June, 2014 - Hungerford Arcade

We had a very special couple visit us at Hungerford Arcade recently, Natasha Daguiar and her partner, Steve who had a marvellous story to tell us about a four week old baby fox which, when found, was very near to death. I am sure when you read their story and look at the photographs, you too, will agree they are special.
Rita

Fox Cub, Jade

On April the 9th we received a phone call from a local veterinary nurse to say a very young fox cub was being brought in and could we hand rear and look after it. My partner Steve has always looked after injured wildlife and together, we have also hand reared several young animals from wild birds and squirrels to pet rabbit/kits with great success.

Of course, we said yes. We were told this tiny fox cub was found in a field by a lady walking her dog. The lady had noticed it the day before but left it in case Mum fox was nearby. On visiting the same site approx 16 hours

later, the lady found the tiny cub was still in the same spot. This is when the fox cub was brought into the vets.

I instantly done as much research online as I possibly could. We knew this cub would be weak and in dire need of help. My partner, Steve set off to pick up the young cub and some electrolytes from the vets and I headed out to purchase some Goats milk. When Steve got the cub home we were both shocked by the terrible state this young animal was in. She was lifeless, clinging on to minimal signs of life. She could not lift her head and could barely move her tongue. We began syringe feeding her the goats milk mixed with probiotics and electrolytes. It was painstaking and we felt given our previous experiences of wild animals, this little cub had an extremely small chance of surviving. We wouldn’t give up as long as she was hanging on in there. After a few messy feeds at very frequent intervals, we started to see this little cub show some very positive signs of life. Her licking was getting stronger, her little head lifted and we were amazed and delighted with her progress. Although we still couldn’t say she was out of the woods. We got the cub home at approx 7pm and by about 12am she was starting to walk, although very wobbly. We kept up the frequent goat milk feeds every half hour to an hour all through the night. This cub also had one fit/seizure during the night. We had not experienced this before in any animal and were shocked at the severity. I did some more research online regarding fits and we thought it best to take her to the vets for medication and a course of antibiotics in case she had toxoplasmosis. She had further fits approx 4 in 24 hours. At the vets all appeared good, this little cub was walking well, much stronger but we had to stop these fits. She also had cloudy eyes and when the vet tried to look she could not get a good view as the fox kept the inside lids down. We were aware she bumped into things in a clumsy manner, the vet said even very young puppies can appear blind because of their clumsiness. We hoped for the best.

Whilst doing lots of research online, I had stumbled across the importance of taurine. I was totally unaware that foxes and cats alike cannot regulate their own taurine as dogs and humans can. We knew taurine was found in the fox’s natural food and so we purchased some taurine supplements. I forgot to mention by the second day of having this little cub which we decided to name Jade, she was willingly eating soft dog food mixed with goats milk, electrolytes, probiotics and taurine. This was fantastic as we could get a lot more food inside her than with the syringe feeding.

The medication Jade had been given to stop the seizures worked very well and she never had another seizure. I had read that low taurine levels can cause seizures and eye problems I wondered if this could have been the problem with Jade. Jade was given phenobarbital which I also looked up online, I was horrified by the side effects but was torn with the fact it had halted the seizures. It is very sedative and can hinder learning, which I felt was very important to a growing cub. After 2 weeks, no seizures and an extremely strong gut feeling, we went against our vets advice and weaned Jade of the phenobarbital. That was 5 weeks ago and there have been no seizures since, thankfully, although we are aware seizures can be 6 months apart or even a year. We hold out hope that these seizures do not return, although we keep a watchful eye for any signs.

Jade is growing at a very rapid rate, we cannot believe this is the same little cub that came to us just over 7 weeks ago. We estimate that she was approx 4 weeks old when she arrived with us. So we believe she is now 11 weeks old. We have an indoor enclosure for Jade as well as her larger outdoor enclosure, she has also been on small walks with our 2 dogs. We are going at Jade’s pace and we will let her teach us what she wants and needs as she grows. Jade also enjoys rough play with our elderly Staffordshire Bull Terrier who thinks she’s still a puppy! We tell Solo the staffie to leave Jade and then Jade will pounce on her and terrorise her, they are funny together. We have excluded our male Staffordshire bull terrier Buzz from this close contact play as we know Jade will terrorise him too and we don’t know how he will react without the maternal instincts our female Solo has. Jade has contact with Buzz from inside her enclosures and whilst out walking where she is restrained from pouncing all over Buzz. He is a very good natured dog but we don’t want to rush his and Jade’s relationship as she will mellow out when a little older and then he won’t be over powered by her tormenting sharp teeth.

Natasha Daguiar

For all the latest news, go to our Newsletter at www.hungerfordarcade.co.uk

Our dear author, Stuart Miller-Osborne and his wife Caron have been celebrating the birth of their second granddaughter, Lily Iris Rose. She was born on 17th May in Paulton near Bath. The managers, staff and stallholders at Hungerford Arcade send our congratulations to Stuart, Caron and their family.

Here is a wonderful story written by Stuart after a recent visit to Edinburgh. It is a beautiful story which tugs at the heart strings.
Rita

GREYFRIARS BOBBY

As far as I can see, Greyfriars Bobby has no connection to Hungerford, although I would imagine that a number of residents have visited his small statue when in Edinburgh. But who was Greyfriars Bobby?

If I asked the average child in the town about the story of Greyfriars Bobby then it is likely that they would not know of the small dog. Today its all apps and electronic games as well as graphic novels. Most children are totally unaware of the book written by Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson (1863-1942) about the little Skye Terrier.

If you can remember England winning the World Cup in 1966 then it is likely that you would have read Greyfriars Bobby or at least have received it as a Christmas or birthday present. I was given a copy aged five and I can remember it being read to me, although my mother experienced serious difficulties with the dialect.

The story in short is that of a Skye Terrier named Bobby who spent the next fourteen years after his owner’s death guarding his masters grave until the dog himself died on the 14th January 1872.

Bobby, I am told was buried not far from his master near the gate in Greyfriars Kirkyard which is the graveyard of Greyfriars Kirk (a very interesting church to say the least).

When I was in Edinburgh recently I found the small statue of Greyfriars Bobby (a Category A listed building believe it or not) which sits on the corner of Candlemaker Row and the George IV Bridge. I will not give you directions as you will most likely end up in Dundee. Most local people will know where the statue is but if you head in the general direction of the Museum of Scotland you will find it.

The statue itself was unveiled in 1873 and was originally designed as a drinking fountain. The waters were available until 1975 when a bacterial scare closed the facility (The dreaded Health & Safety were with us even then). If my memory serves me, I believe that the waters in Bath were inhibited at around the same time for the same reason.

Sadly the statue had suffered mild vandalism and was hit by a car in 1984 which left it in a very poor state. Happily, a very sympathetic restoration took place and the statue and its base are as good as new. Although the dog did have a very shiny nose when I visited it.

Bobby

Whether the story is true or not is immaterial. The more cynical have pointed out that stray dogs hung around graveyards (no bone jokes please) where they were often fed by the concerned. This is as true as with the cats and dogs that hung around bomb sites after the war. Animals are logical, if there is a reliable food source then they are not going to stray far.

But that takes away the romance of the story. That John Gray a night watchman with the Edinburgh City Police owned Bobby and that they both were great pals and when John died in 1858, Bobby spent the rest of his life guarding his masters grave.

Even before the book by Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson the story would have travelled through an oral tradition. The British love sentimental animal stories and her book just cemented the legend of the dog.

Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson

Strangely Eleanor was an American from Indiana who never visited Edinburgh. Some of her geography in the book is a little out but Eleanor certainly had an ear for dialect, although by no means am I an expert.

Wally Cox – 1962

Aside, an interesting fact about this now forgotten author was that her grandson was the actor Wally Cox (1924-1973) who I remember from The Adventures of Hiram Holliday (1956-1957) an American sitcom which I rather liked as a child. He was a great friend of Marlon Brando (1924-2004) and I have read that his ashes were mixed with those of Brando and another close friend prior to disposal.

But what of Greyfriars Bobby and Hungerford? Well if you look hard you might find a copy of Eleanor’s book, although to date I have not seen a copy in the Arcade. It is likely that various Victorian trinkets and souvenirs were produced although I have yet to see any. I did find a contemporary postcard of Bobby in a copy of The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans a year or so ago but that does not really count.

When I do locate a copy of Eleanor’s book then I will purchase it and when they are of age, will read it to both Ada and Lily (my granddaughters) with the hope that the magic of the tale will rub off on them.

If you are in Edinburgh and have the time, then do visit Bobby (there is an excellent pub opposite) and if you are hooked, visit his grave (I sadly did not).

The city does not sell the attraction heavily which is refreshing but I did see modern copies of the 1912 book and DVDs of the two prominent films that were made, Greyfriars Bobby (1961) starring Gordon Jackson and the later one, The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (2006) starring Gina McKee, for sale around the city.

But for the moment I will wait for an early copy of Greyfriars Bobby to show up, hopefully in Hungerford and after practising my dialect I will read the story to my granddaughters, one of whom visited Bobby’s statue with me a few weeks ago when we occasioned a visit to his home city.

Greyfriars Bobby Headstone

For all the latest news, go to our Newsletter at www.hungerfordarcade.co.uk

Month: June 2014

HUNGERFORD ARCADE FOX CUB

HUNGERFORD ARCADE GREYFRIARS BOBBY