fandomhigh | Entries tagged with animal handling

Today, for a change, class was meeting neither in the classroom nor at Portalocity. They met just inside the building (because Jon was not enjoying this heat and had no desire to make anyone else wait in it, either). When they were all there, Jon nodded and began.

"We're taking a local trip today. I thought we'd start from here so that if you didn't know where it was, you could learn." He took off walking at a pace that meant they'd have to work to keep up (or tell him to slow down). "If you've decided you like cats and would like one of your own, Fandom has its own shelter where you can adopt one. And if you've decided you like them but don't want one of your own, I imagine they can probably still use volunteers; for that, you'll have to speak to the manager. At any rate, today we're visiting Furnado to see what they have on offer, and to hear from the veterinarian what taking care of a cat involves."

Once they were there (and again out of the heat), he shook hands with the ~~modded with permission~~ vet, and sat down to listen to her talk about food, water, litter boxes, medical care, and such. (And, let's be real, to let the kittens crawl all over him.) Everyone else was welcome to do the same if they were so inclined.

intheeyeofthebeholding

It was Portalocity again today, and Jon met the students there. "There's a phenomenon that's started in the last decade or so called a cat cafe," he explained. "Coffee or tea cafes bring in cats that are often up for adoption and let you interact with them while you eat. There are quite a few in Japan, where it started, but I thought we'd stick to English-speaking areas. Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium is a London cafe that offers cream tea - tea with scones - and a number of lovely cats. So, let's go enjoy them!"

intheeyeofthebeholding

Today class was meeting at Portalocity again, and had been advised to dress comfortably for cool weather, have on good shoes, and not bring cats from home. Jon greeted them with a nod, cleared his throat, and stood tall. "I would like to apologise for missing class last week. It was highly unprofessional of me. I hope it gave you the opportunity to play with your own cats or someone else's."

He nodded again and relaxed just a little. "Today we'll be visiting a cat sanctuary in South Africa called Panthera. We'll be taking an enrichment visit, so we'll get to make toys and such for the cats and watch them play, as well as learn the cats' stories. We'll be walking quite a bit, and it's currently winter."

Their portal opened and he turned to go in. "Oh, and please be careful and respectful of the cats and their carers."

He went in and waited for them to follow.

intheeyeofthebeholding

When students arrived at the classroom, they would discover a notice on the door:

Your professor overextended himself. Go home and play with cats.

intheeyeofthebeholding

Today was a no-cats-from-home day, and class was meeting at Portalocity.

Jon waved at them as they arrived. "Today we're going to Japan. Specifically, to Gotoku-ji Temple. There's a tradition in Japan of the beckoning cat. Maneki Neko. The story goes that as a lord passed the temple, a cat beckoned to him. As soon as he followed the cat into the temple, lightning struck where he had been standing. He was so grateful, he made it into his family's temple. Today, people bring statues of the cat to the temple as offerings."

He smiled. "There are a few places cats are worshipped or memorialized. I thought this one would be fun to see."

intheeyeofthebeholding

Today, class was meeting in the Danger Shop, which was set up to look like a large convention center. Jon was smiling, and Issa was ignoring everybody. "Hello, everybody. On Earth, there are a lot of people who love cats, and some of them formed something called the Cat Fancier Association, and every year they get together and have a show all about cats, with different breeds competing for awards and people giving presentations about them."

He gestured around. "I got some help to program this thing to be the main hall of last year's cat show, so you can have a look at all the different breeds and sorts of cats. There really are a wide variety."

And he turned everybody loose.

intheeyeofthebeholding

"Welcome, everybody!" Jon was actually smiling this morning. Hey, he liked his subject. As evidenced by Issa lounging on the desk up front and getting plenty of scritches.

"This is 'Cats!'." Jon looked at them and shrugged. "If you don't know what a cat is, this is Issa, and she's a cat. There are all sorts of cats on Earth, organized into two subtypes - pantherinae, the ones that roar, like lions, tigers, and leopards - and felinae, the ones that purr, like cougars and domestic cats. The others I've mentioned are all wild cats that haven't been domesticated, bar a few insane individuals. Cats as they are now have been around for about three to five million years with few changes. They have flexible backbones, retractable claws, and good night vision, which makes them excellent little predators. Er...depending upon the temperament of the individual cat, of course." He eyed Issa, and she gave him an unimpressed look back.

"And that...that will probably be the most intellectual we'll get in this course. We're going to meet cats, pet cats, play with cats, and learn about cats. But first, I don't know if you all know each other, so we'll do introductions, as is the tradition. I'm Jonathan Sims - Jon or Mr. Sims is fine - and I'm from Bournemouth in England, though more recently London. Also in England. I'm from more or less the current time. I've owned or lived with several cats over the years, and currently have Issa."

He nodded at them. "So, erm. Name, roughly where and when you're from, and what experience you have with cats."

in_sidon_we_trust

Sidon was, admittedly, quite a bit distracted as he came almost directly to the shelter from a portal from home, having been called away over the weekend to take care of a few princely duties. There was...building unrest, in the kingdom of Hyrule. Granted, there was always unrest, with the threat of the Calamity constantly looming over them, but, in Zora's Domain in particular, it had been raining far more than usual, and the Divine Beast Vah Ruta had been...reacting. It was contributing to the rain, this great monolithic mechanical beast that remained fairly dormant in the reservoir for nearly a hundred years, seemed to have stirred and awoken and, well...

It was kind of a big deal.

But he did have an obligation to his class, and so he was going to pop by on Monday dutifully before likely settling a few things with the vet and perhaps getting in touch with Prompto to keep an eye on things while he looked into this Vah Ruta business, and...

...well, he was going to be in for a bit of a surprise there, wasn't he? But that was neither here nor there at the moment, as he had a class to lead and he put on his best enthusiastic smile for the students as he greeted them with a pump of his fist and his usually cheery lecture.

"Hello, my dear animal carers and appreciators!" he began. "And welcome back! Today, we're going to be talking about the care and appreciation of one of my personal favorites of the animals we have here in the shelter, although I admit, there is a very clear bias there, and that will be fish!

"Now," he continued, "there are indeed a aquarium fish with a wide variety of different needs and wants, and we will go over some of those today, as well as things to keep in mind before welcoming a fish into your household. They may seem like they're fairly passive pets, but they require a lot of work if you want to do it well, and of course you'll want to be the best fish pet parent you can be! So today, we'll learn how! Come along with me! To the fishtanks!"

Especially the very large one at the back of the shelter that, yes, in the winter, Sidon himself also slept in.

in_sidon_we_trust

There would certainly be no doubt about which animals the class would be talking about today, as, cheerful and boisterous as ever, Sidon led the way over to the section of the shelter with all the various cages and enclosures that featured the plethora of birds, many of them trilling and chirping and ruffling their feathers as they approached.

"If you haven't guessed it by now, my eager animal caretakers and appreciators," he said, "today is for the birds! As you can see, Furnado Animal Shelter is home to a wide variety of feathered friends, and that's what we'll be discussing today! Now, obviously, a bird as a pet would require a great deal of special considerations that other, more mammalian or reptilian creatures might not need, as well as some that might start seeming rather familiar. So, naturally, we will go over important information to keep in mind when keeping a bird, and then we'll get to know some of the birds themselves! Let's get into it!"

in_sidon_we_trust

"We've got a great treat for everyone today!" Sidon announced, once the students had arrived at the shelter for their weekly explorations into amazing and magnificent animal care. "Furndado's very own frog band is still in town before they embark on a great journey and a marvelous tour of the Down Under to spread their talent even further world wide, which means....we will be enjoying their eclectic musical stylings while we all learn about our tiny little amphibious friends: frogs!

"Now," said Sidon, "as an amphibious creature myself, I do have a soft spot for these little guys, and while I understand that the talent possessed by our frog band is rarely seen in them off this island, they are still absolutely incredible beings! Amphibious, of course, means...."

And here Sidon continued to tell everyone all about frogs and how to take care of your pet frog (or a visiting frog band, perhaps, needing a place to stay for the night while on tour!), with plenty of the wide variety of colorful and diverse frogs in residence at the shelter to demonstrate and introduce.

"With that," Sidon concluded, "we now know our froggy friends much better, and, today, we're going to make them nice and comfortable by dressing up their tanks and creating unique habitats for them to enjoy! We've got a lot of the things you'll need right here in the shelter, so let's get to work and give our new friends some exciting new spaces!"

in_sidon_we_trust

"Good morning, everyone!" Sidon greeted everyone as they gathered together in Furnado yet again for another fun and exciting day of learning about animals! "I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend, and I hope you're ready to explore further into the wild world of magificient creatures that we have here at the shelter, because today, we're going to be talking about cats!"

An animal that seemed to be, unless you knew anything about the general nature of cats, suspiciously absent at the moment.

"That's right!" Sidon pumped his fist. "Cats! Of which we do have many of here at the shelter, but all of whom appear to be making themselves a bit scarce at the moment, but no worries! We shall get to that, but first, let us learn what we can about the domestic cat and things to keep in mind if you're planning on taking one home!"

Which, of course, launched Sidon into his very enthusiastic breakdown about what made cats so special, from their habits to their diet, to their quirks and fun facts about them, to the variety of ways to play with and entertain cats, which should hopefully come into play here shortly, as well as possible reasons why a cat might not be a good choice for you.

"I was hoping," Sidon did sigh a little as he shook his head and looked around, "that, much like with the puppies from last week, the cats would be eager and excited to participate, but it seems as though they've all slinked off to various parts of the shelter, but that, in and of itself, might be helpful! Cats do love a bit of hide and seek, and so let us indulge them by seeking them out! It will be a good opportunity, too, to see the breadth of personality that you see in cats, and help you try and determine which ones truly do wish to be left alone and which might be feeling a little more playful and friendly, but want you to sort of work for it first! So let's everyone go forth and find some cats and see who we can find!"

in_sidon_we_trust

If Sidon needed anything to help convince him that it was a good idea to start with the puppies now that it was time to focus on specific animals, it was definitely a weekend like this last one! Of course, he didn't know who might be needing a little bit of puppy snuggles this week due to visitors (or, in his case, the heartbreaking and bewildering lack thereof), but even if his entire class had been completely fine this weekend, who didn't love a good puppy snuggle day regardless?

So when the students came into the shelter for their class that day, they'd find Sidon (who should never be too difficult to spot!), over in the big puppy pen set up underneath the front window of the shelter, with all the various canines eager and excited for the day of pets and treats ahead of them.

"Good morning, everyone!" Sidon greeted in a booming voice, and a few of the dogs chimed in with a bark of a little howl. "And welcome back to the Care and Appreciation of Animals! This week, we're going to focus on a dearly beloved staple of the Furnado Animal Shelter, the domestic dog!

"Now, the domestic dog is a very vast and wide-ranging species that can involve the tiniest of pups to the largest of beasts, and all of them very good boys and girls worthy of love, attention, and proper care and appreciation! There are many different breeds, that all have different traits and personalities and needs, so we will try to cover a few of the ones represented here at the store, and go over things to keep in mind when caring for a dog, and whether or not a dog is right for you. And then we'll open it up to questions, and then, what we've all been waiting for, taking some time to actually care for and appreciate these wonderful lads and ladies with some play time and fun!"

in_sidon_we_trust

Hopefully, the students in the class would be gathering at the animals shelter, as instructed, and the animal shelter was clearly ready for them! And so was Sidon, waiting with a big grin and an eager excitement as they all gathered to get ready for the lesson to begin.

And, of course, the introductions!

"Hello! And welcome," he boomed, throwing open his arms and puffing out his chested excitedly, "to the Care and Appreciation of Animals! I am your faithful instructor, Sidon!" Here, he swept one of his fists in front of him in an enthusiastic pump, flashing them a grin that caught perfectly in the light, and he held it for a brief second before continuing. "The Zora Prince! And also the manager of this fine shelter! I have worked here ever since I myself was a student at the high school, many years ago, and many more in my timeline, but those are details that do not quite matter in this instance. What does matter is that Furnado Animal Shelter has been home to a wide variety of different animals and creatures that call this island home, and it is here that they will find love, attention, and the care they deserve, and where one might come in to find love, attention, and the care they deserve from them, as well!

"Before we really get into it, however," Sidon continued, "we must keep in mind that our furry, feathered, and scaled friends are all their own individuals, as well as living beings, and so extra care and precaution must be taken as we learn about them and ourselves through them! Absolutely no mishandling of the animals will be tolerated, nor will any straying from the instructions as given when dealing with particular kinds of animals. We are going to go over some very important safety tips before we get started, as well as some other things to keep in mind going forward.

"And, once we're finished with that, I will be giving you all ten minutes to familiarize yourself not only with the shelter, but with the animals as well. I'd like you to use this time to find an animal that you feel you may already have a special connection with: a new fast friend, or one of your favorite kinds of animals, or an animal you feel represents you! Depending on the animal, the vet here," he gestured with the utmost respect and admiration to the shelter's tireless and dedicated doctor, "will help you with handling them, or we will just leave them be and describe your animal when you get back, and we will take some time getting to know you through your new friends: let us know who you are, why you're excited to be learning about the Care and Appreciation of Animals, and why you picked this particular animal to befriend today! In the following weeks, we will be focusing on very specific animals or very specific types of care, but, for today, let's just get to know each other and the animals a little better as a whole, as well as how to keep everyone involved safe and comfortable!"

wrongkindofsith

"How did they come back?" Magnus whined, hiding behind Cara like she could protect him from the return of the spiders. Because she could, but the real question was would she?

Cara sighed, and refrained from pointing out the spiders weren't real. That's how you knew it was True Friendship. "Sometimes the best way to handle animals is killing everything with fire."

"That's the best plan with spiders," Magnus agrees readily. "Sometimes an ax. Or maybe a big animated robot!"

"We didn't program in a robot." Of course, they hadn't programmed in the spiders either, especially not such big ones...

A cat sized tarantula slowly walked on by, causing Magnus to help and hide behind Cara even more. "Killitkillitkillit!"

Cara sighed again, and stabbed the tarantula with an agiel. It exploded. Messily.

Because Cara was a good friend.

"So, uh. We've got some weapons scattered around the tavern,to use. There might be a flamethrower too, I'm not sure," Magnus said now that he was safe from that slow moving rancho.

"So that's the class, kill it with fire."

wrongkindofsith

The tavern was on fire today. It was on fire and there were some dragons looming all around them because someone messed up the settings by spilling a drink on them. It was a real Weird Science situation here, folks!

"So, it was just supposed to be lizards today," Magnus said, covered in soot and raring to go stab one of the dragons. Because of course he was. "Our bad. This one is on us."

Cara looked disturbingly cheerful, especially since she had not drawn a weapon. "Just think of it as a challenge," she said, grinning. "And if you win, you get to ride a flying murder lizard."

Cara, no!

"...yes," Magnus said, totally buying into this. "Less Skyrim, more Dragon Heart!"
"Yes! Exactly!" Cara had no idea what Magnus had just said, she was just that excited about this. Now was probably a good time to be grateful for the safeties. "It's time to tame some dragons, kids!"

CARA, NO!

magnusrushesin

The tavern today was full of snakes today. Snakes and snacks. Snake snacks, to be precise.

"So, we had a lil' mix up on what we put into the computer thing," Magnus said as a snake just slithered on by.

Cara pushed a giant, brightly coloured jelly snake out of the way. "There was going to be death defying wrestling, but Australians ruin everything." You knew what you did, Australia.

"Ohthankgoditwasn'tspiders," Magnus said very, very quickly. He didn't like the spiders, kids. Not a fan of the spiders.

Cara looked over Magnus's shoulder, then threw a bar knife at something that very definitely wasn't a spider. "Yes. That would be unfortunate."

"Nope, fu--uudge that," Magnus said, immediately hiding behind her. "Spiders are where I gotta draw the line on animal handling! No ranchos!"

If Cara was a completely different person, she might have patted Magnus's hair reassuringly. Instead she addressed the class "Defeat the snakes, and the things that are also snakes, just with more legs. Then eat them."

wrongkindofsith

So, it looked like those unicorns from yoga class had stuck around a little while longer this week if the number of them milling about the tavern were anything to go by.

Though most were milling around Cara.

Magnus wasn't upset about not having a sweet unicorn friend at all. He was fine. He knew a binicorn, okay? He was fine.

For once, Cara was having the time of her life. There were stabby horses everywhere, and they seemed to be fairly tame. No, nobody had told her about unicorn's "preferences".

"An important thing to understand about large prey animals is that they can be even more dangerous than predators," she said, stroking a random unicorn's nose. "Even when they don't have weapons attached to their heads, which many of them do."

"Yeah, and they can run at the same speed as a racing car--I mean battle wagon," Magnus added, looking so, so jealous that Cara was able to pet them. "Which are fantasy cars. So, that means they could stab you really good at that speed."

"Hard enough they wouldn't even need to trample you underfoot after." Look, Mord'Sith training took horse girl tendencies in really weird directions.

"So, let's continue those trust exercises," Magnus said, sighing as another unicorn startled away from him. Don't fail your charisma roll, kids. This is what happens.

Cara was now feeding the unicorns sugar cubes, who even knew where she'd gotten them.

magnusrushesin

The tavern seemed especially tavern-y today, perhaps it was all the cooing, or the smell of meat cooking.

"So, pigeons," Cara said.

"They're smart lil' guys," Magnus said, trying to pet one before it fluttered away from him. "But maybe a little tetchy about the petting thing."

Which saddened him greatly.

"Despite the reputation they have in this world, they're remarkably useful for sending messages." If you didn't have journey books or were squeamish about the whole blood as ink thing. "Tasty too."

"Is that what I smell?" Magnus asked. "Huh. You know what? I'll totally give it a try!"

Maybe traumatize the squirrels a little bit with it.

"Much better than squirrel." Cara was perfectly happy to lean into that. Leroy knew what he did.

"Okay, so let's all get some grub and get these pigeons to trust us!" WHILST EATING THEIR BRETHREN.

Like the pigeons wouldn't try to get stuck into the food if offered.

wrongkindofsith

So, the tavern was exactly the same as before. Only this time kittens. Because your teachers either had trouble with the controls or, you know, kittens.

"Look at them all!" Magnus had two clawing their way up his armor. It was adorable.

Catra was not snuggling a kitten, she just happened to be holding it in a safe and secure way that induced purring. "Cats are much more difficult than puppies, they can't be commanded, only coaxed."

"Also, needlesharp claws!" Magnus had the best input.

"So you'll know if you make them unhappy."

"Puppies were easy, so we're upping the difficulty with these guys," Magnus said. "Make one your friend and you'll be ready for the next step on our journey to... Animal buddies. Knew I shoulda been a ranger."

Everyone take a moment to consider the possible end result of that.

"So pick a kitty, everyone!" Magnus said as one particularly adventurous kitten got to his belt to bat at Stephven.

magnusrushesin

Did the classroom need to look like a tavern every time they taught? No. Was it gonna be anyway? Yes. Yes it was.

But this time there were puppies. Puppies everywhere.

Which was why one teacher was on the floor, letting them just crawl all over him. "I love this class so much!"

"I gathered as much when you wrote the outline," Cara said dryly. I'm sure you were all shocked by this.

Magnus popped his head up, cuddling two puppies close to his chest. "I got it all planned out, we start easy and work up to training cats to not shove their butts in your face."

The impossible dream.

"Have you ever even met a cat, Magnus?" Sincere question there. "We're starting with puppies because they're simple, eager, and easy to please."

Much like one of your teachers.

"I've named this lil' guy Chortles. And this one Kevin," he said proudly. "So everyone pick a puppy and learn the secret language of trust."

Via petting.

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Entries tagged with animal handling

Cats! Monday, 4th period

Cats! Monday, 4th period

Cats! Monday, 4th period

Cats! Monday, 4th period

Cats! Monday, 4th period

Cats! Monday, 4th period

Cats! Monday, 4th period

The Care & Appreciation of Animals!; Monday, Third Period [08/07].

The Care & Appreciation of Animals!; Monday, Third Period [07/31].

The Care & Appreciation of Animals!; Monday, Third Period [07/24].

The Care & Appreciation of Animals!; Monday, Third Period [07/17].

The Care & Appreciation of Animals!; Monday, Third Period [07/10].

The Care & Appreciation of Animals!; Monday, Third Period [07/03].

Animal Handling for Fun and Fun, Thursday

Animal Handling for Fun and Fun, Thursday

Animal Handling for Fun and Fun, Thursday

Animal Handling for Fun and Fun, Thursday

Animal Handling for Fun and Fun, Thursday

Animal Handling for Fun and Fun, Thursday

Animal Handling for Fun and Fun, Thursday

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