As a lifelong pet owner I've missed the companionship of an animal for the past ten years.
Three weeks ago I adopted a kitten in spite of my fears of the havoc it would bring to my rod work.
Zoe (rhymes with Joey) turned out to be a great choice.

She knows the desk is off limits so she just waits for me to leave the room before exploring it.
At least she shows no interest in the thread or rod blank on the wrapper.
So far, so good.

When I get down to wrapping she likes to sleep on a bottom book shelf near my feet.
It seems she keys in on my level of intense concentration while napping.
I couldn't be happier.

When I get to gluing up components or applying finish and drying rods I'll have to isolate the work from her.
I have a separate room for power tools where I can do those tasks outside of her presence.

It got me wondering about how other rod builders interact with their pets.
I thought this would make an interesting topic for the Forum.

Dave

I am a haphazard "for myself only" rodbuilder, so I don't have a regular rodbuilding desk, which would be at all times with rodbuilding stuff lying on it. However even when I do get down to working on a rod, my sausage dog just doesn't care. Of course a hot dog ;-) is basically a lowlands-locked critter and doesn't do much climbing, but even when I leave the rod drier on, with a 9' rod on it, she just doesn't seem to notice.
Cheers,
Michal

the "dude",a N.C. born yeller, has a bit of a follow me around complex,so thats what he does.sleeps right under the wrapper(i build standing).his tail can sometimes cause havoc and the occasional drip of epoxy in his coat comes out with a quick snip of the scissors,lol!

I have 3 dogs. Jack Daniels is a Drathaar, Wolf Man is a Schimmelscwartz (sp), and Dumb A-- is a Chesapeake cross. For the most part they stay away from me when I am building. My handwritting is very bad, so when I get ready to inscribe a rod I do a lot of practice before i put pen on blank. I finally got ready to do the inscription on a rod. The day was one of thos beautiful Spring days that was warm enough to open up the house and just let the breeze flow through. The house was quiet, so I sat down to do the inscription. I had just touched pen to blank when Dumb A-- noticed a squirrel in "His yard". He went ballistic barking groweling, and running for the open sliding glass door. He turned into a 110 pound brown missile. He miscalculated the opening and hit the side of the door. Needless to say, I had silver ink everywhere but where i wanted it. i spent the next hour cleaning up ink.

Mike Bradfrod
R.M.B. Fishing Rods
Nampa, Idaho

The last dog that we had was like my shadow. As a result, any time I was in the shop she would lay on her pillow and wait until I was done in the shop.

But after she passed on, the dog that we have now is my wife's shadow. So, although she comes down to check on me now and then, she goes back up to keep an eye on my wife. However, it is nice to see the little creature come padding in to check on progress and make sure that I am still there.

Pets are great company.

Roger

We have a Devon Rex cat that doesn't shed but sometimes she likes to help me wrap. Just wants a lap mostly, and likes to eat my tie off loops but has never shown any interest in the rotating rods. Last week, she was on the wrapping table and got too close to the alcohol lamp and caught on fire. I make sure she isn't on the wrapping bench any more when I glue guides down. Scary moment but I put her out before the fire spread. Stunk like @#$%& though.

Terry

After more than a few pet involved mishaps (glue on fir, fir on finish, cat-play with rotating rod, etc. etc..) over the years I now forbid my dogs and cat anywhere near my rod room if I'm working there or not. I found, much to my shigrin, that some dogs are quite fond of chewing on cork and EVA too!

A pet is a "must have" for 99% of people but common sence goes a long way in any shop enviorment. Chewed up grips and furry finish can be fixed but some things can be deadly to our 4-legged family members. Be smart and BE SAFE too.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

My American Water Spaniel, Dave, usually just keeps my feet warm when I am wrapping. However, there are those times with he decides it's play time and pushes his nose in my lap and makes it really fun to try and keep going. Wrapping is doable but epoxy begins to get a bit more challenging.

We have a Bengal cat that thinks everything in the basement rod shop is there explicitly for his enjoyment, so obviously his access is restricted to when I am in the shop. A Morkie pup who couldn't care less and "Baby" the 20+ year old "boss" of the place [www.rodbuilding.org]

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Update:

I'm sitting at my wrapping desk putting a long under wrap on a surf blank.
My kitten Zoe decided to see what I'm doing so she jumped into my lap and is laying still while watching me wind the thread onto the blank.
I have a feeling this is going to become a habit for her.
As long as she behaves herself I'm fine with it.
Her purring is incredibly soothing as I wrap.

Dave

My cat is indifferent to my rod building, as the wrapper I work on is suspended on two saw horses and my cat is not interested in performing a high wire act.

Odd timing, I have been keeping my daughters cat while they move from one state to another (had her since Christmas) and I simply shut the cat out of the rod room totally, but every time I forget to shut the door she goes in. Personally I hate it, and will be darn glad when she goes home!

DR

I guess I`m lucky because Maggie, a black lab will not go down the basement steps. i wish she would though. I will be down there for sometimes hours on end and when i go up she is lying at the top of the stairs waiting for me.

Now, the two cats are a different story. When I first started this new habit of rod building, the cats also started a new hobby, "Flying". After just a couple of lessons they leave every thing alone.

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

Yeah I have two Labs and they will not go down stairs.I do my wrapping up stairs and finish work downstairs it helps alot to have one room just for finishing.

I love animals but not the hair in the finish

Bill - willierods.com

our cat bites cork. Dogs are OK

I personally include at least one dog hair in each of my finished rods. Some of my regular customers seem to have fun trying to find it.

MIck Hinton
American Tackle Co.

if they find it -- do they get a discount ?? LOL

Bill - willierods.com

My son's cat "Dazzle" recently deceased. she would curl up under my bench (on some old towels), and I would forget about her in there and lock up for the night - sometimes I'd remember her there and chase her out. One day I walked in the shop the next afternoon, during winter but heater was on and it was nice and cozy, to check on the epoxy that should be dried by then. I opened the door, she ran out, and looks like she threw up a few times. didn't think much of it at the time, but then became ill, very ill. she past sooner than I can get her to the vet. Not sure if she was licking on the left over epoxy or if it was just a coincidence because of her age. I didn't find any cat hair or whiskers in the epoxy or on the rod, nor did it look like she had been tasting it.

My two shih-tzu's curl up on the floor or the vacant chair from time to time, one of them loves to tear into the packing paper,but both are ready at the door when I close up for the night or sooner if they hear momma.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2012 11:12PM by Fred Trahan.

Great thread! I have an 18 month old golden retriever called Max. He has free reign of the house but the basement is off limits when I'm epoxying. He has never chewed or destroyed any equipment, including a room full of personal rods & those of friends. We have a home full of his hair but I'm pleased to say that I haven't had a single hair in any wraps (only a matter of time though). He knows when I'm working on a rod & waits for me to finish & return upstairs. He has brought so much joy to my life since I was medically retired from work with back problems. He loves it when I go fishing & bring him home a feed.