Celia has been a loyal and generous supporter of APT for many years and, during this time, has painted an original watercolour of cats, used specifically as APT’s very own Christmas card, as well as donating other Christmas cards, of her cat paintings, to help raise funds.
Celia said: “It was a lovely surprise and great honour to be asked to become Patron of Animal Protection Trust, as I have always been impressed by the hard work of everyone involved. I have rescue cats of my own and have great admiration for all the volunteers who give up their time to help make a difference to rescued pets that need new homes.”
Painting of ‘Film Star Cat’ which appeared in Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason and later sold at SOFA’s London exhibition.
Jacqueline Ward-Reel said: “Within days we received responses from companies in Tadworth, Horley and Redhill – we were thrilled with the results after our appeal in the Challenger and would like to thank the magazine for its kind support, the businesses who responded and, in particular to Scorpion Signs at Tadworth who undertook the sign-writing.”
]]>The painting, which was recently sold to help raise funds, was presented to APT’s chairman, Jacqueline Ward-Reel, at the charity’s Annual General Meeting. Celia said: “I am delighted to donate the painting to APT to help raise money. Everyone involved in the charity gives their time on a voluntary basis, so it is good to know that money from the sale of the painting will go directly towards the animals in its care.”
Thank you very much for all the interest in this painting and for the money raised.
]]>Snip and Chip
APT urges pet owners to neuter and microchip their dogs and cats as part of a campaign to promote responsible pet care.
Neutering is an essential step to take to avoid unwanted kittens and puppies. From the earliest age of just 6 months, a female dog and cat can be ready to reproduce. A cat can have up to 3 litters each year. An unspayed female cat can be responsible for producing thousands of descendants – in just 5 years this could be as high as 20,000!
snip&chip image Unneutered male dogs and cats are likely to wander off in their search for a female and run a higher risk of being killed or injured on the roads. They also tend to be aggressive, leading to fights with other dogs and cats which can easily result in serious injuries and possibly contracting life-threatening viruses.
Microchipping will ensure that a dog or cat has a permanent identification system, by having a microchip placed under the skin at the back of the neck. The microchip registration number can then be identified by using a scanner. Should the pet ever become lost or involved in an accident, microchipping will provide an excellent chance of a pet being reunited with its owner.
Jacqueline Ward-Reel, our Chairman, said: “Sadly many dogs and cats that arrive at rescue centres are not neutered or microchipped. Although pet owners may be concerned with the costs involved, it is a responsible and caring act which, in the long term, will benefit their pets by them having a healthier, happier and safer life as a result.”
Press and media enquiries about the events should be directed to Ruth Allsopp at Blackcat PR, on the following email address: ruth@blackcatpr.net
]]>Who are we?
Inside Ambulance (Click for Larger Photo)
What did we do?
As soon as we returned home we contacted all the large national and international animal charities we knew. Only one helped, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, who offered to find us a well qualified vet in Kusadasi if we could organise someone to work with the animals.
It had to be us.
Our first trip, with two cat carriers, two traps given by our local RSPCA branch and a crush cage and some funding from our local cat Protection, plus everything we had managed to save ourselves, was in Summer 1997. It was a difficult trip. We had nowhere to keep the animals while they recovered, except in the cages in a terrible ‘dog shelter’ and we met a great deal of animosity from many local people. However, we did meet some caring Turkish people, our vet was wonderful and charged us the absolute minimum, and we made two contacts who have stayed with us for the whole ten years – an English woman and a German woman who helped us catch the animals.
The cats recovering after their operation (Click for Larger Image)
We have made an average of two trips a year, usually of a month or six weeks duration. Latterly, Jackie has stayed at home raising funds with the help of friends and Aidan has done the field work in Turkey.
We have received help from Prevent Unwanted Pets (Nottingham), a one-off grant from the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA) and two grants from the Marchig Trust for Animal Welfare, all very helpful and much appreciated.
We have had veterinary nurses and a vet travel out with Aidan to work with our Turkish vets on two trips.
What have we achieved?
Ready to dart another animal (Click for larger Picture)
The local municipality in Kusadasi has, after much lobbying by us and our supporters, stopped poisoning street animals and has improved the dog shelter which a German charity is now monitoring.
We have provided veterinary treatment for many hundreds of injured animals, including the odd pigeon and tortoise! And where an animal has been injured beyond saving, we have paid the vet to give it a swift, painless death.
We have helped tourists through the bureaucratic hurdles to bring back to this country dogs and cats with whom they fell in love, and we have printed leaflets in Turkish to educate Turkish children and adults on kindness to animals and humane animal control. We have even managed to find loving homes for some kittens and puppies.
Operating (Click for larger image)
What are our priorities now?
We want the Turkish people to take responsibility for this work in the long term and we are building networks in Turkey towards that end. However, the economic situation in Turkey is very difficult with rampaging inflation, so few people there have money to spend on animals. None the less, we receive a lot of practical help, catching and nursing animals, which is a step forward.
Would you like to know more?
You can e-mail us on: catbroomfield@phonecoop.coop for more information and copies of our snip-trip reports. We’d love to hear from you.
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