All too often we hear and read moans of KAR not helping enough – not doing enough – not taking in as many animals as they should etc . Such moans and groans do little to boost the morale of the many volunteers who help at KAR (at the Centre and in other areas of KAR). But still they continue to help and work their socks off – all to help the animals that KAR help.
Our Centre Puppy carers have certainly had a busy few months. Day in, day out the numbers of puppies coming into the Centre continues . In April 2015 72 puppies were taken in at the Centre, Mays new arrivals was 77 puppies and June was 78. 227 in just 3 months. That is without the adult dogs, cats and kittens that come into the Centre.
These puppies are dumped at the centre – dumped at the office – dumped at the Charity shop. They are brought in following telephone reports from concerned members of the public or following reports from the local Beledeyesi who work with KAR. They come in with our Community Warden who steadily works his way through a variety of cat and dog hotline reports.
But throughout it all KAR and its band of volunteers continues to help – by the ongoing campaign to neuter stray dogs and cats, by visits by the KAR education team to local schools, by treating the many illnesses and injuries that are evident, by feeding and caring for the many animals at the Centre on a long term basis … and the list goes on.
Despite the moans and groans, from all and sundry , the staff and volunteers carry on – they carry on because they care – and they carry on with good humour and kindness as can be seen by the following article written by Pat.
[b]A day in the life of a puppy carer[/b]
My day starts, not with the puppies, but with a little ritual involving Timmy, a dog who has been with us since 2009. Timmy can only be described as eccentric and he likes to start his day with a plastic bottle in his mouth. So, on arrival, I have in my bag one plastic bottle to throw to Timmy to catch and run around with. My first job is completed and as you can see, Timmy is very happy with a bottle held firmly in his teeth!
The older pups have their breakfast first. Balancing 15 large bowls of food with 20 plus pups jostling for position is no mean feat. I have never yet gone flying, but there’s always a first time. The food is demolished in less than a minute and then I feed the pups in ER7. They too polish off their breakfast quickly and all the bowls/trays are cleared.
Next is a more thorough clean of the puppy areas. The floors are disinfected, the beds cleared of dirty bedding and cleaned. If there are pups in cages then they are moved into a clean cage while I clean the dirty ones. Drinking water is replaced. This all sounds quite straightforward – apart from one thing... The puppies. They like to help or rather, they like to get in the way. They particularly like to chew the hose if it is laid on the floor for one second and the floor scraper is one big game to some of them
Now this is what they are usually like – all clamouring for a bit of love and attention.
By now it is around 10am and time for a quick tea break. A family on holiday have arrived and are taking some dogs for a walk. Sid and Salt from Pine Walk have just been out and now it’s the turn of Mitch, Cecille and Missy in ER3.
My next job is to clean the ER block, which consists of 6 kennels. The ER block holds smaller dogs and others than are recovering from illness or injury. Again, the floors and beds are cleaned and the drinking water changed.[/i]
One of the residents of ER block is Beedy, a Cyprus terrier who was already at the centre when I first started back in 2008. Beedy was a bit of an ankle-biter all those years ago but he is a bit more sedate these days, probably because he doesn’t have too many teeth left!
A quick clear up near Shannon, a grey terrier who lives under the tree and then it’s the Cornerhouse. The current residents of the Cornerhouse are a French bulldog who was abandoned at the centre, Cinders a little white & tan dog and a small black sausage dog who has a skin condition. Cinders and the sausage dog are both friendly little dogs and they just love to be picked up and made a fuss of. The French bulldog is rather sad, probably wondering why his owner didn’t want him anymore and left him at the rescue centre.
Another visitor has arrived and taken 2 compound dogs for a walk – Samson and Wotsit. He is looking for a dog to home and takes a shine to Bindy – a small husky cross who has been with us since the end of 2013. He goes away to think about it and kindly leaves a generous donation. About 30 minutes later he is back, having decided to take Bindy today. What excellent news! After the new owner has gone through the homing paperwork with Joanna, it’s time to say Goodbye to Bindy – she is such a lucky girl!
It is getting near to lunchtime so I go back to the puppy area for another clear-up before the afternoon feed. I give the puppies clear instructions – “no more pooing before dinner” – do they listen? No, they do not! [/i]
After having a quick bite to eat, I like to take a walk round the compounds and say Hello to all the dogs. It’s become part of my routine. It is the same dogs every time who wait for me as I go round – Mini, Galaxy, Gloria, Geri plus about 100 others! Some are not so interested in my visit, they look up, think to themselves “Oh it’s her again” and go back to sleep.
By now it’s 2 o’clock and time for the afternoon feeds. The larger puppies are first to be fed, followed by the pups in ER7. If any pups do not eat or are too slow, then I take them inside and give them a separate feed.
The dogs in ER block are fed next, followed by the Sandpit (Ellis doesn’t try to escape this time) and the Cornerhouse. Afterwards all the feeding bowls are collected and taken inside for washing.
My last job of the day is, yes you’ve guessed it – clearing up poo. A final scrub of the floors, clean bedding is put down and the water bowls are topped up. The puppies are still trying to help, some of them particularly like to catch the water from the hose! Finally, they start to settle down for the night and curl up in their beds. So it’s “Goodnight puppies” from me and see you next Sunday. Time to go home and have a much needed shower!
