Skabenga's birthday

I just read that we're only having one Friday 13th in 2016. Well, it's always been my lucky day (and Grant's I hope) as I was born on Friday 13th (February 1953!) My dad said it was his lucky day as I was the daughter he'd longed for!

Meanwhile the weekend Grant and I were away on a bike tour , and Skabenga had his first birthday.  (nothing to do with Friday 13th!) He was born on 1st May 2015. Today he's a large 40kg- plus Labrador with the most beautiful nature ever.

Skabenga the pup who was still happy to ride in the car with us! 

Precious pup at two months! 

I posted about taking him for surgery two weeks ago. The vet also snipped a small piece of his tail off. It was dead and dry from getting caught in a door as he followed me around as a pup... His castration and the tail docking had seven stitches in respectively.  Although everything healed systematically, I had the job ahead of me of removing those stitches. 

On Monday I went outdoors with a sterilized pair of tweezers and likewise with a pair of  embroidery scissors - both lent to me by Rina!  Having discussed with John, the gardener,what I wanted to do, he took Skabenga's head in his hands,  arms around his neck and faced him forward. He began to croon to him. 

I gripped Skabenga's  tail with my left hand, pulled up the first stitch with the tweezers and then I was stuck... I didn't have a third hand!  Jacob, Grant's workshop helper, came forward, took the scissors from me and as I guided him, snipped off the first stitch. I pulled it out. Then the next one and the next until we'd taken out all the stitches in the tail. 

John was talking softly to Skabenga all the time. The dog was so still that at one stage I asked John if the dog had passed out. (Africans don't always get European  humor, so John said Uh-Uh!) 

And so Jacob and I with John holding the patient still, removed ALL fourteen stitches. 

Afterwards I commended the men on their calmness and thanked them for helping me. 

And Skabenga? 

Well, Skabenga straightened up, shook himself and went hurtling over the patio bricks to find ancient old Eddy who was sunning herself against the garden wall!

My beautiful pooch, Skabenga now one year old! He's still such a pup and loves playing with "his" rope - a toy we created for him by plaiting four strands of rope and knotting it at the end. He's never far away from "his" rope! 

A sweet photo I've posted before: Skabenga and a his bovine friend sharing a greeting 

Skabenga and Eddy enjoying a splash in the dam during the summer months

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SKABENGA!