ANGEL…a year on

 Angel came to us as an emergency admission when her owner sadly died and was very traumatised and shut down. This is what she has to tell us having had Angel for a year…..

MORLEY

We are delighted to say that at last, after a year’s wait, Morley the Akita/Husky has been adopted.  He came to us at a year old from a very poor home where he had been kept outside in an industrial yard, with no shelter and food being provided by a concerned neighbour. He shared this ‘home’ with his mum and dad Star and Rico and five puppies. He was a big, bouncy boy who had received no training and knew nothing of the outside world, having lived all his life in the yard. However, he was a sweet natured boy who loved people and had a happy go lucky personality.  We had begun to despair of ever succeeding in finding his forever home when his turn finally came. Morley is now enjoying life with his new family, is doing very well and his adopters tell us that they are happy to have him.

CLARA

Long haired ginger Clara was found living on a demolition site struggling to raise her five kittens. Fortunately ‘Good Samaritans’ on the site were feeding her as otherwise she and her family  would not have survived.  She was painfully thin when she arrived with us and had lost the sight of one eye.  Our vet thinks she had sustained an injury to the eye which had then become infected, resulting in the eyeball rupturing…imagine what pain this poor cat was in.  Even so she managed to rear her kittens and she and three of her family (Simon, Rupert and Henry) came into the safety of The Ark (sadly two of her kittens were never caught and not seen on the site again).  Once Clara was on a good diet she started to put on weight and her health improved, so much so that, whilst we had previously thought she was quite an old lady, the vet decided that she was actually only about three years old!  Naturally, Clara received all the veterinary care she needed and her eye was attended to…she had to wear a plastic collar whilst the eye socket healed…this was not popular! We are delighted to say that Clara and her kittens, Simon, Rupert and Henry, have all found loving new homes.  Clara’s owners tell us that “she is very playful and loving and is the most beautiful girl.  She melts our hearts every single day. She’s also helped bring a new lease of life to our other cat, Leonard who was missing a house mate after the loss of our old boy Dusty.  They get on really well – but this lady rules the roost (she’s twice his size)!  Thank you so much for giving this wonderful girl a chance at a new life – we feel so lucky to have her and love her so much.”

Simon, Rupert and Henry

MANGO

This friendly ginger cat had been run over and left lying badly injured at the side of the road.  He was found by a passer-by and taken to a nearby vet, who contacted us and asked if we would step in, take him into our care and pay for the veterinary treatment he urgently required. We immediately agreed and had him brought to the safety of The Ark.  On examination by our own vet, we discovered that Mango had a badly broken pelvis that would need to be operated on. This involved a complicated procedure pinning his pelvis back together, with the obvious concern that it might not be successful and that he would not regain the use of his back legs.  We’re pleased to say that over the following weeks in our care he recovered well from the operation and this lovely boy was then chosen for adoption.  His new owner tells us “he is governing the house and is Boss Cat.  We love having him around and he is super cuddly and chatty. He is enjoying his new life and has several snooze spots round the house…a sunny windowsill being a firm favourite. He has a full array of toys and loves them, dashing around up and down our stairs wrestling with whatever catches his eye.  Mango has gone from strength to strength, he is super chatty and loves cuddles.  He charms anyone who meets him…what a joy he is.  He has taken over our family and we love him lots.

HUNTER (now Hector)

 Hunter had spent most of his time in a cage before coming to us and had suffered a broken leg which his owners did not get treated. On arrival at The Ark he was very lame and was given physiotherapy and hydrotherapy to try to correct this, but he then developed a problem with his cruciate ligament and had to have one of his back legs amputated. This didn’t stop him for a moment… and he was soon racing round again. After a long wait he was finally adopted and, renamed Hector, lives just down the road from The Ark.  His owners tell us:

“He has become the centre of the household and his sparky, waggly tailed, affectionate good humour is extraordinary in a young dog whose first year of life was so traumatic. His recuperation continues apace as he grows stronger and more balanced, he is a versatile ‘tripod’ whose joyful twizzles on the lawn are amazing.  He loves our garden and races about with some impressive cornering. He recently mastered the stairs and seems to get comfort from now knowing the whole extent of the domain he believes he has charge of.  He has calmed down considerably and is doing well with his clicker training.  He has friends who visit and he knows how to greet them nicely. His sometimes reactive and guarding behaviour is easier to predict and manage and he is learning that we can be trusted to look after the car, the house and him and that he can relax.  He’s still only a young dog, but has come a long way – he’s such a sun-shiny boy.”

ROBBIE

Many of you who follow us on Facebook will have seen the special appeals we did for Robbie, who we also featured in our October Newsletter.  He came into our care as an American Bully but sadly when DEFRA released the measurement criteria for deciding whether or not a dog would be classed as a Bully XL, Robbie just fell into this category.  Again, as most of you will be aware, new legislation was passed at the end of 2023 placing severe restrictions on ownership of this type and rescue centres who had any in their care as at the 31st December would not be allowed to rehome them. This of course meant that these dogs would then face a life in kennels or, worse still, be put to sleep.  This legislation has created huge problems and distress across the rescue sector. We had repeatedly tried over several months to find our lovely Robbie….an extremely friendly, loving boy….a new home and as the deadline for being allowed to rehome him approached we were in despair.  We tried one final appeal and several potential adopters did come to see him and all really liked him, but were put off by the special requirements they would need to follow if taking on the ownership of a Bully XL – a banned breed.  At the last minute another family came along to see him and not only did they like him….they adopted him!! Phew!!  We are delighted to say that he is doing well and continuing  to be the affectionate, friendly boy we grew to love at The Ark.  Now called Bobbie he enjoys going for fun and games in an approved, secure exercise field.

SASH

This lovely young Border Collie was rescued from a dreadful home on a farm in Wales.  She was kept tied up to a trailer and only fed on cattle food.  Poor Sash was very thin when she arrived at The Ark, weighing less than 10 kg (she should have weighed nearly twice that!!).  She was in a pitiful state, very timid and frightened with a filthy, matted coat. This sad little girl didn’t know how to play with  toys and had obviously received some rough treatment in the past.  Despite her awful life she had a very sweet nature and fortunately Gethyn, one of our dog walking volunteers, who had recently lost his old dog, spotted Sash and offered her a loving home.  Our animal behaviourist is working with Sash (now called Bonnie)  to improve her recall when off lead and she is making real progress.  Gethyn tells us that considering her bad start in life Bonnie is a very friendly dog, happy to meet people and their dogs when they are out walking.  Bonnie even attended the dog walkers Christmas get together….a far cry from a lonely life with only a trailer for company!!

IGGY

Iggy, an Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog,  originally came into our care as an 8 week old puppy when his breeder could not sell him.  Iggy was deaf and also had very limited vision in one eye.  Despite this he was an active, cheerful little chap and quickly found a new home.  Sadly, some four years later, Iggy found himself back at The Ark after his owner sadly suddenly passed away.  He was still the same loving, happy dog and quickly settled back into life here.  We then noticed that he had a limp, which on veterinary inspection proved to be a problem with a cruciate ligament and Iggy had to have an operation on this.  He took this in his stride and happily had physio treatments and also went swimming  at the hydrotherapy centre to aid his recovery.  We are delighted to say that he has now found a loving new owner and shares his life with  two dogs, one of whom is also deaf and partially sighted.

SPARKY & JAZZ

This pair of young, shy cats were at The Ark for over 18 months and were on our Sponsor a Long Stay Cat Scheme before finally finding a new home. We wrote about their early days with their new owner in our last Newsletter and have since had an update on their progress, supplied by Sparky and Jazz themselves.

“Our new humans have changed our names to Freya and Thor…we quite like them and think they suit us.  We are training our humans and have now got them into a routine of food, rest and treats.  They are quick learners and well behaved. We enjoy watching them and like taking treats from them but we don’t allow them to touch us.  Sometimes we will get closer to them and might even rub their feet (which they seem to like)…one day we might let them stroke us…if they continue to behave! We have a lovely room to ourselves and feel very safe and comfortable in it.  It has lots of beds and hiding spots and a big window for bird watching.  We enjoy running all over the house and there are big stairs down to a room that has lots of toys and a big climbing tree.  We can get a good speed up when we have ‘zoomies’!  We have to go now as it’s time for lunch but will update you again soon on our adventures.”

POPPY

Poppy a rather feisty tabby cat had rather a long wait for adoption….she was very friendly but did let us know when she had enough of us!  Happily she is now in a new home and has come to an ‘arrangement’ with her owners…they have worked out that if they just let her have her own way all the time and obey her every command she doesn’t bite them!

JACK

Jack, who was on the Sponsorship scheme, has finally found a new home over the border in Scotland!  His new owner saw our Facebook appeal and fell in love with him, making the long journey to come to see him. They ‘clicked’ straight away and after a three day visit off they both went back to St. Andrews.  He has settled well in his new home, sleeps next to his owner’s bed and enjoys exploring the garden. 

HARRY

Harry’s owner sadly passed away and he came to us for rehoming.  He was a placid, friendly cat who took the move to The Ark in his stride.  He is now in a new home and enjoys sleeping on the bed in the sunshine as well as sitting on laps when his new owners settle down to watch TV in the evenings. They tell us that Harry’s time is made up… fuss, eat, sleep and repeat these throughout the day!

SNOW

Beautiful white cat Snow came to us after his owner moved and couldn’t take him along.  He is now living with a new owner who says that she couldn’t have wished for a lovelier cat.  He follows her everywhere and likes to sit on her lap or next to her.  

SOPHIE & SALLY…latest news!

Elderly Jack Russells Sophie and Sally are enjoying their new country life and have recently been on a big adventure. They travelled up to Yorkshire in their owner’s horsebox to attend a horse driving weekend.  They went on a 12 mile drive with Daisy the horse, stopping at a local pub for refreshments.  They both behaved really well, making lots of new friends, both four legged and two!

LILY & BARRY

Lily and Barry, two attractive white cats, came to us after Lily had an unplanned litter of kittens when only six months old!    She was rather a shy and sensitive girl and was not coping  living in a busy household with other cats, so came to us with one of her half grown kittens, Barry.  They were in poor condition and suffering from severe ringworm which required veterinary care for some time before this cleared up. Once they felt more comfortable they cheered up. Barry proved to be a friendly, mischievous young cat and we could have quickly found him a new home, but we wanted to keep the two cats together as they were closely bonded and Lily was more confident in his company.  After quite a long wait…four months….the perfect owners came along who were happy to take on both cats and already say that they love having them living with them. 

Hmmm….this is even better….a home of our own!

HAPPY HARLEY!

Harley, a 7 year old Staffie X, had been with us for 11 months before finding his perfect home.   He  was not very confident and was rather shy when first meeting new people but once he got to know them he was then very friendly.  Despite previously  sharing a home with another dog, Harley was not a fan of his fellow dogs and was quite reactive when meeting them.  He was enrolled into our Ark Academy to learn how to be calmer around them.  He also suffered from separation anxiety and was not happy being left by himself.  We were delighted when a couple came to see him who weren’t put off by his problems or boisterous behaviour and decided to give him a try.  We are delighted to tell you that they say “He is a gorgeous boy and we absolutely love him”.  Over time he has settled down in the house and now enjoys cuddles and is not so anxious about being left by himself.  Whilst still not keen on meeting other dogs, he is now calmer when he sees them.  He also goes with his owners to their allotment and sits quietly and waits while they let the chickens out.   His new owners tell us “He is ‘our boy’ and is definitely in his forever home”.

SOPHIE & SALLY

SOPHIE AND SALLY two little Jack Russells came to us when their owner could no longer care for them. There was a big age discrepancy between the two….Sally was 13 years old but her best friend Sophie was only 2 years old.  Sally was very sprightly for her age and loved her walks and playtimes with her toys.   Her tail was always wagging and she wore such a happy expression that she quickly became a favourite with our volunteer dog walkers.  Sophie was quieter and rather shy, although she enjoyed a fuss and a gentle potter about the grounds.  They were such good pals we knew we needed to find them a home together. For some time we simply had no enquiries for this delightful duo but then, after almost three months, their luck changed and an enquiry came from an adopter happy to take on both girls.  Their new owner tells us “I can’t believe how these two little dogs have settled with us. Sophie has grown so much in confidence and comes with me every day to muck out the horses.  I leave the back door ajar and, whilst Sally goes back into the house when she has had enough, Sophie stays with me until I’ve finished.  She ploughs through mud, cow muck and horse poo with gay abandon! She was scared of the tractor at first but now loves to sit in it with Carl.  The two of them have fitted into our lives almost seamlessly.  We both love them so much”.

A delightful duo!