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TTaammeessiiddee AAnniimmaall SShheelltteerr
Raglan Street HYDE
Cheshire SK14 2DX
Tel - 0161 368 3511 Fundraising Shop 0161 368 8585
Website Address www.tamesideanimalshelter.co.uk
TO BE HELD ON BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY, 26 MAY 2014
AT TAMESIDE ANIMAL SHELTER, RAGLAN STREET, HYDE
FROM 12 NOON - 4.00 PM
A HOST OF ATTRACTIONS TO INCLUDE:
* Bric-a-brac stall * * Books * * Refreshments *
* Plants * * Tubs * * Homebake * * Hanging Baskets * * Tombola *
* Pet Stall * * Raffle *
* DVDs * * Records * * CDs * * Videos * * Clothes * * Furniture
* * Computers * * Jewellery *
* Beauty * * Cream Teas * * Handicraft * * Free Range Eggs on
Sale *
** Goods/Homebake Always Needed for Sale on the Day ** Drop-off
Points at our Shop and the Shelter
BRING THE CHILDREN TO SEE ALL OUR ANIMALS
Ample Free Car Parking right outside the Shelter Wheelchair
access
ADMISSION: ADULTS 1.00 / CHILDREN 20p
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MAY 2014
Welcome, dear friends, to the latest edition of our Newsletter,
which, as always, I hope you enjoy reading and gives you an insight
into the valuable work we do. I love this time of year! Spring is
here and Summer just around the corner. New life everywhere, in the
gardens .... plants that had been forgotten about during the long
Winter months suddenly rear their heads .... the birds sing so
sweetly ... all to remind us that a far greater force than our
intelligence knows is alive and always will be. At the Shelter,
Spring heralds the return of kitten season. Beautiful babies (born
to cats who should be neutered, but have found their way to us
either as strays or unwanted) make us realise the miracle of
rebirth. We love them all and our greatest joy is when they are
ready to go to their new homes after being born at the Shelter -
happy, cheeky, healthy little mites who are a delight!!! After they
have left Mum, we then proceed to get her neutered so that she will
not continue to breed, as this is our policy, for there are far too
many unwanted animals in our world today. Two of our most recent
kittens were born with deformities in their legs - see one of their
photos below .......... but it will not hinder their progress, or
make them any the less happy than they are today and, at time of
writing, they have both been adopted together and are safe and well
in their new home. However many years one does this job (and for me
now it is well over 20), our animals teach us something every
single day. I never stop learning and if I lived to 200, it would
still be the same. Nature IS beautiful and in our busy lives, if we
just stop and stare for a minute at the beauty of the world, it
makes us realise that whilst Nature can be cruel, it can also be
wondrous and it is never more evident than in Spring at our
Shelter. I wish everyone a long, happy Summer and peace and good
health to you all. Jacqui Founder
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ROSIE: A STORY OF COURAGE AND LOVE I would like to share this
very true and inspirational account of one little dog's life with
you all, because to me, it highlights the practice of puppy
farming, which I find horrendous, but it does have a happy ending!!
During June 2012, a King Charles Spaniel was handed into our
Shelter, found to be roaming in the Denton area. She was not
micro-chipped and, despite several appeals for her owner to come
forward, she was not claimed. We found this rather odd, because
this breed of dog is usually claimed quickly, but in Rosie's case
she wasn't. We could tell she wasn't a young dog (the vet put her
age at between 8-10 years) and her tongue constantly hung from the
side of her mouth. When examined, we found she had no teeth
........... so a picture started to emerge and the conclusion was
something we hope never to see again. We felt this girl had been
used for puppy farming: this is when a dog is kept for the sole
purpose of breeding and breeding - a dreadfully cruel life for any
dog, because once she has had one litter, she would have another
and another and another ........... being kept alive purely to make
money from the sale of the pups for her greedy and callous owners.
None of us could bear to think what she had been through, because
usually such dogs are kept in squalid conditions and then, when
they are too old to provide further pups, are no longer wanted. As
no-one had come forward to claim her, we felt, indeed, Rosie had
been a victim of this barbaric life and the fact that she had no
teeth would fit in perfectly, because having litters and litters of
pups would have taken all the calcium from her body. One very
lovely lady, Jenna, heard of Rosie and kept coming to the Shelter
to see her. She knew of her circumstances and desperately wanted to
help her and give her the love and care which had been missing in
her life. Rosie also had a heart murmur (common in dogs of this
breed) and, as Jenna knew the breed (she has one little sweetie
called Ruby, who is also a KCS), we agreed. When she first went to
her new home, she was frightened, wouldn't move out of her bed, so
scared of what was going to happen, but Jenna gave her all the love
and care in the world, something she must never have experienced in
her life before and slowly her confidence grew and, probably for
the very first time in her life, she was happy. When Jenna took her
to the vet for a heart x-ray, they found severe tissue damage
around her ribs and diagnosed that this showed every single one of
her ribs had been broken as if she had been kicked. Jenna and I
have kept in touch regularly since that time; each time Rosie goes
to the vet for a check-up, Jenna lets me know how she is and the
latest report on her heart murmur is that it has not deteriorated
at all. This is entirely due to the wonderful care and lifestyle
she has with Jenna, because this lady leaves nothing to chance
where Rosie and Ruby are concerned and she loves them both with all
her heart. Personally, I think I love Rosie almost as much as
Jenna, for despite her former life, her nature has not soured. She
is an affectionate, beautiful little girl who, originally, fell
into the wrong hands. But, as Jenna says now, "I idolise her, even
when she snores and keeps me awake!!" ........... thank you, Jenna,
had it not been for your exceptional dedication to her, we feel she
would not be alive today. Jacqui Founder
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MAVERICK AND MR TOM At our Shelter, our staff and volunteers
like to take pride in our care for sick and injured animals and
this doesnt exclude our own residents, who may have needed a trip
to our vet for medical treatment. We have always offered our
services to our local vet who may have animals in their surgery
that come to them as strays. Most recently, in the last week or so
of writing this, a local vet had been handed a litter of new born
kittens. While the vet can provide the daytime care, what the
litter needed was round-the-clock 24 hours care. So the vet
contacted us and asked if we could help them finding a foster home.
So now they reside in one of our foster carers homes, where they
can provide the necessary bottle feeding, while also keeping an eye
on them. It takes a lot of dedication, with time and patience to
take care of the most needy animals. So, if you feel you can
provide this care and have the understanding of what it means to
become a foster carer, dont hesitate to contact us. Maverick is
another animal from a local vet. A stray cat handed over with a
large wound on the right side of his neck. It was described by
veterinary medical notes as a large necrotic piece of skin over an
old abscess, basically meaning dead tissue created from the burst
abscess. Judging on the size of the wound, the abscess would most
probably have been golf ball in size. Cats have a high tolerance to
pain - however, given the size of the abscess, it would still have
been very painful for him. Were not sure what caused his injury ...
catching on rusty barbed wire that protects property perhaps? But
we believe its most likely caused from another cat bite. Maverick
is a male tabby and white cat, approximately around two years old.
In our care, he has shown that he is very affectionate; he allowed
us to treat his wound without any worry. Twice daily, Rita and I
would tend to his wound with careful bathing. It wasnt necessary
for any medication - mostly TLC was required and, over time, we
could see new skin growth and scabbing. We kept this up for a
further four weeks until the point where it was no longer needed.
From when Maverick came to us with a wound that looked almost
impossible to heal due to the scale of its size, was now just a
tiny pea size scab. All his fur had grown back and now he was ready
to be moved out of our sick bay to the main room for adoption. It
was only a matter of a couple of weeks before he found his forever
home. These arent the only times we have helped our local
veterinary centres and its not just the local practices too. We
have helped ones in Preston and, in the last couple of weeks, we
took in a cat from a vet in Oldham. They named him Mr Tom and asked
if we could take him, as he needed regular daily treatment and said
they wanted him to go to the place where he would get the best care
possible. Mr Tom has a wound under his left armpit, an area hard to
heal. So it is up to us to apply gel to his wound daily. Its not
too easy to do, as Mr Tom is unhappy for us to lift up his left
front leg. The vet told us that in their care he has been very
scared and skittish, but he improved over time, in which they
gained his trust. Taking him away and transporting him to a new
environment can be very stressful for any cat and this did set him
back slightly. But with our TLC, he has come on leaps and bounds,
being a much more confident cat. Mr Tom is a black and white male
cat, approximately around six years old. He is still in our care,
receiving medical treatment for his wound. Tameside Animal Shelter
like to feel we can provide care for animals, not just of our own
or locally, but animals far and wide in other areas. We thank our
staff, our volunteers and foster carers and to the vets, as without
these, those animals would have been lost. Gareth
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KENNY AND MINNIE The phone never stops ringing at the Shelter,
with people wanting to bring in cats and kittens. The moment one
goes, another follows almost immediately in its place and the sad
thing is, the flow of them coming in is far greater than them being
rehomed. Its a never ending problem, hence why we do our bit by
getting our cats neutered before leaving us. The kittens are the
first to go, they have age and the cute factor on their side. Next
are our young adults, they go especially quickly if they are
grey/ginger/torti/long-haired etc. Colourful varieties like these
are always very popular. Then the other adults go, black and
white/black cats proving least popular. Some of the last to go are
our older cats (seven-ten year olds). However, generally the very
last to go are our PAIRS. We get quite a lot of cats that are like
two peas in a pod, so how could we ever separate them? Easy, we
dont! Yes, sure, it takes a little while longer to re-home two than
just one, but they have surely been through enough without being
split up from their sibling/best friend?! We not only give them a
forever home, but a forever future with their partner. Besides,
cats normally cope much better at the Shelter being in the pen when
they have each other. We also have larger pens for our cats which
are in pairs. And so this brings me to Kenny and Minnie, our
current longest staying residents. The couple came in on 10 April
2013, which makes it over a year now they have been with us. They
came from Shaw in Oldham, because the shelters in Oldham were all
full at the time. This has happened many times before where we have
taken in animals, not only from Tameside, but from all round
Greater Manchester and beyond. It just shows how there are unwanted
animals EVERYWHERE. Kenny and Minnies owner has sadly gone into a
care home now, so had no option other than re-home them. They are
unrelated, but very close and similar-looking to one another. I
like to refer to them as husband and wife! The odds have been
stacked against them, because they are black and white, age eight
and ten - and a pair! As I stated before, unfortunately, these all
turn out to be negatives, for some reason, and this is what we
think has been holding them back. I think, however, that whoever is
to re-home these two will be one of the luckiest people in the
world! And I will be personally very jealous indeed! I would have
had them myself long ago, if it wasnt for my little princess (Zoe,
my cat at home wanting me all to herself). As soon as you go to
their pen, they get out of bed and down the ramp to greet you,
saying hello too. There is a long run for the cats to wander up and
down while we clean them out. In the middle of the run is the door
to the feeding area. Once Minnie figured out what happens in there
(being the impatient little lady she is!), she learnt how to open
the door with her paw! Once in there, she rubs against my legs and
cries at me! Once the food is put down, Minnie always has first
choice of which meal she prefers! Pushing Kennys head out of the
way while she judges! Kenny is the quieter of the two, while Minnie
takes centre stage! Once meal time is over and they have had an
explore, they then always enjoy cuddle time. There are chairs in
the cat pens for us to sit on while we give the cats some
attention. As soon as Im sat down, Minnie climbs aboard. Kenny
stays more in the background, but does love a stroke and cuddle
himself too. Licking is more of a dog thing, however Ive come
across one or two cats during my time at the Shelter who do it too
- one of them is Minnie - she even licks my face, which makes me
feel really special because you dont often find cats who display
such affection in this way and now even quiet, reserved Kenny has
started to do the same! They are two of the gentlest,
sweetest-natured cats ever. The bond we have is really strong and I
know someone who has a space in their homes and hearts will soon
get the same great bond we have too! Steven Robinson-Perry Animal
Welfare Officer
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JASMINE Hello everyone. My name is Paige and I am a volunteer at
TAS. I have been for three years and I love my job here. I started
when I was 12, coming to do dog walking for two years and when I
turned 14, I signed up to be a volunteer so I could start to clean
out the cats and dogs. I have learned loads working here about all
the animals. I have had some sad times when my favourite animal has
gone. I have had many, but what I really want to tell you all is
about Jasmine, my beautiful girl. She is an amazing dog. When she
first come into us, she was very timid at first. She never came out
to say hello - she always stayed in her kennel for a while. When I
saw her, I really liked her. She was a STUNNER!!!! She really took
my eye, so from that day on, I really wanted to get close to her.
When I went into her kennel, she was very scared, so I let her
sniff my hand. Then she came around to greet me to say hello and
she jumped up at me to say hi and kissed my face, so I got into her
bed and sat with her for about 15 minutes. She curled up onto my
knee and fall asleep on me. When it was time to go, she did not
want me to leave and she jumped up at me and licked me again and
did a cheeky grin as if to say DONT GO. I had to go to finish off
my dogs and she tried to get out of the kennel to follow me. I had
to stop her so I could carry on with my dogs and she was there
still giving me that cheeky grin, so I could not resist going back
in with her. I spoiled her that day - LOL! - that day I really
spent most of my time with her; took her out on a walk and went for
a run on the field - it was a really good day. Later on, I let her
out with one of the staff member's dogs, Capone, Stevens dog, and
she loved Capone. They were great together, running around on the
yard, happy as anything that day. Jasmine really came out of her
shell after that and she loved all the attention she could get. She
loved it when people came to see her such as myself, but what I
really want to tell you all - if you end up having her, you will
have the best dog ever - she means the world to me so I will be
very upset when she goes, but really happy for her. I hope someone
out there can give her a forever home. Thank you for reading this -
and hope to see you all at the Fair. Paige TAMESIDE ANIMAL SHELTER
Im Millie-Jo - I started my volunteering at TAS earlier this year
to contribute towards my DofE Bronze Award. Im only supposed to do
one hour per week for thirteen weeks but, as it stands, the
Shelters residents are far too adorable to spend such a short
amount of time with! I can quite easily spend anything from 5-6
hours straight every Saturday with the Shelters loveable, furry
occupants and I intend to carry on volunteering at this wonderful
place long after my first award is completed. Ive always been a
keen animal lover, with three friendly felines of my own, and so
choosing to volunteer at Tameside Animal Shelter was an absolute
no-brainer and one of the most amazing and rewarding things Ive
ever done. Yet no matter how much work and effort we put into
giving all our furry friends here a clean and comfortable living
space, absolutely nothing compares to a nice new home and loving
family to live with. Whether its donations, adoptions, volunteering
or even just sharing our online posts, every little bit of help
really does go a long way in ensuring our animals have the best and
brightest future possible. Millie-Jo TAMESIDE ANIMAL SHELTER
FUNDRAISING SHOP I have worked at the Fundraising Shop since July
last year. I have enjoyed every minute! Knowing that in some small
way I am helping the Shelter in their work has been brilliant! I
have made good friends, who all have the same goal - to help
unwanted cats and dogs find their forever home. We have many a
laugh with friends who pop in and there are also a lot of
characters in Hyde who enrich our lives in many ways. We have been
through some tough times this year, but as a unit we have come
through and are stronger than ever. I have always admired TAS and
the work it does and I am so proud to be part of it. Please pay us
a visit when you are in Hyde - we are open 11.00 am-5.00 pm every
day, except Sundays!! Chris Marsh Volunteer
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TAS AND WHY ITS SO SPECIAL (TAS AND ME BY NICOLA) I came across
TAS just over nine years ago when I adopted my little girl, Ria,
now aged 10. I came a couple of times a year following that, but
just with treats for the dogs. About four years after getting Ria
(I had two dogs by then, Ria and Sasha), I went to the Shelter with
treats and saw this big male black staffy called Saracen. He had
been at TAS about six/eight weeks and the lady who worked here told
me he would be a hard-to-home dog because of his size, breed and
age (he was seven). I asked if it was possible to foster Saracen
and it wasnt something they had done a lot of, but thought it would
be a good idea to be able to give him history. After two weeks, I
could do a brilliant write-up on him; on how he played football,
lived with two dogs and a cat and was good off the lead, etc. After
a further two weeks, he was rehomed I was very sad and happy and
didnt foster for a while, as I missed Saracen and didnt want to put
myself through that again. I did start to foster again and not just
for TAS; for Manchester Dogs Home too. TAS did ask me to foster
Capone, who was a very different dog then to what you see today and
I didnt feel he would fit with my family life thankfully Steven did
and he is now a perfect family dog who lives with cats. I mainly
fostered dogs who were struggling in kennels, had been there for
quite some time or were poorly. I fostered all kinds of dogs, but
mainly Staffordshire bull terriers. I also fostered a cat called
Millie, who had been at TAS for two years. Five years ago, I
started dog-walking at the Shelter and have got into animal welfare
in many different ways. I used to take the dogs out with my dogs
and so could test them with my dogs and I stuck with the same dogs
week after week. Over the years, I have had many favourites here
are some of them Dandy (one of the best dogs ever); Shiloh; Cleo;
Rico; Daisy; Maddy (collie-cross); Buster (quite a few of them);
Bruno (he was a very strong brindle staffy and once knocked my
friend right off his feet!); Kia; Kane; Millor; Taffy (boxer); Max
(boxer); Enzo; Duke; Snoopy (one of my fosters too); Dougal; Ruby
(the collie that didnt like a lot of people to start with until she
knew you); Roxy (another of my fosters who came in with a skin
complaint from the pound she went missing from the adopter's house
and has never been found); Roman; Turbo; Tyson; Nelson; Ricky (the
bear); Gary (the very, very scared greyhound loved dogs; was scared
of humans); Fiona (feisty little thing); Ruby (I loved Ruby and she
didnt like a lot of people, but we were great pals. She now comes
in for boarding and hates me - lol); Oscar (the lovable quirky
Westie, also one of my fosters); Daffodil; Pixie; Benny (my current
favourite and long term resident, who had a sleep-over at mine to
give him a break); Lola was also one of my fosters, but is now a
permanent member of my family. Until I came to TAS, I didnt think
much about Staffordshire bull terriers, but now they are
undoubtedly my favourite dog. They are kind natured, fun, grateful,
loving, giddy, loyal and much, much more I adore them! I have
visited lots of shelters and dogs' homes in the UK and abroad and
have a lot of respect for every shelter and the volunteers and
staff who work at them all. I have never and would never say
anything derogatory about another shelter, as it is a never ending
battle saving unwanted and neglected animals; its not glamorous
work, but very rewarding most of the time. I get involved in all
sorts of work at the Shelter now and enjoy it, but sometimes
despair of the human race. I love Tameside Animal Shelter and I
love being part of the team at the Shelter and the team extends to
our supporters. Everyone just mucks in at the Shelter and does what
needs doing and all our supporters just pull together whenever
needed and when emergencies arise, such as Chance (the dog with
mange). One big happy team!! TAS saves so many lives a year and I
am not sure anyone realises just how many dogs come through TAS and
I, for one, want to thank TAS and the rest of the team and Jacqui
for being the founder of such a wonderful place.
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BAILEY As you may remember from a previous Newsletter, I was
very much hoping to rehome a lurcher, Birch, whom my hubby and I
had rescued from a pound in Reddish, near Birmingham, but
unfortunately for us couldnt, due to the fact that he was rather
partial to our cats - and not in a good way! He still has his
wonderful forever home with Marina and is a much loved, spoiled and
doted-on pooch of her family, which is brilliant - a bad start in
life, but a super ending. Over several months, I scoured TAS's
website in the hope that an older dog, proven to like or happy to
ignore cats (especially anti-social ones like I have!), or a puppy,
would come in, but slowly got more and more deflated as the weeks
passed, when none came into the Shelter. I started looking at other
animal shelters, but again, cat-friendly dogs seemed a rare find -
and I was becoming resigned to the fact that I was obviously not
going to be a pooch-mom whilst being a cat-mom. After losing my
darling Blue-dog at Christmas 2012, whom I had loved as my baby for
over 16 years, I initially hadnt wanted to adopt another dog, as
really didnt think I could handle the pain of losing him/her - but
after several months, I did feel ready that Jef and I - and our
respective Mums! - could offer a dog a good home. We didnt want to
buy from a breeder or a pet shop - and Christmas was looming and
the majority of good animal shelters do not rehome over
Christmas/New Year due to the multitude of returns afterwards when
the initial fascination of a new pet sadly deteriorates. But then,
out of the blue(!) for me - but apparently after weeks of
"scheming" and planning by a certain duo - Jef sat me down on 20
December last year and said we were being home-checked that
afternoon and, if all went according to plan, we were going to
fetch a rescue puppy - a nine week old mongrel, who had been
abandoned in a box with his three sisters, when they were about
five weeks old, but so very fortunately had been found and fostered
and were now ready for rehoming. We were so lucky that we were
approved by the home-checker to adopt for Christmas - and we picked
up my boy, Bailey, on 22 December - what an adorable, beautiful,
totally barmy, loving baby he is too! Bailey is now six months old
and is helping to fill the humungous hole left by our darling
Blue-dog, whom is still so very much missed and never ever to be
forgotten. I can honestly say that, having lost a fur-baby who was
my entire world, being able to and ready to adopt another four
legged critter has been one of the best healing therapies for pain
loss ever. Sara
COULD IT BE MAGIC! Theres something very special about Tameside
Animal Shelter, just ask any of the dedicated staff or volunteers.
Their answers will be many and varied, but one thing they will all
agree on is that TAS is magic and when you fall under its spell,
you will never want to leave. I came to the Shelter in January 2011
and I would like to share with you what I think makes TAS so
special and why, to me, its the best place in the world! The one
thing that flows throughout TAS is the love and care that is shown
to every animal that comes through the gate. We treat them all as
if they were our own and are constantly striving to make their
lives happier whilst they are with us. A lot of people are unaware
that in the mornings before we open to the public, whilst the
kennels and cat pens are being cleaned out, the dogs have turns
running free in the yard and we try to let every cat have some
freedom and fun-time exploring the room that they are in - this
also happens after closing time at 5.00 pm. Jacqui even decided to
close the Shelter to the public on Wednesdays so we could totally
dedicate this day to all our residents. If we find that any dog or
cat seems stressed or unhappy in any way, extra time is spent with
them trying everything we can to improve their quality of life and
giving them lots of extra love and cuddles.
RIP, Darling Blue
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I have seen so many dogs and cats come in that are absolutely
terrified, some of them even showing aggressive behaviour, simply
because they are scared and have been badly treated in the past.
Its a joy to behold to watch them blossom and their personalities
start to shine through after they have been with us for a few days;
the look of fear goes from their eyes; they no longer flinch when
we raise our hands to reach up for something off a shelf or a lead
hung up on the kennel door; tails that have been tucked firmly
between legs start to wag as soon as they see us approach. This is
the start to an amazing new future for them. The love we have for
the residents also extends to all the dogs and cats that are
boarding with us whilst their families are on holiday. We are only
too well aware that this is their holiday too and they will be
missing their Mums and Dads, so we do everything we possibly can to
make their stay special. It does seem to work, because lots of
returning boarders bound through our gates and greet us like long
lost friends. Their families tell us that they get very excited
when they realise they are coming to the Shelter and that they
wouldnt leave their fur babies anywhere else. If you are nervous
about leaving your baby with us for the first time, you are welcome
to phone us at any time to ask how they are settling in and if you
request it, well even send you a text! The re-homing record at TAS
is second to none and, as many of you know, the Shelter accepts red
alert cases from dog pounds all over the country, saving them from
being put to sleep and giving them a brand new start to begin life
again. Every time one of them goes on to a new forever home, our
dear friend, Andrea Hunt, says It's TAS' magic again! So, just what
is TAS' Magic? Is it the pure love and devotion shown to every
animal that arrives at this Shelter? Or is it something more?
................... Well Im not going to tell you, youll just have
to come down and experience it for yourself! I did and am still
here three years later, I cannot imagine living without it!
Rita
RESIDENTS SEEKING FUR-EVER HOMES Jess: Jess is still looking for
her forever home - a beautiful German Shepherd-cross. She's in
foster with Kerry, who adores her, but sadly cannot keep her. Jess
is a lovely girl, who gets on with other dogs, but isn't keen on
cats. She is currently living with another female dog. She had a
terrible start in life and seems to have been passed around quite a
bit, so her next home definitely needs to be her permanent forever
home. She is chipped and the last registered owner explained that
they found her tied up with half her fur missing and they took her
home and got her right, but after a while one of their dogs and
Jess stopped getting along and they said they signed her over to
The Dogs Trust ... We don't know how she then ended up in the
pound, as this is all third party info. Jess is a gentle soul, who
needs lots of exercise. Kerry reports that she is a lovely
character, who makes lots of different quirky noises!
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Benny: A follow up on our lovely boy Benny, whom many of us
adore. As you may remember, the Christmas Newsletter contained a
story on one of our long-stay residents, Benny, and sadly our baby
boy is still with us ..... WHY?? Benny is getting more loveable all
the time (if that's possible). You would think that after being at
our Shelter for over a year now that he would be institutionalised,
but not our boy. He loves life!!!! Benny has moved kennels several
times to try and help to get him noticed and has had quite a lot of
interest; it's just that the right family haven't come along yet.
Benny is a big hit with the children who visit the Shelter with
their parents and they are a hit with him too as they play ball
with him for ages. He pushes his ball under the kennel gate and
stands back staring at the ball until you kick it or throw it back
in for him and the process starts again and again and again! I've
seen children stand there for half an hour doing this and he loves
it. If you ever visit our Facebook site, there are videos of Benny
playing ball and you will see that this is his favourite past-time.
Benny also loves cuddles and has become a favourite with a lot of
our volunteer dog walkers - young and old. One Winter's evening,
one of our volunteers even tucked Benny up in bed and cuddled him,
singing to him until he fell asleep (at our place, you don't have
to be mad to work here, but it certainly helps!). The top and
bottom of it is - EVERYONE who meets Benny LOVES BENNY ..... So why
is he still with us? We know he doesn't like cats and small
furries; he prefers not to be around other dogs and avoids them
whilst out walking. He has walked nicely on a number of occasions
with a female dog and probably could live with a friendly female
dog with slow and patient introductions, although he may be better
as an only pet. Please share Benny's details amongst any of your
friends that may be looking at getting a new best friend, as he may
just be their missing family member and they don't know it yet.
Benny is neutered, vaccinated, flea'd, wormed and chipped. Thank
you everyone and please do visit our Facebook group and Facebook
page; see all our furries, read their stories and join in
conversations. Thank you from all the staff and volunteers at TAS.
xxxxx We LOVE you, Benny. xxxxxxxx
Arnold Arnold is around four years old and came to us from the
pound on the day he was due to be put to sleep. He is a very
friendly dog; he loves all people and gets on well with other dogs.
Arnold is pictured here with one of our hard working volunteers,
Steven.
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Zena Zena has been with us quite some time now and is
approximately four years old - she is adorable. Zena loves people
and is good with other dogs .... she can even talk ;).
Linc Linc is a handsome friendly chappy (German Shepherd-cross),
who came to us on 2 February this year. Linc is two years old. He
seems okay with other dogs. When he was in a home, he saw cats in
the garden but didn't chase them and has shown no interest in our
yard cats. Linc is vaccinated and chipped and will be neutered.
He's not had a great start in life and has had quite a few homes in
his short life ... He was taken off one so-called owner for
stapling his tail and yet still he loves people, but can
occasionally be nervy .... Please help us to find this big friendly
lad his final and forever loving home.
Chance We help whenever we can, we are a caring Shelter, but
could not do it without all your support ... Please read Chance's
story: Chance was brought to the Shelter squashed in a cat carrier
... He was scared and wouldn't let anyone near him ... His fur was
missing and he had scabs all over his body, some that bad they
cracked and oozed pus when he moved. The guy who brought him in
said he wasn't his - he was a stray, so we had to phone the dog
warden, who took him and eventually he went to Manchester Dogs
Home, which is also our local pound. He served his seven days and
was not claimed and they agreed they would let TAS have him back,
but that he was fear-aggressive and had mange. We knew it was going
to be a long expensive process to get him right, but we appealed to
you, our supporters, and, as always, you didn't let us down. We got
the funds to pay for his treatment. Lisa Bradburn, one of our
volunteers, took him home short-term and he is now in his third
month at Lisa's! To cut a very long story short for this
Newsletter, Chance is doing well; he is still on meds and still on
regular visits to the vets; his fur has grown back and his
confidence has grown too. He is a lovely playful little dog once he
knows you, but can be nervous on first meeting. He has some food
aggression, but a very good behaviourist who has offered his help
at the Shelter, Martin Shea, is going to help Lisa and Chance to
manage this. Chance, we think, is a Patterdale-cross and is
approximately 18 months old. He will be looking for his new home in
the future. Our thanks go to you for making this possible; Angela
for all her running around and Lisa for being his fairy
dog-mother.
Before Now
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Solomon and Luna These two are approximately one year old very
friendly .. Solomon is male and Luna is female ... Have lived
happily with a dog x
Marmaduke is a young chap and a very loving n friendly, was
found as a stray x
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING: To all who donate to us by
Standing Order, we thank you for choosing US as recipients of your
kindness. Since our Facebook page was launched, we have noticed a
marked increase in donations, for which we and our residents are so
very thankful to each and every one of you who participate in this
scheme. To all our volunteers: whether it be dog walking, cleaning,
helping at our shop, coming to the Shelter and socialising with the
cats - in fact, anything at all, we thank you - for without your
help, our work would be so much more difficult. The strength of TAS
is in its volunteers. FOSTERING is such a vital and important job
and we are so fortunate to have a team of fosterers for our dogs
and kittens, who do a remarkable job. We can never quite thank them
enough, especially when extra TLC is needed for poorly animals, so
to those who fall into this category, our thanks from the bottom of
our hearts. To all who donate items to our Shelter and to our shop,
so many of you on a regular basis, your support is never taken for
granted. This includes companies, organisations and individuals. To
Sara, for collating this Newsletter for us, our dear friend who
never, ever lets us down, thank you, my dear friend.