So now the weather is turning colder and we are selling more wild bird foods and it is good to see people making sure that animals and birds are ready for the winter. But how far should we go when pampering our pets? Will we kill them with kindness? Yes, we should ensure that the wild birds for example are well fed, but we should also make sure that if we have been putting food out regularly it should always be available for them right through the Winter. They get used to feeding from the same spot and rely on it especially in a cold snap. But what happens when you go on holiday? Their table could be bare for two weeks which could result in a number of small birds deaths. So make sure you ask a friendly neighbour to put food out on your bird table whilst you sit on some sunny beach somewhere. Then when you return you will be rewarded by the sight of happy and with luck chubby birds on your bird table.
In the shop we have had customers buying warm beds and blankets for their pets. Only yesterday a customer looked at every bed that we had in stock. She couldn't make up her mind which one to buy and came back three times before making her purchase. I nearly asked her if she would like to sit in one to see how comfy it was, but I don't think she would have seen the funny side and may well have plonked herself in it and then asked to sit in a few more! I am just glad that I don't own a furniture store as I am sure it would have taken her at least a week to decide which three piece suite to buy.
Dog coats are starting to sell again, and this season there are some real 'classy' outfits. Pink jackets, fur collars and even little 'charms' to put on collars. I just hope that they do the trick and keep the poor pouches warm as well.
Tuesday 9 October 2007
Friday 3 August 2007
Trumpeting Tango
Its raining again. Tango our Green Amazon parrot loves the rain. She fluffs up her wings and dances about on her perch whenever she hears the sound of dripping water. Then she starts to squawk. You can hear her from outside. Even across the road over the sound of the traffic. She loves a good old squawk and she has been doing a lot of it these last few days as it has been raining quite hard. Problem is that when the phone rings we cannot hear what the caller is saying. The only way to shut Tango up is to give her some celery. She just loves celery and will sit and strip a celery stalk within about 5 minutes and then it is back to her incessant squawking. I just can't wait for a bit of dry weather and a headache free day! Someone said the other day that it wasn't just raining 'cats and dogs' it was raining 'Tangos trumpets' as well.
Thursday 26 July 2007
Busy days
Why is it that although we are open from 8.30am to 5.30pm Mondays to Saturdays and 11.am to 4pm on Sundays people want to visit the shop at the very last minute before the doors close? Or even after we have shut? Only last Saturday a Lady came in at 11am in the morning enquiring if we had any guinea pigs? We told her that we had and she said that she would be back. Sure enough back she came , but at 5.30pm. Accompanied by her husband and two children. They then proceeded on the long process of choosing their pet. 'Should we take this one?' 'No-that one is nicer'. Or 'I like that one with the longer hair', 'No - the one with the short coat is best'. This went on and on.
When selling an animal we like to take our time and give the customer as much information about their new pet as is possible. We also like to say goodbye to it so all in all this can take quite a while. But this was stretched to the limit last Saturday. I think customers think that we love animals so much we sleep at the shop with them too. Anyway the guinea pig went to a nice home in the end and myself and the rest of the staff left sometime later. - (The shop has to be clean and tidy ready for the next day.) We were all really tired as it had been a long hard day and when my staff go home they all also go home to various pets who all need cleaning, walking and feeding too. So work really does not stop at the shop door.
Anyway I eventually arrived home and after tea settled down to put my tired feet up only to hear the telephone ring. It was someone who had just arrived in the area for their holidays and they had brought their dog with them, but had forgotten his favourite food, and it was the only one he would eat! Two hours after leaving the shop I was down there again.
Good job that the burglar alarm didn't go off that night too. A call out in the middle of the night would have been the last straw.
When selling an animal we like to take our time and give the customer as much information about their new pet as is possible. We also like to say goodbye to it so all in all this can take quite a while. But this was stretched to the limit last Saturday. I think customers think that we love animals so much we sleep at the shop with them too. Anyway the guinea pig went to a nice home in the end and myself and the rest of the staff left sometime later. - (The shop has to be clean and tidy ready for the next day.) We were all really tired as it had been a long hard day and when my staff go home they all also go home to various pets who all need cleaning, walking and feeding too. So work really does not stop at the shop door.
Anyway I eventually arrived home and after tea settled down to put my tired feet up only to hear the telephone ring. It was someone who had just arrived in the area for their holidays and they had brought their dog with them, but had forgotten his favourite food, and it was the only one he would eat! Two hours after leaving the shop I was down there again.
Good job that the burglar alarm didn't go off that night too. A call out in the middle of the night would have been the last straw.
Tuesday 17 July 2007
Tortoise Tales
Selling tortoises thirty or forty years ago was a very different proposition than what it is today. Then your average Pet shop owner was asked for tortoises by his customers. He would then order them from his wholesaler and then a few days later a consignment of tortoises would appear. When we received them they were in flat boxes, but many years earlier they had come in Ali Baba type baskets. On arrival all the tortoises were first put into large trays of warm water and given a drink, then they were washed and checked for ticks. After a few hours rest they were then fed lots of fresh vegetables and then next day put out on show ready to go to new homes. One of my earliest childhood summer memories was going to check the tortoises with my Father and seeing which were male or female. (turn tortoise upside down, concave shell - male, flattish shell -female.)
Way back then not too many people questioned how animals were transported or how they were caught. Now-a-days things are different. I guess that we have learnt our lesson in the Pet Trade and are now questioning issues about transportation and taking animals from the wild. I don't think that pet shop owners were cruel, just ignorant. Not many had even travelled abroad so knew nothing about freight or flying. But I did hear tell after the importation ban of tortoises was imposed that instead of catching the tortoises and selling them for pets the Greek and Turkish farmers were clubbing the poor animals to death. This was because the poor old tortoises were eating the farmers crops and were a pest. There always seems to be two sides to each coin.
So many people have stories to tell about their first pet,and many will reminisce about their pet tortoise. A great many people still have them, but not many will admit to it as they are frightened that their pet will be stolen as now tortoises cost quite a bit of money.
Tortoises for sale in pet shops in 2007 are captive bred and most require documentation. Any reliable pet store would not sell a tortoise without the relevant information on heating, feeding etc. This complies with the conditions of our pet licence.
But I still remember one of my first pets a big tortoise call 'Tug'. He ruled the roost at our house, living till just last year. I still have fond memories of him getting into the strawberry patch and enjoying our home grown strawberries. Much to my Mothers annoyance.
Way back then not too many people questioned how animals were transported or how they were caught. Now-a-days things are different. I guess that we have learnt our lesson in the Pet Trade and are now questioning issues about transportation and taking animals from the wild. I don't think that pet shop owners were cruel, just ignorant. Not many had even travelled abroad so knew nothing about freight or flying. But I did hear tell after the importation ban of tortoises was imposed that instead of catching the tortoises and selling them for pets the Greek and Turkish farmers were clubbing the poor animals to death. This was because the poor old tortoises were eating the farmers crops and were a pest. There always seems to be two sides to each coin.
So many people have stories to tell about their first pet,and many will reminisce about their pet tortoise. A great many people still have them, but not many will admit to it as they are frightened that their pet will be stolen as now tortoises cost quite a bit of money.
Tortoises for sale in pet shops in 2007 are captive bred and most require documentation. Any reliable pet store would not sell a tortoise without the relevant information on heating, feeding etc. This complies with the conditions of our pet licence.
But I still remember one of my first pets a big tortoise call 'Tug'. He ruled the roost at our house, living till just last year. I still have fond memories of him getting into the strawberry patch and enjoying our home grown strawberries. Much to my Mothers annoyance.
Sunday 15 July 2007
Pets or Owners ideas?
Someone sent me a comment regarding the love of their cat. She said that she always took her cat with her when she went on holiday. This set me thinking? Do we do things for our Pets or for ourselves? I know that if I took any of my cats on holiday they would not thank me. In fact they would be very upset and would probably try to make a quick exit out of the car every time the door was opened. But on the other hand if you have a dog and you take a trip he may be mortified if you leave him at home. But do we as Pet owners put our own ideals before that of our Pets? I guess that it is up to the individual to decide what is good and helpful to their pet. And so long as the Pet and its owner are happy and content then who are we to argue. So many people have different ideas and thoughts about how to keep and rear pets that this can become a very sticky issue. We have a customer who regularly runs up and down mountains with his two beautiful dogs. They think nothing of a quick run before breakfast doing ten to twelve miles. These super fit dogs are devoted to their owner and he just adores them. They were in the shop one day after a good morning out when another customer remarked that the 'poor dogs had run too far, and shouldn't have been allowed to have run such a distance'. I didn't know what to say. They looked healthy enough, were young and fit and I think really enjoyed their run. But was the customer right? Were they taken too far? I guess everyone has an opinion, so long as there is no hardship at the end of the day the dogs owner must have the final say. He is the one who has looked after them and cared for them and should know what they like and need. But it is still a tricky issue. Should be feed our cats mice instead of tinned or dried food because they prefer them? Or should we make our dogs eat vegetarian food because we are a vegetarian ourselves? Questions, questions.
Friday 13 July 2007
Tickle strikes again
Whoops. Tickle the Parrot has been at it again. Earlier on today a well dressed woman walked into the shop. She looked round for a few minutes, and then bent down to pick up a packet of dog food from a bottom shelf. At that precise moment Tickle looked up and gave a very loud and long wolf whistle. The Lady stood bolt upright and turned to where one of our male shop assistants was standing. She obviously thought it was him as he was the only other person in the shop at the time. Poor chap, he immediately apologised and said that it was Tickle and pointed to Tickles cage at the back of the shop. Of course our shop is quite large and the Lady only glanced over in Tickles direction. Tickle was sitting at the bottom of his cage enjoying his breakfast -yes he can whistle and eat at the same time -. Anyway the lady did not see Tickle and stormed out of the shop tutting about rude leering men. The poor assistant who is a very polite and charming man was quite mortified.
Thursday 12 July 2007
Tasty titbits
Maybe we are a butchers shop too. A butchers shop for dogs and cats that is. We sell all sorts of interesting meaty products. Tripe - well dogs think it is tasty-, chicken, beef, liver etc. Of course this comes in tins, is frozen, or vacuum packed. But it is the natural treats that amuse me the most. We sell pigs ears, and trotters, hooves, cheeks, snouts, ribs, paddywack -a sort of crispy skin-. Roast bones - large and small- parma ham bone and smoked bones, not to mention bones filled with cheese, or mint, aniseed or chicken. Sausages, kebabs, jerky, and one that I cannot bring myself to stock - Bulls Pizzle! - A bit of imagination here and you will work out what it is-.
I guess that we sell all the bits that the traditional family butcher does not use and that dogs love. A good method of recycling.
I often think that a Pet shop must smell delicious to a dog when he walkes through the front door. So many tasty smells. All too often a well trained dog will refuse to 'sit' or 'stay' and will drag his owner round the shop till he finds the meat section and then sit there drooling until his 'well trained' owner has purchased his favourite meaty treat.
I guess that we sell all the bits that the traditional family butcher does not use and that dogs love. A good method of recycling.
I often think that a Pet shop must smell delicious to a dog when he walkes through the front door. So many tasty smells. All too often a well trained dog will refuse to 'sit' or 'stay' and will drag his owner round the shop till he finds the meat section and then sit there drooling until his 'well trained' owner has purchased his favourite meaty treat.
Monday 9 July 2007
Getting the beauty treatment
I was just looking at the products that we sell for pets concerning their grooming. Of course we sell brushes, combs, etc. but I didn't realise quite how like a human beauty parlour we are until I took a closer look at the hundreds of products on offer from various manufacturers of pet shampoos and toiletries.
Shampoos alone come in flavours like, pina colada, wild berry, green apple, wild cherry and baby powder scented (for puppies), not to mention tea tree, dry foam, coal tar, evening primrose, blacksatin, insecticidal etc.etc. And these wonderful smelling products aren't just for dogs, they are for other small animals such as ferrets, guinea pigs and cats.
There are the deodorant sprays to keep your pet smelling sweet, the ear cleaning lotion to keep those little ear holes tidy, the eye wipes, the toothpaste, the sweet breath tablets and more and more....
Then you get the actual items that you groom your pet with. There are dematting combs, flea combs, combs for long hair, combs for short hair, shedding combs, wire combs, rubber combs and plastic combs. The brushes too are too numerous to mention but slickers, knot busters, zooms, pins,and grooming gloves are just some of their names. And although we do not stock too many different clipping accessories we still have the traditional scissors and clippers as well as guillotine nails clippers, multicut clippers, nail files, cat claw clippers, thinning scissors, tick pickers, and stripping knives.
If your pet has a skin problem we can help too. Hot itch lotion, mite cream, skin balm, seaweed powder, dry skin oil and tea tree cream. Birds of course are not left out so we sell scaly face cream and plume spray.
I always find paw wax a bit of an interesting product as the wax that I know is the one that Ladies use to wax their legs. But this wax is used to put on dogs paws if they are cracked and damaged. I just have this strange image in my head of a dog sitting in the beauty parlour having his legs waxed!
So when you have been to our Beauty Parlour - Sorry Pet Shop. And purchased your pets beauty treatment, given him a luxurious bath and cut and filed his claws, combed his coat till it gleams and brushed his teeth then you can take him out for his usual walk only to find that because he is looking and smelling so clean and tidy he will find the nearest cow pat and decide to roll in it. Then you will have to take him home and start all over again.
Shampoos alone come in flavours like, pina colada, wild berry, green apple, wild cherry and baby powder scented (for puppies), not to mention tea tree, dry foam, coal tar, evening primrose, blacksatin, insecticidal etc.etc. And these wonderful smelling products aren't just for dogs, they are for other small animals such as ferrets, guinea pigs and cats.
There are the deodorant sprays to keep your pet smelling sweet, the ear cleaning lotion to keep those little ear holes tidy, the eye wipes, the toothpaste, the sweet breath tablets and more and more....
Then you get the actual items that you groom your pet with. There are dematting combs, flea combs, combs for long hair, combs for short hair, shedding combs, wire combs, rubber combs and plastic combs. The brushes too are too numerous to mention but slickers, knot busters, zooms, pins,and grooming gloves are just some of their names. And although we do not stock too many different clipping accessories we still have the traditional scissors and clippers as well as guillotine nails clippers, multicut clippers, nail files, cat claw clippers, thinning scissors, tick pickers, and stripping knives.
If your pet has a skin problem we can help too. Hot itch lotion, mite cream, skin balm, seaweed powder, dry skin oil and tea tree cream. Birds of course are not left out so we sell scaly face cream and plume spray.
I always find paw wax a bit of an interesting product as the wax that I know is the one that Ladies use to wax their legs. But this wax is used to put on dogs paws if they are cracked and damaged. I just have this strange image in my head of a dog sitting in the beauty parlour having his legs waxed!
So when you have been to our Beauty Parlour - Sorry Pet Shop. And purchased your pets beauty treatment, given him a luxurious bath and cut and filed his claws, combed his coat till it gleams and brushed his teeth then you can take him out for his usual walk only to find that because he is looking and smelling so clean and tidy he will find the nearest cow pat and decide to roll in it. Then you will have to take him home and start all over again.
Thursday 5 July 2007
Happy Hamsters
Our new consignment of baby hamsters have just arrived. As usual all are fit and healthy. They come to us from quite a distance, but they are very well cared for. They come from our supplier in their own van and the container that they travel in is well ventilated with lots of food for their journey. Much better than the accommodation provided for us humans when we travel on public transport.
All the hamsters are examined by us and then we try and sex them. Usually we get this right, but sometimes, just sometimes we make a mistake. Baby hamsters are so tiny. Russian Dwarf hamsters are even more difficult. On top of all the turning upside down to try and inspect their nether regions they squiggle too. Of course they don't enjoy the process and you have to keep an eye on their tiny teeth. Even though they are small they can still give you a nasty nip.
Anyway all are present and correct and are settling into their temporary homes very well. All too soon they will be living in their permanent residences. It is always good to see happy owners taking their new pets home. We make sure that each animal goes to its new owner with lots of details on how to care for it and a leaflet about hamster keeping. These little bundles of fur deserve only the best.
All the hamsters are examined by us and then we try and sex them. Usually we get this right, but sometimes, just sometimes we make a mistake. Baby hamsters are so tiny. Russian Dwarf hamsters are even more difficult. On top of all the turning upside down to try and inspect their nether regions they squiggle too. Of course they don't enjoy the process and you have to keep an eye on their tiny teeth. Even though they are small they can still give you a nasty nip.
Anyway all are present and correct and are settling into their temporary homes very well. All too soon they will be living in their permanent residences. It is always good to see happy owners taking their new pets home. We make sure that each animal goes to its new owner with lots of details on how to care for it and a leaflet about hamster keeping. These little bundles of fur deserve only the best.
Tuesday 3 July 2007
Mid Summer - it must be Christmas
Oh dear - Christmas is near. I have just received my first Christmas brochure. It is full of pet Christmas presents. Somehow I just can't face ordering 'Cat tinsel', cat or dog advent calendars of 'Raffles' the Christmas reindeer. I have only just got over the Easter rush and selling 'Doggie Easter eggs'.
Thursday 28 June 2007
Tickles tricks
Tickle - our African grey parrot is getting a lot of attention these days. During the Summer months we get quite a few overseas visitors in the Shop. They always seem to be interested in a talking parrot and will say 'Hello' when Tickle says 'Hello' to them. I just wonder if Tickle will pick up their accents and start saying 'Hello' in a sexy French voice or 'Hello' in an Irish accent, or a German one or even a Japanese sounding voice.
I think we must have had quite a few customers and been quite busy lately. He has started saying 'Can I help you?' whenever anyone comes through the shop door. This can be very amusing if there are no staff about. Customers cannot understand where this ghostly voice is coming from. If that isn't bad enough he can do a good imitation of a mobile phone too. Which makes many a customer search in their pocket or bag thinking their phone is ringing. He also copies our shop phone making us rush to answer it. When we pick it up Tickle then proceeds to say 'Hello' in his telephone answering voice. All very confusing for busy staff members. - But fun too!
I think we must have had quite a few customers and been quite busy lately. He has started saying 'Can I help you?' whenever anyone comes through the shop door. This can be very amusing if there are no staff about. Customers cannot understand where this ghostly voice is coming from. If that isn't bad enough he can do a good imitation of a mobile phone too. Which makes many a customer search in their pocket or bag thinking their phone is ringing. He also copies our shop phone making us rush to answer it. When we pick it up Tickle then proceeds to say 'Hello' in his telephone answering voice. All very confusing for busy staff members. - But fun too!
Monday 25 June 2007
General Monday morning moan
I have just heard that our local Council is going to charge us for putting things on the pavement outside our shop. This applies to all the shops in the town. £250 per store per year does not seem too much for some big chain store, but in the town where I trade an awful lot of shops are empty so trade is not that good. Only last year the Council was trying to encourage the Cafe Culture. 'Make the town more interesting and welcoming it said'. I guess we will all have to pay this new 'Tax' - where else can I display my larger items like rabbit hutches. In a way I don't object to the new 'tax' that much. Its just the strange thinking behind it. We are a small town with not too many shops. This new 'Tax' will have to be administered. That means probably a Secretary to send out the forms for written permission for a licence. A Licencing Officer to come out and check you are complying with the Licencing instructions and a person to collect the licence money every year. So lets see. That is at least 3 people, maybe 4? the Council need to pay to collect £250 from town Traders. Work out how much it costs to employ 3 to 4 people, how may shops there are and how much is going to be collected and it seems to me to be peanuts. Is is worth the hassle?
And all this extra when we already pay the Council to have our rubbish removed and are not allowed to even take it to the tip ourselves (they charge us there too) on top of large business rates.
Who would be in Business?
And all this extra when we already pay the Council to have our rubbish removed and are not allowed to even take it to the tip ourselves (they charge us there too) on top of large business rates.
Who would be in Business?
Sunday 24 June 2007
Colour Co-ordinated Canines
How come we never stock the correct product? You can guarantee that when we stock a certain type of dog lead that comes in all of the colours under the sun we never have the colour that the customer wants. We may have it in the correct length, the correct width, with the correct handle and the correct clip, but it will not be the correct colour. Time and again we hear 'It's the wrong colour it won't go with my car/ my dogs eyes/my dogs bed/etc.' The best one yet was the gent who came into the shop for a dog bed. It was about the time that the Labour Government had just come back into power. Anyway - the Gent wanted a dog bed. He knew what type he wanted and what size. We showed him the type of dog bed that he had requested and it was the right size and was the right type. But, it was the wrong colour. The Gent said that it was 'CONSERVATIVE BLUE'. We said it was the only colour that we had at the present time, but the Gent stuck his nose in the air saying that he would not have CONSERVATIVE BLUE anywhere in his house. With that he stalked off without so much as a thank you and we have never seen him again. I do hope that he eventually found a bed in something other than blue otherwise his poor dog will still be sleeping on the cold floor.
I always feel sorry for the dogs that come in to be fitted for a warm dog coat. Often this on cold days when you know that the dog had been dragged out for a fitting and would much rather be at home in front of a warm fire. First of all we will measure the dog and then the owner will decide what type of coat the dog would like. The dog will then have a number of coats fitted one after the other to see if they fit correctly or are warm enough. Then a decision will be made as to which type of coat will be the best. - The dog meanwhile is quite enjoying the attention and the feel of the warm coats that are being placed on his back. But again all too often the owner will say 'do you have the coat that I like in pink/mauve/orange?' (or whatever colour that we do not have in stock) The reply will usually be no, but we have it in green/red/blue/grey/etc. Although we can get you a pink/mauve/orange one to order. Yes the customer will say I'll have a pink one and will collect it next week, or even 'Never mind I'll wait till you get some new designs in'. Meanwhile poor old Fido is standing there without a coat and facing a prospect of a winter shivering. He has felt the coats on his back and thought - 'mummm nice and warm, walking in the cold weather won't be so bad after all. A new coat's going to make life a lot more comfortable.' I am sure that he would not care if his new coat is lilac/pink/grey - or whatever. Just as long as he had a warm cosy coat on his back. Fashion accessory he is not, ready for comfort - he is.
I always feel sorry for the dogs that come in to be fitted for a warm dog coat. Often this on cold days when you know that the dog had been dragged out for a fitting and would much rather be at home in front of a warm fire. First of all we will measure the dog and then the owner will decide what type of coat the dog would like. The dog will then have a number of coats fitted one after the other to see if they fit correctly or are warm enough. Then a decision will be made as to which type of coat will be the best. - The dog meanwhile is quite enjoying the attention and the feel of the warm coats that are being placed on his back. But again all too often the owner will say 'do you have the coat that I like in pink/mauve/orange?' (or whatever colour that we do not have in stock) The reply will usually be no, but we have it in green/red/blue/grey/etc. Although we can get you a pink/mauve/orange one to order. Yes the customer will say I'll have a pink one and will collect it next week, or even 'Never mind I'll wait till you get some new designs in'. Meanwhile poor old Fido is standing there without a coat and facing a prospect of a winter shivering. He has felt the coats on his back and thought - 'mummm nice and warm, walking in the cold weather won't be so bad after all. A new coat's going to make life a lot more comfortable.' I am sure that he would not care if his new coat is lilac/pink/grey - or whatever. Just as long as he had a warm cosy coat on his back. Fashion accessory he is not, ready for comfort - he is.
Sunday 17 June 2007
Diets, Dogs and Dames
Yesterday a regular customer came into the shop accompanied by her lovely Norfolk terrier. We (staff, owner and dog) all had a bit of a chat and then dog and owner went on their way. After she had gone I remarked to one of our staff members that the little dog had put on a bit of weight. We thought this was because the dog was getting a little older and and maybe not quite as active as she had been. Also she had had a recent hair cut which made her look a little 'plumper'. 'Perhaps she needed a week or two on a diet?' - I said.
Little did I know that there were two other female customers in the shop while I was saying this. They had overheard our entire conversation regarding weights and diets, and put two and two together. The Ladies had not heard us referring to the dog, and thought we were talking about them! We hastily explained that we were talking about the previous customers dog, but I am sure they did not believe us. Next time I will keep my mouth firmly shut and my thought to myself.
Little did I know that there were two other female customers in the shop while I was saying this. They had overheard our entire conversation regarding weights and diets, and put two and two together. The Ladies had not heard us referring to the dog, and thought we were talking about them! We hastily explained that we were talking about the previous customers dog, but I am sure they did not believe us. Next time I will keep my mouth firmly shut and my thought to myself.
Thursday 14 June 2007
Births, deaths and marriages - well almost!
The holiday seasons come and go and because we look after small animals and birds when their owners go on their holidays we get to see our regular boarders once again.
Many come to us year after year often having been purchased from us in the first place. It is always nice to see our old friends back again and sometimes I think that they like to see us again too. We usually know their little likes and dislikes and most of their little foibles. All are known by name so if a member of staff says 'Sugar' or 'Bubble and Squeak' are coming in next week we know exactly who they are.
One of my all time favourites must be 'Derek' the Rex rabbit. He came to us for his holidays for many, many years only stopping when he eventually went to that great rabbit warren in the sky. 'Derek' was a lovely cuddly rabbit, he had gingery coloured fur that was quite short but felt like Velvet when you stroked him. His long ginger ears were just made to be tickled and his narrow face made him look like some creature in Alice in Wonderland.
Derek always seemed to enjoy his little holidays breaks with us, but one year he had a vacation of a lifetime. At about the same time as Derek was due to arrive for yet another holiday there was a female rabbit arriving for her holidays too. Now the owner of the female rabbit had asked me sometime earlier if we had a male rabbit that her female could be mated with. The Lady had wanted her rabbit to have a litter of kittens (baby rabbits). Normally I do not encourage random breeding, but this Lady was a sensible person who wanted her children to learn about reproduction and how to care for young rabbits. She also had found homes for all the young rabbits before they were even born, so I thought that I could help. I had a quick word with Dereks owner before she left for her holidays asking her if Derek would like to 'offer his services'. The answer was 'yes'.
Wow, - Did Derek have a good holiday that year? I am sure that when I looked in on Derek and is girlfriend a little while later they both looked very happy. In fact I could have sworn I saw Derek wink.
Some weeks later and back at home the female rabbit gave birth to a lovely litter of gingery long eared rabbits. Her owner reported that Mother and babies were doing well and a eight weeks after that all had been found caring homes.
I can't help thinking that now many years later there are still some of Dereks great-great grandchildren maybe coming into the shop for their holidays. I always take a long look at any that are remotely gingery with a velvet coat and long lanky ears that are just waiting to be tickled.
Many come to us year after year often having been purchased from us in the first place. It is always nice to see our old friends back again and sometimes I think that they like to see us again too. We usually know their little likes and dislikes and most of their little foibles. All are known by name so if a member of staff says 'Sugar' or 'Bubble and Squeak' are coming in next week we know exactly who they are.
One of my all time favourites must be 'Derek' the Rex rabbit. He came to us for his holidays for many, many years only stopping when he eventually went to that great rabbit warren in the sky. 'Derek' was a lovely cuddly rabbit, he had gingery coloured fur that was quite short but felt like Velvet when you stroked him. His long ginger ears were just made to be tickled and his narrow face made him look like some creature in Alice in Wonderland.
Derek always seemed to enjoy his little holidays breaks with us, but one year he had a vacation of a lifetime. At about the same time as Derek was due to arrive for yet another holiday there was a female rabbit arriving for her holidays too. Now the owner of the female rabbit had asked me sometime earlier if we had a male rabbit that her female could be mated with. The Lady had wanted her rabbit to have a litter of kittens (baby rabbits). Normally I do not encourage random breeding, but this Lady was a sensible person who wanted her children to learn about reproduction and how to care for young rabbits. She also had found homes for all the young rabbits before they were even born, so I thought that I could help. I had a quick word with Dereks owner before she left for her holidays asking her if Derek would like to 'offer his services'. The answer was 'yes'.
Wow, - Did Derek have a good holiday that year? I am sure that when I looked in on Derek and is girlfriend a little while later they both looked very happy. In fact I could have sworn I saw Derek wink.
Some weeks later and back at home the female rabbit gave birth to a lovely litter of gingery long eared rabbits. Her owner reported that Mother and babies were doing well and a eight weeks after that all had been found caring homes.
I can't help thinking that now many years later there are still some of Dereks great-great grandchildren maybe coming into the shop for their holidays. I always take a long look at any that are remotely gingery with a velvet coat and long lanky ears that are just waiting to be tickled.
Wednesday 13 June 2007
Questions and Internet
I think that everyone that comes into the shop must have a tale to tell about their pet. We often get the complete life story of a favourite cat, dog, bird or even fish. This can all be very interesting but a little difficult to say the least if their is a queue of customers behind the story teller waiting to pay for their purchases.
We really are a nation of animal lovers. Everyone has their own opinions and ideas about animal welfare, husbandry and just about everything else that concerns animals. This is where the Internet can be a great help, but also a great hindrance. All too often a customer will ask us for information. i.e. about looking after a new pet or what type of food to use. We will in all good faith try and help, and if we have the written documentation we will often give the enquiring customer a relevant leaflet. Then sometime later the customer will return and say that he has looked up his question on the Internet and it says ........... This may vary a great deal from what we have said, or it may just vary a bit, or it may be just the same information that we have given but is worded differently. Generally we get it about right as my staff have all been trained in animal management and welfare. But on the Internet there are hundreds of opinions and 'dos and don'ts'. Lots of sites saying different things. One site will tell you that certain types of fish or reptiles do not need heat when we know that they do. The reason that the site says 'no heat' is probably because it come from some tropical country that is hot all year round. Or different animals and birds are called by different names in different countries. I think in some larger countries animals or birds have different names depending as to which state they are in. All very confusing. I guess there are no hard and fast rules so no one can solve the problem. I just hope that common sense wins in the end.
We really are a nation of animal lovers. Everyone has their own opinions and ideas about animal welfare, husbandry and just about everything else that concerns animals. This is where the Internet can be a great help, but also a great hindrance. All too often a customer will ask us for information. i.e. about looking after a new pet or what type of food to use. We will in all good faith try and help, and if we have the written documentation we will often give the enquiring customer a relevant leaflet. Then sometime later the customer will return and say that he has looked up his question on the Internet and it says ........... This may vary a great deal from what we have said, or it may just vary a bit, or it may be just the same information that we have given but is worded differently. Generally we get it about right as my staff have all been trained in animal management and welfare. But on the Internet there are hundreds of opinions and 'dos and don'ts'. Lots of sites saying different things. One site will tell you that certain types of fish or reptiles do not need heat when we know that they do. The reason that the site says 'no heat' is probably because it come from some tropical country that is hot all year round. Or different animals and birds are called by different names in different countries. I think in some larger countries animals or birds have different names depending as to which state they are in. All very confusing. I guess there are no hard and fast rules so no one can solve the problem. I just hope that common sense wins in the end.
Sunday 3 June 2007
Parrots and Parasols
Over the last few days the weather has been quite warm. Lots of sunshine and a few fluffy clouds. The temperature is about right for our animals and birds. They all seem to be 'comfortable'. I guess it is the 'Goldilocks syndrome' - not too hot and not too cold.
So we thought we would give our two parrots a change of scene and put them outside the shop for a couple of hours to soak up the suns rays.
Sitting in their large cages at either side of the front door made them look like a 'guard of honour' for anyone entering the shop. They just loved the attention they got from passers by.
Everyone stopped to talk to them and even passing motorists wound down their windows to shout 'hello' or whistle. It really seems to lighten a great many peoples day, especially when Tickle was shouting 'hello' or 'give us a kiss', or wolf whistling.
They will be outside again in the next few days - weather permitting as both parrots seemed to have enjoyed themselves immensely. I have even managed to get hold of a parasol that attaches to Tickles cage just in case the sun gets too strong.
So we thought we would give our two parrots a change of scene and put them outside the shop for a couple of hours to soak up the suns rays.
Sitting in their large cages at either side of the front door made them look like a 'guard of honour' for anyone entering the shop. They just loved the attention they got from passers by.
Everyone stopped to talk to them and even passing motorists wound down their windows to shout 'hello' or whistle. It really seems to lighten a great many peoples day, especially when Tickle was shouting 'hello' or 'give us a kiss', or wolf whistling.
They will be outside again in the next few days - weather permitting as both parrots seemed to have enjoyed themselves immensely. I have even managed to get hold of a parasol that attaches to Tickles cage just in case the sun gets too strong.
Tuesday 15 May 2007
Its all in the name.
We had a rather large delivery today of an assortment of products. Nothing unusual in that, but it set me thinking. - What strange names some of our pet products have. Kongs, Chubleez, Snuggle Factor, Critter Chopper, Perfection, Rogz for dogs, Paddywack, Muffins, (for small animals), Calypso Cricket Dust, Rug patrol, Gaylets, Flying Calf Frizbee, Chicken on a Rope, Orkas, Twisters, Wee wee Pads. - The list is endless. Some are simply self explanatory, but others are really strange. Do the manufacturers have teams of their employees making up these strange names and do they award prizes for the oddest?
But I guess the strangest names are those of the animal housing. Bird cages and hamster cages. We had a number of hamster cages delivered and they had names such as Chealsea, Paddington, Bayswater, Westminster, Kew, Pall Mall and Picadilly. I couldn't help but think that they did not have any cages named after the more run down areas of London. No Old Kent Road, or Peckhams or Elephant and Castle. I wonder why? At least they are easy to understand. Why would anyone call a cage a 'duffy'? Sounds a bit 'duff' to me or a 'Yole'? All very weird, but they are good sellers nevertheless.
Guess I should get back to my ordering instead of musing on strange names for pet products - 'Dried earthworms to go' have been requested by a customer. Hope she is going to feed them to her garden birds and not use them for some strange brew. Maybe she would prefere some 'Insect Patee' instead.
But I guess the strangest names are those of the animal housing. Bird cages and hamster cages. We had a number of hamster cages delivered and they had names such as Chealsea, Paddington, Bayswater, Westminster, Kew, Pall Mall and Picadilly. I couldn't help but think that they did not have any cages named after the more run down areas of London. No Old Kent Road, or Peckhams or Elephant and Castle. I wonder why? At least they are easy to understand. Why would anyone call a cage a 'duffy'? Sounds a bit 'duff' to me or a 'Yole'? All very weird, but they are good sellers nevertheless.
Guess I should get back to my ordering instead of musing on strange names for pet products - 'Dried earthworms to go' have been requested by a customer. Hope she is going to feed them to her garden birds and not use them for some strange brew. Maybe she would prefere some 'Insect Patee' instead.
Monday 14 May 2007
'Little Accidents'
When you own a Pet Shop you become rather used to cleaning up all sorts of mess, but yesterday I must admit was a little different. We are certainly used to cleaning out messy pens, scraping, cleaning and disinfecting is certainly nothing new to us. Nearly everyday someone or or other is up to their elbows in buckets of hot water and cleaning fluids. It is always satisfying to see freshly cleaned out cages or pens with happy occupants waiting to untidy the whole lot for you to clean out again. That's just the way life in a Pet Shop is. Once you have cleaned something up then you go on to the next and clean something else up. Animal pens, shelves, cages, floors etc. etc. - all have to be cleaned, and if you work for me you will soon discover that 'this or that' needs cleaning. In my line of work in my opinion no matter how hard you clean and tidy it can't be enough. Keeping animals is a dirty business and I like to make sure that my business isn't dirty.
Now if you bring a puppy into the shop and it has an 'accident' then we don't mind. We are used to bringing out the mop and bucket and giving the floor a good clean. But I must admit that I am not used to bringing out the mop and bucket for human offspring. Yesterday such an incident happened. A Mother was in the shop with her two little girls. The children had been brought in to look at the pets. Mother and daughters were taking their time when all of a sudden the eldest of the children said in a loud voice that she was feeling sick. Quick as a flash I rushed to the kitchen to grab a bucket. I placed it in front of the poor child just in time for her to return her breakfast. And then I was handed back the offending bucket which I speedily took back into the kitchen to be washed and disinfected. Mother and children then spent a bit more time looking around the shop with me following close behind with another bucket. Then off they went on their way. Saying they had some more shopping to do -Fortunately incidents like that are rare, but nothing surprises me. - Just another day in the mad world of running a Pet Shop.
Now if you bring a puppy into the shop and it has an 'accident' then we don't mind. We are used to bringing out the mop and bucket and giving the floor a good clean. But I must admit that I am not used to bringing out the mop and bucket for human offspring. Yesterday such an incident happened. A Mother was in the shop with her two little girls. The children had been brought in to look at the pets. Mother and daughters were taking their time when all of a sudden the eldest of the children said in a loud voice that she was feeling sick. Quick as a flash I rushed to the kitchen to grab a bucket. I placed it in front of the poor child just in time for her to return her breakfast. And then I was handed back the offending bucket which I speedily took back into the kitchen to be washed and disinfected. Mother and children then spent a bit more time looking around the shop with me following close behind with another bucket. Then off they went on their way. Saying they had some more shopping to do -Fortunately incidents like that are rare, but nothing surprises me. - Just another day in the mad world of running a Pet Shop.
Wednesday 9 May 2007
Jemima
Yes, can't nature be cruel? As I said in my previous Post I have a great view from my window as I work in my office at home. Our rather overgrown garden (I really must try and spend more time tidying it up) tumbles down to a river where there is always something interesting going on. It makes it so much easier to do mundane things like the VAT or paying invoices or checking tax returns when I can glance up and see the wild birds or even just watch people walking or playing with their dogs on the bank opposite.
The day before yesterday I was in the garden - unfortunately not tidying up, but just feeding the fish in the pond. I heard a loud sort of quacking noise and there at the edge of the river was 'Jemima'. Now 'Jemima' is an ordinary white duck who has lived on the river for a number of years, and as we are regular duck feeders we always recognise 'Jemima' because she is white. You can't miss her because as a white duck amongst all the other ordinary Mallard ducks she sticks out as they say 'like a sore thumb'. But there she was - the day before yesterday- at the edge of the river with a brood of four tiny ducklings. All little brown round balls skidding across the water at high speed. Jemima fussed about them and kept them close to her as she ventured nearer to us for a quick piece of bread. Then after a few minutes she was off down the river again with her new family quacking as she went and waiting from time to time for the last ducking to catch up with its brothers and sisters. Now we often see ducklings at this time of year, but to see 'Jemima' with her brood really made me feel good. I had always thought that 'Jemima' had been a drake, and was often seen having rather nasty fights with other ducks that she hung around with. (The name Jemima comes from Beatrix Potters-Jemima puddle duck and it had always been a family joke that we thought she was a he, Jemima that is not Beatrix! - all very confusing.) Well regarding the duck I guess I was wrong on both counts. She was after all a female duck and I think that the fights may have been other male ducks trying to mate with her. How wrong had I been?
But this morning disaster had struck. I saw 'Jemima' paddling slowly up the river all on her own. During the night I had woken to hear lots of ducks quacking and wings flapping. There was nothing I could do, and besides we often hear ducks or birds or dogs so there was nothing new. I didn't even think of 'Jemima'. But the noise must have been Jemima trying to protect her ducklings from some predator. Maybe a mink or a cat or a heron? Who knows? Those tiny creatures are all gone. How sad that they only got to see life for a couple of short days. I guess they made some tasty snack for some predators family. Poor, poor Jemima.
Maybe when I saw her paddeling back up river Jemima was heading back to her old nest and will try and raise some more ducklings in the weeks to come. Obviously she had picked a good spot to sit on her eggs. At least they had hatched safely. I just hope that if she is successful she will be more careful next time. I think that she stands out more than other ducks and is an easy target for passing duckling eaters. I guess it would be quite easy to spot a white duck at night. But I shall be watching and waiting. Nothing I can do, but to see her with a healthy family would make my Summer.
The day before yesterday I was in the garden - unfortunately not tidying up, but just feeding the fish in the pond. I heard a loud sort of quacking noise and there at the edge of the river was 'Jemima'. Now 'Jemima' is an ordinary white duck who has lived on the river for a number of years, and as we are regular duck feeders we always recognise 'Jemima' because she is white. You can't miss her because as a white duck amongst all the other ordinary Mallard ducks she sticks out as they say 'like a sore thumb'. But there she was - the day before yesterday- at the edge of the river with a brood of four tiny ducklings. All little brown round balls skidding across the water at high speed. Jemima fussed about them and kept them close to her as she ventured nearer to us for a quick piece of bread. Then after a few minutes she was off down the river again with her new family quacking as she went and waiting from time to time for the last ducking to catch up with its brothers and sisters. Now we often see ducklings at this time of year, but to see 'Jemima' with her brood really made me feel good. I had always thought that 'Jemima' had been a drake, and was often seen having rather nasty fights with other ducks that she hung around with. (The name Jemima comes from Beatrix Potters-Jemima puddle duck and it had always been a family joke that we thought she was a he, Jemima that is not Beatrix! - all very confusing.) Well regarding the duck I guess I was wrong on both counts. She was after all a female duck and I think that the fights may have been other male ducks trying to mate with her. How wrong had I been?
But this morning disaster had struck. I saw 'Jemima' paddling slowly up the river all on her own. During the night I had woken to hear lots of ducks quacking and wings flapping. There was nothing I could do, and besides we often hear ducks or birds or dogs so there was nothing new. I didn't even think of 'Jemima'. But the noise must have been Jemima trying to protect her ducklings from some predator. Maybe a mink or a cat or a heron? Who knows? Those tiny creatures are all gone. How sad that they only got to see life for a couple of short days. I guess they made some tasty snack for some predators family. Poor, poor Jemima.
Maybe when I saw her paddeling back up river Jemima was heading back to her old nest and will try and raise some more ducklings in the weeks to come. Obviously she had picked a good spot to sit on her eggs. At least they had hatched safely. I just hope that if she is successful she will be more careful next time. I think that she stands out more than other ducks and is an easy target for passing duckling eaters. I guess it would be quite easy to spot a white duck at night. But I shall be watching and waiting. Nothing I can do, but to see her with a healthy family would make my Summer.
Tuesday 8 May 2007
Roadworks,bra's and bats
We have been all enjoying the past warm weather. The tortoises have been having a whale of a time. They have been eating really well and looking very happy indeed. That is if a tortoise can 'look' happy. I have yet to see them smile, but they seem to be enjoying life anyway. We have found nice homes for them, and most have been sold in pairs. Their new owners are lovely people in fact one owner is a friend of mine. She has always wanted to keep tortoises and now that she is retired has decided to fulfil her dream and keep not one but two. I think they will be better looked after than the other members of her family. When I last talked to her she was worrying about where to place their vivarium in her house. Her sons bedroom or the playroom?
Back on the business front things have been a little strange. Yet again our wonderful Council has allowed some utility company or other to dig up the main road outside the shop. Why do they always choose a Bank holiday? This has caused chaos. We have traffic lights, very loud pneumatic drills and countless incidents of road rage. Of course our customers come into the shop and complain to us that they cannot cross the road, or they had to queue in their cars for ages to get into the town. As if we can do anything about it!
Then on Bank holiday Sunday our burglar alarm went off and would not be silenced. No matter how many times I put in the correct code it still continued with its screaming. I had to call the engineer out which of course will cost me a fortune. Not only that when it was eventually silenced our Parrot started imitating it. He can also imitate the passing ambulance sirens, so all in all Sunday was not a good day. Good job I did not have a hangover as well.
We are all awaiting the birth of some 'Skinny Pigs'. These are hairless guinea pigs. A member of our staff has a few as pets, and her pregnant sow is due any day now. It is all excitement, and as soon as they are born she will bring in pictures of the new arrivals. Skinny Pigs are a new breed of Guinea Pig which as I have said are hairless. Not to every ones taste, but interesting creatures. They have to be kept warm and are being exchanged for quite large amounts of money from all over the world. A bit out of our ordinary Pet Shop league, but interesting all the same.
Our strange request over the weekend was from a customer that asked if we sold bra's for dogs? Now I have heard of coats for dogs, boots for dogs even hats for dogs, but BRA'S? In the end after a lot of questions of a delicate nature I realised that she meant a harness. - Thank goodness for that.
Back at my house - where I live and type this blog - I have been watching a Kingfisher. It flies past my window as I type. I think it must have a nest nearby. I am so lucky to be able to see this bird almost every day. I know he is coming past as he makes a loud screeching sound when he flies. I wouldn't have thought that that was such a good idea as it must let all the other birds and predators know he is about. And you really can't miss him. His vivid colours just flash and sparkle as he zips past. I wounder if he will fly past with his new family soon. I do hope so.
Its just great to watch wildlife, and my cats think so too. Unfortunately one of my cats walked into the house with a bat the other day. Goodness knows how he managed to catch it. Life can be so cruel can't it?
Back on the business front things have been a little strange. Yet again our wonderful Council has allowed some utility company or other to dig up the main road outside the shop. Why do they always choose a Bank holiday? This has caused chaos. We have traffic lights, very loud pneumatic drills and countless incidents of road rage. Of course our customers come into the shop and complain to us that they cannot cross the road, or they had to queue in their cars for ages to get into the town. As if we can do anything about it!
Then on Bank holiday Sunday our burglar alarm went off and would not be silenced. No matter how many times I put in the correct code it still continued with its screaming. I had to call the engineer out which of course will cost me a fortune. Not only that when it was eventually silenced our Parrot started imitating it. He can also imitate the passing ambulance sirens, so all in all Sunday was not a good day. Good job I did not have a hangover as well.
We are all awaiting the birth of some 'Skinny Pigs'. These are hairless guinea pigs. A member of our staff has a few as pets, and her pregnant sow is due any day now. It is all excitement, and as soon as they are born she will bring in pictures of the new arrivals. Skinny Pigs are a new breed of Guinea Pig which as I have said are hairless. Not to every ones taste, but interesting creatures. They have to be kept warm and are being exchanged for quite large amounts of money from all over the world. A bit out of our ordinary Pet Shop league, but interesting all the same.
Our strange request over the weekend was from a customer that asked if we sold bra's for dogs? Now I have heard of coats for dogs, boots for dogs even hats for dogs, but BRA'S? In the end after a lot of questions of a delicate nature I realised that she meant a harness. - Thank goodness for that.
Back at my house - where I live and type this blog - I have been watching a Kingfisher. It flies past my window as I type. I think it must have a nest nearby. I am so lucky to be able to see this bird almost every day. I know he is coming past as he makes a loud screeching sound when he flies. I wouldn't have thought that that was such a good idea as it must let all the other birds and predators know he is about. And you really can't miss him. His vivid colours just flash and sparkle as he zips past. I wounder if he will fly past with his new family soon. I do hope so.
Its just great to watch wildlife, and my cats think so too. Unfortunately one of my cats walked into the house with a bat the other day. Goodness knows how he managed to catch it. Life can be so cruel can't it?
Thursday 26 April 2007
Wow - how time flies.
I just don't know where the time goes to these days. I guess I have just been busy. - What with Easter and all. Although everyone else seems to have a few days off we still keep plodding on. The shop is open all over the Easter period and the animals have to be cared for so the staff are are all working. Never mind though. We were kept busy.
One of our funniest incidents was a man standing beside our bank of fish tanks which were nearly overflowing with hundreds of fish when he turned to one of our assistants and said -'do you sell fish?' Trying to hold back a look of amazement the assistant spread her arms out wide and said 'are these what you are looking for?' His girlfriend then proceeded to tell him in front of the whole shop what a twit he was and how dumb he had looked. Exit a very sheepish man being heavily chastised by his rather loud mouthed girlfriend!
Spring is always a nice time in the shop as young animals and birds are arriving. We have just got some lovely Lionhead rabbits. About 8 weeks old, cute and fluffy. I keep trying to remember to take a photo of them so that I can put a picture of them on my desk at home. Some folks have photos of their families and friends - I have photos of my animals - I guess they are family and friends too. They have come from an accidental breeder. Two of her rabbits had had a bit of a jolly time and a few weeks later she had 5 more rabbits. Her children had really enjoyed all the maternity bit and now because she cannot keep them all she has come to me. These rabbits are idea. They will make great pets. They have been handled by the breeders children and are very tame. We now just have to find some loving families that will care for each one of them and enjoy them as much as their previous owners. I don't think that will be a big problem. We have quite a few customers waiting for such lovely creatures.
Yesterday I arrived back at the shop with 5 tortoises. (I like to collect and look at animals myself before buying them). We have three Hermanns and two Leopard. They are all lovely. Quite small but feeding well. They look at you with their beady eyes and if not too frightened will also look around for an odd piece of cabbage whilst you are holding them aloft. I am sure they are quite intelligent as they seem to get to know humans that are around them quite quickly. Today we will give them a bath and then polish their shells with a little olive oil. Then they will really look smart. They come with all the correct documentation and full feeding, heating and humidity instructions. They are not cheep, but again will make someone who enjoys tortoises really good pets. We will however have a long road ahead before we can sell them as the prospective owners need to be told all about their requirements and how they will need a heated vivarium and UV light etc.
So I guess I had better get to work instead of sitting infront of my computer writing this blog.
Totoises need polishing and fish need counting.
One of our funniest incidents was a man standing beside our bank of fish tanks which were nearly overflowing with hundreds of fish when he turned to one of our assistants and said -'do you sell fish?' Trying to hold back a look of amazement the assistant spread her arms out wide and said 'are these what you are looking for?' His girlfriend then proceeded to tell him in front of the whole shop what a twit he was and how dumb he had looked. Exit a very sheepish man being heavily chastised by his rather loud mouthed girlfriend!
Spring is always a nice time in the shop as young animals and birds are arriving. We have just got some lovely Lionhead rabbits. About 8 weeks old, cute and fluffy. I keep trying to remember to take a photo of them so that I can put a picture of them on my desk at home. Some folks have photos of their families and friends - I have photos of my animals - I guess they are family and friends too. They have come from an accidental breeder. Two of her rabbits had had a bit of a jolly time and a few weeks later she had 5 more rabbits. Her children had really enjoyed all the maternity bit and now because she cannot keep them all she has come to me. These rabbits are idea. They will make great pets. They have been handled by the breeders children and are very tame. We now just have to find some loving families that will care for each one of them and enjoy them as much as their previous owners. I don't think that will be a big problem. We have quite a few customers waiting for such lovely creatures.
Yesterday I arrived back at the shop with 5 tortoises. (I like to collect and look at animals myself before buying them). We have three Hermanns and two Leopard. They are all lovely. Quite small but feeding well. They look at you with their beady eyes and if not too frightened will also look around for an odd piece of cabbage whilst you are holding them aloft. I am sure they are quite intelligent as they seem to get to know humans that are around them quite quickly. Today we will give them a bath and then polish their shells with a little olive oil. Then they will really look smart. They come with all the correct documentation and full feeding, heating and humidity instructions. They are not cheep, but again will make someone who enjoys tortoises really good pets. We will however have a long road ahead before we can sell them as the prospective owners need to be told all about their requirements and how they will need a heated vivarium and UV light etc.
So I guess I had better get to work instead of sitting infront of my computer writing this blog.
Totoises need polishing and fish need counting.
Wednesday 28 March 2007
Mac 1, Tale 2
Mac 1 was resident in the shop for many years. He quickly became part of shop life and a real character to boot. He had a large stand to sit on inside the shop which when the weather was good we put outside. He just loved sitting up and talking to passers by. The more attention he got the more he liked it. He could spot a camera from yards away and would shout until the photographer obliged by taking a snap. He just loved having his photo taken. He would pose like a model. Walking this way and that along his perch and then spreading his wings right out so the photographer could get him at just the right angle. He loved to frighten people by creeping up on them from behind, and after a few near misses we decided to elevate his perch to higher up above the shop door. In that way he was safe the poking fingers of inquisitive customers and passers by were safe from a snapping beak. A round hut was designed complete with thatched roof and a perch that protruded out from its front door and placed just above the main shop entrance. This was Macs daytime home. If the weather was showery he would sit inside and occasionally poke his head out to shout at his regular visitors. If the weather was sunny he would sit outside his front door and preen himself in the warm sunshine, then give a cheery 'hello' to anyone passing by underneath. This would often shock people and their pets especially dogs who would not know what to think. He had regular admirers too, both human and canine whom he knew. And as they often walked past him at the same time of day he would wait for them and give each one of them a different shout. 'Morning', 'Hi'. 'Bye bye' - 'sit boy'! Or what ever he associated the person or dog with.
But best of all Mac liked hats. Hats were great fun to Mac. The bigger the hat the better. He just loved trying to reach them, by hanging upside down from his perch. But because of the height of his house he usually did not succeed. One day was different. The shop is situated on a thoroughfare that leads to our Registry office, and often during the Spring and Summer there are weddings. Of course many people have to walk past the shop in all their finery. Including ladies in very posh hats! Mac, no matter how hard he tried he could not get close enough to 'have a go'. But one day a tall Lady walked under him wearing a hat with a very large feather that was stuck out of the top. Well, I guess you can imagine what happened next. The feather was grabbed, and because it was glued onto the hat the hat came off too and was dragged straight into Macs hut where he proceeded to shred the material and the lining and play with the feather. Cue one very irate lady into the shop to the sound of Mac chuckling to himself while enjoying his catch. After some considerable time I calmed the lady down and agreed to replace the hat. Nearly in tears she walked out of the shop only to see Mac sitting at the end of his perch with bits of material from the hat wrapped around him and a large feather in his claw. To make matters worse he was laughing at the top of his voice and posing because just at that moment someone had decided to take a picture.
But best of all Mac liked hats. Hats were great fun to Mac. The bigger the hat the better. He just loved trying to reach them, by hanging upside down from his perch. But because of the height of his house he usually did not succeed. One day was different. The shop is situated on a thoroughfare that leads to our Registry office, and often during the Spring and Summer there are weddings. Of course many people have to walk past the shop in all their finery. Including ladies in very posh hats! Mac, no matter how hard he tried he could not get close enough to 'have a go'. But one day a tall Lady walked under him wearing a hat with a very large feather that was stuck out of the top. Well, I guess you can imagine what happened next. The feather was grabbed, and because it was glued onto the hat the hat came off too and was dragged straight into Macs hut where he proceeded to shred the material and the lining and play with the feather. Cue one very irate lady into the shop to the sound of Mac chuckling to himself while enjoying his catch. After some considerable time I calmed the lady down and agreed to replace the hat. Nearly in tears she walked out of the shop only to see Mac sitting at the end of his perch with bits of material from the hat wrapped around him and a large feather in his claw. To make matters worse he was laughing at the top of his voice and posing because just at that moment someone had decided to take a picture.
Thursday 22 March 2007
Mac 1, Tale 1
I wonder how many of our older customers remember 'Mac' the Macaw?
We did in fact have 2 macaws - one after the other. Mac 1 arrived when I was about 13 years old. He was taken in part exchange by my Father who was owed some money for some pet food. I still have the memory today of the phone call I received from my Dad saying that I was to 'come down to the shop and see what was waiting for me'. I rushed to my bike and peddled as fast as I could down to the shop.
I arrived out of breath from my journey and when I walked into the shop my heart almost stopped as well. There sitting above me on a large parrot stand was 'Mac'. He took one look at me with his black beady eye, raised his large foot in a sort of salute, bent over and in a very loud voice said 'Helllooo!'. Well from that moment on I was in love. Forget boys. That parrot was far better. He was well mannered, well dressed, always attentive, a bit cheeky and even my parents liked him! He was just about the most beautiful bird I had ever seen. A huge beast over a meter long. With a massive tail that trailed behind him like some regal train. Feathers that were yellow, black and blue. So blue that when the sun shone through them the colour was indescribable. Then there was his face. He had a large black beak that could crack a Brazil nut and pure white wrinkled skin around his eyes. This pale white skin had minute black feathers in rows where in a human his cheekbones would have been. The pupils of his eyes were jet black and around the outside of both of his eyes he had a complete ring of even smaller black feathers like some exotic eyeliner.
I knew that he was rather taken with me too, as whenever I told him that he was beautiful he would blush. All the white skin around his cheeks would flush bright pink and he would put his head on my shoulder and make strange clicking noises.
After not too much persuasion my Father agreed to keep Mac as a shop mascot.
Although Mac lived at the shop he often came home with my Father for lunch or in the days before we opened on Sundays he spent Sundays with us at home. He loved travelling in the car and would often give other drivers a shock when he sat on the back of the passenger seat shouting 'hello' or 'wahoo!!' One of his favorite pastimes was mucking about in the garden on warm summer days. He loved to waddle about when my parents were gardening, helping or rather just plain getting in the way. He would carry garden gloves and drop them in some inaccessible place, or move a trowel that had just been put down,to somewhere that you wouldn't think to look, or even decide that the handle of a garden fork would make a tasty snack and shred it into thin wooden slivers. As he was very tame he would from time to time decide to have a bit of a fly around. Usually that was alright, because just like our dog he would come back when called. But on one occasion he decided to take a bit of a longer flight than we expected. When I looked up there he was some distance up in the air. I still wasn't too worried. I called out his name, he gave me a quick look and flew on.
At that time we lived beside some open fields and I thought as long as I could see him then all would be well, - he flew on. Like some documentary on the Amazon rain forest he looked magnificent in full flight. All blue, gold and tail feathers. Then a crowd of crows spotted him. They circled round and round him like some second world war fighter planes, screeching and swearing. Mac ducked and dived and tried to shout back, but the crows with the advantage of numbers had him reeling. With his wings rammed close to his body Mac decided to admit defeat and head for terra firma. Poor bird he crash landed with quite a bump in the long grass. The crows on the other hand headed off together shouting and 'caw cawing' as though they had just won the Battle of Britain. I set off at a run trying to locate the 'downed' Mac. I shouted out his name and before long I heard mutterings coming from the ground a short distance away. He was chuntering to himself as he tried to raise himself up high enough to see exactly where he was. Macaws may look magnificent in full flight, but when they are very cross in a hay field they can look somewhat sorry for themselves. As soon as he saw me he grabbed hold of my trousers and then climbed up onto my shoulder. He shook the bits of chaff out of his feathers, gently held onto my earlobe with his beak so that he wouldn't fall off. And he and I walked quickly back to the house. In the garden my parents and I gave him a swift inspection to check that he was unhurt.- Luckily he got away with only a bruised ego -. After which he proceeded to find the highest branch that he could sit on. A stout one that was a good distance from any lurking crow and safe enough to be within a short hop to the security of the house. Then he started to shout and screech as loud as he possibly could at whatever bird of any shape or size that come close. Not content with that he raced up and down the branch, back and forth, slapping his feet on the dry bark, flapping his wings and spreading his huge tail while making cracking noises with his beak. He continued with his display until quite exhausted. Then evening fell and I had to climb the tree, pick him off his perch and take him back to his cage at the shop.
From that day until about a about a month afterwards all the garden birds that fed from my Mothers bird table disappeared. Slowly however one by one they made their way back to feast on the seeds that she left out for them. But I am sure that for weeks afterwards when they landed on the bird table you could see their little heads glancing over their shoulders as if they heard a noise. Just in case there was a large blue and gold bird shouting at them. I have often wondered if bird dream? Or do they have nightmares? The birds in our garden would have no doubt have had dreams of predators such as cats, foxes, magpies or sparrow hawks. But the most frightening of all must surely have been some mythical winged creature with a huge scary beak and the loudest of squawks, the strangest of dances, the brightest of colours, and a really really long tail.
We did in fact have 2 macaws - one after the other. Mac 1 arrived when I was about 13 years old. He was taken in part exchange by my Father who was owed some money for some pet food. I still have the memory today of the phone call I received from my Dad saying that I was to 'come down to the shop and see what was waiting for me'. I rushed to my bike and peddled as fast as I could down to the shop.
I arrived out of breath from my journey and when I walked into the shop my heart almost stopped as well. There sitting above me on a large parrot stand was 'Mac'. He took one look at me with his black beady eye, raised his large foot in a sort of salute, bent over and in a very loud voice said 'Helllooo!'. Well from that moment on I was in love. Forget boys. That parrot was far better. He was well mannered, well dressed, always attentive, a bit cheeky and even my parents liked him! He was just about the most beautiful bird I had ever seen. A huge beast over a meter long. With a massive tail that trailed behind him like some regal train. Feathers that were yellow, black and blue. So blue that when the sun shone through them the colour was indescribable. Then there was his face. He had a large black beak that could crack a Brazil nut and pure white wrinkled skin around his eyes. This pale white skin had minute black feathers in rows where in a human his cheekbones would have been. The pupils of his eyes were jet black and around the outside of both of his eyes he had a complete ring of even smaller black feathers like some exotic eyeliner.
I knew that he was rather taken with me too, as whenever I told him that he was beautiful he would blush. All the white skin around his cheeks would flush bright pink and he would put his head on my shoulder and make strange clicking noises.
After not too much persuasion my Father agreed to keep Mac as a shop mascot.
Although Mac lived at the shop he often came home with my Father for lunch or in the days before we opened on Sundays he spent Sundays with us at home. He loved travelling in the car and would often give other drivers a shock when he sat on the back of the passenger seat shouting 'hello' or 'wahoo!!' One of his favorite pastimes was mucking about in the garden on warm summer days. He loved to waddle about when my parents were gardening, helping or rather just plain getting in the way. He would carry garden gloves and drop them in some inaccessible place, or move a trowel that had just been put down,to somewhere that you wouldn't think to look, or even decide that the handle of a garden fork would make a tasty snack and shred it into thin wooden slivers. As he was very tame he would from time to time decide to have a bit of a fly around. Usually that was alright, because just like our dog he would come back when called. But on one occasion he decided to take a bit of a longer flight than we expected. When I looked up there he was some distance up in the air. I still wasn't too worried. I called out his name, he gave me a quick look and flew on.
At that time we lived beside some open fields and I thought as long as I could see him then all would be well, - he flew on. Like some documentary on the Amazon rain forest he looked magnificent in full flight. All blue, gold and tail feathers. Then a crowd of crows spotted him. They circled round and round him like some second world war fighter planes, screeching and swearing. Mac ducked and dived and tried to shout back, but the crows with the advantage of numbers had him reeling. With his wings rammed close to his body Mac decided to admit defeat and head for terra firma. Poor bird he crash landed with quite a bump in the long grass. The crows on the other hand headed off together shouting and 'caw cawing' as though they had just won the Battle of Britain. I set off at a run trying to locate the 'downed' Mac. I shouted out his name and before long I heard mutterings coming from the ground a short distance away. He was chuntering to himself as he tried to raise himself up high enough to see exactly where he was. Macaws may look magnificent in full flight, but when they are very cross in a hay field they can look somewhat sorry for themselves. As soon as he saw me he grabbed hold of my trousers and then climbed up onto my shoulder. He shook the bits of chaff out of his feathers, gently held onto my earlobe with his beak so that he wouldn't fall off. And he and I walked quickly back to the house. In the garden my parents and I gave him a swift inspection to check that he was unhurt.- Luckily he got away with only a bruised ego -. After which he proceeded to find the highest branch that he could sit on. A stout one that was a good distance from any lurking crow and safe enough to be within a short hop to the security of the house. Then he started to shout and screech as loud as he possibly could at whatever bird of any shape or size that come close. Not content with that he raced up and down the branch, back and forth, slapping his feet on the dry bark, flapping his wings and spreading his huge tail while making cracking noises with his beak. He continued with his display until quite exhausted. Then evening fell and I had to climb the tree, pick him off his perch and take him back to his cage at the shop.
From that day until about a about a month afterwards all the garden birds that fed from my Mothers bird table disappeared. Slowly however one by one they made their way back to feast on the seeds that she left out for them. But I am sure that for weeks afterwards when they landed on the bird table you could see their little heads glancing over their shoulders as if they heard a noise. Just in case there was a large blue and gold bird shouting at them. I have often wondered if bird dream? Or do they have nightmares? The birds in our garden would have no doubt have had dreams of predators such as cats, foxes, magpies or sparrow hawks. But the most frightening of all must surely have been some mythical winged creature with a huge scary beak and the loudest of squawks, the strangest of dances, the brightest of colours, and a really really long tail.
Monday 19 March 2007
The shop itself.
Looking back at my 'blog' I suddenly realised that although I had talked about animals I had omitted to say very much about my shop as it stands today.
I certainly wouldn't call my shop large. It is not situated in some big 'out of town' shed, rather a medium sized shop sitting on a main street in a quiet town. The shop itself has just recently been refurbished. I sell lots of pet foods and accessories, everything from poop scoops to vivariums, fish nets to diamante collars, bags of pet foods, birds seeds, cat flaps, dog beds, rabbit hutches, amazing hamster cages with wheels, tunnels, and twiddly bits. You name it, if its got anything to do with pets I stock it, or if not I can try and get it for you.
My fish selection is not huge, but there is as good variety of tanks and most things aquatic. And then at the rear of the shop there are some animal units with a selection of small animals and birds and a few reptiles. I deliberately do not stock a large amount of pets because I like to keep my eye on each one of them and to know where each animal comes from and who it goes to. My suppliers are generally a few local breeders who I have known for years and who really care about the animals that they breed. I also take in some animals that may need homes because their owners can't look after them for one reason or another. Provided these animals are fit, healthy and would make good pets I try and re home them. Then there are the 'accidents'. A human family may have two rabbits who have got together for a little 'rest and relaxation' and bingo suddenly there are now 8 rabbits. Usually the children in the human family are very happy indeed and enjoy the experience of the new babies, but eventually Mum or Dad realise that they can't cope with a large number of hutches and all the feeding and cleaning out. So they come to me and as long as the Pets are healthy I take them in.
I am very strict when it comes to pet ownership and have often refused to sell an animal if it does not look as though it is going to be cared for correctly. Sometimes that does not make me very popular. But on the whole most of the Pets that I sell are loved and well cared for. I have records of where they all come from and where they are going to. This is a condition of my Pet Licence. As well as this all my staff are qualified in Pet care and because they are all animal lover they too would not let a Pet go to a home that they did not think was satisfactory.
I do not stock puppies because we do not have the space or facilities for them. I do however have a great many customers who visit us with their puppies. Working in a Pet shop you see lots of young animals, but my heart simply melts when an adorable bundle comes bounding through the front door. Fat, thin, long coated or bald, - I love them all.
Well that's my shop - just an ordinary Pet Shop. Working in it won't make me a millionaire, in fact after paying business rates, taxes, wages etc. it doesn't make much money at all, but it is what I do best and what I enjoy.
I certainly wouldn't call my shop large. It is not situated in some big 'out of town' shed, rather a medium sized shop sitting on a main street in a quiet town. The shop itself has just recently been refurbished. I sell lots of pet foods and accessories, everything from poop scoops to vivariums, fish nets to diamante collars, bags of pet foods, birds seeds, cat flaps, dog beds, rabbit hutches, amazing hamster cages with wheels, tunnels, and twiddly bits. You name it, if its got anything to do with pets I stock it, or if not I can try and get it for you.
My fish selection is not huge, but there is as good variety of tanks and most things aquatic. And then at the rear of the shop there are some animal units with a selection of small animals and birds and a few reptiles. I deliberately do not stock a large amount of pets because I like to keep my eye on each one of them and to know where each animal comes from and who it goes to. My suppliers are generally a few local breeders who I have known for years and who really care about the animals that they breed. I also take in some animals that may need homes because their owners can't look after them for one reason or another. Provided these animals are fit, healthy and would make good pets I try and re home them. Then there are the 'accidents'. A human family may have two rabbits who have got together for a little 'rest and relaxation' and bingo suddenly there are now 8 rabbits. Usually the children in the human family are very happy indeed and enjoy the experience of the new babies, but eventually Mum or Dad realise that they can't cope with a large number of hutches and all the feeding and cleaning out. So they come to me and as long as the Pets are healthy I take them in.
I am very strict when it comes to pet ownership and have often refused to sell an animal if it does not look as though it is going to be cared for correctly. Sometimes that does not make me very popular. But on the whole most of the Pets that I sell are loved and well cared for. I have records of where they all come from and where they are going to. This is a condition of my Pet Licence. As well as this all my staff are qualified in Pet care and because they are all animal lover they too would not let a Pet go to a home that they did not think was satisfactory.
I do not stock puppies because we do not have the space or facilities for them. I do however have a great many customers who visit us with their puppies. Working in a Pet shop you see lots of young animals, but my heart simply melts when an adorable bundle comes bounding through the front door. Fat, thin, long coated or bald, - I love them all.
Well that's my shop - just an ordinary Pet Shop. Working in it won't make me a millionaire, in fact after paying business rates, taxes, wages etc. it doesn't make much money at all, but it is what I do best and what I enjoy.
Friday 16 March 2007
Pets and holidays
Although we look after small animals and birds when their owners go on holiday we do not look after dogs or cats. So like lots of animal owners I have to get the pets that I keep at home cared for. A number of years ago my family and I decided to go on holiday to Egypt. One of the main reasons being was that our young sons were very interested in the country and its history. So having agreed with my parents that they would keep an eye on the shop for me and pop over to my house twice daily to feed, water and generally pamper my 'At Home' pets we set off for an interesting holiday.
Just before we left my faithful old moggie decided that he wasn't too well. I took him to the Vet and the Vet said that there wasn't much that he could do as the cat was just suffering from old age. Now my cats always get a bit twitchy when the suitcases come out of the cupboard so I thought that this coupled with the fact the cat was old was the reason for his lethargy. I gave my Mother instructions about looking after him and with a bit of a niggling worry about the cat we set off. I needn't have worried because we phoned up every few days and my Mother reported that the cat had seemed to have recovered a little and was eating well and enjoying the Spring sunshine. Our holiday continued. We learnt a lot about Egypt and my two sons who were about 8 and 10 at the time really seemed to enjoy all the museums and ancient sights. They couldn't wait to get back to school to tell their friends and teachers about what the had seen. What they found very interesting however was all the information about the Egyptian mummies and how their bodies were preserved. Being two rather ordinary boys the more gruesome the explanations were, the better. Organs in jars, blood drained from the body, brains taken out via the nose. LOVELY!
After two weeks we returned home - boys full of interesting tales to tell about tombs and scary mummies, husband happy after recovering from a bout of 'Gippy' tummy and me just content to return and see our faithful old cat sitting on the doormat in the sunshine looking a bit like a leaky old man, but still well enough to give us a quick greeting and then get under our feet as we unloaded our cases.
The following morning was a different matter. My husband had to be at work early so got up before the rest of us. When he opened the front door to bring in the milk there was our faithful old cat dead on the doorstep. It was as though he had waited for us to come safely back home. We were all heartbroken. Especially me who had wondered where the cat was during the night as he usually came in through our cat flap and slept at the end of our bed.
Before leaving for work my husband scooped up the poor dead cat and placed him -still curled up- on a bench in the garage. The intention being to bury him later on that evening. My sons however had a different idea. Later in the day I found them collecting jars and bandages and trying to find a sharp knife. When I asked what they were up to I was informed that the Egyptians mummified their dead friends and family and their honoured animals and that was what they were going to do to our poor cat. They said that they would find the whole process very difficult, but thought that this would help the cat on its way to heaven! Unfortunately for them I had to halt the process and suggest that we bury the cat at the bottom of the garden with our other dead family pets. Explaining that maybe we could hold a little service of our own which only involved the digging of a hole and a few prayers. They reluctantly agreed and that evening we said goodbye to our pet.
But it wasn't too long until the boys got hold of a Norse story that involved the body of a dead Viking being set alight and then floated down a river. As we live on the banks of a river it was goodbye to Gunther the Gerbil after his long and fruitful life (he fathered about 50 offspring). An empty tissue box was found and Gunther was given full funeral rites and floated off down river. I did halt the proceedings when the boys tried to pour lighter fluid over him and set it all alight. There had also been talk of rockets and cremated remains, but fortunately the boys attentions turned to other pastimes and their interests wained.
Just before we left my faithful old moggie decided that he wasn't too well. I took him to the Vet and the Vet said that there wasn't much that he could do as the cat was just suffering from old age. Now my cats always get a bit twitchy when the suitcases come out of the cupboard so I thought that this coupled with the fact the cat was old was the reason for his lethargy. I gave my Mother instructions about looking after him and with a bit of a niggling worry about the cat we set off. I needn't have worried because we phoned up every few days and my Mother reported that the cat had seemed to have recovered a little and was eating well and enjoying the Spring sunshine. Our holiday continued. We learnt a lot about Egypt and my two sons who were about 8 and 10 at the time really seemed to enjoy all the museums and ancient sights. They couldn't wait to get back to school to tell their friends and teachers about what the had seen. What they found very interesting however was all the information about the Egyptian mummies and how their bodies were preserved. Being two rather ordinary boys the more gruesome the explanations were, the better. Organs in jars, blood drained from the body, brains taken out via the nose. LOVELY!
After two weeks we returned home - boys full of interesting tales to tell about tombs and scary mummies, husband happy after recovering from a bout of 'Gippy' tummy and me just content to return and see our faithful old cat sitting on the doormat in the sunshine looking a bit like a leaky old man, but still well enough to give us a quick greeting and then get under our feet as we unloaded our cases.
The following morning was a different matter. My husband had to be at work early so got up before the rest of us. When he opened the front door to bring in the milk there was our faithful old cat dead on the doorstep. It was as though he had waited for us to come safely back home. We were all heartbroken. Especially me who had wondered where the cat was during the night as he usually came in through our cat flap and slept at the end of our bed.
Before leaving for work my husband scooped up the poor dead cat and placed him -still curled up- on a bench in the garage. The intention being to bury him later on that evening. My sons however had a different idea. Later in the day I found them collecting jars and bandages and trying to find a sharp knife. When I asked what they were up to I was informed that the Egyptians mummified their dead friends and family and their honoured animals and that was what they were going to do to our poor cat. They said that they would find the whole process very difficult, but thought that this would help the cat on its way to heaven! Unfortunately for them I had to halt the process and suggest that we bury the cat at the bottom of the garden with our other dead family pets. Explaining that maybe we could hold a little service of our own which only involved the digging of a hole and a few prayers. They reluctantly agreed and that evening we said goodbye to our pet.
But it wasn't too long until the boys got hold of a Norse story that involved the body of a dead Viking being set alight and then floated down a river. As we live on the banks of a river it was goodbye to Gunther the Gerbil after his long and fruitful life (he fathered about 50 offspring). An empty tissue box was found and Gunther was given full funeral rites and floated off down river. I did halt the proceedings when the boys tried to pour lighter fluid over him and set it all alight. There had also been talk of rockets and cremated remains, but fortunately the boys attentions turned to other pastimes and their interests wained.
Thursday 15 March 2007
A week away
Back to work today. Have been on holiday in Spain for a week. A lovely relaxing break but I am always taking note of pets or animals around me. Lots of people keep dogs as pets in Spain and from what I can tell many of our four legged friends seem to enjoy life in the sunshine. It must be great to be a dog in the great outdoors. Living a life in warm sunshine, yapping at distant canine pals sitting on various rooftops around you and lazily chasing the odd scowling cat. Although I guess they both can have it tough when the weather gets too hot. Now I know that the Spanish have a bad reputation when it comes to animal keeping, and I guess things can always be improved, but they are getting there. There seems to be lots of Pet shops and Grooming parlours springing up and that can't be a bad thing. Most of the dogs seem well looked after and better behaved than ours although I do think that the Spanish need to learn how to use poop scoops. Cats on the other hand often look rather down at heel and in need of some T.L.C. There seems to be a big push to get cats neutered and that can only help.
The Spanish do love their cage birds and often when walking through a town or village you can spot cages with singing birds placed on balconies. The sound of their songs echoes down narrow streets as it must have done hundreds of years ago. Then there are the monk parakeets that fly free in lots of urban areas. A flash of green and then six or ten birds do some acrobatic maneuvers over your head whilst chattering like squealing school children. They live in the date palms and pinch other fruit from trees when they can. I think at one time they were captive birds, and now live and breed freely in the Spanish sun.
But the big the highlight of my holiday was seeing an Eagle, and then on the same day a beautiful Kingfisher. Two amazing birds on the same day. Not bad when all we had done was go out for a quick walk. A guess you see things when you least expect them.
Anyway back to the shop today and lots and lots of paperwork. I didn't really get much time to inspect the livestock, but everything seems to be in order. Our Parrot seemed very pleased to see me and came up to me and said a very cheeky 'Hello', and 'What ya doing?' I think he thinks I shouldn't have been away. I kept in touch with the day to day happenings by phone, so no real suprises. So onwards with my paperwork and then maybe tomorrow I can get back to the animals which I much prefere.
The Spanish do love their cage birds and often when walking through a town or village you can spot cages with singing birds placed on balconies. The sound of their songs echoes down narrow streets as it must have done hundreds of years ago. Then there are the monk parakeets that fly free in lots of urban areas. A flash of green and then six or ten birds do some acrobatic maneuvers over your head whilst chattering like squealing school children. They live in the date palms and pinch other fruit from trees when they can. I think at one time they were captive birds, and now live and breed freely in the Spanish sun.
But the big the highlight of my holiday was seeing an Eagle, and then on the same day a beautiful Kingfisher. Two amazing birds on the same day. Not bad when all we had done was go out for a quick walk. A guess you see things when you least expect them.
Anyway back to the shop today and lots and lots of paperwork. I didn't really get much time to inspect the livestock, but everything seems to be in order. Our Parrot seemed very pleased to see me and came up to me and said a very cheeky 'Hello', and 'What ya doing?' I think he thinks I shouldn't have been away. I kept in touch with the day to day happenings by phone, so no real suprises. So onwards with my paperwork and then maybe tomorrow I can get back to the animals which I much prefere.
Monday 5 March 2007
Job Vacancies
Nearly every day a young boy or girl comes into the shop and asks expectantly if we have any vacancies. Working in a pet shop is generally an animal lovers dream, but it sometimes does not live up to its expectations. You really have to be dedicated when wanting to work with any type of animal. After a week or so of constantly cleaning out animal cages, and hutches and runs and scrubbing and disinfecting most surfaces some animal lovers become quite disillusioned. It is OK to own a hamster and clean it out once a week and play with it most evenings, but to have to start on a Monday morning and clean and wash the cages of about 20 hamsters and maybe the same amount of guinea pigs and rabbits not to mention moving and feeding the odd snake, spider etc. can quickly become a nightmare instead of a dream. And it has to be done every day of the week too!
But of the ones that still enjoy it after a month or so then we know that we generally have a true animal lover on our 'hands'.
Being the 'Boss' means that I have to be in constant touch with the shop. We only close our doors on Christmas day, Boxing day and New years day. But even so the animals have to be checked and fed and cleaned. That means that I visit at least once on each of those days. Mind you it does have its advantages as it gets me out of the washing up at home. Holiday times can be a bit difficult too. Mobile phones are a Godsend. I have been know to break off my holiday and fly home. Luckily I have a very understanding husband who realises that animals are very important to me.
Even when the shop is closed at night I can be called out. I get woken up at all times . Generally at about 3 a.m. when it is cold and raining. People walking past the shop may notice that we have a hamster on the loose, or a Patrolling policeman has let me know that one of our parrots has got out of his cage and is trying to open every bag of bird food that he can find. Or maybe our burglar alarm is ringing. Of course we have had our fair share of burglaries. and even a fight right outside the front door. This involved a man having his head smashed against the door and damaging the toughened glass. This set off all sorts of alarms and bleeding profusely he staggered off down the road. We could even trace his tracks by the trail of blood that he left behind. But he was never caught. It's a shame really as our town has C.C.T.V. which recorded the whole incident and his bloody trail went right past the Police station. So I was the one left to sort out the damage, replace my shop door and have my insurance premium increased yet again.
But of the ones that still enjoy it after a month or so then we know that we generally have a true animal lover on our 'hands'.
Being the 'Boss' means that I have to be in constant touch with the shop. We only close our doors on Christmas day, Boxing day and New years day. But even so the animals have to be checked and fed and cleaned. That means that I visit at least once on each of those days. Mind you it does have its advantages as it gets me out of the washing up at home. Holiday times can be a bit difficult too. Mobile phones are a Godsend. I have been know to break off my holiday and fly home. Luckily I have a very understanding husband who realises that animals are very important to me.
Even when the shop is closed at night I can be called out. I get woken up at all times . Generally at about 3 a.m. when it is cold and raining. People walking past the shop may notice that we have a hamster on the loose, or a Patrolling policeman has let me know that one of our parrots has got out of his cage and is trying to open every bag of bird food that he can find. Or maybe our burglar alarm is ringing. Of course we have had our fair share of burglaries. and even a fight right outside the front door. This involved a man having his head smashed against the door and damaging the toughened glass. This set off all sorts of alarms and bleeding profusely he staggered off down the road. We could even trace his tracks by the trail of blood that he left behind. But he was never caught. It's a shame really as our town has C.C.T.V. which recorded the whole incident and his bloody trail went right past the Police station. So I was the one left to sort out the damage, replace my shop door and have my insurance premium increased yet again.
Friday 2 March 2007
Invisible Fish
Over the years we have sold all kinds of freshwater fish, both tropical and coldwater fish. The customers have varied from the owner of a restaurant who wanted a large tropical fish display to amuse his diners, to the many parents buying just a solitary goldfish to put in a bowl for their children, but only once did we sell invisible fish.
Our freshwater fish, which we have in the spring and summer months only, used to be kept in large ponds outside the back of the shop beside our aviary. Our tropical and other coldwater fish on the other hand, were stocked and sold all year round, and are still kept in a large display of tanks.
We stock and sell a variety of tropical fish, and from time to time some of the tanks are empty as we await the delivery of a new batch of fish. Once a tropical fish tank has been set up with the correct equipment, it is a fairly easy task, and not too time consuming, to keep the environment stable for the fish. As such, they are ideal pets for busy people, or for those who are often away from home yet like to keep a pet. Until we sold the invisible fish though, we didn’t know about the other characteristic of people who are interested in fish.
Tropical fish are very beautiful creatures, coming in numerous shapes and sizes, and in a dazzling array of colours. Many people keep tropical fish because they look so colourful, and others because they find the peaceful motion of fish swimming seemingly at random around their tank to be restful and therapeutic. Some of the fish are transparent, and you have to look for their heads and fins before you can make out their see through bodies glistening in the water, which is probably what gave us the idea for the invisible fish.
Sadly, I can’t remember whose idea it was, but one day when we had one of our tanks empty, awaiting a delivery of tropical fish, one of the staff suggested that we put a sign up on the outside of the tank saying that we had invisible fish for sale. As you can imagine, we all had a good laugh about the idea. It seemed such an amusing thing to do though, that we decided to go ahead, believing that our customers would share in the joke. Little did we realise how the customers would react!
We duly set about making a sign, and a few minutes later a notice appeared just above the empty tank that read “Just in – INVISIBLE FISH – only £1 each”.
It was a busy day, and when someone came in to look at our fish we’d quite forgotten about the sign that we’d put up. After looking at our tropical fish tanks for some time, a young man came over to the counter to enquire about the invisible fish. He wanted to know whether or not they were easy to keep, what they needed to be fed, and whether or not they could be kept in the same tank as other fish. Imagine how difficult it was to keep a straight face when trying to answer his questions. Almost choking with suppressed laughter we carefully explained how they were quite easy to keep, and didn’t need much food at all. In fact, they hardly needed any because their bodies were invisible. However, they did need to be kept in a separate tank as they did not get on well with other fish, as the other fish became unsettled in their presence. Thanking us kindly, he said that he’d think about it and come back later if he decided to buy some.
No sooner had he left the shop than we collapsed in uncontrollable laughter, and with tears running down our cheeks we related to each other the questions that he had, in all seriousness, asked, and our replies. After some time we managed to control ourselves, and eagerly awaited the next customer who would come in and enquire about the invisible fish.
Sure enough, it wasn’t too long before someone came in, and after glancing at the fish tanks, came over and asked us if he could have a look at the invisible fish. Someone took him over to the tank to show him, whilst the rest of us had to hide in the back of the shop as we just couldn’t stop laughing about the idea that someone had asked to see the fish. The person showing him the fish had to beat a hasty retreat before she burst out laughing, and left the poor customer peering into the tank with great concentration. At long last, one of us managed to control ourselves enough to go out and face the customer, but he wasn’t very interested in the fish as he couldn’t see them. “Of course, that’s the interesting thing about these fish”, we explained, “You can’t see them.”
Amazingly, everyone who came into the shop and looked at the fish took the whole thing seriously, nobody realised that it was just a joke. And then, the inevitable happened, and one of our customers actually wanted to buy some of our invisible fish. We just had to play along to see what they’d do in terms of choosing their fish.
“How many fish would you like sir?” I asked, barley able to suppress my laughter.
“Just two please,” he said, in all seriousness.
“Which two would you like?” I asked, pointing at the empty tank, and taking a small net to catch the two that he chose.
“I can’t seem to see them very well,” he said, “Could you choose them for me?”
“Certainly,” I replied in all seriousness, and put the net into the water and pretended to try and catch a fish.
I brought the net out of the tank very carefully, making sure that the end of the net moved as I flicked my wrist, and carefully lowered the empty net into a waiting plastic bag filled with water from the tank. I moved the net around in the bag so as to ensure that the fish had moved out of the net, and then carefully put the net back into the tank to catch another fish.
“Would you like this one?” I asked as I moved the net around the tank.
“No,” he replied, to my total amazement, “I’ll have that one over there.”
At that moment I lost control and started to feign a coughing fit to disguise the hysterical laughter that I was collapsing into.
“Are you alright?” the customer asked me with great concern.
“Yes thank you,” I finally managed to reply as I wiped the tears from my eyes and started looking for the fish that he had chosen.
“Was it this one?” I asked him, chasing a non-existent fish around the tank with a net.
“Yes,” he said eagerly, pointing just in front of the net, “that was the one.”
I quickly whipped the net out of the tank and placed it in the plastic bag again depositing yet another 'invisible fish' with its 'invisible' mate before I had another fit of hysterics, and turned quickly away towards the till. As I got there I gave the bag to one of our staff and said “Tell him that as he’s the first person who’s bought these fish he can have them for free”, just before I descended into another prolonged bought of coughing.
Our customer looked incredibly pleased with his free gift, and walked proudly out of the shop bearing a plastic bag full of water. We hadn’t the heart to tell him that the fish didn’t exist, and wondered what his family would say when he tried to convince them of the beauty of his latest aquatic acquisition.
We couldn’t bear the idea of going through another sale as by this time all the staff were breaking out into open uncontrolled laughter every time the fish were mentioned. But before we could remove the sign from the tank, a middle-aged woman had looked into it and was asking about them.
“I’m sorry,” I spluttered between coughs and chokes, “We’ve just sold the last one. As you can see, they’ve all gone!”
“That’s a pity,” she responded. “Could you let me know when some more come in?”
“Yes,” I said, if we ever manage to get any more I’ll let you know. But they’re very rare”
With that, she left the shop, and we hurriedly removed the sign from the tank. But the man who took away the two invisible fish never came back, and for all we know he may still be proudly saying to everyone who visits his home, “Would you like to look at my invisible fish?”
Our freshwater fish, which we have in the spring and summer months only, used to be kept in large ponds outside the back of the shop beside our aviary. Our tropical and other coldwater fish on the other hand, were stocked and sold all year round, and are still kept in a large display of tanks.
We stock and sell a variety of tropical fish, and from time to time some of the tanks are empty as we await the delivery of a new batch of fish. Once a tropical fish tank has been set up with the correct equipment, it is a fairly easy task, and not too time consuming, to keep the environment stable for the fish. As such, they are ideal pets for busy people, or for those who are often away from home yet like to keep a pet. Until we sold the invisible fish though, we didn’t know about the other characteristic of people who are interested in fish.
Tropical fish are very beautiful creatures, coming in numerous shapes and sizes, and in a dazzling array of colours. Many people keep tropical fish because they look so colourful, and others because they find the peaceful motion of fish swimming seemingly at random around their tank to be restful and therapeutic. Some of the fish are transparent, and you have to look for their heads and fins before you can make out their see through bodies glistening in the water, which is probably what gave us the idea for the invisible fish.
Sadly, I can’t remember whose idea it was, but one day when we had one of our tanks empty, awaiting a delivery of tropical fish, one of the staff suggested that we put a sign up on the outside of the tank saying that we had invisible fish for sale. As you can imagine, we all had a good laugh about the idea. It seemed such an amusing thing to do though, that we decided to go ahead, believing that our customers would share in the joke. Little did we realise how the customers would react!
We duly set about making a sign, and a few minutes later a notice appeared just above the empty tank that read “Just in – INVISIBLE FISH – only £1 each”.
It was a busy day, and when someone came in to look at our fish we’d quite forgotten about the sign that we’d put up. After looking at our tropical fish tanks for some time, a young man came over to the counter to enquire about the invisible fish. He wanted to know whether or not they were easy to keep, what they needed to be fed, and whether or not they could be kept in the same tank as other fish. Imagine how difficult it was to keep a straight face when trying to answer his questions. Almost choking with suppressed laughter we carefully explained how they were quite easy to keep, and didn’t need much food at all. In fact, they hardly needed any because their bodies were invisible. However, they did need to be kept in a separate tank as they did not get on well with other fish, as the other fish became unsettled in their presence. Thanking us kindly, he said that he’d think about it and come back later if he decided to buy some.
No sooner had he left the shop than we collapsed in uncontrollable laughter, and with tears running down our cheeks we related to each other the questions that he had, in all seriousness, asked, and our replies. After some time we managed to control ourselves, and eagerly awaited the next customer who would come in and enquire about the invisible fish.
Sure enough, it wasn’t too long before someone came in, and after glancing at the fish tanks, came over and asked us if he could have a look at the invisible fish. Someone took him over to the tank to show him, whilst the rest of us had to hide in the back of the shop as we just couldn’t stop laughing about the idea that someone had asked to see the fish. The person showing him the fish had to beat a hasty retreat before she burst out laughing, and left the poor customer peering into the tank with great concentration. At long last, one of us managed to control ourselves enough to go out and face the customer, but he wasn’t very interested in the fish as he couldn’t see them. “Of course, that’s the interesting thing about these fish”, we explained, “You can’t see them.”
Amazingly, everyone who came into the shop and looked at the fish took the whole thing seriously, nobody realised that it was just a joke. And then, the inevitable happened, and one of our customers actually wanted to buy some of our invisible fish. We just had to play along to see what they’d do in terms of choosing their fish.
“How many fish would you like sir?” I asked, barley able to suppress my laughter.
“Just two please,” he said, in all seriousness.
“Which two would you like?” I asked, pointing at the empty tank, and taking a small net to catch the two that he chose.
“I can’t seem to see them very well,” he said, “Could you choose them for me?”
“Certainly,” I replied in all seriousness, and put the net into the water and pretended to try and catch a fish.
I brought the net out of the tank very carefully, making sure that the end of the net moved as I flicked my wrist, and carefully lowered the empty net into a waiting plastic bag filled with water from the tank. I moved the net around in the bag so as to ensure that the fish had moved out of the net, and then carefully put the net back into the tank to catch another fish.
“Would you like this one?” I asked as I moved the net around the tank.
“No,” he replied, to my total amazement, “I’ll have that one over there.”
At that moment I lost control and started to feign a coughing fit to disguise the hysterical laughter that I was collapsing into.
“Are you alright?” the customer asked me with great concern.
“Yes thank you,” I finally managed to reply as I wiped the tears from my eyes and started looking for the fish that he had chosen.
“Was it this one?” I asked him, chasing a non-existent fish around the tank with a net.
“Yes,” he said eagerly, pointing just in front of the net, “that was the one.”
I quickly whipped the net out of the tank and placed it in the plastic bag again depositing yet another 'invisible fish' with its 'invisible' mate before I had another fit of hysterics, and turned quickly away towards the till. As I got there I gave the bag to one of our staff and said “Tell him that as he’s the first person who’s bought these fish he can have them for free”, just before I descended into another prolonged bought of coughing.
Our customer looked incredibly pleased with his free gift, and walked proudly out of the shop bearing a plastic bag full of water. We hadn’t the heart to tell him that the fish didn’t exist, and wondered what his family would say when he tried to convince them of the beauty of his latest aquatic acquisition.
We couldn’t bear the idea of going through another sale as by this time all the staff were breaking out into open uncontrolled laughter every time the fish were mentioned. But before we could remove the sign from the tank, a middle-aged woman had looked into it and was asking about them.
“I’m sorry,” I spluttered between coughs and chokes, “We’ve just sold the last one. As you can see, they’ve all gone!”
“That’s a pity,” she responded. “Could you let me know when some more come in?”
“Yes,” I said, if we ever manage to get any more I’ll let you know. But they’re very rare”
With that, she left the shop, and we hurriedly removed the sign from the tank. But the man who took away the two invisible fish never came back, and for all we know he may still be proudly saying to everyone who visits his home, “Would you like to look at my invisible fish?”
Thursday 1 March 2007
Who rules the roost? - 'Tickle' our talking parrot.
Oh yes- see the picture of Tickle, our talking African Grey Parrot? He really is a star and can say all sorts of outrageous things. Including 'Do you fancy a curry?' 'What are you doing?' 'Tick, tick, tick, Tickle' 'Give us a kiss', 'Stop it', and of course the usual 'Hello' and 'Bye bye', and lots more. He can also swear - not taught by us (of course!) - his previous owner was known to utter frequent obscenities. But his claim to fame is his whistling. He can whistle a famous football chant and various other tunes including the loudest wolf whistle you have ever heard. An old lady came in the other day and said that he had made her day!
But good old Tickle made headline news in our local paper at Christmas because we taught him to whistle 'Jingle Bells'. All over the festive season he would whistle this seasonal tune for anyone that would care to listen. Although when our local TV news team came down to record him he closed his beak and refused to even say 'hello'. Fortunately I had filmed him singing the offending tune with our camcorder and they managed to edit that into their report.
Only problem is it is now March and we are still getting 'Jingle Bells'. Mind you his 'Rule Britannia' is coming on a treat.
But good old Tickle made headline news in our local paper at Christmas because we taught him to whistle 'Jingle Bells'. All over the festive season he would whistle this seasonal tune for anyone that would care to listen. Although when our local TV news team came down to record him he closed his beak and refused to even say 'hello'. Fortunately I had filmed him singing the offending tune with our camcorder and they managed to edit that into their report.
Only problem is it is now March and we are still getting 'Jingle Bells'. Mind you his 'Rule Britannia' is coming on a treat.
Scorpion Birth
Well, on arriving at work this morning we were surprised to see that our Imperial Scorpion was giving birth. It was like something from a horror movie. This black twinned clawed creature was removing white miniature scorpions from her underside and gently placing them on her back. We had counted four babies to date, but before closing the shop I noted that there were only three tiny babies on her back and two bodyless claws on the floor of her compartment. Think she must have thought that her babies were also her lunch. Scorpions do tend to eat their young if they feel vulnerable. Because we did not know that she was pregnant we did not give her a quiet tank in a rear room away from everyone. I just hope that by tomorrow she has decided to keep her remaining young. She should - with luck -keep the babies on her back for a couple of weeks, and then we will have to remove them as she almost will certainly eat them. Strange sort of Mother love. Just another working day down at the Pet Shop.
Wednesday 28 February 2007
Old times
Yesterday I went to see a man of 93 who used to work for us in the Shop. He worked for us all his life - before and after the second world war. If anyone knows about pets then he does. He kept pet dogs when he was working but I think that his record must be his pet goldfish. He took it home because it was looking a bit 'under the weather' and managed to keep it alive for the next 25 years. When I was a little girl I can remember that every year or so he had to look out for a bigger tank for it. It is dead now, but I think when it died it must have weighed quite a bit, and was a considerable length.
If anyone is reading this and has anything to do with Pet Foods 30, 40, or 50 years ago then I am sure they will remember the old trade names of different products. Some of which are still going today. Spillars - Winalot, Shapes, Bonio - Bob Martin, all still around today. Then there were lots that have disappeared. Spratts, Entwistles, Stirling, Stamina, Pyke, to name but a few. Most of the foods biscuits and grains were delivered in 1 cwt. bags that's 112lb (round about)- 50 kilos in today's weight. Our stock rooms at the time were above the shop so all the bags had to be carried upstairs manually. I can still remember my Father and the other men unloading a wagon with 20 or even 40 sacks all needing to be carried upstairs. They would hoist them on their backs and carry then up a difficult staircase and then stack them in a set pattern so that they would not topple over. Tea breaks were always important then - as now I guess. But only 10 minutes and then back to work. The whole operation was always presided over by 'Whiskers' - the shop cat. He would watch the men from the safety of a delivered sack and then at tea break would hop down and beg for a saucer of milk. - Not that he needed it, he was after all a Pet shop cat and was a little on the 'portly' side. Then back he would go to the new sacks to hunt for any mouse that may have been delivered inside the sacks along with the pet food.
If anyone is reading this and has anything to do with Pet Foods 30, 40, or 50 years ago then I am sure they will remember the old trade names of different products. Some of which are still going today. Spillars - Winalot, Shapes, Bonio - Bob Martin, all still around today. Then there were lots that have disappeared. Spratts, Entwistles, Stirling, Stamina, Pyke, to name but a few. Most of the foods biscuits and grains were delivered in 1 cwt. bags that's 112lb (round about)- 50 kilos in today's weight. Our stock rooms at the time were above the shop so all the bags had to be carried upstairs manually. I can still remember my Father and the other men unloading a wagon with 20 or even 40 sacks all needing to be carried upstairs. They would hoist them on their backs and carry then up a difficult staircase and then stack them in a set pattern so that they would not topple over. Tea breaks were always important then - as now I guess. But only 10 minutes and then back to work. The whole operation was always presided over by 'Whiskers' - the shop cat. He would watch the men from the safety of a delivered sack and then at tea break would hop down and beg for a saucer of milk. - Not that he needed it, he was after all a Pet shop cat and was a little on the 'portly' side. Then back he would go to the new sacks to hunt for any mouse that may have been delivered inside the sacks along with the pet food.
Monday 26 February 2007
So here I am trying to get the hang of this 'blog' thing. Bear with me. -Talking of bears the only thing that resembles a bear in my shop is a hamster. We sell quite a few of these great little creatures. They come in all sorts of colours and have long or short hair. They have adorable faces and tiny plump bodies The most popular type are the good old fashioned Syrian - what we old folk used to call the 'golden hamster'. There is nothing better than seeing a family come in with a couple of children and deciding on which type of cage they want and which specific hamster they will take home with them. These furry bundles make a good starter pet so long as they are treated with care and respect. Poor things only tend to bite when they are frightened or suddenly see a large digit approaching at speed. I keep telling people that they must be slow and gentle as poor old Hammy hamster has bad eyesight.
Never mind hamsters having bad eyesight. Many years ago before there were restrictions on transporting animals our delivery of hamster would arrive by train. The local station staff would ring us and tell us that the hamsters had arrived and we would pop up to our main line station and collect them. They were always well packed with lots of provisions and bedding so never seemed to suffer. In fact the station staff used to enjoy their hamster sitting and in time became quite a bunch of hamster experts. I remember one night our delivery of hamsters was on a delayed train. We were very worried about them, imagining they might have been abandoned on some remote platform and left for the night to freeze. We needn't have worried though as our local station staff had kept the station parcel office open specially for us and stayed at their desk until we had collected our squeaking box. I don't think that the hamsters even realised that there had been a problem.
On the other hand I do remember my Father collecting some hamsters and instead of taking them straight back to the shop he decided to take out some deliveries first. He kept the hamsters on the seat next to him so that he could keep an eye on them, from time to time he peered in through the wire window in their box and just as he was about to reach the shop he stopped at a set of traffic lights, glanced at the box and found it empty. All the hamsters had escaped. He pulled over and started the great hamster search. He immediately caught quite a few, but on a quick count of heads found that there were 10 missing. For up to a week later we kept finding an odd hamster in all parts of the van. Even the engine was a playground. I remember on morning being driven to school and a little furry creature running along the dashboard. Then another was found in the seat foam having made himself a very nice den. In the end we recovered all the missing bundles. They had travelled many miles and if they had looked out of the window would have enjoyed the scenery too! A few weeks later- cleaned and fully recovered they were offered for sale. I don't think we let on to our customers how well travelled their new pets were though.
The train station staff may have been great hamster experts, but I don't think that our local Post Office staff view us with as much favour. Our live crickets, locus, mealworms and other live creepy crawlies which we feed to our reptiles are - or should I say 'were'-delivered to us by the Royal Mail. All went well for many months until a box was damaged in transit. Our local Post Office received the consignment. Inside were various boxes of creepy crawlies. One of which had been split and the contense had escaped. A whole box of live crickets were hopping around in the Mail Room. These small creatures do no harm, and will die without heat, but for the few hours they were loose in the Post Office I think they caused rather a lot of upset. I guess some one not knowing what they were would maybe think that they were being attacked by some giant fleas or some horrible chirruping monster fly. Our local Postman said that they are still talking about the incident now many years later.
Never mind hamsters having bad eyesight. Many years ago before there were restrictions on transporting animals our delivery of hamster would arrive by train. The local station staff would ring us and tell us that the hamsters had arrived and we would pop up to our main line station and collect them. They were always well packed with lots of provisions and bedding so never seemed to suffer. In fact the station staff used to enjoy their hamster sitting and in time became quite a bunch of hamster experts. I remember one night our delivery of hamsters was on a delayed train. We were very worried about them, imagining they might have been abandoned on some remote platform and left for the night to freeze. We needn't have worried though as our local station staff had kept the station parcel office open specially for us and stayed at their desk until we had collected our squeaking box. I don't think that the hamsters even realised that there had been a problem.
On the other hand I do remember my Father collecting some hamsters and instead of taking them straight back to the shop he decided to take out some deliveries first. He kept the hamsters on the seat next to him so that he could keep an eye on them, from time to time he peered in through the wire window in their box and just as he was about to reach the shop he stopped at a set of traffic lights, glanced at the box and found it empty. All the hamsters had escaped. He pulled over and started the great hamster search. He immediately caught quite a few, but on a quick count of heads found that there were 10 missing. For up to a week later we kept finding an odd hamster in all parts of the van. Even the engine was a playground. I remember on morning being driven to school and a little furry creature running along the dashboard. Then another was found in the seat foam having made himself a very nice den. In the end we recovered all the missing bundles. They had travelled many miles and if they had looked out of the window would have enjoyed the scenery too! A few weeks later- cleaned and fully recovered they were offered for sale. I don't think we let on to our customers how well travelled their new pets were though.
The train station staff may have been great hamster experts, but I don't think that our local Post Office staff view us with as much favour. Our live crickets, locus, mealworms and other live creepy crawlies which we feed to our reptiles are - or should I say 'were'-delivered to us by the Royal Mail. All went well for many months until a box was damaged in transit. Our local Post Office received the consignment. Inside were various boxes of creepy crawlies. One of which had been split and the contense had escaped. A whole box of live crickets were hopping around in the Mail Room. These small creatures do no harm, and will die without heat, but for the few hours they were loose in the Post Office I think they caused rather a lot of upset. I guess some one not knowing what they were would maybe think that they were being attacked by some giant fleas or some horrible chirruping monster fly. Our local Postman said that they are still talking about the incident now many years later.
Thursday 22 February 2007
Third Generation Pet Keeping
As I have said before I grew up among a family of pet lovers. My Grandmother started the business some years before the second world war. She was quite a busy woman having had nine children and all that that entails. The business was really started as a feed merchants for the many people who kept the odd chicken in their back garden. Even now I have old customers coming in telling me they remember their parents visiting the shop for supplies. The shop evolved and gradually started selling food for dogs and cats and now we sell all sorts of foods and accessories for the full range of pets be they furry or finned or scaled. My Grandmother (who died when I was about 9) was certainly an interesting woman, and her tale would be a complete other story, but she as far as I am aware she always had pets in the house. My twin Aunts tell me of a story about a monkey who lived with them all - yes all nine children - this monkey as far as I can tell was just another member of the family. He often escaped from the house and accompanied the twins to school. Their school mistress would often tell them to 'get that monkey our of the schoolroom and take it home immediately'. Home they would take it and it would take up residence on top of the grandfather clock where it had a basket as a bed. I believe that it also took great delight in throwing various bits of fruit down onto the heads of visitors. The bigger the hat the better! It would also chitter at them with that strange sort of monkey talk as though it was saying some rather rude words but only the monkey could understand. My Grandmothers house always sounded like fun, and even now from my faint memories I can see her reading me Welsh fairy stories. She had a wonderful cuddle and in my minds eye was just every ones ideal Granny. I feel very sad that I did not know her for longer. All my cousins seem to remember her with great affection. She had time for all 21 of her Grandchildren. Not to be frogotten is my Grandfather who also ran another business totally unrelated to pets. He must have worked hard to keep his family, but as a child I knew nothing if this. He too is 'another story'. - They certainly knew how to live in those days! But again my lasting memory of him is the typical Grandad. Winding his grandfather clock every day, checking his watch that hung on a chain from his waistcoat and smell of humbugs which he dished out to his Grandchildren. A typical memory. But he hid so many secrets.
Wednesday 21 February 2007
A quiet week
So here I am attempting to write a blog. I have been running a Pet Shop for some 25 years now and seem to have amassed quite a number of stories/anecdotes/moans/opinions and feelings about my business/my pets/my customers/my life.
Would anyone out there like to read about them - I wonder?
Life can be very,very strange dealing with people and their pets. Not only their pets, but their emotions as well. Sometimes I feel like a shrink, a marriage guidance councillor, a Doctor/Vet and a Social Service Provider all rolled into one.
My love of animals goes back before I was born. They and the Business have been in my family for three generations now. I like to think that I am fairly sensible about animals. I can't abide cruelty and see pets as a help to mankind. They are something that we should look after and respect. They are company and often a crutch but what we should not forget is that they are ANIMALS, with different needs from ourselves.
Enough of the lecture. I thought you may like to hear a little of the goings on in my shop over the last week or so. - It was a quiet week too.
Valentines day. We sold two hamsters as romantic gifts for young lovers. Both had hamsters in the past and their boyfriends thought that the most romantic gift (and cheapest I guess) would be a cute little creature. We even sold them some heart shaped treats . The recipients of the gifts were thrilled. (We ask all our customers to read and agree to our conditions of sale when we sell any pet which involves taking the owners name and address and making sure that the pet goes with all the necessary information). I couldn't help but be a little worried though. Not for the hamsters - they were going to be really well looked after, but for the lovers. Hamsters only live for about two years. Does that men that when the hamster goes to that big hamster wheel in the sky that its owners lover will evaporate? Or worse still - The Mother of one of the young 'romantic' men bought the hamster for her son to give to his girlfriend. She even picked it out and gift wrapped the box. Then she took it to the girl on her sons behalf. I don't know about you but I wouldn't be too pleased if my boyfriends Mum was doing all the running on Valentines day. Doesn't say much for the 'devoted' boyfriend.
Then we had the rather eccentric woman in her 30's who wanted a guinea pig. Because she was rather agitated and forgetful and basically did not know what day of the week it was we refused to sell her a pet. On hearing this she burst into tears and started sobbing. We tried to pacify her and asked her to come back with someone who cared for her and then we could discuss the guinea pig situation. That seems to do the trick and we have not seen her since. It was quite an embarrassing situation all round. I am sure not too many people have gone into a Pet Shop to buy some doggie treat or other and had to walk round a full grown - and very well dressed woman sobbing as though the world had ended. Needless to say I am very grateful for my staffs handling of the situation.
Many of our customers are little old ladies who keep a budgie as a pet. They come in quite regularly to buy budgie seed and have a chat. My favourite lady came and told us that it was her 80th Birthday the previous weekend. I don't think that she has much of a family, but she does attend some Church or other. Anyway my faith in humanity was restored when she told me that she had been taken out for two celebratory meals and had had so many cards, gifts and flowers that she had to give some blooms to her elderly neighbours because her windowsills were overflowing. So the world isn't such a bad place after all. There are people out there looking after their friends and neighbours. Makes me feel good.
Oh yes and just a quick note. One of our staff members has taught our Parrot to say 'Give us a kiss'. This can be very embarrassing when you are the only person in the shop and a customer comes in. They don't know that we have a talking parrot and invariably think it is me!
So as you can see running a Pet Shop isn't just about animals, although I have lots more to write if anyone is interested.
Would anyone out there like to read about them - I wonder?
Life can be very,very strange dealing with people and their pets. Not only their pets, but their emotions as well. Sometimes I feel like a shrink, a marriage guidance councillor, a Doctor/Vet and a Social Service Provider all rolled into one.
My love of animals goes back before I was born. They and the Business have been in my family for three generations now. I like to think that I am fairly sensible about animals. I can't abide cruelty and see pets as a help to mankind. They are something that we should look after and respect. They are company and often a crutch but what we should not forget is that they are ANIMALS, with different needs from ourselves.
Enough of the lecture. I thought you may like to hear a little of the goings on in my shop over the last week or so. - It was a quiet week too.
Valentines day. We sold two hamsters as romantic gifts for young lovers. Both had hamsters in the past and their boyfriends thought that the most romantic gift (and cheapest I guess) would be a cute little creature. We even sold them some heart shaped treats . The recipients of the gifts were thrilled. (We ask all our customers to read and agree to our conditions of sale when we sell any pet which involves taking the owners name and address and making sure that the pet goes with all the necessary information). I couldn't help but be a little worried though. Not for the hamsters - they were going to be really well looked after, but for the lovers. Hamsters only live for about two years. Does that men that when the hamster goes to that big hamster wheel in the sky that its owners lover will evaporate? Or worse still - The Mother of one of the young 'romantic' men bought the hamster for her son to give to his girlfriend. She even picked it out and gift wrapped the box. Then she took it to the girl on her sons behalf. I don't know about you but I wouldn't be too pleased if my boyfriends Mum was doing all the running on Valentines day. Doesn't say much for the 'devoted' boyfriend.
Then we had the rather eccentric woman in her 30's who wanted a guinea pig. Because she was rather agitated and forgetful and basically did not know what day of the week it was we refused to sell her a pet. On hearing this she burst into tears and started sobbing. We tried to pacify her and asked her to come back with someone who cared for her and then we could discuss the guinea pig situation. That seems to do the trick and we have not seen her since. It was quite an embarrassing situation all round. I am sure not too many people have gone into a Pet Shop to buy some doggie treat or other and had to walk round a full grown - and very well dressed woman sobbing as though the world had ended. Needless to say I am very grateful for my staffs handling of the situation.
Many of our customers are little old ladies who keep a budgie as a pet. They come in quite regularly to buy budgie seed and have a chat. My favourite lady came and told us that it was her 80th Birthday the previous weekend. I don't think that she has much of a family, but she does attend some Church or other. Anyway my faith in humanity was restored when she told me that she had been taken out for two celebratory meals and had had so many cards, gifts and flowers that she had to give some blooms to her elderly neighbours because her windowsills were overflowing. So the world isn't such a bad place after all. There are people out there looking after their friends and neighbours. Makes me feel good.
Oh yes and just a quick note. One of our staff members has taught our Parrot to say 'Give us a kiss'. This can be very embarrassing when you are the only person in the shop and a customer comes in. They don't know that we have a talking parrot and invariably think it is me!
So as you can see running a Pet Shop isn't just about animals, although I have lots more to write if anyone is interested.
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