Black Photography Commission: Black Lives Matter
Manoel Bolutife Akure’s striking photography series captures the historic Bristol BLM protest in June.
Considering Bristol Dogs And Cats Home This New Year
If you’re an animal lover and want to do something good to start your New Year, Kaja has a bunch of ideas from Bristol Dogs And Cats Home.
What better thing to do this New Year than introduce a new family friend into your home? No, I don’t mean kidnapping a stranger and forcing them to eat your leftover turkey sandwiches. Why not adopt a pet from Bristol Dogs And Cats Home? Or if you want to do something good which isn’t such a commitment, why not support their Winter Warmer Appeal or volunteer or join in with their fundraisers? There are so many ways you can help animals at Bristol Dogs And Cats Home, which will make you feel good too.
Why Choose Bristol Dogs And Cats Home To Adopt Your Pet?
First, a disclaimer: Bristol Dogs And Cats Home don’t just house dogs and cats. They also have lots of small animals like rabbits called Loki and Pikachu, a snake called Kaa, and a parrot that likes to whistle, so have a look on their website to find a wide range of lovely animals to re-home.
Now, why should you choose the home to adopt your new family friend? The home takes in thousands of animals a year that otherwise have nowhere to go. Giving them a loving home and the care they deserve truly is a wonderful thing to do. Plus, the home lets you meet them and visit them before you make any decisions so you can get to know the animal and make sure they’re the right friend for you. Also, there is so much included in the price which would usually cost a fortune; they neuter the animals, train them for you, give them their vaccines, treatments, behavioural assessments, and more so you don’t have to. You are saving money as well as saving a life. Plus, if you ever need any help or advice looking after your new pet then the home is always happy to support you, which you won’t get anywhere else.
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This dog was very friendly and exited to see us
Me and my family adopted our cat, Abby, from Bristol Dogs and Cats Home a few years ago and I am so glad that we did. She was an adult cat at the time which meant we got to know exactly the kind of character she is, and we didn’t have to put in all that extra work you do with puppies or kittens. She is so friendly and lovely and taking her home was one of the best decisions we’ve made. Every time I look into her adorable happy face and think about how she has had a difficult past, instead of feeling sad, I feel glad that we’re now giving her the love she deserves and that her life has gotten so much better.
We couldn’t have done it without the home.
Abby playing with her favourite teddy
There are of course other ways to do good things for these lovely animals if you aren’t looking to adopt…
In winter the home’s core costs go up rapidly due to frozen hose pipes, heating costs rising, the need to give the animals more food and medical bills rising due to animals being more vulnerable to illnesses. The home already needs 1.2 million pounds a year just to keep their doors open, so this time of year especially they need all the help they can get. They’re appealing for people to give food, treats, bedding, and money. With the money they get they can buy food in bulk and get in the supplies that the animals need to survive the winter cold. So giving whatever you can really does help them out and is another wonderful thing you can do.
Volunteering And Fundraising
There are lots of great ways you can volunteer for the home and they appreciate you giving as little or as much time as you can. You can walk the dogs, become a care assistant, help with the charity shops, become a laundry lady, or join the sewing troop that makes beds and dog coats and lovely things for the animals. Also, since 2017 in the 130th year that the home has been open, they will be launching a 130 fundraisers plan so look out for that in January.
Share Their Statement On Cat Café
Bristol’s first cat café is meant to be opening soon and the Bristol Dogs And Cats Home are appealing for people to share this statement and think about whether it should be opened. This is their statement:
The RSPCA and cat charity Cats Protection are opposed to cat cafes on the grounds of feline welfare.
We are concerned about the welfare implications of having a number of cats in a limited space with groups of people unknown to them coming and going throughout the day. We believe this kind of environment is not suitable for domestic cats because they have evolved as solitary animals and generally do not choose to live in social groups – unlike dogs which are a social species.
It is very likely that some or all of the cats involved will become stressed as a result of being in a confined space with other cats and a continually changing group of people. Furthermore, if the intention is to home cats from the café, this would create a ‘rolling’ population of rescue cats – the introduction of new cats into the group could create even more stress and further compromise feline welfare. Rescue cats need as stable an environment as possible to reduce the possibility of stress-related behaviours and infectious diseases such as over-grooming, urine spraying and cat flu.
Why Choose To Help Out Bristol Dogs And Cats Home?
Bristol Dogs And Cats Home go the extra mile to give their animals the care they need. They do lovely little things like work out which bedding an animal prefers, give their dogs a story-time where they read to them which is shown to calm them, and when a dog they cared for wasn’t eating properly a behaviour specialist tried him with every type of dog food to find out, which he ate. The animal careers often take the dogs on day trips to Ashton Court for walks on their day off too. They take in every animal that is sent to them and try to adapt the environments for these animals, for example, they have a play room for ferrets since ferrets are actually very playful and curious, which I saw first-hand and was very cute and seemed to make the ferrets very happy. Plus, every year they give 16,000 animals treatment and home 2,000 animals that otherwise would have nowhere to go.
This cutie was absolutely adorable and desperate for cuddles
I actually visited the home before writing this article, and seeing the dozens of precious and lovely animals there, who had been mistreated and were just desperate for cuddles and love, made me wish I could take them all home. But since I can’t do that (I don’t think Abby would like it) I do strongly urge you to consider the home if you’re looking to adopt, and to help out if you can, because the animals there deserve the best and that is what the home aims to give them.
If you want to find out more about Bristol Dogs and Cats home, click here. If you want to get involved in some way click here. And if you would like to adopt a new pet click here. Also have a look at their newsletter.
Tell us what you think about Bristol Dogs and Cats home int the comment section below. And if you’d like more positive things to do in the new year why not try the Rife Guide’s Jobs and Opportunities page?
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About the author
Kaja Brown
Kaja came to Rife Magazine as a writer and cat enthusiast. Throughout her internship she covered LGBT+ representation, lifestyle, and social issues. She is now studying Creative Writing at university and enjoys spending her time writing poetry, short stories and editing her 85,000 word fantasy manuscript. The themes she often writes on are LGBT+ identity or mental health. Kaja is also a contributor to the upcoming book, Rife: Twenty Stories from Britain’s Youth: https://unbound.com/books/rife/updates/guest-post-announcing-our-contributors
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