Chester finally finds a home!

Its been an emotional few days for me, my brother has died and although we had a very difficult and often stormy relationship, I can only suppose that as the saying goes blood is thicker than water and I have been more upset than I would have imagined. He was an animal lover also and he and his wife Rita adopted a small colony of feral cats in their garden which they had neutered through Freshfields. Over the years they have also had rescued dogs and one in particular Ben the boxer was not the easiest of dogs but he lived with them until his demise many years later.He was succeeded by Chico, an abandoned Shi-tsu pup who is now extremely old and frail.I always believed my brother and I had nothing in common but when I look back I see he had a compassionate side which perhaps I overlooked.Why is we see these things when it is too late?
Back to shelter issues - we have 2 elderly cats due to go out to homes next week and Chester who has been with us for a year has finally cracked it! never having been noticed by anyone, he has now struck lucky and has started life in a home of his own.This is one of the things that makes this work seem worthwhile, I cannot wait to hear how he is settling with his new family.He is pictured at the bottom of the photo, the other cat was his brother Charlie who was homed quite some time ago.Rhian has just said to me that the cattery seems strange without the presence of Chester but we are all glad he has gone. They are not here to spend their lives, they are all here to find loving homes and that is now what he has, a success story albeit a long time coming.
I have had a telephone call from someone who thinks Sadie is their dog who went missing nearly a year ago! having compared photos of the missing dog and Sadie I am fairly certain this is not the case but they are coming over later to see her.I must remember to put crockery away each night, this morning she has knocked down my draining rack with plates and cups, I need to go the charity shop to replace them or I will be forced to eating out of saucepans!!
Last night was horrendous, a hurricane type gale kept William awake most of the night, he hates loud noises and was shaking like a leaf.If its not fireworks, its the weather, poor old William.This morning he is crashed out on the sofa in the conservatory , on cold days he works his way under the sofa covers so he is snug and warm, the cats all ignore him and position themselves around the lump! He is so laid back the cats totally accept his presence.
I hear that Christy collie(now called Ben)is doing well in his new home in Dorset though he has been hard work the first few weeks.He had been a farm dog who was picked up by the dog warden and taken to a dog pound.We heard that his owner was traced via a microchip but he did not turn up to collect him(how could anyone do that?)so he was due for destruction. My feeling is that it was a good thing his owner failed to turn up but only because we heard about him and took him in , he has a far better life now. His new friend Wendy keeps in touch which means a lot - I am always glad to hear news of our animals but those who have been mistreated and are nervous always have a special place in my heart.Marley too is doing well and he came to see us yesterday.I was so pleased to see that although he allowed us to make a fuss of him, he only had eyes for his new best friend- a sure sign he is happy in his new home.He has started to put on weight and I could not now feel his bones through his coat, he is a handsome dog but was so very thin, its so good to see him looking so well.Its a real morale boost for all of us who work here.
Great day for cats today, 3 more are going to new homes, Black longhaired cat, now called Louis who arrived last week was to only have a short stay with us and Finlay another black longhaired has been chosen along with max a middle aged cat who has been with us some months.Lucky cats.Yet another black lobghaired called Asha is reserved to be collected Tuesday.All black longhaired inmates now spoken for! A very good weekend for felines.
Barney the young collie left for his home today, he has gone to the outskirts of Oldham to live with another collie and can expect 3 hour walks in the hills with his new family.Just what a collie needs.
ps:
People just been over to see if Sadie is their dog, I am delighted to say she was not! The reason why I am delighted - after realising she was not their missing dog Judy(and they were quite unsure at first) they would not have wanted her back anyway, in fact they also wanted to get rid of their 7 Years old collie!!!!!!and guess what , they have another puppy, this one they intend to keep(thats if poor thing doesnt go missing like their last dog)I will be happy to find their collie a good home, the sooner I find one the better. All their dogs are kept outside too, contrary to the story I was given over the telephone.