Sylvia's Diary 24-10-24

The weekend was not the usual adoption success we are used to. People reserved dogs and then ultimately changed their minds. Others came to meet the dogs and expected to see an already well-adjusted dog or that their resident dog would quickly love any dog chosen for them by their humans, which is seldom the case. This dog was too big, that dog was too small and last week it was even because they felt the dog slobbered too much. It makes things even tougher when you're the one who picked the dogs up. Somehow it becomes even more personal. It’s not just me that thinks this, I have heard others share the same feelings.

Saturday we had a fundraiser event, Ride for Rescue, which was glorious and we expected 60 plus bikers to come. I hired extra staff to greet them, park them and make them feel very appreciated by showing them around. We waited all excited but in the end sadly most of them cancelled. I guess the weather where they were coming from was not good but we appreciated the 10 plus bikers who came and were loaded with treats, toys and goodies and they arrived on truly stunning bikes. However, because so many less than we were told turned up, the extra staff was not really needed but we are still so grateful for those who turned up to support.

Early Saturday morning a man turned up with a tiny kitten he had found in the road near its dead sibling. The kitten is now called Cream and he's around 4 weeks old. This year more than ever, we need to get a new and quieter cattery.  Ours is small and situated next to many loud dog kennels but this is going to take a lot of money and hard labour.  All the cat rescues are full up and it's just so sad the amount of homeless cats up here. The stories that worry me so much are when the elderly are being moved to homes as they can no longer care for themselves and there is nowhere for their cat to go which is really miserable for both the cat and the poor person desperate not to let their companion down.

Then came Sunday and it poured with rain and when it was not pouring it was so windy, grey and miserable. Early Monday morning our dear old Golden Retriever who had been with us only a matter of days had her pups. Bill found them and one was non responsive. He tried to give her the kiss of life but sadly to no avail. However, Mum has ended up with 4 puppies, who we all hope will survive.

Wednesday we were hoping to pick up a very old mare who was in desperate need of rescuing, but Bill's truck which is always used for this and other things, is not available this week so she now has to wait, as we don't have anything to pull the borrowed horse trailer with. However, we have been saving up with the help of some grants for a van that will be capable of pulling a horsebox but are still £6,000 short. That along with the £23,000 estimated to build a new cattery means things are a little overwhelming, But.... believe to achieve.

I know I have talked about this before but now instead of just talking I have done something about it. A few weeks before Christmas and when you may be stressed out and have no idea what to buy someone, and you are looking around your home - I want to launch an auction of special items to raise money for the things we need and the list is extensive. If you look around at what you have and see there is something very special you can donate, or make, please please do so. Just send an email to me, swvanatta@gmail.com, a picture and description of the item and we can go from there. Maybe no one will do this but I have started the trend. My offering is unique - literally the only one in all the world. He stands about a foot high and is a unicorned winged horse made from copper wire. He stands on a piece of tree that I found in Brechfa forest. In Arizona, I amongst other things, was a wire sculptress but mainly cow workers, taming horses or roping cattle. This artwork is different, very hard to photograph but I think it's special enough to get a bid or two on. Please have a look at things you are able to make or donate, and you too could help me make a difference.

Last night at just after midnight Joyce drove in with 47 precious lives ready for their new start in life. We have often been accused of sneaking in at night so as to go under the radar. This is of course by armchair warriors who are too lazy to come and see what we do. Instead with their time, they invent stories and circulate them, causing the maximum trouble they can. However the truth of it is that the ferries to Southern Ireland run twice a day. The people we rescue the dogs from do not want to be woken up in the night. So we pick up in the daylight, get the evening ferry and go home, arriving just after midnight. If we are lucky the customs are there, as they don’t stop inspecting just because it’s night time, and all of the paperwork is declared even before the journey home begins. This week a team was ready to help unload, most were staff but some were their other halves and I am so grateful to all. Today, a vet will do health checks, then they will be booked in, get their inoculations, wormers spot ons and then be neutered and get ready to be homed.  Even as I speak I have been asked the dates of the next trip. It’s all very time consuming.

Poor Tilly from Ukraine, that we discussed last week got spooked on a walk and took off again from her new family. The staff went and searched for her yet again but this time could not find her and night is drawing in. We are all sad and she’s been through so much and now this again. It’s no one’s fault, it’s just these poor dogs are damaged and traumatized having lived through a war and are easily spooked. It will take a long time for these dogs to resonate with their past and I fear some memories may be with them forever.

I have decided I need a good iPad, as working off my phone is getting so hard. I am not at all technologically-minded and I keep losing signal, or worse still, my blog! Things happen so fast, if I don’t write it down things get out of sequence.

This week, I will finish my blog thinking of wolves. They live in great family units, who look after the old that are unable to hunt, and feed and care for them. They mate for life with one partner and mourn if they lose them, sometimes for longer than a year, and they never mate within the pack of their relatives. They are strong and loyal, and this type of pack mentality is unmatched in the animal kingdom, including us humans! Yet we humans feel we are superior to animals including the wolf … is this because we have the ability to wreck so many other lives making us feel powerful? Who knows?

Thank you for reading my week, my thoughts, my worries, my successes and failures. Most of all thank you for caring.
Sylvia