A post should appear each Sunday!

Sunday November 28th 2021

Sadly, stupid Human has accidentally deleted last week’s post, the duck with the orange feet.

But now she’s trying very hard to stop gnashing her teeth and renting her garments, as they used to say, and is determined to concentrate on the good news. (Although, if anyone knows of a way the post can be retrieved, she would be delighted to know.)

Last week we left Isis refusing point blank to have anything to do with her lovely new honking duck. However many times he is offered to her, she turns her back on him. Ever hopeful, I replace him in her bed, and wait.

He is one of her three presents. I await the arrival of the other two. Perhaps she will find them more acceptable.

Then, the very next evening  …………………………………………..

I’m delighted, of course.

Now, when I pick up her duck, squeeze him very gently, and pretend to steal him, she grabs him and holds onto him very firmly. I’ve discovered that if you squeeze his head or neck, the honk is much quieter than when you grasp his middle, so when playing with her, I can modify the sound.

It’d be interesting to know how the stimulus works for her. Normally, I can clap my hands, click clickers, blow a dog whistle or make any loud sound a few inches from her and she doesn’t stir until she smells me; yet that first loud honk terrified her. I can only guess that she was startled by the vibration or the honk has a specific tone which she can hear.

Two days later, the other toys arrive. This time Isis waits until we are in the porch before  she tells me someone has been to the door.

Ah yes, clever girl: on the floor, there’s a card from the postman. The parcel has been left at my kind neighbour’s.

Both of the soft toys are made by Orvis. They had good reviews, and I’m not disappointed. They are a good size, look to be of excellent quality, and each has an interesting variety of textures. They should be perfect for Isis.

In last week’s post, I said I’d ordered a sloth, but I am wrong. It’s not a sloth who arrives with the new duck,  but a squirrel.

Here she is.

This time, Isis isn’t afraid of the new toy. Not at all. She just turns away her head when I give it to her to sniff. Then she ignores it.

She ignores it the next day.

And the next.

And the next.

And the next.

Sigh.

Now it’s Saturday. Every day it seems to me that Hairy One’s coat is an inch longer than the day before. In the evening I give her a thorough nose to tail grooming. After this, I present her new toy again for her to sniff, then rub it, very lightly, along her back and across her chest.

I think that perhaps if it smells of her, she’ll be happier with it.

But she looks mildly irritated and continues to ignore the creature.

Oh well.

I retire to the kitchen to make myself a coffee.

Before going to bed, I peep round the door. To my surprise, Isis has moved to the end of the day bed and is fast asleep with her head resting on her new toy.

Aw!

Now we have one more present to go: the soft toy duck.

Here he is.

I decide on a different tactic this time. The new duck can be her Christmas present. I’ll put it in my bed and leave it there for the next few weeks so that it absolutely reeks of me. It could be that she takes to this toy immediately.

Or not!

Isis came from Aeza cat and dog rescue in Aljezur, Portugal. For information about adopting an animal from the centre, contact kerry@azea.org or go to http://www.dogwatch.co.uk.