Spring is here

It has been a while since my last blog; we have been busy rehoming dogs, cats, hens, donkeys and sheep. We still find the time to plant flax at the sanctuary and keep up with the general maintenance. On top of all this we have been caring for our sick monkey Charlie.   

Our ex circus monkey Charlie has been very unwell. He is 42 years old and his breed has a life expectancy of about 28. Charlie has been up to Massey for test. He was anaesthetised for a CT scan, blood test and X-Rays. Charlie has an enlarged heart plus he had an infection in his spine. He is now on heart medication and he had a course of antibiotics and pain relief for the infection. We already knew in the back of our minds we don’t have a lot of time left with Charlie but hearing it from the Massey vets was very upsetting still. I guess ignorance is bliss. Charlie is a big part of the sanctuary; he has been with us for nearly 6 years. On nice days we walk him up to his outside enclosure to spend the day with his giant bunnies Jelly and Bean. Charlie sleeps inside his little house with lots of straw and a heat lamp. Despite having heart disease Charlie can still make it walking up to his outdoor house and he can still climb up on his favourite spot.

The hens we rehomed are ex battery hens; they came to us naked (plucked feathers) straight out of the cage. They have all gone to a fantastic new home where they will live a happy life cage free!!! The hens are only about 18months old, they are considered old and time to be replaced in the egg and chicken industry. One of the HUHA trustee’s Sam, is our ex battery expert. In the past 2 weeks Sam has rehomed 100+, making our 10 sound a little pathetic :-). The hens need to be rehabilitated after living in a cage; you can’t just set them free. Sam rehabilitates hens all the time, if you are in the market for rescued ex battery girls please contact us.

When the two white donkeys, Polly and Anna, came to us they had the longest hooves we had ever seen! Their hooves had been badly neglected for a long time. They were timid and very unsure about us. It has been really great watching them grow and get more confident and trusting. We will miss Polly and Anna, they are very special donkeys. I say that about all of our animals, and I mean it about every single one, Polly and Anna really are great. I still remember how hard it was getting close enough to just pat them when they first came. I am so proud to say they are in great condition, their hooves look amazing and they are now social donkeys. Polly and Anna really do deserve their brilliant new home.

Our sheep Yahoo and her friend have gone to a great home in the Kapiti coast. Yahoo is a funky looking sheep with a lot of character. They are quite active and social, love to run and play. They will be very happy in their new home.     

We have taken on a gorgeous little kitten named Licorice. Instead of putting Licorice to sleep he was surrendered to us. The poor wee man was hit by a car and completely shattered the bone in his back leg. We have had his leg amputated and he is on the mend. We have photos of Licorice on our Facebook page.

Sophie the baby goat is ready for a new home. She has grown so much; she is too big for her cute jerseys, not to mention she kept getting holes in them. Sophie still likes cuddles and to play, she is also such a good helper around the place. She keeps me company while I plant flax and move concrete pieces at the top of the driveway. Sophie is looking for a new home where there are other animals that she can make friends with and a nice big area that she can explore. If you are interested in adopting Sophie please contact us for more information.  

We have planted more flax plants. One side of the front boundary is complete, and we are half way down the over side. Hopefully we will finish planting this week. Then all that will be left to do is watch them grow. Spring is here, yay, our next project is the veggie gardens, they need to be ready for planting as soon as it is warm enough for seeds to germinate.  

We don’t have many Christchurch dogs left. The HUHA team has done such an amazing job. I am of course biased but I think we are just fantastic; we all have our strengths and we do a thorough job. Well done to Carolyn, Angie, Sam and Vari for all your hard work and dedication with this mission.