Wednesday 28 March 2012

We Have Moved

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I'm Back.

Hi everyone, I'm back!
The holiday was great, I was relieved that I did not come across any needy animals on my travels.That is a first! The only stray I came across was well fed and although he started to follow me after I stopped for 'a chat'  with the idea of rescuing him from his life on the streets, when  his attempts at humping my leg was rebuffed, he soon lost interest and moved off!   Typical male.


It was good to see my own animals again and they were pretty pleased to see me too judging by the boisterous welcome I received.

The staff tell me that it has been very quiet whilst I have been away - I took this to mean that no animals were found homes , rather than the fact that my absence made life more peaceful!

Bonnie, our old  resident foxhound has a swollen toe so is off to the Vet today, Rhian thinks she has got it caught during one of her scavenging hunts.  The dear old girl (Bonnie, NOT Rhian) drives us all crazy with her constant search for food and ripping open of any available containers - bin bags, carelessly left lunch boxes- nothing escapes the attentions of  this very  determined  and focused dog. When she was first admitted 5 years ago , she was emaciated , and like many animals with  a history of neglect and abandonment,  she has never forgotten her days of hunger.

Shaun the sheep
I was so pleased to see that our little lamb is going from strength to strength and has grown fat and strong  in the short time I have been away. There is little doubt now that he will survive - well done Vanessa.
When he is old enough I will either  find him a good pet home or he will join our  small flock here at the shelter. As I type this, I can see the  staff   enjoying the sun by having their tea break outdoors and little Shaun is merrily skipping around their  chairs. He is a lucky little chap who will have a long life as a pet.


I am off to  have a panad myself (a cup of tea) and by the time  I write the next blog, I will hopefully be more in tune with all that has been happening and there will be some more photos. Also this will be the last blog accessed through the bloodspot address,In future go on to the main website
www.freshfieldsrescue.org.uk and look on the menu bar at top where you will find Founders Blog.Hope to see you there!






Saturday 24 March 2012

Lady In A Hat

Meet Thomas, he was the one eyed partner of Pasha. He apparently lost his eye as a kitten and his previous owner had no idea what happened to him. We had noticed a few sores on his neck and feet and showed them to the vet when he went in to be neutered earlier in the week. Initially, like us Roger thought they were fight wounds but on further investigation he realised that he had a condition called "Plasma Cell Pododermatitis"



"Plasma cell pododermatitis is a rare disease of cats, with a probably immune origin. It is characterized by swelling and softening of multiple footpads with ulceration sometimes developing."
Treatment - "Suppression of this immune reaction is the core of therapy for cats in which therapy is deemed necessary. This involves injections of methylprednisolone acetate (depomedrol) or high doses of oral prednisone. A response is generally clear in 2-3 weeks with peak improvement taking as long as 3 months. A newer therapy that is emerging for this condition is pentoxifylline. Doxycycline, an antibiotic with immuno-modulating properties has also been used with some success"

I know we can all get sick of photos of Vanessa on here (Only joking honest) but I guess we can never get fed up of seeing photos of Larry Lamb, or Shaun the Sheep as some of us call him! At only 2 weeks old the little man is doing so well. Of course either Beckie or Suzi have to get in on the act, here Suzi making sure she gets in shot!
Mei is having her Operation on Tuesday, after wanting it so much now she's dreading it! Still hopefully it will be worth it for her in the end!
Can I take this opportunity to thank CK Internation for the donation of cat food. We really appreciate your efforts and the cats loved the pouches.
This is Lady, she is another dog rescued from a local pound. She's a fantastic looking dog with a great character. I do hope her breed type doesn't go against her having the opportunity of a home and a great life. I think we all know what fantastic characters Staffies can be when not placed with irresponsible owners.
Lady was spayed 2 days before coming in to have her photo taken, I must admit trying to get her out of the crate in the car with her hat on was quite funny, she just didn't get the joke!
Can I just quickly thank you all for your kind words regarding Kai. Following a spleenectomy earlier in the week he was diagnosed with lymphoma on the Friday and given 2 -3 months to live. Sadly the cancer went "wild" and we had no choice but to let our beautiful big boy go on Monday. I'm heartbroken and feel cheated of the time we should have had left together.
Rhian

Tuesday 20 March 2012

The Lucky One

Week after week some cats are passed by in the cattery. Some maybe don't "sell themselves" when the opportunity arises, others sadly are just not the right colour!!! (No comment!)  Others like Pasha (previously known as Snowy?) are a lot more fortunate.She has been in a short time and is going in to be neutered tomorrow, pending a home check she has a home waiting for her. Lucky lucky girl, sadly her black one eyed partner Thomas has not been so lucky!

Meet Pharaoh

This rather unusual little man came in from the pound last week. He is now well settled in a foster home full of dogs and cats, so at least we know he's safe with other dogs and indifferent to cats! We believe he is a Whippet x Staffie and is probably 8-10 months old. Though he came in in poor condition I hear he is improving daily.
I'm sorry for the shortness of this blog, I will try harder later in the week. The death of my 6 year old German Shepherd Dog Kai yesterday, has left me in pieces. He was diagnosed with lymphoma last Friday and given 2 - 3 months to live. I feel cheated of the time we should have had left together and loosing him so young has left me heartbroken.
Rhian

Thursday 15 March 2012

Vanessa had a little lamb.

Its looking good for Shaun no 2
The little lamb is doing well, he is feeding voraciously and is regarding Vanessa as his mum (photo above) Everywhere  Vanessa goes , the little lamb goes too .
A certain nursery rhyme comes to mind!
It is looking very hopeful and I am  increasingly optimistic about his future.  A very small dog coat has been found  for him which is keeping him nice and  warm  and doesn't he look cute  in it? The little chap is hopping and skipping around the stable yard, endearing himself to everyone who meets him.
How can anyone want to eat something so adorable and gentle?

Thursday:
This morning a  very young cross whippet/staff was admitted from a  dog pound in Anglesey. We have named him Pharaoh because his enormous standy up ears make him look a bit like a Pharaoh hound.I took him to the Vet for his first vaccination so he can go in to kennels but he may go instead to a foster home until his second vaccination. Rhian  has offered to care for him until then.
There is  a staffordshire bull terrier  female in another local pound waiting for a place here but we are so inundated with requests to take dogs at the moment , that I want to home a few from kennels before we take in any more. There are only so many at one time we can concentrate on in order to do our best for them. We have had her first vaccination so hopefully we will take her on early next week. It is so storage, the numbers of animals we are asked to take varies from week to week but we can have a real lull where we have more prospective owners than dogs, then 3 weeks later the tide turns. Veronica suggested today that the high volume of calls this past week or so could be down to the Moon!
Don't ask me, I'm no astrologer but there is definitely something in the air.
The cynical side of me  think it's far  more likely to be that people are starting to plan and book their summer holidays so its time to get rid of unwanted pets.

Diesel finds a home.


 He has gone on a seven day trial to see how he gets on living with another(older)dog. He is such a nice animal, it is unlikely to be his fault if the pairing fails to work but we are all rooting for him. Like many dogs which have part staff in them, he has had no interest shown  in him at all  and the fact that he has Glaucoma(albeit mild) meant that  the odds seemed stacked against him finding a loving home

Radio Interview.
BBC Radio Cymru came today to interview a Welsh speaking member of staff about the problem of abandoned animals in North Wales. Everybody hates doing this sort of thing  but Veronica was coerced into giving the interview and  did very well  - At least I think she did because I could not understand much of what she was saying! For all I know, she was telling the interviewer what a difficult boss she has and how she came to work for me  as a book keeper and ended up fostering  dogs, doing vet runs and sweeping the office floor! Oh and giving interviews! Thanks (I think) Veronica. You're a gem.


I go on Holiday.
This will be my last blog for a short while.
From this Saturday I will be away on holiday in Portugal until the 25th.
I can't wait to get away for a break from work, I need to recharge my batteries! I am going armed with details of local animal rescue centres in case I  need them (It will be a miracle if I don't)
Mei is holding the fort and will be caring for my own animals also; I have asked Rhian if she can find the time to write  a couple of blogs to keep everyone updated on whats going on here so  bye for now and I will be back online on the 27th march(or thereabouts)  xx