Some successful appeals have been made this week on the Freshfields Facebook page. One appeal for foster homes for two little dogs in urgent need of help did not actually find us foster homes,but it did result in a permanent home offered for middle aged Jack Russell Chloe .Her details were given to us by Social Services and I was desperate to get her into our care so it looks like she may not even have to come to us providing the home check passes. Staffordshire bull terrier Spice is still languishing in the Dog Pound and I really want to help this dog which we know is good natured and good with other animals(so important with this breed)Apparently she was in a road traffic accident and was taken home by the Dog Warden who kept her until she was recovered. Spice mixed happily with her dogs and cats so we have a little more knowledge about her than we usually do with the Pound dogs. I could not bear for her to be put down when she will make someone a wonderful companion/family pet so I am still hoping for a foster home to turn up.
The other appeal was for help with our now almost destroyed track.It is a long upward drive to the shelter and the torrential rain we have been having, has destroyed much of the surface making the road almost impassseable for vehicles , and is very hard going for the horses when they come in from the fields.Poor old Callie who is ancient really struggles to walk on the badly uneven ground. A crowd funding page has been set up so people can donate to this project. Fingers crossed this does the job! We have had a wonderful offer of free labour by local charity fundraiser and builder Esmor Jones so all we need now is to raise the money for the surfacing material.We have £1,000 plus to find.
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/horse-track-resurfacing
One of our ponies Cherry has been found a home through our Loan Scheme and will be leaving us this weekend, however it is one in and one out because recently rehomed Poppy is being returned.Although the previous carer told us she had ridden Poppy, the new carer thinks otherwise and no longer wants her.We are all upset about this.Poppy is a beautiful animal and we had hoped she would be in a long term home.What we don’t have here at the shelter, is a qualified or experienced person (with own insurance) to bring our youngsters on so that they can be ridden.That is a downside to our rehoming abilities though fortunately most are homed as companion ponies only.Cherry for instance will be going as a companion to a lonely horse which has recently lost his pal and is bereft without a friend in his field.It is hoped the arrival of strawberry roan Cherry will lift his spirits. No horse wants to live a life isolated from his own kind.
One of my favourite reasons to use Facebook is to be in contact with other people who own/work/volunteer in Animal shelters and I have a few ‘favourites’ whose words can often cheer me up when I feel isolated and ‘down’. These lovely ladies are ex Freshfields volunteer Kim Byrne who rescues dogs in Mallorca, Lesley Cooper from Trawllm sanctuary in Wales, Bernie Calladine from Wonky Pets’ rescue in the Midlands,Janice Gillett who runs a pig sanctuary in Vancouver,Canada , and Katy Morgan who helps The Blue Horse Rescue in California(I will be visiting my old friend Katy at the end of the year).All of us feel the pressure on certain days and it definitely helps to share ones woes with like minded people who experience similar problems. Thank you ladies.
Monday 15th Feb:-
Spice is now in our care but guess what, she is NOT good with other animals at all as we were told so she will be more difficult to rehome – bummer. We will have to board her in kennels which is an expense we cannot afford at the moment.Like most staffies , she is adorable around people, a loving and affectionate little dog so maybe a staff lover will turn up for her!
Last night Mei and I went out on an emergency call to a pony which was down on his side in a muddy paddock. We arrived at the same time as the RSPCA Inspector who already knew about the situation, we waited until he had spoken to the owners but he was satisfied that they were looking after the two ponies perfectly adequately.One was lame but was under veterinary care and on medication and there was food available and a clean dry area for them should they wish to get out of the mud.At the moment all our own fields are muddy and waterlogged and as I have mentioned previously they do have a dry area on which to escape from the boggy bits which is the best we and other horse owners can do in the present weather conditions.We are all experiencing problems with the incessant rain affecting the fields in which our animals graze.There is no getting away from it at the moment.
Tuesday.
Its been a hectic day today,a day of Jack Russells! I collected a dog via the Social Services, she is 8 years old and today people came to view her and made a reservation for her..Then Little Charlie terrier went on a seven day trial to make sure he and their old dog would live together happily.Another Jack Russell ,Molly,whose owner has been hospitalised has been reserved and then somebody arrived also wanting a Jack Russell. Another person has offered a home to a 13 yrs old JR we have desperately in need of a home so I will be doing a homecheck before the weekend for him. It is definitely the day /week of the terrier.
It has been very quiet on the cat side of things, we have not homed a cat for nearly two weeks.That’s how it goes sometimes but I do hate the quiet no adoption weeks.I like the weeks where the adoptions are happening every day and we are busy on that side of things but I’m sure it will speed up soon.Maybe this week is for dogs and next week will be for cats.
We received a photo of our ex longterm resident Sam the cross Patterdale terrier who lived here for 6 years and when we were almost giving up on finding the right home for him, was finally adopted.here he is asleep in his carers office where apparently he is loved not only by him but by the rest of the office staff. It is hard to believe that we thought at one time he was untrustworthy with strangers.Happy days our lovely Sam.
Finally, I am considering putting myself up for adoption! The criteria for my new home is that it MUST be somewhere with a hot climate and with a stunningly attractive and fit vegetarian/vegan male(any age under 70 considered) who is solvent , generous and tolerant and to top it all must accept my canine family as though they were his own. I am expecting loads of applicants as I have a lot to offer and am regarded locally as quite a catch!
PS: I have been suffering from delusions lately.
Photos:– me with old Callie(42 yrs) , the uneven dangerous area in front of the horses field and part of the washed away track leading to the shelter.
