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Updated 12/08/08 |
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Now to some of our comings and goings and
there have certainly been plenty of them!
We were all delighted when, on the 5th April, Gerry went
to a new home with the Wilkinson family, after being at
the kennels for over two years. Gerry was the last of the
pets belonging to Monica, our late Treasurer. During
Monica’s battle with cancer, her one main concern was
what would happen to her 'children' as she called them.
Of her six cats and two dogs, Gerry is the last to be rehomed,
and we are sure that Monica would approve of all
the new homes they have gone to. On the same day that
Gerry left, Tricks, a two-year old Border Collie, who
came to us because his owners were in rented accommodation
and were no longer able to keep him, also went
off to his new home where he has taken no time at all in
making himself at home.
We were asked to take Paddy, a lovely five and a half month old Border Collie whose owner was allergic to him. It
wasn't long before he was spotted by the Cooper family whilst out walking. Paddy responded very well to their Yorkshire
Terrier, and following a successful home check, he too went off to his new home. Astra, a five-year old GSD
and Hobo, a six-year old GSD, were brought to Otterspool due to their owner's ill health. Both girls have lovely temperaments
and therefore it was hardly surprising that Mr Pearson fell in love with Astra as soon as he saw her. Unfortunately
there was some work to be done on his fencing to make his garden more secure, which Mr Pearson did
willingly, and he and Astra are now enjoying their long walks together in the country. Sometimes, when dogs are
relocated to new homes, they can behave quite differently from when they are in the kennels. This was the case with
Hobo, who we re-homed with a lady who had previously owned German Shepherds. However, once Hobo got her
feet under the table, she became very protective towards her new owner and began to get aggressive with other
dogs. Unfortunately, because of this, Hobo was returned to us after three weeks. As we were now aware of the situation,
when Mrs Dean offered Hobo a home, we were perfectly open about what had transpired with her previous
placement. Hobo has been with Mrs Dean for over a month now and we are pleased to report that to date, there
have been no problems. When we were asked to take two terriers Bruce and Jixia for rehoming
due to their owners being at work all day, we requested
that they both be neutered prior to coming to Otterspool.
Following their operations and a suitable time for
them both to recover, Bruce and Jixia arrived in time to
take part in our Annual Sponsored Walk. Everyone fell in
love with them and we could have re-homed them one
hundred times over. As we attach great importance to finding
the right home for the animals in our care, the boys were with us for two months until we were sure that the
right homes had been found for them. They both left us on
21st June, one day before their first birthday, and hopefully
there will be no more upheavals in their lives. Some of you
may remember Albert from our last newsletter. Well, not
long after Albert came to live with us, we were joined by
his sister Meg, who is equally as lovable as Albert, but it
has to be said, has far better table manners than he does,
and is a little more refined. Meg has since found herself a
wonderful home in Buxton where the Pavillion Gardens are
her playground! For some time now, come rain or shine,
Marie has been coming along to the kennels every week end to walk Deefer and take him to visit her home. At
the time, Marie's Father was not ready to take on another
dog. However, after much gentle persuasion he
relented and Deefer went to join the Stansfield family
on 8th July where he is very happy and being spoilt by
his new Dad. At the end of our last newsletter, we had
just been joined by Beauty, a lovely, but slightly timid,
German Shepherd, who had experienced a rather
rough time prior to her arrival at Otterspool. Beauty
was going to live with Max, an ex Otterspool boy, but
unfortunately, the re-homing fell through. Happily,
Beauty has now found herself a new family where she
has made herself well and truly at home.
Jess, a ten-month old Collie was recently brought to Otterspool as her
owner had passed away. We knew that Jess would only be with us for a short while and sure enough, as this newsletter
goes to print, Jess will be off to join her new brother Max. We agreed to take Daisy, a lovely 3½ year-old German
Shepherd as her owners had recently had a baby and things were not working out. Daisy would be a delight to
own and we are sure that it won't be too long before that special person comes along for her. Many of the dogs, and
indeed cats, which come to us, are from homes where, for whatever reason, their owners are unable to keep them.
The trauma of leaving their homes and the people they have lived with, obviously can, and so often does, result in
long-term damage. We at Otterspool, do our utmost to help them to overcome their emotional experiences and to
ensure that kind and loving homes are found for them. We were so glad therefore that we were there for Maisie (as
she became known) a Cocker Spaniel who was found by a gentleman in his garden one very wet and windy evening.
Unfortunately, he was unable to catch her that night, but the following morning, with assistance, he was successful in
catching her. As soon as we saw her, it was obvious that veterinary treatment was needed for her right away. Her
nails and coat were in an appalling condition and she was also suffering from a false pregnancy. The vet put her age
at approximately five years. She was given antibiotics for her skin and drops for her ears and a further appointment
was made for the following week to have her ears examined and, under sedation, have her nails (or should we say
talons) cut and the knots clipped out of her coat. However, as the knots in her ears were obviously causing a great
deal of distress to Maisie, our multi-talented Treasurer, Gwen - who is a dab hand with the scissors - managed to cut
out quite a lot of the knots from her ears, prior to Maisie's veterinary treatment the following week, after which, she
looked (and felt) a different dog. Maisie captured all our hearts, but none more so than Shirley who works at the kennels,
who has since given Maisie a home where she has joined Dookie (an ex-Otterspool girl) and Dan.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to take in all the animals who are brought to our attention. If, for instance, we are not
aware of their vaccination status, or they require special nursing, or need to be somewhere very quiet, they need
special kennelling to suit these needs, which we do not always have available. Jack lived for two years in one of the
isolation pens because he liked his privacy, as did Sage, so that she could be closely monitored. Therefore the renovation
of the two isolation kennels had been continually put back. However, last month we took the first steps towards
the restoration and work is now well under way. We would like to thank Ann, Harold and Gwen for funding this
work in memory of their mother, Rosanna Pearce, who passed away last October aged
94, and who had been a staunch supporter of Otterspool and spent much time at the
kennels sitting in the garden watching the dogs as they were taken for their walks. |
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