HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1995-06-21, Page 6S-THt HURON EXPOSITOR, Awe 21, 111,11
Smothers Brothers' cat control
BY WILLIAM THOMAS
In my ongoing quest to keep
my cat, Weggie, from being
turned into a fur mat on the
road in front of my house, I
enlisted the help of Dick and
Tommy Smothers.
They are the spokes -brothers
for the Invisible Fencing Pet
Containment System, which is
a terrific way of keeping your
cat safe and secure within your
property lines - as long as your
cat is a dog.
Their promotional material
stressed the loving relationship
of people and their pets:
"Man's best friend", "member
of the family". I kept searching
for something that related to
Weggie and me - like "the only
crime is getting caught" or
"innocent until captured on
videotape" or "lower back pain
from running through ditches."
When I received their
brochure I got quite excited
about "electronic pet contain-
ment equi menl" I imagined
there would be a steel chair
with straps to hold the cat, a
bright light to shine into his
eyes and a cattle prod for inter-
rogation purposes.
Me: "Ssso, Veggie, I
understand you vent across ze
road again today!"
No response.
Me: "LIAR!!!"
77.7.7.7it! Cattle prod meets
cat's posterior.
But no, invisible fencing is a
thin antenna wire buried along
your property boundaries. Ac-
cording to the brochure, your
pet wears a small receiver -
collar and when he nears the
buried wire, a small electric
jolt stops him in his tracks. The
more he challenges the proper-
ty bounds, the more shocks he
receives. Pretty soon, unlike a
lot of husbands, he learns not
to stray.
"Now, we've never tried it
with cats yet," said the sales-
man who came out to the
house.
Nonetheless, Weggie sat in
the middle of the yard
watching the salesman and I
pace off the property lines to
get an idea of how much wire
we'd need. Weggie never took
his eyes off us, cocking his
head occasionally and thinking
to himself: "This is some kind
of a trap...probably a chainlink
fence or maybe even an in-
visible live wire buried just
below the surface of the soil so
that when I come charging
across wearing a small
receiver -collar...
Okay. He may not have
figured everything out, but he's
a damn smart cat.
"There could be a couple of
problems with a cat," said the
salesman.
A couple of problems with
this cat I can handle. It's when
they reach the point that they
require indexing by subject and
cross-referencing by problem
title - that's when I can't cope.
"He could go over the
fence," said the salesman.
"How does he know where to
jump if the fence is invisible?"
I asked.
"Cats can climb trees, ya
know," he said.
No kidding, Sherlock. I spent
last Sunday morning on an
extension ladder after the
neighborhood huskie broke his
rope and decided to send Weg-
gie to a place where only
astronauts have gone before.
"Then again he could run
across the electronic line and
then he'd get a jolt when he
tried to get back onto the
property," said the salesman.
I was trying to understand:
"Like an escaped convict from
Milhaven electrocuting himself
on high-voltage fence while
trying to break back into •
prison?"
"don't deal with convicts," he
said. "Just dogs."
"Tell me," I said. "Would
this hidden wire give a shock
to people walking across my
property, like the guy who
reads my meter or the Bell
repairman or neighborhood
kids?"
"No, it won't," he said.
"What if I paid extra for that
feature?" I asked.
Anyway, I was pretty much
sold on the system when we
sat down at the picnic table to
finalize the details. Pretty
simple - an underground wire
and a power -pack that delivers
the electric stimulus to not
cross the property lines.
As an afterthought, I asked to
see the receiver -collar - a royal
blue plastic power pack on a
wide matching nylon strap. We
put Weggie on the grass and
put the collar on him.
Weggie began walking in
circles with his neck tilted to
one side and his left ear
Mobility bus fees are set
The executive committee of
Central Huron Mobility Service
(CHuMS) Inc. has recom-
mended a rate schedule.
It is:
• $2.50, in-town/in-village;
• $3, up to 10 km;
• $3.50, 10 to 20 km;
• $4.20 to 30 km.
The committee adds the rates
for the new mobility bus in this
area will be subject to review
within six months, allowing the
CHuMs board to adjust as
necessary. The committee also
agreed contract trips to Strat-
ford or London will be rated at
$30 per hour of driving time
and $15 sitting.
The board met May 25 at
Maplewood Manor in Seaforth
and approved a new bus tender
from "McNab" for $69,351.90.
A memo from CHuMS
included in the information
package to Seaforth Council
for last week's regular meeting
also noted a previously
reported donation of $20,000
from the Huron Adult Day
Care Centre has been reduced
to $14,000.
"Reduction was a result of
our successful fundraising
efforts, therefore their re-
quirement to meet shortfall was
reduced," states the memo from
Seaforth councillor Brian Fer-
guson, one of the town's
representatives in the mobility
bus organization.
s s Haef!ing
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touching the grass as he
moved.
The collar weighs three
pounds. For a large dog, say
from Newfoundland, this unit
could be considered a "small"
receiver -collar. For Weggie - a
cat who weighs 10 pounds
while soaking wet from being
chased through a ditch by a
guy yelling "You little - ****1"
- Well, it felt more like the
spare tire off a Lincoln Town
Car.
I was ecstatic.
"I works!" I yelled.
Weggie wasn't going
anywhere with that thing
around his neck. If he ever
crossed the road again it would
have to be in small, slow
circles. _
"How much for just the
collar?" I asked.
By this time the salesman
was packing everything into his
briefcase, having come
inevitably to the conclusion
that cats cannot be fenced in,
invisibly or otherwise.
I wasn't so sure.
"Send me the seven -pound
receiver -collar!" I yelled as he
was getting into his car. "With
that one he won't even leave
the house!"
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