The month started very badly with an outbreak of Parvo Virus resulting in the loss of 5 out of 8 affected puppies. The three remaining pups are now doing well, putting weight back on, racing about like lunatics and generally behaving in a puppy way.

We received 3 pallets of Iams dog and cat food, which was kindly donated by Wood Green Animal shelter and organised by Jane Holland, for which we are very grateful.  Sunvil holiday company made all the arrangements with Excel Air and the baggage handlers to transport the food over to the island free of charge. This is now stacked in one bedroom and being used. Some has been sent to Ithaka for use during the winter and we will take more when we go to neuter the stray cats. (You can read more about this here)

The outbreak of cat flu and enteritis is now under control and we have lost count of the number of cats and kittens we now have. So far this month we have managed to get another 2 adopted and they are to travel to the UK with the 6 already booked, at the moment it is looking like this will take place in mid May, depending on the blood test results.

We have gained another 4 kittens, which are not in the best of health, plus one adult cat on an emergency basis, which is also to be transported in May.

The trip to Germany has been booked for the 23rd of this month and we will be taking around 9 dogs and puppies to their adopted families, this should be fun!!!! All crowded together in the camper van, plus two dogs coming for the ride. This number has just gone up to 11, God help us on the journey!

It is looking like we will have permission from the forestry department to start the building work on the new site and as soon as we have a water supply we will ask for volunteers to start work on building the kennels and cattery. This time we will get what we want and not a hotch potch of emergency accommodation which is the current position.

We are not able to take any puppies for a while as the land is now contaminated and it is far too risky. Older dogs are not a problem, and in future we will have to have the more expensive vaccines and have all the puppies done at an earlier age.

16th October, today we had a gift in the drive, two puppies in a box that had been left overnight, great!!! I will have them vaccinated tomorrow and they are then being fostered for 3 weeks until it safe for them to come here, so much for my rest! We have gained three more kittens this week, two have only one eye left, (cat flu) and tomorrow we are taking in a cat that is completely blind. Our vet thinks it will manage ok as a house cat, that remains to be seen, or not in the case of the poor cat. This cat will be taken back to the UK if all goes well, we can only give it a chance, and pray that it will manage.

Please bear with me if I am late getting emails back to you, it is down to the pressure of work here, but I hope that it will be easier after we get back from our trip, but I am not holding my breath.

Thanks to everyone for the support you give, I can’t tell you how much it means to us.

Finally, Jenny who is a quilt maker, has made a wonderful wall hanging quilt of cats, and dedicated it to the puppies we lost at the beginning of the month, we intend to auction this as it is too good to raffle, and is worth approx £150, it is quite large, and so beautiful it brought tears to our eyes when we saw it.

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24/10/03
Gerry, the blind kitten is managing very well, he is very confident when in the cattery, and is gaining in confidence in the house. He is very affectionate, and surprisingly playful, It is looking good for him. One of the kittens with only one eye is also doing very well, we are not so sure that he is blind in one eye, after bathing in camomile infusion it looks almost normal, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for that one.

29/10/03
We had a successful trip to Germany, 3,000 k’s return journey, and it took 6 days in total. We managed to home 12 dogs which was better than we had anticipated, one of them was from Kidizo on the mainland, and she was adopted by one of the managers at the centre in Wurzburg. Jet the little lab X went to Labrador rescue and has a home with a family, Argo went to a lady in Cologne who already has one Greek dog, and he has settled very well. Lassie was collected by her new owners who already have one of her puppies, and they have confirmed that she has settled in well. We will not hear about the remainder until Claudia is back from Austria as Gaby only speaks German so we have difficulty in communicating via e-mail. We had a wonderful visit with the centre in Wurzburg, it is a wonderful set up and one we would dream of owning, they never put a dog to sleep and even keep the ones that are impossible to home. They have a Pit Bull Terrier which is illegal to home in Germany and some that either don’t get on with other dogs or are constant barkers and therefore not suitable for homing. The Greekies as they call them are always the favourites of the staff at the centre.

Goof to be home, and our animals were very pleased to see us, within minutes every chair had at least one kitten on it and the sofas were full of cats and dogs!!! And they very kindly ate three books and two coasters, during the night as a welcome home gesture!

We are still having problems with the kittens that have cat flu and the eye virus, but have now set up a makeshift hospital using the large sky kennels so we can keep a close eye on them, and make sure they are all eating well.

Several kittens are due for their second vaccinations now and we have 8 for blood testing so that will be fun. We have been offered homes for two more kittens in the next few days, which is good news for them.

The charity number has come through at last, so we can now collect legally! The first planned fund raiser is a jumble sale and we hope to have that before the end of this month.

The permission to build is also through, and we should be able to start before the end of this month.

We gained another stray dog the first morning we got back, he has been trying to move in here all summer, and there is no way he intends to go back to living rough!

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www.kefalonia-animal-trust.org

Kefalonia Animal Trust is a Registered Greek Charity. No: 73221102003