What are some of the most memorable animals you’ ve encountered?
We had a large mastiff dog called Dhino come into Battersea Brands Hatch, who had lived all of his short life in a small back garden, and when he arrived he was quite stressed at first. But he quickly seemed to be very grateful for everything – the regular routine, regular handling and the care he received. He just loved everybody and was always so happy. He settled well in his warm kennel and when he found his new home it was wonderful to see pictures of him curled up on a cosy sofa with his new owner by his side.
We also took in a stray cat called Tiger, who we subsequently found had been shot at close range with an air gun – he still had pellets embedded into his skull. To think how much pain and fear this cat must have gone through before arriving into Battersea, and yet he was still very trusting of people, seek out strokes and want to play chase. This brave and loveable cat didn’ t take long to find a home of his own though.
How important are volunteers to Battersea, and what sort of things do they do? How can our readers get involved?
There are so many other ways to help Battersea besides donations! Battersea has over 1,000 volunteers – last year they dedicated over 83,000 hours to Battersea.
Volunteering is an important part of Battersea and we’ re always on the lookout for new recruits! We need a range of people to help us with different tasks including kennel and cattery duties, office admin roles, off-site event roles as well as foster carers.
What does the future hold?
There is another side to Battersea other than the everyday care and re-homing of our dogs and cats. We do a lot of campaigning to help the animals outside of our gates. We campaign on serious animal welfare issues and have set ourselves on educating the public on responsible pet ownership. This year, Battersea is focusing on increasing the sentences handed to those who commit animal cruelty crimes in the UK. People can find out more on our website www. battersea. org. uk.
CANTERBURY FESTIVAL
KENT’ S INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL
14 OCT- 4 NOV 2017
Over 200 events including Newton Faulkner Imelda May Tom Kerridge Ballet Black Ruby Turner Tenebrae Tasmin Little Rich Hall Mary Black
and much more!
Further details visit: canterburyfestival. co. uk
Partner and Principal Sponsor
167