MAUREEN MELVIN’S CAVALIER BOOKS

Paws for Shakespeare is the latest in a series of delightful books written by Maureen Melvin which detail the many amusing exploits of Cavaliers. Beautifully illustrated by Geoff Crook, these books are all written in rhyme and tell their stories in a most colourful way.

Maureen was born in Yorkshire and from quite an early age she began a rhyming correspondence with her grandfather W.R. Melvin, who was a journalist, poet and editor of the Fraserburgh Herald. After leaving school she studied singing and drama at The Royal College of Music. She then embarked on a very successful career in music with her first starring role as Cinderella at the Penge Empire. She also sang with the George Mitchell choir on radio and also with Charlie Chester in a radio series. She appeared in the film ‘Story of Gilbert and Sullivan’ and performed on television and in many pantomimes in different parts of the country. She joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company as a member of the chorus, played some small parts and finally became a principal soprano playing: Yum Yum in The Mikado, Casilda in The Gondoliers, Phyllis in Iolanthe, Rose Maybud in Ruddigore and the bride in Trial by Jury. She spent four years with the company which included a nine month tour of the USA and Canada plus TV appearances on the Ed Sullivan show and with Alistair Cooke in New York.

After her musical career she began to concentrate on her unique talent for writing, particularly her gift for poetry. By now she had a tricolour Cavalier named Abigail and began to put into verse the world as seen through Abigail’s eyes. The first book of the series was Paws for Thought, published in 1990 which contained many hilarious and also thought provoking views of life from the pen of six year old Abigail. This book became hugely popular, especially among Cavalier owners who could identify Abigail’s exploits with those of their own dogs. Abigail was interviewed by Derek Jameson on radio and signed her first and second books at Harrods. In 1990 Maureen started presenting a selection of humorous verse in public and eventually put together a one woman show with piano accompaniment. The following year the second book Paws Again was published which really established Abigail’s name in the world of Cavaliers.

1992 saw the publication of Paws for Pasta which showed Abigail’s talent as a cook. In this book Abigail tells of her favourite dishes in rhyme and gives scrumptious recipes for Spaghetti a la Cavalieri, Liver Casserole, Pilchard Fishcakes and many more tasty meals.

Paws Forever was the fourth book in the series and continues the saga of the life and times, the hopes and dreams of this poetic little dog. The Americans, the Australians, the French and the Apache Indians all have their place in this book. Abigail plans to raise money for charity and also takes the opportunity to introduce her two young protégées, Annabel and Alice. In 2007 Paws for Thought – 2 was published which was a reissue of Paws for Thought plus some poems for Paws Again.

Maureen performs regularly around the country at charities and other public events. She has broadcast on radio and her work has been published in national magazines including the Literary Review, the Spectator, the Daily Telegraph, The Lady and Woman. Her many private engagements have also included a birthday party for the Royal Family.

The latest book, Paws for Shakespeare, is a rhyming journal covering the first two years in the lives of two young Cavaliers, Alice the Blenheim and Annabel the Tricolour. They describe their experiences both inside and outside the garden gate, and enlarge upon their passion for hard-boiled eggs and yoghurt. They have a nodding acquaintance with William Shakespeare, to whom Annabel presents her apologies (Alice doesn’t) and they give a graphic account of their visit to hospital and their first intoxicating Christmas. Their adventures are hilarious and they each take it in turns to tell their tales in amusing and evocative poems. To give you a quick taster here is a short poem written by Alice in which she describes some of Annabel’s shortcomings.

Bad Habits
Annie, for all her snooty ways,
Has very nasty habits.
It’s one thing tucking into treats
So kindly left by rabbits.

But Annie likes to roam the fields
Where cows and horses graze
And where she feasts on you know what
Which blows her out for days.

She doesn’t only eat the stuff,
She rolls in it as well!
She really lets the side down
And I can’t abide the smell.

And when we march her down the lane
To find the garden hose,
I walk on Mummy’s other side
And try to hold my nose.

I’m sure that many Cavalier owners who have walked their dogs near to where cows have been grazing will identify with that situation! This wonderful book is filled with gems such as this and we highly recommend it to all Cavalier owners and dog lovers in general.

The books can be ordered or purchased from all good book shops or from: One Tree Books, 7 Lavant Street, Petersfield, Hampshire. Tel: 01730 261 199. If you are going to the Cavalier Club’s Championship Show on 3rd March at Stoneleigh, Carol Butler (Tamyse Cavaliers) will have a stall there and will have these books on sale.

DO DOGS HAVE A SIXTH SENSE?

Over the years there has been much discussion as to whether a dog has a sixth sense. Many owners believe they do and quote examples such as knowing when a family member is due to arrive home or to tell when it is time to go for a walk. Dogs are also credited with telepathic abilities that enable them to pick up their owners’ feeling. Many pet owners will acknowledge that when it comes to a favourite activity their dog will actually sense that something special is about to happen even when you offer no outward sign that this is upcoming. Can your dog differentiate between you getting ready to go to work, rather than preparing for a walk with him? If so, how? Are you offering cues and clues that would lend themselves to a heightened sense of awareness in the animal, or are they simply able to tap into some sort of something that we can’t quite put our collective fingers on?

When things are hard to explain there is always the tendency to shroud the whole thing as being something mystical. But is important to take into account that their sense of smell is vastly stronger than ours and that their sense of hearing covers a different audible range. In many cases a dog’s seemingly uncanny behaviour is simply explained by the fact that use some of their other senses in a rather different way than we would.

Sight:
Laterally placed eyes in your pet provide good peripheral vision that is used for chasing and hunting its prey. It has excellent sight to enable it to see the slightest movement of potential prey.

Smell:
Smell is the dog’s most important sense. Its sense of smell is far beyond human comprehension with which it scents game, territory odours, and even emotional status of other animals.

Touch:
The contact comfort of infancy that most mammals enjoy is a life long pleasure in your pets. Pleasure of touch is very important in any animal that use touch in the form of licking or pawing, huddle together for warmth, play together as a means of showing rank among the pack.

Taste:
The sensation of taste is closely related to the smell of the dog. But they have developed poorly defined taste, which clearly implies that they eat things that other animals consider offensive. Dogs have fewer taste buds than do humans, and can only register tastes as pleasant, indifferent, or unpleasant.

Hearing:
It possesses acute hearing to distinguish sounds over great distances. Hearing is almost pitch perfect in your pets, for example allowing dogs to tell the difference in car engine sounds produced even by similar models.

Scientific evidence does, however, suggest that dogs have an electromagnetic sense that makes them sensitive to earth tremors and vibrations. Even during the 2004 Asian tsunami episode there were many tales of dogs starting to panic and becoming disturbed way before the tsunami actually struck This sense may also help them to predict earthquakes and find their way home across hundreds of miles. There is CCTV footage of a news station office in North Carolina seconds before an earthquake struck. It shows a dog idly passing the time on the floor before, apparently without any duress, springing up and making a swift exit. Seconds later seats swing out of position, draws slip open and fixtures and fittings begin to wobble. Then the shuddering really starts. The dog has escaped prior to the quake but now people dash for the exits when the room begins to shake forcibly. Is this example a mere coincidence or sixth sense?

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH

"Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful."
Ann Landers