Woodlands Animal Sanctuary

Unfortunately there is not much optimism on the rescue front, our funds
are dangerously low, new homes for cats, kittens, rabbits, etc few and far
between so, the so-called credit crunch is having disastrous consequences
for the ever increasing numbers of homeless and unwanted animals that
so desperately need our help.
If you know anyone who could offer a permanent home for cats, kittens,
or rabbits please ask them to view our "In need of Homes" page
or give us a call.
We are most concerned for Whispa and Trinni, 2 cats that have been
in our cattery for many months and keep getting over looked, so much so
we are asking the press for help.

We have today admitted 10 guinea pigs from the same household, much
loved but with another 6 too many for the average home !
When the 5 males are neutered they will all be offered for adoption as
pairs or to join an existing lone piggy.
STOP PRESS.
I am delighted to say the owners have decided to take back all
10 guinea pigs, after seeing our resident guinea pig housing which
they are copying and we have arranged for the males to be castrated.

We took in a stray "bob white" quail some weeks ago hoping it could
live in our large aviary but it attacked a young budgie and a cockateil,
both survived but needless to say he is back in the wildlife room on his own.
If you know anyone with similar large quails who can offer him a home
please call us.
It has been particularly bad for hedgehogs this year probably because
it has been so wet and we are still receiving calls about cold, hungry
hogs that need help. If you want to know more have a look at our
"Hedgehog Care page"
Hope you enjoy the news, sorry it's not more cheerful, if you
can help or would like to volunteer please give us a call.
Thanks for visiting,

September update
We are already over half way through the year and hasn't time flown, as usual
we are very short of funds and fundraisers, but we manage to make a
little go a long way in our quest to help homeless and neglected
animals and give wild life a helping hand where we can.
With the appalling weather we felt unable to have an Open day
this year as last year's was ruined by wet weather.
We are trying to arrange a Christmas fair in November so
watch this space !.We will also have a winter raffle, tickets
will be available very soon so if you can help please give
the Sanctuary a call.

We have already found quite alot of needy cats and kittens
"forever homes" but we still have alot more waiting patiently.
Please have a look on our "in need of homes" page or give
the Shelter a call if you feel
you can help

Ossie above left behind in a flat when the humans
he trusted moved without him.

Unwanted rabbits are a major problem, people don't seem
to realize they should be a 8 year or more commitment
and children lose interest very quickly if it isn't a
family commitment.We seem to be permanently full
as new homes are few and far between.

We always pair our rabbits as soon as possible
they are very social creatures
Tatti above lives happily with Bliss now.

Our Aviaries are up and running and we have accepted quite a few
small birds, mostly from elderly owners unable to cope any longer
who know their little friend will live happily with plenty of company
and space.

We have a few new larger arrivals at the Sanctuary, Gerty a pygmy goat came from
a garden in Liverpool, she had lived on her own so had no socializing skills
and found it very difficult to mix with the herd.
I am pleased to say she is now settling in and learning to be a goat !

Chips and Chops, 2 Dartmoor sheep were gifted to the Sanctuary after their
owner hand reared them but was unable to keep them
Their very large fleeces meant Chips suffered heat stroke
prior to him being sheared. They are settling in and
hopefully will have many happy years here.

Before ^
and after !

Below is an extract taken from our December 2007 Newsletter.

2007 seems to have flown by, very successfully for a lot of unfortunate furry friends
who have passed though our shelter after we vet checked, treated,
vaccinated, microchipped, wormed, deflead,
restored confidence and gave any help necessary
before they went to their forever homes.

We have been kept very busy with many many cats, kittens, rabbits, guinea pigs
and sick hedgehogs all needing loads of TLC, money and time.
We have a small group of dedicated fosterers [ Trudy, Jax, Marj, Lynn and Laura with kittens
and Sandra with many hedgehogs] who have given hours of time to orphaned babies without who's help our efforts would not be possible.
We have also acquired a few new residents and sadly lost some due to natural causes.

We held our annual open day on the 2nd September and for the first time
the weather was very unkind to us, hence our entry at the gate was pretty
poor and our fund raising for the winter suffered greatly which is very worrying.
Many thanks to the West Lancs dog display team who kindly donated their time
and expertise to create a superb display and ran the fun dog show also.
Thanks also to all our helpers before and on the day who kept a brave face
despite ending the day very damp and the supporters who did attend.
We are in the process of organizing a spring raffle which
we require prizes for so if anyone can help please give the Shelter a call.
As many of you know we run a boarding facility here at Woodlands catering for cats
, rabbits and most small animals, this all helps towards the funding for the Shelter
as well as our Petfood and accessory sales.

If you want further details or to book or order please call 01704 823293

Earlier this year we were asked to take the last 4 Fairground cats that
were left homeless when it closed, Betty Calvert arranged the trapping and
transporting and we kept them indoors until they had got used to their new area.
As they were all elderly we didn't think they would wander to the Nature reserve
next door and they haven't. They have all settled well and 2 have made the Stable
feed room their home which deters the rodent population

Our Aviary is up and running and one of our first occupants is Rocky a Rosella Parakeet.
He was donated to the Sanctuary as his owners felt unable to let him out of his cage
and didn't feel his solitary life was kind. He has settled well but can be very aggressive
with strangers, however we have just introduced a friend for him called Rosie who will
hopefully help his human imprinting and teach him to be a bird again. We also have
several budgies and cockatiels that were unwanted pets.

We were also asked to take 2 Quaker parrots [independently]
which paired up very quickly but then terrorised the existing birds so now have
their own Aviary adapted from a cat pen in the court yard.
Sparkie & Orville would love a purpose built Aviary that would be more spacious
and it would help educate perspective owners as to the unsuitability
of caged birds and just how noisy they are!!
If you could fund this project we would be delighted to
mount a plaque in your honour.
If you are a business it would be good publicity.

Curly our long term sponsor cat has been given eternal sleep aged
somewhere near 20 years old.
She was handed in many years ago heavily pregnant with the
offer of a home after her kittens
had been adopted. Sadly the owner decided not to bother when the time came and Curly's lifehung in the balance and as she was semi feral a home could not be found.
We made a decision to keep her as an office cat available for sponsorship
and Curly lived happily here for many years, surviving cancer on her ears
which had to be removed. She will be sadly missed

I'm sad to say Bambam our little black goat died in July peacefully
aged 13 years from natural causes.

Harvey and Doogle suffered from severe arthritis later in life and when
medication was unable to control the pain they were given eternal sleep earlier this year.

Jasper has been a resident cat at Woodlands for over 5 years.
The vets suspected he had an underlying medical condition and
recommended he stayed with us. He sadly died in the summer of 07 from heart failure.
He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Tawny was abandoned at Rufford tip some years ago with her brothers.
Due to lack of human contact she remained semi-feral but settled well here,
in our long term accommodation.
She was unfortunately hit by a car and died from her injuries.
Although timid, she was very sweet to all who knew her.

Tilly was handed into the Sanctuary as an unwanted pet. Due to her previous life,
she didn't trust many people and remained cautious with strangers.
She was found dead and a post-mortem revealed she had also been in a road accident.
She is sadly missed especially by Jacqui who had a special friendship with her

Losing Tawny and Tilly to road accidents so close together has
been devastating but on balance they are the first fatalities for over 10 years
All the above are remembered on our "In memory of" page.

People seem more aware of wildlife needs due to programmes such as autumn watch;
because of this we have had many hedgehogs, blackbirds and pigeons handed in.
Recently we have been snowed under with baby hedgehogs that require a lot of attention.
They are frequently brought in injured, cold and hungry.
If you find a hedgehog wandering in the day
there will be something wrong with it and you should consult a vet or rescue centre.
The most important factor if you want to help is to place the hog on a
hot water bottle or plastic drink bottle with a towel or jumper to stop it burning.
Many victims arrive here freezing cold and because of the delay we are unable to save them.

Just before release [left] and safely back in the wild [right]

If you choose to help your resident hedgehogs
NEVER give milk or bread but provide clean drinking water
and wet or dry cat or dog food {NO FISH}.
Please check garden ponds have an escape route
{Hedgehogs are good swimmers as long as they can get out}
and be careful when disturbing leaf piles and compost heaps.
This year we have taken 2 mothers with hoglets under 2 weeks old,
one from a garden where the owners accidentally raked them
across the lawn and destroyed their nest and one that the family dog dug up.
We were delighted they all survived and were released back to the wild here
where we provide a food supply every night in case of hard times.

Orpans being hand reared

The importance of Microchipping
We get so many calls about missing or found cats that never get reunited.
We advise people finding a stray to take it to their nearest Vets or Rescue Centre
to have it scanned for a microchip.
If you are feeding a lost cat please don't suddenly stop as the animal
becomes reliant on a food source.
Put adverts in shops advise rescue centres and vets etc.

MAKE SURE YOUR BELOVED PET IS MICROCHIPPED AND has up to date details
registered at the chip HQ. We recently reunited a young cat with her owners in
Liverpool that was found 18 miles away ! She had been missing 8 weeks and
her delighted owners had given up hope of ever seeing her again. It took us 2 phone
calls for this happy ending.

More updates soon and don't forget if you want to get involved and help us to continue please
give us a call on 01704 823293

We have successfully added a Donation Button to our site, if you are
interested in Donating to Woodlands