Thursday 15th June.
Thank goodness the sun is shining again, it makes such a difference to the moods of staff and animals alike. I’m a miserable so and so when the skies are dark , though some may say I am the female version of Victor Meldrew whatever the weather! Sorry everyone, my mouth does not turn up easily – is there an operation to turn it up at the sides? If there is ,I may start saving up for it!
The dogs and cats are still flying out, at the moment it is not worth doing posters for rehoming the dogs because they are not with us for very long. I don’t recall it ever being so easy to rehome, there must be something in the air but whatever it is, long may it last. Will I live to regret saying that?
13 years old white/black cat Ozzie has finally been found a lovely home and 5 more adult cats have been adopted already this week (a veritable miracle in the kitten season when usually only kittens are adopted) though we have 12 kittens due to arrive from a farm where 3 pregnant cats were abandoned. Rural locations are often used for this purpose, the perpetrators think that they will not be seen and in truth, sadly, they seldom are. It is a cowardly and irresponsible way to dispose of unwanted pets but it continues to be a massive problem everywhere and is so frightening for the animals concerned. To suddenly find themselves shoved into a box and dumped in an unfamiliar place where food and shelter may not be readily available is a very traumatising experience. I don’t know how people sleep at night after the things they do to animals. I am sure , like me, many of you find it hard to sleep just thinking about some of the dreadful things we humans do to other species (and to each other also) It doesn’t do us any good to dwell too much on such things but sometimes it is difficult not to.
Our stray ferret ,now named Frankie, is a lovely friendly boy but he stinks to high heaven and we are unable to have him neutered which is a huge problem. Nobody wants an unneutered smelly male ferret but many Veterinary surgeons nowadays are reluctant to perform the neutering operation on a mature ferret in case it affects the adrenal glands and reduces the lifespan of the animal.There is a great deal of controversy over this issue and many ferret owners and rescues have not had good experiences with the option of implants instead of neutering, believing that they fail to reduce aggression amongst male ferrets and come with their own set of problems.This implant is available for both male and female ferrets (Hobs and Jills) but we have been quoted over £200 and it does not last for longer than 4 years at the most so will need to be repeated which will put off many prospective adopters. I will look for a vet who will be happy to perform the operation because the alternative is that he will likely be here for life and that would not be fair on him.Ferrets like company of their own kind and lots of human attention which we are unable to give enough of due to shortage of staff members confident enough to handle him.
Friday:
I hate it when animals are returned and tomorrow two animals are coming back.Kia the big and beautiful Maine Coon cross is being returned because of an allergy within the family, poor Kia had another person desperate for her but that home is now lost as they have now bought another.So frustrating.I just hope ,that someone will fall in love with her soon and that she will not be here for another long period of time.Kia so craves human attention, she needs to be in a loving home as soon as possible.
The second animal is Dixie , the last Romanian dog to go, he is coming back because he is not used to being in a house ,ripped the carpet when he was left alone, and is scared of her husband plus he doesn’t like other dogs(their last dog didn’t either).All issues which can be overcome but apparently they have not the time! It is the animals I feel for especially the Romanian dogs because they have already been traumatised, had several changes in their lives before arriving here so patience and understanding is needed.He had not been there even a week.I am really upset for him. Do people not understand that all dogs need time to settle and those who have not had a previously good life, are likely to need more than a week ? Would you expect an adopted child with a history of abuse, to simply arrive in a new and strange home with strange people and settle immediately with no baggage/issues.I don’t think so. Animals are no different in that respect. You have to put some effort into it and if you have no time then you should not take on a rescue animal in the first place. Grrrr.
Our Beautiful horses Melody and Blodwen have just left us for their summer holidays and as I watched them being led away from the shelter, I could not help but compare the beautiful Melodys’weight and appearance today, to the unhappy, emaciated horse she was when she arrived here. She was starving to death because her teeth were in such a terrible state, she was unable to eat/graze (Did nobody notice this?) I remember a friend of the woman who gave her up, phoning us and saying’ Isn’t she in great condition for a horse of her age?’Of course we replied that No she was most certainly NOT in good condition for a horse of ANY age and she was quite affronted. What is wrong with them? Are they serious? Or are they just trying to cover their embarrassment? Who knows. Oh , and I am still waiting for the donation towards their care which was promised! Surprise.surprise.
I placed an appeal for sponsors for the horses here and just one kind person responded.It seems there is less and less spare money about and I never like appealing for money anyway. It is one of the least pleasant jobs of running an animal shelter ,however without the generosity of the public, we would grind to a halt and for the sake of the animals, we need to keep up our appeals.
Nature Lesson! Have you heard of the Greater Butterfly Orchid? I have just been shown a photograph of them growing in a field on the smallholding belonging to staff members Mark and Deborah.They are fencing off a small area around them to preserve them and keep them safe from lots of little hooves belonging to their goats and the Fresh fields Shetland ponies they have on longterm foster.Greater Butterfly Orchids are pretty rare though can be mistaken for the more common Lesser Butterfly Orchid(which has 25 or less flowers, the other has more and has flatter base leaves. So now you know!
Just had a call about a tiny pup found on the side of a busy road. Moses, one of our volunteers ,has gone to collect him. She may,of course ,have just escaped from a garden(the pup not Moses) but time will tell. If somebody is looking for her, it will not take long for them to discover that we are the only animal rescue in the area and to give us a call. Watch this space!
Mei and Vanessa have been busy doing follow up checks on our horses rehomed through our Loan Agreement. All are doing well but we still need volunteers to cover a variety of areas in North Wales.We have been let down time and time again with our horse homecheckers and we cannot take the risk of missing a three monthly follow up visit. I will never forget the condition of one of our horses after a 3 month visit was extended to six months(this because all had been well for the previous five years.)We did not think there would be a problem but in fact we had to repossess her and involve the rspca who successfully proseceuted the family for neglect.That was a terrible time and I will not allow that to ever happen again.Its three monthly checks no matter how good everything has been on previous visits.Therefore we desperately need reliable people to help us follow up the welfare of our horses.Mei and Vanessa are willing to do it but there is so much work for them here at the shelter and the checks are so time consuming,it is not viable for them to keep doing them on their own.If you can spare an afternoon or morning every three months
