Connie gives us a fright.

The swallow babies have reduced in number,one has vanished, the remaining two are being fed by mum,I havent see them fly yet and hope the cats are not responsible for the disappearance of baby no 3.The rafters are too high for me to replace the nest, even an extending ladder does not reach.All we can do is keep an eye on them during
2 adult cats have been homed together ,3 gone altogether so I am delighted that they are starting to move and it makes room for a few of those which have been on the waiting list for some time.Of course often when I contact the owners of these cats, they have already managed to place them which is good and means I can cross them off our rapidly expanding waiting list. The litter of kittens which came in are beautiful, real chocolate box cats(see photo)very fluffy and prettily marked- the black one has shades of brown in her coatand the tabbies are simply stunning. My very first cat was a tabby and I have always had a soft spot for these.I have often mentioned Rhian (on the right of the photo)who cares for ther cats here so it is time I introduced her so people can see her and know about whom I am speaking.Mei,ofcourse has been featured in my blog before.The other member of staff who cares for the cats is Gail and I will introduce her as soon as I have a photo.
Another chaotic evening occurred -last night Mei was going home late, around seven forty five and thank goodness she was! Connie one of our elderly shetlands was fitting and staggering around the field,by the time I arrived there she had collapsed so the vet was rung. We covered her with a rug and she remained in this state for sometime though by the time the vet arrived(having been held up by driving rain through which he was unable to see)she was on her feet again and we had managed to move her into the dry field shelter with the other ponies. He diagnosed a serious heart murmer and gave her an injection,he is calling again this morning to check on her though today she seems back to normal.Usually Mei goes home at seven and last night she was late,what a stroke of luck(fate?) that she spotted her, otherwise poor little Connie would not have been able to make it to the shelter and would probably have contracted Pneumonia. As from tonight we are bringing them all into the stables so we can be sure Connie is under safely under cover.Pictured here is Connie(on left)with Noddy our oldest shetland.We think Connie is around 30 years old but we have had her at the shelter for 4 years, she came to us from a wildlife centre in the midlands who could no longer care for her. Her original owner had placed here there and was furious when he discovered she had been moved here though after visiting once and promising to help financially we never heard another word!!
Ty dog is only slightly calmer,anybody who takes him on needs to be very active and Misty the red and white cross bearded collie has gone on a trial basis to people in Gloucester. When they arrived Misty was a bit overbearing with their smaller dog though no aggression was shown so I am hopeful it will work out.Watch this space!