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!