Meet Alfred, Jackson and Sasha)

There seems to be a problem uploading photographs., I hate it when the computer plays up,its so frustrating so I am unable to show the photos today, I will try again tomorrow.PHOTOS HERE NOW>
I felt I needed a short break from the diary but Im back on track again now.Jackson and Sasha are inseperable which makes homing them more difficult, not many people want two medium size dogs, its not an impossibility but we will see what happens and give it some time.If no success then they will be seperated and go to homes where there will be another dog for company.Hooch the Dogue went to a home where there was already a Freshfields(Liverpool) dog in residence and I hear they are getting on well together.Another lurcher was admitted, he is sharing Mollys space in the house, he is rather sorry looking - thin and suffering from flea exczema but nothing that can not be put to rights.He appears to be around 6 years of age, a gentle quiet dog who is now named Alfred after the dog in "Heartbeat".He has taken over Cindys indoor kennel, all dogs seem to like it there, i think they feel safe and secure inside it.I am often asked what I think of these cages and I did dislike the idea of using them but my experiences with this one have all been positive.Of course i only use mine when there is a new dog or a difficult dog to introduce to the others and then it is only in use only for very short periods of time.I would never condone a dog being put in one as punishment or for longer than a couple of hours.All my dogs regard it as a safe house and there is no distress at all when it is being used, far from it, it creates calmness and comfort.
A dog was returned after a year in her home though it was a genuine reason for bringing her back.Megan has been having very bad fights with the other dogs in the house and she needs to go to a home where she is the only dog.It seems to be a territorial issue as we never had a problem here with Megan and other dogs.She is a Parsons Jack russell, wirecoated and appealing so she should go quickly.
A tiny little Yorkshire terrier was admitted today and has temporarily joined the gang in the living room though I think Mei has her eye on her already. Her family lost their old Yorkie last year and Mei has 2 chihuahuas at the moment but wants to persuade her parents that another toy dog is just what they need!!!We will see!
Yesterday I emailed a letter to a well know horse Magazine"Horse and Rider"
bemoaning the fact that we receive next to no help from"horsey" people and even after placing an ad in another magazine which by rights should have successfully
tugged at the heartstrings of anyone who cared for horses, we received not a single donation. They are considering my letter for publication so I am keeping my fingers crossed as it may just do what the advert failed to do and bring us some support.
Little Martha the black kittencat who lost her eye shortly after arriving here has
gone to a home where there already lives a Freshfields cat, not to mention a Freshfields Pig(from the LIverpoool shelter)We are all pleased to see her go to this lovely home.
The only other cathomed this past week is Mary who was the last of her group to be chosen, she came in with several others when her owner died so they have all gone now and made space for others in need.
Its a lovely sunny day here today but it has been so cold, I was a bit premature planting out a hanging basket, all the plants have died so I need to plant again.I like to see plants around the place, it brightens up the yard though the cats tend to think the pots are just new litter trays and William is prone to lifting his leg at each one.Still nothing daunted,I will try again.Only hardy plants survive here, they need to withstand the weather AND the animals.Same goes for the staff too!

And where exactly do I sit?

I couldnt resist taking this photo of my living room sofa occupied totally by animals,I decided to sit on the other sofa but within seconds most had vacated this one to join me! I cant win, best to give up and just squeeze in with the gang.From left to right- Felix cat, Suzy,Ruby, the maggie marthas, William and Fatticat.
The Liverpool ambulance came up today, driven by friends Elaine and Suzy, they brought me some donated dogfood from Lisa who runs Healthy Paws.Lisas dogfood is a healthy recipe loved by most dogs, even the fussy ones.I am grateful to her for her help.Also in the ambulance were 3 lovely dogs for which I will try to find good homes. Hooch, a breed of mastiff (dogue de Bordeaux) is just 1 year old, a lovely natured dog but my god he neeeds his bits off quickly.I have never seen such an oversexed dog.The other two Sasha a friendly cross GSd and Jackson a gorgeous dog of indeterminate breed arrived looking bewildered and dejected, that is until we introduced the pair of them.From there on their tails lifted,they licked each others muzzles - their whole demeanour changed from dejection to happiness. It was amazing, these two dogs had never met before but they formed an instantaneous bond. We have to try and home them together, for them to form this attachment so soon is incredible and it would be a great shame to part them.Oh and its not because Sasha is in season and the dog fancies a bit of rumpy pumpy!! Both animals are neutered.
The owner of the pony has turned up and taken her and guess what- he failed to pay a penny towards her keep in spite of promising to do so. There was no point carrying it on and starting legal proceedings, it would cause too much local ill will but I am very disappointed and annoyed to find ourselves out of pocket.
It was good to see Elaine and Suzy again, they spent a few hours here meeting the animals and taking photographs, I think Suzy took a particular shine to my main man "Noddy". Its good to know that it isnt just me who finds him totally irresistable.

Merlin is returned.

I have just had a call from someone who has taken an ex farm dog (nOT FROM ME) which is so terrified of strangers he curls up in a corner and urinates whenever someone visits the house.Poor poor dog.When the person leaves he springs into action, runs at them and nips then hides again.Clearly he has not been socialised at all though he is house trained.If I can home Billy the staff this dog could go in with Bonny the foxhound and we could try to work with him.I dont think a foster home would be able to cope with his problems.
One of my blog readers wanted to stress to me that not all farmers are cruel, she is from a farming family herself and I did tell her that my own farming neighbours are good to their dogs so I am aware that not all mistreat them.Nevertheless it is a fact that very few of the ex farm dogs I see display normal behaviour patterns, alomost all of them are terrifed of their own shadow, are neglected in appearance and are cowed and miserable I would love to be part of an education programme to instill different thought processes into the heads of those who keep their working sheepdogs in a state of permanent terror.(well I can dream)This type of owner give the others a bad name.
A cat we just rehomed, Merlin is being returned.(picturted here)What a shame, however he will find a home soon, apart from little Martha with the one eye, he is the youngest cat here.
4 cats have gone to be neutered today, one of them, Bramble" already has a home waiting.The other 3 are part of the "hard to home" gang.The pretty ginger youngsters are semi feral and need a very special home and the dark tortie is very shy and needs someone with no other cats and a quiet environment.There is someone out there for most animals, its just not always easy finding them!
The date for the Open Day has been decided.The grand event will take place on July 25th, Now is the hard part - organising it all, though thankfully most will be done by George who is the official fundraiser for Freshfields. We hope to have a dog agility/flyball display so I am trying to finalise that arrangement this week.
Teg is doing well with his training for the Snowdon race, he tells me he made it three quarters of the way up last week. He is amazing.
Watched the documentary last night "the lion cub from harrods" I had already seen the moving video clip on youtube but the documentary too was very touching but upsetting in parts.Thank goodness Harrods no longer sell animals in this way, there was a clip showing a woman walking an exotic cat(was it a cheetah?) along the Kings Road!!! Sheer exhibitionism at the expense of a creature which should be living a life of freedom.I couldnt help but wonder at the fate of the sibling lion cub.What happened to her? Best not to think.The conditions in Harrods were pretty grim too.
Bens homecheck in Dorset has passed , we have a new homechecker Wendy who is the lady who gave a home to Christy collie(now called Ben).If the new Bens home turns out to be as good as Wendys he will be a very lucky animal.
Just as I was about to finish this, a call came through from the owner of the stray pony!!! We are now on speaking terms and I hope this situation will be resolved for once and for all.He is reluctant to pay for the ponys keep but will ring me later after he has spoken to his father about it.

A stun gun is requested.

Cariad seems a little better today though her balance is far from normal.Still not had the results of her blood tests.
It has been another quiet weekend, only one cat rehomed, the couple who came to see Ben the dalmation cross were not compatible with him at all.I think as they had never had a dog before that he was too young and lively for them.There is no doubt they offer a good home but it will have to be the right dog, maybe something a few years old would be best for them.There is another home waiting for him, pending a homecheck of course.If this passes he will go to live in Dorset near the edge of a forest which will be ideal for a dog like Ben.
The owner still has not collected the black pony.This cant go on.
The lady who owned the neglected horses which we are still treating 12 months later, has decided to contact a solicitor for the return of her animals.I really dont need this aggravation, they were signed over to the shelter and I have the Vets report and the Farriers report on file but I wish now I had reported her to the RSPCA, I refrained from this action due to the womans ill health, I will not be as considerate if this ever happens again.Thanks to her longterm neglect 2 young ponies had to be euthanased - totally unforgiveable.
Jan who has 4 of our horses on loan came to help in the office yesterday, she has been getting the microchip database up to date. After 2 hours work, the computer crashed and she lost the lot!All her work for nothing, she looked about to burst into tears and decided to call it a day and go home. Just before she left I took a call from a lady wanting advice.
She wanted to know if I had a Stun Gun because an animal had escaped from a property.Imagining some sort of dangerous wild creature roaming the North Wales countryside, I told her to contact a vet and asked her to describe the escaped animal. "its a feral" she said."Feral what" I asked,the lady replied "its A feral Chicken!!!! Jan and I collapsed in a fit of giggles.Life is never dull here.

Tara picks up and Cariad is worse.

What a change to have the sun shining all day, this is when I realise how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful place as North wales.I never thought I would ever leave Liverpool having lived in the same suburb of Crosby all my life but a series of incidents led me to move here 6 years ago and I feel as if I have lived here all my life.Just to say a little about it, there were 8 rescued horses in the care of Freshfields and they had been kept at a livery stables for several years(we did not have enough land for grazing)Suddenly we had to move them and I had nowhere to do so.I was at my wits end when an email came through offering The charity this smallholding.It had belonged to friends of mine and ex Freshfields helpers who wanted to move but wanted the property to continue as an animal shelter.The timing was incredible.All of a sudden there was light at the end of the tunnel, somewhere permanent and safe for the horses to live.Within 6 weeks the horses were moved to their new home and with much apprehension and feelings of trepidation I packed up my meagre belongings and my beloved dogs and left behind my old life. I intended to stay 6 months, find a manager for the place and return to my home town, well that was 6 years ago and I am still here.I think I knew the first night here that I would not leave, somehow it felt right and strangely familiar.
Stray ponys owner not turned up today or rung to make arrangements so I presume he will leave a message tonight for collection of her tomorrow.I find it hard to believe he has not been near the shelter yet.
Cariad our permanent longhaired ginger cat(pictured here) who has been very wobbbly on her legs is worse than ever, the vet thinks she has a neurological problem. Her balance is very poor.similar to the effect of a middle ear infection.I am keeping her in the house for her own safety.cariad has always been the first cat people see when they visit here, she used to live loose in the cattery and her appealing looks would make everyone admire her.Her pretty looks however belied her nature which was unpredictable, she had originally been admitted with a litter of newborn babies but it was not long before we realised Cariad was temperamental and unlikely to find a home.After a year in the cattery we decided to release her to live freely but she always liked her basket in the passage of the cattery and would return to that all the time.Last year I persuaded her to move in to the conservatory and after a few false starts she did decide it was better and warmer there.We have much better natured cats here but for some reason the feisty ones are often the ones for which we all develop a particular fondness.
Tara our old collie is back to normal, today she is as lively as ever though the vet says her heart has deteriorated considerably since the last time he saw her.That nothwithstanding she is back to playing with her toys and her appetite is good once again.Maybe like all old animals, humans too, she just had an off day.
The little Westie I took in from a dog pound went to a new home today and I am not ashamed to admit I wept a few tears.Funnily enough I am not keen on this breed at all but Lele was so frightened and scared(she had recently been homed from a puppy mill because she had miscarried 2 litters!!!) and she needed so much reassurance and love that before the first week was over she had imprinted hgerself on my heart.Its fatal for me to have a dog in the house with my own dogs, Lele was cuddling next to me on the sofa with the oldies and she had started to wag her tail and give me kisses.Then I betray her by passing her on to someone else - well thats how it feels though as always I know it is the best thing for these animals, they need homes of their own and it gives me room to help another.She had the sweetest nature and how can anyone not feel for a dog so timid and scared of her own shadow.
Mion is fostering the mum cat and her 3 babies and there is another one coming in on Sunday, this cat has had babies in someones shed, I have asked them to wait a while to minimise the likelihood of mum rejecting her offspring due to the trauma of being moved so soon. Then another pregnant cat is being admitted tomorrow.I can already see the kitten season looming ahead!

A life in the sun is ahead for Leo.

Pepsi and caspar the two welsh ponies set off today for their new home,it is always a wrench to see them go, I will never understand how people sell their horses on , I feel I am betraying them when they are loaded on to the horse trailer, I always wish they could know that we are doing what is for their own sake.I cant wait to hear how they travelled and how they have settled in.
Tara our resident collie who lives now in the office has been off colour today so has gone to the vet, she has a slight temperature and is having some blood tests.She must be around 15 years of age. This lovely collie has lived here for nearly 6 of those years and prior to that had been in and out of dog shelters and homes.Her problem was not trusting people and Im afraid she bit in every home she went to. Eventually she was booked in to a vet for destruction but I heard about her and offered her a home at the shelter.For the first few years she was kennelled with another older collie Monty but when we lost him to old age related problems, Tara came to live in the office where she is now completely at home and she has company for most of the day.Everyone is very fond of Tara but we know she is on borrowed time. A year ago we thought her number was up, she has a very bad heart murmer but when the vet put her on new tablets she appeared to have a new lease of life.Just days ago she was playing with a toy and throwing it about and generally acting like a puppy, then today she was completely flat and lifeless, refusing to even go outside.The change was drastic and very worrying.We wait now to hear the results of the blood tests.
The owner of the stray pony has rung and left a message on the answerphone - he is planning to collect her on thursday or Friday!! That will be 2 weeks livery costs to pay. I hope there will be no trouble when he comes,I have very mixed feelings about it and cant help being concerned about the future of the pony.Even after a few weeks its easy to form an attachment.
Yippee, a cat was homed today.He was one of the youngest we have here at the moment, a striking little tabby called Leo.His owner was in a flat and Leo wanted to get outside all the time.He will be living near Porthmadog for the next few years and then will be going with his new people and their other cat to a retirement home in Cyprus.Their current feline has a passport and all the required injections ready for the move to come so A life in the sun beckons for Leo.Lucky sod!Wish theyd take me too!

Meet New arrival Ben the dalmation cross

Once again the Dogsblog website has worked its miracle and the three latest dogs Fudge, Bengy and Gwen have all gone today to homes, one to Chester and the other two to lancashire.They are not staying any length of time in their temporary foster homes which is marvellous.Our newest arrival is Ben an 8 months cross Dalmation with a wonderful nature who should find a home soon too, he is very strong so needs someone who is strong enough to manage him on the lead and will not be toppled over when he jumps up to greet them.
We had a visitor today who is interested in having one of our ponies as a companion to her elderly horse but she is going on holiday soon so will visit again when she returns.That would be marvellous if we could find another pony home before the summer.
Yesterday two helpers Ramona and Steve came to build a wooden table type thingy(sorry for my inarticulate writing today)for the feral enclosure.This is intended to act as a cover for the litter trays but also to give the ferals another place to sit and sleep on when we have warmer weather.They actually made two of them and some of the younger ferals showed great interest in the activity going on in their home.The more nervous cats stayed well out of the way until the interlopers left(not my thoughts, just trying to imagine what the cats thought of the human beings making so much noise in their normally quiet space!)After Ramona and Steve left, the cats began to venture out slowly and it seemed that the general concensus of opinion between them was that the new table thingys were a great success and were tested with much enthusiasm by all the feral residents.
The weather has been wonderful this weekend and its been good to see the cats out and about again, for so long they have stayed out the cold , snuggling into their warm beds in Kitty Kottage or in the conservatory, today there have been cats enjoying their snoozes outside on the office veranda chairs, on the top of the sheds and even just sleeping on the floor of the yard.Even the pigs have abandoned their ark for a bit of fresh air and have been sleeping on the grass.There have been no homes for cats but lots of calls for kittens which we do not have,then as soon as we start to admit kittens(probably round easter) all the homes will have dried up! Its the same every year.Our first mum and babies arrive today from Anglesey. Her three kittens are just two weeks old and they will all be fostered by Mion in Porthmadog until they are ready to go to homes in about 6 weeks.Then we will have mum back at the shelter , have her spayed and put up for adoption too.

The homecheck passes for pepsi and Caspar

The homecheck has passed with flying colours for the two ponies.(Photo here)The owner of the stray black mare still has not collected her. I hear he is going round saying I am refusing to let him have her back without paying! Well what does he expect? Does he think we can afford to provide free livery for a pony which has an owner who SHOULd have claimed her the first day she went missing and not over a week later.I took advice from both the Police and Redwings horse sanctuary in Norfolk, They deal with stray ponies a lot and there is a standard charge of £500 in many authorities in the UK to reclaim any equine found wandering and taken to a aplace of safety.Surely any owner would be only too happy to pay transport and a weeks livery fee if it meant his pony had been kept safe and cared for instead of wandering the streets where she was in danger of being involved in a road traffic accident.
He has until Wednesday to claim her, after that the police will apply to the magistrates court for her to be signed over into our care permanently.I did not want another pony but I have heard nothing since the man rang me to say his horse trailer was off the road and would collect her as soon as he could.There has been not a word since so its anybodys guess whether he has any intention of paying the costs incurred by the charity.If not so be it, we have another pony to care for.She is pictured here a few days after she arrived, unbelievable that there is snow in March! It looks like a typical Christmas scene.
Yesterday Mei and I checked out the free summer grazing that had been offered, it is ideal so we now have to decide which ponies would benefit most from it.Of course so many of ours are so old it would not be fair to transport them so we need to think carefully before a decision is made.We should be able to move 3 here and another three to the other fields we have been offered nearby.Most likely one choice would be the three youngsters once we have had them gelded.I dont think anyone would want three young stallions racing round their property trying to climb fences to get at any attractive mares in adjoining fields!

Fluff, my Cat of the month

It seems ages since we homed any ponies on our loan scheme, however today someone from Conway came and chose Pepsi and Caspar.This will be their 2nd home, not all loan homes are permanent much as we would like them to be but these two are too young to spend their lives here.They were both rescued from being sold for meat at the age of 9 months and they are now 7 years old and inseparable.Pending our obligatory homecheck they should be off to pastures new next week.
The home for Dylan one of the Anglesey ponies, did not work out so he is being fostered by a friend who may decide to keep him,If not he will return here and we will most likely allow him to remain here .
The owner of the stray pony has not yet been to collect her!
There is interest already in Fudge the new puppy so she should be homed by this weekend.Bengy collies home has been checked out favourably so he too should be leaving us very soon and little Gwen the 6 years old cross lab is going on Sunday.A busy weekend ahead.I Wish more cats were going although there have been a few calls today so maybe at the weekend some homes will be found.There has been a call expressing interest in little Martha the one eyed kittencat , I wish someone would show interest in Fluff the cat with the heart murmer.It is starting to bother me now, when I go in the cattery my heart aches for him.He has been here too long and he has the gentlest nature.I do understand why he doesnt appeal to people.Most want a cat to live a long life with them and to be able to go outdoors.He is only 3 years old and good with other cats but Fluff must go to an indoor home, a flat maybe as any shock like a dog chasing him or a child frightening him would possibly cause him to have a heart attack.His other problem, well it isnt a problem really but he is not neutered because his heart would not stand the anaesthetic, however he has inverted testicles so does not smell or spray like a tom cat. Of all the cats here Fluff is the one and he has to be the one i would be most delighted to find a home.I know there is someone out there for most of the animals if not all of them but sometimes it takes a while to find the right person for a very special animal.We just have to persevere and keep trying, eventually it will happen.

What a pretty girl

The old collie was claimed and to be fair he did seem overjoyed to see his farmer owner. Pero as the dog was called was tatty but he was not underweight and not timid either so I was relieved about that, its awful to be on a position of having to hand a dog over to someone of whom the animal is clearly frightened.Mind you that would happen over my dead body, if the animal was that scared,I would want to know why. Usually when a dog is that scared the owner does not turn up anyway so I am relieved of the decision making.
well the owner of the stray pony has turned up - a WEEK later! at least he has made a phone call and an abusive on at that! He has accused me of stealing his pony but I have told him I am acting on behalf of the police who requested me to help with the removal of the pony to a place of safety and so that is total nonsense.He has told me he his horsebox is off the road so will collect the pony when he has transport. I have told him he will need to pay us for a full weeks livery plus hire of horsebox etc and he will need to produce the ponys passport and proof of ID.Watch this space.
A lovely little pup came in today, she will be snapped up, she is in the house with Molly and seems fine, a little scared but thats natural when everything must seems o strange.her owner was unable to house train her but Fudge is only 16 weeks old so still has lots of time to learn.Her owner had young children and a pup is like having another baby, what she needs is someone who has the time to train her properly.

Archie goes and an old farm dog arrives.

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It has been a very quiet weekend with few visitors and even fewer helpers.Oh well thats how it is sometimes.At least Archie lurcher has gone to his new home in Lancaster.Tanya travelled here in a motorhome with her own dog, , a beautiful silver grey wirehaired lurcher female called Freya with whom Archie immediately bonded.His tail which is usually held low between his legs, started to wave and he was happy to be put in the motorhome with his new girlfriend.I think Kaz who fostered him had a few pangs watching him go but the week he had in her home had made a tremendous diffrence to his confidence.He will still need a lot of TLC and patience as he still is not house trained and he is terrified of a lead but I feel sure his new person will be able to overcome these problems.
An old red and white collie was brought here this afternoon, he was found in a field with sheep(a hanging offence here)He has a very matted coat, was very hungry and wolfed down the food we offered him,it barely touched the sides.He is a typical neglected farm dog, will someone claim him or not? It is becoming impossible to know.There have been so many collies in great condition, young dogs which I was sure owners would claim and I have been proved wrong time and time again.This one certainly looks neglected but a farmer could turn up for him any time.Its anyones guess.If he isnt claimed he will not be easy to rehome, he must be at least 13 years of age.There are very few people willing to take on a dog this age.I have been asked to home 2 other oldish collies from a dog pound but although I have advertised them there has been no interest shown at all.Personally I prefer the oldies, they are generally less active and demanding and are so grateful to be somewhere warm and comfortable.I would always give a home to an elderly dog, in fact I have 6 of my own right now, ranging from William aged 13 years to the Maggie Marthas (so called as we never found out which was which!) 20 years old yorkies rescued last year.
I have just heard that Drum has settled down in his new hom on Anglesey and the two horses are getting on well.There is someone coming on Thursday who is interested in homing 2 of our ponies, maybe Sam and Murphy the shetlands or Pepsi and Caspar the welsh section A s.
We have also been offered some more free grazing for the summer so we should manage well enough this year.

Meet Joseph and Jacob

These two handsome young men are Jacob Sheep which have been transferred from the Liverpool shelter to Wales.They had been back garden pets until they found themselves homeless. Although our sheep Bertie, Sam and Chloe were initially very apprehensive, today they are all in a little huddle together.All differences appear to be in the past.
Well unbelievably STILL nobody has claimed the pony which was found wandering.We have named her Ebony and have wormed her so she is able to join our own ponies today.No wonder she was underweight and so hungry, the poor creature was riddled with worms.Judging by her teeth she could be fairly young, between 7 and 10 years though we will have a more accurate idea when our dentist next visits.That is if she is still here, something which is seeming more likely with every day that passes.How could anyone have a pony and not check on her welfare for the best part of a week?We have heard now that she was seen wandering on MOnday about 2 miles from where she was found.
Kane the collie has gone on a 7 day trial to a vet from anglesey, there is a little apprehension about his behaviour with sheep and their own dog so I am hoping he will behave himself.We had no such problems here but dogs can behave so differently in another environment.I do need more dog foster homes, At the moment I just have Rosie to rely on to help with the homeless dogs of this area.Speaking of which - A sweet little dog has been admitted, Gwens owners moved to a house with no garden(so why did they move there?)and they want a new home for her.I hope she will find a home soon, she is a pretty labrador.collie but a little smaller which always makes finding a home that much easier. There has been no interest whatsoever in Billy the staff and he is such a nice dog, a great shame people have such a pre conceived image of these dogs, I did wonder if I would be able to place him though it is early days yet, I wont start panicking just yet!
I have never had so much interest in a dog as with Archie the timid lurcher, there have been dozens of nice people interested in giving him a home, there is a lady from Lancaster travelling up to see him tomorrow.His foster mum "Kaz" will be bringing him to the shelter to meet up with his prospective companion(another rescued lurcher) and his new owner(hopefully)
Another cat was returned, Merlin went out as a kitten and is only 6 months now but the child of the house developed an allergy so back he comes.At least he is young and friendly, I doubt he will be here very long at all.Toots is still in the house but is very grumpy indeed,I dont know if she will be happy living in my multipet household.What I need is someone willing to take on an elderly cat with recurring snuffles.Not much chance of that.
Our lovely Drum has left us for his new home where he will be joining their other horses as well as our own Big Murphy .They had taken Murphy as a companion to their own elderly horse but sadly he is at the end of his life and they did not want Murphy not to have a friend in his field.It has been a distressing time for Audrey and her mother, they have been very reluctant to lose their old horse but they had realised the time was near and so had made preparations to take Drum as soon as the upsetting deed had been done,I really feel for them.They truly love their horses.I cant wait to hear how our boy has settled in his new home.

A stray pony is found.

Weird weather, yesterday we had thick snow, today the sun is shining and all snow has disappeared. Well we have taken in another stray - this time it is a PONY. The police rang to ask for help and we had to ring a friend with a horse trailer to go and collect her.On Tuesday the pony had been found galloping along a busy road and had been put (without the owners permission) into a nearby field .Unfortunately the pony was not from this property and when she was found the following day she had caused mayhem with the ponies already in the field who had become agitated and excited at the presence of a stranger in their midst.In spite of enquiries made by both the police and ourselves we were unable to trace the owner and so were in a position where we had to take action.The pony was very hungry and is underweight, in fact since her arrival she has scarcely had her head out of the hay rack.Clearly the owner does not check his/her pony on a daily basis or she would have been claimed by now.This is totally unacceptable, they should be checked daily, anything can happen to an animal left indefinitely to its own devices, there was quite a storm the night the pony was found, why did nobody go next day to check the security of the fences? We have had a sudden very cold spell of weather this last few days, why was the pony not checked upon? So many questions,I am sure all will be revealed soon but I fear I will not be happy with the answers.This pony deserves better.
Archie lurcher and the two collies Bengy and kane have been neutered today, Bengy is none too happy and is trying to nibble at his stitches already so both the collies are wearing those awful collars.I hate seeing them trying to cope with these but needs must.It looks like Archie already has a home, we have been inundated with offers of homes for him, he is a popular boy,I have chosen someone who has another rescued dog and who has experience with a nervous lurcher like Archie.Both collies also have people interested so pending homechecks they may too be on their way soon .
An elderly cat was returned today, Toots is 12 years old and her owner could not cope with her.Poor Toots, I have her in the house but she is very unhappy at the moment.The oldies take so much longer to adapt to new environments
We took delivery today of the 2 Jacob sheep from the liverpool shelter .Joseph and Jacob are very handsome young men but our 3 are totally bemused by the arrival of these interlopers and are currently unimpressed by the stunning good looks of the newcomers.I hope it does not take too long for the equilibrium to be restored.

Teg is going to run for Freshfields

Another kind person is trying to raise funds for Freshfields. Tegid works here in Wales, he is part time and his job is with the cats and the dogs although he will help in any unit which needs help.He has kindly offered to do the Snowdon Run for Freshfields. It is a gruelling run to the top of Mount Snowdon and back down again(it takes me all my time to walk the 5 miles to the top )If I had a hat I would take it off to him in total admiration for his enthusiasm and fitness. Good old Teg, the welsh staff will be going to welcome him as he descends .He deserves all the support he can get and we will be cheering him on as he nears the finish line.He is pictured above with my William who likes to be in on everything.
The little Westie has arrived, she seems a very unhappy little dog and who could blame her after a life on a puppy farm, she is no trouble at all, is gentle and quiet and fits in well with my own dogs but she is homeable and someone is already interested in her.I cant keep them all and it does not seem right to keep an animal which would appeal to someone else and receive more attention than I could give.If she was an old girl I would consider it but she is only 4 years old.My heartstrings are being pulled but I have too many already so I must stay strong for her sake.
3 cats have been admitted over the past 2 days so I need to make an appointment to have them neutered next week.Rhian may be returning to work this Friday and then there will be enough staff to deal with a vets trip as well.She came up to see us yesterday, it was her first trip out driving her car since her concussion so she was feeling pleased that all had gone well.It will be good to have her back, she is always so cheerful and smiley.
I am struggling to learn how to update our Wales page on the new wensite.Helen(the manager of the Liverpool shelter) sent me clear instructions but I kept messing up, eventually Barbara took over and managed to get a few new animals on the site.Its just a matter of trying it a few times and Im sure it will all click into place though |I am not quick at learning new computer tricks.Practice makes perfect as the saying goes!

18 years old Moses chooses his retirement home.

Its been another good day for volunteers turning up,Dilys our regular sunday helper was joined by a mother and daughter from Anglesey and a lady who spent a couple of hours just walking the dogs.Im sure Gail was glad of the help,I certainly was pleased to see them pulling up in their cars. Poor Rhian is still off with concussion so without the volunteers we would have struggled this week.
The gentleman from yesterday returned with his wife and took Cleo the little tabby female who had only been here a few weeks and 2 black adult cats have gone to a home also. It has not been a bad weekend for cats.We do not expect to home dozens but 3 or 4 a week keeps things ticking over nicely.
Moses an ancient longhaired cat I took in a year ago at the age of 17 years had developed a very matted coat.Moses had been a feral cat all his life but in his old age had become more amenable to humans, however he had stopped grooming himself and was unhappy to allow us to groom him.I did not want to send him to the vet to be anaesthetised in order to strip his coat off as the cold weather would have killed him without his thick coat to keep him warm so he went temporarily to a supporter who has been doing his coat bit by bit.To my amazement I have heard that he is lapping up all the attention and is enjoying lying in front of the fire, even better he has been offered a permanent home there.I am thrilled for him, I had tried him in my house but he did not care for the other cats at all and simply ran back to Kitty Kottage(where the ferals live)Clearly he has just been waiting for a better retirement option! Be happy Moses.
There was an original enquiry for Billy the staffordshire bull terrier but nothing definite yet.We have now found out that he is good with other dogs which is a real bonus with this breed. He has been out with a few of the resident dogs and appears to be completely unaggressive with any of them, males or females.I would still not trust him with cats or small pets but I think he will make a nice pet for the right person.
The road accident dog we have named kane has still not been claimed, of course as the days wear on there is less chance of this happening.He is a happy friendly collie so with a bit of luck and some extensive advertising he should not be here too long.First step is to book him and Bengy in for neutering ,Bengy can be done pretty soon but Kane will have to wait until his medication is finished and he is up to another operation.
I have been asked to help with a 4 years old West highland terrier , an ex puppy farm dog who had been passed on to a lady who is unable to cope with the fact that she is not house trained.Through a friend in Derbyshire this little dog has a home waiting already, she will be going to someone who has been waiting for a small dog and is experienced with problem dogs-not that Leah is a problem really, she has just never had the opportunity to be in a home.It is not her fault she has never been trained, I believe she is also terrified of the lead, in other words she has just been a breeding machine kept in a pen and not socialised.This dog was unwanted because she miscarried 2 litters of pups!!! In her case it was the best thing that could have happened to her, it has released her from a terrible life. The same friend in Derbyshire is checking out a home for another little dog, this time it is one on the waiting list at the Liverpool shelter.Molly an 8 years old Maltese terrier has lost her owner and this new home sounds ideal for her.
I am almost finished writing our next newsletter, sometimes its hard to think of stories which will interest the people reading it and when I finish and have it printed, I always feel it is boring and uninteresting and wish I had done it a different way!
I cant believe today is the first of March, I need to spend some time trying to organise some fundraising events and the first job is to set up a meeting with the manager of the Sportsman Hotel in Porthmadog who has offered me facilities at the Hotel so we can hold a coffeee morning or similar.There is also a lady in Dolgellau who would like to start a fundraising group to raise funds for the shelter.All things I need to address these issues over the coming week.