To the Sanctuary, With Love?
by Rich Ashcroft
When the home life is back to normal after Christmas and the novelty has begun to wear off is when things start to get messy. Just like it did last January and the year before that.
Jennie Cryer, reception manager, picks up the phone to distressed mums, girlfriends or friends pleading for help with a seasonal gift that’s turning into a bit of a nightmare.
Coco, a lively Labrador cross puppy, which a local man surprised his girlfriend with, is now too boisterous to cope with, one woman told Lyn Renshaw, sanctuary manager at the Manx Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals.
Another call came last year. Turns out, after just half an hour, the concerned owner had enough and wanted to drop the dog back to Ard Jekyll.
A third handed in a dog claiming to be moving abroad only to be seen walking a new pooch on the promenade some weeks later.
‘Nothing shocks me any more,’ says Renshaw.
‘People expect pets that are ready made and a perfect fit. When they get them home and issues begin to arise, they are not prepared to try.’ Renshaw said of families returning puppies and kittens to her centre. ‘You have to let a pet unpack its bags and integrate into the family just like a new baby. You wouldn’t give baby back for being too noisy or sick on the carpet.’
Because the MSPCA operates a policy of no re-homing between December 20 and January 3, most of the animals given as Christmas gifts are bought and sold privately or through online trading sites.
Cryer sees the internet as a double edged sword. ‘Our own website (www.mspca.im) is a great tool for advertising animals that need new homes however, we know of certain breeders who use online classified sites to sell young animals, particularly puppies.’
It’s easy money.‘ She adds.
This gives her two problems; firstly, it puts more potentially unwanted or unsuitable animals back into the system and conversely, lot’s of older, often more socialised animals, locked up in the pound.
With a full house of animals spread about the kennels, cattery and small pet units, she says she can only take in so many. The Ard Jekyll sanctuary has 20 dog pens, space for 55 cats and 36 small animals yet, at high peak times of the year the isolation units, normally reserved for sick or stray animals, have become a necessary overflow.
‘We have just had a load through,‘ says animal care officer Hayley Stephenson who works in the cattery. ‘I just wish people could be more honest with us when they hand in cats, it would save us time, money and unnecessary distress.’
Stephenson is talking about the mandatory two-week isolation for cats declared as stray. ‘You cant prove anything, but many are so friendly and socialised, it does make you wonder.‘ She says.
She said she expects more calls after the New Year, when for many, the honeymoon period is over.
Speaking about anyone who’s thinking about giving a pet as a present sanctuary manager Renshaw ‘They should talk first yeh, do you know their lifestyle yeh, is it really what they want, why not talk to the neighbours?’ Said Cryer. ‘A new puppy and old dog and a 3-year-old is not a good match.’
‘They could always sponsor an animal, become a member, or buy a soft toy instead.’
‘Having said that, we would much rather commend people who are sensible enough to bring back an unwanted pet rather than dumping them.’
The Ard Jekyll animal sanctuary costs £1200 each day to run. They receive no monies from gov- ernment and are therefore entirely reliant on the generosity of pubic donations, bequests and fund-raising.
