Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett
Dedicated animal expert Marion Garnett, founder of the Ealing Animal Charities Fair, continues her column
WE’RE waiting for the toads to arrive.
Having spent several days during lockdown creating a wildlifefriendly pond, I’m now glued to it waiting for the arrival of newts, frogs and dragonflies.
When creating something new like this, it’s useful to get advice from someone who knows what they’re talking about so I’ve been speaking to a gardener who has won seven gold medals at Chelsea for aquatic plants (watersidenursery.co.uk). Unbelievably helpful, she helped me avoid mistakes.
In order to avoid dog owners making mistakes when doing something new, Dogs Trust are giving advice on how to bring dogs out of lockdown as smoothly as possible.
Taking the form of a roadmap, Dogs Trust’s advice includes how to prepare your dog for outdoor gatherings (by, for example, reminding them how to greet people) and how to train your dog for visitors indoors (by, for example, teaching your dog to run to a safe space like their bed, when they hear the doorbell and wait there until your visitors are settled).
The Dogs Trust roadmap also emphasises that, as more people stop working from home and return to their previous workplace, it’s important for owners to prepare their dog to cope with being left alone, therefore preventing separation anxiety.
In order to stop problems developing, Dogs Trust invites owners to visit dogstrust.org.uk to look at the roadmap and watch their training videos. One of the biggest reasons why dogs are handed into Dogs Trust is because of behaviour-related issues that could have been prevented early on.
Helped by Dogs Trust Harefield, one dog being prepared for new beginnings is Terry. This affectionate ex-racing greyhound is a sensitive boy who hasn’t lived in a home before so will need owners who give him time to settle and come out of his shell.
To begin with, leaving hours must be minimal, and built up gradually. Although he has dog friends, he can’t live with cats. Terry loves having a sofa to snuggle on.
If you’re interested in giving Terry a loving home, see details at dogstrust.org.uk where you can also find information about rehoming arrangements during lockdown.
Finally, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home are also trying something new. For two weeks, they are live streaming pictures from video cameras in their cattery. Research shows watching video footage of cute animals can help wellbeing.
So, if your stress levels need reducing, try visiting battersea.org.uk and typing Cat Cam into the search box. Alternatively make a wildlife pond and wait for toads.