Announcements

Tedious or not, the 1,344 metre trek up Britain’s highest mountain earned Travis a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the first guide dog to take his master to the top. Travis was Cunningham’s second guide dog, the two pairing up in 2003. “I called him Travis after my favourite rock band. Ike, my first dog, was a smooth Rolls-Royce. Travis was a four-wheel drive,” said Cunningham, who went blind in 1993.

Shortly after Travis arrived, one of Cunningham’s friends suggested they do a fund-raising walk along the West Highland Way for The Guide Dogs for the Blind Organisation. “Ninety-seven gruelling miles and seven days later I limped home with five toenails missing, torn ligaments in my ankle and terrible blisters. Travis was fine. And he’d walked himself into the record book as the first guide dog to complete the route.”

Travis Trek walking group was born and the pair went on to break more records, with Travis being the first guide dog to complete the West Highland Way, the Southern Upland Way, the Speyside Way and the Pennine Way. The Royal Marines helped organise and participated in the tough, 268-mile Pennine Way trek. They were so impressed with the tireless Travis that they helped him set another record by making him an honorary Green Beret. “I felt very proud. I don’t think Travis noticed to be honest,” said Cunningham. When he was five, Travis had a cancerous tumour removed. “We took a year off then resumed their treks. The vet said Travis had made a full recovery because of his fitness.”

Travis was twice voted Scottish Guide Dog of the Year and won the Outstanding Guide Dog of the Year award. So far did the guide dog’s fame spread that he had to give out his pawgraph, obligingly dipping his paw onto an ink pad first. One taker was Fran Healy, lead singer with Travis. On Travis’s final day in August, Cunningham and the Labrador remembered the good times together. “I lay down on the floor beside Trav and reminded him of our walks and his old tail was thumping as if he wanted to do them all again. He was a special dog,” said Cunningham, who works for The Haven Centre in Blantyre, a charity for sufferers of life-limiting illnesses. “The guide dogs association gave me my life back, if I could give them £100m it wouldn’t be enough.”

Cunningham and his new guide dog Milo will undertake a trek in 2016 to raise funds in Travis’s memory.

www.legendstrek.co.uk

Therapy dog

ZAK, died September 21, 2015

From the moment we brought chocolate Labrador Zak home at eight weeks old, we knew he was going to be an exceptional companion. Friendly and hugely intelligent, he passed the Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme at Puppy and Bronze levels with flying colours. At nine months old Zak got a pet passport and travelled all over Europe. His most memorable trip was to Jungfraujoch, Switzerland, the top of Europe at 3,466 metres above sea level. All the tourists wanted their photos taken with him.

Zak had a sister to play with, Luna, a miniature dachshund. They became known as Little and Large on walks. Then Lexi, Luna’s daughter, joined us. Zak and Lexi became firm friends, and when Zak yawned, Lexi would pop her head inside his mouth and lick his tongue. Zak was also an honorary member of walking group Sausage Dog Friends. A gentle giant among up to 40 dachshunds at a time, he’d lift his paws up extra high to avoid treading on them.

When Zak was 10, I heard about the charity Pets as Therapy and realised he would make the perfect volunteer, sociable, friendly, calm, gentle, disciplined and enjoying contact. He passed the assessment and was soon attending the Lifestyles Academy for Independence at Strode Park in Kent, a residential centre for young disabled adults. Some students had very limited mobility so a stroke of the ear might end up as a knock on the head but Zak took it all in his stride. He never grumbled and was a good listener to those who felt happier talking to a dog.

One student used to get out of his wheelchair to get on the floor to play with Zak. They loved to watch him do his tricks, lifting his left or right paw on command, and knowing the difference, giving kisses on command and knowing his toys by name. They relished trying to get him to respond to their commands. Some liked to tell him stories and he would sit and listen.

Some liked to groom him, others liked him to rest his head on their lap or play with him with his toys. When he died they told me that Zak was a very special Labrador and they would miss him loads.

Zak’s death has left a big void in our lives.He was cremated by Dignity Pet Crematorium who were professional, caring and compassionate. Jo and Alan.

In memoriam

Sacear, a bull terrier, died on April 7, 2012, aged 13, and Meg, a German Shepherd, died on December 6, 2012, aged 12. Sacear was a real character, and Meg was special. She starred in the Batman film The Dark Knight, with me dressed up as a Gotham City policeman and us both chasing Batman. Meg and I also twice won a NASDU Security Dog Trials title, and an A1K9 championship. Sacear and Meg were very special to me so I had them tattooed on my arm by Leigh Oldcorn of Cosmic Tattoo studio in Colchester. Each tattoo took around four hours. Peter Branch, Newbury Lodge Kennels and Dog training centre.

Quirky habits

A rock hyrax born at Drusillas Park Zoo earlier this year has discovered an easier way of getting around than using his legs. He hitches a ride on the back of redfooted tortoise Eagle, with whom he lives. As long as he is not in a hurry. www.drusillas.co.uk; 01323 874100

Congratulations

Titan, Tatton Park’s five-month-old Tamworth boar, one of Tamara’s last pure bred litter of eight in May, was reserve champion at the Rare Breeds Survival Trust’s Show & Sale on September 26. Titan made 140 guineas and was bought by Church Farm Rare Breeds Centre in Stow Bardolph, Norfolk. He will be a breeding boar there. The Tamworth is considered to be Britain’s oldest pure breed. Tatton Park, Cheshire. Tattonpark.org.uk; 01625 374400

New arrivals

Parents Mathilda and Moe have welcomed a set of twin Emperor tamarins at Twycross Zoo. These small monkeys are characterised by their long white moustaches and are found in the wild forests of Brazil, Peru and Bolivia where their habitat is threatened by farming and deforestation. These two are the pair’s second set of twins since coming to the zoo in 2013. www.twycrosszoo.org; 0844 474 1777

Conservation

Medway Valley Countryside Partnership is undertaking a survey of the dormice population at woodland near Shipbourne in Kent. This is part of a national monitoring scheme to assess the UK population. October is a busy month for dormice as they fatten themselves up in readiness for winter hibernation.

www.medwayvalley.org; 01622 683695

Wildlife rescue

A red kite that underwent pioneering surgery for a fractured leg has been released back into the wild. The kite was taken to the Wildlife Aid Foundation (WAF) in Leatherhead, Surrey, after being rescued during the summer in Windsor, Berkshire. In a medical first, vets pieced the bones back together using tiny metal pins and built a lightweight metal frame around the leg to hold the bones in place. Simon Cowell, WAF founder, said: “We drove around Windsor for ages looking for a suitable place to release the kite. We eventually found a field that looked promising. As we drove up to the gate, a flock of nine kites rose into the air. We opened the cage and our bird flew out, joined one of the kites and they flew off together.” The kite is one of five rescued this summer by the foundation, the first time in its 35 years that it has ever rescued the hawks. www.wildlifeaid.org.uk; 01372 377332

In Somerset, Trudi Howell, an animal carer at Secret World animal rescue charity, is rearing a rare, pure albino hoglet. The baby hedgehog, his mother and three siblings were rescued from beneath a garden shed that was being dismantled. Pure albinism is caused by a shortage of melanin pigment. “You can get blonde hedgehogs, who have white spines but black eyes. Pure albinos with pink eyes and skin and white spines are rare, we only get one every few years,” said Howell. The family will be released back into the wild when ready.

Howell has just rehomed another family of four. “The mother and four babies aged one day old were found during the day in a garden in Bridport, Dorset. We couldn’t find a nest so think the mum had been disturbed and was moving her family. As the the babies were so young they were too vulnerable to leave there, so we took them back to the centre.”

A few days into the rescue, one of the babies fell ill. “We separated her from the others, gave her antibiotics, then I fed her with a syringe every two hours for a week. I just snatched sleep wherever I could. I called her Dora, (above), short for adorable.” Dora recovered and with her mum and siblings, was rehomed last week in a back garden at Shipham, near Cheddar, chosen for its existing hedgehog population in the area. Homeowner Sally Scotcher, had asked the charity to be considered as a hedgehog garden. “Everybody I have told about my new family has asked, ‘where did you get them? We want hedgehogs in our garden’.”

Meet hedgehogs at Secret World’s open weekend on October 24-25. www.secretworld.org; 01278 783250

October 26 - November 1, is Wild About Gardens Week, celebrating wildlife gardening and how people can use their gardens to support wildlife.

www.wildaboutgardensweek.org.uk; 0845 260 5000