From Around the World
Part XIV
The Seal and the Sausage Dog
A love affair exposed
Invertebral Disc Displacement (IVDD) is common in Dachshunds due to their unnatural body length.
Aayla is a seal pup at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Cornwall, England. Ok, just another resident of this rather watery place that rescues seals and let’s be honest here, one seal looks very similar to another seal. Now, what is interesting is the indisputable fact that your average seal has very good eyesight, particularly underwater. With this fact in mind, what appears to be a love affair developed between the delightful Aayla and a dachshund called Stanley. It appears that Stanley the sausage dog managed to get his human, one Melanie Talbot, to take him for a day out at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, whereupon they encountered Aayla. Now, what our intrepid seal thought she saw appears to be in no doubt; it seems she mistook Stanley for another seal. This was not surprising as Stanley was wearing a rather fetching blue coat with a matching snood. With his ears covered and with his very short legs, Aayla assumed she was looking at a fellow seal, and it was love at first sight. Stanley was only too happy to rub noses through the glass with his newfound friend.
Aayla, who is a permanent resident at the sanctuary, was rescued in the county of Norfolk in 2017, where she was discovered malnourished and injured with an infected wound to her flipper. With the injury needing the removal of several bones, releasing her back into the wild was not an option, so she was given a home at the Seal Sanctuary. It appears that Aayla is a particularly sociable seal who enjoys swimming down to the glass wall and entertaining the visitors. She also has a mischievous streak
Sadly, after this very happy moment, Stanley was diagnosed with IVDD, an extremely unpleasant and painful condition. I’m sure that you will be delighted to know that Stanley is well on the road to recovery, and maybe another visit to the seal sanctuary could be on the cards.
Can we say that this affair has received the “Seal of approval?”
Cold in Krakow
The winters in Poland can be rather cold, and in January this year, the city of Krakow endured temperatures of 6.8F (-14 °C), and for the residents of the Krakow animal shelter, this was life-threatening. With limited space in the only building that had access to heating, the management decided on a rather novel idea. According to the Krakow Society for the Protection of Animals, KTOZ, they advertised for temporary foster homes for a minimum period of at least two weeks. On the first day, a Saturday, long lines formed outside the shelter situated on Rybna Street. This was way beyond their expectations and created the obvious problem of which dog was best suited to each family. 36 dogs were found homes on the first day, temporarily. These included 8 dogs that required veterinary care or check-ups, and this group were joined by 3 more the following day. Others were found temporary homes over the next few days, and the really good news is that some people found that giving back their temporarily adopted pet was too hard to bear, so they decided to make the adoption permanent.
One wonders whether this idea might catch on during the harsh winter periods, as it gives prospective adoptees the chance to experience life with a pet without committing themselves.
Before you say it, why would anyone need to experience having a dog in the house before adopting? In fairness, some are concerned that adopting a dog that has been returned may lumber them with unseen problems; others are not sure because they worry that failure for whatever reason would result in returning the pet if things don’t work out and are conscious of any distress that this may cause the animal. Having found that all the family members are “on board,” that disruption to family life is minimal, the benefits of having a lovable new family member that ensures exercise and companionship that reduces stress, then concerns disappear, and another pet has a forever home.
Molly the Collie
Before we start, it is recognised worldwide that the Border Collie has the highest level of intelligence of any breed. When it comes down to the essentials, communication, work ethic, trainability and problem-solving skills, this breed excels
The first three requirements for survival in a hostile environment are water, food and shelter, followed by fire.
Lost in the wilderness
Jessica Johnson had been hiking with Molly in the Arahura Valley on the west side of New Zealand’s South Island, and she had been posting photos of their adventures to Facebook.
Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when Jessica lost her footing at the top of a waterfall on March 24 and plunged to the bottom. The good news is that she was rescued, the bad news is that Molly was not rescued and remained missing and with a terrain so remote and inhospitable, it made any search extremely difficult.
News of the missing collie spread across the country, and thousands of dollars were donated to pay for helicopter flights complete with thermal imaging technology.
Matt Newton is the owner-operator of Precision Helicopters New Zealand, who, along with his daughter Lillian, had been the driving force behind the fundraising undertaken for the mission, and enough money had been donated for three flights. While funds are available for the rescue of humans, there is no funding available for missing pets. The cost of running a helicopter is $50 a minute, and a small family-owned company can’t absorb the additional cost of running a helicopter to look for a dog. With the finance in place, the search began alongside volunteers, complete with a veterinary nurse and a Jack Russell named Digby to provide emotional support for Mollie. It’s fair to say that haystacks and needles spring to mind when searching for one lost dog in a wilderness.
When Molly was eventually found, she was within metres of the incident. She had stayed close, she obviously had water, had survived on catching small creatures like possums and had made use of a natural overhang as shelter
Having spotted Molly, all it required was for the helicopter to drop low enough to allow the volunteer and Digby to disembark. Molly was tucked under the volunteer’s arm along with Digby, whereupon they boarded the helicopter, returned to base, and Molly and Jessica were reunited.
“Dogs are our link to Paradise.”
Milan Kundera
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