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Tag Archives: dublin
Pogo at the Beach! (Wordless Wednesday – 23 April 2014)
Fluffy Tufts is participating in the Blog Paws blog hop. Come and join the fun!
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Fun at the Dog Park!
There is a lovely park close to where I live, Marlay Park. I often walk there with the gang. Sometimes, I will meet friends or my brother and we will sit outside the cafe and have coffee and cake! They do a delicious vanilla latte there.
Marlay Park was one of the first parks in Ireland to open a dedicated dog park. Usually in parks here, dogs are allowed off the lead in any area of the park at certain times of the day. I prefer this method as poor Casper is too anxious and overwhelmed when faced with all the other dogs at the dog park. It is better for me to wait until the allocated times and choose a quiet area to let him off.
However, since Pippa joined our gang, I have found that I frequent the dog park more often. It is great to have a secure area where she can have a good run and really stretch out her legs. I made a video of a great day that Pippa and I had at the dog park with a friend and her two Swiss Shepherds, Okami and Yuki.
Would love to hear what you think of dedicated dog parks? Are dogs allowed to be off-lead where you live? How do you ensure that your dogs get enough exercise?
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The ‘Dead Zoo’ – A Tourist in My Own City
Not long ago, we paid a visit to the Natural History Museum of Ireland which is known colloquially as ‘The Dead Zoo’!
“The Natural History building was built in 1856 to house the Royal Dublin Society’s growing collections, which had expanded continually since the late 18th Century.
The building is a ‘cabinet-style’ museum designed to showcase a wide-ranging and comprehensive zoological collection, and has changed little in over a century. Often described as a ‘museum of a museum’, its 10,000 exhibits provide a glimpse of the natural world that has delighted generations of visitors since the doors opened in 1857.”
Taken from Natural History Museum, Ireland
I remember going to this place as a child. I was filled with a confusing mix of excitement and dread. On the one hand, the museum appealed to my great love for animals. I was always fascinated to see the stuffed foxes and badgers, as well as the more exotic animals like the snow leopards and giraffes.
However, the skeleton of the giant elk loomed ominously in the entranceway, giving me a thrill of fear. And the scariest exhibit of all was the full-sized basking shark that hung from the ceiling. I would keep my eyes firmly to the floor and a tight grip on my Daddy’s hand as I skirted around the edge of that section of exhibits .
Our recent visit was filled with delicious nostalgia. Not everything was how I remembered it, but the giant elk still stands majestically just inside the entrance. And of course, my nemesis, the basking shark remains suspended from the ceiling. Even now, all these years later, I still couldn’t bring myself to walk under it!
I would love to hear about your favourite childhood outings. Have you revisited those places as an adult?
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Statues and Carvings – Cee’s Photo Challenge
Fluffy Tufts is taking part in Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge! I am way behind with these, but I will keep plodding along exploring each theme as and when I can!
This time, the theme I am looking at is statues and carvings. I had a look through my back-catalogue and found a pair of animal statues. It is typical of me to always manage to find an animal when I am out and about, even if it is an inanimate one!
First, we have a beautiful wooden hand-carved owl. He can be seen perching in the victorian glasshouse at the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin. I like the contrast between the glass and metal of the glasshouse and the natural wood used for the carving.
Then, we have this little squirrel that I spotted on a trip to Dublin zoo. He was such a cute fellow surrounded by all the live animals at the zoo! I like the splash of green in the background as it helps to make the squirrel stand out.
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I Can Has Shamrock Shake?
Happy St Patrick’s Day from all of us here at Fluffy Tufts!
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Poodle Picnic! (Wordless Wednesday – 6 March 2013)
Don’t forget to check out our new Fluffy Tufts Facebook page for bonus updates and photos!
Fluffy Tufts is participating in the Blog Paws blog hop! Come and join the fun!
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Fluffiness, Facebook and a Birthday!
The blog has been a little quiet over the last several weeks. I guess sometimes life places too many demands on us and this means that something has got to go on the back burner! I have missed posting here, reading your comments and visiting your blogs. Thankfully, things have calmed down a little and I look forward to sharing more photos, adventures, videos, recipes etc with you all!
New Year’s Day 2013 marked the one-year anniversary of the Fluffy Tufts blog! It has been an interesting year with many changes, some good (A New Home and the arrival of Venus) and some not so good (the passing of our beloved Munchy). A number of you have been following us right from the beginning and many others have joined in along the way. I would like to thank each and every one of our followers, as without you all, there would be no reason or purpose in continuing.
Finally, I would just like to let you all know that we now have a Facebook page. The regular posts will resume here on the blog, so if you don’t have Facebook, don’t worry! The Facebook page will highlight some of the popular posts from the archives, animal cuteness from the internet and BONUS photos/info from the Fluffy Tufts gang!
And not forgetting Twitter! Click here to view Pogo the Poodle’s profile and give him a follow!
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So Here it is, Merry Christmas!
Happy holidays to one and all,
from all of us here in the Fluffy Tufts gang!
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Venus in Transit!
It really is time that I wrote about the newest addition to our furry family. Venus joined us in September and is so settled here that it is easy to forget that she hasn’t always lived with us.
Some of you may remember when I wrote about our visit to the DSPCA (click here to read it!). We were passing the shelter and I thought it would be nice to go and see the animals. Mr Fluffytufts looked a bit unsure at my suggestion but I assured him that I was not on the lookout for another animal to join the household. Turns out, Mr Fluffytufts was not worried about my resolve, he was worried about his own!
The shelter is state-of-the-art and is home not only to cats and dogs, but a wide range of animals, ranging from snakes to horses to peacocks and everything in between! We wandered around the shelter photographing goats and ducks, petting the resident dogs, and chatting to other animal-lovers. We saw lots of cute pups and dogs all waiting patiently for their forever homes.
The cat/kitten area was full to the brim. We ambled from pod to pod fawning over each occupant. One lively kitten enticed us to play and we wiggled our fingers around the edge of his pod for him to chase.
Mr Fluffytufts turned to me and said “You know, I think Shelli could do with a pal. We have space for another cat now and they would have great fun playing together in the garden!” I didn’t know what to think. We hadn’t really talked about it. I looked at the available cats and pointed out that they were all short-haired (which I am allergic to). Mr Fluffytufts directed my attention into the cat play area and said, “What about her?”
It was at that moment I first laid eyes on Venus (or Estelle as she was known at the shelter). She was curled up in a cat box but as we approached the enclosure, she meandered over to inspect us! She had a long glossy coat, mostly tortoiseshell with a glimpse of white. We stroked her through the wire and had a frantic conversation about the possibility of bringing her into our home. We went to get more information about her and before we knew it were inside the cat enclosure dangling peacock feathers for her to play with.
The shelter volunteers told us that Venus was around 3 and was a seizure case (which means she had been removed from the care of her previous owners due to cruelty/neglect).
They said she had been in the shelter for several months receiving much-needed treatment. They told us that it would take some time to find her a suitable home as most people who visited wanted to adopt a kitten. Our hearts went out to her. We wondered how she could remain so friendly and trusting after all she’d been through. We sat on a bench in the shade of a tree and went over every possibility imaginable. We thought about what we would do if Shelli didn’t like her, if the dogs chased her, if she wasn’t happy at our home…
In the end, she made the decision for us. We went to look at her again. This time, not only did she run over to see us, she leaned towards Mr Fluffytufts and licked his hand (I kid you not!!). We felt that she had given us the seal of approval and so with excitement and trepidation, we filled out an adoption application.
This post is long enough at the moment! If you reached this point, then I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read Venus’ story. I will write another post soon about her adoption day and how she settled in to her new home.
How did your pet come to be in your family? Do you remember the first time you saw them? I would love to hear your stories!
Fluffy Tufts 