Compostable Kate

Once again, I had to contend with a lead-less dog in New Farm. But even better*, this was an unattended , lead-less dog, sitting just outside Coles. My assistance dog Dexter and I had to walk past it  to get to the shop, and it wasn't until it looked around, saw Dexter, got up and approached that we realised it wasn't on a bloody lead. It had a collar, but no tags of any description. A lady passing by at the same time was equally alarmed that the dog was off lead, and free to approach my dog; she wasn't game to approach the dog itself, though, and I don't really blame her. It was a male Golden Retriever, a breed that enjoys a reputation of being gentle and friendly, but that's no guarantee that it wouldn't be aggressive.... Fortunately, Dexter is super-cool about meeting strange dogs, even ones who stand over him like this one did. Dexter always responds by trying to play, and by running round like a lunatic. Not exactly appropriate when he's wearing hi...

I spent all of 2011 trying to get used to the fact my Dad was no longer around, having died suddenly in November 2010. It’s taken a lot of getting used to, and although I’m not altogether resolved to it, I don’t seem to be constantly reminding myself of his absence.  It’s been a long time since I lost a family member, and I definitely wasn’t prepared for Dad to go, even though he’d been ill for a number of years. He was only 65, after all. Dad and Alex, not long before Dad died. They got on extremely well!  Although I was literally incoherent with grief – after being bizarrely calm while my poor brother Damian was breaking the news to me – my awesome friends, Karen and Steve, came and collected me and my furkids, and looked after me for several days while I processed the news. As Dad lived in the UK, and I am in Australia, I couldn’t be there for my family, and I wasn’t able to attend his funeral. However, I was in constant touch with my siblings, and my Mum (who w...

I am going to have a lot of spare time on my hands during these uni holidays. My attempts to get some casual holiday work failed, so I have to develop my own program of activities to keep my occupied. This is the start of my list: 1. Sort out my plastic storage containers! 2. Knit all this into socks for Knitting for Brisbane's Needy. 3. Re-read Harry Potter. 4. Get through my To Read pile (this is part of it). Other activities may include: knitting Andy's 2nd sock, teaching Dexter a new trick, and going swimming at least once before next semester.

I thought I had done a terrible, terrible thing in my 2nd week of house-sitting for Karen and Steve (and their two dogs, Fudge and JJ, and two cats, Midnight and Pepper), when I left out a half-full container of butter, which JJ managed to get hold of (probably with Midnight's help) and cleaned out. The butter, in turn, cleaned JJ out - mostly on the carpet in the spare bedroom where I'm staying. Dexter investigated the buttery, barf-pattery puddle and consequently got regurgitated butter on his ears. I couldn't get the stain out of the carpet, and thought the smell of rancid butter on JJ's and Dexter's was the worst smell, ever . I could not have been more wrong! A week later (on another Monday, when I leave for uni at 6.30am and don't get back until 5pm), I came home to discover that the dogs had got hold of a large tub of 400 super-strength fish oil capsules, and EATEN THEM ALL. There was oil EVERYWHERE.  Fudge only had oily ears, but JJ was covered in it...

Yesterday was one of those days. There were good parts, but also bad - and ugly - parts. Bad : Actually getting woken up by my alarm. Perhaps I need to choose a different tone; I currently have a nasty clock radio-type beeping noise. Effective, though. Bad : Couldn't move for all the animals on top of me. But... Good : Lots of furry bodies cuddling up with me. Bad : Having to get up, showered and dressed, breakfasted, lunched and out the door in the freezing cold. Ugly : What I saw in the mirror. Bad : Leaving the house at 6.30am and nearly falling asleep on my drive to uni. Good : Getting extra money out of the vending machine when I got my diet coke. Bad : A bunch of us being told off for being late to the lecture, when we were waiting outside while the students doing a presentation set up. Bad : Having to ask the lecturer for an extension on my assignment. Good : Getting an extension on my assignment. Bad : Feeling like a failure for needing an extension on...

Top to bottom: JJ, Fudge, Dexter I am house-sitting for Karen and Steve, while they are away on Kaz and Steve's European Adventure , looking after field spaniels Fudge and JJ , and cats Midnight and Miss Pepper Pots. I have brought King Fred of New Farm , and of course there is Dexter . It's fun, being surrounded by - and even covered in - so many furkids. However, there is a fair amount of animal husbandry involved. For starters, Freddy gets carsick, and had pooed within minutes of us leaving home on the way over here, and then spewed a few minutes later. Poor Freddy-Bear. I'm not sure which kitty spewed this morning, but I'm glad that I saw it before I stepped in it!! Happily, there has been no doggy spew, which is much more voluminous.  The only poo I've had to clean up has also come from the cats, and has been contained within the litter trays. There was one oops-someone-missed-the-box wee, but that was in the laundry, so easy to clear up. I don...

Dexter, Assistance Dog Extraordinaire, spent the day at the vet, having an x-ray on his back and hips. This was more of a precaution than anything, as his sore back was most likely a result of too much rough play from Mack, but I was happy to have it done, just to be sure. Happily, other than a very small amount of wear on his hip joints (normal for his age), his hips and back are all fine. However, he has a couple of vertebrae in his neck that have a small overgrowth of bone. This is currently unrelated to his back injury, and is probably not causing him any discomfort, but I'm really glad I know about it. The vet thinks it might have been caused by repeated jerks on the neck, although he also said that it could also just be they way he's built. But just in case, I've decided to not put his lead on his collar anymore, just on his harness. So he's home again now, sleeping off the anaesthetic. I still have to rest him for a couple of weeks, and I have some paink...

I'm looking after Mack again for a few days.  I first looked after him when he was about 6 months old, and he just about got the better of me then.  He peed on every last mat, rug or bed - multiple times - including his own.  He would do it just after he'd weed outside.  To me, it seemed deliberate.  He'd wait until I took my eye off him, and then pee on Dexter's bed (again).  I've never done so much laundry in such a short time, or been so angry with a dog.  Six months on, he hasn't peed on anything at all inside, although I still watch him with some suspicion when he's sniffing about.  However, he's replaced peeing on Dexter's things to humping Dexter, or if not humping, stealing his toys.  When he leaves Dexter alone, it's usually only to bother the cat.  Mack seems to think this is the best fun he's ever had.  Dexter, on the other hand, has become quite aggressive towards Mack, especially over toys.  Mr D's had to have hi...

I have been doing a lot of extra training with Dexter lately - something I should have been doing all along, really. We failed our Public Access test (very shameful) and are working hard to be able to pass it again in a couple of weeks. We have to wait a month before we can do it again. We failed because Dexter ate some food, and tried to get other food, only being stopped by the trainer. There are a couple of food-related exercises that must be passed in order to pass the whole test. Because Dexter failed, we failed the whole test. So we have been in intense training ever since. We had a great session with Cyn D, another trainer and I have learned some new techniques to try to get Dexter's focus away from food and scavanging. It involves giving him extra treats if he even hesitates before trying to eat something off the floor, and rewarding him for looking back at me when he sees any food. So far so good. It's not 100% yet, but the improvements are very enco...