Most people if they think of K9 Animal Refuge, think of it as a dog shelter. With 80 dogs in their care, they are definitely that, but K9 also provide shelter for many cats in their large cattery including the fine felines shown below.
Please call Hazel at the K9 kennels on 667 638 468 from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday to ask about the cats pictured or about the other cats.
Okay, we all know that there are cat people and there are dog people and when it comes to their favourite four legged friend never the twain shall meet. But there are those who love both – the cog or the dat people depending on which kind of furry friend was first in their household.
Much as I love dogs, I have always had cats. Even my very first feline friend gave birth to her kits in my bed when I was only three years old.
I arrived in Tenerife in 2000 from Thailand already kitted out (boom boom) with two furry friends that I brought with me. The venerable Boodle (originally Kitten Caboodle) who lived to a ripe old 22 years and Chokdi, whose name meant Lucky in Thai, but who was one of the unluckiest creatures I have ever come across.
Chokdi settling in
Chokdi and her littermates had been thrown from a three storey window on to the roof of the outside cludgie of my Bangkok local, ‘Cheap Charlie’s’. Chokdi was perhaps the least appealing because no one had wanted her and while all the others had been spirited away by CC regulars, Chokdi was left in a cardboard box behind the bar. I took the little scrap home.
In the first week it turned out that she had in-turned eyelashes (ouch!) and a fracture in a back leg – not that it seemed to slow her down any. She got stuck behind the oven and stranded mewling at the top of the curtains on a regular basis. At first very scared and nervous, over time she became a loud and bossy family member with a short, bright tortoiseshell coat and long legs.
Chokdi getting better (believe it or not).
When we went on holiday, the cats went into the care of a local vet. Apart from being mightily pee’d off with us for leaving her there, Boods was fine, Fergus just as fat and contented but poor Chokdi had been struck by a dreadful flesh-eating type disease. Her beautiful soft fur was peeling off in long, raw tatters, her ears had begun to disintegrate and she was covered in gentian violet. Had we been much longer the vet would have put Chokdi down.
At home with us she recovered slowly although it took a long time and her ears never looked right again.
Skye and Chokdi just chilling.
The two cats settled into Tenerife very quickly and neither were phased by the addition of a puppy boxer a couple of months later. Everything was great for a year or so until the night Chokdi picked up poison outside. She went into convulsion and died in pain shortly after. My poor soi baby had been through a lot in her short life but she had known love, a full belly and a warm bed which is more than many get in this life so maybe she wasn’t so unlucky after all.
Chokdi died about nine years ago so you might wonder where this trip down memory lane came from. Well, except for the most recent addition to our family, Mia, who was given to me by a friend, every cat I have ever owned has been from a shelter or was a street stray. Every one of them has been a wonderful family member and dearly loved friend and none have had any health problems whatsoever except for Chokdi. I just would never consider paying money for a purebred cat when there are all these fantastic waifs and strays out there just wanting someone to take them in.
The good people at K9 asked me to remind TT readers that they have a cattery which is bursting wth great felines just waiting for you to take them home. Please don’t miss the next post which will be all about the K9 cats….just remember not to call your new feline friend Lucky!
The dog that you threw from the window as you drove past K9 Animal Refuge today ran its heart out to try to to catch up with you. It tried so hard to get to you that it was out of sight by the time the alarm was raised and the people of K9 were not able to catch it.
Your ‘best friend’ will be spending the night alone, in the hills or perhaps on the roadside of the TF1, terrified, cold, hungry and very likely soaked to the skin. Perhaps if he makes it through the night , he will be found and brought back to safety tomorrow.
On the other hand, perhaps you will drive past his dead body tomorrow on your way north to pick up your kids’ Christmas or Three Kings presents from Carrefour or Decathalon. I only hope that in amongst the glittering display of regalos that you have for your children this year, that there are none with a pulse and a beating heart.
Still, perhaps you can console yourself and justify your cowardly act in knowing you are not alone. Your heartless betrayal has been seen and recorded many times before. In fact, just the other day I came across a poem by Robert William Service – the Bard of the Yukon – which practically mentions you by name.
They dumped it on the lonely road,
Then like a streak they sped;
And as along the way I strode
I thought that it was dead:
And then I saw that yelping pup
Rise, race to catch them up.You know how silly wee dogs are.
It thought they were in fun.
Trying to overtake their car
I saw it run and run:
But as they faster, faster went,
It stumbled, sore and spent.I found it prone upon the way;
Of life was little token.
As limply in the dust it lay
I thought its heart was broken:
Then one dim eye it opened and
It sought to lick my hand.Of course I took it gently up
And brought it to my wife
Who loves all dogs, and now that pup
Shares in our happy life:
Yet how I curse the bastards who
Its good luck never knew!
As promised, Tenerife Magazine are offering another fab prize for December- a five star one bedroom apartment in Pearly Grey Resort, Callao Salvaje, and entering is easy peasy. All you’ve got to do is sign up (or already be a member of the Tenerife Magazine Facebook page) and also sign as a fan of the Ingane Yami Facebook page.
Ingame Yami is a charitable project to build a special village for young AIDS orphans in Durban South Africa – definitely a worthwhile cause – which is strongly supported by Pearly Grey Resort and all its staff here in Tenerife.
I find it quite touching that the entrance requirements for this month’s Tenerife Magazine competition does not include becoming a fan on Facebook of the actual sponsor, Pearly Grey Resort or anything specific to Pearly Grey at all – all associated publicity is aimed at Ingame Yami.
Especially for that, I would urge you to become a fan of Pearly Grey as well – though as stated you do not have to do so to enter the competition.
Here are the links you need:
Tenerife Magazine December Competition
One Week, 5 star accommodation in Pearly Grey Resort
The Pearly Grey Resort is perched on the cliff top looking out across the Atlantic, with great views of La Gomera. Your 5 star one bedroom self catering apartment, has the pick of the views, and has all modern comforts for one lucky couple.
How To Enter
It’s FREE and simple to enter our competition, you just need to be a Facebook member of Tenerife Magazine. We also need you to sign up to Pearly Grey’s Ingane Yami charity page. This is a special project to build a village for AIDS orphans in Durban, South Africa.
Competition Rules
The draw will be made on 11th January 2010, and is for a one bedroom luxury self catering apartment for one week. The prize is valid for one year, subject to availability, and is not exchangeable for cash.
And finally, I am pleased to tell you that the winner of the Tenerife Magazine launch competition for a week’s holiday in luxurious Sands Beach Lanzarote, Debbie Schilling, was finally found. Whew! Thought for a minute I’d have to bite the bullet and volunteer to go myself. (Oh dream on!)
The tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004 killed 230,000 people. The enormity of the loss of life is hard to digest. It is hard to believe that that many people lost their lives in one cataclysmic event. But is it any easier to imagine the 260,000 men who will die in Western Europe this year from cancer? Or the 277,000 women in Central & Eastern Europe who will succumb to the same disease?
In fact, altogether across Europe over a million people will die this year from cancer. Worldwide, the figure is somewhere near 8 million.
According to the UK CancerStats site more than 1 in 3 people develop some form of cancer in their lifetime. The good news is that the average ten-year cancer survival rate has doubled over the last 30 years and more than seven out of ten children with cancer are now successfully treated compared with fewer than 3 in 10 in the 1960s.
Also according to the CancerStats site, cancer is the number one fear amongst Brits, topping that of heart disease or terrorism. How much scarier then must it be to contract the disease while living in a foreign country, with minimal medical insurance and perhaps not much in the way of family support?
The annual Walk For Life in Tenerife raises money in support of the Spanish cancer charities AECC and Amate. In a sea of pink solidarity, men, women and children walk the 3.5 km from the Mediterranean Palace to the Sal Y Tien plaza. As it says on the Carrera por la Vida website “Once a year, to walk is to support!”
As an expat in Tenerife, you might wonder if these charities are available to you should you fall ill with cancer. For the answer you should read the moving account of one British pensioner in Tenerife Magazine who received such support from AECC that she says they made a terrible time bearable.
Whether you are in town as an expat or a tourist, all you need to do is show up – in a pink t-shirt if you have one – at 10.30 on Sunday 13th December and join the walk. Sponsorships and donations are passed on to the relevant charities under the guidance of a Notary and with full transparency so you know every penny is going to the aid of somebody who needs it.
You might also announce your participation on the Tenerife Magazine Walk for Life participants page on Facebook.
There can’t be many worse things for an animal than to be left by its beloved owner in a car on sweltering hot summer day to slowly bake to death. You would think a trained dog handler would know better but not in Nottinghamshire where two police dogs were found dead in their handler’s car. In the middle of a heatwave.
Assistant Chief Constable Peter Davies commented “This is a tragic incident and we value the important work our police dogs carry out on a daily basis,”
Not enough to ensure that they are given water and a cool and ventilated place to wait for their handler apparently.
This sickening incident is a reminder to us all that dogs cannot be left in cars for very long in hot climates. Here in Tenerife it does not take much time at all for the interior of a car to heat up in the summer months – even if the car is parked in the shade. If you think you are going to have to leave Rover in the Rover for any length of time, maybe it would be best to leave the hound at home.
Two years ago the shopkeepers and townsfolk of Stone in Staffordshire were right fed up with the local tearaways that rampaged about the place breaking windows and getting out of order.
Local policeman Andy Whitehall was familiar with the young troublemakers as he had arrested most of them at one time or another. He came up with the idea of keeping them out of trouble by starting up a boxing club. But the Right Stuff Boxing Club was to be a club with a catch. In order to be a member of it, each kid had to sign a contract to participate in socially beneficial activities like picking up litter, gardening and helping the elderly.
Andy Whitehall’s brilliant scheme was not only to teach the kids to be better community members but it also kept them visibly involved in beneficial projects which earned them the respect of the very people that once would happily have lynched them from the nearest lamppost.
Now the businesses and shopkeepers of Stone are so pleased with Andy’s little army that they clubbed together to raise the £8,000 to send them off on a reward trip to Tenerife.
You can read the full story and see videos of the youngsters preparing for and enjoying their trip to Tenerife on the BBC website. Check it out. It’s absolutely fabulous to see some positive news about Britains’ youngsters for a change and Andy Whitehall deserves a medal as much as those kids deserved a break.
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