain rail have all been removed and the clothes hooks I pulled out of the wall have not been replaced. This means I can no longer access the coats and drag them out into the garden to shred them any more as the remaining ones are all now stashed away in cupboards which I don’t yet know how to open. In the kitchen everything has now been placed out of reach although if anything is left within range I can get it in 2 minutes flat. I even manage to jump on the table but there is no point now as there is rarely anything on it.

                        My mistress does try very hard I know to alleviate my boredom with toys which I disembowel and bones which I chew and then bury in the garden. The trouble is half the time the fox comes along at night and digs them up so they tend to be gone in the morning. The other evening I actually saw him doing it from our enclosed dog area and promptly jumped over the five foot fence and set off in hot pursuit, but unfortunately he was too fast for me and disappeared into his den.

                        One of my favourite games is called pouncing on moles. Since Dancer , the mole catching cat, was run over they are proliferating again. So I run round and round the garden in mad circles and when I sense one digging beneath the soil I leap up in the air and pounce on the rising earth. So far I am afraid I haven’t caught any.

                            I suppose the age difference between myself and Nellie the other dobermann is too great as she is seven years old and I am ten months. I do try to engage her in violent horseplay – dobermann style – but since I hurt her leg I have not been allowed to play with her and get squirted with the water pistol if I even try. On top of that I am now supervised at all times or put in my cage if there is no one around so that all I can do is sleep. However I have  discovered that the car is such fun. There is another water pistol in that which threatens me whenever I maul Nellie or bark at passing dogs but the best time I have is when I am left alone in it. There was a special dog cover protecting the back seat which I have slowly ripped apart and it has now disintegrated beyond recognition. Then the other day I discovered the Road Atlas of Great Britain and it proved to be quite a challenge. However it was a most rewarding past time and I soon managed to tear it apart into little pieces so Glasgow now lies next to Brighton. I just hope my mistress doesn’t need to travel anywhere important in the near future. Best of all though has been the head rests on the back seat which I rugger tackled while she was at the dentist. Having managed to unzip the fabric with my teeth I then managed to pull out lumps of sponge which I threw about all over the car. Unfortunately the inner core was made of metal and it proved too difficult to remove so that had to stay.  After half an hour she came out of the dentist with a frozen mouth but when she saw the inside of the car she screamed and told me I was a “Bad boy”. Though I really don’t know why as by then I had fallen asleep from all the exertion and wasn’t doing anything at all.

                             They take me on really long walks over the downs every day in an effort to tire me out but they never succeed and  they even watch the “Dog Whisperer” on television to try to pick up tips. But so far so good as I have outwitted them at every turn. I wonder what new activity I can think up next!

Copyright Alexandra Bastedo

                     Alexandra Bastedo is the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary on www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk  which depends upon volunteers and donations to feed and treat the rescued animals in the sanctuary. Gretel the fragile grey donkey who arrived in a terrible state needs ongoing veterinary attention. Alexandra has also written veterinary approved books and a few remaining signed copies are available from the website shop. All proceeds go to the animals.

The Dragon Returns !

                           www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk

                   Pip’s Diary as told by Pip, the dobermann puppy, to Alexandra Bastedo

                                     I was a bit worried when my master and mistress left the house and got into their car carrying cases and didn’t take Nellie, the other dobermann, and me with them. However, we were left in the care of Peter Kirkwood, who knows a lot about dogs, and I have to say I do rather like him. He does have a problem though and I suspect he is a lot older than he looks because he is terribly slow. Whenever he took me round the village on a short lead and a halti every time I pulled ahead he stopped and refused to go on until I was back by his side. This took an age and meant that a walk that would normally have taken 20 minutes was more like 40. I wouldn’t have minded if he had let me smell all the interesting smells on the lamposts and trees but he wouldn’t even let me do that and it was so BORING just walking by his side though he did let me pee occasionally. He is a bit eccentric too as he has a thing about my number twos- he picked them all up in plastic bags. Now I could  have understood if he had wanted to keep it but when he got home he just threw it into the garbage. Why he couldn’t just leave it for the other animals to smell- it was after all my calling card – I really don’t know.

                                                      I  had a lot of fun too because he didn’t know me very well. He didn’t  put things up on high surfaces so I  had a field day in terms of all the extra food I scoffed: the lamb chops and chicken breasts he was going to have for 2 dinners, boxes of fresh eggs, tomatoes, home made cakes and a bag of flour though the latter got into my eyes, nose and ears so it wasn’t very satisfactory. Eventually he got wise to me and whenever I tried to take anything would squirt me with a water pistol which I didn’t think was very funny or very nice of him.

                                     When my mistress phoned to see how we were Peter said “Pip’s quite a handful isn’t he !” Whatever that meant. Then when she asked if he might house sit again he said he wasn’t sure he would be able to cope over a long period of time- which is a shame as I really did enjoy getting away with murder! In fact I nearly did once when I managed to get on to his bed and Teddy the cat got on too. I tried to get at him but Peter stopped me and never allowed me into his bedroom again.

                                       I think what I liked most about Peter was his soft voice. He is a very gentle person and I really got very fond of him. In fact it was very confusing when the dragon – my mistress- came home and for a while I really didn’t know who to go to. The trouble is she is a lot stricter than Peter, has everything well out of reach and shouts at me if I do something wrong. However the really bad thing that Peter has done is leave his far-reaching water pistol behind and has taught my mistress how to use it both inside and outside the house. Now I can’t even pounce on the cats or send Nellie flying without getting wet. It really is so unfair- I wonder what they will think up next!

Copyright A.LBastedo

 Alexandra Bastedo is the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary on www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk where a photo of Pip can be found. The sanctuary will not be able to survive without your donations- however small. We also have adoption packages for the animals and are happy for people to visit the animals they have adopted by prior appointment. She is also the author of “Beware Dobermanns, Donkeys, and Ducks” and the vet recommended Healthy Cat and Healthy Dog books. There are a few remaining copies available from our website shop.

Oh Dear!

                  PIP’S DIARY AS TOLD TO HIS OWNER ALEXANDRA BASTEDO.

                                          www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk 

 

                             I haven’t had quite as much success in wrecking things this month  unfortunately as the amount of time I am left unsupervised has diminished.  I did manage to pull out several books from the library shelves but was interrupted before I could shred them like I normally do.  Also with several saucepans now stacked  high on top of the rubbish bins  which have been put on the tables the noise of them clattering to the floor both frightens me and alerts other people to my activities so I have stopped that too.

 

                                  However I am still targeting the kitchen sideboards and managed to pull down a glass jar of the sweetener Canderel which shattered all over the floor. It was like sticky sand to walk on so my mistress was none too pleased and locked me up while she retrieved all the shattered glass and washed the floor down with a mop and bucket. I had also managed to dislodge a  chocolate cake which was awaiting the arrival of some guests. It was delicious and Nellie, the older dobermann, and I scoffed it between us . However what is most unfair now is that if something goes missing they automattically presume I am the culprit and I get scolded even if Nellie has done it – though usually it has to be said it IS me.

 

                                           Actually the visitors were nightmare friends of my master and mistress who were visiting from America.  They seemed very nice at first and made a fuss of me as I galumphed about playing with Nellie and at one point as I misjudged a gap I nearly sent one of the ladies  flying. It was then that the seemingly nice lady called Anastasia suddenly announced she was going to give me a training session – and what an unpleasant, boring experience that was!

 

                             She went over and over things making me walk at heel on a short lead and making me sit repeatedly.  I know how to sit but normally I think about it first before I decide whether  I will, but  Anastasia  brooked no nonsense –  I had to do what I was told.  And she went on – and on – and on – and on until I was worn down into submission.  Admittedly she did tell me what a good boy I was and made a fuss of me whenever I did things right, but it’s a lot more fun when you can just be on your own orbit and choose whether to obey commands or not.

 

                              So … the bad news is that my mistress is now keeping up the lessons and life, I have to say, has turned serious.However soon they are going on holiday to Corsica and a nice volunteer called Peter Kirkwood is coming to stay so with a bit of luck the training will stop and I will be able to revert to my normal exuberant, undisciplined self once more!

 

 Copyright Alexandra Bastedo

 

Alexandra is the patron of several animal charities and is the founder of the abcanimal sanctuary which relies upon volunteers and donations- no matter how small- in order to continue its rescue work. Please donate or adopt an animal and come and visit us. We have a donation button on www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk and our PO Box address is:PO Box 219, West Chiltington, Pulborough, West Sussex RH20 2JU. Cheques should be made payable to the ABC Animal Sanctuary. A few  of her remaining  signed animal books and her poultry DVD  filmed among all the animals on how to look after chickens are for sale on our website shop.

Gone Fishing

                        Pip, the dobermann puppy’s story as told to Alexandra Bastedo

                                www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk

                         I don’t think I am very popular at the moment. One of the problems is my sense of taste – I have yet to find something that I don’t like to eat particularly if it is wrapped in paper so I can eat that too. Of course there are side effects as I have been known to throw up often unrecognisable objects in the morning. It does mean that my mistress frequently puts me in a muzzle but fortunately I can’t have it on all the time so I still have ample opportunity to steal and usually I am so quick it takes time for things to be mislaid.

                                                   Today forinstance Nellie the adult dobermann and I were taken for a very long walk up in the hills above Pulborough and then upon our return we were both given a huge bone. My mistress thought it would keep me occupied while she called in the sanctuary cats for the night away from the four marauding resident foxes. However I soon got bored with my bone, then Nellie comandeered it and snarled whenever I tried to get it back so I went into the kitchen to see what I could lay my jaws on there. Success! I managed to knock the kitchen compost container off the sideboard on to the floor and quickly swallowed the old teabags, dead lettuce and banana skins which spilled out. Then I went a bit higher and ate a fresh loaf of bread from the bread basket still in its paper cover. After that I managed to open up the lid of the bread bin – which had been blocked by the compost container- and scoffed the biscuits, crackers and ryvitas inside. Then I moved further along and managed to dislodge a glass jar of Udo’s Oil – omega 3 and 6 – which is added to my food. I managed to carry it in my mouth into the garden where the glass broke and I succeeded in  lapping up most of the oil from in between the shattered shards.

                                   Needless to say my mistress was pretty angry when she came in. She locked me in my cage while she picked up all the broken glass and cruelly deprived me of my usual dinner saying “You have had quite enough!”

                                     Nellie, my dobermann pal, has been quite wonderful in teaching me everything naughty she knows. However at the age of 8 months I have taken things to a higher level and am now teaching HER all  of my particular peccadillos which is great as she now gets told off too!

                                      Of course apart from eating my other main joy is chasing things and I am getting that down to a fine art  as often Nellie now joins in too in formation. There is always a lot of activity from the birds on the pond but so far we haven’t managed to catch any ducks or moorhens. However I have discovered a new talent and that is fishing. I managed to grab hold of a sluggish prize koi carp that was basking in the shallows, ate most of it and deposited the head and spine in the hall as a present for my owners. But such generosity was only met with a scream when they came in and I was frogmarched back to my cage once again. However the sensation of that slimy wriggling fish in my mouth was exhilarating and it tasted scrumptious. There are plenty more where that one came from and if I manage to eat the whole fish then nobody will notice it is missing so now –  when there’s no-one about –  I go fishing!

                                                By Alexandra Bastedo.

copyright Alexandra Bastedo

                         Alexandra is the author of “Beware Dobermanns, Donkeys and Ducks” and the veterinary recommended “Healthy Dog” and “Healthy Cat ” books. She is also the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary which is home to 150 abandoned animals and birds. Please help to support our work with a donation- no matter how small-or an animal adoption on our website www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk  Our address is: PO Box 219, West Chiltington, Pulborough, West Sussex RH20 2XB.

Barking Mad

The story of Pip, the dobermann puppy as told to Alexandra Bastedo.

     www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk

                        Today I was given a new green collar because the old one was rather tight. I am now the same size as Nellie, my 6 year old dobermann friend, but I am still growing. This means I can run faster and can almost catch the ducks, moorhens and cats that cross my path and can knock things and people over much more effectively should they get in my way. In other words I am almost full-sized but still have the exuberance and short-term memory of a puppy- which is a lethal combination.

                         Strangely the rubbish bins in the kitchen are now standing on top of the side-board. I had managed to work out how to open all the various lids and my owners were getting fed up with retrieving all the plastic and metal containers and paper that I was shredding all over the kitchen and garden. Also when they go out now they usually entice me back into my cage with a treat and lock me in or put on my plastic muzzle. I suppose the latter is preferable as I can still run about and send things flying but it does prevent me eating miscellaneous items and tearing things up.

                                          I suppose there have been three major events which prompted my owners to take such drastic action. The first was that I pulled my mistress’ best black coat down by yanking the hook it was hung on out of the wall and had a lovely time ripping it to pieces. The second was eating most of my master’s favourite straw hat that he had kindly left on the sideboard- though I did leave the black ribbon and lastly I took my master’s bag of pills and vitamins from the centre of the table and chewed them and spat them out all over the lawn. They didn’t taste very nice and my master and mistress spent hours painstakingly retrieving each one from the grass. I also got cystitis from all the muck I was eating so had to be on antibiotics and Cantharis 30 (the homeopathic remedy) for a week.There is talk of sending me to obedience classes but like my predecessors I am bound to be top of the class in no time and will then totally ignore everything I have been taught when I get home.

                                           My mistress was also very cruel. She took me to the vet at 6 months to have me “snipped” in the hope that it would calm me down. The effect is supposed to take 6 weeks but so far it hasn’t made a blind bit of difference. Also a peculiar quirk of my puppy personality is that I really enjoy getting told off. In fact the more I get shouted at the more I wag my tail- nothing phases me at all. Whereas Ponto, my predecessor was terrified of hot air balloons and would run away and hide I simply bark  at the flame- spitting monsters until they fly off and growl threateningly at the thunderstorms until I frighten them away.

                               The only real irritation in my life is the family of foxes including 3 cubs that will insist on playing with and pinching the toys and bones that I leave outside. If I see or sense them from the window it makes me barking mad—-.

                                My owners have gone to a retreat in the New Forest for a few days as they were in danger of having a nervous breakdown. I was going to think up all kinds of devilment in their absence but the presence of Jessie and Sharron, both stern authoritarians whom they left us with has put an end to that. However in the garden at least I am having fun digging up the plants in the flower pots and dead -heading all the buds on my  master’s prize roses.

                                         by Alexandra Bastedo

copyright Alexandra Bastedo.

If you would like to find out more about Alexandra’s animals please go to www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk

There are over 150 rescued animals. Any adoptions or donations are very much appreciated. We are all volunteers and all the funds go exclusively to the animals. We also encourage supporters to come and see their “adopted” animal and all the work we do. We can be contacted through the web site either by e mail or through our PO Box.

PIP FINDS HIS VOICE

                     Pip the dobermann puppy’s story as told to Alexandra Bastedo.

                               www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk

 

                                      The first time it happened – this loud deep bark – I looked behind me expecting it to be Nellie my big dobermann friend but she wasn’t there. I was rather confused but when I barked at a monster (which was an empty compost bag blowing in the wind)  later that day I realised it was me. My voice had broken at the age of five and a half months. Of course since then I like the sound of my own sonorous voice so much that I bark at everything. My owners get bored with me and tell me to “Be quiet”  or “Shut up” but I have a short memory so it isn’t long before I find something else to bark at again. The best fun is barking at the neighbours’ dogs across the lane because they answer back and we go on and on until our owners drag us back into the house out of earshot.

                                          Getting bigger I have found has advantages and disadvantages. On the down side I find I can’t fit into cat beds any longer and can only sit with my bottom in and my paws out so it is not very comfortable. Also I can no longer barge through some of the holes in the wire fencing which seem to be a lot smaller now which means I can’t get to the cat houses and cat food the other side. However I did get under the gate to the Shetland ponies when nobody was looking and was kicked by Raffles but fortunately it was only a warning and I certainly won’t go there again! 

                                             My larger size now means that everything in the food line is more accessible and I even managed to get from the chair on to the table and on to the sideboard where the fresh eggs are kept- and scoffed the lot. I can also open all the garbage containers and pull out all the empty packets of cat food which I shred around the kitchen and my latest achievement is not only pushing down door handles and opening the doors outwards but actually managing to open the doors inwards as well – so now nothing is safe. Books. loo rolls, makeup, toothpaste all are now easily accessed and destroyed and I find I need a regular turn-over to keep me amused.

                                       I find my toys rather boring now as I have disemboweled most of them which means only the squeak and the fabric remain. My monkey with the long arms is still okay that I flail from side to side beating myself over the head as I do so and one of the quacking bird toys which sounds just like the real ducks on the pond. I have tried several times to bring home a live one to play with despite getting shouted at but so far have not had any success—-.

                                        My owner was rather alarmed when she found a dead furry animal at the bottom of the pond. When she fished it out with a large fishing net covered in green algae the people watching were most distressed. However I was very pleased as they had finally found my missing white teddy bear which I had inadvertently let go while chasing a moorhen the week before. It has been in the washing machine and has returned to its former snowy white colour but it does have a rather soggy squeak now which is a bit pathetic. But what a lot of fun it was to see the consternation of the people watching. It was a great joke so I must throw some more toys in the pond again soon–

Copyright Alexandra Bastedo. 

Alexandra is the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary for rescued and abandoned animals on www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk  which depends on your kind donations – however small- to keep and maintain the animals. A photo of Pip appears on the web site.

Signed copies of her animal books are also available .

Battle of the Wellingtons.

           Pip’s Diary as recounted to Alexandra Bastedo

                  www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk

 

                     Gosh the world is an intimidating place. Now I know dobermanns have the reputation of being large and fierce but at the moment – at five months – I can feel very small and very frightened.

                      Firstly my sister Boogie and her nine month old friend Jazz turned up again. Although I had seen them only two weeks earlier when they arrived my sister had grown so much I didn’t recognise her and I peed on the spot as they charged towards me. I then hid away in my cage until my owner persuaded me to come out and play. However Boogie is an experienced wrestler so once again I ended up on my back underneath her most of the time and by the end of the day I looked like a pin cushion from all the times she had stuck her needle-sharp teeth into me. Thank goodnes I don’t live with her any more, I fear if I did I would be scarred and battered and have a permanent lump on my head like the egg-sized lump I had on my head when I first arrived at my new home. 

                                     The sanctuary has other terrifying things too like the screams of the foxes after dark which send me rushing back into the house the moment I hear them while Nellie, my big dobermann friend just stands and barks at them. Then there is Leah the dog next door who protects the farmer’s orphan lambs. There is a path alongside the dividing fence between the properties and as she charges at the fence I have to race past at full pelt to get by her while brave Nellie merely strolls by growling as she goes.

                                    However, in the house I feel very safe and have a lot of fun playing. One of my favourite games involves removing all the green, black, pink and blue wellingtons from the boot rack. I grapple with each one bashing it from side to side and jumping on it until the whole hall becomes a battlefield strewn with the corpses of dead wellingtons – a truly impressive sight.

                                     While on the topic of feet I think my owner is becoming somewhat eccentric. She always seems to wear odd slippers or odd shoes and sometimes one shoe and one slipper or even one slipper and one barefoot. She looks very funny as she lurches about on uneven heels. Of course, occasionally she will find the missing shoe or slipper in my cage, or in my bed or even in the nest outside under the rosemary bush where I leave all my missing toys out in the rain.

                                     Strangely the stairs going upstairs which have an anti-dog gate at the bottom (to give the upstairs cats some peace) are now serving as storage for all manner of boots. shoes, slippers, letters, bills, cases and handbags which are now all tantalisingly out of reach. As I get bigger everything is getting put away higher up as my owners attempt to keep one step ahead of me.

                                     As for food I have yet to find something that I dislike. I adore my own food of course and raid the larder to get at it if ever the door is left open. But I also love raspberries, blueberries, raw chicory,brussel sprouts,cabbage,broccoli, cake ,butter, porridge, packets of cereal, horse manure, cow pats, sheep dung, and rabbit pellets or indeed anything I can get my paws on.

                                      Unfortunately it is all getting less accessible as doors are not merely shut now but also locked, but I am sure to find new ways to get at things and the cat food which they have put on the sideboard will soon be within my reach once again——.

                                       By Alexandra Bastedo.

Copyright Alexandra Bastedo

Alexandra is the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary on www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk

The sanctuary is struggling to look after all the abandoned animals it has rescued and is very grateful for any donations however small. All the money goes to the animals and all the staff are volunteers. There is a PO Box Number and a Paypal button on the website.

She is also the author of “Beware Dobermanns, Donkeys and Ducks”, and the veterinary recommended “The Healthy Cat” and “The Healthy Dog ” books. There are a limited number of the author’s copies available on the web site which can be signed upon request.

She is also Patron of Compassion in World Farming. the Animal Welfare Trust, WildlifeAid, and Naturewatch and Vice President of the Brent Lodge Bird Hospital and President of Paws Rescue, Findon, and Cat and Rabbit Rescue at Chichester, She resigned as President of her local R.S.P.C.A branch in order to expand the ABC Animal Sanctuary.

 

Getting the hang of it.

             Pip, the dobermann puppy’s story as told to Alexandra Bastedo.

                   www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk

 

             You know when you go to a new home the whole layout – the geography – is totally different so it has meant a whole new learning curve for me. However, finally at the age of four months I think I am really getting the hang of it.

              Yesterday I managed to get hold of the spare loo roll from the cloakroom downstairs and it made a wonderful plaything. I took it into the garden and managed to unroll it over a wide area, but the most fun I had was tearing the paper into tiny bits and sprinkling it all round the garden like confetti. My owner was really rather a bad sport though. When she came back from cleaning out the Shetland ponies’ stable in the top field she shouted at me and then proceeded to pick it all up muttering to herself as she did so which meant there was nothing left for me to tear up and I had to go back to my boring toys which are now fairly shredded themselves.

                                  However apart from knowing where all the cat bowls are in the top cattery, I also know where the pony and donkey carrots are kept as sometimes when they are filling up the feed bowls for the other animals they give me one. So today while all the helpers were having a coffee break I shot off down to the barn and came back with a lovely juicy carrot which I proceeded to chomp on. Nellie, the adult dobermann looked rather amazed I think she must have wondered where I had found it and was rather cross that I refused to give her any.

                         My main motive in life it has to be said remains food. I can swing on door handles and open the doors if there is food the other side, I can pull tablecloths off tables in order to send the porridge bowl crashing to the floor so I can scoff it before anyone sees me  and on my back legs anything left on the sideboard is now a fair target – I found I particularly like bananas in their skins but they are now living in the fridge and I haven’t  worked out how to open it yet. 

                                 The only other thing I was told off for was a game I had devised called “swinging on the curtains” – unfortunately the curtain rail came crashing down on me and I was caught red- handed – or rather red-pawed-  in the midst of it. The humans didn’t seem very pleased at all. Every time they struggled to put it back the nails came out of the wall and they had to do it all over again. I mustn’t do that again!

                                  However they were pleased with me on our first walk in the country as I trotted along very nicely in my new Roger Mugford training harness. It doesn’t hurt at all and instills a feeling of security when other big dogs bark at you and cows loom out of the mist. In fact the weather has been absolutely dreadful with 80 mile an hour winds so our activity has been rather curtailed . Hopefully as it gets better there will be many new experiences and lots more adventures.

                                     by Alexandra Bastedo

Alexandra is the author of “Beware Dobermanns, Donkeys and Ducks”, “The Healthy Dog” and “The Healthy Cat” books. Alexandra is the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary which is staffed by 4 or 5 volunteers a day and depends upon donations – however small- to finance all the animals. Meet the animals on www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk

copyright Alexandra Bastedo