Just back from Istanbul. It really is a amazing wonderful city to visit. The old quarter is packed full of ancient mosques, churches, museums and is teeming with life and road side stalls. Our hotel overlooked the Bosphorus on which there was a constant changing scene of merchant ships going to and fro through that narrow shipping channel into the Black Sea.
Most modern Turks are Moslems and despite Turkey being a secular society, Islam is clearly very important to most Turkish people. You only have to be in or near a mosque when the “call to prayer” is broadcast from the very many minarets in the city to see young and old rich and poor rushing into the nearest mosque to say their prayers. The ordinary people are devout and devoted to Islam and it is clearly very important in their day to day lives.
Having said this I was struck by the very many healthy dogs roaming the streets who were clearly not strays but had homes to go to at the end of the day. Cats even wild semi feral street kittens seemed to be fed and cared for. I walked past one feeding station often and chicken and lots of it was put out twice a day to feed those that were in need. I had always understood that Moslems regarded dogs and cats as unclean but clearly the residents of Istanbul who are warm generous and welcoming believe in looking after their four footed friends.

I vetted a new pony last week. When I say new she is 16 years old and very wise in the ways of the pony club world. I gave her the full benefit of a five part examination to which she responded with a resigned good humour. For a mature lady there was very little wrong with her apart from a momentary lapse when she could not resist diverting into a hedge for a mouthful of good grass. I suppose she had to live up to her name – Cheeky – somehow! A bit like the old lady in purple defying convention just because she knew she could get away with it. Age has it’s compensations. The only part of the examination I did not complete was the paper work and the blood test. I have rather assumed even if Cheeky goes lame within a week of getting to her new home my daughter will probably not sue me. Not quite so sure about Neil. Living on the edge?

I was invited a few months ago to have 1-2 days (free) salmon fishing on the Dee. That is the Royal Dee near Balmoral.I accepted readily and booked a hotel for the visit. Two or three weeks before the event I began to get pain in my right shoulder and arm. I hoped with some treatment it would go away but no such luck. I had to cancel the trip to my immense disappointment but there was no way in the world I would have been able to cast a heavy salmon fly rod. I have just been told that 52 salmon were caught that week. The conditions were perfect. My only consolation was that like most salmon fishing now there is a catch and release policy on the river and I wouldn’t have been able to bring any home anyway.

Correction on that last post. I am told by Kate that the electric cable had actually 11,000 volts coursing through it which makes it is even more scary.

It was a day of high wind at my daughters smallholding but she went out with her two girls to visit friends. She came back to be denied entry to the lane by police,firebrigade and electricity board. A tree had come down in the second paddock where the pony was grazing and bringing with it a 750 volt electricity cable. It was still hissing, spitting and giving off sparks. The concern was to get the pony away from harm. One touch would kill!
For once Strawberry allowed herself to be caught without being difficult and the crisis was over. It left Kate to reflect on the dangers of high powered cables crossing your land where there are trees. This despite the Electricity Board coming almost annually to limb and remove any potentially dangerous branches. This particular tree belonged to the next door neighbour who was totally oblivious to the drama.

I work occasional saturday mornings in a small animal clinic in Kings Lynn. Mostly this means routine vaccinations and post op checks. Nothing very exciting. Until last saturday that is. A client phoned that their cocker spaniel bitch had been trying to have puppies since 7.30 in the morning. It was now ten o’clock when the owners phoned for advise and were told to bring her straight in for a check. She duly arrived with anxious owners. They were very alarmed and worried. The bitch once away from them was absolutely calm and connected – not too bothered at all. On examination she was fully dilated ready to pass the puppy which was coming backwards. But was she straining – was she heck as like! I jolted her uterus into action with an injection of oxytocin and she pushed enough after 20 minutes to allow me to grasp with forceps and assist in the birth of a large dog pup. Very much alive. Another was produced within 20 minutes which she managed all by herself – well almost and I judged crisis over – send her home to get on with it which she duly did.
She turned into a great little mum taking care of them all in turn and much more together than her owners. Mr welping bitch asked my name. I told him fearing the worst and I was right. The first pup is called after me – poor thing but I suppose it doesn’t know any better. Just as well.

Just back from Paxos where it was wall to wall sunshine and busy days neutering cats and generally being the island vet for PAWS.
Very busy days and especially at Lakka on the first monday. Told the venue was going to the Old School in Lakka. Arrived in good time to find we were not allowed into the school building. All operations would be done outside in the blazing sun. There was no water, no electricity, no tables and no chairs. Plenty of expecting customers with cat but nowhere to work. I went next door to a Taverna and asked for a table. “We are closed. No food”
“No I don’t want to eat I want to borrow a table.”
“Oh off course. Why not?” was the reply and as I came back withsaid table others had arranged 5 gallon containers of water and pirated electric from an outside meter.
We got going and beat and beat my record and finished 17 spays and one ear op by 4.15 when we left knackered before anyone else turned up. Time for a swim and a very cold beer.

Just packing going to Paxos for my annual Greek cat spay fest. It will be 2 weeks plus of being the island vet -lame donkeys, traumatised goats who climb trees then fall out, poisoned dogs and neutering as many feral cats as Zoe (my vet nurse) and I can get my hands on. Usually a good time had by all. My last job as I left the clinic in London Road on saturday was to amputate a cats leg. It was suffering from bone cancer. Hope it makes it. Won’t know until I get back at the end of June.

In my job we are used to dealing with all sorts of people all the time and indeed it is part of the job that I really do enjoy but there is a limit. Last week I had a young mother with toddler in the consulting room with their two flea ridden dogs. She declined flea treatment for their animals as she did not believe they had fleas. She said she could always tell when the dogs had fleas as she would make the dog sit next to the baby and if it had fleas the parasite would jumps onto the the baby and “you can see them on the babies bald head.” Infallible she reckoned and it certainly beats grooming the animal over wet paper I suppose

Had a funny phone call the other evening. A woman client phoned in a bit of a panic. She had been making dinner and had been late and was rushing around more than a bit. She had developed a bit of a headache and went into the medicine cupboard to get some paracetomol tablets. She was so busy she did not look at the label properly and swallowed two cat worming tablets by mistake. She then remembered that when she had last given a tablet to the cat it had developed instant diarrhoea and had rushed out into the garden to dig a hole for instant relief! The poor lady was just a little concerned that the same fate awaited her and was mightily relieved(I use the term advisedly) when I assured her that she would be alright. I heard no more.