I have been in Liverpool to attend a trustee meeting, as always it is a very long day, the travelling (2and a half hours each way )makes it seem a lot longer. My sister Sandra and I both loathe driving so this time we were relieved that my niece Vanessa was staying with her and offered to drive us. We are both Ok driving if everything goes well and by that I mean no diversions .When that happens we both panic and are thrown into confusion.Neither of us have any sense of direction and we are lucky to find our way to our destination.Last year member of staff Rosie (she also has a problem navigating)and I went to help our next door but one neighbours horse which had fallen into a ditch. We trekked along the public footpath which runs through the properties and across a field and would you believe we managed to lose our way back to the shelter!!! The horse you will be pleased to know survived thanks to the help of the local Fire Brigade but Rosie and I had a magical mystery tour round the neighbouring fields until we finally found our way back feeling highly embarassed and incompetent.Thankfully Vanessa is a competent driver with good navigational skills so we arrived at the meeting at the correct time.
Several new cats have been admitted including a fine ginger cat called Fudge who has lost his home due to a divorce. He arrived yesterday from Llandudno and has settled in well in spite of the environment being alien to him. Cats from homes(as opposed to strays) often take a while to settle down.It did take me a while to get a photo of him as every time I clicked away with the camera he shot off(you can see him doing his vanishing trick in one of the photos)
I also agreed to find a space for two cats whose situation was not good and although it was a problem finding space for them, with some juggling around we squeezed them in. Tiddles and Gringo aged 3 years and 14 years were made homeless along with their owner who had been sleeping in her car with them.A kind colleague of hers who was alarmed and upset at her situation had been desperately trying to find her some help.It is very sad that when people find themselves in such a state, their pets are often their only lifeline and when forced to part with them this only exascerbates their feeling of hopelessness. I am hopeful that this particular lady will get back on her feet and maybe she will even find somewhere she can have her cats back with her.She made a hard decision but the only one she could make for the welfare of her pets. many landlords will not allow pets so it is far from easy to quickly find a place to live when accompanied by animals.(or children)
I wonder if people will remember Cariad, our resident fluffy ginger? When she first arrived about 5 years ago, she was accompanied by a litter of kittens. Cariad , although a very pretty cat never did find a home because she is a grump.She is A cat who loves a fuss when it suits her and when she has had enough its a case of Get Out Of Her Way Quickly! For some time she would only bed down in the passageway of the main cattery and she would potter round the property during the day.Then she decided it was nicer in the conservatory and moved in there with the other permanent cats,she has been living there happily for the past 18 months. One day we noticed her gait was odd and it transpired she had developed a neurological problem for which there was no treatment. After several months of wobbliness she has improved greatly but is still a little unbalanced when she walks.We thought at first it was a middle ear infection but it appears that it may be the cause of some sort of trauma which she has incurred though how this happened is a mystery as she seldom leaves the immediate vicinity. Whatever the cause she seems to be very happy living here and I could not resist this photo of her lying in comfort on her favourite chair.
Meg collie who has been perfectly behaved since her return has found another home, this time an experienced collie person, it has been busy with the dogs and we have had a superb response to our appeals for homes. there are now people interested in Shep the shortcoated ex farm collie, Rocco the dog whose owner had lost interest and I even have a list of those wanting collies when we hear of any more looking for a new life.I doubt it will be long before I receive more requests to rehome some so it is nice to know there are homes waiting.
It is possible a lady in the village here may give Shani the pig a home.Wendy has had a pet potbellied pig before and I am waiting to hear of she wants to take this one on otherwise Shani will be coming to us this weekend. I wouild prefer her to go to a new home, I am happy to take on Shani but am a little concerned that our two old pigs may not be too happy with a newcomer arriving to spoil their peace.The last thing I want to do is to upset them.With that in mind I am looking at a possible place to move Shani if the three show animosity towards one another. The adjoining padock would be suitable but will need to be made pig proof first.
The other good news is that we are having more interest shown in our ponies and apart from marigold and Melba there may be a couple more homes pending.Watch this space for news of this.
Finally I hear that whilst I was away Mei who was on her own late afternoon, panicked that the weather was about to change and was of the opinion a nasty storm was about to burst upon the shelter.Knowing she would be unable to put on the horses rugs due to her wrist injury, she persuaded horse staff member Vanessa to come in for an hour. Happy to help out in an emergency she arrived with her boyfriend with whom she had no doubt been anticipating spending a quiet and pleasant evening only to find there was not only no storm , not even a sign of one, in fact it was the beginning of a few warm sunny days. Poor Mei has been the butt of everyones jokes today and has now earned herself the title of Weather Girl Extraordinaire. It will be some time before she lives down her weather forecast ......... up !!!
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