October 2018, FREE
A Comforting Paw: Pets & Our Mental Health
PET HOROSCOPES by Celebrity Astrologer RUSSELL GRANT! PLUS PET STORIES/TOP PET PRODUCT REVIEWS & MORE INSIDE
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Cavaliers’ Choices... Premium pet products, destinations & activities for you & your pet chosen by Sophie Nell and Rufus, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, assisted by Marie.
LET'S PLAY TUG! Chuckit! has a great range of toys; in particular, the Mountain Rope Tug toy (pictured), Max Glow Range of glow in the dark toys and the range of launchers and balls will keep your pooch entertained and exercised for ages. We especially like the launchers and the tug toy, which we (Rufus, the youngster among us) had the pleasure of trying out. We loved played tug with the humans and proving that we are the strongest. Three paws up! Chuckit! toys are available from most pet stores.
SUITS YOU SIR! We adore this handmade range of Harris tweed designer dog wear from Scottish company Bowzos. Whether you want a smart waistcoat, collar, lead or bowtie, they are the ones to go to to kit out your pooch! As well as for everyday wear, their smart togs are perfect for special occasions such as weddings. Pictured is Pets Mag’s Rufus, looking super-smart in his tweed bandana. www.bowzos.co.uk
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Cavaliers’ Choices... SOOTHING SOLUTIONS Pet Remedy (www.petremedy.co.uk) has launched its Party Season Survival Kit, comprising the Pet Remedy plug diffuser, calming spray and calming wipe sachets in time for Bonfire Night and the festive season. Pet Remedy products combine Valerian absolute oil and essential oils including Vetiver, Sweet Basil and Clary Sage which, when used together, trick nerve cells into thinking they are getting a calming message from the brain, which is why it works instantly. Priced at £25.00.
POOCH POETRY! Imagine if your dog could talk to you. Better still, imagine if it could express its innermost feelings in poetic form. ‘What I Lick Before Your Face and other haikus by dogs’, by Jamie Coleman, is a heart-warming book and the perfect gift for any dog lover. With a delightful photo alongside every haiku, this is a fun read. £9.99 | Hardback | Publishing 1st November | Bantam Press
PS/ We’re always looking for premium products & services to review for both pets and people! Please get in touch with the boss at editor@petsmag.co.uk. Love,
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Sophie, Nell & Rufus
xxx
WWW.ARTYLOBSTER.COM Vet
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A Comforting Paw... Can Pets Help With Mental Health?
Cuddle power should not be underestimated. For both pets and people, comfort is derived from the nearness of another, the comforting link of touch. So many other beneďŹ ts can be derived from caring for a pet, as MARIE CARTER explains...
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or as an accompaniment
Formerly love-deprived Nell, my rescue spaniel, loves her to, medication for a cuddles, and she ‘asks’ for Cuddle power whole host them on a daily basis. The should not be of mental strength of her underestimated. health unconditional and innocent For both pets and sense of love is palpable and issues… people, comfort is we both derive comfort and a sense of calm from that derived from the The Marie & Nell comforting closeness. nearness of padding of another, the comforting Just by stroking, sitting next feet across the otherwise link of touch. So many silent house, the welcoming to or playing with a pet can other benefits can be help to relax and calm nudge of wet nose on arm someone with a mental derived from caring for a and the soothing sense of health condition. Dogs pet. Some might say that unconditional love can especially will encourage make lives tainted by a furry friend should be their owner to seek exercise mental health more put on a medical and thereby meet other dog bearable. prescription in place of, walkers, creating vital social By MARIE CARTER
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connections. A growing raft of studies has shown that pets can help with numerous issues linked to mental health from depression and PTSD to addictions, stress and feelings of loneliness. Mental health campaigner Vanessa Holbrow from Burnham on Sea, Somerset has been helped on a lifechanging level by the power of a similar connection. Vanessa’s Border Terrier, ‘Sir Jack Spratticus’, a rescue from Border Terrier Welfare, won the dog hero competition, Friends for Life, at Crufts 2018. Jack, for short, is credited with changing Vanessa’s life, helping her to live with complex mental health illnesses, by giving Vanessa purpose, permission to be and find a sense of self, companionship and stability. Vanessa explains: “Jack had such a bad start in life. It took me a year to train him in order for us to be able to walk in local dog friendly
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areas, for example, a 7-mile stretch of beach, on our door step. This just shows what love and patience can do. His needs, I strongly sensed, mirrored my own to a degree; put simply, due to inappropriate early life
Generated Independence in August 2017 and started training to be an official assistance dog to Vanessa. Vanessa chose to go down the route alone, so Jack is now an Owner Trained 'Assistance Dog for Mental Health', independent of any organisation. Wherever they go, Jack’s status as an ‘Assistance Dog for Mental Health’, stimulates conversation, raises awareness, and helps combat prejudice. Jack is a brilliant advocate for the crucial role dogs play for those living with mental health illnesses.
Jack has given Vanessa the motivation and Vanessa & Jack passion to speak on local radio, the confidence to experiences.” speak in front of the camera for local television, write Vanessa was determined articles and help not to give up on Jack, and organisations including through long hours of Rethink and Beat & Time to patience and training, Change. Together, Vanessa Vanessa says: “Jack now and Jack have raised helps to raise awareness of mental health issues and he thousands of pounds for mental health charities. is my family. I don’t know what I would do without him.” Jack was accepted by the organisation Canine Pets Magazine
“Jack has been an integral part of maintaining my physical connections to the world,” Vanessa explains.
“He enables me to go out and meet with other dog owners. Regularity in seeing people is paramount to continuing a friendship and Jack has made a significant difference with this. This has been an invaluable reminder that other people are there and that they may care about me. This is a chronically unfamiliar concept for me”.
An otherwise isolated person can become more a part of their community by the simple act of walking their dog or chatting about their pet to another person. The responsibility of looking after a pet can also give a sense of achievement and add important routine to a day. Dr David Cliff, a Personal Development Coach at Gedanken, explains: “The presence of an animal can have a supportive and calming effect on people. Stroking pets, induces a sense of well-being, often creating blood pressure reduction. The warmth of contact, the brisk dog walk
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to maintain fitness, the cats calming purr, all of these offer owners’ gifts that are hard to place a value upon but we would be clearly more impoverished without.”
helpful, followed by a third of respondents who described stroking a cat as a calming and helpful activity.
Dr Cliff explains: “The care of an animal and the companionship it brings can A joint Cats Protection and bring meaning to one's life, Mental Health Foundation personal enrichment and study showed how cats can has been known to reduce help improve mental health. suicidal behaviour and encourage people to rework their lives.
“The care of an animal
and the companionship it brings can bring meaning to one's life...” The research involved over 600 cat- and non-catowning respondents, with half of them describing themselves as currently having a mental health problem. The survey found that 87% of people who owned a cat felt it had a positive impact on their wellbeing, while 76% said they could cope with everyday life much better thanks to the company of their feline friends. Half of the cat owners felt that their cat's presence and companionship was most Pets Magazine
“We live in a world of increasingly single person households and many have described loneliness as almost a disease state in our society.
“Pets often offer at least in part, an antidote to that, particularly amongst people who are, for example, housebound, geographically isolated, have difficulty maintaining adult relationships, have mental health problems, learning disabilities and other challenges that limit or qualify human interpersonal contact.”
From easing in the early owner who suffered from stages of alcohol or drug alcohol addiction. rehabilitation to being a solid support for those who Tom Maybury died five years have entered addiction ago at the age of 29 but the recovery, animals have a lot recent death of Tottie has to offer those struggling from Happiness: Nell, the rescue Cavalier addiction. Through all stages of treatment and recovery, pet therapy can be an enormous help to those in recovery. Yet another canine has inspired a campaign to improve addiction recovery. Rescue dog Tottie was born in 2003 and was the last of an abandoned litter of puppies to be homed by the Dogs Trust at Roden Shropshire. She died recently one month short of her 15th birthday but will always be remembered for the love and support she gave to her
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Henry Maybury, Tom’s brother, explains: “We visited the Dogs Trust because Tom was adamant he wanted a dog. On seeing this little one with a huge head Tom decided he wanted her, despite us trying to persuade him otherwise. Tom absolutely idolised her, she really was his little girl. She would go to work with him, riding in the tractor cabin, keeping him company.
“Sadly, after Tom had been looking after Tottie for about six years he was unable to care for her properly because he was fighting his own demons, alcohol addiction. Tottie moved in with mum but Tom visited regularly, walking her – he really did love her to bits. When Tom moved back with mum for a spell of support, she would frequently find Tottie lying on the bed led Tom’s mother Sally and with him. Tottie played such younger brother Henry to a large part in Tom’s life and raise awareness of how I am sure she helped him in rescue dogs can make such trying to cope with his a difference to people’s lives. demons.” Pets Magazine
After Tom’s death Henry, a singer/songwriter, came across the songs ‘Lost Days’ and ‘Every Night And Day’ and decided they would be the ideal vehicle to make people aware of alcohol addiction and how easy it is to fall into that trap.
come to the end, so we all said our goodbyes to a very special lady, who is now reunited with her best
“After releasing the videos and travelling all around the UK visiting schools, prisons and rehabs Tottie became a star in her own right,” added Henry.
Alcohol Partnerships (CAP), a government funded organisation which works to tackle the problem of underage drinking and associated anti-social behaviour across the UK. Henry is donating 100% of the proceeds from his debut single ‘Lost Days’ to addiction charities globally. For further information for donations and bookings, visit http:// www.henrymaybury.com/.
When mental health takes a nosedive for whatever reason, if there is one to be found, pets from dogs and cats to horses and smaller animals can have Tottie remarkable restorative powers. To adapt a wellfriend Tom.” used and oh so true phrase, ‘pets’, truly are, ‘people's’ Tom’s mum Sally says: “I “Students would message best friends.’ would never have thought me through Facebook and that after the sadness of five Instagram asking me how Tottie was and what she was years ago of losing my son Tom that I would now feel up to. Prisoners would beg me to bring her into prisons joy from seeing the amazing response to our addiction so they could meet her – I wish it had been something programme from students in schools, parents, prisoners I was allowed to do. and those fighting addiction and in recovery.” “Tottie started suffering from arthritis and dementia The Maybury family is now last year and towards Christmas we knew she had working with Community
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An Arthurian Tale...
Retired vet and author
Animals’. Here, he shares
MALCOLM D. WELSHMAN
a tale that is straight
Malcolm has had a
from King Arthur’s
lifetime filled with exciting
Court...
When Davinia Cresswell stepped with animals. into my consulting He shares all room that these afternoon, it was as if she had fascinating stepped out of one experiences in a of her Arthurian gently novels. Flaming Malcolm and Dora humorous ringlets of hair memoir that cascaded down will guarantee to tug at over her shoulders. Fiery emerald eyes blazed. And the the heart strings while swashbuckling demeanour in bringing a smile to your the way she carried herself, clad face. ‘A most enjoyable in tight crimson jeans and insight into a fascinating bodice-ripping blouse that life.’ Jim Wight, son of plunged dangerously low over James Herriot, has her cleavage. Wow. It was enough to light my fire. If she’d described Malcolm’s been a damsel in distress I’d latest work, ‘An Armful of have been cantering to her
encounters
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rescue in the wink of a dragon’s eye. But somehow, I felt it would take a lot to get Davinia Cresswell distressed; and when it did it would be due to a problem with one of her many cats since she was a confirmed cataholic. On our first meeting, Davinia greeted me with, “Allow me to introduce one of my merry band,” placing a cat basket on my consulting table. “This little mite’s just joined us. I’d like you to give him the once over. Make sure he’s fit to join the clan.” He was a small timid tortie, brown, black and white, cowering in the bottom of the basket. As soon as Davinia eased him out, her manner changed. She cooed and clucked. Smoothed and cuddled. Reassured with sweet nothings in his ear. His right
ear. The other one was missing. “Indeed,” I muttered. Still miles No doubt torn off in a fight. away. In Avalon in actual fact, climbing a turret. “I’ve called him Tom Thumb,” she said. “He “He made several more was Arthur’s court appearances over the months dwarf and honorary knight. And my own with battle wounds that King Arthur has needed treatment.” accepted him.” “That’s good,” I murmured absent-mindedly, still thinking of damsels in distress. “Yes. He straightaway cleaned this mite’s fur with his tongue. And then led him to his own dish of food and sat back allowing him to feed from his bowl. Amazing, don’t you think?”
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discomfort caused by an abscess under his tail for which he was admitted, sedated and the abscess lanced. He made several more appearances over the months with battle wounds that needed treatment.
I went on to meet other members of King Arthur’s Round Table. Galahad, Lancelot Geraint, Lamorak. When King Arthur finally made And a few ladies of the Court, his appearance at the surgery Brangaine, Celia and some two months later, his Guinevere. A mixed collection name did indeed seem apt. He of stray and rescue cats that was a blue Persian. Long, seemed to live together with flowing grey fur. Large golden only the occasional warring eyes and very aloof in the whenever a new member was manner in which he padded introduced. Each spat deftly round the consulting table, tail dealt with by King Arthur or erect, swishing from side to one of his cohorts. side, its tip quivering. But that may have been due to the Pets Magazine
Of the group, Dagonet was the funniest character. “Well he was Arthur’s court jester,” explained Davinia, with a toss of those wonderful ringlets of hers. “And he certainly makes me laugh with the pranks he gets up to.” One such prank of Dagonet’s involved the central heating in Davinia’s home - aptly called Camelot Cottage.
all Dagonet’s fault. I discovered he’d jumped up on top of the washing machine and reached across to flick on
was a knight in shining armour. His description suspiciously matched mine.
the central heating switch. Same with the TV switch.”
I didn’t mind too much. At least he didn’t have a stethoscope dangling from his neck.
“I woke up one night very hot,” Seems he was also responsible she told me. “And had to throw for raiding the fridge. Clever back my duvet. Can you little fella. I managed to imagine?” I could. All too clearly. Got me hot and very bothered. “So I went down to the kitchen to get a drink,” she went on.
An Armful of Anim als is available from Am azon as a paperback £7.99 or ebook £2.99 www.malcolmwelsh man.co.uk
“There were all the cats in the front room watching TV, warm as toast, spoils of a midnight feast scattered over the sofa and armchairs. It was
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compose myself sufficiently to give him his annual booster. When Davinia’s latest Arthurian adventure was published she left me a complimentary copy. In it there Pets Magazine
www.sweetpeepets.co.uk
Pet Horoscopes by Russell Grant
ARIES (March 21st-April 20th)
bushy tailed. With a proper
What a diligent creature you
focus on nutrition you and
are, always performing chores
your housemate make a
around the house to help your
dynamic team!
companion; you're so devoted a pet it's diďŹƒcult to imagine
TAURUS (April 21st-May
how anyone could get along
21st)
without you! It would be
One minute your owner
unfortunate if you were to get
seems eager to lavish you
so preoccupied with working
with praise, and the next with
that you forgot to take care of
shame. It's hard to know what
yourself! A healthy food plan
to make of these mixed signals. precious possessions. If your
will keep you bright eyed and
Err on the side of caution.
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Don't venture into forbidden
areas, and stay away from human companion is smart,
www.sweetpeepets.co.uk
they'll keep favourite items out
appearance and presentation.
Could it be your housemate
of harm. Your playful
You bask in the glow of
just got fed up and discarded
exuberance can sometimes
radiance.
the rarely used or old toys?
LEO (July 24th-August 23rd)
LIBRA (September 24th-
Welcome to a month of fun in
October 23rd)
GEMINI (May 22nd-June 21st)
the sun. You'll have an extra
Collisions that have occurred
Your health could be a bit
skip in your step as you parade before will occur again, if only
delicate right now, so watch
around town. Friends will
those table scraps. Yes, you
comment on how fabulous you the voice of authority that
can be terribly grumpy when
look. You'll be the centre of
you're not given what you
attention, so now is the time to rules and regulations. You've
want, but it's better to be
play the roaring lion. No need
never been one who responds
cranky than cringing in agony.
to lift a ďŹ nger convincing
well to being told what to do,
You're also fastidious about
others of your greatness.
but if you'd just listen, you
your appearance. A good way
They'll understand without any could avoid many of the
to get in your good graces is to
prodding from you and shower problems you get yourself into!
clean your quarters and wash
you with compliments.
result in unfortunate accidents. Kerb your enthusiasm!
because you insist on dodging instructs you to obey certain
When a well-meaning human
you thoroughly. Having a
friend explains the situation to
pristine eating area is essential,
you, take a step back and
especially when forced to eat
VIRGO (August 24th-
consider the reasons behind
low-cal food!
September 23rd)
the request. Your cooperation
Have you been thinking your
will be well rewarded!
memory's played tricks on you; CANCER (June 22nd-July 23rd) have you seemingly lost some Venus in your sign has a big
of your treasures? There could
SCORPIO (October 24th-
impact on you for this month.
be a few very good reasons
November 22nd)
You'll enjoy the joys of entering why you can't locate certain
You're more on your game
a cycle of beauty in several
things. One is you've got such a than ever as the month begins;
ways. Get ready to be taken
collection of items buried all
the stellar job you do at looking
out for a 'sprucing up'. This
around that it's just too much
after a visitor earns you both
could include a haircut, a
to keep track of. As easily as
praise and treats. Initially, you
massage, a scrubbing and
you accumulate friends, you've might not fully realise what a
combing or any other activity
thoughtlessly held on to the
positive eect you have on this
that enhances your
many items they've given you.
person, but before long the
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news of you will
and allow
reach the ear of
changes to
someone who
occur while at
trains pets for
the same time
special duties;
expanding
don't be surprised
your circle of
if your services are
influence.
sought for this
You're in easy
task. That's both a
harmony with
feather in your cap
the idea of re-
and an honour for
birth as you
your housemate!
flow with the CAPRICORN (December 22nd-
SAGITTARIUS (November 23rd-December 21st) Stay alert and out of the way; with an aggressive creature on the prowl the fur that flies could very well be yours if you get in range! With such an intruder invading the neighbourhood everyone will be talking about the need for increased security. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is risky, but it appears this
January 20th) Oh, goody, goody! More trips in store for you. You won't even mind it that you have to travel in a box. It's worth that small price to be a part of things and
saves the day, enlist a foolhardy, courageous Aries acquaintance to do the job.
different place and see new things. When you're feeling cramped in a small space consider the alternative. You could be put up in a pet hotel while your family is away.
on the deepest, most secret levels. Let the alchemy of new season magic embrace you and share those mysteries with those you live with.
PISCES (February 20th-March 20th) You'll need to flex your muscles to keep fit this month. In fact, physical fitness is your highest priority now. This includes both your body work
AQUARIUS (January21stFebruary19th) Leave it to you to be particularly attuned to the transforming energies of the time. As often happens, you're urged to continue to go within
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waking up to what's happening
go on an adventure to a
situation calls for a hero; if you don't want to be the one who
natural cycle of
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and your diet plan. You aren't a finicky eater, but now you're thinking about food in a new way. You're gearing to be more healthy, even when smells of tempting morsels cooking up in the kitchen tickle your nose.
LARS B. ANDERSEN, CEO of Arty Lobster On 3D Pet Sculptures Click this link to watch the video.
And here’s two examples of Arty Lobster’s fantastic 3D sculptures. Visit their website at www.artylobster.com to order a 3D sculpture of YOUR pet!
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