Meet The New Man in My LIfe

Sunday:

Over the weekend we admitted a hedgehog which had been found on the side of a road by Gails daughter Hannah.He seems to be uninjured but we will feed him up for a few days and find a safe release area for him.The erratic weather can lull hibernating animals into thinking it is spring time time and then all of a sudden it is icy cold and of course if they are not a good bodyweight(600grams) they will not make it through the winter hibernation.It is very confusing for wild animals (and us humans too)_Our weighing scales have broken so will have to purchase some tomorrow.Electronic scales are vital to check the weight of kittens and hedgehogs. We seldom have hedgehogs brought to us here unlike the Liverpool shelter who have around 50 poorly or underweight hogs in their wildlife unit. I had to ring Lynn who runs the wildlife unit there for advice, as it is years since I cared for hedgehogs and I have forgotten so much.

Roxy has now left my home for her new one and I believe she went off happily.I say 'believe' because I deliberately stayed indoors so as not to see her leave. It always bothers me when my foster dogs leave me and I cannot wait to hear that all is well, the journey home was uneventful and the dog is happy in his/her new environment. Mei said Roxy recognised them from yesterdays walks and titbits (always does the trick) and jumped in the car with no hesitation which made me feel a lot better and less anxious.

Monday:

I received an email from the Roxys new 'mum' telling me that she was settling in already and that after just one day she has stolen their hearts. What a lovely thing to say and how much better I felt after reading that. I immediately telephoned the lady who rescued her from her terrible life and she too was delighted. I am sure we will both sleep better tonight knowing Roxy is ok.

Horrid Hawksworth was spotted hiding in the bushes on his property and clearly spying on us so he was probably recording the dogs barking!They do bark when they are excited about being taken out and when their food is being prepared but I have reason to believe HH has purchased his own noisometer(or whatever they are called)because last year I received a letter from a company thanking me for purchasing one?I rather think they made a mistake with the address! It really is no way to live, I live constantly on my nerves, my poor dogs are "shushed" all the time when they are just being dogs.What always astonishes me is that when I moved here there was already a block of five kennels as the previous owners had obtained council planning permission for them with the view to taking in strays.As a neighbour he must have been contacted and either raised no objection then or the council over ruled him in the belief that it was a suitable place to have kennels.Its such a shame we are unable to use them .Nowadays we use them to house cats waiting to be neutered.

Oh no, have just heard the first fireworks going off.The nightmare November 5th is looming close.I am glad my lovely lurcher William is no longer here to be terrified once more.Each year he became a nervous wreck and was so very distressed.So many have the same problems at this time of year dont they? Its about time it became illegal to have fireworks anywhere but at organised and monitored displays and don't even start me on the subject of burning an effigy on a bonfire.How barbaric is that? This is 2010 and as such we should be moving forward and not continuing such archaic practices.And what about the poor hedgehogs which may have found shelter under the woodpiles? The whole business of Nov 5th fires me up(pardon the pun)

Well, Paddy has arrived from Great Dane rescue in South Wales and he is adorable.I love him already.He has met the other dogs and they have all accepted him.Patch ran out barking, took one look at him and backed off when he came up to him.It was clear he thought he was no match for this enormous dog.Talk about Little and Large!Paddy is an incredibly gentle dog, quite a bit larger than poor old Molly and Molls bed is too small for him. It will have to be a duvet with the new bed(s) I purchased on top for extra padding.LIz and Gordon from the Rescue told me that they had grave doubts about ever finding him a home, lovely he may be and that is indisputable but he does need special care and his life span could be limited which is not what most people are looking for in a rescue dog.I am pleased that he will be joining my canine family for however long he has and I hope it will for some years to come. I need him as much as he needs me, I miss Williams company so much, neither Patch nor Suzy are affectionate animals and although Meg and Ben are loving, neither are good with cats so sadly I cannot have them in the living room with me.

Paddy is still a little apprehensive about his new home, to persuade him to relax I lay down with him on his bed and this seemed to do the trick. I need to introduce the cats to him next.That should be fun!