A short entry for the Longest day!

3 kittens have been reserved today and all for the same home!Yippee! Maude has been collected and the new dog from yesterday spent the night quietly in my living room. The Maggie Marthas and Suzy paid her no attention whatsoever though Cariad cat had a bit of a hissy fit with her which gave her quite a shock.After that she retreated to a corner of the room and settled down as though she was exhausted.No doubt she was, the Railway staff said she had been pacing up and down since early morning .She appears to be another farm dog, has the same demeanour and behaviour patterns of the majority which we see .From her body shape I would say she has had several litters of pups, she is underweight etc etc.I am always repeating myself with the same descriptions of these dogs but truthfully they are more or less the same so there is not much I can change.We have named this one Nell, she is a shortcoated collie, with tricolour markings.
We checked on the three horses that went to their seaside home , they look as though they have lived there all their lives.No problems there.Although the people who live at this property have promised to keep an eye on them we will be going regularly to ensure all is well, as we do with the others. The grass is shooting up on the fields which have been fertilised, this week the horses here will be able to go back in them and have a good feast.
This a very short entry because I have a bad headache today and I am ending the day early which is a little ironic seeing as this is the longest day of the year. Not for me it isnt! Today will be the shortest day I have had for a very long time.

Thandi has her life saving operation

On Friday we moved the three horses Callie, Freddy and Ken to their summer fields.A few of us went to help because the horse box had to stop and unload on the busy caernarfon Road and we were worried that there might be an accident if the traffic was not held up. Mei, Vanessa, Cariad and I followed the horsebox in my 4x4 but as it happened the horses were unloaded quietly and without any problems . the girls walked the 3 down to the house at the bottom of a lane leading to their temporary home
I know I should not feel envious of someone elses home but I could have happily stayed there and not returned home! Perhaps I should make a suggestion that it would be better for the horses if I stayed with them for the summer!The horses made themselves at home immediately in the 4 acres .There is plenty of shelter in the way of mature trees and it is right next to the sea, a truly fantastic setting, I had to drag myself away.
The three dogs, Moss, Meg and Roy have all been collected by their new people,it is undoubtedly the best part of this job watching these once neglected farm dogs leave for a life of comparable luxury.I just love seeing the happy expressions on their faces, so different from when they arrive.I will never become blase about it,it is something which will always touch my heart
I am a little bothered that the latest newsletter will not be ready in time to advertise the Liverpool open day and the Open garden in Criccieth on the same date - July 5th.I never seem to get the timing right.Each year the same happens.I need to start writing it much earlier next year.
On her day off Barbara went to visit the RSPB site near Porthmadog to see the Ospreys amd their chicks . There will be an Open Day there on saturday July 18th and we are going to have a stall there which Barbara has offered to run for us. Hopefully some local supporters will be able to attend that event if not the others.Or maybe they will support them all which would be excellent.
The Police have just rung about a stray dog near a railway line in Caernarfon, it is a youngish collie and he/she has been there since 8am this morning.Roy lives near the town so he has dashed off to try and locate him before the dog has an accident or wanders on to the line itself. We often receive calls from the police at weekends.With no dog warden working over this period they are often in a quandary and turn to us for help, as with Theo and Thandi last weekend. This why it is so important for us to have emergency "foster " homes.Theo is still overexciteable but full of love and happiness .He just needs to put on weight and be in a home as soon as possible Thandi(pictured with Mei) has recovered well from her emergency spay operation and is so contented and happy, she is still not showing signs of being remotely house trained which makes me feel that maybe she has been locked in a shed and been unable to get out to do her toilet.Most chained dogs seem to be quick at the house training, if not immediately clean so the general feeling here is that she has had restricted movement for some time and that has caused the muscles to waste away in her back legs, her front legs also are quite stiff and this is far from normal for a dog of her age.Each day she is a little more livelier and has even had a bit of a play with the other dogs though if they seem too rough she immediately backs away.
Not much cat news this weekend though the pretty little longhaired tortie kitten has gone, she is the sister of the tabby with the nerve damage who incidentally is showing some signs of improvement in her foster home,We are still hopeful she will make a full recovery. Maude the cat with the benign tumours is going to a home on Sunday, she is a lovely cat and one we have all become very fond of. Some have such appealing personalities and Maude is one of those.It is so heartening when people choose an animal which has little appeal to the majority of people who come looking for pets.Having said that I do not blame those who want a young healthy pet, not everybody can cope with an animal with problems and sometimes they have only just got over the loss of a dearly loved pet, they dont want the same to happen again so soon.

Minnie and georgie girl on holiday

Rosie has sent me this photo of the girls at their holiday home, its hard to remember Georgie Girl being so small, she is bigger than her mum now.I remember when they arrived and she was just 2 weeks old and so tiny, hardly any work was done that day, everyone was so enthralled by her.Minnie is still very apprehensive around humans so the two of them were walked to their holiday home by Rosie and Vanessa.There was no way we would have forced Minnie into a horse box and we did not want to cause her stress and bring back her bad memories. Im sure they enjoyed the 6 mile walk though not so sure the girls enjoyed it quite as much! (I swear they look 10lbs lighter!)
The German Shepherd is now called Thandi(pronouinced Tandi) and has many admirers already, myself included.She seems a lot better but she will be spayed Thursday just in case there are any future problems.I am not prepared to take any chances over her health and it looks extremely unlikely an owner will turn up for her.This dog is simply amazing, what a sweet temperament she has in spite of what has happened to her(if only we knew)The only problem she has seems to be that she is not clean in her kennel but sometimes this can be nerves and its early days.
We had more cats tested for FIV.When I collected the grey mum cat, I also brought back another mum and babies and a lovely pale ginger male who has since been neutered. All of them have tested positive.The liverpool shelter has no room so I have asked them to put a special appeal on our website for these unfortunate but loveable cats and kittens. The babies cannot be tested until they are 6 months of age but it is likely they will too have the virus. All that is needed are special people who are prepared to keep them indoors and away from other cats, they are affectionate loving animals and can have a good quality of life for years to come.In the Uk many are put down whilst still healthy and enjoying life and this horrified an Australian vet I once spoke to. Over there this does not happen apparently.The cats are neutered and released as normal.As he pointed out to me, if the cats are neutered and not likely to fight other cats there is little or no chance of passing on the virus.
It is pouring with rain today and cold and windy like a winters day. We have brought some of the older ponies in to dry off and have a meal.If it stays like this we will rug them before putting them out again, they prefer to be outside most of the time. I hate seeing horses cooped up all day in stables, its not natural for them to be kept this way.How would we like it? people who have agaraphobia stay indoors because they have an illness, horses are kept in with no choice in the matter.The only time we do this is when a horse or pony is not well or the winter conditions are too bad but even then we put them out for most of the day , as long as they have shelter it is preferable and if they could speak I know what they would say."Let me out with my companions, let me be a horse and behave like a horse"
Halfway down the track leading to the road, there is a solitary tree which I call the bird tree.On this I hang most of my bird feeders , there is a selection of foods for the different birds and I have been buying nyger seeds for 2 years hoping to attract a goldfinch .I had been told this is their favourite snack. There are not loads of varieties of birds here, probably due to the lack of hedgerows and trees but today I was just driving past the feeders when I spotted a flash of yellow and stoppped the car.Success at last, there on the peanut feeder was a stunning little GOLDFINCH. This just made my day .I am a woman of simple pleasures!
It is definitely true that we can become like our mothers. When I was young my mother embarassed me so much when she "spoke" to dogs being walked by their owners - "Oh you ARE a handsome man" she would say to a magnificent German Shepherd much to the bemusement of his owner, or "What a beautiful young lady you are" to a pretty little mongrel. Then there was her obsessive feeding of the garden birds (they waited on the garden fence for her, same time every morning and afternoon) which drove me to distraction and what do I do now? EXACTLY THE SAME. Yes - I think Mum would be proud of me.

2 serious illnesses diagnosed.

|We have been concerned about the Grey mother cat and her two babies(pictured on blog a few days ago)The babies looked very anaemic, anohow they have been to the vet and its bad news, Mum is FIV positive.That means her offspring are likely to be also.The little ones had been reserved so we have to ring that lady to tell her the bad news.Most likely and if there is room, I will take the family with me to Liverpool next week where they have fiv cats in a seperate enclosure. These are so pretty they stand a good chance of finding a home,FIV cats can live years and thankfully there are some kind people who will give these cats a life . What a great shame it is for this lovely cat and her kittens who in normal circumstances would have been snapped up for a home. Now it may take a lot longer to find the right person/people.
The German shepherd with the wobbly back legs has also been to the vet and it appears she she may have pryrometra which can be fatal if left untreated.She has a high temperature and has to go back tomorrow, it may be that she will have to have an emergency operation.Her legs may have stiffness caused by long periods of being tied up but it is the womb infection which is the most serious health issue.I wonder did the owner know this? It is an expensive operation and in fact I had a cavalier spaniel Lucy whose owner refused to pay for the same operation, preferring instead to have her put down.As luck would have it a member of my staff was in the vet surgery at the time and returned with her.After an operation the following day aged 9 years she came to live with me. I was never able to understand how her life meant so little to her previous owner.Lucy was the most beautiful natured dog and enjoyed several more years of life .Pyrometra is the best reason I could give for having a female dog spayed.
This German Shepherd has a wonderful nature though she is very jumpy and last night when a bowl of water was brought to her, it seemed to scare her so much, she literally climbed on to my knee and hid her head in my arms! It is only to be imagined why these animals are so fearful, if only they could speak! What tales they would tell. I can only hope that she will now be ok and that she has been diagnosed in time.
I gave the wrong web address in one of my other entries.Marks website is. www.markeccleston.com. Its really worth looking at.

Left without food and water for 5 days.

Rosie has just rung, Moss the red and white collie is now reserved, he will be going next weekend. We really are doing well with these homes, it is a great morale booster for us. Two kittens have gone also and one adult cat Abigail reserved so better than some weekends.
Last night we had a call about a dog which had been abandoned , the owner had not been seen for nearly a week and the dog had been seen in the windows of the house crying and clearly distressed.Barbara was just about to go out to the supermarket so she went to assess the situation.When she arrived she was told a community police officer and the owner of the house(not the person who abandoned the dog) had been earlier on that day and let the dog out the house but he was still there and very agitated so she rang me and we made a decision to remove him.I have since rung the police to inform them of this and Theo as he is called spent the night with Molly and the kitchen dogs. He is desperately underweight and is starving but he is so overjoyed to be with people he is overwhelming in his attention seeking, my arms are scratched to pieces.Poor thing, he is so happy to be in company and he is getting on so well with everyone. When I took them for their morning exercise he couldnt believe the freedom and galloped along with the others, his tail wagging in excitement but he constantly raced back to me to check I was still there.He is a very large albeit thin cross doberman, maybe crossed with a German Shephered, he has enormous ears (see picture) and is only around 9 months of age. I wish I knew what posesses people to do such a wicked thing and I wish too that I could mete out the same treatment to them.
I have just had a call from the police who have picked up a distressed German Shepherd on the side of a road! I have to find a foster home pretty quickly as I believe they are on their way.
Barbara has taken some brilliant photos today so tomorow Ill post some on the blog.We are a;lways looking for good photo opportunities with the animals, the best ones are earmarked for the calendars we produce, others for the notepads and of course the blog. I would love to do a photography course, as would Rhian , one day possibly!
PS: the Police have arrived with the GSD, her back legs do not look strong so there is something going on there, hip dysplasia? Judging by her teeth she appears to be about 5 years old but her demeanour is more that of an elderly dog.Her coat is poor and not indicative of her having been in a loving caring home, she seems also nervous and jumpy but very sweet natured, I have already had a few sloppy kisses from her.Poor girl absolutely reeks, she has definitely not been a housepet, the last dog which smelled that bad was Gel who had been chained for 2 years and was living in filth. Rosie is fostering her until we know whether she is fit enough to be put up for adoption. A trip to the vet tomorrow is definitely on the cards.

Helga, Another longtermer finds a home.

A very busy day today, there have been reservations made for the two farm dogs, Meg and Roy.Charley retriever has left us for his new home on Merseyside and I just know he is going to be a very spoiled dog.His new owner Paula has spent a fortune on him already, even a car window protection guard!!! Just in case he hurts himself on the open window! He is definitely going to be ruined which is great.He deserves it. His new "dad" Mark is a remarkable man and although I usually ramble on about animals I have to say something about him because he impressed me so much with his strength of character and personality.I hope he will not mind me writing about him.To understand why I was so impressed you need to read about him so look up his website www.mark.ecclestone.com. I have already sent away for his book and cant wait to read it, all my friends will be receiving a copy for Christmas!
Todays most uplifting moment came when Helga was chosen for a new life Helga a beautiful grey semi feral cat has been here two long years . So many people have admired Helga but her nervousness has put people off taking her, they have come to see her and ended up taking other cats.This time she was in luck.She was very nervous being put into the cat carrier and as I told her new people, there is no guarantee she will become a loving domestic cat but there is a chance and they told me they are willing to give her this chance. Wonderful! We have been so lucky recently with the rehoming of the long term cats, heres hoping it ocntinues.
I remembered what the butterflies were - Painted Ladies.These pretty butterflies are everywhere at the moment yet I did not see one on the property last year.There is no doubt the balance of nature has been vastly disturbed with climate change, so many things are changing, a few years ago when I lived at the Liverpool shelter there was a year when there were literally millions of ladybirds on bushes everywhere, I see very few here now.When I first moved here there were hundreds of frogs around, now there are very few of them to be seen.I saw an albino badger one evening, havent seen a live one since and I never see hedgehogs here.I saw more wildlife in Liverpool which seems at odds with the lack of wildlife in the rural location where I now live. i thought I would see much more in this area. At least we have the buzzards here and of course the Osprey family near Porthmadog.There are otters somewhere locally but I have yet to see one.That would be a real treat.

We go to see Rusty and Ramona.

I collected a cat and a kitten from the vet today. The cat, an elderly tortoishell was found collapsed a few days ago by a holidaymaker in Porthmadog.One of her legs appears to be damaged through an old injury, it seems out of alignment.She is very thin and matted,poor little cat is very weak but has improved since being on a drip at the vets and is now able to stand.It remains to be seen if this improvement continues but we will give her a fighting chance.She will live with me in the house unless I have a better offer for her.The kitten, also a tortie is a pretty one about 8 weeks of age, children were walking the streets trying to give her away!
After collecting our feline friends Mei and I headed to Cwillog to visit Ramona and Rusty.These elderly horses are being fostered for Freshfields by an experienced lady called Mary Hartley Edwards.Well actually little Rusty is a pony and he has hardly any teeth which means he needs several small meals daily.He and his devoted companion Ramona a beautiful chestnut cob, belonged to a seriously ill woman in the Midlands.This lady had owned them since they were youngsters and was devastated when her health failed and she was no longer fit enough to care for them.Her one concern was that they did not end up in a horse sale, she wanted them to live out the remainder of their lives peacefully and with the same care as she herself had bestowed upon them. They are lovely animals, very happy to be around people and we are lucky to have Mary fostering them. This arrangement is open ended, for as long as she herself is healthy and fit they she will be happy to continue as their "foster mum". They are pictured here with Mary.
Our two biggest fields at the bottom of the lane have been fertilised today, this year I have paid someone to come in and do it, it was laborious doing it all by hand last time and we only managed to do one or two of the fields.One of the biggest jobs is getting rid of all the weeds, some of the fields are covered in Docks and Rushes but we are making inroads into it.Hopefully by July the fields will be in a much better state for the horses.We have bought some grass seed to sow in a couiple of the fields where the laminitic ponies graze. This is special seed for horses with this problem.I have not used it before so am keen to see what it is like.
I think I am ready for a break so may plan a trip to Liverpool for a few days.Sometimes this becomes a necessity, its easy to become too stressed and even introverted living this lifestyle in rural Wales. I fear I am in danger of becoming a female version of Victor Meldrew if I dont cut loose sometime soon - maybe next week which will coincide with our bi monthly trustee meeting in Liverpool.