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In June 2000 I attended the Derby RSPCA Fun Day to find Derby and Derbyshire's RSPCA Dog of the Y ear, it was a lovely sunny day and I fancied a day off work, and I thought it would be a bit of fun. So I toddled along taking my big bundle of "fluff", my tri-coloured bearded collie "Bruno". |
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Eric and Chris, had a stall promoting the Hospice, they introduced me to Shirley and Michael, and I soon realised, that this day was going to change my life. |
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Bruno won the Derby RSPCA Dog of the Year trophy, which was tremendous but I realised that if he stood a chance at the final at Halifax on September 3rd he needed to go on a diet. This is when my other half stood in, and decided to "take control of the situation" and cut Bruno's intake by half. |
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Needless to say the day came but Bruno's waist-line still looked decidedly "podgy", even though my other half said he could now pick him up, where as, he could not before. |
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Prior to going, I rang Shirley to say, "How can I promote the Hospice while I am there?" "Come and see what we do", she said. I couldn't wait. |
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As I pulled up, a neighbour's ginger tom made a quick dash to the Hospice porch, nearly getting himself run over in the process. It is obviously "well-known" in the neighbourhood as an excellent place for a "get together " or if you need to "bed down" for the night. "Phew", I thought, "that was a close shave", I could imagine, being the first person to be refused entry. |
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As I entered the house, I was greeted like an old friend and made to feel very welcome. It struck me how warm it was and how strangely peaceful it appeared to be, considering there were 80 cats residing. There were cats on the hall tables and on the stairs. Draped over the bannister, like a fur stole, was Felix, the "resident doorman". Felix originally came in as a kitten, with cat flu, and as a result has been blind ever since. |
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As I walked into the lounge, I was met with the most beautiful sight. It seemed I had caught them all in the middle of their "cat-naps". They were strewn across bookshelves on window sills, and snuggled up in blankets and little beds. In some beds there were more than one cat , wrapping themselves around each other. Little heads started to raise, some of them opened one eye glancing to see who it was, some stayed where they were, and there were little meows here and there asking for a stroke, and as I started to speak to them, the purrs started to drum up, louder and louder. I think they thought "Oh great, another visitor, another fuss". There was a large "cat tree" where Quince, who welcomes all new arrivals, stood up and stretched and pawed the air, until I went over and fussed him. |
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Michael introduced me to their latest ginger arrival - "This is Shakie" he said. "He has just come from Sheffield his owner has died, and he was going to be put down, as he has palsy". Shakie staggered towards me, like a little drunken old man, his body swaying as he went, and you could see the determination in his face, as he made his "bee-line" towards me. I picked him up and cuddled him, he purred contentedly in my arms, looking up into my eyes, we were obviously meant for one another. I think he would have stopped there forever, if he could, but as I laid him down on the sofa, his eyes followed me around the room. |
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