It’s been a busier than usual time for the Shelter team at Little Valley these past months, not least with the start of the building work and our final preparations to ensure we can continue to operate and support animals in need throughout the various stages of these vital works.
I extend my enormous thanks to the Shelter team and our wonderful volunteers for getting stuck in and supporting us as we work out the variety of options and solutions needed for our temporary new ways of operating and, in particular, for all the fetching and carrying that relocating to our new reception has involved!
As the build progresses, we’ll be adjusting how we work and utilising different areas of the Shelter site, so that we can continue to maximise our positive impact for animals in need whilst ensuring their time in our care is as unaffected as possible by the work taking place.
As we near completion of our coaching program from cat expert charity, International Cat Care, who have been supporting us in ensuring we’re working to the very latest standards and research in cat welfare and rehoming, our Cat team have been kept very much out of mischief by this year’s kitten season, with plenty of cat mums and their families to care for and find homes when they’re ready.
Little Waffle, however, didn’t have any of her litter mates or her mum when she came into our care. Estimated at just 1-2 weeks old, Waffle was found all on her own under a bush by a student in Exeter near his student accommodation. He could hear her cries the night before but wasn’t able to find her until the following day, when he brought her straight to us. Weighing in at just 200 grams this tiny girl is a true fighter and has continued to thrive in foster thanks to the care of a former Little Valley team member who kindly agreed to take her on and hand rear her as a foster volunteer. Our grateful thanks go also to the team at St Davids Veterinary Hospital, who are currently caring for two further kittens needing hand rearing and specialist care before they come to Little Valley for rehoming when they are ready.
For a number of our Small Animal team, a visit to the National Rabbit Festival in August provided updates and insights into rabbit welfare, enrichment, bonding techniques and more for them to bring back to us at Little Valley and inform our working practices moving forward. With the development of The Warren building project, we’re really looking forward to sharing our knowledge and expertise to support rabbit guardians across the community, and those seeking to live with rabbits in the future.
Our Dog team have also been busy working to promote our resident canine characters to find their perfect match homes – working with national RSPCA and securing coverage for lurcher Leia, and American Pocket Bully Princess, via BBC’s regional programme Spotlight.
A massive thank you to all those that donated to our Justgiving fundraiser for Ivy, one of our dogs who needs an operation for ‘Cherry Eye’. This costly operation is around £1500 and this money was raised by 44 wonderful supporters, some of whom donated hundreds of pounds! Just amazing!
September saw our application to join the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes progress with our assessment taking place – and we hope to have good news to share shortly. The ADCH is a fantastic organisation, consisting of animal charity members of all shapes and sizes, each committed to driving and sharing best practice in dog and cat rehoming. Membership would also open up opportunities for team training, collaboration, grant funding, and supplier discounts to support our work and help us in maximising the impact of your donations – we’ll keep you posted!
Thank you so much – your support keeps Little Valley’s big heart beating.
JO BLAKE
Animal Shelter Manager
