A visit from the dentist

We thought it was about time that some of our older ladies had a visit from the dentist.  We had noticed that a couple of them seemed to be having slight problems eating and so we rounded up a small group for expert vet John to take a look at.  We have never done this before and so were not quite sure what we would find.

John, along with our lovely vet Peter, is one of the most senior directors at our veterinary practice and he is an expert equine dentist.  However, he also turns his hand to goat dentistry and gets plenty of practice at Buttercups Goat Sanctuary where he regularly checks out all the rescue goats in their care.

With Auntie Anita firmly in control of the gag and David acting as back stop, Margot was one of the first into the dentist's chair:

A quick wash out, a minimal amount of grinding and Margot was pronounced fit and healthy, much to her relief.

All the girls behaved very well and were rewarded with bananas!

On a serious note, John found a few minor problems which he rectified and so we are planning on having him back again in the near future to go through all our girls over 5 years old.  Could be a busy day!

Last week we also played host to Liverpool vet student Tessa who returned to us for another week of work experience.  Tessa first came to us a couple of years ago as a pre-university student and so it was great to catch up with her and see how she was getting on.  She is also planning to come back yet again next spring to help us with kidding.

She was a great help with the goaties, especially as David and I were away for a couple of days.  She became a great friend to Monkey who loved having someone around in the barn with her all day and she showed a particular interest in whatever Tessa happened to have in her lunch box each day ..

And possibly one of the best photos of the year so far .. I have been waiting for our largest and smallest goats to come in to the parlour together and it finally happened while we were away!  Fortunately, Goatie Auntie Anita had camera on hand to capture the moment.  So here is big old Roz and tiny little Tiddly Widdly ..

Amazing eh?!  You have met TW before .. she is a tiny goat but full of personality and always has a lot to say for herself.  Roz is a very quiet, sedate goat who has never produced a single kid.  We think that she may actually be part female/part male but she really is a gentle giant.  Counted as one of my 'useless goats' by David, she remains in the herd as she has the important job of keeping her little sister Celia company.

And finally ... the Rosewood Hotel got into the Wimbledon spirit with their wonderful display along the front of the hotel:

The market on Sunday was also honoured to receive a visit from the hotel dog Pearl.

Pearl has free access to the hotel, has her own room and only drinks filtered water.  And raw milk (as I was reliably informed by the Hook & Son stallholder)!  I wonder if the Rosewood would like a hotel goat?