Week 18 - Animal Shelter Visit

Support an animal shelter!

This week I will be visiting Bleakholt animal shelter (see April entry of project 12 for more info) for the shelter's Spring open day and fundraiser. I was planning to donate some knitted blankets (if made in time, but sadly these were not) and cat toys for the shelters resident cats. The open day itself was held on April 27th, approximately 12 pm til 4 pm.

After getting lost on the drive, and travelling through Darwen, which is a very beautiful area, myself and my partner arrived at Bleakholt. We spent some time with the horse and ponies, stroked a barn owl and a rabbit, visited the goats, the dogs and went to see the OAP cats as you can go into their section to handle them. Sadly, a few of the OAP residents who were around last summer and at their winter open day [November] don't appear to have survived the winter, looking at their charts.  I don't have any photographs of the animals as it was too crowded to take any decent ones.   I advise anybody in the area who are looking for a pet or companion animal to get in touch with Bleakholt. They have many wonderful animals who would make a great edition to any family or single.

Some of the dogs I saw today can be seen on this page from the Bleakholt website http://www.bleakholt.org/dogs-available.html Spike (patterdale) was especially sweet. With the cats, seen here: http://www.bleakholt.org/cats-available-for-adoption.html , Jasmine, Breeze (who is the double of my old [r.i.p] cat Sox, Sascha (who was very affectionate once you gave her a minute) and another cat, Axtlor(? not pictured) who is quite possibly the quietest cat in the world [nobody has ever heard him miaow] stick in my mind.

Spotlight on.... The Society for Abandoned Animals

As part of the preparation for 'Help the Homeless Animals' month, I interviewed Rachel, who is one of the volunteers and a trustee at SAA (The Society for Abandoned Animals), which is located at Mosley Acre Farm, Stretford, Manchester, UK. In addition to the interview which can be found below, myself and my partner also visited the shelter on March 1st, 2014 with a small donation of toys and treats for some of the animals.

The SAA was started by Peggy Henderson, who lived in the Manchester area, back in the 1960's. Back then, there was a housing shortage as many pre-existing houses were no longer fit for use, leaving the occupants needing accommodation until a new house could be built or found. For many of these individuals, it meant that their beloved pets had to be re-homed or fostered as they could not be taken into the temporary accommodation, and so, Peggy stepped into the breach, either by re-homing or fostering many of these animals as possible. As the years went on, new, permanent shelter premises were looked for, which at one time included a move all the way to Buxton, Derbyshire! This location was too far away for the team at the SAA and for the people and pets of Manchester of whom Peggy wanted to help, so a final property search was undertaken, which lead to the permanent location of Mosley Acre Farm in 1994. The shelter was named as 'The Peggy Henderson Animal Sanctuary' although The Society for Abandoned Animals is the official charity name for the shelter.

This blog, offers a little more information on the history of the SAA, https://saablogzone.wordpress.com/about/ 

Peggy herself is sadly no longer with us, having passed away in 2004(?) but her legacy still lives on at the SAA, which is affectionately known as 'Peggy's Place' by many of the locals.

During my visit to the SAA, I was shown isolation units for cats, dogs and rabbits (not inside for health and safety reasons), Peggy's memorial garden where tags for animals can be left in memorandum, the green house where some of the plants sold at SAA fundraisers are grown and kept; a private stable block for horses owned by Unite To Care, which is another animal rescue organisation, they provide the rehabilitation for Walter and a small number of horses kept at Mosley Acre Farm.

The small white 'dimple' on Walter's rear is not a dimple, but in fact the remains of where a large label bearing his subject number from the testing facility was. It is not visible on these images, but there are also patches on Walter where he was shaved and the fur is starting to grow back. He is very wary of humans still but will respond to his name and was willing to approach the fence of his paddock when my guide, Rachel called his name.

I spent some time in the rabbit indoor pens, which is Rachel's specialist area, meeting some of the current residents. Rachel told me of how some of the rabbits under her care came to be there due to people buying them for their children and the novelty wearing off, that a few had been rescued from a meat factory, of which those few needed extra time before they could be re-homed to learn how to be a rabbit; that they had never seen greens or knew they were safe to eat. One particular rabbit, a harlequin coloured female had ended up losing her eye, leaving her partially blind due to problems from before arriving at the SAA and is now a longer term resident.

The pens that the rabbits were kept in were larger than any I have ever seen at a shelter or private residence, leaving the rabbits with the room to move and eat, sleep and play in comfort.  The shelter makes use of Carpet books by using the samples to provide different textures and warmth for the rabbits to sit/lie on and are often looking for donations of these and newspapers especially for use in the rabbit toilet areas. My partner spent time with one occupant, Nick, and then with a pair, called Peaches and Lily, of whom Rachel is hoping to re-home as a pair, but lily is sometimes over-looked due to being white with red (albino) eyes, which can be off putting to some. I had donated a wood and rope toy for the rabbits, so this went in for Peaches and Lily to share. 

SAA also provides at cost, private boarding for rabbits so that their owners do not need to rely on neighbours or inexperienced relatives for their pet rabbit care during holidays etc.


After this, we went into the cat house, where all the cats who are up for re-homing are kept. Again, the cat pens were quite spacious with different levels to them and room for scratching posts and other toys to play with. Rachel and one of the other shelter volunteers had been spending time with two cats in particular prior to the afternoon visit, which were two fluffy black and white females, called Daphne and Velma. They were originally part of a group, all named after Scooby Doo characters by their previous owner, who sadly had not fully socialized them, leaving them shy and nervous of strangers and carers alike. Of the two, Velma is much fluffier than her sister and was starting to trust and play with Rachel, whereas Daphne is more comfortable with playing at a distance, with a laser pointer pen light being her favourite game. These two cats were very attractive, but would need an experienced owner to give them time and patience to grow into wonderful pets.

I then went into the pen of Fudge, a large, black and very affectionate tom, who was purring very loudly in no time at all. Fudge is about 10 years old but in good health with bright eyes and would make a wonderful house cat for somebody who would like a lap cat. Fudge had previously come from a very good home, but his owner had to give up him and his sister, Coco, as they were emigrating and sadly could not take the cats with them. Coco is slimmer and smaller than fudge, still affectionate, but is currently recovering from an allergy that made some of her fur fall out, and so she is in a separate pen for the time being. I also got to meet another female, a tortoiseshell and white, called Sienna. Sienna came in as a stray but was very clean, in good health and highly affectionate cat, she was clearly somebody's pet, but as she had no microchip and nobody had come forward, she is now up for re-homing. Sienna, like fudge, would make a great house cat and lap cat. During my time in her pen she was quite happy to jump onto my partner's lap while we were trying to take photos of her and even let me hold her for short while.

After this, we went to the 'Animal Lounge' which was paid for by 'Shrimad Rajchandra Mission, Dharampur (UK)' in August, 2013. The animal lounge is a large room with a small kitchinette attached, set up like a typical living room, with sofas, a coffee table, bookshelf and display unit, plus a large cage. The cage is used for cage training with the dog residents so that if a new owner needs to use it (when appropriate) they may do so.

At present, the SAA has kennel facilities for three dogs as they believe that a smaller number is easier to manage for care, rehabilitation and the dogs emotional welbeing, as a smaller number means less upset animals getting anxious from being in the kennels, then barking and upsetting other dog residents, which I have seen happen at other shelters in the past. This also leaves the dog carers free for more one on one time with the dogs. Whilst visiting, I also got to meet Chris, who does most of the training and handling and home check visits for the canine residents. At the time of my visit, there were only two dogs under the care of the SAA. Dexter, a large male and handsome staffordshire terrier, who took great delight in climbing onto one of the sofas to sit between Chris and Rachel during my visit. As a 'staffie' owner myself, I know that the reputation of the dogs is greatly undeserved, as it is often bad ownership/care that can lead to a 'bad' dog. Dexter himself has been a resident at the SAA since April 2013, and makes use of the animal lounge so that a home set up does not become unfamiliar to him. I took with me a purple tennis ball for Dexter, who apparently can fit three of them in his mouth! The tennis ball, in typical staffie fashion was destroyed, but enjoyed, by Dexter in under five minutes.

Rachel explained that some of the volunteers at the shelter make use of the animal lounge so that if they are unable to get down to clean out pens/animal areas or are not strong enough to walk the dogs, they can still sit and read with or spend time with some of the animals in the lounge to help get the animals used to human interaction and socialization.

we also spent time in the animal lounge with the other dog in residence, a ten year old tan coloured cross breed named Honey. Chris explained that Honey had not had any socilization prior to arriving at the SAA, so she had been doing cage training with her, using reward training techniques and would often arrange for over-night stays with some of the other volunteers so that Honey could learn how to be a good dog from their (volunteers) older dogs in a home fostering situation.

Honey enjoying a biscuit I took up for her

Before leaving, we went to see the feral cats out-houses, which are like giant garden sheds, with shelter, food and bedding inside for the feral cats to use as they wished when the weather is bad or they want somewhere to go. The SAA does neuter all of their feral/semi-feral cats and sometimes will re-home them on farms as they make good mouse catchers for those who have areas at risk from rodent infestations. Rachel told me that their local brownie group often collects cat food and then when they visit in the summer, the brownies are given sheets with all the feral cats on so they might try to spot and count them all.

Inside one of the feral shelters

Finally, we spent a few moments in Peggy's memorial garden to pay our respects to the woman who started it all, then set off on the drive home.

The shelter relies heavily on donations and costs approximately £400 per day to run, they have a small number of paid staff and a larger volunteer team.Their fundrasing is done mainly through sponsorship and open day events, such as fairs. The next fair to be held is their Spring Fair at the end of this month.

Here is the interview transcript with Rachel who was our tour guide and key source of information on the SAA.

What made you want to become a volunteer at SAA and how did you get involved? 

In December 2002 we adopted a rabbit who at the time was their longest stay animal and I volunteered to help at the next Spring Fair as a way of thanking the SAA for all they had done caring for him during his 8 month stay. After that, I was hooked!

Which sector of the sanctuary do you work in the most? 

I help hands on with the rabbits and with the Fundraising.

After being at SAA for 10 years, you will have seen many changes and many animals come and go. Are there any particular ones that have stuck in your mind?

There have been many animals that I would have loved to have given a home to if I could - probably too many to mention.   I feel so sorry for the animals who are constantly over looked because of their bred/nature/colour and I wish I could home them all.  we have a lovely Staffie cross in at the moment -please visit our website www.saarescue.co.uk and look for Dexter in our dogs for re-homing section, sadly, because of the bad press his breed receives, no one wants him.  

**Edit - A home visit check for the potential adoption of Dexter was being arranged in early March**

I have heard that a young gelding, named Walter, is being stabled at SAA after being released from a testing facility (facility name unknown) along with another horse. Is this true and is it common to have a small number of animals come to reside at the SAA after legitimate release from test facilities?  

These were signed over to the care of another organisation - Unite to Care - we just provided stabling for them.  The dogs, cats and rabbits we take in are signed over by their owners, or in the case of cats and rabbits sometimes found as strays.

As you're also a trustee of SAA, how does that role differ from your volunteer position?

It's like wearing two hats.  When I'm hands on with the animals, I do the tasks the same as all the other volunteers. But there are times when I wear another hat and have a greater responsibility.

What are the SAA's plans for the future? Do they wish to expand or to purchase another site so that they may have multiple shelters under the SAA name? 

We've no plans to buy another site, but are currently working on cat development plans, with long term plans to increase the number of dog kennels.

And finally, if there is anything you could say to the readers of Project52, what would that be?

There is so much to that - from a rescue point of view, please support rescue not pet shops or breeders.  If you have animals, please ensure they are neutered, this prevents unwanted  pregnancies when there are already many hundreds of thousands of unwanted animals in rescue looking for homes.  Also microchip them, we receive lots of reports of well loved animals who have gone missing, sadly without a microchip the chances of them being reunited with their animals are slim.   As some who has animals of their own - insure them as vets bills can easily run to hundreds or even thousands of pounds. 

Thank you to Rachel and the wonderful staff and volunteers at SAA from myself and the readers of Project52 

If you would like to visit, volunteer or support the SAA in any way, please get in touch with them via their website, http://www.saarescue.co.uk/home

The next open day, which is their 'Spring Fair Fundraiser' is on April 27th 2014. Map and directions can be found on their website under the 'contact us' section.  

April - Help for Animals

April - Homeless Animals

• As mentioned back in March, animals can also be the victims of being made homeless, they may be abandoned, abused, neglected, become stray and end up at the pound / in the animal shelter system. 

• If you are considering getting a new pet, please, please go to your local animal shelter / sanctuary first. The staff there will be able to help match you with the right dog, cat, bunny, rat, bird etc for you, and YOU WILL SAVE A LIFE. Many shelters are over-run with animals looking for new homes and often have to turn away animals that need their help, or send otherwise healthy, ideal for companionship animals to be destroyed as there is no where else for them to go... humane death or die on the streets is a sad factor facing thousands upon thousands every year. Adopt a pet - save a life, but please remember that a pet is not a gift for a special occasion to be traded in for an upgrade like an object. They are a life time commitment. 

• If you would like to help out an animal shelter or sanctuary, then go look for one close enough for you to travel to, and take part in one of their open days or fundraisers. You could donate old (but clean) blankets, pet beds, foods, toys for the animals, or bric-a-brac for table-top sales at these events. My favourite local shelter is called Bleakholt  http://www.bleakholt.org/ It is based in the north west of England, near to my home town. Their spring open day is at the end of April, so as part of that week's activity, my blog update will feature Bleakholt and some of the animals there. The open days calendar can be seen here: http://bleakholt.org/coming-soon.html I would like to invite any guest bloggers to post details of their own local shelters, to visit those when they have open days and post spotlights for those too. 

• Sponsor an Animal! Yup, you can help an animal right there from the comfort of your own home. you don't need to travel to an event, you don't need to feed it by hand or clean up after it, as that is done for you by the care team of that particular animal. I, myself, purchased two animal sponsor packs, a chimp and a wolf pack as Christmas gifts for my family in 2013 (these were done through the Born Free Foundation http://www.bornfree.org.uk/) I also currently sponsor a dog named 'Scooby' through The Dogs Trust. http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/ 

[update 24/01/2014 - I have been informed that Scooby sadly passed away in the last week, and so I now have a new sponsor Dog, named Skye. RIP Scooby]

Another way to help animals is quite simple, and all you will need is a pair or rubber or safety gloves, sensible shoes and a bin liner (rubbish/refuse sack) - Clean Up Crew! 

• get together a group of your friends, and go for a walk on your nearest beach, woodlands or nature park /river or stream. It is an unfortunate fact that people like to dump trash in local areas rather than dispose of it properly, and anybody who has watched any animal rescue tv programs will have seen footage of birds who have gotten fishing hooks caught on their beaks or wings, or fish that have swam into trash and can't get out of it, or animals who have become sick from the water being polluted in their natural habitat. 
• So get together a group of your friends, go for a walk or a picnic, and take what you need with you, then when you get there, let the clean-up commence! 
• collect any rubbish you find that is safe for you to remove - don't want anybody to get stabbed with glass or a drug user's needle, and then dispose of it properly. The animals and the environment will thank you for taking away anything that will continue to pollute their area. You might even find some beautiful pebbles, feathers, shells or drift wood to take home as a souvenir! 

I was inspired to add this as an April activity after watching a trailer for the film 'Midway' which focuses on the rather cute Albatross (bird). One image on screen does show the inside of a dead albatross that has died from ingesting trash when trying to feed :( 

to view the trailer, or to support the 'Midway' film project, please visit: midway film - view trailer or follow the progress of Midway film project

Spotlight on.... The Foxton Centre

The Foxton Centre, based in Preston, UK is a very special organisation indeed. They run projects and programs aimed at helping children and teens in the community; teaching new skills to those who are at risk; outreach projects, known as Streetlink, for street sex workers (something that many groups who aim to help those on the street shy away from) and finally drop in centre for the homeless, skills workshops for the homeless and a mentoring scheme to help ensure those sleeping rough can develop the means to get themselves out of that cycle and stay out of it, for good. Simply just these actions alone make The Foxton Centre and the work they do worth highlighting and celebrating for creating real positive change for the people who live and work in the town of Preston.

I interviewed Shirah Bamber, who works in marketing and communications at The Foxton Centre for more information on the work done by the staff and volunteers at The Foxton Centre.

With thanks to Ms. Bamber

As March is 'help the homeless' month over at Project52, could you describe what services The Foxton Centre offers in aid or support of the homeless?

The Foxton Centre offers various services to homeless & vulnerably housed adults. Our largest project, Community Café http://www.thefoxtoncentre.co.uk/content/foxton-projects/community-cafe/, provides a hot meal for £1 (although vouchers are provided for people who are rough sleeping), shower, laundry, telephone and IT facilities, as well as social activities and a high level of support from our team of Community Social Workers.  Through the Café we provided 3004 meals in 2013.

We are currently running a campaign called Hungry which allows patrons in local cafés Ravenous & Café Fresch to donate £1 and purchase a meal for a homeless person. This campaign has been running since July 2013 and has already provided over 700 meals.

Other Projects provided for rough sleepers & vulnerably housed adults:
Our Wet Garden http://www.thefoxtoncentre.co.uk/content/foxton-projects/wet-garden/, has been developed to break down barriers when working with established street drinkers
 The Assertive Outreach Team (http://www.thefoxtoncentre.co.uk/content/foxton-projects/assertive-outreach/) go out a number of times a week during the day & fortnightly in the wee hours of the morning.

Finally, our GreenFingers Allotment Project http://www.thefoxtoncentre.co.uk/content/foxton-projects/greenfingers-allotment-project/ has been developed by a team of volunteers & service users to develop life skills, encourage community involvement and improve health and well being.

It currently costs us £2000 per week to provide these services.

The Foxton Centre has existed in Preston for over 40 years. During this time it will have seen many changes to the services it offers and the lives of those who make use of The Foxton Centre. At present the centre has several projects in the running including Safelink, which is aimed at supporting at risk young people, StreetLink, which offers support to street sex workers, and Amity befriending, which offers support to the presently or former homeless. Are there any plans to add to the current list of projects run by The Foxton Centre?  

We increase our projects as the needs present themselves. Just last year we saw a 23% increase in the number of service users attending the Community Café, which caused us to develop the Hungry campaign. We increased our projects from 10 to 13 in the last 12 months and are currently working at capacity.

In the document "Street Sex Workers in Preston: An Evidence-Based Study" It was suggested that a Foxton Centre Charity shop could be set up to help those who take part in the StreetLink project to gain current work experience and to raise self-esteem amongst the workers. Have there been any further developments on this idea or is it still at proposal stage? 

At present it is only an idea. As with many ideas they can take a long time to come into fruition through the simple reality that we are incredibly busy with the projects and service user base we are already working with and taking on a shop would be a large commitment of time and resources.
The study can be found at: http://www.thefoxtoncentre.co.uk/content/information/publications-resources/

The Foxton Centre [appears to] rely on a mixture of public donations, local business support for the free meal voucher schemes and national lottery funding besides making use of physical object donations. As we're now in Spring and heading into summer, does the list of requested physical donated items change at all with the seasons?

You are right, we are funded through a mixture of funding bodies (including the Big Lottery, but also Comic Relief, Children in Need, Esme Fairhurst, to name just a few) and local donations of money and supplies.

There are some requirements that stay the same all year round, such as toiletry items (soap, shampoo, disposable razors, etc) and others change with the seasons (ie. Sunscreen, winter coats, etc).

As we go further into 2014 are there any changes you hope to see at The Foxton Centre, whether that is an increase in projects or services offered, or an increase in public donations and support of The Foxton Centre itself... what would those be?

This year my personal goal at The Foxton Centre is to develop formal partnerships with local businesses. We began 2014 with a strong new partnership with Magma Digital and hope that the year will continue as it began!

We are also getting ready to host our 2nd Annual Evening Fundraiser at St. John, The Minster (on Church Street), which is an evening of live entertainment, 2 course meal and complimentary glass of wine for £25, and hope that this year we will attract a wider audience of supporters.


And finally, is there anything you would like to ask of the readers of this interview to do in the future, either towards those who attend The Foxton Centre or vulnerable individuals at large in the world?  

There are so many ways to help vulnerable people, but sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start. We try to make it easy for you, and I’m certain that charities in other areas would be happy to discuss potential ideas if you live elsewhere. What can seem like a little thing to you can make such a difference in someone’s life.

Some of the ways people like to get involved with us is through donating to our Hungry campaign, donating an hour or two of expertise, becoming a regular (or occasional!) volunteer, attending our fundraising events or organizing an office fundraiser such as a bake sale, or casual day. It doesn’t need to be big or complicated to have an impact.

Thank you to Shirah for taking part in the interview and thank you to all of the staff and volunteers at The Foxton Centre for all your hard work, time and dedication from myself and on behalf of the readers of Project52 blog.