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!