Say Hello To Rupert

Hello friends!

As you may know, I’m a volunteer and advocate for a lovely charity called The Cinnamon Trust. It’s a national charity that comes to the aid of elderly or ill people and their pets, and it pairs them with volunteers to help walk or care for the pets when their owners are unable to do so.

I wrote about one little dog called Charlie that I’ve been walking for just over a year now. Now I’ve been assigned a second dog to walk! His name is Rupert and he is a 9 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He was found as a stray and rescued, and it’s thought he may be an ex stud dog. He’s certainly handsome enough! His owner has two other beautiful spaniels, both girls, and while she walks them both, she has a little trouble with Rupert because he’s so strong and she has arthritis. That’s where I come in!

Rupert doesn’t really get on with other dogs, apart from the two girls he lives with. But when he sees another dog in the street he will bark and strain at his lead. I have to hang on pretty tight! Luckily, my mum and I came up with a new technique. When we see another dog approaching, we cross the road and hide behind a car until it has gone past! This has worked so far, and Rupert usually doesn’t notice the other dog when I distract him.

Rupert is a quirky character. He is completely deaf, so I have to wave or pat him if I want to get his attention. He also really likes to eat grass, so I have to stop for him whenever he fancies a chomp! I love having these Cinnamon Trust buddies! If you love animals and can spare the time, The Cinnamon Trust is always looking for more volunteers, so consider becoming one in your area. Just go to their website here for details.

Namaste,

Amanda x

10 Reasons Why Having Pets Around Is So Important

Hello friends!

Recently I was on a work related course and the teacher was a robust, ex-military man in his late fifties. We got on just fine, and I was even warming to him by the second day, until he mentioned that he didn’t think the elderly should have pets at all.

By the time I’d formulated a reply he’d changed the subject. You see, I can come up with a snappy, sarcastic reply in the tightest of squeezes, but when it’s regarding something I care so much about my brain just starts overheating and I have to let it cool off before I can argue my case.

I’m sure you’ve guessed my opinion on this subject, and I’ve come across a lot of people who think pets are unnecessary or too much trouble. I couldn’t be more pro pet if I tried and I think everyone should have pets around if they can, animals are just wonderful, most especially the elderly. The whole point of the organisations like The Cinnamon Trust is to enable the elderly to keep their pets, even when the owners are ill or infirm, and if it wasn’t so vitally important, well, they wouldn’t have bothered forming the charity in the first place!

The next time I come across someone who tells me that having pets isn’t important or necessary I will keep calm and tell them exactly why it’s the exact opposite. Heck, I’ll give them 10 reasons!

1. Pets are excellent company. Especially for the elderly or lonely, or just on general. Companionship helps prevent illnesses and can even add years to your life. Caring for a pet makes you feel needed and takes the focus away from your problems, especially if you live on your own.
2. Pets give us a reason to get up in the morning because they need regular care and exercise, and they can help add structure and routine to your day.
3. It’s scientifically proven that pets lower our blood pressure and reduce stress, and people who own pets are much less likely to suffer from depression than those who don’t.
4. A pet can save your life! They are often aware of impending natural disasters before they happen, alert us to fires and earthquakes, and dogs can even detect cancer in humans.
5. Having a dog can help reduce anxiety and having a dog helps people with anxiety build self confidence about going out into the world.
6. Pets teach us about loyalty, unconditional love, and responsibility, so they’re great for children, too!
7. Pets can help us keep fit and healthy! There have been so many times that I don’t really feel like going out of the house but I have because I need to walk Charlie. And I always come back feeling ten times better!
8. An animal will never judge you, whatever your race, sexuality, colour, or religion. They will just love you and be your friend. A lot of people talk to their pets, and you really couldn’t ask for a better therapist!
9. Pets make us happier! They make us laugh with their antics, they’re glad to see us when we come home, they’ll snuggle up with us on the sofa on cold winter nights, and you can give them cuddles when you’ve had a bad day.
10. Animals live in the moment. They don’t worry about the past or the future, and they can help us appreciate the joy of the present and become more mindful, too.

Can you add anything to my list?

Namaste,

Amanda x

Autumn Walks With Charlie

Hello friends!

My goodness, it has been the most beautiful autumn I’ve ever seen! I’m incredibly lucky to have spent part of it in Finland this year, and experience its magic over there, too. You may have gathered from my gushing that autumn is my absolute favourite season, and I will truly miss the fiery colours, and blankets of glorious, crunchy leaves.

You may remember that I volunteer for a charity called the Cinnamon Trust and I walk a little charmer called Charlie. I couldn’t believe it when I checked my diary and realised that I’ve been walking him since April! It really hasn’t felt that long! Where on Earth has the time gone? My mum often comes with me, and the three of us potter about quite merrily.

I’ve grown ridiculously attached to Charlie and, quite frankly, he has wrapped himself right around my heart, and I just can’t say no to him! I mean, just look at that little teddy bear face and those big chocolate brown eyes! I miss him so much on the days that I don’t walk him, even though I get to see him three times a week. It’s lovely that he’s always so excited to see me, and barks and leaps about as if he hasn’t seen me in months! He won’t shut up until we’re out of the door, and then we set off at a very brisk pace towards the path, with me often having to jog beside him to keep up!

We’ve enjoyed some truly lovely walks and adventures, and I probably enjoy these magical walks as much as Charlie does! We leap across streams, I’ve spotted some beautiful birds along the way (including some sort of bird of prey, perhaps a kestrel, and a crane! Although magpies still remain my favourites), picked berries, and I’m pretty sure I’ve become familiar with all the other dogs in the neighborhood!

Walking a dog is not just great exercise, it really opens your eyes up to the enchanting changing of the seasons, too. Charlie lives right by a park, and we’ve witnessed the blossoms and daffodils in spring, the heat and riots of colour in summer, and now, autumn.

This is what was going on the other day when we walked past the bit that is usually a sort of wild flower field covered in long grasses. The whole area had been neatly parceled into these fantastic hay bales. I’ll tell you what, I got some pretty incredulous looks from Charlie as I stopped to take photos! I think they’re pretty cool, I’m drawn to anything that reminds me of horses, cows, and sheep!

I’m looking forward to seeing Charlie again next week! I’d better double check to make sure I still have enough dog treats and poop bags. If you’d like to see more pictures of adorable Charlie, I regularly post pictures of him on my Instagram account (can you blame me?), so do follow along!

Namaste,

Amanda x

 

Walking Charlie & The Cinnamon Trust

Hello friends!

This is Charlie, the Bichon Frise!

I’m a volunteer for the Cinnamon Trust and he has been assigned to me. I’m not sure which of us is happier about going for these walks together three times a week, but I know that we both get fresh air and exercise, Charlie looks forward to me arriving and waits at a window, and I go home feeling tremendously happy! Luckily, Charlie’s home is literally two minutes away from a lovely, green park, which is where I always take him.

The Cinnamon Trust is a wonderful organisation in the UK that sets up volunteers with the elderly or infirm that need help with their pets. It doesn’t stop at dog walking, either, some people need help pet sitting, fostering, transporting their pets, cleaning cages, litter trays, feeding, and so on.

I was assigned little Charlie because he is in my area.

It’s such a rewarding little job, and it’s really works out well for the volunteers as well as the people they are helping. It’s fantastic for animal lovers like me who perhaps don’t have the space for a pet, but who still enjoy caring for one. And it is a great way to help out your community, the lady who owns Charlie really appreciates that I take the time to walk Charlie, as she is unable to.

It was a pretty simple process, I filled in the application form, and I had to give three references, one being a former employer, and two character references. The Cinnamon Trust then completes your application once they’ve verified everything with your references, and then you receive a welcome pack and an ID card.

You don’t always get a volunteer job straight away, I had to wait about a month before I was assigned Charlie, but I don’t mind that I had to wait now, as it was worth it!

Namaste,

Amanda x

30 Random Acts Of Kindness For Animal Lovers

Hey friends!

Do you love animals? Here’s an awesome list of little and large things you can do to help them right now.

1. Spay and neuter  your pets to prevent the overpopulation of homeless and unwanted animals.
2. Reach out to local nursing homes to see if they have a day you could bring your own pet. Animal therapy is amazing!
3. Join the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) network so you can stay up to date about their wildlife conservation efforts, sign petitions that need support and share their efforts with your friends.
4. Don’t support dog racing. Did you know that the greyhound racing industry breeds roughly 50.000 greyhound puppies every year? Only 15.000 of these puppies become racing dogs, and the rest are “retired”, used as breeders, or killed.
5. Don’t kill spiders or other bugs that get into your home. Remember, they’re probably more scared than you! Pop them in a glass and carry them outside. Every life is precious.
6. Go vegan. Vegan food is delicious, as well as better for your health and the environment, and there are so many awesome alternatives to meat. Did you know that a vegan saves an estimated 100 animals a year? Rock on!
7. Cut plastic six-pack rings before you recycle them. These can be lethal to animals that get them stuck around their necks.
8. Organize a fundraiser for your favourite animal charity! 
9. Call your local animal shelter and ask if they need any volunteers.
10. When you groom you pet, leave the clumps of fur in your garden for the local birds. They’ll use it to make their nests all cosy and warm!
11. Boycott marine theme parks. There’s only one good marine theme park which has endless room for dolphins and whales to swim around in, it’s called the sea.
12. Foster an animal.
13. Don’t waste pet food. If your pet has turned their nose up at a particular food, why not donate it to your local animal shelter? Wet or dry cat food can be left out in the garden for hedgehogs.
14. Report animal cruelty immediately, and keep the phone number of your local animal rescue handy.
15. Buy products that DON’T test on animals and that are marked cruelty-free.
16. Never give an animal as a gift.
17. Adopt an animal from an animal shelter and don’t buy from a pet shop. 
18. If you’re a rider cleaning out your horse’s stable, offer to help a friend muck out theirs too, once you’ve done yours. They might one day return the favour!
19. Put out peanut and seed feeders for the birds in your garden, as well as fresh water in summer.
20. If you have a mouse problem in your home, put out humane mousetraps, so that the mice can be caught and released into the wild.
21. Offer to pet-sit for someone for free.
22. Swap dairy milk for a plant based option when you’re at your favourite café. Whether it’s soy, oat, cashew, or almond milk, there are SO many delicious plant based milk options to choose from!
23. Help animals while you shop! You can add your favourite charity to your Amazon account, and then every time you shop, the charity of your choice will benefit, as Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your purchases to them.
24. Share animal adoption profiles on Twitter and Facebook of animals looking for new homes. This includes small animals like mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, guinea-pigs and rabbits, as well as cats and dogs.
25. Make your pet, or a friend or neighbour’s pet, some homemade treats.
26. Pamper your pet. Make or buy them a new toy. Play with your pet. Cook your pet a special meal full of delicious, fresh, and healthy ingredients that will nourish them, while letting them know how much you care.
27. Pledge to be fur-free. Did you know it takes around 40 foxes, 15 lynx, 60 rabbits, or 65 mink to make ONE fur coat? Yeah, not cool, guys.
28. If you’re out walking your dog, carry extra poo bags so you can pass one on to another dog owner who has forgotten theirs.
29. Walk or help care for an elderly or sick person’s pet. You can volunteer for this specifically in the UK at The Cinnamon Trust.
30. Leave a “wild” patch in your garden for birds and insects to enjoy.

What would you add to this list?

Namaste,

Amanda x

I LOVE ANIMALS

Hello friends!

I love animals. It’s as simple as that,

When I was still in high school, a teacher asked me whether I preferred animals to humans. I didn’t really have to strain my intellect very much before I answered “of course!”

I don’t know where it comes from, but I really believe my whole purpose in life is to love them and take care of them, to fight for them whenever I can. It’s amazing to just know your calling like that, but today, I am more certain than ever before. People break your heart, circumstances change, but animals have always, always been the constant in my life, and always will be.

It breaks my heart to see the horror stories of dolphins being slaughtered in Japan, and dogs being butchered for the meat trade, and all the other horrible things that go on. Thank goodness for HEROES like Peta and the Soi Dog Foundation who are working so tirelessly to put an end to all the cruelty and suffering. All I can do is support them from where I am, as much as I can. And I hope you, dear reader, will support them too. I also really admire Ian Somerhalder for setting up such an awesome foundation, what a legend!

I sometimes wonder though that, if God, Allah, the Source, whatever you want to call it, gave me this passion for animals, then why can’t I have my own right now? And why is it that every time I love an animal, I have had to say goodbye to him/her? This is something that baffles me. I lost my beloved cats Julian and Dharma when my ex fiancé and I broke up last October, and I couldn’t take them with me. I lost Charlie, an African Grey parrot too. He was really the old boyfriend’s, and the noisiest, most annoying bird you’ll ever come across, but I love him. We had two fish tanks of tropical fish, full of little characters, like a feisty Angel fish called Salt, a cheeky Plecostomus called Freddie, and Catfish called Pluto and Cuddles (and I’ll throw this in for the sake of it, Catfish are just fantastic creatures for keeping the fish tank algae free, and I’m talking spotless!).

I miss them all so much. It was me that looked after them, and I miss having the little creatures all around. It’s like a piece of my heart is missing. Every time I leave an animal behind, I wonder if my heart will shrink and disappear with all the pieces it leaves behind, but it never does, the love just gets bigger. I take comfort in knowing they will be safe, taken care of, and have a good life.

Maybe I am only here to be an animals’ soldier. I surround myself with animal things. I have animal posters, notebooks, laptop covers, wallpapers, you name it, and I’ve got it. When I wake up I’m pretty much face to face with a huge lion head (it’s just my wall calendar :)).

Although saying that, it’s a bit difficult for me to have cat themed things now, because they remind me so strongly of Julian and Dharma. It’s a total contradiction though; I still love cats as much as ever. I feel like Dharma and Julian are still a part of me.

I support a lot of animal charities (some are listed at the bottom of this page) and strongly urge you to do the same. Every little helps, even if it’s just a reTweet of their latest campaign, or a share on Facebook.

I’m a volunteer for The Cinnamon Trust now, which is a British charity which supports the elderly or sick in caring for their pets, as in getting volunteers to walk their dogs for them, or care for their cats/ birds/ small pets in their homes, if the owners are unable to do so. I’m just waiting for my next assignment! If you have any time to spare and love animals, please consider volunteering for them, as they are very much in need of good Samaritans.

I also “adopted” Kiruba, an Asian elephant with the WWF, this year. Her picture sits proudly on my bedside table, and I often think of her, plodding about in the ponderous way elephants have, enjoying dust baths with her calf, and having a graze. It warms my heart.

I’m also going to chase a dream of mine, which I’ve had since girlhood, this year; I’m going to learn to horse ride! I really can’t wait! It’s exciting to just think about. Horses must be some of the noblest, most beautiful creatures on our Mother Earth, and just to be NEAR one would thrill me. So, I’m going to learn to ride (when the weather warms up a bit! It’s been a tad nippy here in our dear old England, lately), and when I’m good, I’m going to go out riding for hours every week, just me and the noble steed. Wow 🙂

As you can probably tell, this is my favourite subject and I could talk for hours about it!

I’ll leave you with this. Animals are our friends, we were placed on Mother Earth as their caretakers, and we should honour this role and pay them the respect they deserve. We should teach children to love and respect them too. Animals don’t judge us. They are completely innocent.

And my favourite quote of all time: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Mahatma Gandhi.

Namaste,

Amanda x

Animal Charities that need your help now:

• Feline Cat Rescue
• Peta
• Soi Dog Foundation
• WWF (adopt an animal, choose from a Snow Leopard, Asian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Polar Bear, Adelie Penguin, Giant Panda, Lion, Black Rhino, Orang-utan, Mountain Gorilla, Jaguar, Hawksbill Turtle, Bottlenose Dolphin, or Amur Leopard)
• The Fox Project (you can help foxes by buying them something on their Amazon Wishlist)
• Greenpeace
• Cat’s Protection
• Dog’s Trust (adopt or sponsor a dog)
• The Blue Cross

 

PS: If you liked this post, you may also like my other post I WILL BE YOUR VOICE and A SIMPLE GUIDE TO KEEPING GERBILS.