Blue Cross heroes
120th As Blue Cross celebrates its scenes to birthday, we go behind the action, see its life-changing work in and small helping all creatures great
It’s 8.50am on a chilly Tuesday and already the waiting room of Blue Cross Animal Hospital in Grimsby is packed with a motley, rather noisy crew of patients. All shapes and sizes, breeds and species rub noses as vets, nurses, assistants and volunteers whirr into action, preparing consulting rooms, kennels and surgery theatres for the day. From Mia the Shih Tzu who’s struggling on her feet, to Coco the cat who’s too feisty to let her owners near the lumps on her chest, everyone here is patiently waiting for an appointment with one of Blue Cross’s many animal heroes. Grimsby’s Animal Hospital is one of just four Blue Cross hospitals in the UK (the other three are in London) which provides treatment to any animal whose owners are on meanstested benefits and unable to afford to treat their ill pet. They also treat poorly strays, brought in by local good Samaritans, before handing them over to a Blue Cross Rehoming Centre. One such stray in the hospital cattery today is Ben the Flowerpot. Named by staff who adopt different themes for stray names, from Disney to children’s TV characters, he came in with a broken pelvis, probably from a road traffic accident, a month ago. No one knows where he came from but Blue Cross have ensured this important guest has had the best treatment during his stay, neutering
‘I love it when we can fix a poorly animal and reunite them with their owners or, if they’re a stray, when they find a new home’
and microchipping him while he’s here. He’ll soon be taken to the Rehoming Centre down the road where we’ve no doubt he’ll quickly find a family, judging by the butter-wouldn’t-melt looks he’s flashing our photographer. From fixing a pelvis to repairing poorly knees, the team deal with all kinds of treatments, just like any human hospital. As I’m shown around, I see Lily the ten-year old Labrador being prepared for surgery, where she’s going to be given an artificial cruciate ligament in her knee that will help her walk more easily for the first time in months. But surgery isn’t necessarily the busiest part of Grimsby’s Animal Hospital. That label goes to the laundry room which, with all animals needing a comforting bed for their stay, doesn’t stop from 6am to 11pm. Presiding over this laundry palace is ‘Queen of Towels’ and Animal Care Assistant, Debbie Dalton, who’s been working here for 33 years. “I started out as a 16-year old student and the animals have just kept me coming back. I don’t have pets at home but these are my animals while they’re in,” she says, looking lovingly at a Staffie in a lampshade collar calling out for a stroke. “I’ve seen every kind of situation since I’ve been here. And while I do find it hard when we sadly occasionally lose the battle, I love it when we can fix a poorly animal and see them reunited with their owners or, if they’re a stray, when they find a home.” And it’s clear the animals and owners on the receiving end of this hard work are incredibly thankful, with every person in the waiting room telling me how grateful they are to Blue Cross. But as well as the amazing work of staff, Charlotte Hailstones, the vet nurse who shows me around, says this place couldn’t run without its army of volunteers, “They keep everything ticking and we rely on them hugely,” she says. One such volunteer, who works both in the Animal Hospital and the rehoming service based at Grimsby Institute, is Helen Leary. “When my dog passed away, I decided I would volunteer for Blue Cross as I’ve no family and always loved animals,” says Helen. “The most memorable moment was when I assisted with delivering 13 puppies from one dog. By the end of it, everyone was in tears of happiness. “Every day here is joyful and it’s wonderful to feel needed.” When she’s not in the hospital, Helen’s other responsibilities include socialising the cats awaiting homes in the rehoming unit, such as Lola and Teddy, the sibling double act who are waiting to be rehomed together. She also keeps an eye on Kevin from Grimsby (no, not that one!), the eight-kilo bruiser of a cat who came in to Blue Cross as a sick stray more than a year ago. As he initially had a split personality – lovely one minute, feral the next – he was adopted by the team, rather than rehomed. Now he has the run of the place and sleeps in the centre’s minifarm with the chickens who seem to have accepted him as one of their own. Amazing to think he’s just one of millions of animals whose lives have been changed by Blue Cross over 120 incredible years. Long may it continue!
If you would like to volunteer for Blue Cross, call 0300 777 1897 or visit www.bluecross.org.uk To donate, send a cheque payable to Blue Cross to: Blue Cross, Shilton Road, Burford OX18 4PF