Glastonbury here we come.....

...well, that is if I actually get round to leaving!

I am delighted to share the news that our journalist friend at Trafford Metro News (who does a monthly rehoming feature for us) has been to meet our lovely fluffball Rupert and is pending a home visit.

Rupert (pictured) was in an awful RTC and is pelvis was fractured in 4 places. He required weeks of cage rest but it all healed naturally and now the big fluffy panther is desperate for a new home and to play out....so let's hope his dreams have come true!

I will be back on line next week so until then, please keep everything crossed that all our animals start finding new homes.

xSusie

It's getting hot in here

No, I won't take off all my clothes, don't worry. Though I cheerfully could, it's that 'orrible in my attic office.

It has been another day of calls about Ollie the cavalier king charles spaniel. Despite people being booked in to see him at the weekend they didn't turn up, which is so frustrating, but there is someone else lined up for him now, I hope.

Sadly the BBC news coverage did not yield much of a response and we have had no reserves on animals over the weekend. Cloud the cat's home visit didn't pass either because the road was too busy. So we are little further on, but we have to keep our spirits up.

I am pleased to tell you that another person is going to see our Patterdale dog Sally (pictured) on Saturday. She's been waiting for a home since Christmas. She and her companion Harry (now rehomed) were found living in a muddy field with just a bare, rough-sawn kennel for shelter. It was the middle of winter when they were found on a traveller camp without any bedding, food or water. Sally deserves a home so much, she needs training, that's for sure, but she doesn't deserve to spending her life in kennels. I only hope we find her a home soon. I have to confess to being absolutely smitten with her and think she is a very loveable rogue!

Well, tomorrow will be the last blog for a few days as I will be off on my annual jolly to Glastonbury Festival. With Catherine off as well, Jo will be rushed off her feet so you will have to make do without for a little while. But you can think of me staggering around on 7% pear cider feeling deeply amused with myself and embarrassing my husband as I stomp off to go and watch Will Young, rather than something culturally cool and acceptable!!!!!

Chuffed to bits!

We have had a great, if not hectic, couple of days.

The BBC North West News filmed Jo for much of the day on Friday, they even did a piece live from the cattery with Jo for the lunchtime news. But the best piece was the feature they aired at the teatime news. It was brilliant. I texted Jo afterwards to tell her how proud I was of her, and I wasn't the only one who she was brilliant too.

And I have to confess to having been very giddy seeing our animals on TV. I was so excited. My husband mused that I'd not heard a word of the item as I was too busy cooing over all our fluffs. Mind you, I was sat there going - that's Frankie, that's Rupert, that's Cloud - you get my drift. Yeah, I was very excited!

Today has been equally good because we did a collection in Sainsburys on Regent Road in Salford. Everyone was generous and many shoppers had seen us on the tv too and we raised, in 6 hours, just over 200 squid, which is fantastic if not painful as it really knackers your back after a while. I must say a thank you to Stephanie and Julie (two very dependable volunteers who always come through me when I do fundraising) they saved my sanity today, as it can be a very lonely job otherwise.

I am also absolutely delighted to tell you that Cloud the cat (one of the stars of the news item) has a reserve on him. Bozze the cat's home visit has passed, and, if that wasn't good enough, we have a reserve on our cat trio - Katy, Melissa & Max!!!

The last one I am especially chuffed about because the home has come about as a result of the Salford Advertiser running a piece for us about them being abandoned due to the recession (they also featured on the news). There was one really lovely lady who came forward and went to see them but then we never heard anything more from her. Well, it only turned out that she'd rung and left a message, but on a completely random answering machine ,so she called back a week later to learn about the error and so we are chuffed to bits that the cat family might finally have a new home, for life. Please keep everything crossed.

So now I am excited to go into the office on Monday morning in the hope that we will have a reserve on Ollie the puppy and maybe another cat or dog too? Yes, I know, I'm being greedy, but you just never know, do you?

Happy Days

Despite having endured an extremely frustrating last hour trying to help a stray, elderly dog that has been found in a local park, we have actually had quite a positive day. But let me tell you about the dog first.

The dog was found by a member of the public and taken to a vets to be scanned for a microchip. There was none, so the dog warden was called but they refused to collect because she had mammary tumours! The dog was at the vets we use so they, naturally, asked if we could help. I got tasked with the job of trying to sort it out but it was deeply frustrating because there is so little we can do because national RSPCA aren't able to help because legally (and financially) the responsibility falls on the Local Authority to deal with all stray dogs unless it is absolute emergency like an RTC. Needless to say I tried everything I could but got nowhere fast.

All I succeeded in doing in the end was getting the cost of emergency treatment covered, registering the dog on the natioanl database as lost/found, and offering to help towards the costs of treating the animal should the finder choose to keep the dog rather than send her to the 'pound' cos the reality is that if the dog is not claimed after 7 days she will

be put to sleep because of her health problems.

It is is so infuriating, I just wish people would be more responsible.

Anyway, let's get on to good news....BBC North West news called today and said they wanted to follow up their brief news item and film a big piece on our animal rehoming crisis!

Jo, our Animal Care Manager, is being the reluctant star of the piece and they are filming her and her foster animals tonight for a piece that will go out at breakfast time tomorrow, and then in the morning they are filming again at the cattery we use, so a further report can be made for later in the day. The theme is on how the recession is impacting on animals, and boy do we have plenty of animal stories to share about how they have been affected.

What we are really hoping is that we will find a home for our mum, daughter and son cat trio, Melissa, Max and Katy. We had a good feature in a local paper recently about them but no firm offer of a home, so this could be our real chance - so paws crossed please, everyone!

The other bit of news that has truly made my heart sing today is that our 10 year old cat Bozze (see pic above) has got a reserve on him. I thought it would take months to find hima new home but he has fallen in love with a really nice gentleman I spoke to last week. He is wheelchair bound and lives in a bungalow in a quite setting, he has had cats all his life and was looking for a new companion. Well, apparently he and Bozze have spent the afternoon together and they get on like a house on fire. Apparently Bozze was the first of the cats to come forward for attention and the two of them just hit it off instantly - I am just soooooo pleased.

You guys are the first to know about it, even the animal staff don't know about it yet cos I'm working late, again. But what a fabulous end to the day!!!

Muggy Day

Well, we've had the most crazy number of calls coming in about Ollie the pup today. We've stopped taking any more interest in him as we have someone going to see him on Saturday, and another one on reserve. It is all so upside down if you ask me. We have loads of gorgeous dogs that keep getting overlooked but a pedigree gets everyone swarming to them. I don't mind really because the animals then don't have to wait long in kennels, but its dogs like our Ben (pictured) that keep me awake at night from worry.

Ben is a darling, he is approx 7 years old and desperately stressed in kennels but we just have no foster homes for him. He is wet through under his chin through salivating and panting so much through stress - it is so sad and we feel so impotent.

Ben came into our care when his terminally ill owner became too ill to continue caring for him. He has been used to a happy, comfy life with company all day long and now he is the kennels through no fault of anyones.

Ben is an adorable, lovable character but he is also very vocal. But since we've had him we've not had one speck of interest in him. I'll be so happy when he and big Charlie (scroll down to see him) find a home.

However, what has made me happy today is a seemingly serious enquiry about my two gorgeous foster kittens, a reserve on Jo's two foster kittens and finding the most fantastic home for our fabulous dog Corky. His home visit was done by my mate Jo (another Jo) last night and she was just bowled over at how lovely and committed the people were. This morning I let the people know the good news and they were over the moon, to say the least. And, what was so nice was that I got a text from them a short while later thanking me once again for letting them have Corky - how amazing is that! I wish there were hundreds more homes out there for all our animals.

Well, tomorrow might bring some more good news though I have to say I have been censoring you all from lots of rubbish stuff of late - such as two of our rabbits being diagnosed with health problems, Mika the husky has come back into our care as she needs to be a working dog not a family dog, and little Monty the Yorkie went to the vets for a full work up yesterday - I don't know the results of the blood tests yet cos I've not seen the animal staff but it is definitely looking like a behavioural problem and I just feel in despair about it all. We so need more foster homes for our dogs.

Any offers of help greatly received, as well as therapy! Call us on 0161 882 0680.

We're famous at last!!!

We had a bit of excitement this afternoon when one of our trustees Stuart emailed to say he heard us on BBC News North West last night. He said he did a double take, he was that surprised.

It seems the press release I issued yesterday was good enough to make the 10.30 news and they even showed the pictures of the animals in Jo's care. You still view it on their website if you click on 'watch the latest' and then click 'ok' when the media player comes up. The piece on us starts 5mins and 25secs in and last about 30 seconds, so don't blink!

Then, just as Jo was leaving she got a call from a local paper wanting go round to her house and photograph her and the animals! Let's hope it keeps generating some interest and we get some homes out of it for our animals.

And true to form, within a matter of hours of Ollie the cavalier king charles spaniel pup being listed on DogsBlog we start getting calls from all around the country from people wanting adopt him! It has been a busy busy day but there are two strong contenders for him so let's see who goes to walk him.

I'm determined to finish work before silly o'clock tonight so I'm scooting off before the phone rings again. But for those of you who are signed up to our newsletter it has been posted out to you today. If you'd an electronic copy then drop us an email at steve.susie@btinternet.com
Until tomorrow!

Busy Day

Today the phones have not stopped, which is often a sign that things might be picking up.

The good news is we have a reserve on our gorgeous dog Corky and our norty puss cat Sabrina - after she was seen in a recent newspaper rehoming appeal.

The bad news is that the home for our 10mth old cavalier king charles spaniel, Ollie, fell through at the weekend and our yorkie-cross Monty (pictured) was returned yet again after being adopted. The poor lad has now been adopted twice and returned after approx 6 weeks for the same issues - territorial guarding - though it is hardly surprising when you consider that he came from a home where there were 90 other animals, and was likely kept in a cramped cage and not given the necessary attention he deserved. We are now quite desperate though because unless we can find a foster home for him we can't get him fairly assessed by a behaviourist. We are doing a full health work up at the vets tomorrow to make sure there are no underlying health problems but currently the future does not look great for the lad. If you can help, please contact us on 0161 882 0680 or rspcamcr_salford@btconnect.com

I also wrote a press release today about our animal rehoming crisis and sent it to all the local media outlets. I can only hope someone picks up. Here it is (I also enclosed pics of the named animals too to increase our chances:

Local RSPCA Branch Closes Doors

RSPCA Manchester & Salford Branch is reeling from the effects of the economic downturn and political unrest as few people come forward to offer homes to their 84 animals in need.

In the last two weeks the branch has only rehomed one animal when typically they would find homes for an average of 10 per week at this time of year.

The branch currently has 43 cats and kittens, 11 dogs, 22 rabbits and 8 guinea pigs. With no animals being rehomed there is no space to take in more, income from donations and fundraising is down by a third, which has all led to RSPCA bosses to taking the drastic decision to close its doors to admissions.

Animal Care Manager Jo Yoli says, “At this time of year kitten season is well and truly upon us and we need all the help we can get with finding new homes and feeding hungry bellies.”

Jo has been dubbed by colleagues as the “Cat Saint” because despite having 7 cats, 1 dog and 3 chickens of her own she has opened her home to a variety of other cats and kittens in desperate need of salvation.

In total Jo is feeding an extra 10 mouths - most with tragic rescue stories attached to them. There is adult cat Frankie who was found following the tragic death of her owner, who had fallen down the stairs of her home with her child in her arms. The child survived and Frankie was rescued by RSPCA Inspectors in a heavily pregnant state and very scared. Frankie is now the proud mum of five cheeky ginger boys who will all be available for adoption in the next two weeks.

Frank is a white and black cat that was found in an abandoned property, it is believed that his owners left him behind when they moved out of the home. This is all the more distressing because of Frank’s wonderfully loving personality. Frank is so friendly and affectionate that he cannot cope without the company of other cats and humans and gets very stressed and doesn’t eat if he is left alone. Staff can only imagine the emotional turmoil he went through being left behind like that.

Rupert is a semi-long haired black cat who was found following a serious hit and run. His pelvis was fractured in 4 places requiring many weeks of cage rest for the injuries to heal naturally. Rupert is a very loving and chilled out character and is now fully recovered and desperate to play out again, but whoever adopts him must live in a very quiet road.

Jo says, “If we could just rehome some of our kittens and older cats it would really ease the burden on the branch and enable us to help more animals in need. We really don’t enjoy saying no to desperate cases and really want to be able to start helping again very soon.”

If you would like to offer a home to an animal please contact the branch office on 0161 882 0680. An adoption fee is attached to each animal and home visits are done prior to adoption. Alternatively donations of cat and kitten food will be gratefully received at the branch’s charity shops in Chorlton and Urmston.

Long Day

It has indeed been a long day indeed and with not a single call of interest in rehoming an animal. I can honestly say I am very worried about things.

I should also apologise for not posting a blog yesterday, twas my day off and I went to bed!

I've been spending much of today worrying and wondering how we can find homes for all our cats and kittens. I've come up with a story I'm going to pitch to the local paper on Monday, assuming that Jo (our Animal Care Manager) consents.

You see I was having a think about the fact that we have 42 cats and kittens in our care and only 11 cattery spaces and a small handful of foster carers. So it got me thinking that this in itself was a story, because we are so over capacity and have only rehomed one cat in two weeks when we would normally rehome 10-15 at this time of year.

So then I started thinking about the fact that there are so bloody many at Jo's house and that each have such unique stories that I think I'm going to go down the angle of Jo being a cat saint and desperately needing a reprieve!

At first count Jo has - mum Frankie and 5 kittens, Sammy a 12 year hunk, Rupert a recovering rta cat, 2 kittens (see Thursday's blog) - that's 10 already and I'm sure I've missed someone out! Yes, Frank. He couldn't cope in the cattery and stopped eating so he is lauding up at Jo's house with all her own cats and is very content indeed.

So I'm going to put the story together tomorrow in time for Monday morning. If you are very lucky I might share it with you but some of the cat's stories are pretty hear wrenching.

I'm in need of further inspiration so if you have any bright ideas get in touch steve.susie@btinternet.com. Enjoy your weekend folks.

Kittens!

I feel really bad today. I've just turned away another desperate person who has come home to find a stray cat had given birth in their garden.

Kitten season really is upon us but this year, because no-one is adopting cats and kittens from us, we are unable to help anywhere near as much as we usually do. I actually feel so terrible about this situation. In the last two weeks we could have taken in well 100 mum and kits if we'd been able to. It is dire.

the last call I just took was from someone who was so fed up with no-one helping that he's decided to just ignore the problem and leave them to it. I pleaded with him to ring around but whether he does is another matter. God do I feel low.

So to cheer us all up I've posted a piccie of two of our kitties looking for a home together. They are Marmite and Treacle - though I called Marmite Bumblebee or FuzzyWuzzy cos she looks she's been plugged into the mains. If you know of anyone who'd love the companionship of two giddy little kittens please contact us: steve.susie@btinternet.com or call 0161 882 0680.

Once last cheery note, Florrie the rabbit's home visit has passed with flying colours and they are on their way to collect her now - yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Quietly fulfilling

It's been a long day on my own in the office today and I think a combination of isolation and sleep deprivation has made me feel quite subdued, not that i need be because we've had quite an eventful day...





My little kitten Elvis (scroll right down to see a pic) did not need to have stitches put back into his deformed eyelid - imagine his relief when he got to go home to an enormous plate a breakfast after being starved overnight for the anaesthetic!





We have also confirmed the booking for a gala evening 'do' we will be holding at The Whitworth Art Gallery in November - Sat 7th - put it in your diary. It will be an ethical animal friendly/free evening with a wine reception, 3 course meal and entertainment - and none of it will involve animals in any form, so entirely vegan, including, I hope, the performers.





The other good news is about Ollie and Lottie (above) - I told you about them last week, they had been kept knee-deep in their own filth and poo was hanging off their fur -well, one of our super fantastic foster carers has already found them a home, posh ones at that enall! They should be going Saturday, so it means we can take in two desperate staffie crosses whose owner left them behind when they moved out - poor loves.

And if that wasn't enough I've finished our latest branch newsletter. More from our ventures tomorrow but if you would like a newsletter or are a talented veggie/vegan and will work for free at our gala evening pls get in touch: steve.susie@btinternet.com.

Hooray!

Great news folks, we have a reserve on a pussy cat - the first in two weeks - I kid you not!

We are so pleased cos we were beginning to think we'd never rehome another adult cat, or kitten for that matter.

It's quite criminal at the moment, we have kittens in our care that aren't going to be iddy-biddy kittens for much longer and we so want to rehome them so other people can enjoy their kitten magic too. Marmite and Treacle are perfect examples, they are going 15 weeks and have grown so much but they are sisters and totally inseparable and want to find them a home together. Marmite is semi long haired dark tortie and looks like she's plugged into the electricity socket, whilst her sister Treacle is a pretty little dark tortie with short hair.

The lucky cat to get a reserve today is Mrs Lovett (named after the Sweeney Todd character in the film adaptation by Tim Burton, god awful film in my opinion and I love Mr B and Mr Depp - singing should never have come out of his mouth, twas a travesty). Anyway, Mrs Lovett (pictured) was left behind by her owner when she moved out of a shared property - she is only 7months old and a little diamond. She is really playful, loves other cats and is a true mountain goat at heart - she will climb on to tops of doors, kitchen cabinets, dressing tables - anything really.

If the home visit passes then she will get to live in the countryside and go on holiday to a static caravan too, which I know she'd love cos she's so adaptable and good natured. She will also have a companion cat, which will make her very happy as she loves other cats - so let's hope she has found a new home for life and let you know when I know.

Adios until tomorrow.

xSusie

ps to adopt a kitten or 10 - pls call us on 0161 882 0680

Grr and double grrr

It really has been one of those days, we have all been a bit grumbly today, maybe it's the weather or maybe it's because we've had only one reserve placed on an animal this weekend - out of 82!!!! We have, however, had plenty many calls from people needing to rehome their pets or finding stray cats having given birth in their garden or shed - it really is desperate at the moment.

We are, of course, absolutely delighted to have a reserve on Bob (pictured), a dog I thought we would have for a long time because of his background and nervous disposition but the people went to meet him and his previous housemate Rita, but fell instantly in love with him and didn't 'need' to see Rita.

Bob was taken off his owner by the police. He had 7 dogs in total and the man was an alcoholic and seemingly not giving them the care they needed. In the end the police allowed one animal to be returned and we took in 3 out of the remaining 6 because that is all we had space for, but the others also found somewhere to go too, so don't worry, nothing awful happened to them.

We had named the dogs Rita, Sue and Bob - Sue found a home really quickly but Rita and Bob were both quite nervy and timid after their former life experience. Bob is a lovely dog and with a bit of patience and tlc he will prove to be a wonderfully loyal and loving companion. I will keep you posted on the home visit - but paws crossed!

National Microchipping Month

I can tell you without any hesitation that our event yesterday to promote microchipping for the national microchipping month was an unprecedented success. We had the most crazy day yesterday, the number of animals that turned up was just amazing. It was like our very own zoo or Noah's Ark - there was animals everywhere of all shapes and sizes and types.

We were all totally exhausted by the end of it but at the same time exhilarated. And for once we were rewarded with some generous donations from very grateful pet owners - this is very rare at our events, people barely give at all, but there was a great spirit of appreciation yesterday and we received a total of 447 pounds in donations, which will got towards the 1000+pounds it cost to run it.

In total we saw 232 animals - 1 ferret, 7 rabbits, 97 cats and 127 dogs. This was a record for a microchipping clinic, so you can just imagine how hard we worked!

Our next health and welfare promotion will be for dogs and at our Summer Fair in Chorlton Park on 11th July. We will have vets doing free health checks for dogs and you can then buy, for a one pound each, flea, worming and microchipping - lets hope we get a good up-take.

But what really topped off our day yesterday was the fantastic news that we have found a home for one of our very special dogs called Roma. She has been with us for many months after being starved by her previous owners (who were prosecuted for neglect). Roma was really quite underweight with the added complication of knackered hips. But Roma found love with her new foster mum and Babe, her German Shepherd, and the three of them can't bare to be parted so Roma has finally found a home for life!

If you want to get in touch with us just email: steve.susie@btinternet.com or call the office on 0161 8820680.

Every cloud...

Well our silver lining today was the news that the ill puppy dog we had admitted to the vets yesterday has made a great recovery overnight and was well enough to be discharged today. We are all so relieved and chuffed. He has gone into foster care with one of our super-duper volunteers and I bet it won't be long before he has a brilliant new home too, but I will keep you posted on his progress.

We've been gearing up for a busy day tomorrow and drafting in extra help for what looks like to be a successful microchipping promotion for national microchipping month.

Last year we chipped 75 animals in one day for the same promotion, but this year we have achieved more publicity in the local press and online and we've been inundated with calls. So if any of you fancy it we are offering microchipping for a 1 pound - it usually cost 20 quid at the vets so it's a bargain. It is open to anyone, regardless of income, and it is at St Matthew's Church Hall on Chapel Lane in Stretford opposite the Arndale. Just turn up between 12-4 with your animals and pounds.

And my last bits of cheery news for the day - we took in 3 very sickly kittens from a breeder 3 weeks ago who attended a free pet health clinic we ran in Wythenshawe. One kitten remains very unwell but the other two are doing great and it looks like their foster mum has found them a home, which is wonderful news and the home visit will be done next week - so please keep your paws crossed.

The last thing to tell you is that the Salford Advertiser has run our press release this week to find 3 beautiful cats a new home after they were abandoned in a box outside the RSPCA animal hospital in the very early hours of a cold February morning. We are desperate to find them homes so I'm really hoping we may have some luck this weekend from the article, but we will let you.

Well, I hope you all enjoy the weekend despite the weather, and I'll up date you on Sunday on our Saturday activities with a microchipping gun or two - I know we have some ferrets coming along, which I'm dreading - give me a giddy, wriggly dog any day!

Eventful day

Eventful is probably an understatement, to be honest. Where do I start?

Well the highlight of the day was definitely meeting a little dog called Schnellie - it's pronounced exactly as it sounds! Schnellie came along to our monthly free microchipping clinic at the RSPCA animal hospital in Eccles. Not only was Schnellie absolutely adorable but it was the name of her 'breed' that tickled me the most. She was a 'Schnorkie'! I swear I am not joking - she's crossed with a Yorkie and Schnauza (can't spell it) and apparently they are a designer breed like a 'Labradoodle'. I confess I burst out laughing.

We had quite a busy afternoon though and chipped 15 animals for free. We are there the first Thursday of every month 1-4pm and anyone is welcome to come and get their pet chipped for free by us.

Of course, being the job we do there are also lows and we had 3 very big ones today. The first was a call from an Animal Collection Officer (ACO) who needed to transfer an 8 week old puppy into our care. A little girl had bought a puppy of some lads for 5 quid and taken him home, but the puppy had started fitting last night so the national helpline was called and an ACO collected him and took him to the nearest emergency vet for initial treatment. The way these things work is that when this happens the branch has to then take on the responsibility, whether we are closed to admissions or not. So puppy came to us this afternoon and has since been admitted to our vets. Pup is not well, he is disorientated and wobbly and has been placed on a drip and will be monitored overnight before we start running tests to see what is going on. The best hope is that pup has eaten something toxic.

The other two very low points were two dogs we've agreed to taken in from an Inspector (even though we only have one space). There is a female 6mth old chocolate Labrador and 10mth old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Their owner had become desperately unwell and terribly ashamed of the state she and the animals were in and became too embarrassed to ask for help.

A call from a concerned member of the public resulted in an Inspector paying a visit and finding conditions that were beyond acceptable - the dogs were being kept in the kitchen that was soaked in urine and faeces. It was so bad that the poo was caked onto their fur and hanging off them. The Inspector said she had every sympathy for the owner and because she signed them over into our care she would not be prosecuted.

I met the two dogs whilst I was at the animal hospital today and they are absolutely gorgeous puppies. But I cannot tell you how bad the smell was - well, you know how bad it is when you tread in dog muck - well times it by lots! The state of them was shocking.

To end on a positive note though, we filled Mika the husky dog's space today with an absolutely beautiful 2 year old rotti called Boo-Boo. Her owner had 3 dogs, and again a tip off from the public sent an Inspector round. There were no issues with the conditions or level of care but the owner asked if we could take in two of the three dogs because she could not afford them any more and was working long hours. We could only manage one at the time so we have the most lovely natured girl. Catherine took a piccie of her today and she is stunning and apparently very very good natured and great with children too - a photo will follow soon, I promise.

So much for being closed to admissions, hey!

Brighter outlook?

Today has been noticeably busier both in the office and our charity shop below us - must be the turn in the weather?

The best call of the day has to be from the Head Teacher at Manchester Girls School. One her pupils, Emma, aged 11, heard how strapped for cash we were and organised a cake sale. She contacted a local manufacturer and got heaps of cakes donated and sold them for 20p a go. There were so many that it took 4 morning breaks to sell them all, as they only have 10 minutes each morning.

Emma raised the phenomenal sum of £150! Well done Emma - just amazing.

On another positive note, we have found a wonderful home for our little dog Jacks (pictured). He is going to live with another dog and a family, who are at home all day long - which is just fantastic.

Despite being closed to admissions a little pretty girl called Molly has come into our care. She is a 10wk old kitten who was rescued after being stuck up a tree and being picked on by magpies. The rescuer is going to adopter once she is neutered etc but that still leaves with another 22 kittens to find homes for.

Hey ho - tomorrow's another day and I'll be back on line tomorrow.

Shockingly quiet

I think today has to be the quietest I have ever known the phones to be. It's compounded by the fact that my colleagues Jo and Catherine are on leave today and so I feel like I'm in a bubble with only Poppy and her tummy to tickle - oh how she loves to show you her tummy!

This morning she was full of beans and had me playing dangle stick whilst trying to write cheques for our weekly mound of bills - she had great fun and made a boring job far less boring. Currently she is asleep in my tray of printer paper. Everytime I go to fill the printer up the paper is covered in Poppy hair - it's so sweet!

I have been going through our long stay animals today and found myself seriously worrying about if we will ever find homes for long stayers like Charlie the staffie (see below). In my sleep last night I came up with the bright idea of postering/leafleting Glastonbury Festival when I go. You always find loads of posters for bands, events and campaigns knocking around so I thought I'd have a go in the Green Fields area where the vegan stall is usually located - you never know, it might help.

I'm hoping some of you guys might have some bright ideas too - you know - websites, locations, events wtc where I could promote them from. To be honest, at this moment in time I'd be happy if we just found a home for one animal, as it so torturously quiet on the rehoming front.

I'm planning to go to Feast on Sunday to see if I can get more stall holders to attend our Fair (we've nearly 30 now), but maybe I should go along with some fliers of Ben and Charlie too?

I will have ponder, but I'm guessing there would be no harm done, hey?

Hot 'n' horrible

Well today me and Poppy (above) have been lolling around in the heat. The fan helps but it is still pretty horrible up here in the attic.

We have only had one reserve this weekend, but it is for a gorgeous little lad that called Jacks, a 2yrs old Jack Russel cross. He came to us via the RSPCA Pet Retreat scheme - who help women and children fleeing domestic violence but don't want to leave their pets behind. The perpetrator threatened to kill Jacks if the lady didn't come and take him away. She decided her life was not settled enough to foster him to us and so decided to sign him over for adoption. So please keep your paws crossed the home visits passes.

Poppy wants me to tell you all how beautiful she is - but you can see that for yourself. She has been rolling around and giving me her tummy to tickle for much of the day. Poppy is staying here whilst her conjunctivitis clears up, cos she couldn't stay in the cattery cos of the risk of it spreading.

Poppy is going to be the most amazing companion to someone, she is so attentive and loving and only a little girl, even though she is about 1 year old. Her antics make me smile and she's always jumping on my lap and laptop for attention.

Tonight she has me until late as I have meeting about our forthcoming summer fair and dog show at Chorlton Park. At the moment everything is coming together nicely, just need some raffle prizes - everyone if being really tight at the moment.

Anyway, the last bit of news I must share before I go is that we have found a wonderful new home for our Siberian Husky Mika. She is going today at 5pm and has truly landed on her paws!