Lots of Donated Food this Weekend.

We had snow overnight, sleet and rain this morning and as I finish this blog, the sun has come out and the birds in the trees are singing like it is a spring day!




Unclaimed strays
Two more pound dogs were admitted today and have gone to local kennels until they can be found homes.Both collies, they are strikingly different in both appearance and demeanour. The older dog which we have named Merlin is a big handsome longcoated collie with an outgoing personality.The female Mindy is a small timid short coated collie who seems scared of her own shadow.Although they have both been sent to kennels, I am planning to move Mindy as soon as I can to a foster home where she can have the attention she so obviously needs. If I leave here where she is,I cannot see her coming round enough to be able to have her adopted.  Often when we admit unclaimed strays, the first reaction is to wonder why their owners failed to claim them but usually after a short time we can see the problem.It's not that the problems are usually major but but an impatient irresponsible owner would not bother to try and correct the problem.Far easier to dump the dog!

Merlin

One common problem is the habit of jumping up and snatching food out of the hand.If the dog lived in  a home where there were children this could be the reason for abandoning the animal. The sort of owner who would buy a dog, then not bother to train it, is typical of those who will have numerous dogs over a short period of time. We have seen evidence of this with many owners who bring  a dog to us claiming it is a very difficult animal. Most are lovely dogs just in need of someone with patience and a little common sense to go with it!
Now, I have very little patience and some would say not always much common sense, however I love my pets dearly and over the years have put up with quiet a lot of bad behaviour from them . I am sure many blog readers will identify with this, but how many of you would abandon your pets?  It is not about the animal, there will always be those in our society who are unwilling to put effort into anything, whether it be their families, work , pets , or anything else. We see evidence of this all around us don't we?


                                                                 Mindy

Oddie likes being back home
Having been on his holidays to the nearby village, Oddie  the wandering cat has decided he has had enough of holidays and decided he prefers being at the 4 star accommodation provided at Freshfields.He has scarcely moved off the sofa in the conservatory and is first in line when meals are served.
Who can blame him!


The cat flu is going, there are only a few cats with mild symptoms now,it will be good to draw a line under this particular bad bout of infection.Taking in stray cats does mean that there will be a higher chance of some bringing in the virus, but even isolating those infected has not helped this time. The new batch of colloidal silver has arrived so all cats have it in their water bowls now, that should help bring it to an end very soon.

The last of Enids cats.
Old Fleckie has passed away this week, He was the constant companion of Big Ginge who died a few weeks ago. We all  knew his time was near and although saddened by losing two of our longterm residents, it helps to know that they both clearly enjoyed their lives here. They had both been rescued by a lovely lady in Holyhead. Enid was a great cat lover and her home was a haven for the unwanted cats of the area. Both Big Ginge and Flecky were feral cats she took in and had neutered but like many of her cats, they remained so nervous she was unable to find them homes and  so they stayed with her.When Enid  unexpectedly died several years ago, her friends were very concerned about the  beloved cats left behind.When they approached Freshfields to help out with the situation we agreed to take them and admitted around 15 cats. We were able to find homes for a couple but not all were friendly  and some were already getting on in years , so  after a month or so of settling in time, we released them here.
These two were the last of the bunch and staff had become very fond of them over the years.
Fleckie and Ginge, we loved you.

Jay has been adopted.
Ninas brother found a home today, I was so pleased as I had been concerned about him missing his sister when she was homed a week ago. They were lovely little dogs and at nine months of age they were never going to be in kennels for long. It would be great if they all stayed with us  for such a short time.

Romanian Dogs
Most of us know that the animal welfare situation  in many other countries is very poor  and Romania is one of those countries. Some of the tales coming out of Romania are truly shocking.  I have been asked to help with some of these unfortunate dogs. The elderly owner of a sanctuary in Romania has died and there are 300 dogs needing homes, many of which have been very badly abused.  The tales are so horrendous I will not write about them here ,for fear of causing untold distress but take my word for it, things are bad there.My feelings are ambivalent -tthere are  dogs here in the Uk needing help  without taking in dogs from other countries but it is hard to ignore such a plea, especially when these are all good natured,homeable animals with no hope whatsoever of finding a better life over there. The people trying to help are planning a trip to the Uk in April when they are bringing some dogs over to other shelters. They need more places ready for these dogs. Of course I have no room here but at the moment we could afford to board  a few for a short time, maybe 4! They are all vaccinated and have their pet passports so are able to travel to the Uk without facing quarantine. What do others think?

Tescos Food Collection
Yesterday,  stalwarts Mion and Elspeth stood outside Tescos in Bangor collecting cat food.It was freezing cold and they were both shivering but they stayed from 9.30am - 4 pm and in doing so collected hundreds of pounds worth of donated cat food for the shelter. It was like Christmas again,
Thanks ladies, you are stars.


Pets At Home, Bangor
A big thank you to the manager of this store who keeps our food bin  topped up with goodies for our animals. Any slightly out of date food or imperfect toys and pet accessories all come our way. I am always excited to see what is waiting for us -Yes I know I am sad ! but when there are so many mouths to feed, donations of this kind are so welcome to anyone  running an  animal shelter.
I was about to say that it is  more exciting than finding a forgotten bar of chocolate in a cupboard but in truth I would be lying!  It comes a close second though!

Stermat Staff Help the Animals.
Two members of staff from  the Stermat  store in Valley(Anglesey)turned up today with a car boot full of bedding for the animals, dog coats and pet food. This is the second year they have kindly helped us.
After nine years here , we are finally becoming known to the community and receiving much needed help.What a difference it is making.

Holyhead Charity Shop.
This coming week ,volunteer Elsie and her sister  are taking over a charity shop in Holyhead to raise funds for the shelter. if you have goods to  sell please take them in or  just pop in to support us. The shop is  in Market Street, next to Careers Wales and opposite the entrance to St Cybis  Church.

Jake Beagle.
Finally , Jake the Beagle has gone to a new home,His new people have had a beagle before and know their foibles inside out. Jake had reputedly nipped  a lady who went to see him in his last home. I can see now that although Jake has a very loving nature, he is unruly and has a tendency to grab anything out of a proffered hand,He is very greedy and if he thinks that hand reaching down to him may have a juicy titbit in it, he will not hesitate to make a grab .He is not yet a year old and he needs some basic training but he is most definitely  NOT a dangerous dog as I had been led to believe.
Beagles are notoriously independent and determined dogs, they are not for everybody and I have never thought they make ideal pets for anyone not used to dogs in general. Their temperaments are generally very good and lacking in malice either towards humans or other animals. This docility of nature has, unfortunately, made Beagles the most popular breed used in research laboratories. When Freshfields took in  twenty five Beagles intended for research, they were all extremely gentle creatures - scared witless after their ordeal in holding kennels and unused to kindness ,but even in their fear, not one of them growled or nipped a member of staff. A true Testament to their gentle character

PS: 
Mei is going for her pre op tomorrow and is beginning to feel nervous about the approaching operation, After three years of waiting, and feeling that nothing was ever going to happen, reality has taken over  and her nerves are kicking in. I have seen her crying with the pain(and she has a high pain threshold too!) and if the op brings an end to that,  she will be overjoyed.
Kim, another of our colleagues has the same as Mei, and she too is waiting for the same op, this carpal tunnel  problem seems to be so common.