15. October 2011 by admin.

The Lennox case continues and I have now been forced to make an official statement based on my assessment of this dog as a clip of my assessment has been put on the internet.  The clip that has been released is completely out of context and whilst I do not care if I am criticised by members of the public or professional bodies involved in this case I do care that Lennox is being portrayed unfairly in this clip.

My experience of handling Lennox was thoroughly enjoyable and despite being removed from his family early last year I found Lennox to be very charming and very self controlled. He was gentle with me at all times and although he barked at me three times and was shaking when I first approached the van that he was in, he was able to learn and take direction from a stranger (me) despite the stress he was obviously under.  This is a big ask for many dogs and the clip that has been released shows a member from the Dog Warden team stating that Lennox had bitten the last person who came to see him.  In court and therefore under oath another member of the Dog Warden team stated that in fact, Lennox has not bitten anyone so, on the evidence presented to the Court, the statement made to me during my assessment is clearly untrue.

I am not impressed and I have now written a statement based on the truth as I see it about my assessment of Lennox.   I watch an animals’ body language all the time and at no point did I feel that I would be in danger when interacting with Lennox. I was told I had to handle him on my own throughout my assessment and I did just that. I did not feel the need to muzzle him at any point and it does not take any expertise to realise this would have put me in a very vulnerable position with a dangerous dog.

This case has highlighted many concerns regarding Breed Specific Legislation.  It has now also raised many other questions in my opinion. Clearly it shows the prejudice, ignorance and fear surrounding dogs, their breed types and behaviour. As Xenephon said in 400 BC ‘Where knowledge ends, violence begins.’

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

15. October 2011 by admin.

It’s been a very long week and I was really saddened to hear on Friday that the dog I was asked to assess in July is going to be put to sleep.  The family lost their appeal and have a further fourteen days to lodge another appeal based on legalities as I understand.  I don’t feel that it is appropriate for me to comment on this case from a professional point of view but if you want to know more details you only have to do a search on the internet for a dog named Lennox that was taken by Belfast City Council last year as this is a widely publicised case and many people from around the world are following this tragic story.

I spent yesterday with my good friend and colleague Marie Miller finishing the outline for a new canine course we are organising as the TTouch clinics are now over for the year.  It was good to focus on more positive aspects of my work.  I am feeling rather rough today as I now have tonsillitis but the weather is extraordinary and I have just rescued a visitor who obviously took refuge in one of the dog bowls to escape the blistering heat outside!

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

20. September 2011 by admin.

We had new animals visiting the farm this morning.  Steve from Tropical Inc brought a variety of creatures for us to work on including a stunning Barn Owl, a baby meerkat and a baby Coati Mundi.  The Coati Mundi was my favourite by far but sadly he said that people are buying them as pets so no doubt there will more needing homes as people really do not know how to care for them and they are not lap animals by any means.  The human race has so much to answer for when it comes to animal suffering.  And on that note as the rain is coming in now I will rush back home and bring the donkeys in before they start complaining about me!

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

20. September 2011 by admin.

The court case was adjourned part heard until 23rd September so I am back at home and now knee deep in the first dog clinic.  Our visiting mare has left and she loaded well and arrived at home calm and unruffled which is great.

It is certainly turning colder and some of the horses are hair balls already. I hope they aren’t suggesting that we are in for a long cold winter again.  Sadly we have had lost two rabbits this week (not literally) but they are all old now so it isn’t surprising and for some reason we always lose animals together so I am looking around now wondering who is next as things always come in 3’s!

Tony’s show is going well, the invitations are nearly finished for the conference and I have booked my flight to Belfast so life is good and I am almost up to date with things I think.  I had another lovely afternoon at Dogs Trust the other day giving a presentation for the International Training Programme and caught up with Carmen who was attending from GIA in Romania and Naomi is over from the SPCA in Malta to attend the equine and canine clinics here at the farm. I love sharing the work that I do and my new motto for the moment is Get in TTouch and hand it on!  What a great world it would be if every shelter and rehabilitation yard had access to this work.

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

20. September 2011 by admin.

I am now in Belfast after a hideously early start and heading for an early night.  As usual I watched the demonstration of what to do in the event of an air crash whilst waiting for take off at Bristol Airport (yes I am a model passenger!) and it got me thinking about how the brain works.  Bearing in mind that the majority of people (and animals) probably only have four or five active memory slots at the best of times I wondered just how much of the safety instructions a person would actually remember if they realised the plane was in free fall and heading straight for the sea.  Even though I am a seasoned traveller and have seen the safety demo many many times the four main points that stick out are these.  The oxygen masks will drop in front of me.  The life vest is under my seat. I can inflate this if I need to.  And there is a whistle in case I am hurled into the ocean at night. Now my fifth memory slot has been filled with the sight of the flight attendant twirling around as she places the straps for the life vest around her waist and I know full well that clearly this is not an integral part of the safety instructions but I cannot get this out of my head.  The visual cue is very strong and as well as giving me something to think about it also reinforced just how visual information can be so powerful which is why position of the body and the clarity of hand signals and arm movement etc is so key when working with any animal.  It also highlights the importance of avoiding the trap that many people fall into when teaching new comers to anything.  Try to avoid demonstrating how not to do something especially if this information comes first because I can guarantee that this will probably be the bit that they remember and will forget that they aren’t meant to do it at all!  It is far better to focus on the positive and to fill the active memory slots with the correct information and the behaviour that you would like them to repeat. 

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

20. September 2011 by admin.

The lovely Lucas is back at the farm for the clinic along with his owner Jan.  Lucas was a little lively yesterday in the indoor arena but his owner did an excellent job of helping her horse to settle.  I am proud of them both. We had a lovely session working with Lucas and he was a star. My vet took x-rays of Lucas’s hocks today and there are indeed bony changes to both hocks although fortunately we have caught this early and the prognosis is good.  Lucas rushes when asked to walk downhill and whilst it is also to do with balance and the ability to organise the body the movement of the hocks is also a factor to be considered if a horse consistently struggles when asked to walk down an incline.  So far Lucas is a text book example of the reasons that can be behind unwanted behaviour and I do love this entertaining cob!

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

20. September 2011 by admin.

The equine clinic has started and the course is full.  We have more visiting horses grazing in the paddocks and the farm is busy, busy, busy.  I left late last night to drive down to Cornwall so that I could attend the Open Day for Cats Protection in Truro today leaving the horses and participants in the capable hands of Tina. Sadly the weather meant that the dog show was cancelled but I had great fun talking about TTouch for cats and as I am a fan and supporter of Cats Protection it was great to meet more staff members and the volunteers of the this excellent charity.

I will spend the next five days rushing between the farm and home and then leave for Belfast on Thursday as I am an expert witness in a court case so am looking at a rather frantic week ahead. 

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

20. September 2011 by admin.

The past week has been busy with dog clients and working with our visiting mare who is learning a lot of self control and confidence.  She has been perfect with the farrier and is happy to sleep in her stable even whilst lots of activities are going on in the yard.  How a horse settles in the stable is a good marker for their emotional state as well as the atmosphere of a yard as they will not lie down if they are concerned in any way.  It’s lovely to see her looking so relaxed and chilled out.

Some time ago I had the idea that a conference dedicated to the health and welfare of equines is needed and with Carrie Humble (founder of the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre) now on board things are moving on a pace.  Sharon Power (co-founder of the Irish Horse Welfare Trust) is also part of the team and between us we are coming up with an outline for the first conference.  Carrie is a human dynamo and we now have the date confirmed for the 4th November in Ireland.  The speakers are booked and we hope that it will become an annual event and provide a forum where professionals and volunteers working in the field of equine welfare can join together to share ideas and experiences for the good of the horse (and donkeys of course).  There are so many charities and individuals doing extraordinary work across the world and I will set up a website too so that information can be shared with anyone working in this field.  The conference is open to anyone with an interest in equine health and welfare.

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

24. August 2011 by admin.

I am now officially back in the office and my holiday is over.  I had four great days with my sister and my nephews after I returned from the USA and then left for Suffolk to stay in my parents cottage for a long weekend last Friday.  It is time to move on and Jon has come up with some great plans for a new kitchen and bathroom which I know my mother would have loved.

I am over excited at the thought of doing the property up and have picked the tiles and new flooring too so am pretty keen to get back and crack on with the work but all the clinics start in a couple of weeks and I have a fair bit of work to fit in before everyone arrives so the cottage will have to wait for a while.

It’s going to be a busy autumn with lots of travel too and if Tony is still in the States when I have completed all my commitments I will be tempted to fit in another trip to LA before the end of the year.  It was so fantastic going back and there are more friends that we didn’t have time to see so I think another trip is definitely on the cards and of course it is the perfect place to write.  Perhaps next year I will cut back on work and spend my time travelling between Somerset, Suffolk and the States writing and catching up with old friends.  Yup.  That definitely sounds like a plan.

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »

24. August 2011 by admin.

It was hard saying goodbye to Tony at LAX but today I am stupidly happy to be back in the UK even though I look like death this morning!  It was the premiere of The Inbetweeners Movie yesterday evening and we had an incredible night.  A magical (hysterical) and wonderful night.  I left Emily and Daisy celebrating in London at the after party and have had hardly any sleep but it was well worth the late night.  Fans had cued from the early hours to see the cast and it took Emily ages to walk the red carpet. She looked absolutely stunning, the film was hilarious and the party was great.  From start to finish it was a perfect night.

Posted in Sarah Fisher | No Comments »