Slaney Pet & Animal News
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Fossett’s Circus PET aPProVED
VET DIARY FOR SEPTEMBER with the Moyne Veterinary Clinic
In this issue of the Slaney News Sally Ryan looks at the topical issue of pets and fleas. As the long hot summer draws to a close we all feel a bit healthier for all those days spent soaking up the sunshine and vitamin D. Sunlight is a great disinfectant, and will have cleared the air of lots of germs. One thing, however, enjoys the warmth as much as we do – fleas. They always come to their maximum population numbers in August, and this year they will be even more plentiful. The thought of fleas can seem horrifying for some pet owners but they are a fact of everyday life in the countryside because they live on all wildlife as well as dogs and cats. They will be wherever there are rabbits, foxes, hedgehogs, deer and ferral cats. They can jump, so if a dog comes in close contact with any of these he can pick them up. More usually, he will pick up fleas when he is lying down having a sleep. Some place where a flea has laid it's eggs. This could be a hayshed, a dusty corner of the woodshed, a pile of old leaves in a sunny spot under the hedge or your fireside rug. Anywhere at all where this animal or another animal has laid down to rest before. They make themselves at home in the dog's hair and can be hard to spot because they run and hide when you are searching for them. So unless they are present in very large numbers they can go unobserved. They mostly do little harm and a lot of dogs can stand up to a few bites. Certain dogs will develop an allergy to the bites and this becomes very problematic because they scratch themselves raw after just a small number of bites. The damaged skin gets infected and itches more, and the dog scratches more and more and a 'hot spot' develops, a sticky red raw area of weeping skin. These need to be treated by a vet as they will need antibiotics. However, 'a stitch in time saves nine' as the saying goes, prevention is always better than cure and flea treatments applied regularly enough throughout the hot months of the year, as well as regular changes of dog's bedding, will keep fleas at bay and prevent the distressing itch-scratch-itch cycle that causes flare-ups. There are many products available for treating fleas - washes, sprays, collars and spoton treatment. Most of these have to be repeated very month. It is important that all the household pets are done at the same time and that all bedding is changed at the same time also. Other parasites that flourish at this time of year are harvest mites and mange mites. Harvest mites affect the pet's feet (fleas nearly never go there). Mange mites cause serious skin disease because they burrow into the skin. The rash is seen on any part of the body but usually starting on the abdomen and inside the top of the legs. They affect only dogs and foxes so they are no danger to people but need to be treated right away as they can make the dog quite unwell. Always check with your vet first before treating your pet.
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Mention the word circus in Ireland and the name Fossetts immediately springs to mind. It is the oldest circus in Ireland today and it is run by the fourth generation of the Fossett family. On its recent visit to Enniscorthy this July, I had the privilege of interviewing Robert Fossett. One of the sons of the late Edward [Teddy] Fossett, Robert is responsible for the engineering, lighting and organisation of the show. Eddie has the responsibility of organising the travel and booking the grounds. Their sister, Marion who is a former member of Sheeba acts as the ringmistress and their mother Herta is still involved with the show. While interviewing Robert I was struck by many pleasant memories on their previous visits to Enniscorthy. On the morning of the set up on the Fairgreen, a group of us children would race down to the green and watch the Big Top being built up. When it was time for the chairs to be brought in Mr Fossett would holler “We need all strong boys to come in here and help with the seating!” And there would be a mad dash into the big top. When it came to dinnertime we would sadly say that we have to go home and Mr Fossett would say come back at 4pm we will arrange for you all to walk in free! It was all a child could have wished for. Johnny Fossett would drive around town in his Green Jeep and announce the arrival of the Circus starting with the words, “For one day only….” Mr Fossett would visit St John’s hospital and hand in a number of free passes for the patients and was renowned for doing pretty much the same in every town they visited. Back in the day, it was very hard work with only one day visits to each town as it would mean a start time of around 5.30am each day! Nowadays it is so different as the show stays for two to four days depending on the size of the town. The complete build up only takes at most three hours now, compared to maybe seven in the old days! Fossetts’ Circus is 125 years old this year and I have to say it is worth a visit and is great
value for money. As Teddy Fossett himself once said, “The parents bring their children everywhere but the children bring the parents to the circus and that is so true. I think that going to the circus it brings out the child in us.” THE STORY OF FOSSETT’S This story begins with a man by the name of George Lowe from Fair Street in Mallow, County Cork. George was always a showman at heart and George, along with his wife left Ireland in 1878 to seek their fortune in America. For a few years they joined various travelling troupes, and in 1884 they joined a Wild West show which was run by William Cody [Buffalo Bill] who had a spectacular horse show. George was known back in those days as the amazing Dr Powell, magician, juggler, and was great at horse skills. He became a valued member of the troupe and asked to join Buffalo Bill on his first European tour and was a great success. In 1887 George and the company arrived in London where they got stuck into rehearsal for their opening production to be attended by Queen Victoria as part of her golden jubilee. George (Dr Powell) took the opportunity to make a quick visit home to Mallow and never went back. In 1888 the amazing Dr Powell set out on a tour of his native Ireland with his own circus. Dr. Powell and his troupe presented the skills, feats, tricks that he had learned during his years of working with other shows. This show visiting the traditional fair greens and market places throughout Ireland all those years ago is the origin of Fossetts (Ireland’s national circus). In 1918 an accomplished bareback rider joined the show then touring as Powell and Clarkes, his name was Edward Fossett and he was the youngest son of Sir Robert Fossett the 2nd and Mary Francis a Wexford w o m a n . B o t h w e re w i d e l y renowned equestrian riders. Edward upon meeting Mona Powell (daughter of Dr Powell) who at this time was also an equestrienne, fell in love and married in 1922.
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They had six children, Robert, Mary, Edward, Amy, John and Mona. They all followed in the family tradition and all became excellent bare back riders and circus performers. Robert [Bobby] went on to become one of Irelands best loved clowns as BoBo. There has been a clown in seven generations of the Fossett family. Edward and Mona continued to run the circus with Dr Powell until he retired. By 1927 it was called Edward Fossett and sons and in the 1930s they toured successfully for a number of years as Heckenbergs Berlin Tower Circus. In 1940 it went back to Edward Fossett and Sons. Mona [Powell] Fossett died young on the 7th June 1946 aged 46yrs with Edward passing away 5 years later on Sept 7th, 1951. It made Bobby, Teddy and Johnny the youngest circus proprietors in the world as they each were in their early 20s. In 1952 the first year without their father the name was changed to Fossetts Circus, this was also an important year for Teddy as history repeated itself when a young circus artiste came as top of the bill, her name was Herta Bhorsky, part of the three Lordini Perch act. It was love at first sight and they married in 1953, of all the Fossett boys Teddy was the only one to have children; Edward, Robert, Marion, Angela, Mona. Angela is married to Europe’s greatest clown Fumagalli, their mother Herta is still travelling with the circus and plays an important part in the day to day running of the show. In the 1960s the circus became known as Fossett Bros. which is still the company to this day – Ireland’s national circus. Teddy, Bobby, and Johnny stayed with the circus until their deaths, leaving it in the hands of another generation of Fossetts who brought the show into the 21st century. In 2003 Fossetts Circus was proclaimed an Art Form by the then minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism – John O’Donohue. In 2007 the minister visited the circus and thanked them on behalf of the Irish people and also remarked that they are “Theatre Of The People”. Fossetts held Ireland’s first ever Christmas circus in the grounds of the Museum of Modern Art. Further to this in July 2007 Fossetts were extended a Presidential invite to perform for President Mary McAleese at her annual garden party. The Fossett family have entertained generations of families for the past 125 years and hopefully will do so for another 125 years. Without doubt I found the Fossett family very welcoming and they did all they could to make me feel at home. A special word of thanks to Robert Fossett for the interview and the Fossett family for allowing me to print this history. www.fossettscircus.com – Jimmy Murphy
Enniscorthy Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The society has been very busy of late, with a huge number of unwanted puppies and kittens coming our way throughout the summer months. In order to provide the necessary care for these animals, they had a number of fundrais-
ers over the past few weeks. A big thank you to Barbara Mc Coombe and the Bunclody Drama Group for organising a Trolley Draw at SuperValu Bunclody. Congratulations to Ms. Fiona Finn winner of the €100 voucher. The society also
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wishes to thank everybody who supported local Churchgate collections. They are as always in need of pet food, clean sheets/blankets, pet carriers etc. Phone Sinead on 087-7723010 if you would like to help.