A family of Guinea pigs arrive

Six sorry looking little guinea pigs arrived yesterday, they had been found cuddled up to each other on a grass verge.One gave birth to babies soon after rescue but all died, and all 6 young adults are in very poor condition. Gail, who works with the cats here, telephoned her sister who has agreed to foster them until they are healthy enough to rehome.
Charlie the terrier has also found a home, I do hope he behaves himself in his new home.he is a real character but seems to have a nervousness and dislike of young boys so he needs to be kept in control around children.The new owners appear to appreciate that this facet of his personality needs to be monitored carefully.When dogs are brought in as strays we rarely find out information about their background, he may have been tormented by youngsters in the past leaving him with this fear.
I am off very soon for Peru leaving Meirwen in charge, helped by the rest of the staff here. I know they will rally round when needed. So there will be no blog for a few weeks though Im sure I will find plenty to write about on my return.It is always difficult leaving my animals and for the first week I know I will worry constantly, probably into the second week too!Still, I have managed to raise almost £2,000 for the charity so it will all be worth it though I have never been a fan of camping and have feelings of trepidation about that aspect of it.
Signing off for a while.

Homes for kittens at last.

Hallelujah - 3 kittens have been rehomed, what a relief that people are starting to show interest again.Its great to think that these three will be spending this weekend in a real home with lots of attention and love.3 down 47 to go! Oh and one is on its way in so that takes it up to 48 . This kitten is coming in because the children of the family are terrified of animals and thinking a kitten would help get rid of their fear the parents brought one into the household.Unfortunately it not only failed to allay their fear, they have stayed in their bedrooms for most of the time, too scared to be in the same room as the kitten. How sad that children like this will never know the joy a pet can bring, I wonder why they are like this, apparently neither parent has such a phobia.
One of the Freshfields trustees, Sean is giving a home to the 6 young rabbits we have so that means there will be just the adults to rehome. One of the young Lionhead buns has had some teeth removed but is managing well with her food and one of the others is still being treated for Glaucoma but is too frail for an operation at the moment.I cant help wonder if they will be here for life.Its hard to rehome rabbits but those with problems make it that bit harder to find people willing to take them on.
Kia,(pictured above) the dog Rosie is fostering is a lovely natured animal, half collie and half german shepherd, she has the attributes of both, she loves to play with a ball and with other dogs but is loyal and devoted to the person who cares for her.Hopefully she will not be long at her foster home.Little Charlie the terrier is still needing a home, he almost had one yesterday with a very nice family until he showed signs of aggression towards their grandson.Now we know he is not suitable to be around children it limits his suitability for many homes which could be offered.Its such a shame because we are all very fond of him, he is a lovely little dog, lots of character and very affectionate and loving.Of course we have no knowledge of his background and often dogs are tormented by youngsters leaving them with a dislike of anyone who may remind them of unhappier times.
The Peru trip is getting closer and closer, only 6 days before I leave, I havent made my target which is disappointing but its time now to concentrate on getting organised to go. I am not sleeping much, worried about leaving the animals, worried about what Im going to see out there in such a poor country, worried that I wont be fit enough for the trek, in fact worried about just about everything.I would love to be the sort of person who can go to bed, hit the pillow and fall into a deep sleep.I cant remember the last time I had a full nights sleep and woke feeling refreshed.

The little ponies enjoy their new stable

This incessant rain has caused the trickle of water which snakes its way through our side fields to become a rushing river.Thank heavens we had some ditches dug last year or our yard would be flooded - on the way out to buy catfood this morning I drove past a field and idly thought to myself that I had not noticed there was a lake there! Then suddenly realised it was a field completely under water, I hope any grazing animals had been moved.
The papers today are full of the local farmer charged with neglecting his livestock, he received a 16 months sentence but as far as I can make out the sentence was for attacking an rspca inspector and for jumping bail on his last court date.So much for the animal welfare issue!At least he has been banned from keeping animals though when that ever stopped anyone Id like to know.In his defence it was said he had never had any problems for 40 years, well, when I moved here 6 years ago I was told about him, seems he is well known for his bad husbandry and 3 of my staff have seen dead animals lying in his fields.At least now he has paid a price for his neglect though i dont know why people like him get away with it for so long.I know several people who have made complaints about him over the years and yet only now does he get his day in court.
Yippee, my passport has finally arived though I must say I didnt feel quite so cheerful when I looked at the photo within!!! Not a pretty sight.
Im having an early night tonight as tomorrow means a journey to Liverpool for our monthly Trustee meeting, at least the day will be spent warm and dry.The only creatures here enjoying this vile weather are Donald and Dennis the Aylesbury ducks who seem destined to stay.Maybe I willhave to build them something suitable, I thought they would only be here a short time so it was not necessary but everybody who enquires after them has female ducks and are adamant they will not take on males.I cant blame them, they can be a nuisance where females are concerned.
Most of the horses are now rugged and coming in at night except the hardier ones who use the field shelters(as good as stables)The littlest shetlands are thrilled with their new stable , for the first time ever they can see over their stable door.Pictured above from left to right, Maggie,Noddy and Connie.

An update on Celt , our orphaned foal.

I Have just received the above photo of Celt our orphaned foal, I cant believe how much he has grown.He is still with his foster mum in Anglesey and will be until he is weaned around November.He will then be returned to the shelter as will our other foal Shamrock.The two will keep each other company until they are found homes.
It has been raining incessantly all day today, none of the animals have enjoyed being out,Molly the Great Dane takes one look at this kind of weather and I can almost hear her thinking "you surely dont expect ME to go outside in this!"She gets as far as the door . sees the rain and rushes back to the warmth of her bed.The little dogs have more sense of adventure, at least they venture outdoors albeit for a short time.I cant say I blame Moll, its pretty grim at the moment, is this the onset of winter?
Just one little adult cat went today, a pretty little tortoishell with a sweet nature, we have some lovely cats at the moment, all we need are the visitors.The kittens are growing rapidly,it wont be long before they lose their kitten appeal, each year we end up with some reaching adulthood here, then we have them spayed and they move into the main cattery for rehoming.Sometimes it takes that long to find them homes and I hate to think of them spending their kittenhood here at the shelter when they could be in a lovely home.
Today was the day of the open day at Criccieth, I hope it was successful, not the nicest of days unfortunately.It is so disheartening for people when they put so much effort into helping their chosen charity and in this case Freshfields.I really appreciate such support, this past year there have been some very nice people offering to help the shelter, it takes a few years for word to get around that there is a new animal shelter in the area but we finally seem to be getting the word act
I think the Yorkies will have to stay,I have had their ages confirmed.Maggie is 20ys old and Martha 21 Years.Incredible ages but they are too old to have another move,it would not be fair to them at this stage of their lives so unless I am offered a suitable home for them very quickly they will settle and it would be unkind to uproot them again.I really did not want to take on any more permanent dogs, especially as I am soon going away for 2 weeks but Mei will be here to look after them and the other animals.My passport is to be delivered by courier on Tuesday so that is a great relief.

More cats, kittens and 2 dogs.

The 2 yorkshire terriers have arrived. After agreeing to take them, nobody called me back to make arrangements but the owners daughter walked into our shop in Machynlleth to say they could not bring them to the shelter.Elinor, who runs the shop with Jennifer, arranged for them to go into a foster home and I collected them on Monday.Barry, who is now hopefully well on the way to recovery from his stroke a few months ago, came with me as we also wanted to look at a possible charity shop in Barmouth. The shop was promising though no firm decision made yet but we returned to North Wales with 2 dogs, 5 kittens and an adult cat! Both litters of kittens were abandoned, the adult is part feral unfortunately so a farm home is needed for her and they are so thin on the ground, most farms already have their quota of cats.
Maggie and Martha the Yorkies are dear sweet natured little dogs who seem used to other dogs and to cats though there seems to be discrepancy with their ages.I was originally told they were 20 and 21 years, Elinor was told they were 9 and 10 but the owners told the foster people the dogs were 19 years and 20 years! *I have been unable to contact them to find out which is correct, nor did they leave any written information, I have no idea if they are spayed, what they like to eat(although they appear to eat anything put in front of them) where they are used to sleeping etc.
As it is One prefers to sleep alone on a chair, the other is more clingy and likes to cuddle up to me on the sofa with the other animals. I dont know which is Maggie and which is Martha though they both respond more to Maggie!
This afternoon someone turned up with a mother cat and her 8 weeks old kitten which he had taken off a neighbour whose children were mishandling them.Rhian went to collect a beautiful grey and white stray cat which looks suspiciously like one of our own rehomed cats though there was no microchip.We are wondering if it was a kitten of ours as we dont microchip the very young ones when they go out to homes. We are checking our records to see if a kitten this colour was rehomed to the area this was found. Another person turned up with a cat taken from a person whose cat had killed their hamster(surely few cats would not do this if given the chance?)The owner threatened to kill the cat if it wasnt taken away immediately - of course no responsibility was taken for the hamster being in the a situation of vulnerability, I know who I feel is most guilty and it is certainly not the cat.Poor little hamster deserved better care.
My passport still has not arrived but after ringing the office I am told that it is being processed and will be with me in the next week. I hope so, I am flying to Peru on 29th of this month so it doesnt leave much time. I dont know which worries me most, being away for 2 weeks or seeing the strays in Peru. Probably the strays, I have been in contact with someone who helps the strays out there and hope to meet up with him in Lima to pass on some wormers and vet products which will be useful to them.

We have visitors from Liverpool

It has been a very quiet weekend which is just as well because our regular Sunday volunteers were all unable to come today so work took a long time to finish.Fortunately, late morning, Helen our Liverpool manager and her partner came to visit the shelter and both mucked in to help.During the afternoon we had a cat returned which had been rehomed in March. An allergy was the reason given but as the same people returned another cat to us just a week after they took her, I have serious doubts about this! Some people should not have pets.It is so hard to judge total strangers, home checks do not always throw up warning signs at the time and even my highly developed intuition(gained over many years of rehomimg animals)can let me down from time to time. It would be nice to think that anyone who wanted a pet was decent and an animal lover but it is just not the case.
Macy, the returned cat was destined not to stay with us for long, just an hour later she was chosen by a nice family from Criccieth who decided to take her and another of our adult cats.Lucky little Macy.
Someone turned up with a dog they had found last night, a nice dog part collie, part german shepherd I think.As usual no Id, its sometimes easy to tell a genuine stray/abandoned dog due to their condition.This one is borderline, he is neutered which may be a good sign but his coat is scurfy and dull so its anyones guess if he will be claimed.Another part time resident for Rosie.She will keep him a week to see if he is claimed, then we can start to advertise him for a home.
Well, no sooner had I written the above paragraph when the owner of the dog rang so he will be a very short stay dog.It seems he is from a rescue centre and has been very neglected, hence his somewhat dishevelled appearance.Its good to know he will be reunited with his new owners though I will have to tell them off for not having a name and address tag on him!
The baby rabbits seem almost wild, they have not been handled much so need some work doing with them to make them more used to people.
Last night we had to call out the vet to Noddy the little old shetland pony, he was coughing and his breathing was very laboured.Mei and I were worried he had an obtruction in his throat so after he had not improved in an hour we asked the vet to call out - sods law, by the time he arrived Noddy was fine and munching away happily at his hay.Still, with his great age I would rather be safe than sorry.

We lose Judy and a ferret needs a home

We lost the fight for Judy, the grey mare from the Anglesey ponies.I had been thinking the past week that it was her time but when she suffered a prolapsed rectum yesterday, this served to bring the decision forward.She had been through enough and was not showing signs of improvement.Her poor crippled legs were not getting any better even with regular farrier work, there comes a time when enough is enough.We all felt angry that such a young pony should end up like this, all because of the arrogance and obstinacy of one woman who thought she knew best! The suffering she caused to these ponies is beyond belief, to rescue them in the first place only to put them through this - unbelievable.
Shane , one of the others has more abscesses in his feet so his feet are being treated and padded out each day.The remaining 4 are continuinmg to show great signs of improvement.Also Tanya the old chestnut mare who arrived the same week is improving though not yet able to leave her stable.
6 baby bunnies arrived today, that now makes a total of 13 rabbits we need homes for! A worrying situation, must advertise them next week.
Roy from the Caernarfon shop still has his ferret which we now have had neutered, he would love to keep him but feels he needs to be with other ferrets and he could not cope with the care of them for any length of time.If no home pops up here then he is on the waiting list to go to the Liverpool shelter though I hate to overload them when they are so full of animals.
I have just listened to a message on the answerphone which was so hard to understand i was unable to make out what it was the person wanted rescuing, i could not even make out the phone number, answerphones are useful but are not always clear and if people speak in a low voice its almost impossible to decipher the message. It reminded me of another call which did get through but was equally as confusing.Some years ago when I was in LIverpool,Ann a former trustee of the charity and I were in the office and I answered a call from a distressed lady who needed help.This lady had an animal in her garden and wanted us to go and get it as she was too nervous to venture into her garden whilst it was there. When I asked her what it was she said she did not know so I asked her to describe it. Well, she said, it was about a foot long, the colour of a house brick(red?) had a pointed face, enormous upright ears and long thin back legs like an insect with which
it hopped over her wall! Im sorry to say I collapsed in hysterical giggles and had to pass the phone on to Ann who was also convulsed with laughter.She managed to find out the ladys address and we were about to pay a visit to her when she told us that she saw the creature a week earlier and had not seen it since!! We never did find out what it was but I hope the poor woman overcame her fear and managed to enjoy her garden once more.
Its incidents like the one just mentioned that keep animal welfare people sane, we need relief from the more unpleasant occurrences. When I feel low nowadays I think back to things that have happened which made me laugh and soon I start giggling at some of the absurdities in life.One of the funniest happened when I was with my friend Diane, at a nightclub on Merseyside, however I have to stop here as she would never forgive me should I recount the tale in my blog but suffice it to say that even all these years later it still brings a smile to my face.Thanks Diane!
It is torrential rain today so we are bringing some of the older horses into their stables, the dogs and cats simply decided they did not want to venture outside so all is quiet this afternoon.