Animal Tales round up - January and February 2016

I've taken a few pictures of the cat and dog the past 2 months, that haven't been included in any posts and I wanted to share some of the things the cat and dog have been up to, plus an unpleasant experience with 2 stray cats.

The stray cat No 1

I know I was being silly but this was really difficult. Early in January I witnessed a car hit a cat, I pulled over as did the man behind me, we rescued the cat from the road but it was dead, we placed it near the bins and knocked on a few doors nearby but no one knew the cat. The other cat that was there let me pick her up with help from another passerby and I took her to the vet to check for a chip and to make sure she was alright. On advise from the vet I took her in over night and let her back out in the morning. That evening I went to check the dead cat had been collected by the Municipality to discover the cat I took in the previous night, sitting in the spot where we had placed her dead friend. It is so sad, I cried all the way home.

I went back to where I found the cat a few evenings later and she has moved on. The 'mad cat lady' (not me) who feeds all the strays has put food out again this evening for the strays. thankfully she has taken heed of the notice our gate and is feeding the strays on the waste land.

No 2
We encountered another stray off the Sheik Zayed Road, she really wasn't at all friendly, she had me walk round the back of the car to get in it with her hissing and another woman was scared and leapt back into the car, which her hubby found most amusing until he got out the car and the cat hissed at him also.

Our cat and the washing machine incident

We feed the cat on top of the washing machine as the dog will eat her food otherwise. our washing machine is a top loader, the drum doesn't operate when the lid is up but it will fill with water. As a rule the cat is very lazy and always expects me to pick her up when I dish up her food, however I was a little late home from work and she decided to jump up onto the machine in the hope of finding some leftover biscuits from the morning. I can laugh now about it, but I don't think the cat has fully recovered from her experience on discovering the lid was open and falling inside the filling machine, I scooped her out and she disappeared outside for a few hours. When she returned she was hesitant to eat her food, but she seems to have forgotten the whole experience now.

The cat has been very needy recently, probably because I haven't been at home during the day.

Bob

I returned to work the beginning of January and I'm out the house from 6.15am until 4.15pm Sunday till Thursday. Hubby often works from home, or he pops in and out during the day, or like last week he was travelling so Bob was on his own every day for the week. Bob wasn't happy. It's winter in Dubai so we leave Bob outside all day, he has plenty of dog toys, bones to chew on, a large garden to run around, a secure gate, company from the gardener, plenty of water and a comfy bed in his own dog house.

This is what I'm greeted with everyday when I get home from work, followed by demands for a walk, which I'm more than happy to do.

Bob has a very good sense of time and day of the week, which is based on routine and on Friday mornings, he pesters for his trip out to the desert. I try to get everything ready as quietly as possible and as soon as I open the car door he jumps in, despite every time being made to get out the front and into the back.

I also had to re register the cat and dog with the municipality. I have to provide their chip ID number, their vaccination date and a photo. To date there hasn't been data base in Dubai and if you lose your pet, you have to hope it has been taken to one of the vets in Dubai and they have scanned it and you have phoned all 26 vet clinics to see who has them.

Bob is used to me being out all day now and recognises the signs that I am off, he takes himself off to his dog house and sits on his bed waiting for his treat. It is dark when I leave for work at 6.15am and a couple of nights I've returned late and it's been dark again. Hubby was away last week, the cat has to make a quick decision as to whether she is in or out for the day, she prefers outdoors and doesn't travel far, she seems to always be on the roof when I come home, keeping an eye on her territory.

My Sunday Photo Week 5 Exploring the neighbourhood

I could post a picture of our new home or the creative book case I made from wine crates, but instead I've chosen this photo of what Bob and I are doing right now. We're on the Al Wasl road at the bus stop waiting for hubby, then off to get passport photos done so he can apply for his driving licence and we can buy a car.

Did you know Wasl is the old name for Dubai?

My Sunday photo - living in Dubai

Well it's day 4 of our new lives in Dubai. And again I'm stuck to know which photo to post.

Do I post a picture of the farewell at the airport? The guest house we spent our last week in South Africa in? The dog and the cat in their crates to the airport? The hotel in Dubai where we stay until our container arrives or even our new home? The picture of the dog and cat arriving safely?

Too many choices. My rule though is that I post a picture taken on the Sunday and as today is the first time I have had the opportunity to go exploring on my own with Bob as hubby is at work (Sunday is a working day, the start of the week) I thought I'd show you a picture of the Burg Al Arab, the most expensive hotel in Dubai, if not the world.

Bob and I walked for 10 minutes zig zagging through the streets till we hit the beach. Unfortunately dogs aren't allowed on the beach, but I suspect Bob and I will be making regular visits to walk along the prom. 

Walking in Johannesburg and The World of Beer

Firstly I would like to thank my friend Laura who invited me to the #JoziMeetUp where I met Louisa, who then invited me for coffee in Johannesburg Central Business District today gave me access to her staff car park in Ferreirasdorp which was the first tented camp settlement after gold was discovered in 1887 and took me to Cramers who claim to sell the 'World's Best Coffee' and it was good, where we chatted and set the World to rights.

We then walked back to the office through the Gold district

And past the Law Office of Nelson Mandela and O R Tambo

and then to the 5th floor of Louisa's office so I could take some pictures of Joburg CBD.

I didn't go straight home, we arranged another coffee date for Louisa to come to my neck of the woods and I wandered off, on foot, to SAB World of Beer.

R75 entry, tours start on the hour and last around 1 hour 15 minutes. You get 2 vouchers for drinks, a full guided tour and a Castle Draft taster on route and they let you keep the glass.

I was early so opted to visit The Tap Room for some lunch and ordered the Thai chicken salad, it cost R40, the drink was free and it was so appetising I didn't even stop to instagram it.

The tour starts with the story of Charles Glass and tells you about the history of beer from the Egyptians who drank it though a straw to filter it, to the Bavarians who came up with the light liquid colour we know today, a visit through the barley fields and hops and the distilling process before returning to the Tap Room to use the 2nd drinks voucher and a walk back to the car and home.

Table Mountain

 

You can see Table Mountain from everywhere

 And from the top of Table Mountain, you can see just about everywhere

We opted to travel up and down in the cable car for R215 per person, book online and save 10% or use your wild card for a bigger saving. The queues for the ticket office were non-existent, however the queue for the journey down was around a 20 minutes wait. We enjoyed lunch and drinks on the top, with a quick visit to the well stocked gift shop before our downward journey.

 

However the 18yo decided he was going to walk down, it took him just over an hour. It's around 2 hours to trek up.

 



 

Jan Cilliers