We have a admitted beautiful little stray rabbit(He is a silver fox cross I think)and very sweet.Hope this one finds a home quicker than most.Our rabbits seem to have been here for ages, we have only rehomed one in the past 6 months.
We had booked in a few female dogs in for spaying and would you believe it, they have all come into season! That always seems to be the way at this time of year. We now have the mum of the pups in our care and to our surprise she is a kelpie, it was the father who was a whippet/terrier. Not one pup looks remotely like her which is very unusual. Anyhow, she is a lovely natured dog – the one good thing I will say about the home she and the pups came from is that all animals were friendly and outgoing so there was clearly no physical abuse involved in their neglect. That,at least, is something to be thankful for.
Today alone, we have had three telephone calls regarding kittens found abandoned, one in a skip and the other two on the side of roads( different locations) Very often these turn out to be feral youngsters whose mother is in the middle of moving them to a more secure place and with the kitten in the skip , feral mums often use them to give birth in so kittens in skips is not at all uncommon.Of course it is a dangerous place for them to remain as the container is likely to be moved to a dumping site. We have no more room for any more admittances, we are choc o block.(does anyone know where this strange saying originated? It seems like an abbreviation of chocolate block but why do we use it in the context of being full ?)
We are facing a dilemma with horses in need. Having agreed to take in two ponies seized by the Bailiffs , the arrangements did not pan out as the animals were claimed back at the last minute by their owners.Now the same ponies are once again in a precarious position where if they do not find shelter places, they will be destroyed.The problem is that in the meantime we promised to take two Shetland ponies from a sanctuary in trouble.We are expecting them in shortly and our own finances do not lend themselves to four new admissions. This is a very difficult decision for us to make because all four are needy. I do not know how this is going to go and it’s giving me a headache over the worry.
Friday 29th July:
The mum of the pups has been reserved already, however the news of the week, month, year even is that after six years at the shelter ex farm dog Glen has been offered a permanent home. Poor Glen had problems right from the start.He would not look at anyone, always averting his eyes if you looked at him or spoke to him.We could not let him off the lead because he became obsessed with the cats and we felt he was not to be trusted. He was the same with other dogs, he would fixate on them , he also walked backwards when he was on the lead and this took nearly a year to correct. He was never clean in his kennel but over the years his other behaviour has improved . Nowadays he is exercised alongside other dogs and generally he is fine though there is an occasional time he will take a dislike to one. He doesn’t bother the cats anymore though we still feel he is not to be trusted and he now walks properly on the lead. His other issue is traffic, he is demented when he sees a car and we have never managed to cure him of this though the use of a harness makes him easier to control.
We have high hopes of him progressing with Linda who is coming to see/collect him next week so we are all in a state of high spirits for dear Glen and hope that he does not prove too much even for an experienced dog person.
Just had a call about two horses whose lives are in the balance due to an impending divorce. Ex (farmer)partner threatening to shoot horses and the retired sheepdog also!Mei and I have decided to give permanent shelter to Melody,the oldest one who is 30 years old,it is unlikely anyone will adopt her.The other horse is a 6 years old ex racing thoroughbred mare and we are going to try to find her a home with an experienced person.Of course if the situation deteriorates we may have to move fast with both .I guess that has sorted out my other horse dilemma! We should be able to home the collie female who is 9 years old and still chained in the yard.
Today has been so busy my head is spinning with all the calls and problems needing resolving.Having done my best with as much as I can, I am going now to have a panad(cup of tea) and try to get rid of the stress headache which is becoming worse by the hour..
