Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett

Dedicated animal expert Marion Garnett, founder of the Ealing Animal Charities Fair, continues her column

THAT was a busy day. I’ve just spoken to Jackie De Friez, Manager of the National Animal Welfare Trust (NAWT) rehoming centre near Watford and she tells me that, yesterday, they took 22 animals to their new homes.

These were all animals whose new owners had started the rehoming process before the coronavirus crisis escalated and rather than keep the animals at the rehoming centre for the duration of the crisis, they speeded up the process and got them into their new homes yesterday.

That must have been a mammoth effort and all credit to the staff who carried this out.

By all accounts, it was an emotional evacuation as throughout the day, 22 animals were loaded into NAWT vans and delivered to their new homes.

But this does not mean the centre is empty.

There are still 30 dogs, 30 cats as well as rabbits, guinea pigs, degus, chickens, a pig and a tortoise at the centre waiting for a home. No new rehoming is taking place at present so dogs like Jimmy, a terrier, who is one of those left behind, needs to settle in for the long haul. If, when restrictions are lifted, you are interested in homing Jimmy, you can see details at nawt.org.uk.

This crisis does focus our minds on the need to prepare ourselves, at all times (and not just now), for what may happen in the future not only for ourselves but also our pets.

In order to help with this, several years ago, NAWT prepared a care pack called Tails of the Unexpected which is a step-by-step guide on how to make arrangements for our pets in case we can’t look after them anymore.

They outline some of the care options we could consider and highlight questions we should ask ourselves when planning for their future care.

For example, exactly which family or friends would we want to ask to look after them.

Some of these decisions are difficult and we may feel there is not a perfect answer but we owe it to our pets to make the best arrangements for them, in advance, that we can.

Forms are included in the pack so we can record what pets we have and what care they need. To access the pack, see nawt.org.uk or call 020 8950 0177.

Finally, remember the RSPCA (rspca.org.uk) and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home (battersea.org.uk) have advice on how to care for your pets if you are self-isolating.

Jimmy