The Bath Cats and Dogs Home charity has launched its latest appeal, aiming to raise £10,000 to support their animal welfare work to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome cats and dogs.
Lunar at Bath Cats and Dogs Home | Photo courtesy of BCDH
The Spring Appeal focuses on the importance of animal behaviour rehabilitation and how it transforms the lives of frightened, ill or shy rescue cats and dogs to recover their confidence and trust so they can be successfully adopted.
The charity’s animal behaviour team often work for weeks or months to slowly win back the trust of a stray cat or dog that has been through a challenging experience.
This kind of intensive training and rehabilitation is costly, both in terms of the work of professional behaviour staff and the length of time it takes to get the animals ready for rehoming.
Bath Cats and Dogs Home’s expert animal behaviour work costs around £165,000 per year.
When Lunar, a 10-month-old German Shepherd Cross, arrived in February she was a frightened puppy, too scared to leave her bed.
She was constantly worried around people, too frightened to be touched or stroked but gradually after weeks of slow progress she now likes being stroked and fussed by staff.
The biggest turning point in building Lunar’s trust in people came when the behaviour team moved her to a special kennel with access to an outdoor paddock allowing her carer to patiently bond with her from a distance over several weeks.
Secondly, the team learnt that Lunar loved playing with toys at night in her kennel and although Lunar’s playful character was hidden during the day it gradually started to shine through.
The team added toys into Lunar’s outdoor paddock sessions and she had fresh toys in her kennel every day to keep life new and entertaining.
Bath Cats and Dogs Home rescues, rehabilitates and re-homes cats and dogs who are unwanted, neglected, or mistreated, taking in animals from Bath and North-East Somerset and parts of Somerset and Wiltshire.
The charity needs to raise over £1.8million every year to continue its animal welfare work, both at the home and in the local community.
Rachel Jones, Chief Executive at Bath Cats and Dogs Home said: “We’re absolutely committed to rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals like Lunar when they need us most.
“Much of our work goes on behind the scenes and our behavioural training, medical treatment and round the clock care can be expensive.
“We believe that every animal deserves their best shot at a happy ending and every step of this process is reliant on donations so any help you’re able to offer us as a donor, volunteer or a corporate supporter is very much appreciated.”
Kirsty Long, Senior Behaviour Assessor at Bath Cats and Dogs Home added: “The team are delighted that Lunar has responded to our patient care and behaviour training to overcome her fears, she is well on the way to a happier future.
“We now see her loving and playful character every day and although she’s not quite ready for adoption she is gaining confidence and will hopefully be ready for rehoming soon.”
To find out more or donate to the Spring Appeal, visit the Bath Cats and Dogs Home website.
