During school holidays had a lot of visitors coming to see the animals as an outing for the children. The pups, the dingos and the kittens are always very popular as you can imagine.
We are starting to feel the impact of COVID in terms of people being asked to leave or being evicted from homes thus no longer being able to keep their pets. We have had several calls for help but as we are full and have closed our doors for the moment, we are unable to help, it is sad for the animals. What makes it worse is that puppy and kitten season has started!
On the rescue side over the last two weeks, we have received a greyhound, 2 adult dogs, a part litter of pups (we received 5 out of 8 and they are too young to leave mum, 3 kittens found dumped in a park, mother cat with three tiny babies in a box, another box of 5 kittens found without mum and two cats into care. The kitten and puppy season has really started. The kittens and cats are in foster care while the dogs and puppies are here at Happy Paws Haven. We have closed our doors again due to the volume arriving as we do not want to get to grow back to last year’s numbers. We have set our capacity to care this season at a maximum of 50 cats which is exactly half what we had last year and 40 dogs.
We are still looking for volunteers. We have an excellent cat team, but our dog volunteers are intermittent due to many factors, mainly three of our volunteers are now got jobs which is wonderful for them but they no longer have time to help us. We are in a desperate need to find some people to help us renovate the dog cabins and cattery, this is urgent. One of the yards has been completed thanks to Christian’s help. He has started on one of the dog cabins, we still have the second yard and cabin to complete. After that we need to go through each yard, fix all the other cabins including their ventilation systems before the really hot weather hits us and make sure all the fences are ok..
We are about to launch a campaign to help us fund this project. We are estimating approximately $3000 per cabin. Some of the cabins need some of the gal replaced due to rust, others will need painting inside, replace the angle iron, make sure the ventilation systems are working and applying antirust/gal where required. We will need crusher dust to fill any dog holes that have been dug under the cabin slabs. We will also need to replace some fence stays as some of them are rotting. We have 12 cabins and their yards to renovate; we also need to do some work on the container block of 4 and ISO as well. The cattery is starting to show its age as well, and some of the gal railing needs replacing due to rust, finally we need to finish the outside cat enclosure. There is so much to do and not enough resources to get it done.
The bushfire season is here with all this hot weather and little rain, they keep saying the rain is on its way, we hope that will be very soon. In the meantime, we are making sure both houses are clear of debris, drains are clear and working, gutters are clear and clean, pumps are primed and ready etc. The wind and sun are not a good combination at all, especially with the dry grasses and undergrowth all round us at the moment. We have reviewed our fire plan and the evacuation plan. We are looking to have a working being to sort out all the cages, crates bowls etc. to make sure we have everything ready if we need to evacuate.
We urgently need to build a shed to house all the equipment we need to access quickly if we need to evacuate the animals for any reason. We have serviced the fire pump, checked hoses etc. but need to house the crates, cages, food bowls and buckets, litter trays etc. in readiness including PPE for the volunteers and first aid kit in readiness for a quick move. Last year we nearly had to move, it was cancelled when the wind changed, the year before we were evacuated to Trenyar. Let’s hope this year there is no fire at all nearby.
Please spread the word as we really do need your help! Either through PayPal using our email address happypawshaven@bigpond.com or via our bank, the Bendigo Community Bank in South Grafton BSB 633000, Account 130786031 and our account name is Happy Paws Haven Inc. All donations over $2 are tax deductible. We are an ACNC endorsed registered charity. Our ABN is 79928920087, CFN 23496.
We urgently need volunteers and it is very easy to be socially distanced from others here as we are working with animals. We have ensured that the tasks are split up into single areas for each person. We urgently need help especially with the dogs and with cleaning and maintaining their yards and cabins. We would like to put together a working bee to tidy up Happy Paws Haven, it is far to bigger job for one person. We also desperately need some men to help with maintenance and to help refurbish our dog kennels.
If anyone who is in Grafton or nearby we really need help urgently! If you could help by asking if anyone is able to volunteer even just 3-4 hours on one day a week would be great! Maybe animal lovers who don’t have a family nearby, could come and spend time helping us with the animals at Happy Paws Haven. We are open 7 days a week as usual from 0930 to 1530, our hours are slightly shorter during winter as we put the animals to bed and rug the greyhounds. We urgently need additional volunteers to help us care for the animals, walk the dogs, groom the cats and to share their love. Dress in your oldest clothes, jeans and a T-shirt is good, with work boots or sneakers, bring a snack and a drink!
Happy Paws Haven volunteers and members meeting
Our next members meeting will take place on Sunday November 15 at Happy Paws Haven. As it is Daylight Saving, our meeting will start at 2.30pm and finishing by about 4.30pm. We would love some new members, some fresh ideas to assist us move forward in this new environment caused by Covid19. If you would like to become a member of Happy Paws Haven, contact happypawshaven@bigpond.com to get a membership application to fill out, bring it to the meeting. You will need to bring $20 membership fee. We need new ideas for the remainder of 2020 and beyond. We need a new fund-raising team, people to write our animal stories and what we do for social media so come and join us and contribute to the Team at HappyPaws Haven where all ideas are good ideas!
Cats and kittens for adoption this week:
We get all cats vet checked prior to adoption to make sure that we comply to the standards required by any pet shop. We have adopted out well over 1200 cats over the last 12 years and only a very very small percentage having developed any illness as a result of the change in environment but now we are being extremely careful. All our animals are microchipped, immunised and desexed as soon as possible after they arrive. Our Rehoming number is R251000043
My name is Ervin, I was dumped in a box with 10 other kittens and our mother, Erica, outside someone’s home. I had lots of brothers and sisters and the person who found us all just could not afford to us in and care for us so we went into foster care. We had a lovely time playing together with Mum teaching us how to be cats. Now we are all together without Mum playing and living with other young cats of our own age. I have had an operation and with two others from the kitten house and now we are ready to find a wonderful loving home, all our friends will be having an operation soon. We are all loving friendly affectionate young teenage cats between 6-8 months old waiting for a loving home 900079000382714
Merida was found on her own and no one knew who she belonged to or where she came from! She did not have a chip or a collar to indicate she was owned so we assumed she was abandoned. Merci a black Mum took her under her wing and bought her up with her own daughter Meriel. Merida is a lovely gentle soul, can be a little shy with people she does not know. She gets on with all her feline friends in the cattery and like all the cats loves to explore and play. She can be very affectionate and loves being stroked but does not push herself forward when people come to visit! She is immunised, micro chipped and de-sexed, and regularly treated for worms and fleas. She is a lovely quiet young lady who would make a quiet companion. 943094320411143
Sheba is beautiful black cat that was abandoned, her old owner who did not want her back, so she was left to roam the streets of Copmanhurst and became the topic of conversation and news. She decided that the home of one of the Happy Paws Volunteers was where she would settle, but this was not to be as they often would babysit a neighbour’s dog which would not be compatible. They tried valiantly to find a home without success so she came to Happy Paws Haven. With no history to go on, all the vet work has been done, the parasites eradicated, teeth checked, she was found to be a healthy cat. She likes to be stroked to a point, she does not like to be picked up and she can be cantankerous at times. This is probably due to the treatment given to her while she was homeless. We hope in time she will forgive us all and turn into a loving cat. 900164000583813
Dogs for adoption for this week:
We get all dogs vet checked prior to adoption to make sure that we comply to the standards required by any pet shop. All our animals are microchipped, immunised and desexed as soon as possible after they arrive. All dogs are also tested to make sure that they do not have heart worm. We have rescued and adopted out well over 1300 dogs over the last 12 years. Our Rehoming number is 251000043
Dillon is a part of this year’s D-Team, they came towards the end July. The young couple was having trouble coping, she was pregnant and they already had 4 undesexed dogs of their own and just could not afford to look after the pups and they did not have the space for them too. Due to too many pups, poor nutrition, lack of space and sunlight, these pups were in a bad way. They had trouble walking, their ribs and hip bones showing and their tummies bloated due to worms. They could not afford to get them all chipped, wormed or immunised to rehome them. Dr Ray checked them not long after they arrived; we treated them with high quality food, colostrum, Panacur for the worms, Vitamin C, and space to learn to play in the sun. They are now all very happy healthy, playful, affectionate pups and everyone is surprised in the change that has taken place. They are lovely natured, laid back playful pups. Dillon does have a minor problem in that he does have fluid on the knee which he happily ignores. We have drained it several times and it just fills again. Dr Ray has advised that he will probably grow out of it and that it is not doing him any harm. If he does surgery it may not solve the problem. It does not seem to worry Dillon at all. He is desexed, chipped, vaccinated and treated for all the normal parasites as all our animals are. 991003000593899
Gordie and Gok came together and they are great mates although they do not need to be rehomed together. He is a very loving playful young man with a lovely personality. Great with people and with kids. He seems to get on with everyone. He needs some more training due to his exuberance, we are teaching him not to jump up as soon as he sees you. He medium to small, just a little taller than an English staffy but not as tall as cattle dog, he may have some Bull terrier in him as well. Just a loving natured young man. 991003000593880
Sparky is a hansom gentle natured greyhound retired from racing. He has a lovely black with tips on his toes and his chest, a handsome young man who loves to please. . Sparky is a little shy with people at first but once he gets to know you he comes to greet you little a long lost friend. He loves his zoomies in the mornings when we let them out to play and when it starts to cool down late afternoon. He is happy to relax in the meantime and to keep you company on the couch at night. Sparky is happy with other dogs, gentle with children and can be a real couch potato. He is still young so still needs the opportunity to run round a yard when he wants to probably once or twice a day! He has been immunised, micro-chipped, de-sexed, wormed, heart worm treated and de-flead too. 956000005417971
Happy Paws Haven is open seven days a week for animal adoptions. Phone: Sally on 0419 4047 66 or 6644 9936 seven days a week, email Sally on happypawshaven@bigpond.com or visit HappyPaws at www.happypawshaven.com.au