lester

Er Its Lucy Cavendish nuff said ( jury has been in, had tea and lost the t.shirt on her for a long time.) Doyen of the WIMMIN so loved by Private Eye a few years ago. Her articles can be quite fun , with time to waste and if you go through and change all of the " I and "me" s to read as " the people I pay too do these things for me because I am too busy writing this drivel about it "

I have to agree that the NW does need the extra help, but I can see the point of the move in terms of economics.... Roughly speaking ---house proces in Felixstow start at £150,000 and in Burnley at £75,000. But I do feel possible donation income may show a reverse on that. But NW rescue dogs get moved all over the country, so I have to agree that its the rehoming potential of an area that is more important. If you cant nove them on to new homes , it doesnt really matter how many you can house and in what standards.

Why are they doing this though ? Are you sure it is laziness, its more likely to be the lack of bins., and perhaps not an adhoc activity. Many parks have no provision at all for any kind of litter and some cities do not provide any where near sufficient doggy requirements. Birmingham is one of these as it is run by some by Antidoggists. A large rec near me often has a little pile of filled bags near the entrance. On investigation I discovered that this a a proactive response by the local to the lack of facilities and also the show their defiance towards the bottle smashers and anti dog ---graffiti. The pile is made where the doggy bin used to be before being removed. The local yellowcoat man admits he appreciates the system . The rest of the park is privaties in this respect. So is there some form of protest in other areas. There are some areas , like here, where most of the people prefer to live in filth , so the council responds accordingly. Its the dog owners that do the extra work in cleaning our two little parks, and indeed ,were responsible for th e spraying when swabs showed that rat activities in the childrens play area were over the top. We also do a needle patrol twice a day. After a recent rape and two attempted murders , the council were asked to repair the lighting but would only chop back some of the bushes. So you can imagine what will happen to our request for a doggy bin. A further complications is that maintenace is privatised and the contractors do not have a key for on eof the remaining bins, and the other one still half full of deposits made prior to there contract.

Well you did keep the receipt?

I dont seem to get haragued at all now. I n fact i dont seem to bump into many people at all. Teddy Texas has to poo every half mile mile starting of with big firm content and continuing until its just err -you dont want to know. He likes to have an audience as well. Pretend poo picking is a definite skill requirement. I also carry a disinfectant spray. plus several types of bags, depending on the ultimate disposable point, degradeable cardboard poo pickers when I am going to bury it under willows. A big black grabby thing and a long handled foyer pan for when I want to make a big play out of picking up other peoples. (organised sunday mornings in the summer, everyone welcome.) Membership application cards for Cakkaphobics anomyous Business cards for my cleaning business to go around thier house once a week a de poo the garden and a price list for fitting dog toilets. I have just ordered a hi viz coat overprinted with " danger biohazard" ,"blood, vomit, faeces, carcase decontamination. I was going to have " murder /suicide clean up" but they want extra, I already do a lot of taxis. I even thought of getting a plastic helmet with one of those fake poos stuck to the top, but the doctor increased my prescription.

Well I have had experience of both sides in this particular area. Any pet friendly landlord must be mollycoddled and nurtured There is most probably a very good reason for these jobs not being done, and he is avoiding having to explain th e technicalities. so -shelves for the oven (cannot use it) These are most probably in a plastic bas in the garden or under the stairs, because someone has attempted to clean them with aproprietary product and didnt know how to get rid of thr gunge and then forgot. If you cant find them try freegle. if this fails google them ( they are quite cheap actually and pretty standards) keep the reciept. - bin bags, a tv and a sofa to be removed from the yard These can be removed by special arrangement with the council, ring them up. It should be frr to the tenant. - new carpet in the spare room (covered in paint and dirt) He is most probably waiting for a mate with a carpet cleaning machine to do him a favour--- the mate doesnt want to do it for free. get a quoye yourself or threaten to put it for the council --see above... Do not hire in a machine to attempt yourself. - wall lights to go in my bedroom (sat in the box) Ditto as above --electrician friend, eventually the landlord will stop waiting for him and have a go at doing them hinslef. they will blow a fuse and never work . so things will be no different hence not worth the hassle. - fire place to be painted where a TV wall mount has been previously He is probably hoping to replace the bracket bbut it has been lost. This is most prbably a difficult colour to match , having originally been given to him by a relative that worked on refitting the original QE2 and is a colour that he is never going to match. - door handles to be put on all the cupboard doors in the kitchen (having to use a knife to open them) What is the reason for them not being on in the first place. Are the doors new? are the knobs in a drawer in the original bags? ( rather than in the post from bandQ Or have they been removed for redecoration ? Many landlords have am inbuilt inability to remember screwdrivers. They are quite cheap if you have the knobs and use of them is worthwhile life skill. As an interim you could try to fix one and make a mess of it ( preferable not including a trip to casualty) in order to instigate his action. However it is more likely the door knobs have dropped off through use. So many attempts to replace them have left so many holes that new doors are now required. Ther are child safety catche that can be put on doors to stop them closing properly. Keep the recipt for the screwdriver. - back gate to be secured as it as no lock on it. Its currently closed by the sofa Once the grass has been removed in order to open this to get the sofa out - it will fall of its hinges becasue it s is so rotten, and you will be faced with the choice of ---it never opening ever again lt never closing ever again. - Replacement blinds in the spare room, kitchen and bathroom If you look in the cupboard under the sink , stuffed behind a pipe you will find several manky net curtains, which were originally sued and musch more traditional. Be sure to block up the hole with something else. Otherwise a trip to B and M, if you have some rubber gloves for new blinds and keep the receipts. Re Fears of RSPCA , this is called ARSPcophobia..... there are sites on the web from which to donload posters remindimg them of their lack of authority or rights in entering your flat.

There has been a flurry of interest in this on Facebook , with a lot of new pages opening up and a flurry of attacks on the RSPCA. I am trying to get some clarification on what the situation is. Particularly I am trying to find out (or even promote) if there are any improvements that can be made; maintenance undertaken or anything practical that can be done while the premises are empty. I am quite happy to supply use of appropriate machinery and train others in its use as and when necessary. I hope to hear something from someone nearer the centre of things before too long.

Me - No . I am retired. I cant even remember how to Did you know that the hobby of " wondering why I dont have many friends " is one of the fastest growing and has yet to be allocated any proper identifiable nomenclature .

Right! thanks, I finally tracked down some recent figures. Sea stuff is one of the things I am very ignorant about, mainly becasue I am alergic to anything that Greenpeace has a hand in ( they once sued me). and I live in Birmingham. Why cant google put promiment dates on content - old people are getting confused.

Is sonething strange going. I have memories of a TV programme concerning attempts to get permission to restart this in 1989! and failing. It did crop up again early 2009 in relation to a possible whaling row.

Ah! . Perhaps you are a bigger friend than you think. A little while ago I bumped into the ex of an old pal, who commented on how good a friend I I had been in the past. Evidently I had played golf with him every tuesday and also gone on golfing weekends, and it was only to stop when he went astray. Silly me, for some reason I thought I hadnt seen ***** for three years and was about to comment upon this. Sometimes its good to be a bit slow. Can you check that this does not apply.

No people just do not appreciate this kind of appeall. No one sends anything and think its all a bit weird. I find that even hiding the bulk nature of the email , and adding some special personal info to each one, doesnt work with relatives and even odd acquaintances get a bit frisstzy. However ailments and disease all offer far better results., with some thought you can allow the donors to feel really good about themselves. But be careful how many names you put on the next christmas card. You can still spend the money on a P***up . if they find out you can claim to be celebrating a miraculous cure. Results are always a bit hapahazard. One of my relatives has refused to help with my funeral arrangements for three years runnning I have had to postpone.

The helper had made an amazing job of rehabilitating this poor dog, in a very short time. . But they were in a hurry. Journalistic and whistleblower rumourmill has ..the police costs of this being put down against Anti terrorist training with outside bodies.

This is the RSPCA running its own agenda for publicity purposes m having found out ho weasy it is to manipulate the boys in blue. If Rosedene should be closed so many others should watchout! They have to get back into the publici eye becausue of the need for funds and so many messups lately, especially locally a forthcoming dog ring case. When it hits the press ---wow.

Sadly . humans can reach a certain age and not cope . Without help they just have to muddle along as best they can, and may not always realise that they arent doing it good enough to satisfy . This poor dog probably get s mor e love than many others and has been having it for a long time. Society isnt all what it should be . I may be wrong but I do know about these things. I know I have neighbours who think me demented , but for " draggiing the poor dog around in all weathers" is the bit I dispute. Having to walk five miles to get the food he likes because the store next door refuses to let me use the shopper I need to carry any weight make me want to shout at the cheese. The noisy young woman who complains about me stopping with TT on a lead when her untethered beast approaches us is most probably right. I shouldn't be allowed. Teddy stinks right now. I cant be arsed washing him in the winter----having to put both the heating and the hot water on at the same time>>>no way the coldweather payments goes on sauasages and chicken and a series of chewies ( and stuff for new coats) and will do so until the partime work reappearrs. I dont care ... I stink too.... but we do love one another.

You can turn the whole thing into an educational game..and save money------ my friend Harry has a good site at Homefront.

Great pics, what fun. I must go and investigate with Teddy Texas sometime. Are there still rabbits? (I used to have to go through that stream by the bridge on compulsory cross country runs at school. If we didn get back wet ; we were accused of using the bridge and had to go round again`).

Oh We have a Ginny shaped hole in our heart. Buits " the other end of the country" and I swore never to do that run again. Teddy Texas is the worst dog travelling ever according to White Van lady and he came from that neck of the woods so vistting , trial meets are out of the question. I thinkw ehave a little more socialising to do though before TT is ready to share anything.

Thats a shame. Can you not festoon them with high viz and flashing lights or even put a sign down the road? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtGC82GQUsM Teddy Texas at Chatsworth , uneditted as I am really behind with the film stuff.

Teddy Texas has a very thin coat and it is eay to get completely bare in place- scratching, shouldering doors open and even velcro on fastenings. Some od his American cousins are hairless! He is a lot happier now if he is wearing something comfy around the house; a loose fleece thing rather than a tight wooly or sill jim jams. His newish coat wasnt quite enough for the snow and he needed a " workaday" coat for scenting exercises so Daftlad made him a new coat to cover him . Its double layers but allows a quilted kapok extar cover to be slipped inside. Here he is wearing the prototype, although he has another now with all of the rough bits and problems worked out. TT is always reluctant to come in now and plonks down as soon as he reallises its the homeward part, so has to be gulled with circuit routes. The snow has been helpful to identify some of his usual scent areas and we can now recognise heron, fox and rats as well as doggy mates from their tracks in the fresh snow. He love shis new coat and is a bit of a prat about taking it off whne ne comes in, running and hiding when he has to take it off. We are limited to one walk a day at the moment , now thats it gone slippy underneath, TT thinks its great fun to use his dad as a human sledge to pull about but the old man is a bit worried about bruising his bum. So its circuits of the garden and playing " go find " in the house Its perhaps coming up to the time when we can think about a new addition to the family. TT has very serious issues with being left, Its funny . If Dad leaves hin at home he just sleeps and doesnt even eat his junbone. but if Dad is oin the computer at the other end of the room ---oh dear. So probably we ought to look for a new pal to join us, hopefully with the same interests as lordship , the same habits, manners and bossoness to stand up to his " discussion" PS Daftlad bought far too much material so there are copies of TT's Latest fashion statements ie made to measure coats on RDR January Auction,

I am going to try to shop less agressively, although I will continue to wipe sticky baskets. My ban from ASDA is over soon so I wont have to wear the birkha in there.

You should put them right then very quickly. Thats a very bland and misleading statement . The parvovirus like any other has been well controlled in the past but is now benefitting from greater numbers of somewhat dim people. Its like bed bugs and hair nits, It shouldnt be " In thehouse " but in the area, and any time should be measured from when it has cleared up not from when it is a confirmed , but not without trying to find the sources. I have seen too many cases where its is becoming epidemic because people follow this kind of information and get a new dog which then dies because of infection from a neighbours. and even some where the dimwits were happily reinfectine one another continously.

Well press contacts in my old stalking ground havent heard about it ( possibly yet) but the Lancashire Evening Post has had four dog stories in the last fortnight, while the nearby Lancashire Telegrap has had three, but all with its preferred anti-dog stance. (However local dog owners are fighting back see My link ) So there are three options- The press arent bothered; dog quota full The Police ( Lancs Constabulary- not well known for dynamism) arent bothered or perhaps havent been told. Its a fake. Having recently watched a tV programme where a couple set fire to their house , killing their 4 year old son , because on a previous occassion they had been given money; I believe people can have reason for anything. I started looking for verification on this as soon as I saw it, in case it was necessary to offer assistance , start a reward fund or just get the ball rolling. So I am not heartless, honest. Knowing the area I did and still think that it is quite possible for this kind of thing to happen there. I was trying not to be outspoken in my original comment.

A throrough cleaning inside and out , remove and burn bedding , carpeting etc. Then disinfect properly --all the experts say bleach is the only thing that will kill off the parvovirus, they should say bleaching. Household bleach contaminates more than it help, commercial bleach is a lot better. You may have to get permission if the yard drains into a local water course though The best is Virkon S which has a bleaching action action as well being a virucide. It has less environmental impact, but is corrosive on metal. Takes STP swipes afterwards and two weeks apart, repeat process after one month. Main outside run should be properly scrubbed, lawn shouldnt be a problem after recent frosts. If death has occurred inside the house , ozone blasting may be needed to remove all traces of decomp s smell ( parvo is always noticeable by its smell) Do not attempt to clear up decomp seepage or staining s without specialist equipment. If the house is going to be sold get a commercial cleaner in who can provide the necessary paperwork. Some Crime Scene and Trauma cleaners will do animal work. Do not take in other pups within 12 months and talk to local vets and PDSA and dog owners to see if source can be identified.

Whats the matter with the press on this one. Are they still on holiday?