Sylvia's Diary 25-07-24

Life is precious - we never know what’s around the next bend.  This week has made me really think about this. We have again been inundated by calls from the public trying to get us to take their dogs, sad stories of dogs that haven’t been fed because the owners have no money or owners losing their homes and people who are ill and can no longer look after their dogs have been rung in. The office staff have relayed their stories to me, obviously for these staff and myself the stories weigh heavily on our minds. If we cannot help that minute but phone back another day, it is often too late!

On Friday I was working, outside and I kept hearing and seeing a helicopter circling and circling our rescue. It was flying very low. This happened for well over 15 minutes then one of the staff ran into the vets and said there’s been an accident and a dog was in the car, can we drop everything and look at the dog. When the dog arrived, he was scared but didn’t appear to be hurt. We were told he had been traveling, sitting on the lap of an elderly lady and that lady was bringing the dog to us. I found out later the lady could not drive, and some kind friend had driven her. Very sadly somehow, they had turned across the dual carriageway and been struck twice and tragically a person had passed away in this accident and others, including the lady who had the dog on her lap, was injured and hospitalised.

As I pulled out of that same junction yesterday to go to pick up dogs in Northern Ireland, the remnants of the crash was still very apparent. I feel tremendous sadness even though I did not know those involved. The dog had a miraculous escape, one of our kind staff took him home and said though he was quiet and a little stiff he showed no other symptoms. As I said life is precious every day is a gift and I and probably many others need to remember this and embrace it.

Tomorrow, we have a new Vet starting full-time and it will make a lot of difference to us and all the dogs.  For the last years I have spent hours of worry scheduling Vets to try and keep up with the huge workload Many Tears has. Even the last few days have been tough going as we had another influx of dogs and I didn’t want the new Vet to arrive with that workload. We have been blessed with so many Vets helping us but in the last few days Siriol,  a wonderful vet came and helped us so that the dogs could go to their homes or foster homes. She is giving up a month of her life and going to Cambodia to work in a Spay neuter clinic voluntarily. There are truly some wonderful people out there! 

Today I am driving all over the place but only picking up a few dogs as this trip they are spread far and wide. However, every dog's life is precious and I am grateful for the privilege of being able to help them whether only a few or many. These trips are very expensive and I’m hoping that companies or individuals may like to sponsor them now and then whether we are picking up 15 or many more.  The planning and the time it physically takes to drive many miles makes these trips a true labour of love.  I need to start my journey picking up the dogs now so will write more later.  

I've now picked up my first dog, a long scenic drive to a kennels full of happy dancing cockers running around.  However, I was only given the one dog and she has sung in a high pitched soprano voice for over an hour and at the moment there is no consoling her. I am hoping the next pick up may help.  It’s sad to think of a dog leaving her relatives or lifetime friends, however once home we find they usually find a new canine friend fairly quickly. We get accused of not allowing loving potential adapters to adopt some of our dogs who we say cannot be only dogs. Sweetie is going to be one of these - she simply will be happiest with other canines to be befriended by and show her the way forwards.

These journeys seem to take me longer than anybody else. Every time I see something on the road I have to stop to make sure the poor creature is dead or alive and move it to the side of the road if dead (which sadly they usually are). Every time I see a sheep on its back I have to climb over the fence and right her. Today to top all that I went round to bend and there was a horse in the road, strutting around head in the air, tail up high, like it was some sort of Arab Cross but believe me this horse was not an Arab cross in fact this horse didn’t have any grand parentage at all.  What it did have was whopping great feet which it kicked up almost in my face as it strutted off down the middle of the road! I was terrified a vehicle was going to come, so grabbed a lead out of the car, hoping that I could make an improvised head collar out of it.  I never got that near as it suddenly changed direction and went up the drive of the only house in sight and galloped over their manicured lawns throwing up huge great mounds of mud skidding and squeaking with pleasure. The people came out the house and I thought they were going to scream at me as their lawn was ruined, instead they thanked me and told me that they had no idea their horse had got out, and how grateful they were and believe me I was grateful too as I went back down to the road just as a really big articulated lorry came rushing round that road. That poor horse would’ve been dead and possibly the lorry driver too if it had come a few minutes earlier. I climbed back in my van only to find I was running late. I always pride myself with getting to places on time and not making people wait.

Now on my way to get diesel and go to customs and get the ferry.  It’s been a long day, but worth every worry and effort knowing my staff will all be waiting to love these darlings and help them on the route to finding new forever homes.

The epic drive is nearly over…. All bar 3 hours! I am waiting to go and see the dogs but best of all I am waiting to give them their sausages. I don’t have the wonderful, cooked breakfast Stena line gives the truckers but do have a row of sausages that I cut up and put in coffee mugs. The guys at the restaurant call me the "sausage lady" and all know me. By the time I get to see the dogs the sausages are still warm. Some have never had a sausage but get the idea of what’s going on really quickly and cannot get enough. It makes my heart sing thinking of them all waiting and knowing what’s ahead of them.

I have said my little prayer this morning asking to get back safely and now it’s up to me. My little prayers lately have turned into War and Peace (a very long book).  I just have so much to ask for and need help with but my thank yous are too quick. Maybe others do this too, always ask, but don’t say thank you much. If that’s me, I am sorry, although on the whole I am asking for the dogs it’s still no excuse. Just the fact you have read my diary I should say thank you.

War Paws were able to send me pictures of some of the dogs that are coming in the next week or so. They are a very conscientious charity and have done extensive testing on all of the dogs for brucellosis and any other disease. These dogs have lived through the Ukrainian war. They have been moved from one kennel to another many times to keep them safe and ended up on Romanian borders in any kennel’s that could be found. In the two years that War  Paws has been involved with these dogs they have sent someone out to make sure they’re welfare is okay, found many homes, but been left with these last dogs that nobody wanted. We know these dogs will be confused and we know that it may take time to find them the homes they so deserve but I am confident that the people of the UK are true animal lovers on the whole and there will be homes out there for these poor dogs who have seen more than any dog or human should ever have to.

We have the sweetest ever cav pup called Winnie who has a leg problem that will probably cost £4,000 to mend.  Here is what a vet has told me…
The condition is a severe medial patellar luxation that is causing a growth deformity of the femur (the femur is bowing because the patella is running in the wrong position so having a bowstring effect as the femur tries to grow). Success rate is difficult to say  this is an extremely severe one. However the surgeon suggested it has a very high success rate so let’s try to help this pup have a normal happy life. If you feel like I do and want to raise the funds please donate or have a car boot sale or something. Please help me help her!!!!! 

You may think this premature but running Many Tears I need to be steps ahead so we are never in trouble. If you have an animal loving friend who may like to receive a book about the journey to opening Many Tears please place an order. It really will help the dogs as 100% of the funds raised go to the rescue. Please go to https://www.manytearsrescue.org/page_.php?i=128

Thank you again for being there, for texts of support and for caring.
Sylvia.