Growing up with animal nut parents, I have always been aware that there was a high likelihood of them possibly loving the pets more then their own children.
As the years have passed these suspicions have been reaffirmed with the formal establishment of Woodrock Animal Rescue. I must be grateful because they will never experience the concept of empty nest in fact I think they are all the more pleased to have gained more space for their hounds.
Being slightly older and hopefully slightly wiser, I have learnt to appreciate the tumult of a busy home especially when I visit the rescue centre at weekends. Many people ask me what it is like going to visit my parents at a farm that is dominated by dogs. My answer is generally quite positive and overall I love being there but there are obvious negative elements as well.
I don't mind the barking, it forms almost a constant buzz that you soon become accustomed to and it's generally only around meal and snack times. I don't mind getting pushed around by the larger dogs when they want to get into the kitchen or through the front door and I don't mind having a bevy of eyes follow my every move whilst making breakfast. What I do mind above anything else is that I have to constantly wear shoes!
Now I don't mind wearing shoes in fact I have a rather large selection , but when I visit the rescue I have to be very cautious about what choice of shoe I take. There is never a safe zone to walk. This is mostly due to the elderly dogs that my parents have an incredibly soft spot for. The geriatrics, do tend to be more accident prone. They also have the honor of sleeping in a heated passage downstairs. The very same passage that is outside my room. On any particular night visiting the toilet is a hardcore operation involving much manouevering and tip toeing to achieve relief! In Winter, the weather isn't the only frosty element!
Slippers are generally a decent choice when getting up in the middle of the night plus they are easy to machine wash but the downfall is that urine tends to seep in so I have crossed them off my list. For this reason, I have invested Ina number of waterproof shoes. I have developed a type of sick obsession with buying the cheapest and ugliest shoes available for this purpose so that i dont misplace them and no one else would want to wear them thus they are solely devoted to waste walking.They are awfully ugly but practicality has to be a step ahead so here are some pics of my new hideous shoes- I hope they give you something to laugh about.Oh once last thing- to add insult to injury they also make a squelch sound as I walk!
Oh well this comes with the territory of rescue I suppose. I would love to hear what lengths you have gone to for your animals. Email me at woodrockanimalrescue@gmail.com
Until then
L
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