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Dates & News:

ZimDog News, can be accessed from: www.vanerp.net.

Zimbabwe Kennel Club:

The Zimbabwe Kennel Club office will now only be open on a Friday each week, 14.00-16.00 CAT.

Condolences go to Jan Cashel:
We bade farewell to our very precious Tom last Saturday morning. He had been getting more frail but there was still a light in his eyes. On Friday evening all was normal until Tones wanted to get something out of the pantry where Tom was lying below. He knocked Tom's leg and after that Tom could not walk. So as you can imagine he was no longer mobile and we had to carry him out etc. I made the decision that we had come to the end of the road. In true Beardie fashion he bust his guts to be a good boy through the night and then in the morning at 0910 I took him on his final journey to the vet. John put him down quickly and efficiently and Tones brought Storm and Hols to the vet separately so they could see that Tom was no longer. Storm did not pay much attention but Holly smelt him and then turned away very quickly. I wanted them to know that he would no longer be coming home. They have not pined for him. I had his body cremated and his ashes are here at home with those of Jade. The end of an era - he was 15 years and 11 months. We miss him very much especially when it comes to cleaning the cat dishes etc., licking gravy tins etc. etc. 

How to feed 10 puppies. As you can see all are Sables but for the one on the right who turned out to be a Bi-Colour. All have but 3 have gone to their new homes.

"Zimbabwe's Travelling Man"

Hullo peoples - sorry about the delay in sending this 11th Saga in the Travellin' Mans journey, but on getting back to Zim a couple of months ago, I found chaos and more chaos - as u have probably heard and seen on the sound and sight waves round the world on Sky, the BBC, CNN et al wherever u are.

I see from the 10th Saga, I have just crossed the "Ditch" as the Tasman is known, and am in the "Smugglers" queue at Melbourne airport, but before leaving Aoteoroa I was obliged to pay the most iniquitous tax of my whole world trip - a departure tax of NZD.25 which is quite considerable by their standards – even more so considering departure taxes are included in air tickets!!!!!   Ye Gods, even Zimbabwe had to stop charging it twice when she tried that little lark.

Black mark, Kiwis!!

Here occurred my big mistake!!  I watched the next round of the Oz Open and never got round to phoning my long time friends in Melbourne - had I done so I would have discovered they had arrived back and were searching for me so we missed one another and I am sad that this happened, but onward I had to go due to waitlisted flights.  Needless to say, we had had another perfect Qantas flight over the Ditch and by now I was knee-deep in super QF giveaways and, indeed, only finished using the makeup and creams a few days ago!).  I had the next day in Sydney renewing my

friendship with a vibrant city I had first known in the '60s and, yes, the "Coathanger" was there even then!!!   One very black mark though was when I went back  to the airport late that night for the long, long haul to Joeys, there was no cash machine to give me any last minute spending money; HSBC where were u?? Or are the greedy airport authorities to blame, because I couldn't find any overseas ATMs in the airport building at all.

QF beds again, millions of choices of food - they never forgot the vegetarian food at all -   altho this haul was rather spoilt by the most miserable travelling companion I had on any flight anywhere in the world.  This is another of the flights that must rate as one of the longest in the world, but the comfort makes up for the travelling time.

And so we reached that shambolic airport at Johannesburg, O R Tambo – wotta mess one has to negotiate.  Anyway, I was staying with friends for the night as there is no connecting flight to Harare (BA please look into this matter, chop chop) and the next day there  occurred one of those events which can only happen in Africa  - u wont believe this but it did happen!!!!   Having checked in for the BA/Comair flight to Harare, it was announced at the departure gate that as there was no fuel in Harare for the return flight to Jo’burg, they were obliged to carry the fuel with them and so would 20 pax please offer to be off-loaded and they would be accommodated by the airline at Caesar's Palace for the night and fly up to Harare the following day - plus receiving a free sector flight of their choice - guess who grabbed that offer with both paws!!!!!  And yet they couldn't get 20 people to take up that generous offer - where are the public's brains!!  (A few weeks ago I utilized my freebee for another shopping trip to Joeys!!).

Mark you, this generous offer by BA might have been improved if the baggage handlers at O R Tambo had stirred themselves and got our baggage off the flight, but N O, we ended up at the Palace with just what we stood up in B U T the scoff was great!!

So the next day dawned and we boarded yet again and, strike me pink, after going all the way round the globe, through thick and thin, rain and shine, u name it, thank goodness the flight was only an hour and a half  because it was the very worst flight of all - these flight attendants  appeared to have slipped through the net and had had no training at all - phew.  Still, it was one small lapse on the part of BA compared to many plus factors and at least the luggage was waiting for us safely!!

So, peoples, here ended several months circumnavigation of the globe seeing many of my friends, but so many have contacted me on various subjects/items and the like, that next month I shall finally sign off with -

THE HIGHS AND THE LOWS

THE GOODS AND THE BADS

THE DO'S AND THE DON'TS

Hi Jan cashel,

Did Remember the quaint bedtime saying "sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite"? Well this is more than a saying; it can be a real nightmare! Have you ever stayed in a hotel where itchy and prickly bed bugs attack you while you are trying to get a good night sleep. And this is not just the cheap hotels, in 2003, a businessman sued the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel in New York after he and a companion allegedly suffered numerous bedbug bites to their torsos, arms and necks. This can also be a nightmare for your dog. Flea bites hurt them too! Your dog can't complain or sue the hotel owner (in this case you and I). The good news for our dogs is that we are benevolent and loving hotel owners and want the best for them. So, now that summer is here (and with the warm weather comes fleas), it is really imperative that your dog be on preventative flea control medication. Many of these either work to kill the adult flea or interfere with the life cycle thus preventing their reproduction. There are a number of good flea control products in the market. The science behind these products keeps getting better and better. This year there is brand new product that not only prevents fleas but also effectively stops and controls existing flea infestations and prevents re-infestation of fleas. The product name is ProMeris® and there is a lot of buzz around it.

I recommend that you take a look and learn about the many benefits of this new product. It may work better than what you are currently using.

Dr. Jon 

Dear Jan cashel,

Pets can't talk and don't complain. Dogs may wiggle or even try to bite when they are scared or in pain. What else can they do? But do we really know how much pain they are in? I recently had an eye injury that scratched my cornea and taught me a very valuable lesson. I had NO idea an eye injury could be sooo painful. I've seen hundreds, maybe thousands of dogs and cats with a variety of eye injuries - including bite wounds to the eye, scratches, foreign bodies such as metal in the eye, ulceration to the cornea from chemicals as well as eye infections.

As a veterinarian, I try to be patient and empathetic with dogs and cats. But let me tell you - I have totally different empathy now. Pets can't talk and don't complain. But now after actually experiencing how painful an eye injury is... I will be even MORE empathetic with pets with eye injuries (or any other problem). Of course you know that I am big believer in prevention, so I want to share a few tips on how to avoid eye injuries in your dog:

1. Don't spray any chemicals around your pet that could get into his eyes. If you are outside and spraying any chemicals, make sure your dog is in the house or out of the area.

2. Don't let your dog stick his head out the window.

3. Keep your dog on a leash where you can control his actions (which can include running through brush that may poke him in the eye or getting into a fight with another dog).

4. When shampooing your dog - make sure you don't get any shampoo in his eyes. Clean his face and around his eye with a wet cloth with no shampoo on it.

Following these tips will help protect your dog from eye injuries.. I hope you are having a great weekend. Stay safe!