Big Ginge has a sponsor.and Shane gets better.

The old collie has settled quite well with the three big dogs in my kitchen. He seems less bewildered and I have been letting him outside with them though he has just been pottering about. Later on this afternoon I took them all out on the fields and all of a sudden he appeared, having followed us from the yard, he then happily ran round the field albeit with a strange gait.The tilt on his head causes him to be off balance but he seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself.He IS drinking a lot of water and is panting a lot.I suspect he has a heart condition and maybe his kidneys are starting to fail but right now he has certainly picked up from the way he was yesterday. He has seen a vet who thinks he has almost certainly had a stroke so maybe he will last a bit longer than I first thought.We will see. I would say he has been a farm dog,he is dirty and has a matted coat, is unused to life in a house and doesnt know what to do with a dog basket, preferring to sleep on the tiled floor. Poor old dog.Nobody has cared enough to look for him. Perhaps he will enjoy this little bit of comfort in his last days.Pictured here pottering round my garden

I have someone sponsoring Big Ginge an ex feral cat who has mellowed in his old age and is a lovely old cat now who enjoys his life of freedom at the shelter. I have been taking photos to send the gentleman in Cheshire who has taken a liking to him having seen his photo in a newsletter of ours. Unlike some of the cats, he completely ignores my presence as I contort myself trying to get a good angle for a photo -some of them run a mile when they see me armed with the camera.

Big Ginge pictured here with some of his friends in the conservatory

Buster cross labrador has been reserved pending a homecheck,I am pretty sure it will pass and I will try to find time to do it tomorrow or saturday.There have been loads of calls from epople wanting collies and for once we have none looking for homes(I am quite positive that situation will change soon)

Jill collie who is going to France has had her second vaccination today and will have her rabies blood test in the next two weeks. As soon as the results come back from that she will be ready for travelling to her new country of residence. The terriers have been neutered today and there are people coming to see them at the weekend.

Shane pony is so much better now that when Rosie tried to give him his medication this morning, he threw his head back and cantered up the field! That was a great sight to behold . He is so happy to be back out with his companions and so is little Bobby Shetland who has been keeping him company in his stable. On my travels round and about I see so many horses and ponies in fields on their own with none of their own kind to interact with.It makes me so sad seeing them alone, its so unnatural and unkind to keep herd animals isolated from others. It is wonderful to watch them together, grooming and playing, even just grazing near to one another. I do not know why owners cannot understand this, do they not think about it?do they not care? or maybe they think horses and ponies have no feelings, no needs of their own? Who knows!

All I know is that I get so much pleasure watching our equines together, I would never contemplate keeping one in isolation unless for a reason eg: infection or illness. In the winter we keep two groups of 5-6 which are compatible in our agricultural building which has been adapted for use with our horses. It is split into two parts and we have a group on either side.This is so much nicer for them, they can move about and interact with each other, whereas those in single stables do not have that luxury. I prefer the group method and would love to have that facility for all of ours.
I have been asked to take a potbellied pig and am just about to phone the people.We have two left and they are old, I dont want them to be upset and we would have to find another pig house as im sure they would not share their house with a newcomer!More about that next entry.