Category Archives: pet rescue

We’re all getting older

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Tia, shaggy and showing her years

Dear Zak,

It’s been a while my boy. Time to bring you up to date, on Tia at least.

We think she must be about 10 years old by now. Marianne and I hadn’t been going out long when I got that fateful call from Di Fynn at the Wingate Golf Course. “Are you missing a dog?” We weren’t of course but when we saw the photo we said we’d take her if she wasn’t claimed. Of course she wasn’t (we think she’d been dumped along with her brother) and, after a brush with parvovirus, history was made. That was at least nine years ago and we thought she was about a year old then.

She was a pretty dog then and she’s still good looking but a lot more shaggy. Unlike me her hair has become more dense with age. We’ve had to call in a professional groomer on a few occasions to get her coat under control. She even has hairy paws – a bit like a hobbit! The hair around her neck and ears really is fine enough to qualify as fur.

Our TT. Still a sucker for affection and still licks whenever she can. Still as gentle as ever. She’ll be around for a few more years yet.

Love you as always.

Goodbye Greeta

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Greeta – the little tricolour SPCA girl

Dear Zak,

We have lost our little Greeta, the SPCA special office dog. We still don’t know what went wrong (the results of the post-mortem are still out). Last weekend she started coughing badly so we took her to the 24hr vet who diagnosed kennel cough and treated accordingly and she appeared to improve a bit but was still coughing badly so we took her back on Monday and she was given an antibiotic injection which seemed to help. Tuesday we took her to another vet as she was down again and they changed the treatment and asked us to bring her back on Wednesday for an antibiotic drip. She was definitely perkier when we picked her up that afternoon and gave us a gentle wag of her tail – we really thought we were on the road to recovery.

Thursday morning Marianne let her out and then suddenly called me; “Come quickly, Greeta’s collapsed!” Poor girl, she dropped on the back verandah and her breathing was intermittent and she was unconscious. We tried to keep her going with CPR but her gums were purple and her pupils unresponsive. We rushed her off to the 24hr vet again but she’d gone by the time we got there.

We got Greeta from the SPCA last October. She’d been the office dog and was showing the result of all the treats – a little bit rotund she was! She got her name as she loved greeting all the visitors and we were assured she loved playing with other dogs. We were looking for a younger playmate for Themba (Tia is about 9 now and not so keen on playing), she seemed ideal and it didn’t take her long to fit in.

A happy family portrait, Themba, Tia and Greeta getting cosy with Marianne

We soon discovered she was clueless on directions and we had an anxious time when one morning she got lost on ART Farm. Fortunately she was wearing a GPS collar and we soon found her but thereafter she was walked on a lead!

Such a gentle girl she soon became known as Sweetie Greetie and responded well to training despite having had none that we could tell. She loved her training, running between Marianne and I, her long tail madly waving in big circles. Breakfast was also a favorite time for her getting first lick of my finger dipped in yogurt. Teatime, she would patiently wait for her piece of rusk and ever so gently take it from me. Teatime over she and Themba would start to play, chasing each other madly around the garden. She certainly wasn’t any longer the chubby girl that we’d adopted.

Waiting to go somewhere in the truck, Themba, Greeta and Tia

She was heavily into her comfort zone. We always knew where to find her – either on the couch or her cushion in the dining room. Persuading her to move off our bed in the evening and onto hers and Tia’s could take some patience. Who could blame her? We had little idea of her background before the SPCA but she did have old scars on her back and nose from what could have been caused by being hit by a vehicle. It was probably not an easy life but cut short far too soon.

We have buried her close to you – there really are too many dogs buried in this garden. Too many broken hearts. Yes, many precious memories too.

Precious girl, left far too soon. We loved her and she knew it.

Dear Zak, these memories are so hard to write. We take on you dogs knowing that we’ll outlive you but you make us so happy and we have such fun enjoying your company. Saying goodbye is so desperately sad.

Love you.

VAWZ Scruffs Day

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Dear Zak,

It was the VAWZ Scruffs Day last Sunday so we decided to take Molly along, she being a genuine rescue and a “scruff” to boot. Hey, she won a second prize in the Best Rescue Dog category!

Mum and Molly, 2nd in the Best Rescue Dog category. Molly is the one with the big smile!

There were lots of other categories of course and some agility displays too. We didn’t stay right until the end though. That’s when they have “The Dog the Judges Would Most Like to Take Home” category that Jenni won all those years ago. Jenni was not impressed with all the attention and just wanted to get to me and go home. If they’d had a Best Looking Dog award you’d most certainly have won it my boy.

I love you Mum!

I don’t recall a “Dog Most Like its Owner” class but there were a number who were remarkably alike.

Friends in action

There was plenty of time between categories for just plain fun.

Sam Fernandes and a friend

Lots of people and their dogs well known in the doggy world were there. Sam is a well-known trainer.

An agility dog on the course

An agility course was set up and several dogs and trainers showed how it was done. Some dogs were amazing others, shall we say, had a lot of fun! It was a great atmosphere and I think it went off well.

Molly continues to fit in very well. She and Themba play a lot which is why we got her and that’s also acceptable to Tia who sometimes joins in and otherwise is content to just watch.

Last night when I arrived back from flying models, Molly for the first time jumped up at my truck door and gave me kisses. Yes, I think it’s going to work out well with her although she is a bit of a barker which can be annoying. She has a thing about crows – they need to be barked at and she most certainly doesn’t know what to make about my drone, which is annoying.

Love you as always…

Molly

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Two blondes – Rejoice (L) and Molly

Dear Zak,

I called in to the ZNSPCA office today to see Molly. She has just been spayed so we have to wait until Friday until we can pick her up. Yes, we are adopting another dog! Themba needs a playmate who can keep up with him now that Tia is getting on in years and Molly fits the bill at less than two years old.

Molly was found on the streets of Marondera, a small town about 80km to the east of here, just over a month ago. Marianne saw a post about how nobody had come forward to claim her and her future was not looking good so we decided to meet her. So last Wednesday we took along Themba and Tia to the ZNSPCA office on Enterprise road to see how they got along. They got on fine if one can call ignoring each other that. Molly (she didn’t have a name then) eventually came up to me for attention.

Today there was another guest – a puppy that had been confiscated off puppy vendors on the weekend. He was very sweet with a furiously wagging tail, desperate for attention and very grateful for the treats I’d brought Molly and some attention. Rejoice asked me what they should call him and I suggested Tuku after Oliver Mutukudzi, a famous local musician who died a few years back.

Love me please!

Poor little fellow, I hope someone offers him a home. Both he and Molly instinctively knew how to sit when being offered food. I tried Molly with the human version of a play-bow; patting the ground with both hands flat. She responded by tearing around the pen! I think she’ll fit right in.

I took Themba to work with me this afternoon. On the way back through ART Farm I let him out of the truck for a run. He’s not the runner you were my boy, loping along behind the truck in all the dust so I got him to jump back in after a short while which he did with indecent haste!

Themba’s “I am more of a poser than runner” pose

Like you, he’s a good-looking boy.

Miss you and love you as always.

Zara

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Zara at the beginning, look sad and sore.

Dear Zak,

We went to pick up Zara today.

In January we got a message that a Ridgeback female had been found by the SPCA in Waterfalls in southern Harare. She was not in good shape but we decided that as she was young she might make a good friend for Themba as Tia is finding him a bit rough to play with (she’s not a young dog any longer). So we booked and appointment and went to meet her at the SPCA hospital on the airport road where she was being treated.

Poor girl, she was not in good shape; thin and covered in mange but we could see she was beautiful under the neglect. Timid at first, she gradually warmed to us. We were captivated and decided that she would make a good friend for Themba if he accepted her.

It was quickly discovered that her stomach was not in good shape – no surprises there as who knows what she’d been eating on the streets. Jenny Fynn and others on the local Rhodesian Ridgeback group quickly rallied round and with Marianne worked out a supply of chicken and rice. She put on weight but was slow to respond to the mange treatment which was bothering the team at the SPCA. Then last week it was decided that we’d turned the corner as she was growing a new coat of hair and had put on weight. We went out to the SPCA to see her.

Zara wanting to meet new friends.

She was delightful, friendly and loving – covering us with kisses.

An affectionate girl

We started making plans to get Themba and Tia to meet her. Then yesterday we got a call from one of the staff at the SPCA to say that her face had swollen up. We thought it time to get her out of the kennel environment and into our home.

This morning Marianne received a terrible call; Zara’s legs had swollen up overnight and the vet had made a decision to put her to sleep. It was likely that her kidneys had failed. Poor girl, who knows what she’d had to eat and drink whilst abandoned on the street.

We went to get her as by now we thought of her as part of the family. She’s home now my boy, lying close to you, Roxy and Kharma.

Love you as always.

A good morning rescue

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I didn’t always smell like this. I used to have a home and a family to love me.

Me: Phew, he did smell a bit.

Zak: That’s not surprising if he’s been living of the rubbish dump. Tia smells a bit sometimes.

Me: She does eat anything.

Tia: Well, I’ve been there – I had to survive off my wits for 2 weeks.

Me: That was then, now you are well-fed.

Tia: No I’m not, I’m starving. I barely survive from one meal to the next!

Zak: Well, the avocados are there for the taking, you just have to get there before I do.

Tia: He’s hairy just like me!

Me: Much better behaved though. He was very gentle when I gave him your biscuits.

Zak: You gave him our biscuits?

Me: Well, not all of them. But I think he needed them more than you do right now.

Tia: Do you think he’s just lost then?

Me: I don’t know, he did jump into the car like he’d done it before. I definitely think he’s been someone’s pet before.

Zak: Or he knows who to trust. We are pretty good at judging humans like that. He was very lucky to be on the road just as we came past.

Roxy: So what will happen to him now?

Zak: Oh hello Roxy, glad you could join in the conversation.

Roxy: No need to be sarcastic, just all this talk of food and scrounging makes me feel ill.

Tia: You definitely are a bit odd with you picky-eating ways.

Roxy: Some of us are a little refined you know.

Tia: I can’t help being blond.

Me: Ok, ok, ok. The SPCA picked him up from the vet where we left him and he’ll have to stay there for 2 weeks in case his human recognises him and collects him. If not he’ll be put up for adoption.

Roxy: I hope they give him a bath.

Zak: And some food.

Tia: Maybe you should take him an avocado.

Me: They are not supposed to be good for dogs. But maybe some biltong.

Chorus: What? Our biltong?

Me: Hang on, who buys the biltong?

Marianne: Me actually.