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Community Home

It seemed so quiet without Albert home first thing in the morning. It’s always him who instigates the howling pack out into the garden as soon as we get up. Liz, the vet left a message to pick him up at 11 a.m. and then we could have a chat about the different cubs we have had problems with.

Managed to get a couple of letters done but there were call outs almost as soon as the day started and it’s surprising how long it takes working your way down the list of response drivers until you get one that can help – still we usually find one !!

Ozzy took his first bottle very well and enjoyed a run around the kitchen until it was time to go back to bed.

I took Rocky in to see Liz as well as his claw is looking infected. He just won’t leave it alone and only has to be left for a few minutes for him to get the bandage off. I didn’t even trust him on the journey in so anyone following a corsa van with a huge dog looking out of the back window with a great collar blanking all views, it was Rocky and me!!

Liz has put Rocky on antibiotics and poor little Albert is not allowed to jump up on chairs, no stairs and controlled walking so have had to put a dog cage in the kitchen and in my office as he is so quick at sneaking out. I’ll have to teach him to howl more in tune, bless him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of other call outs during the day. Luckily Maggie was in this afternoon to do the phones so there was a short respite. I had someone ring up about a mallard duck with 3 ducklings in Macclesfield! Managed to pass that one on to Lower Moss Hospital at Knutsford. It’s really useful having so many contacts.

 Ozzy had his first swimming lesson in the bath this evening and loved it. He did about 8 lengths and then thought it was time to come out!

After the 8 a.m. meeting, it was straight into the vets for Albert to have his operation on his leg. It’s going to be a long convalescence which he is not going to enjoy at all. The nurse had to pick him as he refused to go with her. Makes you feel so guilty !

Ozzy is taking his bottle well and we had some fresh trout delivered today that are small enough for him to eat so he has been a very happy little otter today. He likes to hide in the basket in the cubby hole and I managed to get a picture of him when he was sound asleep. He’s a great time waster. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here we go again. Big headline news in the Western Morning News as they think that a scientist may have contracted Bovine TB from the badgers. Of course this means that we are all going to catch tb and die. I should have thought that seeing as the staff at Woodchester Park have been carrying out research at this centre for 30 years – catching the badgers up at least twice year, transporting them to the centre, taking faecal, sputum and blood samples that if this is the first one to get the disease, then it shows how unlikely it is to happen to people who do not have such a hands on situation.

We’ve been dealing with badgers for over 20 years, cleaning up after them, blood testing them and cleaning wounds and a few of those probably did have Bovine TB and yet we are ok. So don’t listen to the scaremongering.

I have got a fairy god-mother. She has promised to do some ironing for me and I really appreciate it!!

The vets rang at lunchtime to say Albert had had his operation but was to stay in over night so that was a sigh of relief. Sadly I am in charge of Rocky again as Simon has gone as back up to the team on the Dartmoor Dare. I have to bandage Rocky’s leg everyday to stop him chewing his claw. He’s sporting green today. When he hasn’t got a bandage on, he has to wear an Elizabethan collar to stop him from chewing and I shan’t be surprised if Albert has to sport one as well. How ridiculous will they look !!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On walking the dogs around the field, I noticed that already the hawthorn berries are turning red – a sign that autumn is on the way. My favourite time of year.

 

I had a text from Debbie to say that they had finished walking but were very tired as they had got lost and had further to walk. They are also very wet so they must have had rain – we didn’t get any here. Sleeping out in the open tonight with no tents, army rations for dinner this evening – they’re not going to look their best tomorrow!!

Well it was sunny and hot but the workers all came and a lot of work was done. My first call out for the day was to a cat that was in someone’s garden down in the village. Ii was very hungry and thin and was happy to settle in a pen with a nice warm fleece and food to hand. We shall have to put some signs up to see if anyone has lost her. She is very sweet natured but I would have thought quite old  – I see from her notes that the staff are giving her cuddles but I really don’t want to add to our ‘ already too many cats’!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was great to see the juvenile hedgehogs tucking into their food Saturday evening. They have really grown and will be able to go out into the outside pens soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m in charge of Rocky again while Simon is away over night. A very disgruntled Albert is howling the house down everytime I leave him. He is still needing to be restricted because of his injured back leg and the fact of being left behind, knowing I have taken the 8 stone Great Dane with me instead when I move around the centre is just too much for him to bear. Thank goodness Simon is back tomorrow.

A very busy few days which were compounded by my agreeing to look after Rocky, Simon’s Great Dane, while he was away on holiday. Rocky unfortunately has been chewing one of his claws on his back leg so won’t leave it alone. It was therefore necessary to put a bandage on during the day and Elizabethan collar at night. Poor Albert really had his nose out of joint having to share me with such a thundering big dog. As you can see from the photo – there really isn’t much room but Rocky still felt he could just squeeze into the same chair as Albert !!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Max also spent a lot of time upstairs during the week as the rain was just constant. She’s usually outside with the staff during the day but not this week.

The little Shelduck has grown and is doing well. He really does need company, we shall have to see if anyone else has any shelducks the same size.

 

We had even more swifts brought in. That takes us up to 32 swifts this year which is three times the amount that we would usually care for. Emily, Marie and Laura have worked hard to get them to gain weight ready for release. Luckily there has been a few sunny spells when the ones that are up to weight have been able to be released. They are such fabulous birds and I love the sound of them trilling as they soar high in the skies.

 

A really hectic day for the staff with few volunteers to help. We desperately need volunteers to help with the animals at weekends and evening shifts. Thank goodness that we have some students that have finished their courses for the summer and can help. Laurie is one of them and is a great help feeding the baby birds in the hospital room. We still have lots of baby garden birds, herring gulls (!), pigeons and collard doves needing feeds on the hour every hour.

I went over to the Forest of Dean to visit Jane, who is a trustee, to help her move some furniture. She runs a rabbit rescue called Carrot Tops. With over 60 rabbits needing care, her house and garden is full and yet they are all kept so clean and each one given love and affection. So if you ever want a pet rabbit – Carrot Tops is the place to go with all rabbits being neutered and vaccinated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Natalie was doing the late shift tonight. This is her report:-

 “I only had one call on Saturday but this will make you laugh, we took the kids out to Pizza Hut and got a call for a buzzard that had been picked up by a woman on her way out for a meal in Yeovil, so she was in Frankie & Benny’s in Yeovil with a buzzard in her car and I was in Pizza Hut with the children! I got a response driver to get it from her and bring it to me, luckily we were just finishing up so I went out to the car park to get it. The response driver wanted his box back and we had left our box at home, so I asked the waitress ‘Do you have a box please’ She said ‘yes, for pizza’ ‘No’ I said ‘It’s for a Buzzard’ The look on her face was classic! Then I had to explain and she was more than helpful, poor buzzard travelled back in a pizza hut mozzarella cheese box!!

The kids don’t think anything strange of driving home for a meal with a buzzard in the car and stopping off at Secret World on the way back! To them it is becoming normal behaviour! Emily (rob’s daughter) did say ‘at least we aren’t stopping to inspect dead badgers this time!

You have to be a special kind of person to sort that lot out !!!

I can remember when Derek and I were travelling down to Kent with a baby badger in the car. We stopped at a service station by a Road Chef and it looked busy so Derek went in to see if there was a table available while I fed the cub ( milk all kept warm in a thermos ). He must have said I was feeding a baby to the waitress because he came back and told me there was a table we could have and when we went in the table was reserved with a high chair in place !

Unfortunately I was left in charge of Rocky, my son’s Great Dane. He came over when I went to put the otter’s food over in the enclosure in the evening. Rocky managed to find some nice smelly droppings to roll in. 8 stone of dog covered in sh** it no laughing matter and very smelly.