The Stranraer and District Branch of Cats Protection say farewell to an old friend
Last week saw the local branch of Cats Protection parting company, unexpectedly with their old workhorse in the shape of a Vauxhaul Astra van. Many of you may have seen it in various parts of Wigtownshire, doing it’s business, serving the community and the cats within it, over the past 5 years.
It was on one of it’s tasks taking a volunteer to trap and neuter a feral tom cat that had been causing a problem for the local residents, when disaster struck. After being satisfactorily parked on a hill for 20 minutes it suddenly started to roll downwards towards the A75. Our volunteer, Alan Berry, tried to jump back inside it to stop it. The van took him with it through some fencing and into a field. We are very lucky and grateful that Alan escaped with only a scratched arm, it could have been so much worse. Sadly the damage to the van was enough for the insurance company to deem it a total loss, due to it’s age and mileage.
This van has served us well whilst in our service. It has been to all sorts of call outs, taking it’s volunteers to deal with all sorts of situations across our vast county of Wigtownshire and sometimes beyond. It was on hand to rescue 24 cats from horrendous living conditions, being wired into an upturned fridge, open to the elements. We had to use a jemmy to prize open their prison, before loading them all into the van to take for emergency veterinary care in Stranraer. The same van later transported them to the Glasgow Adoption Centre where they received specialist treatment. Another crisis that would have been difficult to handle without it, was a household with 28 cats up in Girvan. There were kittens with litters of kittens, dead cats on the floor with living ones around them, a pretty awful sight all round. 14 kittens were immediately taken down to Stranraer for veterinary care and housing. The van then was taken back up to Girvan to collect the remaining 11 adults and get them neutered. Once the kittens were healthy enough, they were transported up to the Arbroath Homing Centre – yes, you guessed it, by this old van. We could not have dealt with these situations without such a van. So it is with great sadness that we have had to say goodbye so suddenly.
We are now appealing for help in raising funds to go towards replacing our old friend. Dunragit Kennels have generously pledged £250 to get the ball rolling. If you think you can help no matter how small, we would love to hear from you.
For anyone who wishes to donate, we have a Just giving page https://www.justgiving.com/Sally-Adam1/
For any information or an address to send donations to please contact us by email: [email protected] or phone 0345 371 2759
Without such transport we will not be able to continue with this much needed work in our region. This week – we need your support.
