Pork Life

The images above represent the highlights of our week. It really has been an exciting one, yes, I used the word 'exciting'! We've seen tremendous acts of kindness and generosity and the arrival of newborn babies, so let me tell you all about it....

We found out on Monday that we had enough money to pay for Humphrey's operation; the relief was enormous, because we had to go ahead with the op the Friday before because the surgeon was unavailable for the following two weeks. It was a huge gamble and one I didn't care to think of the consequences of if we failed to raise the funds. But the miracle I had been hoping for came true and to each and every person who donated - thank you ever so much for your compassion and kindness. Humphrey is well on the way to a full recovery and his cheeky spirit continues to shine through.

There was another miracle I was really hoping for, and that was a home for our Brandy dog (above). She was the main feature of an earlier two part blog post - the ones that saw me in plenty of hot water for accusing some of our animals of being ugly! (I'm sorry, I'm just trying to stifle a laugh whilst hearing the words of our trustee Gilly ringing in my ears, "Naughty Susie!" Tee hee.)

Anyway, the blog posting was shared on Facebook, which was in turn shared by our supporters amongst their friends. Then, something remarkable happened. A couple in Poole in Dorset read the blog and fell in love with Brandy and wanted to offer her a hope. We began exchanges of emails and phone calls and texts and now, a week on Saturday, Brandy will be meeting her new mum and dad!

We've got the easy side of the bargain, we are going to meet them in the Midlands, but they are making a 4/5 hour journey just to get that far! Thankfully they have family in the area so we can meet up there. Brandy deserves this home more than anything else so we are keeping everything crossed that it works out for her next Saturday. She just wants cuddles and a nice warm rug/carpet to lie on, oh, and lots of tennis balls! She lurves her tennis balls.

This week has seen a continuation of our cat rehoming success. So much so that one of the RSPCA Officers brought me cakes to say thank you for making her life so easy! This is because each time she has rung me to ask if we can take in a cat I've said yes. It's so nice to be able to say 'yes' all the time, and I know our run of success will inevitably come to an end soon but for now we are loving it and the cakes - thanks Gina! And thank you to everyone who is coming to us for a new furry friend because without you we couldn't amke the difference that we are.

Of our admissions this week are two delightful boys we've named Timmy and Tommy. Their story is remarkable and so are their personalities and so I'm really hoping they will be reserved this weekend......

The boys owners abandoned them when they moved out. They lived on the streets for a while but stuck together, which in itself is quite remarkable but they really are best buds. When the RSPCA got called to the abandonment there were actually three cats. They were all such good friends that everyone simply assumed they were from the same home. They were collected and taken to the RSPCA vets for neutering only to discover that the third cat had a microchip. The registered owner was contacted, much to their relief, and it transpired that she had been lost for some time. It seems that the boys must have befriended her and they were all looking out for each other whilst living on the streets. An ecstatic owner was united with their cat and our 8 admissions went down to 7, much to my relief!

And they boys? Well, they are just awesome characters and I really hope they get snapped up very soon. But what a remarkable story and what remarkable cats.

To finish the week off what better than the arrival of baby pork! They have to be the biggest piglets ever, but I can assure you they were born overnight Fri/Sat and the pics above were taken at noon on Saturday. They have their umbilical chords attached too, so they are just massive bubs. The pic of mum above was taken Tuesday this week and quite how she was even moving around is beyond me because on Tuesday she was fit to burst. Poor Petina!

So, what it also means is that our Hannah has to put her money where her mouth is, because the day we took all these beautiful fire rescued animals in she promised me that she would make it her personal mission to rehome the guinea pigs and raise us funds to help pay towards their care. Ha! Well, the time has come Hannah!

To be fair she began this a couple of weeks back with her Diary of an RSPCA Guinea Pig blog but yesterday, with the first of the babies arriving, Hannah donned her running shoes and went training in a hail storm! Bonkers? Yes, quite probably, but you see when Hannah sets her mind to something failure is not an option. So, to raise the money we need to pay for the extra care costs of the fire animals she is running a Half Marathon in Liverpoool on 17th March, hence training in silly weather. You can read more about her endeavours and our extra care costs here and it just so happens you can sponsor her at the same time too!

And if any of you feel inspired by our work or Hannah's endeavours then maybe you would like to consider joining our team on Sat 12th May to abseil down Leasowe Lighthouse on The Wirral. This is a once in a life-time opportunity for courageous, intrepid adventurers and you only have to raise £50 in sponsorship and the registration fee is just £15. If you are up for the challenge and would like more info please get in touch at: rspcamcr_salford@btconnect.com

I've got a good week to look forward to, because not only have the first of the guinea pig babiesarrived but the baby bunnies born on the night of the fire are now running around looking very cute pom-poms! Sadly, only two of the original seven have survived but what we do have is one crossed with a Great Dane; she is so massive! I can't wait to play, erm, I mean look after the babies ;o)