The German Shepherd pup is with me now(in my back kitchen) and Rhian has taken him to our Vet today for a check up and a second opinion. The Vet who saw him before he went to the Dog Pound thought he should be destroyed and I was unhappy about accepting that decision. After a thorough check up he has been diagnosed with a fused patella(knee joint) which he is coping with well at the moment but the next few months are crucial . Right now he is placing his foot on the ground but If he starts to walk with his foot twisted then amputation may have to be considered.A great deal depends on how strong he is and how he deals with his disability as to what the future holds for him. He is a strong minded and happy pup so all we can do is hope for a positive outcome.We are all rooting for Teddy as he has now been named ; the issue of his abandonment is still unclear but I am contacting the RSPCA inspector today and hope he will be able to discover where he came from and what happened to him after he was first taken to our Vet by an owner (yes it has been confirmed this is the same puppy) and later abandoned in another town. We know also that the owner now has another puppy, a labrador this time and no longer has her GSD pup! At just eight weeks of age,this poor little chap has been through a lot in a very short time . What a way to treat a disabled animal!
(he RSPCA welfare inspector has just contacted me and he will be investigating.)
Friends and supporters Judy and Frazer came up from Holyhead today and have chosen a cat to join their feline family. Phoebe has been here for a year and is well overdue to become one of the chosen ones. The best part of her life begins today and I could not be happier. 8 kittens have also been admitted from fosterer Mion who has done her part of the job and now we have to do ours by finding good homes for them. If we dont she will want to know why! When animals are fostered the carer always becomes understandably fond of her charges and Mion is no exception.I feel the same when I have had dogs in my home, it can be hard to part with them when the time comes.So many foster homes have been lost over the years when it becomes just too hard to part with a particular one and then we lose yet another place of safety for a needy animal. Its great to have found a happy home but a shame to lose a foster carer which are thin on the ground at the best of times. Foster mums and dads can mean the difference between life and death for a pet when we have no room at the shelter and we are particularly in need of somewhere to put dogs in emergencies.(of which we have many)
We have so many cats admitted here which have belonged to elderly people who have either died or been hospitalised and some of the cats are elderly also but many are fairly young, like Duddy who came in today.She is 4 years old and her owner is 86! A relative had bought her a kitten 4 years ago, why would anyone do that for a lady of 82? Young animals take a lot of looking after and then there is the age issue. The chances of the cat living its life out with a very elderly owner is minimal as Duddy and others like her prove. Would it not have been better to have chosen an older pet? As you can see from Duddys expression she is upset at finding herself here.She is unused to children, other cats, dogs, strangers.Everything which makes it more difficult to find her the right home.We often have people wanting to buy pets for elderly relatives and I try to put them off having anything less than middle aged but it doesnt always work and I often wonder what happened to the pet this person eventually purchased.
I dont mean that if a person reaches pensionable age that automatically they should be blacklisted for a young animal and each case is different, people are different, some 70 years old are a youthful and healthy as someone 20 years younger and some middle aged people could easily pass for 80! I sincerely hope that nobody thinks that I fall into this latter category and if they do please refrain from leaving a comment! Nevertheless anybody in their eighties purchasing a puppy or kitten is in my mind not thinking ahead and certainly not thinking of the animals needs. When my own mother was 80 she refused to take on any pet which would clearly outlive her and that is sensible.Not everybody has relatives who will take over their pets, many are not in a position to do so and others would not want to. I worry about my own pets which is why I only take in older animals. I wonder what thoughts others have on this issue?
The Liverpool shelter sent us up a van full of petfood which was wonderful, their appeal on Television had brought so many donations of food they had more than enough to spare for their poor relations. In return we have given them our industrial washing machine which was a white elephant here due to our low water pressure, We have never been able to use it and at least now it will be put to good use.PIctured here Terry from Liverpool and Mei unloading the van, we were so excited, it doesn't take much to please us country lasses, we lead a simple life out here in the sticks!
2 comments:
Pleased to hear the industrial washer has gone. I agree with you on your point of older older people taking on young pets !!!!!
Are you familiar with the work of the Cinnamon Trust? This charity specifically helps older people keep their pets for as long as possible. For example if someone is no longer fit enough to walk their dog, a volunteer will exercise their pet. Volunteers also help take pets to the vet or will provide short term fostering if someone needs to go into hospital, for example.
The charity also specialises in rehoming animals whose owners have died.
I only mention it because you might be asked to take dogs who could actually still live with their owners if they had the necessary support. This would be better both for dog and owner and leaves you more resources to concentrate on more urgent rescues.
http://www.cinnamon.org.uk/home.html
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