A Blind Spaniel is admitted.

It hasn't been a bad weekend for adoptions. Four adult cats have  gone, including Dotty and Elmo who have been here almost a year AND one is black, the other black and white so   clearly there are at least some  people who arent colourist(is there such a word for people who only like certain colours in pets?) If not there is one now!

Pictured here are the two lucky cats mentioned whose lives are now going to change for the better. It has made my day seeing them go.people often ask if I feel upset when the animals go. Well I am overjoyed actually.This is what it is about.I never wanted to accumulate pets; the purpose of Freshfields has always been  to get  homeless animals into loving homes and it is just great when this happens.I do admit that I become very attached to some but I am still happy to see them go. I can almost picture them curling up in front of a warm fire or enjoying being in a family home once again and that makes me feel good for them. I feel guilty keeping them incarcerated here even though that has to be done for their own safety and for the purpose of allowing visitors to see them. None of the staff like to see animals here for any great length of time and we all try our best to bring those overlooked ones to the attention of prospective adopters.Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but we keep on trying. As my old Grandmother used to be fond of saying ' god loves a tryer!' If that is the case we will all have reservations in 'Heaven'!! As long as I have access to a Bruce Springsteen CD, internet,(I hope they have broadband up there!) plentiful vegetarian food and a never ending supply of books that would suit me just fine.

Yesterday we  had a dog returned; Marco a  big gentle bear of a dog whose official breed is a Dogue de Bordeaux (French mastiff) has come back after 18 months , because of his owner s ill health. He is the loveliest natured and quietest dog you could ever meet,good with other dogs, cats and he adores children too.He is coming up to 6 years now so I hope we can find him a permanent place very soon. I have yet to 'meet' one of this breed which didn;'t have a superb nature. My own Dogue 'Muffin' was just a teddy bear of a dog who loved everybody and everything she came into contact with and when she died of Torsion aged 9 years, just a  year after I took her in   I was devastated. Torsion is so common with large breed dogs, Molly Dane also had this although it was her heart which gave out after the operation. It has made me so aware now of the possibility of a big dog developing this potentially fatal illness. Knowing what to look for is half the battle and of course there are precautions which can be taken  like not feeding straight after or before exercise  but the advice I would give people who may be worried about this is to know your own dog. If he/she looks a bit 'off' one day and has a  badly swollen belly don't take chances, rush him/her to the Vet. Torsion kills so quickly.

I am also looking for a special home for Joe, a 10 years old blind Springer spaniel. He is still a lively dog in spite of his disability, some years ago I used to care for him whilst his owner was away on holiday though it is several years since I have seen him,.I was shocked to see how him now, a mere shadow of his former self. He is the opposite of Marco who is overweight; Joe is very underweight ,we will see how he gets on after he has been wormed.

I have just had a call about an injured Guillemot, poor bird is unable to fly, it does not sound very good but the finder is taking him into our local Vet surgery where Geraint is going to check him over.If he survives I will arrange to move him where he can be rehabilitated.
Speaking of birds, 4 Macaws were being advertised on that nuisance Freecycle site. I just hope that they did not end up with dealers who were out to make a quick buck.  Out of all the people on this site  I have contacted to offer our help , only two have ever taken me up on the offer. Heaven knows where most of the animals/birds end up!

I have started running again today. It is almost 2 years since I last did this and it is not easy to restart when you have had such a long spell of having little exercise. I have been feeling so sluggish and unfit that I suddenly decided I was going to put an end to this apathetic behaviour and so off I went. It was a struggle for the first fifteen minutes  and I was glad nobody was around to witness me  redfaced and huffing and puffing along road.  Paula Radcliffe need not worry too much at this stage of my training; nevertheless I did  manage an hour with a few stops to catch my breath so I was fairly pleased. I just have to keep up the momentum now. I am off to a Zumba class tomorrow evening , if anything will inspire me to exercise that will. One of the important aspects of exercise , as we all know, is that it positively affects mental attitude and god knows I need some of  that!