Blog 35: Our rose petal, Rosie & The Bandit

Hello my dearest reader, I trust all is going well in your world. My word isn’t it amazing how COVID has disappeared off the world radar and now all anyone can focus on is the war – (in fact I had typed the word as a Capital W, no way I changed that to a little w – we certainly not going to give this a capital W – Not on my watch!) “Which war” I hear you ask? When you think about us humans. Forever and a day Palestine and Israel have been fighting. That has become the “norm” as we continue with our lives each day with very little, or no thought for those folk. However now with Ukraine every news channels focuses on nothing else. Don’t get me wrong it is tragic what is happening to the people in the Ukraine. All those families that have packed a bag and crossed the border to Poland etc., how hectic is that for the little kids (well any kid really!)  and the elderly (again young, old, middle aged what does it matter its terrible for all)! Families like you and me – with pets and kids and bonds to pay (what? “You don’t have a bond to pay” hmmmmm well you can always take over mine – kidding😊) anyhow, the whole idea of this blog is to keep it light, fun with heaps of glasses filled to the brim with bubbly champagne (or wine,whiskey whatever is your preferred poison hmm these days could be CBD or the good old cigarette maybe?) so I will stop this now.

The day we adopted dearest Rosie and Bandit

Ok so today we going to have a “fluffy” chat all bout my precious pets. For those that are nan’s and grans and obviously if you (hm guess not obvious hey?) are a nan or gran you are a mama bear too. So, with most of us our kids grown up and living their own lives (so, so many of them across the seas, one or two right across town, or even better, across the hall from your room 😊) we enter a new chapter in our book of Life. Being a nan is amazing albeit our precious Tide is quite far away. (I know! I know he is in Durban so in fact for some of you it would be a case of he really is just around the corner 😊 as your kiddies are truly over the seas and in some cases over many seas).

 As we “mature” Gary and I decided (Gary’s folks had a pet shop so yip through the years we have had a menagerie of pets and we still do!) With the boys no longer being home, when Gary and I go away it is quite important that we have a Pet Sitter (in my opinion a second mama when I am not here). This can also become quite stressful when none of our regulars are able to pet sit! Thank you though – really do want to do a shout out to my beloved neighhour at this point. Thank you always Elaine. Anyhow, so with us and our beloved pets maturing we decided that as our little furry family depart from this earth, we will not add any more furry family members to the Robbertze clan. It was going quite swimmingly. That is until my dearest, darling neighbour – yip its Elaine again, sent me a photo on a casual Saturday afternoon. I was besotted with this little furry four-legged friend I hadn’t as yet met. Monday morning I had school visits planned which were in White River (which is not across the seas but the next town) so I did all the necessary before fetching Bandit (ok so now here is a question – with the price of petrol right now I wonder if I would do this differently now – hmmm nope – you know me – when I make up my mind – it happens regardless of how many mountains I need to climb). Another major digression there! As I was saying I collected my “son” Bandit who loves the car, in fact so does his sister. I am not kidding, every evening, yes dear reader every day when Gary arrives home from work, he takes the furry kids for a drive around the block. In fact, it concerns him – how many neighbours’ have noticed this daily routine and think he is a stalker! I was so touched when Chad was home before he departed for his USA adventure the one day he came back from gym. I noticed he was gone as quickly as he had arrived. Turns out. He took them for a drive too!

Two of my most loved

Right, that was the second digression wasn’t it? So, I was saying I fetched Bandit and we headed for Prolife. When we arrived we were introduced to Rosie (actually her name was Tatiana – frik I know hey – blady pole dancer name!!!) anyhow within seconds we fell in love (her, me and Bandit). They fetched a cat and we did the cat test to see if she jelled with cats – in fact that was silly of us, as she was so anxious and I don’t think at that stage she gave a tinkers toss if a blady dinosaur was presented to her! She had been at Prolife for quite a few months apparently (I still wonder what deep dark secret she had hidden that no one had adopted her yet, I would like to think she doesn’t have any shady past and it was rather meant that she became Rosie Robbertze). So that was it …. there and then (as Dizabeth ALWAYS does, no deep thought goes into this decision and we most certainly DON’T pass it by Gary as he will definitely say a big fat no!) she was signed for, paid for and was in the car on the journey home. Karin did ask – “are you not perhaps keen to foster her and see how it goes?” “Ah absobladalutely not” (Again not really thinking this through!) I replied very, very adamantly. Ok, so we stopped off at dad’s (Gary for those of you getting confused) work for us to introduce our daughter to dad. Then we were home. Well, well, well I would be lying to say it was a perfect happy homely haven. Absolutely not! In fact, if I am honest. For the first time in many years I thought “Dizabeth, Dizabeth – frikken Dizzy blady Lizzy what the F…bomb have you done?” the peace and calmness of our happy home was destroyed! Rosie’s “stella performance” at Prolife when a cat was presented to her – well let’s say – it was nothing, I mean NOTHING! like that at home. Frikken hell I literally had three cats with their hair continuously raised and no exaggeration spitting mad! And then we had Rosie! Now Fraidy Cat has lots – I mean lots of spirit (Fiesty-niss) God knows why I ever named her Fraidy Cat as that she certainly is not! She literally was a case of “bring it on you little white & tan with that blady Flash Gordon never stops wagging tail of yours – Brrrring it on!” she literally went out of her way to find, spit and strike at Rosie. Oh, my giddy aunt and when she did that – Rosie would yelp and yelp and yelp some more! Eventually I thought perhaps it’s time for me to pack my blady bags and move into the car! (and this was only an hour since we had gotten home!) I truly felt what the hell have I done, the previously peaceful happy home we had was gone. People said: “Give it a few days ‘it will all settle down”. Really? Really, a few days? Nope more like a blady month of hell!! Another thing, Rosie wouldn’t step into the house. She would stop at the front or back door and not dare set a paw into the house. And now, well she is well and truly a Robbertze. It’s a fight between dad, mom and Rosie who dibs the comfy couch first each evening. She has settled in so beautifully. She adores the car and (now) her leash. When she first arrived she truly hated the leash. Now every morning early bells (hmmmmm definitely cannot see this enthusiasm for my early morning walk continuing when winter sets in☹ – as much as I am counting the minutes never mind the blady days for winter to come!) we all three love our morning routine of “Barbara Woodhouse Walkies!” It’s crazy how quickly the neighbourhood peeps get into the routine of you walking past their houses. The now “usuals” wave good morning – I even have a mom who drops her kids off – and waits once she has driven back into her driveway to give me a big morning wave. Hm actually thinking about this, it could turn out quite handy. If I ever land up on the side of the milk carton she will say “Wait a minute I know her , just show me a photo of her dogs and I will confirm whether it’s her or not!”

Too sweet our morning walkies usually are until this morning, where we had a bit of an iffy moment.

Bandit

 Bandit is very disciplined and does not fancy walking with a leash. But because he is so good – yes, he has the odd moment of madness where he loses his discipline and is tempted by the dogs taunting him as we walk past. Now I haven’t mastered the language of dog – so as we walk past, they (other dogs) can go wild – and just every now and then they obviously say something that is too close to the truth, and he reacts. (Hm maybe he doesn’t enjoy them explaining to him how to make a sandwich – even if it is a gourmet sandwich! Blog 34). So, this morning – now here’s a thing there are four labbies that live on our route.  Each morning my giddy aunt these four show a totally different side to me to the nature of Labbies that I have been led to believe. They are quite aggressive, so anyhow, this morning we happily walking. Missy and me when Bandit decides: Hmm maybe they said “your sister is ugly or your mama looks funny in them shorts with her funny pins for legs”  or maybe said they both of these things and he reacted. Now as he reacted there was a woman who was in her garage, the garage door was open and at her feet was a little sausage dog – I can tell you with absolute certainty his name is Noah. Well as Bandit ran at the labbies – so Noah ran for Bandit – and didn’t Bandit totally forget about the labbies, Rosie and myself as he beetled it down the road. Alllll, alllll all the blady way back down the hilly part we had just panted up. I was “well Bandit I aint going down that blady hill again, I aint going nowhere!”. Garage lady ran after Noah and I stood, my pins supporting me – Rosie carried on smelling all around – not a clue of what was going down. Thank goodness she isn’t a German Shepherd or Blood hound – how useless would she be as a working dog! Garage lady retrieved Noah and entered her house. No doubt flooking me all the way while Bandit was a pin prick in my vision. I stood, he stood and Rosie sniffed around. I stood some more, he stood some more and Rosie continued smelling. I eventually called to him. He kinda was hmm is it her, was I donnered up and am in Doggie Heaven – where am I? I see what appears to be her in the farrrrrrr off distance. I called again and he very hesitantly came to me – when he got close enough he realized Ahh it is not Doggie Heaven it is her and my super, in fact uber caring sister who not for a moment hesitated in assisting me – erm NOT! Needless to say I carried him the remainder of the way home. With a very stern talking going on to him .Rosie carried on regardless of any drama that had occured! Today somewhere in my day I will be popping in at a collar and leash shop – his carefree days are over! (Update: my dearest Pammie has saved the day she has one, what a scoop😊 Thanks Pammie.)

Rosie no longer hesitant to step her paws over the front/back door and very much at home on the couch. (Even your friends couch in this instance! Thanks Lis 🙂 )

Rosie the other day – we were joyfully and happily walking the neighbourhood. Now as in most neighbourhood’s you get those peeps that have pride and those that don’t. You have some well tendered pavements and some not so much. This particular morning, we happened to have just stepped onto a well tendered pavement when Rosie decided it was time to make a deposit! And no dear reader this far it had never entered my mind to take along a packet for such occasions. Yes, they both do the occasional (ok plenty) piddles along the route but never a number two! And isn’t this just Dizabeth’s luck. As we step onto the well tendered pavement the automated gate springs to life! A fancy car reversing out the driveway and Rosie is squatting! Well for a half a minute she was squatting before I literally dragged her as she tried to continue making her deposit. I waved super enthusiastically to the owner of the house, trying as best as I could to distract him from noticing I had a dog and a leash attached to the other hand that wasn’t waving at him – now totally reversed he waved at me – a big smile on his dial not noticing the tinest, teenest bit of doggie do on his lawn. And Rosie; truthfully it was like she was as embarrassed as I was. We continued our walk in silence not another word about doing doggie deposits on any lawns – well tendered or not! At this point I do need to add, we (well obviously only me) chitty chat all the way as we walk.

And that dear reader is all she wrote.

Take care out there. If going away for the long weekend, travel safe. If you staying home – enjoy the couch.

Thanks for loving my blog the way you do.

Mwah mwah.

PS : Just re-reading through this – we actually have added two new members. How could I possibly have forgotten dearest Neeny Beanie – the cat from Stellies 😊 is also now a Robbertze oh my word someday I will relate the drama a week ago of him and the cobra! Tooo much to chat about today – doggie doo doo and a cobra – I think not😊