Pets in Italy

Two Kittens to Help in Reggio Calabria

Sadly there are so many unwanted kittens in the far south of Italy. Here is information about two of them from their carer Diane. She writes:

Timmy is a seven-month old, healthy, vaccinated kitten with an amazing character. He was found as a young kitten by someone staying in the village of Bocale, Reggio Calabria, on holiday. He was emaciated and had a fractured tail, probably from being run over by a car. The person who found him, fed him and gave him love and attention but was unable to take Timmy with him when he left. As luck would have it, days before his departure, an animal lover narrowly prevented the kitten being killed as he was following his new friend across the motorway to the service station. Learning the little cat’s story but unable to adopt him, the person did everything possible for him. First, it was off to the vet’s to check out his general health, which was deemed very good. Unfortunately, nothing could be done for the tail, which doesn’t cause pain and hasn’t prevented Timmy from becoming a good climber.

Obviously Timmy couldn’t be left on the main road adjoining the motorway so the search was on for someone to adopt him. Nothing came of this and the best solution was to find a safer place where Timmy could live as a semi feral cat. In fact, he is in fact anything but! He climbs on your back and shoulders and has a habit of massaging you. He loves human company and even likes to lie in his pet carrier getting stroked when he’s travelling by train! He was moved to an allotment a field away from the motorway, in the hills where he is fed every day and has someone to keep an eye on him. He loves people and is so happy when he’s brought indoors. He’s no bother, just loves cuddles, to be stroked etc.
Timmy’s situation now has become dangerous as he was recently badly attacked by another animal. He had to spend two weeks at the vet’s, but his injuries have healed and he’s back to normal. He needs to find a home as soon as possible because his living situation is very insecure. The person looking after him is returning to the UK, with her Italian rescue dog who has a pet passport, and who couldn’t live with a cat, as she tries to attack and kill them. Timmy is going to be left without a food supply and no access to medical care if he were to get ill. The little cat is patient, undemanding, and really deserves someone caring to give him a chance.

We mustn’t forget adorable Jimmy. He’s six months old and a mischievous, rather naughty kitten. He’s had a hard time and needs someone who has patience and loves cats to adopt him. He was found in a dangerous location in Reggio Calabria city centre, with flu, when he was tiny. He has also suffered badly from mites, ringworm and had a rectal prolapse. He has needed a lot of care and for this reason, hasn’t been rehomed. He has been under constant close veterinary supervision but is now perfectly fit and healthy. He has had to be kept in isolation a lot though, so desperately needs someone who understands he’s a little timid and hasn’t quite learnt that scratching and nipping isn’t nice! He’s very playful and hasn’t grown out of that very cheeky kitten behaviour!

If you are interested in adopting Timmy or Jimmy please call Diane: 320 4603066.
Even though she hasn't got a car, she is happy to transport them anywhere in Italy.

Home for Poodle Needed - Prato

PRATO

This lovely ten-month old poodle urgently needs a home as her owner has died. If she is not adopted then she faces life in a canile and judging by her little coat and the fact she is on the bed, I don't think she would take kindly to that.

She is microchipped, spayed and vaccinated and a very gentle dog. She is medium size. Any prospective owners would be subject to the usual pre-adoption checks.

For more information please tel: 333/7858918

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.