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August round-up by ted burden

Hello everyone and welcome to my August update... can’t believe we are already so far into the year... nor can I believe how much there seems to do every time I venture into or out of my office!

Well planned days have a habit of dissolving into chaos and the less essential jobs (like breathing) are forever being put on hold. So what sort of things crop up? Well...

So, you all know that we now rescue pet animals in certain situations as well as wild ones but some jobs seem to have a foot in each camp. Take yesterday for example...a call to five ducks on the Wandle sounds like a wildlife job, right? Wrong... because they are dumped pet ducks and the local residents are worrying about everything from predation to cruelty. We send Jurgen, our full time rescuer, down to have a look and he reports back... they sound ok and I can’t see him catching them on his own so I tell him to call off and decide that we’ll just keep an eye on them. But something niggles me so, an hour or so later as I’m out and about, I decide to call down there and check for myself.

The result is that I decide to get a three strong team together the next morning (not too bothered about them for one night but don’t think they’ll survive if the river goes into spate) and round them up. Before doing so, I ring around and locate a sanctuary in East Sussex that will take them but that is going to mean handing over a £100 donation, which I have no problem with at all, save for the fact that my charity is having to clear up some thoughtless, cruel persons mess... but that’s not the fault of the ducks so, on we go.

Jurgen, Peter and I arrive and locate the five ducks... I give Peter my wellies and Jurgen has his own... my plan is that I won’t have to get wet at all... a good plan! I set the two cages up, stand bankside with a long net and instruct Peter and Jurgen to drop into the river either side of the ducks...a classic pincer movement that will drive them to me. Well, it looked good on paper but the ducks scattered around Jurgen who flailed helplessly at all five with his net, catching none. 1-0 to the ducks!!

As Jurgen gives chase, the ducks scramble up a bank, run along the towpath, and dive into some dense undergrowth. Jurgen has to find a way out, I’m the wrong side of the water and Peter hasn’t really grasped what’s going on... our formation is broken. 2-0 to the ducks!!

Acting as a spotter, I direct Jurgen to three of the ducks and, by shouting instructions, I get the ducks herded back onto the water where we want them... land may sound good but undergrowth is a good way to lose any animal. I call the guys away so that the remaining two ducks will hear the other three and join them, which they duly do. So that worked ok and the score is now 2-1. I check further upstream and find there is a low bridge which we can use to affect an intercept and the river is in concrete channel either side so no escape via the bank.

I set the ambush with Peter and I downstream and get Jurgen to herd them towards us. The plan almost works and we get one duck...I’ll call that 2-2 but it’s clear I’m going to have to get into the water in my shoes and socks...not a good plan!

After that, with some nice onlooker kindly referring to us as professionals in front of his kids (pause, suppress laughter, even the ducks are wetting themselves), we have two more runs during which we catch the remaining ducks in textbook style... the match ends up 4-2 to us (Hoorah!) but a late point is awarded to the ducks, however, as they settle in their cages, grinning at the three idiots stood next to the river emptying the water out of their shoes and boots. So 4-3..a close run thing but team Ted pulls another inglorious victory out of the hat and the ducks are saved.

Note to the anonymous duck dumper...next time you see five cute ducklings in a shop that you think might look good in your wholly unsuitable abode, resist the urge to buy them, ok?

Our Pet Lifeline Scheme has been steadily signing up members since its’ recent launch and last weekend saw us on our first response to one of our registered members, albeit for a very sad job. Mrs H, as I shall call her in order to respect her privacy, knew that her lovely little old dog, Jake, didn’t have long left in this world and, being recently widowed and largely housebound, she was concerned about what might happen if he needed help in a hurry or even passed away at home.

So we signed her up, knowing a call wouldn’t be long in coming. Sadly, it only took a few weeks as Jake lost his ability to walk and take care of himself. And so, with a heavy heart, Mrs H rang us and asked if we could arrange for Jake to go to the vets to be put to sleep. I made a quick call, arranged an appointment and went round to Mrs H’s with Jackie, who came in on her day off to help. We were there within the hour and gave Mrs H the reassurance and support that she needed to know that letting Jake go was the right decision.

The love they had for each other was plain to see and, although Jackie and I had to be strong for Mrs H, I freely confess to having a golf ball lodged in my throat throughout the last goodbye in the front room.

We arrived at our vets and Jackie held Jake in her arms as he gently slipped away under the effects of the injection. This little dog had given such love and companionship throughout his 19 years and I’m glad that we were able to be there, as stand-ins for Mrs H, right up to the end... it could never be right for Jake to die alone and so he didn’t... he was loved and cared for until the very last second of his life.

Mrs H had asked us to arrange a private cremation for Jake, which we did. We will return this week to collect his ashes, and deliver them to Mrs H so that she can scatter them in the garden, in his favourite spot. If needs be, we’ll help her do this... it’s not just a part of a service, it’s about compassion and empathy, because that love for a special friend is something we understand and feel very deeply ourselves.

Of course, these things do have to be paid for and an account does have to be sent but, thankfully, we settle the different bills at the time and simply allow our members to pay us when the whole thing is over and the worst of the grief has subsided.

It’s just another weight that we try to take off someone’s mind when their thoughts are understandably elsewhere.

Pet Lifeline offers much more that this to elderly pet owners. From 10 days free board in an emergency through to a range of chargeable services such as routine or emergency pet transport, the scheme has been set up to offer peace of mind. It was my personal brainchild which came about as a result of an incident with a cat belonging to an old lady who passed away.

The cat, now called daisy, was going to be put to sleep but I was able to intervene and she now lives happily with me... and I wouldn’t part with her for the world.

It got me thinking and the result was this scheme...so, please, check out the Pet Lifeline page on the website or look out for your next newsletter, coming very soon, which will have a feature article.

Finally, before I sign off, remember that the next Open Day is on Sunday 5th September... hope to see lots of you there.


All the best
Ted Burden, Founder & Director

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