Squab:

Hello my name's Squab.  I am 15 years old, however, I look and feel a lot younger than this, even though I say it myself.  Anyway my story is this...

I was spending a lot of time on my own during the day and although I was being cared for with plenty of food and water, I was getting lazy as I wasn’t getting enough exercise, anyway my then owners decided this wasn’t fair and that I needed to be found a new home.

Sadly, my new owners had recently lost a 13 year old black lab and although very sad about this they saw my handsome face on the website and fell instantly in love, well who could blame them?!

I was rehomed on 9 February and I haven’t looked back since.  I now go out with my two “friends”, who are girls, but you can’t have everything, across fields and up hills, 3 times a day.  I am a lot fitter now and very happy.  I have lots of toys to play with, my favourite being the big football in the garden, I am particularly good at running off with this and not letting anyone catch me. 

I am told that when the weather is a bit warmer we will go to the beach, not sure whether I will like this yet, even though I am part Labrador and should love water.

The best bit is at night, I start off in front of the log fire with my head on the hearth, it is so warm and cozy and then when it’s time for bed I get to choose, it’s a beanbag or a bed with a lovely big pillow in it. Bliss!

I still chase things, but it’s mainly rabbits now and as I’m getting on a bit I don’t have much chance of catching them, but it’s great fun and super exercise.

I also sing to my new owners, which strangely they seem to love.  I do this first thing in the morning when I am waiting to go for a walk or when I greet them after they’ve been out.  It’s kind of a howl really but they think it’s great.

This is Me and my friends after one of our walks, I think we are a super looking team don’t you?!

  As you can see my life is really good and I know I have found my “forever home”. 

  Squab x

Annie: 

Annie's owner contacted us after suffering with the smell of Annie's awful breath, and fearing that this was due to dental decay.  She visited her vet for a consultation and was told that Annie was indeed in need of immediate help.  Some teeth were decayed and others covered in plaque.  All of this must have been causing her pain/discomfort - it was obvious that she needed treatment as soon as possible! This sort of treatment can be quite costly, and as Maggie her owner had no pet insurance she felt that she would not be able to pay for the treatment necessary to get her back in good shape...

Having contacted Friends of the Animals, we sprang into action, getting an appointment with one of our vets and helping towards the cost of the treatment needed.  After having 11 teeth removed, Annie is now happy and healthy, and she visits us regularly at our Bearwood shop.

Maggie, Annie's owner has since become one of our volunteer drivers as her way of saying "thank you" for the help we gave when she needed it most!

Jack: 

When we are called in by agencies such as the Social Services or Housing, we know the animal is likely to be in need of immediate attention, and so it was with Jack an 11 month old Jack Russell Terrier.  It seemed that he had never been out of the house in his entire life!  His pads were pink and so was much of his back, as due to flea eczema is was largely devoid of fur.  He hadn't been wormed, he wasn't housetrained and (needless to say) he wasn't vaccinated or neutered either and the poor dog absolutely stank.

After Jack had been de-flea'd, our super voluntary driver Lee Clarke transported him and another dog to Jan Jacobs at 'Shanklin Dog Parlour', where Jan very kindly shampooed and de-matted both dogs for us completely free of charge.  Jack had not mixed with other dogs and it was quite an adventure for him to go and meet the five dogs our founder has in the Isle of Wight.

When he finally went to his new home, he was vaccinated, neutered, house trained, great with other dogs, and would come back when called.

Richard holding "Jack", Celia holding "Stewy", and son (another) Jack!

Max: 

Max was tired, wet and hungry after being spotted wandering the streets.  He was so worn out that after we fed him, he crept up onto an office chair, and from there onto the desk where he proceeded to fall fast asleep.

It was hard to find a home for Max, as he was destructive when left and not housetrained - sadly probably why he was without a home in the first place.  But, we firmly believe that "for every dog there is a perfect partner", and Max found his with Vince O'Hara.  With patience and love, they have become the best of friends!

Max fast asleep on the desk!

Kitten: 

This nine week old kitten's original owner was an alcoholic and drug addict, and the kitten had somehow been shut in a door.  The poor animal's leg was smashed and the bones were too tiny for the vet to pin, so the leg had to be amputated.  What a disastrous start to life!

There is a happy ending though, as this kitten is now in a very loving, cat friendly home, and amazingly she can outrun the other cats there!

Niki: 

We always love to hear how your adopted animals are getting on, and Leah (now named Niki) was no exception...

"Niki was very nervous, understandably, to start with and didn't come out from under the bed for over 24 hours!  I'm delighted to say that she's now more than at home and making her presence felt.

My mom adores her and she's a really lovely and much cherished member of our family now.  She goes outdoors every day two or three times for a little walk around, and then is back in and settled in front of the fire or on my mom's lap."

"She's been vaccinated and chipped at the local vets and has a very slight yeast infection in her ears which we're also getting treated but that doesn't seem to be perturbing her at all."

Bailey: 

After a long time of searching for the right home, Bailey is finally off to stay with his new owner, Angela.  We always choose with great care, and although many people kindly came forward to offer a home to Bailey, no-one seemed to be the perfect match... 

That is until Angela got in touch! She had sadly lost a much loved bunny to Pneumonia and thought she may be out of luck due to living so far away... but at Friends of the Animals, distance is no object - we often travel from the West Midlands to the Isle of Wight to give a pet a new start, so South Yorkshire was no problem.

Good luck Angela and Bailey, we hope you have a great time together!

Charlie: 

Charlie was found abandoned in a supermarket in Bearwood.  He went through several homes whilst on trial, but his boisterous behaviour and his "Houdini" escape acts left everybody pulling their hair out.  He was finally taken over to the Isle of Wight where there are more wide, open spaces.  He is now successfully re-homed and has ceased his escapology hobby!

Rue: 

Rue was one of three dogs who’s owners contacted us to get help with veterinary bills, as they required a monorchid neuter – we were more than happy to help them with their bill, as the condition is a hereditary one and at no time should people consider breeding from dogs such as these.

Rue's owner is one of our volunteer drivers, and comes in several times a week to help us... it was nice to be able to help him!

Henry: 

The sun was blazing and Henry needed a drink, spotting the water bowl outside our Bearwood shop, he ran full pelt for it, breaking his lead in the process.  Luck was on his side as we had just had some new ones, so we kitted him out with a strong one and gave him a nice, long drink… he found a good way of cooling off by hanging his ears in the water!  

After all the excitement, it was time for a sleep.  Nice to meet you, Henry!

Alfie: 

Alfie’s life was saved due to an overheard conversation – his owner was moving abroad, following a marriage break-up.  Unable to find him a new home, he was considering putting him to sleep.  One of our volunteers overheard this discussion and phoned our Bearwood office immediately.  We asked her to give the owner our phone number, saying we would re-home Alfie for him. 

Alfie was in poor condition, weighing only 17lb and had terrible problems with his teeth.  He was fostered by one of our volunteer drivers, who has now adopted him.  Whilst he was in her care, he needed veterinary treatment for his teeth and a grand total of seventeen teeth had to be removed... thankfully dogs have 44 teeth in total!

Alfie is now doing really well, gaining weight and looking great!