Little Big Man

It would be fair to say that Damien wasn't overly enamoured at being crowned the winner of 'Rabbit Romeo' this week. Damien is such a typical Netherland Dwarf and is quite territorial, doesn't like being treated like a teddy, and kinda has a bit of a chip on his shoulder in that 'little-big-man' kind of way! But to be fair, he does look like a teddy and fits in the palm of your hand!

When I placed his prizes (from our supporter Jemma) in his enclosure he was furious and threw the toys out of his way in disgust. This just made us all laugh because we are so used to him. I can honestly say we all love Damien but it seems there aren't that many neddy fans out there as he's been waiting nearly a year now for a new home.

The Rabbit Romeo competition proved really productive; out of the 5 boys that were in the running Burt, Ira and Shady were reserved! We received even more interest in our other bunnies and at the beginning of the week a total of 9 were reserved. Unfortunately not all will be successful rehomings because so many are dependent on 'bondings' and home visits but we will keep ever hopeful that our bobtailed ones will find their forever homes one day.

The good news continued this week with the most wonderful response to our 'cattery wish list'. We have had so many pledges of new toys and beds and activity centres and we are soooo excited! Some items have already started rolling in and Catherine came back from the cattery on Friday very excited to tell me how much of a hit the new things are. We are especially excited about a huge activity centre our supporter Jacqueline has ordered - it's got Ben cat's name on it!

Ben is a magic, bonkers black cat with plenty of feisty play in him. He has been with us a couple of months now and is struggling to cope. He's an active, cheeky, full-on feline and certainly not for the feint-hearted - just my kind of cat! But sadly not many other peoples' cup of tea; he's just got serious cattitude! But the new activity centre will be brilliant for him....pictures will follow, and probably a whole lot sooner than a home for him.

We've had new dogs arrive in the last week and so whilst there are only 2 listed for adoption it doesn't mean that we aren't busy caring for the woofs. We have a few in need of rehabilitation and one that desperately needs fostering, but in a home with no other pets or children, which we just don't have. If anyone can supply us with a miracle we'd be most grateful, and so will Smudge.

Our favourite doggy news of the week is that Benny has been reserved. You may remember him from a previous blog? He is a collie x that weighed just 9kgs when rescued. Benny will be going to his new home on a fostering basis next week. Everyone wants to take a cautious, measured approach, as he still has a long way to recover but we are truly grateful to the family that are offering him this chance.

We've spent the end of the week gearing up for three new forthcoming events - the launch of our 'Best Bunny Buddies' competition, our Teddy Bears' Picnic on 17th and our annual Mutt Strutt on 18th. Talk about busy! My head is positively spinning and not been helped by some of the furries having inconvenient illnesses late on Friday afternoon and over the weekend. But hey-ho, that's just the way it goes sometimes. And today, we have 4 puppies arriving - squeal!!!!! They are just 6 weeks old so won't be up for adoption for another 2-3 weeks but I can't wait to sniff and cuddle them! Why do puppies always smell so good?

Next week is shaping up to be a very hectic one and I'm knackered just thinking about it. It will be a seven-dayer with many early starts and late finishes. But it's all worth it for our animals. I say that, but if we have torrential rain at the Teddy Bears' Picnic and/or Mutt Strutt I may just give up on outdoor events altogether. Every event we have run or attended, with the exception of one, has seen awful weather and proved less than great on the fundraising front. Indoors has to be the way forward!!!

Listed above are some of my favourite images of the week. The best one has to be of Ronnie dog. We've been able to put him up for adoption this week, which we are all delighted about. If you look at our website and read his history you'll see why this is such a great moment for us all. Let's hope his age doesn't put people off from adopting him, as he really is a special gentleman.