Elaine started Hedgehog Care in 1980 and a sign at the hospital says “I’m not very posh” because all her pension money is spent on hedgehogs.  She relies on donations but does not like to ask for money.

♥ It costs about 40p a day to feed a hedgehog.
♥ Elaine can have between 50 and 200+ hedgehogs in her care at any one time.
♥ Elaine spends about £300 a month on Vet bills.
♥ Elaine spends about £100 a month on taxis which collect the hedgehogs people cannot or will not take to her.
♥ Other costs for running the hospital include stocks of medication, heating, telephone bills and an endless need for toilet paper!

To help the hedgehogs in Elaine’s care you can:

♥ Visit the Hedgehog Care website and make a donation.
♥ Visit the Hedgehog Care FaceBook page and ‘Like’ it to spread the word.
♥ Attend a fundraising event, see the website for details.

To help hedgehogs in general remember:

♥ Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals so if you find one in the daytime it means they are in trouble
♥ If they do not bother to curl up into a ball they are not tame but ill
♥  Hedgehogs eat cat food, dog food, pet biscuits and mealworms
♥ Bread and milk are not good for hedgehogs and give them diarrhoea which dehydrates them and causes further health problems
♥ Hedgehogs are poisoned by slug pellets and weed killer sprays

If you are lucky enough to have hedgehogs in your garden please do what you can to look after them!

Between Christmas and New Year someone had dumped 6 kittens by the roadside in a beer box and the story appeared in the local paper.  We had just lost a male cat to old age in the December and also one of our beloved bunnies.  She had made it to 8and a half.  The loss of both of them so close together had left a big gap in the ‘family’.

Ronnie & Tessa

We contacted the RSPCA and said we would give one of the kittens a home, preferably a female.  We already had 3 males and 1 female so thought we’d balance things out a bit.  We were told we could have a male because all the females had been taken and we were lucky to be on the waiting list.  It suddenly dawned on us that as there were people queueing for the kittens we should really take on an older cat.

We went to the RSPCA shelter and met several wonderful cats.  We chose a lovely female cat to re-home but for some reason I suddenly asked “Which will be the most difficult for you to re-home?”  Immediately the woman said “These two” and pointed to a pen with a black cat in it.  We asked why and she said “because he is black, old and frail whilst she is tabby, young and pretty – BUT they must stay together”.

Tessa

We went into the pen to meet them.  The female seemed uninterested but when I tickled her head she came alive.  It was almost as if she’d stopped paying attention to visitors because no one wanted her and her companion.  The male cat was beside himself with purring and even when we left the pen he sat there rocking gently from side to side still purring and looking up at us adoringly.

Ronnie

So we took them of course!  They settled in very well with everyone else and we knew we’d made the right decision.  Tessa is still very pretty, loving and showered us with ‘gifts’ (mice, baby rabbits, shrews, a baby mole and various other poor creatures).  Ronnie was more wobbly than we realised and we called him wobbly Ron.  Despite his frailty he could still jump onto the table to try and pinch some food, or jump into your lap for a big long cuddle!  Eventually age got the better of him and he passed away last November.  But he was loved and happy to the end and I miss him terribly.

Which reminds me – I was supposed to be sharing something about a dog….

One by one, they pass by my cage, too old, too worn, too broken, no way.
Way past his time, he can’t run and play.
Then they shake their heads slowly and go on their way.

A little old man, arthritic and sore, it seems I am not wanted anymore.
I once had a home, I once had a bed, a place that was warm, and where I was fed.
Now my muzzle is gray, and my eyes slowly fail.  Who wants a dog so old and so frail?

My family decided I didn’t belong, I got in their way, my attitude was wrong.
Whatever excuse they made in their head, can’t justify how they left me for dead.
Now I sit in this cage, where day after day, the younger dogs get adopted away.

When I had almost come to the end of my rope, you saw my face, and I finally had hope.
You saw thru the grey, and the legs bent with age, and felt I still had life beyond this cage.
You took me home, gave me food and a bed, and shared your own pillow with my poor tired head.

We snuggle and play, and you talk to me low, you love me so dearly, you want me to know.
I may have lived most of my life with another, but you outshine them with a love so much stronger.
And I promise to return all the love I can give, to you, my dear person, as long as I live.

I may be with you for a week, or for years, we will share many smiles, you will no doubt shed tears.
And when the time comes that God deems I must leave, I know you will cry and your heart, it will grieve.
And when I arrive at the Bridge, all brand new, my thoughts and my heart will still be with you.
And I will brag to all who will hear, of the person who made my last days so dear.

Author Unknown

He is called Daniel and  has found a happy new home with an animal shelter.  Plus it turns out he is really good at fundraising!

When I first saw it I couldn’t imagine how a cat could fit that many toes!  I’d forgotten they usually have 20 to start with anyway….  So he only has 2 extra per paw.

Any responsible dog owner will just feel the panic in the poor man.

I can even imagine that Benton is probably well behaved normally and did this out of character.  Unfortunately he got caught on camera!

Update – It’s not clear whether the dog’s name is Benton or Fenton so presumably the owner hasn’t come forward to clear up the mystery, I can’t imagine why not?

The ones of the hamsters and mice are lovely and show that even the smallest furry creatures have personality.

There’s lots of fluffy kittens too and babies of all kinds of species.
Little animals (70 pics)

She came to live with us and we renamed her Jade, another precious gem like Amber.  Within a few weeks she could spend time out of her lampshade.  Eventually it was off all the time.  Then suddenly she had a relapse and had to wear it again for many months.  In the meantime we had established a combined dose of flea treatment, steroids and Piriton that seemed to keep her skin under control.  Her fur had grown back and she was a happy girl.

One day I realised that every time she went to scratch the ‘lampshade’ someone would come running to stop her.  I wondered if the scratching was an attention seeking method rather than an itch?  So the lampshade came off and sure enough if she wants something she ‘threatens’ to scratch herself but doesn’t.

She is talkative, sociable and loves meeting people almost as much as she loves sunbathing.  The only problem is the steroids have made her into a big girl.  Anyone who meets her is surprised and then has to be told the story.  I don’t over feed my pets