News & Updates from Patricia Platt · Page 7
I have in the past looked after wild hedgehogs and returned over 170 back to the wild. But I decided I should get an APH - African Pygmy Hedgehog, so that I would be able to tell the difference in these two types of animals.
The APH is bred for the pet trade and lots of folks get them with out studying up about them.
So I put word out in the hoggy community I would like to look after one. Soon afterwards Popcorn arrived. A family was unable to look after him properly so I took him on. I have had him now for going on 3 years.
They dont live very long, only about 4 years or so. He is now reaching old age. I love him to bits, but I really dont recommend them as a pet unless you really do research their needs and about what it takes to look after them.
This past week a post went up from a young man looking to have his hedgehog rehomed. Since we are cutting back on the amount of wilds I am taking in, I thought I could look after another APH.
The lad who took on Brownie from his friend who moved, found out he was allergic to her.
Luckily she had been handled properly and well loved even though she was causing him some distress. So last Friday I went to meet the train from London and pick up little Brownie. She is a lovely little thing and I am really excited about having her. Unlike my lad she doesnt mind being handled.
Though she did have a bit of a hissy fit the other day when I went to clip her nails.
They were a bit overgrown and starting to affect her feet. There is alot to looking after these little ones and my friends are now finding them Dumped. These little ones cant survive our weather and their food requirement is a bit different too.
Being bred in captivity their immunities arent as good as our wild ones either. We had a report this week of one being found out side. Luckily it has found a rescue who knows what they are doing with them. :)
My friends at Vale Wildlife rescue are having their open day on July 3rd and I thought I would make some items for their craft stall.
I crocheted up some little hedgehogs and some Owl Keychains.
This is their big fund raiser for raising money to keep the rescue going throughout the year. They rely totally on donations. Caroline started the rescue in 1984 in her back garden, it has now grown from looking after a few animals to looking after thousands.
I am always amazed at the volumn and diversity of animals they take in.
The majority of them are hedgehogs, which you all know are dear to my heart. Besides running her own rescue centre, Caroline and her crew always have time to help other rescues too. They run training courses to help folks look after hedgehogs, like myself. They pass on their knowledge and believe that sharing this knowledge is good for the animals in the long run.
I do try to help them out as much as I can and when I can even though they are on the other side of the country from me.
Being an American and living here in the UK I always enjoy the pomp and ceremony of the Queens Birthday.
I usually start the day watching the Trooping of the Colours on the telly. Then we go out into the garden and watch the fly over.
We are right under the flightpath of the planes on their way to the Mall. This year we added in a local fete for a charity. And some play in the garden before the fly over. Millie was having a great day as you can tell from her smile.
Waiting for the planes to fly over I took some photos of the flowers in the garden. I did manage to get a few photos of the planes, But the ones I love are the Red Arrows but all I got of them was blue sky this year.
My friend Liz runs Chaldon Animal Sanctuary and she is having a stall table on June 11th to help raise some funds for the running of the Sanctuary.
She has taken in animals that normally find it hard to find a home.
Her web page has the latest news on her most recent dog, Zora who was frightened of everyone and everything.
She put up photos recently and the change in Zora is amazing. She is now a very happy dog and living a lovely life with my friend and her new furry friends.
This is some of the items I made for her table top sale.
Besides my designs here I also like to do crocheting for different charities.
My grand daughter turned 9 this year and I wanted to make her something special to celebrate her birthday. So I started crocheting her a Mermaid tail. I used the crocodile stitch, which is one I wasnt familiar doing.
After about 4 times of ripping it all out and starting over I finally got the hang of it. Some of her favourite Disney shows are Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo and her namesake Finding Dory. Her nickname is Dory.