Monday:
We spend a lot of our time trying to match up animals to the right homes and sometimes we get it wrong but thankfully most of the time we get it right. We can also make the right choice but sometimes the personal circumstances change of the people we choose to care for our rescued animals but as our supporters know, Freshfields is committed to taking our own animals back into the fold. What makes it really hard for us is when we have a couple of returned pets at the same time and we have to find a way of making space for them.This past week has seen not one but three such pets returned so we have had to resort to boarding kennels which is expenditure we can really do without at the moment.
Collie Shep has been returned after 6 months and terrier Charlie has been returned twice due to his behaviour in the home, he is such an adorable little chap but he needs someone with a lot of time and patience to persevere with him. Somehow I think I may end up with him permanently! It is not that I have the time, I don’t ,but I hate it when dogs are passed from pillar to post when each time causes yet more stress and insecurity. This dog has such a sweet nature but he is very insecure and suffers from separation anxiety which causes him to cry when left alone. He would be best living with another good natured dog so he has company at all times.He is not house trained either (but improving) and is a lively little dog but in my opinion as long as a dog has an impeccable nature, all other issues can be eventually managed with patience and understanding ,so I just need to find that special person for him.Sounds easy doesn’t it? If only! The third dog is yet to be admitted, Begw is another terrier who has not fitted into his new home. Now here’s a strange thing – we home ninety percent of our dogs out of the area, many of which go to the South of England and the Midlands and the percentage returned from those homes is miniscule compared to local. You may think ,therefore, that the reason could be distance but that is clearly not the case as most of those people keep in touch with us and send us happy dog photos on a fairly regular basis. I have no idea whether it is purely coincidental or whether the type of person willing to travel a fair distance is also the person who will persevere and work with their pet. My thoughts are that this is the most likely reason.
Spice the Staffordshire bull terrier has found a home so we are delighted for her, fingers crossed she will settle well with her new family.
Our track which has been such a problem, has been temporarily scraped over to make it a little more even. It is much better than before but already it is showing signs of reverting back to the original poor state so we need to put a more permanent surface on it as soon as possible.That work was done by Flint charity fundraiser Esmor Jones who kindly donated his time to help us out. .A subsequent ‘Crowd funding’ venture on facebook brought us in a marvellous £1,500 from supporters and £600 was received in donations sent to the shelter for the purpose of the same.I am so thrilled and very grateful to everyone who donated towards this urgent project. We are currently awaiting quotes from local builders for a more permanent resurfacing of the road.Even if we can only get part of it done, it will be a vast improvement.
A few cats have been reserved this week which is good news as the cat adoptions had slithered to a halt recently.8 yrs old tortoishell and white Molly whose owner had died was reserved just days after being admitted.Lucky lady. Others reserved include young tabby and white siblings Edith and Evelyn whose previous owner found she could not bond with them! That reason really stunned me because these lovely little cats are so sweet and affectionate but never mind , her loss is another person’s gain. Stray tabby/tortie Marnie has also been reserved and what a change she will find in her life after scavenging for food for at least 18 months during which time she gave birth to a litter of kittens and reared them without any of the comforts of a home life.Needless to say by the time our stalwart cat trapper Moses had managed to catch the youngsters , they were half grown and semi feral but they too have now been found homes.Marnie is so affectionate, she has obviously been an abandoned domestic pet . It is infuriating that people are still failing to neuter/spay their pets.What does it take to get them to act responsibly? I took a call earlier from a woman who wanted rid of her six (?) months old cat because he was spraying in the house and wanted rid of him immediately! Do they not think of these things when they take in a kitten? If she didn’t want this to happen why then did she not get him neutered earlier? I suspect he is older than six months, more like 7-8 months if the truth were known.
We have had sightings of a stray ginger tom cat around the shelter and nearby village for around five months. Mei has seen him in the village close to her home,and he has also been feeding with our own feral cats. Today we caught him and he is now in the cattery awaiting the removal of his (very large) testicles. We think he was abandoned here in the summer as he just suddenly appeared here but over the ensuing months, he evaded all attempts of capture .Perhaps the cold weather has made him hungry and has encouraged him to venture nearer to human beings in the hope he will be fed . He is a very handsome, huge cat and does not appear to be feral,just a little bewildered at his sudden confinement. Gingers are very popular with adopters so we have high hopes that he will find a home fairly soon.
Did everyone read about the foxhound run over by police in Conway? My thoughts on this were that the dog certainly needed to be off the motorway but there was a similar incident occurred in another area where the police temporarily closed the lanes whilst the dog was caught.I know which option I would personally have taken and I believe the officers took what they regarded as the easiest option but it wasn’t the ONLY option. Shame on them. I read later that the owner of the foxhound agreed with the actions of the police.I wonder if the hound belonged to the local Hunt? If so that would explain the attitude of the owner, they are not exactly known for their caring attitude.If he had been my dog, I would have been devastated and would have been more than upset with the police and I am sure most dog lovers would feel that way also.
On a lighter note, we have heard from the lady who adopted rabbits Bobo and Lightening and they have settled down really well, as have bunnies Pippin and Pandora who were also adopted recently. Stray Lightening had been paired with a female bun here at the shelter but the pair failed to form a bond and were quite aggressive with one another so Sarah tried another male rabbit in with him and hey presto, it worked. They bonded quickly and were then adopted together. Most of our rabbits are adopted by adults rather than families with children and those homes tend to be more successful though of course we have no issue with families adopting them either.Unfortunately not all rabbits are suitable pets for children, some are too timid to be handled and some can be aggressive so we have to be very careful which buns are homed with young families.
I will be out of the country soon ( until march 25th )so this will be my last blog until that week.I am looking forward to a really good break from the daily hassles of shelter life but good friend and colleague Mei will be on site caring for the animals so I leave their care in her capable hands.
PS: just heard a home check has passed for Milo the cross Rhodesian Ridgeback in kennels and someone is going to see Shep the returned collie.Fingers crossed for their futures.
