(M) FREDDIE

Meet Freddie. He is still with his current owners.

Here is what his owners have to say about him:

"Freddie is a staffie cross, the vet thinks with an English bull terrier but we think he is a bit tall for that so may have a bit of something else too! He is currently 6 months old and is still entire.

He is very friendly, house trained and likes everyone. He belongs to our daughter who had him as a 6 week old from a rescue centre (hence the confusion about heredity), but she has now moved to a flat where she can’t have a dog so wants him to have a loving home where people will spend time with him, take him for long country walks and play with him. We can’t do that for him.

He had an accident 6 weeks ago and had to have a pin in his leg temporarily. That will be removed this week. He has had no ill effects at all, bounds around with huge energy and agility. The vet is amazed at the speed and completeness of his recovery. He needs more lead training and is fond of chewing slippers, when he gets hold of them (without feet!)" (MJ 270708)

(F) DIAMOND

Diamond is the perfect pet, very laid back! She is such a good dog and no trouble at all, a real family pet.
She is about 5 years old, give or take. Diamond is just happy to have lots of cuddles and the occasional 5 minute play.
She is neutered, vaccinated, wormed, blood tested, microchipped and has a pet passport so she does not have to go into Quarantine.

She is due to be flown into the UK end of the year. If you can offer her a home or help finance her flight pls contact June directly: junemichaelcyprus@yahoo.co.uk or see the dedicated website: www.cypruscatrescue.co.uk. (via JR090808)

(F) MISSY - updated 31st March.

Missy is an 18 month old female Staffie - black with a white bib and tip to her tail. Handed over to HAWS (and we quote) "As the kids (in her previous family) are bored with her" - meaning simply that they didn't have the time or inclination to look after her anymore.

She is a real sweetheart, very loving and affectionate - loves to cuddle up to you and needs lots of human company. She has the typical 'Staffie' amount of energy when outdoors and will need plenty of exercise and games to keep her stimulated - she loves to play ball and will retrieve and bring it back to you. Her recall is improving and although she is fast as a bullet she will come back to you . She will also loves being chucked a ball in a flinger and will retrieve , drop the ball for you and "sit".

We would advise her to go with older children (no toddlers) as she still needs some training and can be typically exuberant on greeting people. Would not advise her to be placed with cats though! She is also becoming much better at lead training and with correction and patience, won't pull.

She is now fine to be left on her own for periods of time (up to 3 hours as long as she has had enough exercise) without any destructiveness or barking - she will give you the full-on sulk and big brown eyes look though!

She is Kennel Club registered , microchipped and comes with all her papers and will be speyed at the end of January. (JW/MN240208)

(M) BRUCE

Bruce is a four year old, male, black and white Staffie. He is fully vaccinated and has been micro-chipped.

He needs a new home because his current owner now has to work long hours at very short notice and it isn't fair on him to be left on his own.

Bruce is very loving and likes to be with people so can you offer him a loving home? A couple of things of note are that he feels the cold and is particulary scared of fireworks or loud noises (thunder, etc) so will need his creature comforts! (MN200108)

(M) BOSS

Boss is a 6 year old (approx) neutered Staffie. He loves people and is great with older kids (10 up).
He is fine with most dogs but not too keen on other male dogs and definately dislikes cats.
He just loves company, games and rough and tumble but is also fine to be left alone and isn't destructive.
He would be ideal with an older family with plenty of activity going on.
His current owners are unfortunately looking for Boss to be re-homed due to (their) ill- health.
He is a much loved family pet but is not getting the exercise and attention that he requires. (viaMN/JW240308)

(F) COCO

Coco is a across bred Chowchow, 4yrs old - her birthday is November 14th 2003. Her coat is a beautiful chunky reddy tan colour with a slightly darker face and tail area, she has her dad's stubborn temperament, but is an affectionate, loving, greedy girl, much loved by her family since she was 6 weeks old.

Coco is a big solid loving dog, she loves cuddles, strokes, scratches and snuggling on a sofa, bed, rug etc - you get the gist. Due to her stubbornness at times she can be a bit hard to remove from the sofa and will desperately try to hang onto her seat. She loves to scratch her back by rolling on a carpet and will cheerfully play with people in a 'rough house fashion'.

Coco will let you know if there is someone outside, though she is easily quietened down, but will show her protectiveness if a stranger comes into the house (she takes a little time to get used to new folk).

Coco loves to be lazy, and apparently loves biscuits (the human kind) - she knows the word biccy and gets rather excited if she hears it, she will sit and wait for one, although you have to break it into small pieces before she will eat it. At feeding time she is very well behaved and will sit if asked before you put her bowl down. Coco loves laying in the sun, being outside in good weather so that she can chase shadows on the wall.

Coco should be the sole 4 legged member of any family as she does not get along well with other animals. She previously lived with 2 of her sisters but due to several fights, she needs to be rehomed as an 'only girl'. She is extremely good with adults and older children though (12 and up), but seems to be a bit nervous of smaller children and babies, so again we would say she should not be homed with very small people.

Coco is prefers a secure harness to a collar, rather thana lead. She does enjoy a walk but she needs someone very patient and firm to help her get used to things. Coco is a big soppy girl, who will reward the family who are lucky enough to take her on. (CMviaMN010107).

GIANT AFRICAN LAND SNAILS

We have 30+ baby Giant African Land Snails in our care, below is a very brief outline of their care. If you think you would like one please do your homework and find out as much as you can before you consider taking one on.

The giant African snail typically lives for five to eight years sometimes more. The African snail is a hermaphrodite. Each individual has both male and female sex organs, but reproduction requires cross fertilisation. Young snails become sexually mature at about 3–5 months

Feeding:
Snails will eat almost any vegetable or fruit, just make sure that you rinse the food well to ensure that any pesticides are washed off. The darker green leaf vegetable is best for them, but they will eat most things. They will need a shallow bowl of fresh water, but can drown if it is deeper than a few millimeters. Snails need calcium, and to get this the best source is cattle fish bone (same as you use for budgies). Without this calcium the snails shell will not be very strong and maybe slow to grow.

Housing:
Snails are one of the easiest of the exotic pets to keep. All you need is a reasonable sized tank (plastic or glass) with a secure lid, air holes, some general-purpose compost, a small water dish and a heat pad. Please go for the biggest size tank you can, the more room the better.
Snails should have fresh substrate every week and this should be at least 1-2 inches deep to allow the snail to bury itself as it would in the wild. Snails must be kept warm enough, a temperature of 21-26°C is usually best (depending on species). You may need to use a heat mat to achieve this, especially in winter. You can get these from reptile centres or online shops like eBay. These should be attached to the side of the tank, with a sheet of polystyrene at least 5mm thick on the back to stop heat escaping. The heat mat should be big enough to cover one third to one half of the side of the tank.

If you think you can give one or two of our Snails a new home please get in touch. (viaJH120708)

WILDLIFE APPEAL...

We are always in need of equipment to enable us to continue helping wildlife that requires our assistance.

We need large and small bird cages, large and small rodent cages and rabbit pens of any size.

If you can offer us any equipment, new or unused, it will enable us to continue our work. Please email us at feedback@haws-animals.org.uk if you think you can help.

Thank you.