Saturday 4th December - The Foster Mother

 Here we are at the first weekend of Dogvent and I have a confession to make.  I've been slightly cheating on Blossom recently.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore my wonderful dog but I have been stroking another animal behind her back.  Sometimes, I even do it in front of her and she is disgusted. This is the problem...

He lives next door and is extremely charming and persuasive, coming into our house and demanding tickles.  We're not entirely sure what his name is because there are a number of cats next door so we call him Chairman Meow. Blossom and the Chairman have an uneasy relationship, slowly improving to the point that he attempted to play with her yesterday but he is a tad feral and so she hid under a blanket.  Where food is concerned however they are in perfect agreement and will sit happily together eating.  Hopefully at some point, a cloying Victorian sentiment will envelope them and this sort of thing will happen...

The Foster Mother (1894) J S Dyson

Okay, that is highly unlikely, but you never know.  Whilst J S Dyson's image of canine and feline unity is a bit optimistic, I like this picture because it is a bit awkward and glowing. The animals are a little stiff but the side of the cushion is rather glorious.  I don't believe Dyson was a particularly successful artist, I can't seem to find much else by them other than this one, also owned by Preston Park Museum and Grounds...

The Orphans (1894)

Apparently, Dyson was obsessed with dog and cat orphans - a specialism which probably went down well in the nineteenth century.  In The Orphans, it's puppies who appeal to a mother cat for comfort.  Actually, is it my imagination or is the cat in the second picture one of the kittens in the first? Is she repaying the debt of her foster mother by caring for little Jack Russell puppies?  Dare we ask what happened to the Jack Russell mum? Also why is there straw in both pictures?  Do they live on a farm -if so, I watched countless public information films on the dangers of farms as a child, including a particularly horrific one called Apaches, which is available on YouTube if you want to be traumatised. Really, I had a terror of drowning in a slurry pit for most of my childhood. It's probably best not to ask what the tragic backstory is...

On that cheery note I'm off and I'll catch you tomorrow...