1st Shift at Cheltenham Animal Shelter

21st October 2013

Small Animal Cleaning

So I managed to get myself out of bed despite it being pitch black outside, cold and hammering it down with rain. Once I was up and out the house I was wide awake and raring to go. I arrived at the shelter just before 8.30 and was shown where all the equipment was kept to clean out the small animals. The shelter has 9 rabbits all together and they are all adorable and all available for adoption.
Today was a deep clean day (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) so all the bedding and newspaper needed to be removed and litter trays cleaned. All the rabbits have toys to play with and keep them occupied. It must be boring staying in the same place all day! The enclosures are spacious, with impressive hutches, with a nest box which is dark and cosy so it resembles a burrow. I made sure that all were fed (1/2 a scoop of rabbit pellets twice daily) and had water. It was definitely good exercise having to keep standing up and crouching!

Here are just a few pictures of the flopsies I met:

Bubble

This is Nick, He was my favourite! He just loved fuss! <3

I wish I didn't have other things to do today, I would have stayed there longer and helped out more!

Gloucestershire Animal Welfare Association and Cheltenham Animal Shelter

18th October 2013

Animal Shelter Induction

I've just got back from my induction and I CANNOT WAIT TO GET STARTED!
I can do a variety of tasks such as cleaning kennels, catteries and hutches for the small animals, which I honestly don't mind doing. I can walk some of the dogs, I will start off being able to walk Green dogs which are docile and I will have the opportunity to be trained to handle amber dogs and eventually progress onto red dogs.
I can also assist in the onsite charity shop, as the charity doesn't receive any government funding it's important that they receive as much help as they can as it costs £500, 000 a year to run the shelter
Also, there are shifts for 'cat cuddling' which I cannot wait to do either as I miss my cat :( It does have a benefit to the animals as it gets them used to being handled by people for when it comes to rehoming :)

I met a gorgeous whippet called Odin, he's one of the lucky ones who is going to a new home at the weekend and we were shown the dog walking procedures, making sure they wouldn't escape and other important things for the dog's welfare.









I also met this gorgeous girl who's also up for adoption, she's so affectionate! She's called Poppy.

The shelter also has an onsite vets called CAS Vets. As it is only a small practice dealing with the shelter animals and ones that have been rehomed it's a quiet practice so there is the possibility I could observe here.

Onwards and upwards! 

If you fancy having a look at the work they do, here's their website :) http://gawa.org.uk/

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