The office roof is fixed and a threatened pup is rescued.

A lady in Northumberland contacted me today so she is going to do the homecheck for Lockie Labrador.Thats good news, maybe he will soon be esconced in Geordieland or wherever Northumberland is , I never was very good at Geography. Apologies to anybody severely shocked by my lack of intellect.I promise to dust off my book of world maps and teach myself a little more about the whereabouts of that county(or is it a city?)and others. Where is Wales anyway?

An owl with an injured wing was brought to the shelter today, a van had clipped him and he was also in shock. The Van driver was genuinely upset but he kindly placed him in a box and drove him to us . At the moment the injured bird is at the vet surgery and I am awaiting a call to tell me how severe his injuries are and whether he will be able to be treated successfully. It all depends on how badly the wing is damaged.I dont know much about owls but he was quite small though not I think small enough to be a Little Owl. The only time I have seen Little Owls was seeing two perched on a tree branch opposite the Liverpool shelter and they did look littler than this. Little Owls really ARE little. Whatever he is I do hope he survives. They are such beautiful creatures. If he is ok, there is an Owl sanctuary in Ruthin so I will contact them for help. It is handy to have people who specialise in a particular species, we cannot all know everything about everything and sometimes it is best to turn to the specialists.In Liverpool, of course, we have our own wildlife/bird unit and Lynn who runs that unit has by now had years of experience with baby birds and injured wildlife. Here in North Wales there is a dearth of wildlife /bird specialists or rather those who will take in injured ones. I have only been made aware of Ann in Anglesey who does a wonderful job but it would be great if someone else more local would take up an interest in this. We have to drive quite a distance to take wildlife to be rehabilitated.

New Horse Sorrell is not at all keen on having her antibiotics injected daily(and who can blame her, not me thats for sure!) We will all be relieved when the course finishes. Her passport came with her of course and the owner brought a letter stating that she has purchased the horse from someone which gave her the right to dispose of her.However, when the passport was handed over to me I saw that Sorrell was registered to someone different entirely so now I have to contact THAT person who is the woman who bred her in the first place and get her to sign the horse over to the charity. This is what happens when people do not register their animals .Its like having a pet microchipped, giving it away and the new owner not bothering to reregister in their name.It causes confusion as to who the real owner is and when it comes down to it, the true owner is the one in whose name the passport is registered. To be honest this Horse Passport business is a farce. The policing of it is virtually an impossibility and it does not even safeguard the horse against possible theft. All it does is keep people in jobs with all the paperwork attached to it and create a lot of extra expense to horse and pony sanctuaries like ourselves and to owners.

We had a nice chap came up at the weekend who was very taken with Tess the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and spent over an hour with her , He had lost his own Staffordshire recently and he was adamant he would come back for her but so far there has been no sign of him, so disappointing. I wonder if his wife was not so keen on the idea? Still, the week is not over yet, though I think he would have rung if it was definite. I thought it was too good to be true. She is so nice and has led such a second rate life I was hoping that she would not be in our care as long as the last staff Jade who took over a year to find the right home. Come on Lesley think Positive! Negative thoughts bring negative energy so I am told by more enlightened people I know so from this point on I am going to tell myself that Tess WILL find a loving home soon and she WILL NOT languish here for months and months. Now lets see what that will bring!

Our Christmas Pud order has been processed so I would like to think that many of the charity suppoprters will help us by purchasing them from us and not the local supermarket. I want then to arrive in time for our Cake Sale and Fair on October 15th at Porthmadog and in time for people to receive the joint newsletter from Liverpool and Wales in which there will be an order form. It is always a risk trying anything new in our fundraising ventures but I think it sound like a good idea, time will tell if it a successful one. Roll Up, Roll Up, BUY YOUR XMAS PUDDINGS HERE.

A lovely Fox Terrier was brought in an hour ago and wonders will never cease - he was microchipped so with a couple of phone calls his owners have turned up to collect him. Thats the way to do it. Some dogs will find a way out of any garden and he is an escape artist apparently but with a microchip he can be, and was, returned to his rightful owner so quickly.The Power of the Microchip! They have also been receptive to advice on neutering and agree that it is the best thing for him if he is to stop his wanderlust in pursuit of attractive Welsh Canine Beauties !!

This morning a Farmer from Huddersfield came on the phone wanting an older sheepdog to replace one he uses at the moment which is not showing promise working the sheep. When I enquired what he would do with the other one, he was a bit hesitant with his answer but then admitted he would shoot him, the way he shot the dogs father also. Unfortunately to many farmers this is the obvious and quick solution to the dilemma of having a dog which is no use as a working animal. Naturally I immediately offered to give the dog a home to which he was amenable so I am just waiting for affirmation that he definitely wants to get rid of him and then I will look for someone in that area to collect him. He promised to let me know by tomorrow and that he would stand by his word to let me have him. All I know is that the sheepdog is 2 years old and is red and white, I am anxious to have him away from the farm as soon as possible but I do believe the man will be as good as his word. nevertheless worrying about his situation has caused me a night of sleep deprivation and today my head is really banging away!

Peter has arrived with friends to fix the office roof and it is almost done, I am so pleased that there should be no more problems with electricity failing and computers crashing. Mr Bailey has been a wonderful help to the shelter, giving his time for free and supplying all the materials for these big jobs and he will also be thrilled to take his kitten home as she is now over her sneezing which could have been the start of cat flu but she got over it very quickly and is lively and healthy once again.

Pictured here are a litter of 6 weeks! old domestic kittens brought in which turned out to be totally feral and about 4 months of age. This is a bit older than most of the feral kittens we take in, it is pretty hard to domesticate them once they reach this age but a couple of the tabbies seem to be responding fairly well although the pretty pale ginger one on the left remains as fierce as he was when he was first admitted. Probably he will have to be neutered when old enough and released into our feral enclosure until a suitable home turns up for him.

Finally this lovely collie female pup was admitted, the owner was threatening to kill her so a neighbour removed her from him and brought her here to safety. She is very nervous and her tail has yet to appear from between her legs,it is obvious she has been abused if not physically , then verbally, it is apparent in the expression in her eyes.Cariad will foster her but I think I may already have a home for her. Today my anger over these cases , or rather the pet owners who behave in this callous way has almost dissipated into a feeling of weariness. I think it is a case of my brain being in overload! I remember when there were beauty queen contests on the television and the simpering contestants were asked what they would like to be or do if they had one wish and most said they wanted world peace! Somehow I do not think that was a sincere answer and I am certainly no beauty queen but if someone asked me the same question , the answer would be " for human beings to treat not only each other with kindness and respect but to understand that animals too have a place on earth and should be accorded the same treatment". There are days I do not want to watch the news or read a newspaper for fear of learning about the latest atrocity to be inflicted on members of the animal world. Thank goodness for those who fight and campaign against them. The courageous ones, like my Sea Shepherd friend who works for Greenpeace now and who has led an expedition to save whales from the Japanese whaling ships. I am in awe of anyone who shows that much courage . That is real commitment and dedication.