Last week my mum welcomed a new (unplanned) addition to her family of fur babies (much like when Reuben and I unexpectedly adopted Daisy)…

My mum’s friend Helen was visiting a lady in their town who breeds puppies and kittens, when the breeder told her that two of her 6 week old Enligh Setter pups were deaf and so were going to be put to sleep that evening! Helen was horrified, and knowing my animal-loving mum would want to help, she immediately got in touch with mum to ask if she could adopt one. Of course, my mum agreed! That day Helen adopted Jasper and my mum adopted Molly and in doing so, they saved two precious little lives.

Molly and Jasper are such sweet, happy, healthy, bright, playful, little bundles. It is hard to believe anyone could consider putting them to sleep simply because they can’t hear. Obviously deaf dogs are more difficult to train than dogs with regular hearing, but they can be taught signs. Both Molly and Jasper already know to come when they see you clap. Molly is booked into puppy preschool next week and she is so clever, we are all sure training her will be no problem.

If anyone out there is considering bringing a fur baby into their family, I cannot emphasise enough how wonderful I believe it is to adopt from a shelter, rather than buy from a breeder. Our two cats and our dog were all rescue babies and they have brightened our lives as much as any pedigree kitty or pooch ever could.  There are so many little ones out there who need a good home, and by adopting a kitty or puppy in need you are not only saving a life, you are refusing to support breeders who treat animals purely like a commodity.*

Katie x

*Of course, not all breeders are the same and I’m sure there are many out there who would do their best to find homes for babies like Molly and Jasper, but I am passionate believer of adopting, rather than shopping, for pets. There are so many good reasons to adopt an animal in need!

This week we (unexpectedly!) welcomed a new addition to our little family. This is Miss Daisy Delilah.

We have wanted a puppy for a very, very long time but have never adopted one, mostly because it’s so difficult to have a dog when you rent. Daisy fell into our hands completely by chance but already we are so glad she did.

On Monday I was picking up some groceries from the supermarket with my mum when I spotted a pup, looking very thin, lost and stressed in the car park. It took us a while to catch her because she was absolutely terrified of us, but she was so weak and exhausted eventually she just cowered in a corner and let us pick her up. We bundled her up and took her home.

When we found her, Daisy was extrememly underweight. She also had fleas and worms, and a trip to the vet revealed a mild case of pneumonia. She has now been bathed and treated for fleas and worms, is on a course of antibioics for the pneumonia and is getting fed frequent small meals. She is eating really, really well and has plumped up quite a bit already! She’s still quite timid and unsure of things but she is such a sweet natured little girl and she’s starting to come out of her shell. Yesterday she started wagging her tail and for the first time started showing interest in playing!

We believe Daisy was dumped over Christmas but the fact she was unchipped, very afraid of people, and in such bad condition leads us to believe she has been neglected all her short life. If Daisy had spent another day without food, water or treatment for her pneumonia, she probably would have died. We considered handing Daisy over to the RSPCA, as we really weren’t sure we were in the position to adopt her, but over Christmas shelters are so overwhelmed with abandoned animals that many have no choice but to put animals to sleep after just 2 weeks. We couldn’t bare the thought of this sweet girl meeting such a sad fate, so she’s here to stay.

We were worried about how the cats would react to Daisy and (as was to be expected) they haven’t been thrilled with us bringing a dog into their home, but they are beginning to warm up to her (or at least, they are hissing at her less!) We know they will get used to her eventually. It’s just going to take a little time and patience.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We both had a nice break and got some lovely presents, thought this cute face is definitely the best gift of all.

Katie x