Kris Massie's memories of Kitwe.
Part 7
By now our son had made friends with the eldest son of a couple living halfway down the Close and who already had an older daughter and who were to become good friends of ours and if our son was not home he was at their house and vice versa or they were at the small park round the corner under the supervision of Esther. They had two more playmates in the Close.
Our dogs and cats loved their new garden with plenty of space to romp and play. We had brought Carmen, the German Shepherd and Pixie the Sealyham Terrier with us and later we acquired Goldie, the Golden Labrador/Retriever. She was spotted as a puppy when at the Rhokana Mine swimming pool and a lady was giving away the now ready litter. Goldie was to become very attached to me and anyone who visited whom she wasn’t acquainted with, she would sit between me and the other person until she was sure all was well! Pixie eventually succumbed to old age and she was replaced by a Fox Terrier named Topsy-Turvy, quite mad and full of life.
We sadly lost Carmen after a trip away during which we had an American couple to house-sit for us. Carmen had a pure pedigree and was highly strung to boot and when it came to thunderstorms and indeed, if she as much as spotted one cloud in the sky, she would come shivering indoors cowering under anything she could get beneath. Our vet had supplied tranquillisers for these seasons but they appeared to have little effect. We returned home to a very upset couple as Carmen had become blind from her nervousness. We were certainly not apportioning blame on them, it was something no one could help and we eventually, by consulting our vet Mike, had to put her to sleep. A very sad day.
Still with our animals, our cats also met their Maker through age but they were not then replaced. Goldie was mated with another dog and produced just one puppy and she was most protective mother. Topsy was maternally jealous and would try to carry the puppy away from her at every opportunity and great fights would break out between the two. Such situation could not be tolerated, nor continue, as we had to keep them separated at all times.
One Sunday afternoon my friend came to have a look at the puppy and as she entered the room, unbeknown to us Topsy shot in and the attack started … Goldie had Topsy’s head in her mouth and to avoid serious injury I, in a moment of rash brevity placed both hands on her upper and lower jaws to prise them open. I released Topsy and pushed her out, we swiftly closed the door but Goldie’s jaws came down to puncture the palm of my left hand. A trip to Nkana Hospital was necessary and I hurried there to get a Tetanus shot and to have the wound seen to. In my haste I’d not thought of taking the Rabies Certificate and the nurse on duty refused to treat my wound without it. Another round trip was made (4 miles each way) and on presentation of the required piece of paper, she barely looked at it before she informed me the treatment was to wash the wound with soapy water and I needed no further treatment. I blew my fuse in the car on the way home!
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