Posting days: Sunday and Wednesday and, sometimes, maybe, extra bits in between.

Sunday August 12th 2018

I have no idea whether you’ll be able to access this post as Facebook no longer allows Publicise connections to Facebook profiles, only to Facebook pages.

I, of course, don’t know a page from a profile.

I’ve read the information about how to allow publication via a different set-up. In fact, I’ve read it x times. I’ve made notes too, but I’m none the wiser, just a hell of a lot more irritated, so let’s get on with the post and see what happens. When I’m feeling less malevolent I’ll consult the WordPress Gurus. They’re very patient.

In the meantime, thanks a million Facebook. I love you too.

I came home after my second shoulder operation on Friday August 3rd. My School friend M picked me up the following Sunday as she and her partner G had invited me to stay with them in Uppingham to be ‘looked after’. And looked after I was – brilliantly.

I stayed until Thursday, leaving Isis and Daisy in the capable hands of animal sitting friend A.

Both Isis and Daisy know A. well so I was confident that they would both be excellent clients.

Daisy was.

Looking back, I should have been more alert to the fact that A.’s texts contained glowing accounts of how sweet and companionable Daisy was but very little about Isis other than a request for advice about how to deal with her worrying her feet, gnawing her leg and harbouring vast amounts of seeds and burrs about her face and ears.

Kindly A. did not alert me to the hassle she was putting up with. When I returned home I discovered that Isis had been very difficult indeed.

She’d barked throughout the night and much of the morning, worried her feet continuously, barbered her front right leg and raised merry hell at mealtimes.

She’d refused to allow A. to remove her burgeoning collection of seeds and burrs or clean the mud off her muzzle.

Worst off all she’d uttered growly threats and snapped when A. attempted to groom her, sometimes just when she approached her. A. described Hairy One’s behaviour as very grumpy and unpredictable.

I was mortified. Fortunately A. and I know each other very well and she believes that I’d not have left Isis with her if I’d even suspected that there might be problems.

A., quite understandably, would not want to look after Isis again.

If Isis was unable to settle with A., she’d certainly not cope with any other sitter, so, sadly, when I need to leave her in the future, it’ll have to be kennels.

When I had the first operation, A. looked after the three of us and Isis was perfectly calm.

It seems that things feel very different to her when her human leaves home. As soon as I return, she sleeps through the night, is calm during the day and reverts to ‘normal’ mode.

I think that now she has bonded, I am her security and she can’t cope with this security being taken away.

It will need someone with Ray and his staff’s extensive experience with damaged animals to look after her in my absence.

Poor A.

Poor little Isis.

Isis came from the Aeza cat and dog rescue and adoption centre in Aljezur, Portugal. For information about adopting an animal from the centre, contact kerry@aeza.org or  www.dogwatchuk.co.uk