Starks and Barks

11/08/2024

It’s been such a busy week and weekend, I got to spend time with Molly & Tilly, Brodie, Bruno & Rango who I’m covering for, Margo & Wilma, Christopher and Daisy who enjoy attacking my feet, Saffie, Evie & Kato, Jasper who I last saw just before maternity leave last year, Teddy, Riley, Bella, Max & Bella enjoyed a good run around together, Jasper, Shadow and Max enjoying time with Thibault, Jasper was exhausted so we let him have a short nap on our walk Friday. Shadow just wanted the ball and Max ended up sitting on Thibault’s lap for snuggles.

Next week I’m away for a short break but can’t wait to get back to even more cats the week after. I’m currently fully booked until end of September and getting booked up fast for Oct-Dec with limited space. Absolutely love this job.

30/07/2024

New clients, Christopher and Daisy. They’re around 2 months old and absolutely love a good play and food. I’ve only got them for a week and Hugo has already asked if we can get more cats, Thibault, who met them today does not care about the kittens, he just wants to play with their toys. He’s seen enough cats in his short life to not care about mini cats

28/07/2024

Got myself a gorgeous new client called Izzy, she enjoys laying upside down, we’ve had a great time chilling together. We also have Luna who has mastered the grumpy look, I last saw her last year when I was pregnant so it was lovely to see her again and last but not least, Sanchez who instantly goes for the treat cupboard when I arrive. It’s treats first then play second with him and I love it

24/07/2024

It took getting back to the van to get a good photo of all 6 dogs. To be fair, it’s way more fun to run around and play so here are some of the hundreds of photos I took on our walk today and from on the last photo you have Max and Puszek at the front then l-r: Teddy, Bella, Riley facing the wrong way and Bella. We had a blast today and happy the weather is better!

21/07/2024

This week/weekend I’m looking after Amber, Poppy and Pan who after 3 years still spend most of my visits under the bed. Rosie who begged me to go out and finally Margo and Wilma who are always happy to see me. And last but not least, my cat Tigger who is rather grumpy as I’ve finally prevented him from shredding my cherry tree. He has scratching posts at home but prefers my tree. He’s been eyeing up the pear and apple tree so I’ll have to protect those as well I think

16/07/2024

Today was Dexter’s last walk with me and his friends. Sadly he is moving out of the area. I met Dex when he was a slightly smaller puppy just over 8 years ago. We started with two 30 min walks a day as he was too young for long walks and those slowly grew to 1hour walks. I have fond memories of him destroying his couch and boxes, I’d come in and find bits of couch and boxes all over the floor, he’d also destroy the contents of the box and always looked so pleased. I’m glad to say he grew out of that phase! He was with me for both pregnancies and was so tolerant of Hugo, those two would run off and play together whenever Hugo joined on a walk. Over the years he’s had many doggy friends, he’s the only one Ella liked and played with which was wonderful and made her walks much calmer and full of joy. I wish him and his family all the best, I know his friends will miss him and I miss him terribly already but hopefully I’ll see him again one day! Have a safe move and I hope you enjoy your new home

14/07/2024

Yesterday we watched Hugo dance with on the Hexagon stage. He’s given me permission to post this photo as he was so excited to tell everyone. It’s his second show with them, he, and all the dancers smashed it. So proud of him and I’m looking forward to see him on stage again next year

08/07/2024

04/07/2024

Teddy is always so excited to get treats, he can hardly sit still which allows me to get great photos of his poses while his friends probably think he’s a bit crazy

01/07/2024

Great start to the week with Luna and Astro who demand food the second I get through the door and a lovely walk with Puszek, Max, Holly and Teddy who also demanded treats the entire walk

26/06/2024

New clients Evie and Kato, visits started yesterday, they’re not too sure about me yet but Kato did come and sit next to me for strokes 🐾

24/06/2024

Saw Sanchez this afternoon, I haven’t seen him in a while, first thing he did was ask for treats and then had a nap in the sun before asking and getting a few more treats before I left

15/06/2024

Very busy few weekends coming up. First off I’d like to introduce Molly and Tilly who are new clients, Molly requires thyroid meds twice a day and Tilly begs to go outside and tries to sneak out when I’m leaving. I also have my regulars, Little Puss enjoying a nap, Chloe and Cassius enjoying dinner, Korra and Ren who love playing with bubbles, Lorenzo who is a colleague’s client but I had to cover for her today and finally Wilma and Margo who also enjoy playing with bubbles and thundering up and down the stairs 🐾

14/06/2024

Best friends on a walk. On Wednesday we had (L to R) Bella, Teddy, Max, Riley and Dexter and today we had Shadow, Jasper, Teddy, Holly and Max. Starting from today, I’ve got loads of cats I’m looking after, I will post photos once I’ve seen all of them. I’m very excited to see them all again

07/06/2024

Took Shadow, Holly, Max and Thibault to the park today, didn’t realise it was track and field day for local schools at the stadium. Turns out Max is terrified of the starting gun as it sounds like fireworks. He felt safer in the pushchair base so that’s where he spent the walk while Holly and Shadow chased the ball

05/06/2024

Haven’t updated in a few days but yesterday I took the gang and Thibault out to the canal where Jasper and Puszek got absolutely covered in mud. Jasper being so tall only had muddy legs, poor Puszek got caked in it. Both Bella’s have had hair cuts and look absolutely amazing and everyone enjoyed the sun and semi warm weather

25/05/2024

I’ve had Margot for just over a week, this morning is my last visit with her. She requires thyroid medication and is such a lovely cat. I’m glad we’ve been able to have a few days of sitting in the garden while she has an explore before I go. At the time of this post, she’s snoozing in the sun post breakfast.

20/05/2024

This last weekend I looked after Aurora and Cloud, they are wonderful cats and I love seeing them. Cloud rarely stays still long enough for a good photo, most of his are a blur but Aurora enjoys posing before demanding strokes

12/05/2024

I have Bernie and Bear this week, I haven’t seen them in a few months so it’s been lovely seeing them again and of course begging for 3000 treats. Unfortunately we also have Covid with Graham stuck in bed isolating as he’s really not well and me solo parenting for a few days. It’s been a bit rough today but nothing hey duggee can’t fix and naps for Thibault. Hugo and I have been watching the second a Harry Potter film as he’s finish both books and 1&2 and almost done with book 3. Please bear with me while I wait for Graham to recover and for my cough to calm down a bit. Should be back full time by next week

09/05/2024

I haven’t had much time to post recently, but here are two new clients, C2 and Kokol. They’re just over a year old. I was supposed to look after them last year however, it was right on my due date so I was unable to, very thankful to my colleague for covering that period. C2 absolutely loves to play with the red dot and any toys laying around, Kokol is a bit shy but happy to sit and watch his brother play 🐾

22/04/2024

School was closed due to an alarm problem this morning so Hugo joined the dogs while Thibault had a nap at home. Hugo is now old enough (8 in aug!) to actually help out with the dogs, I gave him Max as I use my waist lead for him and he did such a good job with him. Puszek was over the moon as his favorite human was there. Hard to believe Hugo has been dog walking since he was 4 months old and Thibault is the same, he has recently discovered dogs are just as soft as cats and took great pleasure giving max lots of strokes on Friday. It’s always hard working and having children but thankfully these two can always come with me and get to learn all about cats and dogs, gives our cats a break as well

13/04/2024

Last day at home so we made a tartiflette for lunch, was so good as always I’m having it for dinner as well. Good news is I’m bringing a roblochon back with me so tartiflette at home when I get back

11/04/2024

Warm and sunny day here so we’ve spent the day drawing on the driveway like my brother and I used to do as kids. I will never get tired of the view of the Mont Blanc 🗻

04/04/2024

Hugo, Thibault and I flew home earlier this week. We left Thibault with my mum at home and I took Hugo skiing. Last time he went was when he was 3.5 years old and just a month before first lockdown. At that time I didn’t ski, just put him in the little school they have in the village centre. This time, he and I hit one slope, I wanted to do more but he naturally was a bit scared and fell over quite a bit. Despite some tears of frustration, he said it was fun and we are going tomorrow. I’m exhausted and sore, got blisters on my legs as I tightened my boots too much but it was so much fun skiing down, even if it was a very short blue/green slope. Next week we are going swimming and bowling as well as the traditional food shopping to get all the stuff I can’t buy in the UK. 🎿 ❄️

22/02/2024

I picked Alfie up from yesterday afternoon. Vet was happy with him, he spent Tuesday night in Maidenhead on fluids and ate a lot of tuna. Yesterday vet did an ultrasound to find the cause of his anorexia. Turns out he has pancreatitis. The main way to help him is through pain relief twice a day and making sure he eats. He was a bit wobbly yesterday after his sedation and so angry with me but he and Tigger enjoyed tuna. Today has been much better, eating well and angry until this evening so we are having lovely snuggles and hope to have more in bed later. He’s back at the vet for a blood test on Sat, keeping fingers crossed the enzyme levels have gone down

20/02/2024

Alfie has been unwell for a few days, he didn’t eat any food yesterday so I took him to the vet, he got checked over and given an anti sickness and appetite stimulant shot to see if he ate. In the past that worked, this time it didn’t and he refused dinner and treats. Called the vet back this morning and got an appointment this afternoon. He still hasn’t eaten or had anything to drink, it’s extremely dangerous in cats, and if they don’t eat in 24 hrs it can cause so many extra problems. I asked for a full blood test, he was due one in 3 months to check his kidney levels. They’re doing okay, not much change, still stage 2 kidney disease which we are managing. However, his liver and pancreas enzymes are very high. There are a number of causes, he will have fluids overnight and pain relief, with the hopes he eats. Tomorrow he will have an ultrasound to see if we can find the cause. Keeping fingers crossed it’s just a blip and he ate something outside he shouldn’t have. He may need a feeding tube and depending on the results, we may have a very tough decision to make. He’s 15 next month and I’m hoping we have him around for a few more years. The staff are fantastic and I know they will do all they can for him. They were wonderful with Honey

14/02/2024

Half terms means Hugo wanted to join me on all walks while Thibault stayed home with Oma. I think we have a future dog trainer in the making

07/02/2024

Meet Bella, the newest addition to the Starks and Barks crew. She’s Riley’s neighbour and friend so made sense to take her out with him. She’s absolutely wonderful and like all her new friends, treats are her favourite thing. Looking forward to many walks with her. This also means that I’m now fully booked for dog walking until Thibault goes to school and I have more time. I’m still accepting cat bookings though

21/01/2024

Busy two weeks

08/01/2024

First day back! We had a good day, Thibault wasn’t too happy about being carried around so I will alternate between the pushchair and the sling. Dogs and I were very happy to see each other again after so long. I’m so grateful that all my clients are so wonderful and patient while we get our routine down. Bonus, looks like we will have snow, it probably won’t stick (unlike at home where we have tons of it from what my mum said) but if it does, we will have a great walk tomorrow