A fond farewell to two dear friends

A somber 'hello' from me today. It's a sad fact that as time goes by we are all likely to lose a dear friend.

Most permanent centre animals come to stay with us because they are old or sick and have no other place to go, so it's understandable that from time to time someone passes away. But recent days have been touched with a double sadness as we not only had to withstand the sad loss of young Subway, our newest pack member, who passed away too soon after a battle with a disease that caused his organs to shut down, but this was also quickly followed by the death of dear old Plucky who was probably the oldest amongst the live-in dogs, and had spent her latter years in comfort.

Subway had only been at the centre for less than a year but was a very special and well loved member of the family and also the official boyfriend of the infamous Peggy.

Plucky came to Animal Tracks many years ago. She had lost an eye and was already old and quite lame then, so she was taken in as a centre dog to be looked after for the rest of her days.

Both of these dear friends will be greatly missed by us all, but it's a comforting fact that, however short or long an animal's life is, if they are a member of the Animal Tracks gang there is no better place they could be.

Proud mother Mary gets a helping hand

Hello dear friends. Just when you thought I'd deserted you forever, I’m back and bursting with news!

There's always something different happening at Animal Tracks and we never know what wonderful creature in need of help will arrive next. This week I was privileged to witness an event that was sad then happy in quick succession, right here in the reception area where I spend my time meeting and greeting everyone.

When the natural delivery of her kid hit serious complications and became a life-threatening situation, the owner of Mary the pregnant goat had the quick thinking and care to rush her into the centre.

When she arrived, the distressed goat was immediately seen by the duty vets. Their expertise in such cases without doubt saved Mary's life, as her kid was in the wrong birth position and it was quite likely that one or both animals would not survive. So right there on the spot the team sprang into action in order to save Mary as she lay on the reception floor.

Sadly though the kid was stillborn. But then sadness turned to joy as very soon there were signs that the drama was not yet over: there was another kid arriving and this one thankfully was very healthy and delivered smoothly. She was the perfect, tiny image of her mother.

Without the prompt, professional intervention of the IAR team all three animals would have undoubtedly died, so it was just amazing to be there to witness the birth of Mini and her first meeting with her proud mother Mary.