How to rescue injured animals

Rachel from diygarden.co.uk recently wrote a wonderful article about how to help injured pets or wildlife. It tells you what to do, should you come across an animal you think could be hurt or poorly.

We were really impressed with the guide and thought we would share it with you! Here is a link to the article, and below are some things we found interesting.

“Vermin” / Non-native species

Some animals, such as Muntjac Deer and grey squirrels are not allowed to be released into the wild anymore. This means that many vets will refuse to treat them and will euthanize them if they are bought in injured.

We were inspired by the article to do a little extra research. This resource is very useful. There is no such thing as “classed as vermin”!

We were surprised to find that when a vet refused to treat our rescued pigeon Otto because he was “classed as vermin” – that was actually illegal! (Otto was released into the wild many years ago, but we still think of him often!)

Anyway – many vets will not treat wildlife that cannot be released unless you pay them to do it and take responsibility for finding a home the animal later.

How to pick up a hedgehog

We once found a hedgehog at night walking in the road, we needed to move it but found it difficult to pick up!

It didn’t occur to us to roll it into our hands! Trying to pick up a balled up hedgehog with no gloves was tricky! We did rescue the hedgehog, but wish we knew this first:

“Don’t be scared, they don’t bite. Grab the hedgehog and pop it in a high-sided box. Use gloves or a towel if you have any to hand. If not, touch the hog – it should roll into a ball unless it’s badly hurt. Then roll it onto your outstretched hand.”

Baby Bird Flow Chart

Really handy for spring! Thanks to the RSPB and diygarden.co.uk for the info!

Read More Articles (And A Disclaimer)

Diygarden.co.uk have a lot of interesting articles about wildlife on their. Take a look!

They didn’t pay us to write this article, but did offer to share our post on social media. We would have shared the info regardless: it’s a good article which we read start to finish and learned something from. That’s always worth sharing!

North Yorkshire Vegan Fair Harrogate

Another grand day out at a Vegan Fair, today we got to visit Harrogate, Joey’s Birthplace. Here are some of the amazing things we saw.

Vegan Unicorn Cupcakes

Vegan cupcakes with unicorn twist.

What else is there to say. Unicorns. Cupcakes. Vegan. Yay!!

These marvels are made by Scrummy Crumbs vegan bakery.

Continue reading “North Yorkshire Vegan Fair Harrogate”

10 Reasons Why We Run Ethical Pets

Hey everyone, here’s a quick getting to know you blog! Ethical Pets is run by Joey and Anna: it’s a small, family run independent company.

Anna & Joey, Ethical Pets
Anna & Joey run Ethical Pets

Here’s 10 reasons why we do what we do here at Ethical Pets. Running a small business is hard work: this is what motivates us!

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An Anxious Dog

Bryn, our new rescue dog, is starting to settle in well. He likes the cats (okay a bit to much) and he gets on really well with my Mum and Dad’s dogs. He even likes to play Beco-tug with the incorrigible Thea!

He likes sleeping on fluffy warm rugs and being tucked in nice and cosy with blankets. Despite all the progress, he remains a troubled dog and recovery is going to be a long road for him. Here is a little bit of info about the things which are working so far…

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Meet Bryn: our new dog

This is Bryn, our new and oh-my-gosh-how-adorable rescue dog. Bryn, who is 10, has had a really hard time – he was a farmers dog but his farmer sadly past away and Bryn was so brokenhearted he had a doggie nervous breakdown. He had pulled out all his fur and damaged his tail so much it had to be amputated, he was very distressed to have lost his best friend.

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New dog Arriving Today!

This is just a quick update blog… we are getting a new dog! Times have been a bit dark for us after we lost both our darlings Sasha and Shep in the same week (from unrelated illnesses). While it was probably best for them that they went together having lived together all their lives, for us it was devastating. But the months have gone by and we are ready to welcome a new doggie into our hearts and home. Watch this space folks!!

Milo’s Last Miles: no such thing as plain sailing.

In animal sanctuaries there are dogs of all shapes and sizes… and some of them are very old. Milo was, until recently, one such dog. It’s hard for sanctuaries to find homes for dogs like Milo; they are often ill or needy and require a lot of attention and patience. Additionally, many people worry that it will be too sad befriend an animal who has only a few months left to live. At Ethical Pets, we have cared for a dog like this before, called Beth: we found living with her a wonderful and fulfilling experience, so we have decided to do it again! This time, we are keeping a blog in the hope that maybe others will consider adopting their own little Beth or Milo one day. So, here it is: our record of Milo’s Last Miles.

Continue reading “Milo’s Last Miles: no such thing as plain sailing.”

Milo’s Last Miles: Summer Holiday

In animal sanctuaries there are dogs of all shapes and sizes… and some of them are very old. Milo was, until recently, one such dog. It’s hard for sanctuaries to find homes for dogs like Milo; they are often ill or needy and require a lot of attention and patience. Additionally, many people worry that it will be too sad to befriend an animal who has only a few months left to live. At Ethical Pets, we have cared for a dog like this before, called Beth: we found living with her a wonderful and fulfilling experience, so we have decided to do it again! This time, we are keeping a blog in the hope that maybe others will consider adopting their own little Beth or Milo one day. So, here it is: our record of Milo’s Last Miles.

Continue reading “Milo’s Last Miles: Summer Holiday”

Hope and Freedom – Two amazing Dogs Trust projects.

Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, has been helping homeless and vulnerable dog owners for almost 20 years through its Hope and Freedom Projects.

Currently only 7% of hostels are dog-friendly.

The Hope Project

The Dogs Trust Hope Project helps dogs whose owners are homeless or in housing crisis by providing advice, support and veterinary assistance for their dogs.

The Hope Project Veterinary Scheme offers free and subsidised veterinary care to any dog owner who is rough sleeping or living in temporary accommodation. The scheme runs in 100 towns and cities across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and offers free preventative healthcare – microchipping, neutering, vaccinations and flea and worming treatments. Dogs Trust can also subsidise most other essential veterinary treatments that a dog would need. Since the scheme began in 2004, the Hope Project has funded more than 10,000 veterinary treatments.

The Dogs Trust Hope Project also works with providers of homelessness accommodation to encourage them to accept residents with dogs. Unfortunately most homelessness organisations and housing providers in the UK still do not accept clients with dogs. Currently only 7% of hostels are dog-friendly [1]. This means that many people are being denied access to shelter and support, simply because they have a dog. Dogs Trust offers advice to accommodation providers on a range of issues such as introducing a pet policy, health and safety, hygiene and behaviour.

Every Christmas, Dogs Trust works with winter shelters and homelessness projects to provide a Christmas parcel service.

Every Christmas, Dogs Trust works with winter shelters and homelessness projects to provide a Christmas parcel service. Christmas can be an especially difficult and lonely time for people who are homeless. By sending out parcels of treats, toys, coats, collars and leads, the Hope Project tries to make Christmas special for homeless people and their dogs as well as providing essential coats and jumpers to keep the dogs warm during winter.

The Freedom Project

The Dogs Trust Freedom Project is a pet fostering service for dogs belonging to families fleeing from domestic violence.

Each year, thousands of women suffer abuse at the hands of their partner. Research indicates a strong link between animal abuse and domestic violence, with men who are violent to women often threatening or harming a pet in order to intimidate their partner.

Families fleeing domestic violence are usually unable to take their pets with them...

Families fleeing domestic violence are usually unable to take their pets with them into a refuge or temporary accommodation, so in many cases they are reluctant to leave their home until they know there is somewhere safe for their pets.

Dogs Trust offers a service which places dogs in the homes of volunteer foster carers until their owners are in a position to take them back. Dogs Trust covers all expenses so there are no costs for the volunteer foster carer or dog owner. The service operates in Greater London, Hertfordshire and Yorkshire. In Greater London & Hertfordshire, Dogs Trust can also foster cats in partnership with Cats Protection. Since it began in 2004, the Freedom Project has fostered more than 1000 pets.

[1] Homeless UK, Homeless Link.

For more information on Dogs Trust’s Hope and Freedom Projects, please visit www.moretodogstrust.org.uk

Dogs Trust is funded solely by public generosity. If you would like to make a donation towards the work of the Dogs Trust Hope Project or the Dogs Trust Freedom Project, please go to www.moretodogstrust.org.uk/donate.

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