Pets in Italy

Two Dogs Find Homes but Annie is Still Looking

Sometimes I feel like I am just posting appeal after appeal and no-one reads them. The ones I receive do the rounds on the internet, most are in Italian and I translate them and post them on the site.

Well I got two pieces of good news today. First of all the blind little hound living under a boat in Messina Sicily has been adopted by one of the local animal volunteers in the region. Also Miro the English Setter I posted about the other day has been adopted too. That is such heartening news, isn't it?

But it's not all positive - yet. Yesterday I heard that Annie, the dog dumped in the rubbish  posted about a few weeks ago is still looking for a home. Please don't forget about the dogs whose appeals have been posted. Not all of them get adopted and I don't get updates regularly on the others unless I ask for them, but I always assume no news is *not* good news and that they are still waiting.

Dogged Determination

I read the most heart warming story  in La Nazione the other day. It was about how a German Shepherd called Rocky managed to walk over 600 kilometres from Salerno to Carrara to find his owner. I don’t mind telling you it brought a tear to my eye.

 Rocky and his owner Ibrahim Fwal were inseparable. He’d had Rocky since he was a puppy and they were well known in his hometown of Massa, Tuscany. In the summer Ibrahim regularly took Rocky to the seaside on his scooter, the dog wearing a little child’s helmet. They would play about on the beach and generally enjoy themselves.

 Then one day three years ago when Ibrahim returned for a swim, Rocky was nowhere to be seen. Onlookers said the dog had been taken by some gypsies. Ibrahim looked everywhere. Checked all the places he could think of, posted appeals and did everything he could, but Rocky had disappeared. His owner was broken hearted.

Three years passed and someohow Rocky managed to escape from the people who had taken him. He ended up , we know now, in Salerno, 600 km from Massa  He was s found by a family who gave him a home but he kept escaping. They bouight him a collar with their phone number on it, and so every time he escaped they got the call to pick him up.

 Finally Rocky had had enough. He was going to get back to Ibrahim whatever it took. And so he escaped one last time and began running north. How he managed to find his way is a complete mystery. He had never been on that route and was just following instinct. It took him two months to get to Pisawhere he was picked up by an animal lover. They called the number on the collar and the people confirmed he had escaped two months previously. But a further examination of the dog also revealed a tattoo. A tattoo that Ibrahim had done in Massa, where it is obligatory to have your dog microchipped or tattooed.

And so, finally after three years, Ibrahim got the call he thought he would never recive. His dog was safe and they were bringing him. “I couldn’t believe it,” said Ibrahim, with tears in his eyes. “When they arrived, Rocky was in the car and as soon as he heard my voice he went berserk trying to get out.”

 A miracle if ever there was one!

Home Needed for a Lovely English Setter

Miro is an English Setter with a very sad history. He was found injured  by the roadside in Naples  and had been shot in the paw. .Volunteers took him away and cared for him while he recovered from his injuries. He was taken to Prato in Florence in the hope that someone would adopt him but he has been like this for a year and no-one has come.

He can’t stay out in the cold with his poor sore paws, he needs warmth and love and a loving family to take care of him. He has had a terrible experience and he still cowers if you move your hand unexpectedly, waiting for the blow. He is very good with children and other dogs, he is used to the lead is house trained and has the wonderful temperament of all setters.  

He has had a brief experience of what is liked to be treated well and to enjoy a run outside and all he needs is for someone to give him a chance. He’s been waiting for so long…

 Tel:  3338193736 (IMMA)

Aquila update: the situation for animals 9 months after the earthquake.

I have kept in touch with Francesca from the Aquila Canine Defence League and she has just sent me this update.

Nine months after the terrible earthquake that devastated the city of Aquila on the 6 April, the situation for the animals is even more challenging.

There was always a problem of strays in the Abruzzo region and before the earthquake it was estimated  there were between four thousand and six thousand stray dogs in the area of Aquila alone (and who knows what the stray cat population was.) Obviously this situation has got worse since April, with missing, abandoned and pets that have been hiding to add to the list.

Aquila’s Lega del Cane (Dog League) immediately provided food and materials for people who lost their homes, their jobs or who were having difficulties in caring for their pet. We also gave food to the ASL local kennels and to the only other kennels in the area.  We immediately started to help animals that had been left alone, looking after them in our refuge (that has already 400 ‘guests’) and left food and water at specific ‘food points’ spread throughout the city and the surrounding towns and villages.

In these last few months we have been able to rehome a lot of animals that now live happily with good families. Many more however are still in need of good homes, and many are still on the streets.

We are constantly asking for donations of food for the stray cats and dogs in the so-called ‘red zone’ , those being the historic centre of Aquila and the outlying villages, which are barred to the public and now almost uninhabited. We are also trying to capture and sterilize strays.

To help us with our work in Aquila and our home for abadoned dogs in the following months and even years you can donate directly into our current account.

IBAN Code  IT 61 O 07601 03600 000014046676 –

BIC/SWIFT Code BPPIITRRXXX

In the name of :"Lega Nazionale per la Difesa del Cane Sezione di L'Aquila"

You can also donate using Paypal and our emailaccount is  info@cuccefelici.com

You can also send goods: food, medicine, kennels, blankest etc directly to us at:
 Lega Nazionale per la Difesa del Cane Sezione di L’Aquila - S.s. 17 bis n° 49 – 67100 Paganica (AQ) – Italia.

We need your help!
For further info and contact: www.cuccefelici.com – email info@cuccefelici.com – mobile 39.329.9064859 – fax +39.0862.602196 –

Facebook www.facebook.com/cuccefelici - Twitter http://twitter.com/cuccefelici.

Super Urgent - Homes Needed for 17 and 10 Year Old Little Dogs

TRIESTE but adoptable anywhere. These two old dogs are due to go to the dog pound in two days so a permanent and loving home is needed for them IMMEDIATELY. They have always been kept together outside in a garden. A freezing cold kennels full of other dogs will be a nightmare for them.

The female is 17 (yes, 17) years old and mostly sleeps all day and seems to be a type of Papillon or have Papillon in her. The little male is Volpino mix and is ten years old, which is not that old for this kind of dog.

The volunteers who have sent this message round are truly desperate. If you can rehome them please get in touch immediately:  email: adozioni.trieste@yahoo.it including your full name, address, email and telephone contact details and someone will get back to you.

Sanctuary in Thailand

One of the most enjoyable parts of running this site is the contacts I make with fellow animal lovers from all over the world.

I was particularly struck by an email from Gemma Ashford, a remarkable and dedicated lady who seems to be singlehandedly saving some of Thailand's abandoned animals. Iasked her to write a blog for the site and have given it its own page here.

Gemma wants to move back to Europe, bringing ten dogs with her and trying to rehome five of them. She is particularly keen to settle in Italy or France so if you can help or have any ideas of where she could find accommodation, then let me know or contact her directly.

Gemma's site is: http://www.thaianimalsanctuary.org.uk/

I Rescued a Human Today

I have just been sent this post from a blog by dog trainer Janine Allen and it is so great I thought I would share it with you.

I rescued a human today.

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.

As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life. She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.

I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.

Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship. A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.

Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes. I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors. So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.

I rescued a human today.

Written by Janine Allen CPDT, Rescue Me Dog's professional dog trainer. Janine's passion is working with people and their dogs. She provides demonstrations for those who have adopted shelter dogs, lends email support to adopted dog owners that need information beyond our Training Support Pages, and aids shelter staff and volunteers in understanding dog behavior to increase their adoptability. Copyright 2009 Rescue Me Dog; www.rescuemedog.org

New Year's Resolution?

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Here in Tuscany, after the snow just before Christmas, we have had almost non-stop rain and everything is very soggy underfoot.

I have been catching up with my emails and have just posted two new appeals, both for blind dogs. One is an abandoned hunting dog who lives on a beach under a boat and the other is a blind poodle who needs a loving home. I have posted about them here.

Let's make a resolution together. This will be the year we find homes for some of these poor animals, for it devalues us as human beings to treat innocent creatures like this. Yes, a dog is hard work, as I know from personal experience (three is a lot more work than two!), but the pleasure they give back is priceless. If you are thinking about getting a dog then don't dismiss an abandoned dog, please.

Snowed Under

Oops - haven't posted for a while as I have had a novel to finish for a US client. I can't believe it is finally done!

But that is not the only reason. We have had a lot of snow here and the time I haven't spent finishing the final draft, I have spent chasing Gassie round and round the garden trying to block up the holes he makes under the fence. It is a never ending and thankless task and at times, with frozen fingers and feet like ice, falling over in the snow with my hammer in one hand and yet another fence post in the other, I have almost been in tears.

He doesn't go far, just in the field behind the house, and when he gets fed up he barks at the gate to be let back in, but there is a road too on one side and I am scared he might cause an accident or be hurt himself. The snow has made it worse as he is obsessed with birds (hunting dog - doh!) and of course they show up wonderfully well against all that white.

So preoccupied have I been by the book and my escaping dog that I even mixed up my day at the Casentino kennels and ended up missing my turn. I had prepared the car, de-iced it the day before and everything as well. The trouble was, on Sunday morning, having told an anxious Alan that I would be fine driving in the snow, when I checked the calendar I realized my turn had been on Saturday! I was mortified.

Anyway, it's raining today so the snow has gone, I'm feeling more on top of things and so I am approaching the amazing disappearing dog with a renewed resolve. After all, my brain is bigger than his! Right?

Cats in Bulgaria Need Help

I recently got this email from Eli Pesheva from Bulgaria. I am reproducing here in its entirety in the hope someone can help. Basically they are looking for people from abroad to adopt these cats.

Eli writes: "I am a volunteer in a BG Cat Friends cat rescue organization where together with other volunteers we invest our time, financial resources, emotions and love to help stray, abandoned, hurt and helpless cats and kittens.

Recently, here in Sofia, Bulgaria, we've come to know about a case where an elderly woman, living in a 70 sq. m. apartment gathered about 30 or 40 cats (exact number is not yet clear as the woman keeps the kitchen window open and as she lives on the 2nd floor of an apartment building, cats get out and she brings more in). You may see some photos of the cats (we took photos of about 25 cats): http://picasaweb.google.com/za.marty/CatsKittens#
 
Her neighbours are pushing her and threatening her that she will be expelled from her home (recently, a law allowing this was accepted in Bulgaria and is already in force) since she is becoming a thread for the hygiene, potential diseases, not to mention the strong and unpleasant smell.
 
It took us 1 month to gradually become to know the woman, understand the situation and for her to let us in the apartment. As you can image the sight and smell of so many cats (and 3 dogs) in such a limited constrained place was terrible. Luckily, there were no dead animals, no serious injuries and no direct threat to the cats' health. We took pictures of approximately 25 cats, all in generally good shape, sociable, calm domestic pets. In my view and in the opinion of the experienced ladies from the Cat Friends organization and of a social worker whome we have consulted, all cats are adoptable after applying the necessary medical checkups, vaccines, treating for internal/external parasites and neutering.
 
Unfortunately, for the last 5 years in my experience as volunteer, foster parent to cats and in my efforts to find them a safe, lovable home, I have learned that this process goes a long way. Bulgarians still prefer animals of breed and/or do not have enough money to raise their families, let alone a pet. And on top of all, animal cruelty or neglecting is an everyday situation here with us.
 
As a Bulgarian I am ashamed and deeply sorry about the situation and am investing lots of efforts and emotions to very slowly influence things in the right direction (participating in events, sponsoring organizations, volunteering to help, issuing & distributing leaflets, etc). I believe this is a slow but hopeful process and I can see it bearing fruits even today - when I see the happy faces of a family that has just adopted a kitten or a puppy.
 
The reason for contacting you is that with this case of 30-40 cats between 3 and 6 years of age, there is not much we can offer here in BG. It is very difficult to find a good home for a young kitten, let alone grown cats...
 
What we have started doing with the 'cat gatherer' is in several directions:

1. Gradually built a trustful relationship with patience and honesty: not to over exaggerate the perils, neither to over promise her help or miracles
2. Explain what are the odds of finding a home for all her cats (pretty scarce chances)
3. Do our best to inform and educate her about the options BG laws provide her with (unfortunately, given the situation with her neighbours - she doesn't stand many chances...)
4. Search for free castration and/or sponsorship to immediately stop further breeding
5. Inspire and attract volunteers to help by providing free transport to the vet, sponsorship for the checkup & medicine costs, free cat food & litter (super if some toys are provided, too), free parasites treatment
6. Convince the woman she should give away the cats for adoption
7. Work with the woman to give us (another volunteer and me), one by one or two by two the cats to be neutered and to let the cats stay in foster homes/stationary at the vet's for a few days after the castration as it would be quite dangerous to return the cats back where there is danger of viruses, jumping from a high place, cat/dog fights, etc

I am glad to report that we have already done quick actions for the youngest kittens and have posted several adverts in BG web-sites and newspapers asking for adoption. The first family who expressed interest and seemed promising will meet one of the kittens tomorrow. Also, we are in process with actions 1 to 6 and are currently investing all our efforts in point 7.

Why we believe you could kindly help us by proposing those cats for potential adoption abroad, if possible:
1. We believe the cats are beautiful, intelligent and genuine, each with their individual characteristics.
2. We believe that those cats deserve to live and deserve a lovable home where each of them would be appreciated fro their uniqueness
3. We believe that among these cats, there are some true 'hidden treasures'  that even there, in the apartment filled with cats, stand out because of their loving nature, strong will to live, warm & playful attitude - always on the look out for a caress, a good word, a hug...
4. We believe we can find sponsorship here in Bulgaria to send you 3-5 some of the elderly cats that do not stand a chance for adoption in Bulgaria (practice has unfortunately proven this)

5. We believe that in 2-3 months time, we could prepare 3-5 cats from that horrible place in foster homes so that they are ready for adoption abroad "

If you can help please contact eli.pesheva@gmail.com