Life On The Animal Sanctuary

My family run an animal sanctuary in Birmingham, England. There at times when we feel like tearing our hair out as some of the owners really could do with one hell of a shake; they certainly are not fit to look after a dog and some are just so uncaring it defies belief. They should not be seen as just a bit of fun which they can then get rid of when they get bored.

I personally do not become too involved with it all as it can be rather upsetting at times. I work in other sectors including upvc doors, offering a how to stop stuttering course and advising people about medical negligence claims.

Many people arrive at the animal sanctuary with their pets, which are mainly dogs, with many excuses as to why they are no longer able to look after or care for them. I am sure many of their reasons are valid but am also aware that many others are just an excuse to offload them.

The excuses they give are varied:

I have recently divorced from my husband and can no longer afford to keep this dog as a pet.

The dog has started to bite my children

The dog is too difficult to handle and is destroying my furniture

We are no longer living in a house; we are now living in a top floor flat. One of their rules is that no animals can live in these flats

I have had complaints from the local residents as they say that the dog barks too much

We have a number of cats and rabbits who are really not taking to our dog

The dog is affecting my health

I am too ill to look after my dog

We also keep many of the dogs as our own pets, especially the ones which nobody else seems to want. I would have to say that my favourite out of all of these dogs is a dog called Cassie. She is full of life and has been ill treated it seems when she was a puppy. Half of her left ear is missing and she is seemingly quite afraid of men.

At the outset Cassie had to be treated with a lot of love and sincerity as she had a real lack of trust in human beings. She can be too lively at times which is possibly why three people who attempted to re-home her, have bought her back. She is not aggressive in any way but does tend to jump up at people.

Cassie has proven to be a welcome addition to our family and she is now really starting to feel at home; she certainly loves all of the toys that we have bought her.

With a little more patience most other dogs can turn out this way. This is why we want more people to take more responsibility and to give their animals more of a chance to settle into their homes, and to get used to a new set of rules.