Tuesday 24 February 2009

A day of strays.


Today was like an open day for volunteers! 3 new ladies turned up today so lots of extra jobs were done.I hope they will come back though many do not.I think the idea of helping at an animal shelter seems more attractive than it really is, the reality is so different from what many expect.All we can do is make them welcome and hope they like us enough to return.
Its so warm now that some of the ponies have had their winter rugs taken off ,its nice to see them again looking natural and they love the freedom of being without.Ross an elderly grey pony who came to Freshfields a few years ago is looking particularly well.There was a time 2 years ago when we thought he was on his last and a vet(not the one we use now) recommended having him put down.We availed ourselves of a second opinion and now he is looking better than ever.He is around 30 years now and is very cossetted by the staff, especially Mei who admits to him being one of her favourites. We love them all but there are a few who have special places in the hearts of the staff and of course everyone knows how I feel about little Noddy.
A call came throught today about a dog in a distressed state in the local village so I went out to try and find him.I was just about to give up when I spotted him, he was panting heavily and I half expected him to race off but he came to me as soon as I approached , Somehow I think he will be claimed although one never knows,he has a collar but no ID.(what is the point of a collar without ID, it is so frustrating)He is a bit matted under his throat but the rest of his coat is in good condition.
Tomorrow I will be attending the monthly trustee meeting in Liverpool and on the way I am taking a dog to a new home.My old friend Pat (who will hate me calling her old sorry Pat I mean that we have known each other many years!)who did the homecheck for me will be meeting us to take the dog on to his new home, Sams owners were about to lose their home and asked me to find him a new owner to take care of him.He seems a nice dog, not too boisterous at 3 years of age and appears to be quite an amenable animal.I do hope it will be a mutual liking when they meet.So far they have only seen a photograph of him.Not an ideal situation I admit but I am hopeful it will work.Sam is pictured above.
I cant remember if I mentioned that skinny Sadie has gone to her new home in Altrincham.I think I had only mentioned there was someone coming to see her.Well the two met, like the look of each other and I had an email today saying she had travelled well and had started to settle down in her new environment.I could not be more pleased, Sadie has come on in leaps and bounds since she first arrived here so frail and timid, this is what animal rescue is about.Just seeing the change in an abused animal when it realises there is only kindness to be had and a plentiful amount of food and exercise.Its brilliant seeing the fearful expression slowly fade from the eyes and replaced by a happy smiley one.What could be better?
Tomorrows meeting will be a long one, there is always so much to discuss about both shelters and tommorow there are many issues to cover, not least the poor financial situation and I am hoping to sort out a date for the very first Open Day to be held here at the Welsh centre.This both terrifies me and excites me. Excited to do this and promote the shelter to local people but terrified in case nobody turns up!!It should be July or August but will know tomorrow.There is also a bit of a communication problem with the two shelters which I hope we can iron out at the meeting.
Another call has come through about a dog which has been around a block of flats in Caernarfon since early this morning, he/she is lying down shivering and shaking.Poor thing, Roy the manager of our Caernarfon shop is going out to take a look and see if we can help.He is a marvellous person, he is one of those rare people who never says no to a request for help, if an animal needs rescuing he will be there immediately.If only there were more people like him.

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