I was reading some very sad news yesterday. It is being suggested that the rules on petting zoos may need to change as a result of some recent cases of E Coli. Oh, now don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favour of trying to safeguard the health of children, but to stop them having direct access to all sorts of animals would be very sad for both the children and the animals. Children growing up in cities, have precious little access to farm animals as it is, without making it even harder. It would also be punishment for the animals, who have done nothing wrong as far as I can see. Now I don’t know if there is anything that can be done to realistically reduce the chance of infection, but I’m sure that notices reminding the children to wash their hands or use hand sanitising gel, wouldn’t be the answer, particularly if those children were not of reading age! I suppose I’d need to read up on how the E coli exists and what would need to be done to eliminate it, but whatever it is, that should be the answer, rather than children not being able to spend time with the animals.
Shadow is still being made to wear her collar, although I am starting to think it is more through habit than need. From what I can see of her scars, they are healing nicely. My Mistress has said if she’s good then she will take the collar off from this evening. Looking at my Mistress’s bruised legs, it’s not before time. Perhaps once it has been removed, my Mistress can really start concentrating on teaching Shadow not to jump all over her, though I think she may be fighting a losing battle.