Fears had been expressed about the welfare of some of the greyhounds whose owners might not wish to continue to care for them.

All the animal welfare charities agreed to combine forces to ensure that temporary shelter could be found for any animal who needed it, and after the last race, there were people at the stadium ready with mobile kennels to take any unwanted animals to a safe place.

Many animals were saved.

Sadly though, two greyhounds were turfed out by their owner to fend for themselves in the very cold night air, and the busy streets of Swansea.

Many volunteers from various animal charities have spent hours today, searchimg streets and fields looking for these two poor greyhounds. We know that they have both already been hit by cars and are injured. This could lead them to try to shelter somewhere… as dogs do….and the first frost of the winter is forecast here for tonight…. but they need veterinary attention as soon as possible!

Our best hope is that some kind people have taken them in to care for them….
If you know of their whereabouts, PLEASE contact

http://www.greyhoundrescuewales.co.uk/og2009/og2009.htm

and they will ensure that the dogs get the medical help that they urgently need

Please share this and help us to try to find these poor innocent animals.

Despite the fact that the Government in Westminster has seen fit to allow English badgers to continue to live in their natural settings (or should I say sets?) , the Welsh Assembly has decided that the culling of badgers in Wales is to go ahead.

The cull will happen in Pembrokeshire unless enough people can persuade the members of the Sennedd to change their minds.

The RSPCA is calling for a massive response to their request to sign the petition at:

www.backoffbadgers.org

Please sign it and ask your friends to sign it too.

This is necessary because it is a busy road passing a primary school.   However, we don’t think it will make a lot of difference to the standard of driving in the area unless it is combined with a permanent speed camera.

In today’s unusual conditions, though, not even a camera could deter some of the local “children” who came out to play in the snow!

If you click the picture, it might grow a little!

At a time when just about everyone in the country is fitting energy saving bulbs in their homes, tightening their belts against the economic crunch we are facing, having cavity wall insulation installed, closing curtains at dusk, turning down the thermostat and wearing extra clothes, switching off pilot lights and lights that are not strictly necessary……

At a time when many Local Councils are switching off street lights completely to conserve energy and cut costs…

Penyrheol Primary School is lighting up the sky again.

It is, however, not quite so wasteful as it used to be.  Only eight of the massive globes were lit this week.  They also went off by 2100 hours which is a slight improvement.

On other occasions, there have been 18 globes lit from before dusk until after 9.00pm  Indeed, on more than one occasion they have all been left on all night.

Now…. at this time of the year, all the children are safely home before dusk.

These lights are presumably there to help adults to find their way into the school to attend keep fit classes and the like.  There was a grand total of 5 cars in the car park on Thursday

There are already adequate street lights in Penyrhoel.

They are on all night.

There are already adequate security lights around the school.

Why cannot the people attending the school in the evenings, each purchase a small torch …possibly like the one I myself use when I take my dog for a walk at night?

Presumably it is our Council Tax which is used to pay for this blatant extravagance?

Grrrrrrrrrrr !

The South Wales Evening Post today reported a ‘shock’ increase in animal cruelty in the last year.

The BBC ran a similar story this morning.

However, whilst the figures are distressing and the number of badly treated animals is disgracefully high, the fact is that the 2007 Animal Welfare Act is doing exactly what it was meant to do.

As a direct result of last year’s legislation, which came into force on 26th March 2007 in Wales, RSPCA Inspectors are now able to intervene at an earlier stage to give advice to animal owners rather than, as used to be the case, having to wait until real cruelty had occurred and could be proved…….. they can now do what their title indicates, PREVENT cruelty, rather than simply come in when it is too late and merely prosecute.

Early intervention means that owners are given a chance to change their behaviour. If they do, the animals get a better life, but failure to comply with advice will result in prosecution at an earlier stage than was previously possible.

The people in the picture above are members of the staff at Llys Nini, but we have personally transported both Roxy the Rotti and Clancy the King Charles Spaniel, to and from the vets’ surgery for treatment. Both are now looking for new loving homes

It is rewarding to see how well animals progress from the pitiful condition that they are often in when they arrive at Llys Nini, to the happy and fit animals they become thanks to the applied TLC at the re-homing centre.

Perhaps then, the increased numbers of successful prosecutions for cruelty is not a shock, but is rather an opening up of what we knew was there all along….. and proof that action is at last being taken to stop the terrible mis-treatment of helpless animals.

Our own lovely dog was a rescue dog from Llys Nini, and a better companion would be hard to imagine, but we often wonder what her life would have been were it not for the intervention of the RSPCA…..

If you are looking for a pet, why not try the re-homing centre first, and give a new lease of life to a dog, cat, rabbit, ferret, bird, etc., etc.?

Or if you would like to volunteer to do something positive to help, why not go to your local centre and offer your services?

On a day when all the rest of news is sad or bad, it is great to hear some good news for once.

This Newfoundland is being trained to rescue people from the sea in Swansea.

The picture came from the Daily Mail and you can read more about this Super-Dog here

” Government (in Portugal) looks to ban seven breeds of ‘dangerous dogs’
22/3/2008

According to a recent announcement from the Ministry for Agriculture, the Government is looking to ban the importation and breeding of seven different types of dog, classified as dangerous. Cross-breeding with any of the seven is also to be prohibited, the dramatic law change being due to what Minister Jaime Silva described as a “very serious” recent history of attacks by these so-called ‘dangerous dogs’.
“This law change will go ahead, and I personally would like it signed and implemented as soon as next week. The history of attacks has pushed us to be swift in taking action, as the incidents have had devastating consequences”, he said.
The seven potentially dangerous breeds soon to be banned from entering, being bred or cross-bred in this country are the
Brazilian Fila dog,
Argentinean Doge,(sic)

Pit Bull Terrier,
Rotweiller,
American Staffordshire terrier,
Staffordshire bull-terrier,
Tosa Inu.

At present, in Portugal, some 5,500 dogs considered to be dangerous have been officially registered, with around a further 1,000 identified following an attack or for showing signs of uncontrollable aggression.

More than half of these registered animals are in Lisbon (1,656), the remaining majority being found in Oporto (1,015), and Faro (1,003).

Despite saying that, both as a cabinet minister and as a citizen he is “not a defender of prohibitive measures”, Jaime Silva has stressed that the ‘disrespect for the law shown by a number of owners of dangerous breeds’, spurred the ministry to take immediate action, and not put law changes off for any longer.

Currently in the Ministry for Agriculture’s possession, being deliberated, the proposed decree fully forbids the reproduction, breeding or cross-breeding of the afore-mentioned types of dog, as well as their entry into the country, be it through exterior purchasing, as an offering or an exchange.

An exception is to be opened to dogs registered in the ‘Book of Portuguese Origins’ (LOP), as well as to animals used in the army or for state security.

As a consequence of the impending law, owners of ‘dangerous dogs’ will be obligated to sterilize their animals. If this is not done within a two-month period after the law is implemented, owners may face a fine of between €500 and €45,000.

Control mechanisms will be reinforced, as will awareness campaigns and legal obligations for anyone owning one of these breeds.

A ‘dangerous dog’ is, by official definition, an animal that due to its size or aggressive nature, as well as jaw strength, could cause serious injury or death to people or other animals.

Owners must be over the age of 18, have a special license requested from their local city or village hall (Junta de Freguesia). To obtain this licence the dog must be vaccinated against rabies and have an ID microchip.

Owners must also have insurance for ‘civic responsibilities’ as well as annual criminal record checks.

On the street, the dogs must always wear a muzzle, have a metre-long lead attached to a collar or chest-strap, and be led by an individual over the age of 16.”

I hope this information might help anyone considering taking their pet dog abroad with them on holiday this year. It follows last year’s ruling in France

Dydd Dewi Sant Hapus Iawn

Happy St David’s Day

Because it happened to fall on a Saturday this year…….. schoolchildren all over Wales celebrated the special day a day early, though that will not prevent their celebrating all over again tomorrow. Most schools devote the day to mini Eisteddfodau, where children preform songs, both choral and solo,recitations and dramas.

One of the great things about being brought up in Wales is the traditional emphasis placed on culture and public performance which stands children in good stead for the future.

Most children wear Welsh costume for the special day (and this year they get two days).

Girls wear check skirts, red jackets , white blouses, red or check shawls, frilly white mop caps all topped off with either tall black hats or the prettier ‘cockle’ hats.

Legend tells that on one occasion this ‘uniform’ saved Wales from invasion from the French under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte .

With too few soldiers to defend against an invasion by sea at Abergwaun (Fishguard), the local women moved swiftly up and down and around a hill, giving the French the impression that the area was heavily guarded, so like the redcoats uniforms did the ladies’ costumes appear. The raiders took both fright and flight, fearing a massive army had arrived to quell them, and the instigator of the women’s rebellion, Jemima Nicholas has been a heroine in Wales ever since. She was known as Jemima Fawr (Jemima the Great), and I know of at least one school where her story was acted out as a drama today.

Towns and cities throughout Wales will be the brighter tomorrow when everyone will head for town in their Welsh costumes to show off!

When I was a child, little boys wore tweed jackets and voluminous caps, but these have  gone out of fashion and most little boys (and some girls too), now sport Welsh rugby shirts as their contribution to a happy and colourful day.

Of course everyone also sports either a daffodil or a leek.

Let’s hope the sun shines on them all!

I often get incensed when I see what appear to be ‘able bodied’ folk using up the disabled spaces in car parks, and similarly, I get cross when people who clearly are not accompanied by children park in the ‘parents & toddlers’ spaces.

These spaces are deliberately those nearest to the entrance to minimize the difficulties of the intended users, whether hampered by physical restrictions or the ten-hand-needing kids and pushchairs etc.

However, whilst it is easy to see that people either have or do not have toddlers with them, disabilities come it many forms and can often be well concealed….. but this is not to say that somebody who is coping well and looking good, does not qualify for consideration and understanding, as well as support for trying to be as un-disabled as they possibly can be at any given time.

It was sad, therefore to hear of the dreadful treatment meted out to a customer at a Wetherspoons pub by somebody who held the title of ‘Manager’ but whose achievement was simply to manage to upset and humiliate a disabled person.

Afraid of being knocked over by the crowd leaving at the end of the evening (and, by the way, having drunk only non alcoholic beverages), this young lady was shouted at and told to leave at once… oh I can’t say any more, I am so cross! You go and read it for yourself here!

I am not in the habit of frequenting Wetherspoons pubs, but if I were, I should make a point of taking my custom elsewhere.

He is a beautiful specimen , lively and strong, and he will surely not be with us long at Llys Nini. Somebody will very quickly fall in love with him (preferably a big strong chap, who enjoys long walks and who has a lovely big garden too!)

Apparently this dog was originally being trained as a sniffer dog, but he had other ideas and did not match up to the high sniffing standards required of him. However, this does not mean that this animal is a failure, his talents simply lie elsewhere.

He clearly decided that life is too short for all that hard work… and hard work it surely is, for all the working dogs and their trainers.

I was delighted therefore to receive my ‘First Day Covers’ of UK postage stamps this week, whose stars are The Working Dogs. They feature:

Assistance dogs,

Mountain rescue dogs,

Police dogs,

Customs dogs,

Sheepdogs and

Guide dogs.

It is great to see them being honoured in this way.

So when you go to the Post Office to buy stamps, don’t just buy plain old postage stamps!……. Always ask for the current picture stamps, especially the doggy ones! And to see a proper picture of how lovely this particular first Day Cover is, click here.