Minnie and Georgie Girl go on holiday.

Another 2 ponies have gone to summer grazing, Rosie and vanessa walked Minnie and Georgie Girl to fields a couple of miles a way.Due to Minnies past history we did not want to attempt to box her. Minnie a chestnut shetland pony came to us 5 years ago, along with her 2 weeks old foal whom we named Georgie Girl.Her history is a tragic one, sold from one home to another, abused and tormented by her last owner, giving birth to a foal which was seen dead besides her at a horse sale, having another foal and finally rescued by a compassionate woman on Merseyside who brought them to us. We decided to keep them here for life as we did not want Minnie to suffer ever again, she is still incredibly shy of humans though her daughter is outgoing and mischievous having never know anything but kindness in her life.What a difference a good start in life makes to the temperament and confidence in any animal.Pictured here when they first arrived (no work was done that day, she was the first foal to arrive here and we were all fascinated and awed by her)and a recent photo of them.As you can see Georgie is now bigger than her mum.
The new colt Finn truly is neglected, we have been trying to groom some of the matted coat off him but I have had to buy some horse clippers to get rid of the matted bits underneath him.Underneath his winter coat he is a bag of bones, his hip bones are jutting out and there is no fat on him at all. We could not get a straight answer from the owner about the death of the colts mother so he must have been without any decent nutrition for some time.I will take some photos of him on Monday when we plan to finish the clipping,unfortunately this weekend we dont have enough staff .Now he is wormed he should start to look better too.
Great news, little Carlos the 10 years old Jack Russell has gone to a new home, we were all so pleased to see him go, he is such a lovely little dog and deserved to find someone to appreciate him.All the Jack russells we have had lately have beeen really sweet natured, not the usual hyperactive, noisy terriers they so often seem to be.I was just starting to think maybe I would keep him(yes another one got to me!)when this home turned up.
Gel the collie that had spent his life chained and miserable has an offer of a home in Epping Forest but now we find he has a problem with his hips.He is having an xray on Tuesday to try to find out what exactly is wrong with him.We have been a bit concerned at the way he walks and his occasional knocking into things, at first we suspected he had a problem with his eyesight but now it appears to be something to do with his back legs when they wobble. I hope this will not mean he will lose this good home.If it is something serious perhaps he is the dog I should keep!I will do so if the prospective owners do not want to take him on though I would prefer he had a real home of his own.
Bonnie foxhound is getting worse, her bin scavenging seems to be at all time high and she is even wandering next door to raid their bin, wandering dogs are a no no in this area so I hope she stops this behaviour, how does one stop a dog from doing this, She has never forgotten her days of hunger and I can cope with our bins being ripped open although it is extremely annoying but i dont think Nia and Andrew next door will be too happy about their bins being raided.
Visitors brought the pigs some cream crackers today, they love these and tomatoes and bananas are a great favourite too.They live for their food, perhaps that why I can empathise with them, Id like to think it is because of that and not because of a similarity of body shape!

Sally leaves us and Millie arrives.

Today Sally(pictured) the 6 years old collie went off to her new home,whilst with me she has had to remain on a lead because she has a real problem of not wanting to come back in the house and sometimes it has taken hours to coax her back in.The new people are aware of this so I am keeping my fingers crossed that all will be well, she is such a nice natured animnal it is upsetting to see her so nervous.Could it be because she lived outside and was told off whenever she attempted to enter the house? Its a possibility and if this is the case it may take some time to resolve.
Whilst I was in LLandudno yesterday someone turned up at the shelter with a little jack russell female called Millie, the child of the house was allergic to dog hair.This dear little dog is good with dogs, cats and children but has been relegated to living outside all her life.Now at last she has a chance of finding a nice home in which to spend her days.There may be a slight problem with house training but most of the dogs we home are kennelled farm dogs and there have only been one or two that have taken some time and patience to train.Most have been spotless from day one.
Lately we seem to be having calls to take in Jack russells and lurchers, usually it is collies all the time.At least the little dogs are easy to home though dear carlos is not attracting much attention.I suspect that is because he is 10 years old, few people want to take on a dog this age, still I am sure we will find the right person for him soon especially as he is so good with other dogs.
Pictured are Millie and Timmy(the stray brought in with bitch in season)There is a possible home for him once Grace settles down, her people came to see him and liked him but Grace is still not totally settled so they want to wait a while.
We had visitors today from taunton in Somerset,Colin and his wife came here to
dog walk whilst on holiday 2 years ago and have stayed in touch ever since.They spent an hour or so taking the dogs for a walk to the relief of the staff who are being walked off their feet at the moment.
I popped in the house to check on the littlies and to let the Maggie Marthas out, it was just as well I did so at that moment because Felix cat had got his claw snagged on the coat of one and was pulling her round the room in an attempt to set himself free.Poor Maggie Martha had no idea what was happening or why she was being pulled backwards.She was more than happy to see me and to be extricated from the cat.
A donation of Burns dog food was delivered today from the company, this will keep the dogs going for a long time and will save us loads of money.It is so exciting when we receive such help, all the foster homes can be given this food now to feed their foster dogs until homes can be found.A very welcome donation.
I cannot remember if I had given an update on the condition Of Cariad the longhaired ginger and white resident cat.As I mentioned before Cariad has been wobbly on her legs and has had several tests.She has somehow developed a neurological problem and her balance continues to be impaired.That nothwithstanding she has mad half hours where she races round the room and up the curtains or back of the sofa so she is still enjoying her life and seems to be managing with her disability.She is now mainly living in the house with me whereas before she lived in the passageway of the cattery in her basket(though came and went outside as well)Vistors would coo over her and admire her beauty until she would become bored of the attention and give them a whack.We had to warn people not to touch her so at least now they are out of harms way and we have less chance of being sued!

The Colt arrives and 3 cats reserved.

The colt has arrived and how neglected he is too.He is full of worms, his feet desperately need a trim and his coat is very dull and in poor condition.We have named him Finn. He has not been handled so is very shy of humans, typical of those ponies turned out on the hillsides. I will post another photo in a month when he is looking better. Now there are 4 youngsters who need their bits off soon, a nice job for our vet to look forward to.
Two black cats have been reserved today and as the black ones are the most difficult to rehome we are all delighted. I forgot to mention that Louis the handsome grey and white cat(pictured here) rehomed not long ago was returned the follwing day! He was not getting on with their other cat and in spite of explaining that they would need more time to get used to each other I was obliged to take him back.He has been reserved again by a lady in Southport and this time there are no other pets in the house. Having said that he has never shown aggression to the cats with whom he shares his pen at the shelter.People sometimes forget that any move can stress an animal and can cause changes in behaviour.When everything is so unfamiliar some animals can become defensive and even show unusual aggression towards people and other animals.
Also picture is a permanent resident cat here called Felix, he is a beautiful natured animal, loves everybody and has never ever shown any signs of aggression, however 4 years ago when he had not been at the shelter for very long, we rehomed him only to have him returned the following day.To our amazement he had lashed out at the children and was quite aggressive.We decided then to keep him here and to this day he has never once drawn his claws or shown that type of behaviour, visiting children love him and we feel perfectly happy about him meeting all visitors.He has moved into the house now and spends his evenings on the sofa with the Maggie Marthas and William, plus any other cats which have managed to sneak in!!!!
Little Grace the Jack Russell stray and her companion Will were not claimed,the homecheck for them passed and Grace has gone to her new home but we will be taking her to be spayed Wednesday.They live in the village so no doubt we will see her being walked around the village, they are coming to see Will tomorrow and we are hoping he will touch their hearts too.

Big Buster is looking well.

Mei and Barbara went to check on the welfare of our beautiful big Buster and Abby who went to a home locally a couple of years ago.Both looked well and content, we miss them a lot particularly Buster who is a big gentle giant and was the largest horse we have had here at the shelter, he was over 17 hands.He had been admitted because he had a clumsy gait and was useless for anyone wanting to do more than light hacking with him.His owner no longer wanted him but her loss was our gain and subsequently he found a home where he is appreciated.We could not get a photo of Abby who was miles away in the fields and was completely disinterested in coming over to see her old friends.Thats gratitude for you!
People turned up here with a large shaggy dog which looks as if he has Briard in him, according to them he has been wandering around an estate for a month and nobody knows who owns him.We have named him Bradley, he seems bewildered and although at first glance he looked in excellent condition, he does have flea exczema down his back and has a few matted bits in his coat, not bad ones but indicative of the fact he has not been a well cared for pet.At first he was a bit growly but today he has given me his paw and a few kisses so I think he was just scared.His eyes look a bit faded, Rhian thinks he has the beginnings of catarats and Im inclined to agree so he may be older than first thought.
Meg has been to the vet and her heart is fine, no signs of a heart murmer so I was being paranoid.That is good news for her, she can be spayed soon and put up for adoption. heidi lurcher has been homed today and Sally collie is going Tuesday, there is someone interested in the two jack russells so I am going to do a homecheck today.If nobody claims them by tomorrow I will have them neutered next week and into this home pending the homecheck passing.So it is going well for the dogs but still quiet for the cats though receiving plenty of calls from people wanting to part with them.
Max the pretty red and white collie has left us too, he has gone off to live in Nottinmgham with another rescued collie(and the owners of course) I am still bemused by the success we are experiencing homing dogs via the internet and the success of the homechecks too.Only a few have failed the home visits.
I have had a call this morning asking me to take a 12 months old colt whose mother has died.At this age he is independent enough to feed himself but guess what, the owner is the same farmer who brought Shamrock here as a 2 week old orphaned foal! How many of their horses die on the hills? It is heartbreaking but I suspect this happens all the time with the welsh mountain ponies which are turned out on the mountainsides.It happens to sheep too, these youngsters are just the ones we hear about and I prefer to remain civil with the farmers no matter what my personal feelings may be if it means I can save the foals from experiencing the same life.
Fortunately there is enough room for him to join the other 3 colts so we are waiting to hear when he will be delivered, it will be today or tomorrow.
After saying no cats were going we have had a reservation for the beautiful longhaired tortie and white Sami and Felis a 6 years old black and white cat which has been here for 6 months. So not so bad after all.
It is freezing here today and the office is cold too in spite of the heater being on for Tara our resident collie so I am off to the house for a warming cup of tea.

The owner of Carlos is after a new dog.

I havent felt up to writing the blog recently due to being in agony with toothache and being unable to find a local NHS dentist. Anyhow all sorted now having had to go private to get an appointment before 2010!!
Well I have heard from Mintys new people and I believe he is settling in well with just a few teething problems which they hope they will successfully iron out over the coming weeks. The sad news of the week is that dear little Fluff, the heart murmer cat who was finally adopted only a few weeks ago, has died.We are all devastated but so glad he was able to spend his last weeks in a home of his own, in comfort and much loved.I feel distressed for Rwth having had to experience this loss so soon after losing her previous cat but I am hoping to see her here as a volunteer as she has promised to give up some of her free time to help out in the cattery.
2 little jack russells were picked up on sunday, one in season and the unneutered male in obsessive pursuit of her! Nobody has claimed either yet, both are sweet natured little dogs, Rosie is fostering the male and I have the female.
There were a few messages left yesterday for me from a lady who wanted a puppy.I decided to ring her even though I knew of none at the moment. I asked her if she had owned a dog before and she told me that she had got rid of her last two because she could not cope with un house trained animals as she was a pensioner -- this begs the question why she was wanting a puppy this time???Then she told me her last dog was called Carlos and was a jack russell. I was shocked to realise that the dog she was talking about is here (he came from the vet after being booked in for destruction)and never a cleaner dog have we had at the shelter.I have no idea why she would say he was so dirty in the house when he is spotless here.This woman had owned him for 3 years having obtained him from Paws rescue and when they said they had no room for him she booked him in to be destroyed.Appalling.Carlos is such a nice dog, everyone here loves him and at the age of 10 years he should be settled in a loving home.I will make sure this time he gets such a home.Why are some people so cavalier about ending the life of an animal and why if they cant cope do they want another? What goes on in their heads? In my opinion some should never be allowed to have a pet, same as some should never have children(Baby Ps mother springs to mind)
Several new cats have been admitted and at last some kittens are about to arrive, the Liverpoool shelter have had kittens for a few weeks and these will be our first of the season.
Mei and Barbara have just popped down to see the colts in their new home nearby as they had a couple of cuts on them this morning = they have taken some purple antispetic spray for them. They were only small grazes probably caused by rubbing against a fence.
Old Tangy who is in her early thirties now seems very stiff today, at her age this is not entirely unexpected, I need to order some more supplements for the old ponies.We add seaweed, garlic, cider vinegar and MSM to their daily food. Its wonderful what a difference these can make and I am sure this is what has kept little Noddy healthy all these years.He has always had various herbs added to his food to keep his joints supple and his body healthy and now he is so very old he is still extremely active and fit.
New lurcher Meg has settled well with Molly though they seem a bit disinterested in one another and at 8 years she is a very lively active dog.I am worried about her heart so she is going to the vet for a check up, I notice that she starts panting after a comparatively short burst of energetic exercise.Perhaps I ma paranoid about it and she may be fine but a check up wont do her any harm.She is in season too, something the owner failed to tell me, just as well the kitchen dogs are all female.Well actually now I think about it William is the only male of my dogs and he is neutered anyway.Speaking of which, he is now barking to let me know he is ready to come out of his kennel(my car) and spend the rest of the evening watching Television in the living room.His wish is my command.

At last Minty finds a home.

A busy day today with little help.Fortunately when the weather is good the horses stay out so less to do there, no stables to muck out though the cats are hard work as there are so many at this time of year.I am having more hassle from the previous owner of the Anglesey horses that were so terribly neglected.She has decided she wants them back and is threatening me with police, legal action etc.Unbelievably 3 farriers have given her letters to say that the horses were in good condition!!!!!!!!This just astonishes me when we have photographic evidence, vets reports, our own farriers reports(and photos he took)So far her animals have cost me around £3,000 and as I have mentioned before most of them will be here for life as they will always need specialised care.
When we give help we do it for the sake of the animals but when this sort of thing occurs it is very disheartening, so far she has accused me of being a thief(the animals were signed over to us) and a murderer(because some of her animals had to be destroyed humanely due to their suffering) When I first started doing this work I had no idea that this sort of thing could happen ,I was very naeve thinking it would all be about the animals and caring for them. Over the years I have had to put up with all sorts of abuse, my staff also have had their fair share of it, Dave the ex manager of Freshfields in Liverpool was once punched in the face by a man who was unhappy at being turned down for a dog, he had a screaming child in his arms when he threw the punch.Delightful man, and he thought we would welcome the chance to rehome an animal to him!
Anyway enough of that, this weekend we have homed 3 dogs- all collies and the one we are most delighted about is Minty who after 9 months has finally found his own people, at last someone has fallen for him. We almost had given up and thought he would be here for life. His only problem was that he was not brilliant woth the cats but he just did not seekm to appeal to anyone until now .Dear Minty, I bet hes having the time of his life now having lots of attention for a change.With the best will in the world we cannot provide the time and attention he and the others need so although we will all miss him its great news for him
I had an email today about a lame horse in a town about 2 hours away , he has been unable to put his leg down for over a week and is looking very sorry for himself, I have forwarded this on to the inspector at World Horse Welfare who Im sure will get on to it as soon as he is able. From past experience he has been very prompt dealing with reported cases.
Im off to work in the LLanduidno shop again tomorrow, we need to keep it open as there is a festival there this weekend and there are thousands of people about. There is a lot of interest shown in the display boards with photos of our animals so I have printed out a few more, it may bring some homes in. ,

Eddy tries to round up the pigs

As I am sitting at the computer I can see the swallows
flitting about.Although I love to see them they take such chances around the cats and I could not bear anything to happen to them after their long journey to these shores.In spite of the large number of cats both feral and domestic which live around the property, we have very few bird casualties and I would like it to stay that way.It is usually the same 2 0r 3 cats which have a highly developed hunting instinct, the others seem content just to laze about. I am unsure where these swallows are nesting,I think it may be in one of the field shelters. There is a nest in the agricultural building but I think that belongs to a thrush, there is also one in the tree outside there but that is definitely a crows nest = I have seen them coming and going.When the horses are groomed the excess hair provides good nesting material for the birds and it is not uncommon to see them flying off with large wads of horse hair in their beaks.
Eddy collie has been taken for a walk by his new person who has travelled from Gloucester after falling in love with his photograph on the internet.This must be the third dog we have homed in that area. Having returned from his walk Eddy managed to get into the pigs field and tried to round them up! Mei and I had 15 minutes of unwanted exercise trying to catch the little tinker but he was so quick and clearly thought this was a great game which he didnt want to finish.Eventually as we collapsed out of breath and exhausted he lost interest and trotted back to the house. I have definitely gone off him today!The pigs were not too amused either.At least his new people have seen him at his worst.
Barry brought back a dog from liverpool which had been on the liverpool shelter waiting list for some months, he has gone to a home in Oxford this morning.
Just one cat rehomed this weekend, a young tabby which only came in last week.one down, 60 to go !