BABY ELEPHANT - LERATA

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!

TOBY here...

Hello there, every-furry-buddy!

We wanted to do something a bit different today, so we thought we'd share some wonderful news, all the way from our

NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS
here in South Africa.

On Monday, 21st March 2011,
a little baby elephant girl was born
at our National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria!
 She is the cutest thing since sliced bread and they have called her

"LERATA"

Lerata is managed by Carol Thobela and Graeme Ogilvie, and apparently she is doing well.  When she was born, she was too short to reach her Mum's teat, so the Vets made the desperate decision to pull her, 2 hours after birth.  She is fed a bottle of milk hourly, which she apparently devours.

The Vets are very happy with her progress and  so is the herd.  Mum too is fine and seems content with the plans that they have put in place.  Lerata is being closely monitored. 

"walking is a key component of development for any youngster, but more especially for little elephants who walk a lot in the wild. So here at the NZG the staff take care to give her as much opportunity to stretch those legs and even go for occasional runs. Here Graeme is walking Lerato our baby elephant, now seven days old!"

I just thought you'd enjoy hearing this exciting news.
Aint she cute?!

 We are sending our best wishes to Lerata and her keepers at the

National Zoological Gardens.

"Sleep well,

feed well,

grow well,

 play well

and have a long, happy life!

We are very proud of you, little one and only wish you the best!

Sending lotsalicks to all my buddies around the world and wishing you a happy, fun-filled day.

STAND BACK CATS! We are EXCELLENT RATTERS!

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!

TOBY here...

Woof!

Hey there, every-furry-buddy...

It’s been an eventful 48 hours with Maxmom fretting constantly about our resident rat.

“I think we need a better solution,” she told us scoldingly.

“You guys are hopeless!”

Eish, what an insult!

Despite us spending a large part of our day snootering around everywhere in the house, she’s still not happy.

We've been on guard, almost consantly!...I assure you!...

Well, yes, the King sometimes does prefer his throne!

 Okay I admit, the rat hadn’t been found and Maxmom was getting desperate.

Sadly, it seems that we had been guarding the wrong thing! 

It was the piano room that needed guarding, NOT HER!  

“Can’t have those things in the house!” she muttered.

“Yeah, Maxmom, whatever!”

After a trip to the shops, she returned with this strange contraption.

This looks very much like a MEGA- rat-feeder to me!
Don't you agree?

 Maxmom decided to give the critter some treats!
Can you believe it? None for us!
Instead, she restrained me...

 Mmmmph!

"I'll put it behind the piano," she said.
"That way, you guys can’t get it.”

"What about us, Maxmom?
It's us who deserve treats, NOT that Rat!"

This morning she was all smiles.
Despite my reservations, I’m happy to report that the rat has been eliminated!
 He is no longer with us...
He is a ‘has been’ rat!

(For those of my buddies who are sensitive viewers,

PLEASE PUT YOUR PAWS OVER YOUR EYES, NOW!)

Another warning:
PLEASE PUT YOUR PAWS OVER YOUR EYES!

Okay, if you are daring, you can look...

here goes...

Eish, he certainly is a gonner.
Well done, Maxmom!

He looks somewhat like my ‘rat impersonation’, with Miss R, this past weekend...
...in my bid to get treats!

Aint the two of us cool?

We were so excited about the rat-elimination, that Maxmom decided to play my favourite game:
FETCH, the POGO PLUSH BUNNY.

Hopefully, I'll soon learn how to...

"FETCH THE RAT!"

or

"IMPERSONATE A CAT"...

All in good time...

Phew, that was fun!
 Time for a well-earned rest...

Wishing everyone a wonderful, rat-free week.
Sending lotsalicks to you all.

STRANGE THINGS IN THE NIGHT

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!

TOBY (and the PACK) here...

(Aunt Tam - there's no stopping her!)

What a happening in our house the other night!

I have to tell you about it!...

It is usually pitch black and deathly quiet in our house, when everyone is sleeping.

Us dogs lie in the corner, snoozing lightly, while our humans snore away. We usually have our ears to the ground. But we've also learned to rely on the beady eyes of our high-tech alarm system.  

Well, on Thursday night, the "Boss" was out of town.  

Maxmom was alone, with only us to keep her company. 

We all went to bed early.

At 2am we were all rudely awakened...

  Loud, blaring sirens!

EEE----AAH---EEE---AAAH!

Maxmom was up in a flash.  So were we...

WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!

Intruders?

Once Maxmom let us past the security gate, we let rip down our passage.

Afterall, us dogs have to be first with everything!

WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!

Maxmom wasn't sure what to do, so we waited for the security company to arrive and we barked, frantically, in the meantime. 

Soon the officers were there, all ready for action, and they started their patrol.

Eventually, they declared, quite casually, that it was all a false alarm

....mmmph!

  What had they found?

NOTHING!

BUT...US DOGS knew better!

Maxmom wanted to go back to sleep, but we remained on full alert.

"Can't you guys settle?" she asked

"No way!"

Eventually she got up and made herself a cup of tea. 

By that stage it was 3.30am.

Looking fatigued, she boiled the kettle and poured the water over her teabag.

Suddenly, something caught our eye.

A large, black creature, with a very long tail!!!

"RATs!!!" we barked.

With Maxmom's cry of alarm, Aunt Tam and "The King" went into full hunting mode. 

The rat took one look at us and scaled the dog barrier between our kitchen and the dining room. 

We followed him, in hot pursuit, into our piano room. 

Geesh, he was agile!

 I'd never experienced something like this before, so I barked while Aunt Tam and the King went into full hunting mode. 

But the rat wasn't taking any chances.

He disappeared as quickly as he'd shown himself.

I ran with Aunt Tam and the King back into the kitchen.  

We searched everywhere.

In the scullery, in the cupboards, everywhere!

 Maxmom also used the time to turn the house upside down.

"Rats! Rats!"

...she kept urging us, breathlessly.

This always sends us into a canine frenzy!

The "King" is our master-snooterer!

We don't call him "The King" for nothing!

Long live King Toffee!

He can get into the small spaces, while we have to watch, frustratingly...

We spent about another hour sniffing everywhere, for this obnoxious and elusive critter.

 The rat's smell was everywhere - behind the couches, near the piano, in the corners of the cupboards!

He seemed to have dropped things wherever he'd been. 

 It drove us nuts!

Eventually, we discovered that he'd set up shop behind Maxmom's dishwasher, and she set about cleaning his mess. 

But the rat was nowhere to be found!

"Some dogs, you are!"

...she muttered with disgust.  We eventually followed her back to the bedroom.

"We'll find it, Maxmom! We will!'

Rest assured!

When she says, "Eeeeeek!", we say...

WOOF!

Have a happy weekend, we'll be rat-hunting!
Lotsalicks

A LONG LOST FRIEND - Amazing internet!

GREETINGS FROM SUNNY SOUTH AFRICA!

MAXMOM here...

(Sunrise at my house)

Hello there to all my friends across the world!

This is a special blogpost today, and I appeal for your indulgence as I take over Toby's blog for the day.  You see, my heart has been so touched... :

I would like to dedicate this blogpost to a very old friend,

whom I lost contact with about

20 years ago!

AVRIL THOMPSON - THIS IS FOR YOU, with love!!!

(Avril: Your old house)

Please allow me to explain:

Yesterday, one of my blogger-friends,

NANANOR

left this comment:

"You won't believe this but a good friend of mine, Avril, used to live behind you in S.A. She taught swimming to your girls and you taught aerobics. I directed her to your blog cause she is a dog lover and having lived in your neighborhood I thought somehow she might know you - never did guess that you'd have been neighbors."

(The cul-de-sac: How the oak tree has grown!)

Sometimes the internet can be so amazing!

In the early 90's, South Africa was in the midst of incredible change. A new democracy had emerged, but many South Africans left our shores for various reasons.  We had to say goodbye to many friends - some of whom we lost contact with.  Avril and her family were one of those.

I could not believe 'Nananor's' comment yesterday.  How incredible the internet can be!

(Looking up into the branches of what was once a 'baby' oak tree when you were here!)

So, today, I am going to be sharing a selection of pictures from my neighbourhood

To Avril, with love:

(Our park)

(Thursday's dustbin truck: the highlight of our week, LOL!)

(Hymany dam, at the top end of our park)

(Early morning alarm clock - a Hadedah Ibis - on top of YOUR roof!)

(Looking towards my neighbour's house, after an afternoon thunderstorm)

(Our garden - during a thunderstorm)

(Our kids' old school)

(A resident weaver bird.  I'm sure you had them in your garden too, way back then.)

(Rameron Pigeon in the white stinkwood tree)

(Another territorial feathered friend - the Cape Robin)

(I can't leave out our little 'leggy' friends!)

(University of the Witwatersrand: The Great Hall)

(Downtown Braamfontein)

(The relatively new: Nelson Mandela Bridge)

(The new international arrivals hall: Oliver Tambo International airport)

(Finally: Sunset through the willow trees in our park)

We miss you all, Avril!

 You were great neighbours!

I'll never forget that basket of delicious muffins that you handed to me, on that very first day in our new home - 

20 years ago!!!

(1989)

Little gestures go a long way!

Thank you again, to Nananor for bringing back some fond memories!

What a blessing!

Sending lotsaluv to ALL my friends across the world and to my dispersed family. 

I love you all!

A SPECIAL NOTE:
I would also like to send good-luck wishes to our own South African Cricket Team:

THE PROTEAS...
as they battle it out today against New Zealand in the quarter-finals of the...


CRICKET WORLD CUP