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Sunday, January 9, 2011

Christmas is over for unwanted pets





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.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Port Erin Dip 2011


HUNDREDS of milky skinned souls braved the chilly Irish Sea on New Years Day with one thing in mind - to raise as much cash as possible for local charities.
Scores of people opted for fancy dress and so from midday on Saturday, Deemsters, pirates, chickens and postmen were visible clattering down the island’s beaches in a hail of sea-spray and good cheer.
Cited as one of the best Manx hangover cures, the New Years day dips have been growing in popularity since 1983 when the first arranged dip took place in Peel.
Since that date £135,891.84 has been raised by Peel swimmers.
Jackie Green from Green’s Jewellers said: ‘This year in Peel we had 203 people take part. So far this year we have made over £1500 from bucket collections and sponsorship and, as usual, the money will be divided between three island based charities - Multiple Sclerosis, Peel lifeboat and Sailing for the Disabled.’
The best dressed team in the west were The Pirates and the best dressed man was Chris Daine. In a double triumph Marie Andrea, 61 ,was the oldest and best dressed woman and one-year-old M’Kyla Quinn was the youngest. The oldest man was David Maddison.
Jackie Green asked that all sponsorship should be dropped into Green’s, 37 Michael Street in Peel.
The Great Southern Dip comprises of four swims (Chapel Beach, Port St Mary Inner Harbour, Gansey and Port Erin) and enjoyed a record attendance this year with 138 swimmers in the grand finale at Port Erin Beach.
This year charity was Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation, in memory of postman Ben Bowman who tragically died in September. The Foundation raises cash for heart screening of men and women between the ages of 14 and 35 here in the Isle of Man.
Lenny Conroy, from Triskel Promotions, who arranges the mass swim, said: ‘This is our tenth anniversary, so with the generosity of our sponsors Pokerstars and the Manx public we are hoping to beat last years total of £4386.88. I am particularly pleased to be keeping the money local and for such a worthy cause.’
The fancy dress, judged by Ben’s widow Lesley and children Tom, 9 and Charlie, 7, saw first place awarded to a postbox worn by Rich Ashcroft. Second went to the best dressed postman - Josh Smith. Jennie Costain took home a bottle of moonshine being the booby prize for ‘changing her mind two days prior and deciding to swim’.
Lenny asked that all monies be made payable to Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation and should be dropped into The Bay, Port Erin or Primrose House, St Mary’s Rd, Port Erin, IM9 6JJ. Anyone with pictures or video of the day is asked to email copies to 2011dips@triskelpromo.com
Now it it’s 17th year, the Laxey Dip has been renamed The Deemster’s Dip in honour of Deemster JM Kerruish who sadly passed away in July this year.
From 2003 until his death, he served as First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls, presiding as Chief Judge of the Island’s High Court of Justice.
Speaker of the House of Keys, Steve Rodan piped 60 swimmers into the sea on Laxey Beach, before they returned to the Shore Hotel for soup and a pint.
Paul Phillips from The Shore Hotel said: ‘So far we have managed to raise £800 for Manx Muscular Dystrophy and we are hoping for £2000 once all the sponsorship has been handed-in. It was a great event and several dippers dressed up in Deemster’s robes for their swim.’
He asked that all outstanding sponsorship be dropped into the Shore Hotel in Laxey.