Sunday 5 September 2010

Dappy goes to live in Southampton.











Dappy has left Wales today and gone off happily with Karen and Billy to live in Southampton(pictured here with the new member of their family) I think they like each other!"Fosterer Roy was almost reluctant to hand him over , he had become very attached to Dappy in the short time he was in his care. I think he would have kept him but for the fact his daughter is coming from Hong Kong to live with him and his wife Mavis and Suzanne has 2 big dogs accompanying her, one of which she rescued from the streets over there. Love of animals clearly runs in the family.


Loughlin(Lockie) the labrador(Pictured here with Gail who although not seen is actually hiding behind him as she hates photos ) is now advertised on the web so with a bit of luck it will not be long before we are flooded with enquiries about him. Speaking of photos and disliking them, isnt it funny how we have an image of ourselves and then when we see photos or videos we dont look how we imagine we look! Some of the newspaper photos I have had taken in the past have made me almost want to weep! Could I really be that wrinkled, that fat, that old, why is one eye always half closed , do my teeth really look that gappy? etc etc. I have comforted myself by thinking that it is the animal in the photo which people are looking at, they wont even notice me and then somebody comes up to me and says something like"I bet you werent happy with that photo Lesley" or "were you having a bad hair day?" and the worse comment I had was "Dont worry you're not THAT bad in real life!" well thanks a lot. That made me feel lots better!
Doris cat was homed yesterday (pictured here) so it looks as though the adult cats may finally be getting some attention, I do hope so. I have released an old feral cat which has just been brought back from the Vets having had a dental and to be honest I am a little upset hes been sent back.He does not look at all good so have put him in the warm conservatory and given him a special sachet of senior food which he wolfed down. He has had all the necessary tests but he looks as though his kidneys are giving up and in my humble opinion he was not fit enough to come back to the shelter. He will have to go back tomorrow.
We have another dog in our care, Rosie is going to foster him for us when she returns today from Derbyshire. Laddie a young cross Jack Russell had been kept tied up outside his home and never exercised , subsequently he is hyperactive and overexcited at the prospect of freedom,it is a pleasure watching him enjoy himself now, he runs and runs like he never wants to stop. There is so much more to neglect and cruelty than physical abuse (appalling in itself). To a young dog being confined day after day must be so incredibly frustrating and no wonder they go beserk when finally given a taste of freedom. So many dog owners who phone to get rid of their pet say to me that they tie the dog up because it escapes or because it wont come back to them.Well I do know there are some dogs like that but with a few exceptions those that have come here never seem to want to leave us when we exercise them, especially as they start to realise that the exercise is frequent and substantial. It is like any creature confined, when first released they cannot be sure this will not be their only and last chance of freedom so there is a tendency to want to escape. The one exception to this I find is caged birds which have been imprisoned in cages for so long they become too terrified to leave their prison, but even they will overcome this fear eventually and try and get it back in a cage then! That is the main excuse I hear about birds in cages - "If I let it out I cant get it back in".Well if it had always been used to having freedom of flight daily this would never have become a problem in the first place and an aviary is so much kinder if one wants to keep birds as pets and having a few together is even better. Would anyone want to return to solitary confinement in a prison room if given the choice? Sorry to get on my soapbox about this but its a topic which always fires me up.

I am starting to worry about the forthcoming Sponsored Dog Walk.Will anyone turn up? There does not seem to have been much interest generated by the posters and newspaper article.Oh well, less sandwhiches to make! I know of some who have already managed to obtain sponsors so it will make SOME funds for the shelter but I thought there woiuld be a lot more enquiries and interest shown. Perhaps it will gain in popularity once we make it an annual event.
Unfortunately the person bringing back our 3 horses from Caernarfon Bay has not put in an appearance so I had to go down to the fields there to take more hay, there is hardly any grass left now for them.They will have to have hay daily until we can get someone with a horsebox to transport all three. I will miss the visits to them at this lovely place, the location is fantastic though I'm sure the horses could care less about the views across the Bay to Anglesey. Scenery is somewhat low on the list of priorities for horses.A nice fresh smelling bale of hay on the other hand is far more to their liking and appreciation was duly shown by all three. Meaning they completely ignored me and immediately got to work demolishing it. I really want to get them back here this week.
New horse Sorrell who was seen by a Vet yesterday has started her antibiotics for the wound on her chest, fortunately it is raining today which means there are less flies around and the wound is easier to keep clean and flyfree. The fields did need the rain but on a personal level I am bemoaning the disappearance of the mood lightening cheery sun. Never mind maybe it will reappear tomorrow and the staff and I will all have happy smiley faces!




No comments: