Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett
Dedicated animal expert Marion Garnett, founder of the Ealing Animal Charities Fair, continues her column
A good time to tell if people are spending their days working from home is midnight. Normally, when I look out of the window at that time, few lights are on and I think why has everyone gone to bed so early.
Now, as people don’t have to get up for early trains, it’s like Blackpool illuminations out there.
But working from home brings challenges. In order to help those working at home who have a dog, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home have compiled top tips to help people stay productive while keeping their dog occupied (and out of video conferencing calls).
These include setting up your working area, away from your dog (not least because Battersea are mindful that working from home is not going to last for ever and your dog needs to be able to cope without you being there when you return to work), keeping the dog busy, taking regular breaks in which to give your dog some quality time and making sure your dog has a safe space to go if they’re not feeling social. Battersea also have videos showing how we can use recycled materials to make toys to keep our pets busy.
To help with any questions we have about pet care and coronavirus, Battersea has collaborated with other animal charities and organisations to produce two infographics to advise us. The first one includes advice on how to look after our pet while looking after ourselves and how to care for pets while social distancing.
The second one contains advice relating to walking someone else’s dog. For example, extra precautions to take if walking the dog of someone in the category of being “shielded” or extremely vulnerable. To see these infographics, go to cfsg.org.uk/ coronavirus. We need to be aware this advice may change. To help provide support to pet owners, Battersea have also set up a cat and dog behaviour advice line on 020 3887 8347 (open MondayFriday 8am-5pm).
During this crisis, Battersea rehoming centres are closed to the public (although they are still taking in emergency cases). And, they are, of course, still looking after animals currently in their care. This includes Memphis who is in foster care with a member of staff. This Chow-Chow arrived at Battersea after being found as a stray.
He can be quite aloof and is not overly comfortable with being handled. Memphis is looking for an owner experienced with Chows. If this could be you, see details at battersea.org.uk.