Budgerigars
Britain’s best-selling pet titles, Your Cat and Your Dog magazines, based in Stamford, recently announced the winners of their first Product Awards. Jean Orpin & Sue Lee have investigated the availability and costs of some of these products at pet shops and vets in Stamford & Rutland
This year has been declared ‘Year of the Frog’. Jayne Lillywhite discovers why
Guide Dogs have been trained for over seventy years, but training dogs to assist deaf and physically disabled people is much more recent. Jean Orpin & Sue Lee find out more
These days there are also Hearing Dogs, Dogs for the Disabled, Canine Partners and Support Dogs. These charities are working together to campaign for the rights of all assistance dog owners and have designated 2008 as the Year of the Assistance Dog.
We have made a survey of our shops in Stamford and have discovered that all of them, including food shops, smart dress shops, hotels and even china shops would welcome Assistance Dogs. They are also welcome in our hospitals, dentists, the Post Office and the Museum. Stamford Arts Centre is always pleased to make special provision if contacted in advance.
Mention wildlife spectacles and for many people it conjures an image of hordes of wildebeest and zebras on the African plains or perhaps clouds of monarch butterflies in Mexico. But there is a wildlife spectacle on our doorstep. Granted, the scale is smaller, but amazing nonetheless.
Bewick’s swans (left) are smaller than whopper swans (right), and have more black on their bills. During the winter a staggering number of birds migrate to Britain to escape the harsher winter in Russia, Iceland and northern and eastern Europe. Hundreds of thousands of wildfowl and wading birds stop off at the Ouse Washes as it provides an ideal sanctuary during the cold months. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) nature reserve at Welney is a great place to witness this wildfowl spectacular.
If the subject matter appeals and the photography is good or the pictures humorous, these remain easy and inexpensive presents that come in all shapes and sizes.
Our suggestions: PDSA Pet Pawtraits Calendar £4.99 - Twelve pets with their celebrity owners photographed by Jason Fraser. Profits go directly to fund free care for pets whose owners are unable to afford veterinary fees.
