Desperate plea for Sky, our longest stay resident

Plea for Sky
A big thank you to the Bognor Regis Observer who have shared the following story on our longest stay resident … Sky. Read all about it here.

A desperate plea has gone out to find a new home for loving little Sky who has watched 50 of her kennel mates find their forever homes – yet she still waiting.

Sky has been at the RSPCA Mount Noddy Animal Centre in Chichester for eight months and she is their longest stay resident.

While other dogs have come in after her and found a loving new family, poor Sky still sits waiting patiently.

Susan Botherway, Animal Centre Manager, said: “Sky is one of the most loving dogs you will ever meet, she is just so friendly and she adores having a fuss and giving kisses. The staff here are so confused as to why she has been here for so long. She is a loving, affectionate and active dog who has so much love to give. It just breaks our hearts every time another day passes without someone coming to see her. She literally would be the most loyal little friend you could ever have, and she would bring such a wealth of happiness and joy to the family who adopted her. She is a little dog with the biggest heart.”

Sky is two years old and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. She is insecure around other dogs and can be reactive so would need to be the only dog in the home.

Sky will need an active rural or semi-rural home away from towns and cities, that can provide her with the training and exercise she needs.

She knows basic commands such as sit, drop and wait but she would benefit from training classes to help further her skills. Staff are currently working on her lead work which will need to be carried on when she leaves the RSPCA.

Due to her sad start to life, she can be quite nervous of new people to start with, but once she knows you she is a confident girl who loves fuss and attention. She loves ball games, running around in our enclosed field and rolling around in the grass. She also loves clicker training and she would be a great fit for people who also love training or are interested in taking it up.

Susan added: “We also take Sky through our agility area where she enjoys weaving, jumping and going through our tunnels. As well as being a very active and intelligent dog, she also likes calm time and settles well. Sky would need an experienced owner who can help her in this area. We are working on her confidence with other dogs and this training would need to be continued in her new home.”

If you think you can offer Sky a new home please call the centre on 0739 5792891 or 01243 773359.

For more information please follow the links below:

RSPCA Sussex Chichester and District Branch – Sky

Adoption application form

Mount Noddy dogs looking for a home

Ace

Ace

Ace is a young lurcher who is very playful. He enjoys human company and lots of attention, but can get over excited in new situations and will require ongoing training with his new owners.

 

Amy

Amy

Amy is an 8 year old pug who loves life. She sadly lost her eye due to an accident when she was young, but this has not affected her confidence at all and she is a happy, outgoing girl with people and other dogs.

 

Fraiser

Frasier

Frasier is a loving, gentle dog who enjoys human company and is looking for a new home which has previous experience with large breeds.

 

Tsoro, Ruby and Munchie

Ruby Tsoro Munchie

Tsoro, Ruby and Munchie are firm friends. Although these three tiny guys are shy at first they have wonderful characters and once they trust you love nothing more than to snuggle up.

 

Prince

Prince

Prince is a handsome staffie cross who came to our centre as his owner could no longer care for him. He is an intelligent, active boy who loves spending time out and about.

 

Pru

Pru

Prue is an affectionate and active dog who loves human company. She is an active girl looking for a rural or semi rural home where she can enjoy long walks away from busy towns.

 

Rowley

Rowley

Rowley is a happy go lucky Jack Russell who came to us after his family could no longer keep him. He is 10 years old but young at heart and loves to go for walks and explore our field.

 

Roxy

Roxy

Roxy is a beautiful Rottweiler who arrived at Mount Noddy with her friend Frasier after her owner could no longer take care of her. She is an affectionate and enthusiastic young dog.

 

Sky

Sky

Sky is a special girl and our longest stay resident here at Mount Noddy. She has watched 48 other dogs find their forever home during the last 6 months, and is still waiting to find her special person.

For more information on these and all our dogs at Mount Noddy please visit our website

RSPCA Sussex Chichester and District Branch

 

Another blog from our team

This week Jo, our kennel Animal Care Assistant, has written about that special friend finding their forever home. This one comes with a mascara warning!

Jo

7.45am. The rain is beating down on my windscreen as I drive to Mount Noddy to start the day at work. I admit that ‘work’ is a debatable phrase here. Certainly when the warm sunshine is beating down on us as we walk the dogs through the countryside, then, yes, I’m not sure the word ‘work’ sounds like an accurate description. But today is not one of those days.

Our morning begins with a debrief from the previous day, and a cup of tea (essential to take on kennel cleaning). Today our sweet Staff mix Corona has a trip to the vet for routine vaccinations, our long stay girl Sky is going off site for a walk on the beach with her favourite ACA, Dan, and we discuss which enrichment we could try to help our new arrival settle into his hopefully brief kennel stay. Dogs can often find staying in kennels very stressful. It can be noisy, they are surrounded by dogs they don’t know, and new people they’re not familiar with. We occasionally have dogs who really struggle to cope which is when we call upon our foster network so these animals are able to go into a home environment, with more one to one contact while they wait to find their forever homes.

It’s breakfast time! While we are preparing breakfast our other team members takes each dog out for a toilet break and leg stretch. They will come out of their kennels multiple times during the day for walks, training and quiet time in the reception or office area. It’s really important that they receive not only physical exercise, but mental stimulation too, and that’s an important part of preparing each dog to go to its new family.

I’m often asked ‘Don’t you just want to take them all home?’ My reply is always the same: not if I want to stay friends with my husband. In all honesty, this is the amazing thing about my job here at Mount Noddy: I don’t need to take them home because I get to love them, take care of them, train them and help them to find a family of their very own. There is absolutely no better feeling than waving a dog goodbye as he starts his new life in a loving home. Now, I’d be lying if I told we don’t get attached to our furry friends. I know I speak for all my colleagues when I say there is always one that steals a little piece of your heart. When those dogs find their forever homes its mixed feelings of loss and jubilation.

Today is one of those times. My special four legged friend here has been a young beagle named Poppy. A typical young beagle: bouncy, mischievous, cheeky, challenging, loving and smart…with a hint of stubborn. Poppy was finding kennel life challenging, so we needed to think outside the box a little, find some new ways to challenge that busy beagle brain. She became my little project, the one I spent time with whenever I could. I introduced her to scent games, find it, we gave her a job and she was fantastic at it! Now I take her out of her kennel for the last time. She’s over enthusiastic and bounces up to kiss my face. Before I click on her lead I sit down with her and press my face against her soft ears one more time. Words can’t describe how happy I feel about her going to her forever home, but I will miss her so very much. I walk her down to reception where her new family eagerly await. They are so excited to see her, and she them! There are lots of smiles, the Mount Noddy team give her fusses and waves goodbye. Her new person takes her lead and I watch them leave through the gate, Poppy’s tail wagging as she bounces next to him.

This is why we do what we do. For this moment right here. I turn and head back towards the kennels. There are 15 other dogs still waiting for their special day.

Here is the first of our blog series

A day in the life of a cat carer by Animal Care Assistant Becca Stewart

Becca

Cats are adored by many for being such cute little furballs, but at the cost of all that sweetness is a demand for my services. At Mount Noddy where we can have up to 30 cats at any one time, I like to call it ‘room service’ for the felines that truly believe that is my purpose. I guess in some way, it is. Every day myself and my colleagues clean the pens and feed multiple times a day, along with providing numerous other tasks such as health checks, medicating and cleaning equipment. Then comes the fun part; so long as we’re getting through the checklist of numerous things to do, I have free reign to cuddle cats. Oh, the struggles of my job, petting cats under radiators as the wind and rain billow outside… poor dog-people.

Each day is different though. I’m always asked, ‘what did you do today?’ and my answer is never the same; some days I’m swatted because I make good prey to a cat an 8th of my size, other days I have cats trying to pile themselves into my lap. I cater to each cat, making sure they’re as happy as can be and giving them the love they deserve until their new families find them.

Some people get an instant image when I tell them I’m an animal carer, and sometimes, they’re right. It’s poopy, smelly and dirty. We’re animal carers though, we love what we do.

Aside from all that, in the upcoming weeks I plan on learning better handling techniques for some of the ferals we have in, because I’d really like to provide them with the care they need without feeling as though I’d just walked into a hungry tiger’s pen. They may be smaller than me but they’re better equipped. ‘I couldn’t work here, I’d want to take them all home’. It’s a phrase we all too often hear. I nod and explain that although we bond with them, we love them all equally.

Then we laugh and slot our favourites into our backpacks, telling our families the mysteriously appearing cats have been there all along.