Amy Clarkson

By Amy Clarkson amy-clarkson

Last year, the RSPCA Lincolnshire Mid and Lincoln branch took in 363 cats. These were made up not only of inspectorate cases, but also strays and those handed in by the public for many different reasons. Some of these cats found their “forever home” as we like to call it straight away; others, did not.

This is Monty. Monty came into care in the Summer of 2013 as a stray. He’s a beautiful big tabby white boy who is only three years old – that’s nothing for a cat! When Monty first came into care, he was a lovely, cuddly little boy who was extremely affectionate. Sadly, Monty has become quite grumpy, and because of this, when people come to visit him in his foster home, he puts off potential new families, and he remains in kennels. There is a lovely video of Monty which shows just how affectionate he can really be – all he needs is the chance to show it. Monty is now one of two “long-termers”.

The second ‘long-termer’ is the beautiful Sassy. Sassy came into care at the end of May 2013, again as a stray. She’s a strong-minded little lady, but she does enjoy fuss on her own terms. Sassy has come on leaps and bounds with her foster mum and she just needs to find the perfect home for her where she can keep improving. Sassy needs a home where her new family are prepared to take it at Sassy’s pace and give her the chance to blossom.

Sadly, strays are all too common; most of them probably had homes once upon a time and just went wandering without being microchipped.

Having your pet chipped is extremely important; not only does it help reunited owners with their beloved furbabies when they go walkies close by, it also ensures that if a stray is ever picked up elsewhere, the owner can be located. Microchipping is fast becoming one of the most important jobs after you take on an animal and in 2015 this will be mandatory for all dog owners.

On February 2 2014, the RSPCA Lincolnshire Mid and Lincoln branch held their first Microchipping Clinic at the office at St Marks. On that day, we microchipped 97 animals – dogs, cats and even rabbits. That is 97 animals who are more likely to be reunited with their owners if they go for an adventure, or on a more sinister note, if they are stolen.

The method is fairly simple, and once the chip has been inserted into your pet, the details of your pet and their microchip are logged on a national database. If your pet is then scanned, your pet’s personal reference number is brought up, and this can be found on the database. The branch offers Microchipping for £10 for an office appointment or £15 for a home visit. Now that the weather is starting to get a bit better (hopefully!), your cats in particular may start thinking of going on a little holiday.

Sassy and Monty both live with their foster mum, Moira, who can be contacted on 01522 884142.

Amy Clarkson is an animal lover and the Chair to Fundraising Team at the RSPCA Lincolnshire Mid & Lincoln Branch.

By Amy Clarkson amy-clarkson

Last year saw some pretty horrific cases come through to the RSPCA Lincolnshire Mid and Lincoln branch — you’ll have heard about one in particular, and that story is one I would like to talk about in this column.

For those of you who don’t know, I want to talk about Flo. Flo was a beautiful black lurcher who, through absolutely no fault of her own, suffered horrendously at the hands of humans on November 24, 2013.

Flo had suffered in essence a broken neck, and had been left for dead on a riverbank until a member of the public alerted the branch and a team of volunteers responded. That night, Flo was rushed to the out of hours vets and kept overnight. An update was posted on our Facebook page, and a Just Giving page set up to raise the £1,000 that the vets estimated for her treatment.

Amy and Flo during recovery from her ordeal.

The donations started flooding in. Flo was later transferred to a spinal specialist in Cambridgeshire, and it was there that Flo was discovered to have such extensive injuries, that she would need a long operation to place pins in her neck — her vet bill was set to increase significantly. The vet was hopeful that the operation would be successful and she would walk again, and that’s a risk we were willing to take.

The moment she offered her paw to me without me having to ask for it will be a moment I will never forget. She was a fighter.

Flo proved that risk taking is sometimes worthwhile, because she pulled through. Within two weeks, residents raised over £10,000 for Flo. She received Just Giving donations, cheques, cards and cash, and people donated direct to the emergency vets to fund her out-of-hours bill for that first night.

Flo, offering Amy her paw.

It was incredible. Flo’s story had touched the hearts of so many, and her face had been shown on so many social networking platforms, newspapers and online news reports – once you saw that face, you could never forget it.

Flo had not only survived the horrific injuries she had succumbed to; she had also survived two operations and had come on leaps and bounds during her rehabilitation in her fantastic foster home. She was one with many visitors, and made progress like no-one had imagined her to.

Now, just over two months on, Flo has found her forever home. She has a wonderful new mummy and daddy, and a husband (well, more of a boyfriend at the moment!), Murphy the greyhound.

The branch was deeply affected by Flo, and her legacy will last a lifetime; the team spirit and the public who donated so generously will never, ever be forgotten.

Amy Clarkson is an animal lover and the Chair to Fundraising Team at the RSPCA Lincolnshire Mid & Lincoln Branch.