Dear Diary . . .


Well, it's certainly been all go at the Supreme office over the last few
months. I've never seen the Supreme animals work so hard! Russel Rabbit and
Gerty Guinea Pig have been travelling all over the place - and Charlie
Chinchilla, Reggie Rat, Gerri Gerbil and I have been taking it in turns to
provide them with packed lunches for all their exciting travels. (Harry
Hamster's been asleep, but it's his turn soon). It's a good job Supreme
foods are so convenient - a well-balanced diet all wrapped up in one handy
bag. Just as well, because animals as busy as Russel and Gerty need all
their vitamins and nutrients to keep up with their busy schedules. On
really hectic days, we've been sending them off with a little something
extra-special - one of Supreme's lovely new Treats! They're absolutely
scrummy, and all of us have a different favourite. Russel loves the Carrot
and Leek Cookies, Gerty prefers the Nibble'n'Squeak and Harry says that
Yippees are best. Gerri adores the Root'n'Fruit, Reggie always chooses
Rat'a'Chewy, while Charlie's favourite is Crackers (just like Charlie!!).
Talking of being a bit nutty, I like the Wild Fruit'n'Nut Stickle Treats.

Russel's been scampering all over the place - visiting children in schools
and teaching them how to look after their pets. He even went shopping in
the supermarket one day and ended up with his photo in the local papers!
Gerty's been in the papers too - giving out competition prizes in a big
shopping centre in Farnborough. She's been travelling round talking to lots
of young pet owners, showing them how to take care of their small furries.
And of course, Russel and Gerty have been visiting our young friends in
hospital with CHATA. (Children in Hospital and Animal Therapy Association).
I'm not sure I'd be very good at all that travelling - mind you, Russel and
Gerty seem to enjoy it. I'm quite happy beavering away here in my
underground home - the website - where at least it doesn't get too hot. Of
course, that's if a mole can beaver away!!

Talking of getting too hot, now that summer's here, I hope that all you pet owners know what precautions to take to make sure that your favourite furry friends stay happy and healthy when the weather gets hot. Keeping the hutch or cage clean is really important. So, if you haven't given your pet's home  a good spring clean yet, then why not do it this weekend? Charlie  Chinchilla says that "It'll make a change from watching all that football  you humans love, and it will show your furry friend that you care."

Gerri Gerbil has just joined us, and she says that I'm to point out that "a
good spring clean doesn't just mean nipping round with a bottle of Home
Help and a duster - it means a really good, proper, thorough clean!" Make
sure you put your pet somewhere safe, and then empty everything out, before
thoroughly washing the hutch or cage and the food bowl, water bottle, toys
and anything else that's in the cage with hot soapy water. Charlie's just
interrupted "Of course, that's everything except your pet, who should be
playing or sleeping happily, somewhere safe and secure!"

Then you can get the Home Help - complete with it's yummy new lemon smell,
and spray it all over the hutch or cage, and all the things to go back
inside. Only then can you go and watch a bit of football, while you wait
for the Home Help to dry completely. Charlie suggests that, better still,
you should go and play with your pet instead. "Only don't try and play
football with your pet", says Charlie, "'cos most of them prefer hide and
seek or tag!"

When everything has dried and you and your pet are tired from all that
play, leave your furry friend to have a rest, while you get back to work.
Put some nice fresh bedding in your pet's clean, lemon-fresh home, and fill
the water bottle and put some Supreme food in the bowl. Don't worry about
arranging toys and things too carefully, as your pet will do that for
her/him-self.

When I showed this to Russel to read, he pointed out that, a spring clean
is just the beginning and muttered something about prevention being better
than cure. It's very important that throughout the hot weather, you remove
wet or dirty bedding from your pet's cage every single day. This helps
prevent flystrike (that's a really nasty disease that rabbits can get if
their homes aren't kept clean). Russel also said I should remind you that
"it's really important for rabbits and guinea pigs to have access to some
nice shady areas so they can escape from the sun if it's very hot, and
don't forget to provide lots of fresh drinking water." So there you have it
- make sure your pet's home is clean - and keep it that way - all through
the summer.

Another thing to watch out for in the summer, is that your pet doesn't eat any plants that are poisonous or harmful. Your pet may well naturally start nibbling his or her way around the garden given half a chance, but this isn't always such a good idea. To help you work out what's safe and what isn't, Supreme has produced a handy guide to dangerous plants, so keep any  eye out for it - or better still, look it up here on the website under What's New (Main News) - and make sure your pet doesn't take on more than he or she can chew!!

Don't forget, if any of you website visitors want any advice about anything
to do with your small furries, then don't hesitate to ask, and I and the
team will do our very best to answer your queries. Better still, come and
find us at one of the many shows we're visiting across the country. You can
find more details on the Shows page. Russel is particularly excited that he
gets to visit Rabbit 2000: a massive rabbit show that Supreme is sponsoring
to celebrate the Millennium. It takes place at Bingley Hall in
Staffordshire at the start of July (1st & 2nd), and they'll not only be
hundreds of rabbits, but lots of guinea pigs, hamsters and rats too! It
should be very exciting, in fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of
the others go with Russel, after all, no one wants to miss out on that much
fun!

Anyway, it's time I went and woke Harry. It's his turn to do the packed
lunches! Yippees all round!.

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