These stories of pets and shells have had me smiling lately. I thought I
would tell you about my Springer Spaniel "Meg" who is perhaps the world's
first canine conchologist. In the 9 months I have had her she has "stolen"
shells from boxes in the garage on numerous occasions. Never once has she
damaged them - she always hides them under the blanket in her basket and
seems very put out when I reclaim them!

Lately my cat had seven kittens and when they were just 2 days old someone
left the door open and Meg came in and "catnapped" one of the kittens. When
we realised we ran outside in a panic, not holding out much hope for the
poor kitten, as she is a hunting dog and often kills rabbits and other small
furry creatures in the blink of an eye. But to our amazement she had simply
taken it into her kennel and it was completely unharmed. I can only presume
she was jealous of the cat and wanted a baby of her own!

Happy shelling everyone!
Regards,
Barbara Jouvernaux
RD4 Cambridge
New Zealand