Sylvia's Diary 02-01-25

This week, I have been planning changes and as you probably know changes can be hard. January 1st we are going to try and just have one shift for all and the staff will now come in from 8:00 to 4:00. This will mean staff don’t need to travel in rush hour causing them to be late and don't have to be begged to work early shifts. When staff are ill last-minute Bill and I don’t need to cover for them, and the dogs will be less stressed from hearing others get excited when they are attended to, and not seeing anyone until they get around to their section, as the staff will go to their sections right away. Also meaning, we will have people on site all the time, so the dogs are not just left after staff leave. There’s lots of planning to get this right, so there is not a mass pile up in the feed room when all are trying to get their food at once, and so everything is streamlined. The countdowns on, and my heads on the chopping block, as some don’t believe this can work….. let's hope it does, as I believe the dogs will benefit in the long term.

Further changes this year will be more car boot sales. We desperately need people willing to help with this for us to help boost the funds, as I know this year will be really tough.

We will also be inviting more home schooled children to the horse courses. These children are home schooled for many reasons, one reason may be that they have suffered from bullying. Our way here to help the equines of our world is to teach children about horses, their sensitive characters, and their needs. The horses teach the children to feel self-worth, to feel and experience calmness with animals larger than themselves. The horse's body language and kindness is mirrored by the children’s eagerness to learn. We watch over both equine and child to keep all safe, helping both to learn. It’s a great course but it is funded only by ourselves which is very hard. We are hoping to find people free in the week willing to help supervise these courses. The demand for the courses outweighs the spaces we have sadly, so we are attempting to find a way to accommodate the demand.

Now that Christmas has passed, people are thinking of their plans for the New year - what has to change, and what may be inconvenient according to them. I received three calls after hours tonight that ranged from someone informing me that they are scheduled to have their stone floors carpeted, and thinking that their dog would make their new flooring too dirty. They then continued to say and assume that I would sympathize with them - which I think you know the answer to. I know I should not write this, and sincerely hope I don’t get a backlash from this, but the only one I sympathise with is the dog, who has guardians like this. Another call was from a person wanting a home for a greyhound as she claimed to be starting a new job with better pay and so the dog would need a new home as she would be out more. I gave her options such as recommending that she take the dog to doggy daycare. She then attempted to explain that there would be no point in changing jobs as she would just spend all of the extra money on her dog. You can guess what I thought of that. And the last one was someone whose parents were given a dog, in fact a pup for Christmas, but it’s too busy for them. However, the grandchildren loved it, so instead they asked if we could take their 6-year-old dog as the kids would rather the pup, and their resident dog was jealous and making the pup uncomfortable.

Recently, we had a terrier returned for the third time, this time he was returned as the people who adopted him a year ago had a baby and the dog was not settled. The first because the adopter's dog attacked him, the second return was for… wait for it…. Because he would drink their cups of tea when they weren't looking, and when wet after a walk he would run round the house like a Loonie doing zoomies and rubbing on the furniture. When a dog's returned, emails and notes are put on their profile to help us home the next time, and so even though this guy’s returns have been over a number of years we can see a pattern of really bad luck on his behalf.

As our focus is to rehome our rescues, we are also here to educate and advise when it comes to the best dog for you. Not all dogs are the same and not all breeds are the same - if you choose a collie, expect a strong herding instinct and brains to match Issac Newton. If you choose a husky expect energy to equal Haile Gebrselassie. Are you starting to get the picture? If you put in an application for a dog that does not match the lifestyle you say you have on the application, don’t be sad that we refuse you for that dog. Just call us and ask us for help and for advice. We are like the best dating agency in the country, we truly do care that you can find the right partner for life.

New year plans are swimming in my head and this could actually be an impossible country to find the right DRY day to choose a date for an outdoor event, especially in Wales. Months of planning can just be rained off in minutes. We are holding a show this coming year, and we pray this show will bring us in the funds that we will need to get by, as clearly our Government has not given it a thought if charities fold. For instance, if animal charities like dog rescues shut down, the councils would be faced with huge bills for pounds, vets, incinerators, dog wardens’ wages, and vans etc etc and they will be FORCED to pay out. But unfortunately, that has not been thought of and instead cripples small businesses, charities, and all that make Great Britain Great (which in my opinion does not include the way this government is carried on). I am SO not political, but if this place folded it would literally be a disaster. So we cannot allow it, all we need to do is believe we can achieve, and work as hard as possible to out ride the storm, and we will. It has been wonderful to get nominated as a charity to receive funds from the Wheel of Fortune. Unfortunately, this sparked some unrest with the keyboard warriors who started making false and unkind comments about the rescue. I, like most humans, find it so awful that people can be so mean, especially when others have been so kind. Is it jealousy, ignorance or what? I just don’t know.

Last night yet another storm brewed. We had been asked by a vet nurse and her friend to hand raise 8 frenchie pups. They had them for a few weeks but needed a rescue to take them on. Chelsea, my yard manager, took this task on with enthusiasm. As you can imagine, she had to work her Christmas all around them, as their feeding times are not negotiable. Keen to find the best homes ever she has put pictures on Facebook. The breeder, who gave them up signing them over many weeks ago saw this and asked for them back as she ”loves them so much”. However, her bitch had to have a c-section weeks before, as she could not deliver the pups herself. Then after a day or so, the breeder said she was too tired to look after the pups and wanted to give them up. People then started to comment that we should give the pups back after we have been hand raising them, and are accusing that we are just in it for money, not the safety and welfare of the pups.…. Are these criticizers just there to make trouble? Or are they dog lovers? If the latter, would you not ask yourself WHY is this lady breeding litter after litter. Has this lady spayed her little loved bitch, so she never has to have a c-section again? It also makes me wonder about the intelligence of these people claiming we are frauds and scammers getting money by buying and selling dogs. We don’t buy any dogs, but we do get an adoption fee, hoping to help towards the EXTREME costs of rescuing and rehabilitating dogs to the point of adoption. So many of these critics who say we are helping breeders to breed more, are also owners of ex-breeding dogs, thus by their own logic are helping rescues like “Many Tears to make space to take from breeders”. Come on, let's work for the dogs and stop this bickering!!! There is an ‘Indian saying’ about "walking in my moccasins" - “I Never judge another until I have walked a mile in his moccasins.” It is actually a phrase often attributed to Native American culture, which means "try to understand someone else's perspective by experiencing their life as they do".

So be strong you may say, get on with your job and ignore the ignorant and fight for what’s worth fighting for - well let me tell you, this is easier said than done. Today Many Tears proved that it was named correctly. Family LOVED dogs were handed in because of illness, two others because of home loss, four others because of death. Tears truly flowed today, I have stopped pitying myself and jumped into helping these dogs and thus helping those who loved them or the relatives of those who loved them.. This world is full of sadness and joy, but let's ensure the dogs get all the joy they deserve.

Tomorrow is a new day filled with new plans and I have to slot into helping in the vets, and fortunately my friend Kay may come and help too. We get dogs into the vets and write down their chip numbers and weights. We hold dogs for the vets, scrub kits, recover dogs after their operations and try to keep the vets flowing. Usually another vet nurse helps, but these last few weeks so many staff have been ill, and off for Christmas and holidays which has left us really short, and me really busy. Bed beckoning now, so if I can prise myself into bed between dogs that will pretend to be asleep and not hear my whining about no space, I may get a whole 7 hours of sleep…. Let's see how that goes…… Actually, the last time I remember saying that to someone was about twenty-four years ago and I was in Arizona in a lovely house Bill built for us. Bill owned a really great company that drew up the plans, made, and installed luxury marble bathrooms. This house was near perfect. It was deep in the Sonoran desert, which is a really pretty desert with tall saguaros (huge cactuses) all through it. He made this house for my dogs, my horses, of course the dogs and horses we rescued, and us. We would sit on the roof at night watching the horse trainer next door roping, or sit by the stream he built running through our grassy lawn. It was perfect in all but the toilet seat. So, one night I was so tired and boasted I was going to get a full night’s sleep. However, in the night I was awoken by the yips of coyotes, (they did this when they were hunting or had killed to call the pack to help or share), I jumped out of bed, the bathroom window was above the loo, I jumped up to shout and distract them (as I hated what they were doing) slipped off the slippery smooth marble loo seat and broke my ribs. Quite a story to tell as when the cowboys around asked how I had hurt myself, Bill was happy to say, of course not something worthy or interesting like that I had fallen off a horse whilst breaking it, but that I had fallen off the loo!!!!. It's stuck with me forever, and that came back to me as I said to you all I was going to hopefully get a full night's sleep, but let's hope I don’t fall out of bed!

For me, Christmas is the time I fill in for staff on holidays the most. Today I was helping the vet and vet nurse all day. It is fast-paced and includes scrubbing kits, holding dogs, recovering dogs from surgery and checking all is running smoothly. One wonderful dog I shaved ready to be spayed, I could see that she needed scanning, as I felt she was pregnant. The vet scanned her and sure enough she was, so that one came off the list. Two others had to have tail amputations, the others routine spays and neutered. 15 had health checks and their vaccinations etc and another 5 had ear and eye check-ups. With this many dogs here, we have a meds person all day long administering the prescribed drugs, pills, ears, and eye creams or whatever is needed. Though having our own vets is a huge expense, it is also a huge saving. We are getting more and more dogs that have problems and we have noticed the increase as vets’ prices went higher and higher. People would go to the vets with their dog with sore ears after work maybe at 7 pm, and suddenly have a vet bill of £400 and because of the pricing or I guess possible inconvenience, they never went again. But what happens is that eventually the poor dog is in such pain it snaps, and we get the poor thing. It's not just ears, it's so much more. We could never afford most vets ourselves as they have markups of anything from 100% upwards. Having our own vets helps with not just costs of medicine, but also our dogs don’t have to travel to be neutered. So many are so scared when they come to us, that not travelling again to another vets is just so much better.

The day after Christmas, I woke up and was unable to stand. I was so dizzy that I was staggering all over the place. The dogs could tell that I was acting very strangely and did not rush or push past me to be first downstairs but followed me politely. I could not leave Bill with all of my jobs, so I helped the best I could, but eventually I had to give in and go inside for some stillness and calmness. After a few hours I felt better, still light headed but better. I went into the accountant lady’s office to find Toni, the staff member with Pat and Franklin, sitting by her side. Pat and Franklin are the most devoted pair of dogs we have ever seen here. They are like Siamese twins joined at the hip. What one does the other does too. No jealousy or unkindness, just perfect. Sadly, being a cross and a pair, NO one is interested. Please please look at their pictures and videos and if you have lost your dog consider these two. I am sure they will settle in a home quickly. They are kennel clean and walked by all volunteers and are so loved. This is why they had a day pass to help with office work. They are stunning in my eyes in both body and soul.

Then there is Ted, he came to us with a huge bulging eye, a stinking coat and the nicest most tolerant disposition of any GSD. He had a bath and though worried stood like a statue and we bathed, cut and groomed out his tangled hair. He allowed the vet to look deep into his eye, and days later he went under anaesthetic and his poor bulging eye was removed. So now we have a wonderful, but big one eyed dog looking for a home and trust me, this is a dog you would be so proud of. Maybe you could make a poster and display it to help him.

Then there is Orpheus, who we have spoken about in the past. He was the dog that was in such a state when the rescue in Cyprus took on. He is a hound, the size of a pointer bitch, but not quite as slight. He has had tags in his ears that have been ripped out probably just before he was dumped to die. He too, is a gentle soul and through time he is easily won over by food and a gentle touch. His only downfall we can see is that cats are a sport to him; thus, he needs a no cat home. His twisted leg will be with him forever, but he manages fine. I can imagine him on the lawns of a stately home, or lying by the fire with a fat and kind lab bitch to show him the ropes….. However, I am only dreaming and unfortunately our beautiful boy is still here waiting. What an amazing day it will be when someone, somewhere adopts him. Please God, I hope he won’t have to wait too much longer.

This week, eight sweet collie pups came in, and SO many applications followed. Being a first-time collie owner is like learning to drive in a Ferrari . They are a super clever breed but need fine tuning. If they don’t have smart owners, they will outsmart the people and no longer be the pupil but the teacher. And some things collies do are not what all pet dog families want. Time spent to find the right homes means four staff members are paid all day to read through apps and ring and advise if necessary. This can be a soul-destroying job, but they are super good at this, and if kept stocked with chocolate, they work happily too (as do all the staff). The pups’ parents are hopefully coming to be spayed and neutered in a few weeks too. The litter was a mistaken litter not planned, and the family love their dogs, and want to keep them.

Many months ago I saved a pup’s life and this was one of the events that made me realise that through the dark there is light. I lost my special boy “Light” this same year however, Moses, who I saved the same way as my Light, shines on with a wonderful home and humans. Please see the video it’s so lovely to see him grow.

Our retriever pups being hand raised are doing well though now only two. They are starting to be weaned with the help of the foster’s kitten who they copy. Although they prefer, rather than to lap their milk, they like to lick it off the kitten’s face.

I want to end this week’s diary to wish everyone a peaceful and happy new year ahead. And yet again thank you all for helping us here at the rescue getting through the last one.

Sylvia x