SURVIVING LOCKDOWN II
By Anita Clark , Deputy Manager
When the last newsletter went to print , we had survived a complete lockdown , and had begun new ways of working where we could now introduce customers to their dogs on site in one of our paddocks to allow safe social distancing . We were still doing most of our homing remotely , but cat and small animal adopters were permitted to collect their animals from our car park .
In October a tier system was introduced which made our rehoming very complicated . We could only rehome to the same tier level that we were in . Sadly we already had animals reserved to areas which had been placed in a different tier . So , these poor people had to sit and wait and hope at some point soon they could meet their new companion .
On the 5th November a second national lockdown was announced and we were thrown back into the restrictions we had earlier in the year . Luckily we were permitted to keep rehoming as long as animals were delivered to their new homes . Cats and small animals could be delivered by staff or volunteers and dogs had to be delivered by an experienced staff member . This meant that the people who had been waiting were finally able to have their animals delivered . We had massive support from volunteer Phil who has been willing to deliver any animal , anywhere , at the drop of a hat .
not so straightforward with dogs . Many of our dogs have come from very difficult backgrounds of neglect and abuse and need time to get to know their new owner over several visits to the Centre . While these dogs have continued to be advertised , some will have to wait patiently until the restrictions ease enough for them to have safe introductions .
One example of a family who waited so patiently are the Bradley family . They fell in love with Foggy the Greyhound when they saw him on the internet on 12th December 2020 and visited him at the Centre quite quickly . Sadly he couldn ’ t go home at that point due to a medical issue and then just as we thought he was ready the tier system was introduced and he was stuck at the Centre . Christmas came and went , his new family incredibly sad that he couldn ’ t be with them , but finally on 5th January 2021 he was ready to be delivered to his new home . They were overjoyed and Foggy settled in straight away , it was as if he was always meant to have been there . As you can see from the photos he was worth the wait !
The feedback from the new way of rehoming has been amazing , and whatever happens next , we will continue to find new ways to overcome the problems . Stay safe and we hope to see you soon !
Our rehoming of cats and small animals continues to flourish as it did in the previous lockdown . Almost the second they are advertised on the website , we are inundated with hopeful people desperate to be the lucky new owner . Unfortunately things are
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