Animals definitely brighten our lives…. well, sometimes, anyway.
The miniature horses have grown their winter coats. Trojan (the Great Dane) is still confused whether he is a dog or a horse. Coco takes her job of keeping the stables clear of mice very seriously and the ducks, geese and chickens are preoccupied with raising their young.
Then there is Penelope. There is never a dull moment with her around. She’s always up to mischief and besides her passion for shoes (especially ones’ with bows on), she also has a weakness for soft comfortable furniture. The other morning Peter went downstairs and found Penelope fast asleep on the couch! She is excellent at creating chaos; especially when she sprints up the staircase to our bedroom. Peter had to create a barrier which allowed the little dogs to go under, the Great Dane to go over, and Penelope to be restricted. He spent hours setting up this cunning barrier and in no time Penelope worked it all out, crawled under by squashing her fat belly on the floor, and sprinted up the staircase again. A friend of ours suggested that Peter should go back to school so he can learn how to outwit a pig. Determined now, Peter scratched his head and devised a second barrier. We watched from the top of the staircase as the most determined Penelope managed to climb over the barrier. Finally with a modification to part of he barrier Penelope was finally beaten.
Then there was the day that Penelope had to go for her hysterectomy. I put the back seat of my car down and put some cushions down. Natasha sat in the back with Penelope. While driving, I looked in the rear view mirror. It was quite moving to see the two pathetic figures in the back. Natasha’s eyes were unusually big with a concerned look on her face and Penelope climbed onto Natasha’s lap, with a fearful look in her eyes. She could sense that this was not going to be a day for rooting in the garden. When we got to the hospital they took Penelope from my car, her ear- piercing screams echoed as they carried her away. The operation was successful and the next day I went to fetch her.
A few weeks later the stitches had to come out. I phoned the vet and he suggested that Peter and I could give it a try and if we did not succeed, he would come to the house and do it. I asked him how would he go about removing the stitches. He suggested that Peter, me, the gardener and the domestic worker could hold Penelope down while he would remove the stitches. Failing this he would tranquillise her. I was horrified by the thought of holding Penelope down. It was simply an unacceptable way to treat an animal; and after this, her dignity and ego would be ruined forever. Tranquillising her was also not an option. I had read somewhere that it is dangerous for pigs to be tranquillised. I also knew that there was no way that Peter was going to get involved in any of this.
I was faced with the dilemma, the overwhelming task of getting the stitches out.
First I tried by scratching and tickling her tummy. When she eventually rolled over, I was horrified to see that there was close to 25 or 30 stitches. I soon realised that this was not going to be an easy task. When I tried to cut one, Penelope jumped up and ran away. Eventually I was desperate and numb with the thought of not been able to help her. I spent days trying to think of a plan. I decided to wait until she was asleep and then I crawled into her “kennel” and managed to cut a few stitches before she woke up. This took a few nights but eventually I managed to cut all the stitches. But there was still the overwhelming task of pulling them out. This was quite painful for her and no amount of tummy tickles would get her to roll over and there was no way I could do it while she was asleep. So I found myself most days crawling under her tummy while distracting her with a titbit. Two weeks later I pulled the last stitch out.
Well, like I said before, our animals teach us many things in life, including how to humiliate and make fools out of ourselves.

Watch this space for the next episode, and please feel free to send me your comments.

Archive 1 - May 2003 - A visit from the Black Eagle
Archive 2 - May 2003 - Puff adder visits
Archive 3 - June 2003 - Black Eagle visits again
Archive 4 - July 2003 - The story of Victoria
Archive 5 - August 2003 - Jackal Buzzard in the stable; Victoria causing chaos
Archive 6 - October 2003 - The Goslings arrive; Victoria again
Archive 7 - December 2003 - Tuscan's arrival; the Owls
Archive 8 - March 2004 - Victoria's obituary
Archive 9 - June 2005 - The Rooster and the Chicken
Archive 10 - November 2005 - Panache and Tinkles
Archive 11 - December2005 - Samantha produces 3 goslings
Archive 12 - July 2006 - The arrival of Spirit
Archive 13 - January 2007 - The Red Hens
Archive 14 - February 2007 - Coco arrives
Archive 15 - December 2007 - Christmas and Wedding Bells
Archive 16 - January 2008 - Trojan, the new Great Dane
Archive 17 - Memory Lane
Archive 18 - Jackal Buzzard feeds on Guinea Fowl

What do our guests say!

It is here at our Enchanted Garden where people soak up the sun, relax at the pool, hike up the mountain, celebrate special occasions, new friendships are made and affection between human and animal develop.
Peter and I have been very fortunate to meet and get to know wonderful people here at our Enchanted Garden. It was an honour to have been included and to share those special memories with our guests. Not only did we make new friends, the animals also added a few new names to their fan club. They thoroughly enjoy the cuddles the guests so generously give them.
I always enjoy reading the guest comments in our guest book. Here are a few I would like to share with you.