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Hello friends of Holly Hedge! 

What a treat it is to have the sunshine out, and some good news from the government too. We are so looking forward to having our charity shop open again, and hope we will be able to see you all at lots of events soon. We are not yet sure when our Sanctuary will reopen to the public, and we may need to continue to allow visitors by appointment only. Once we have a clear idea of how we can reopen again in the safest way possible we will let you all know. Like all of you, we have worked so hard and made many personal sacrifices to keep the Sanctuary running so we could be there for every dog and cat who has needed us, so we cannot let our eye off the ball now. 

We are endlessly grateful to each and every one of you, who has stayed by our side throughout. Some of you who have been supporting our work for years, some of you who saw our call for help and responded. Although it will take us a long time to financially recover from the pandemic, we are still here. We are still able to say yes to souls who desperately need us, and that is all down to your kindness and generosity. You make us feel like how Misty (the cat in the photo) feels, cuddled up to Maddy. Misty came from another animal shelter, where she had lived for two years after being found in a sealed box in a park with her kittens. She has many trust issues, so affection must be on her terms, but with Maddy by her side she feels safe. With your support, we can weather any storm.

Thank you all, for helping us continue our vital mission. 

Holly Hedge 
xx

Frankie and Joey have a playdate in the sun! 


Frankie and Joey have several things in common, but until recently had never met. Their beautiful colouring aside, both were found living as strays, both had neck wounds when they were rescued, and both had FIV. 

We are one of the few local rescues who will rehome FIV cats, and we have quite a few of these cats at the moment. Cats with FIV are always harder to find homes for as their immune systems are suppressed by the virus, and to prevent them from potentially getting into a scrap with another cat and passing FIV on, they cannot free roam and need an enclosed garden. 

However both of these boys showed interest in each other, and we will do everything we can to make our rescues' stay as happy as possible. Introductions to potential new friends always take place in our cat garden, where both cats have enough space to run if they'd like to! 

We hoped that Joey's youthful spirit might encourage Frankie to play, and perhaps shift a few of the extra pounds he has! Although the boys had fun, it became clear that Joey would prefer a much more energetic playmate.

Although we haven't yet matchmade the next Bert and Ernie, both Joey and Frankie enjoyed spending a few hours in the sun, and we love sharing pictures like these with you. 

Our dogs get a very special treat from ProDog Raw!

A few days ago our dogs got a very special treat from our friends at ProDog Raw in the form of this raw birthday cake. As you can see it was a huge hit! We are so proud of our team and one thing we pride ourselves on is that we love each rescue as if they are our own. Making their time with us as happy and comfortable as possible is our top priority, and we really love being able to give them enrichment and delicious and nutritious treats, and replicate home life as much as possible.
Stuart delivered the cake personally with a few other treats for our dogs, and by a wonderful coincidence got to meet our rescue, Stuart on his return from a playdate with Precious! 

Thank you ProDog Raw for giving us waggy tails and happy rescues! 

Neo needs a home! 

Neo had been living in a lady's shed for a year, but unfortunately she couldn't get close to him, and when he was picked up she worried he was feral. 
After a couple of weeks, we realised that he was finding the cattery environment too worrying for him to progress and learn to trust. So we enlisted the help of one of our amazing foster carers, who frequently takes our wallflowers and makes them feel safe enough to come out of their shells, and hoped she would soon be sending pictures of him splayed out on her sofa or catching a sunbeam. 

Well the weeks went by, and he remained too terrified of her to even eat the chicken she had offered him, whilst distancing himself. Nevertheless, she persisted, and after four weeks...finally, she tossed him a piece of chicken and he ate it! Many cat owners have cats that will hear the fridge and come running, associating the sound with a delicious treat from their human, but for Neo, who had been so scared for so long it was a huge milestone. 
Neo today is a different cat, now it's hard to get a good photograph of him because he wants to be intensely fussed and doesn't keep still! He is a very playful young cat, and loves chasing wand toys and chasing balls - he would be an excellent goal keeper! He loves charging through his cat tunnel and rolling around in his cat tent, and so he will need a home that can give him the stimulation he needs. 

Unfortunately for Neo, he has FIV so can't have free outside access. But he is so young and full of life, he needs a lovely big catio or an enclosed garden, as he is living indoors with his foster carer and clearly misses going outside. He's a young cat and could burn off energy climbing and scratching a in a catio that is well stocked with cat trees and scratchers. 
Neo knows that he is very handsome and proud of his lovely soft fur, he relishes swishing his fluffy tail as he struts around. Although Neo is long haired and very floofy, he grooms himself very well and so doesn't need regular brushing like most long haired cats, Becky manages to brush him a little and he tolerates it for a while before getting fed up! 

He is very nervous of new people, so best suited to a quiet home where he can get used to just a couple of people, and they would need to be patient as he might revert back to hiding for the first four weeks in a new home. He is very friendly, playful and affectionate with Becky, but can be feisty so he cannot live with young children. 

If there is a place in your heart for this boy, or you would like to read more about him, you can find Neo' profile here. 

When you shop online, Easyfundraising collects donations for our rescues - for free!

If you shop online, did you know you'll be able to support our rescues at the same time, at no extra cost to you!

Easyfundraising is easy to sign up with, and collects donations for us which we receive every few months. This goes for hundreds of shops, for anything from new clothes to furniture, to DIY equipment, and the pennies really do quickly add up to pounds! This photo was sent in by a supporter who was so pleased to see the pennies adding up. There are hundreds of retailers who will make a donation to our rescues if you shop with them, and you can download the Donation Reminder and be informed whenever a donation is available.
Sound good? You can sign up here.

 

Ticks like to hide in darker, warm spots on pets, and can be difficult to spot until they get quite big, which is why it’s important to check them regularly. It’s best to remove ticks as soon as possible after they latch on to reduce the risk they’ll pass on a disease.

When they first attach, a tick may be the size of a small pinhead but, as they suck blood, they can grow to the size of the nail on your little finger, and may look like a bluish-grey, pink or purple lump.

They look like little skin lumps but if you look closer, you should be able to see their legs. After they’ve been feeding, they can grow to around 1cm!

While they do suck your pet’s blood and can be uncomfortable, what makes ticks dangerous is that they can carry disease. Ticks can carry Lyme disease which they can spread to both humans and our pets through biting.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection and can make your pet lethargic, give them swollen joints and other symptoms, so it's really important to ensure your pet is protected. Speak to your vet about which products they recommend, some flea treatments and collars also repel ticks. If you aren't able to visit your vet during the pandemic, you can order these treatments online. 

Ticks can also carry other nasty diseases, which didn’t used to be present in the UK. However with increasing numbers of pets travelling or being imported from countries with these diseases, vets are starting to report more and more cases of other tick-borne diseases. 

 

We are so grateful to everyone who took on our Race to Space challenge in January to raise much needed funds for our rescues. Together they walked/cycled/ran over 620 miles in total - a huge feat! We want to thank our astronauts, Pip Sharp, Lally Sell, Trevor Gray, Michelle Barnes, Gabby Olmos, Ellie Carter, Kate Champion, Becca Pearce, Connie Inman and Hannah, Goodwin-Sharman. We salute you! 

Please help us win a share of £15,000!
This weekend only - until 11.59pm 28th February -  your vote will be doubled! 
We have a chance to share in £15,000 worth of grants this round, based on your votes, from now until midnight Sunday 31st March. We are currently number 32 and we need to be in the top 20 to win!

Vote for us for free by clicking here, and we'll get 2 votes!
You, our amazing supporters are so wonderful that you've helped us with so many similar opportunities, and so many of them have resulted in us receiving grants or treats for our rescues.
Please do help us once more, and vote by following this link.
Thank you! 
https://www.facebook.com/HollyHedgeAnimalSanctuary/
https://twitter.com/Holly_Hedge
https://www.instagram.com/hollyhedgesanctuary/
https://hollyhedge.org.uk/
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To contact us please email: info@hollyhedge.org.uk Call us on: 01275 474 719
Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary, Barrow Gurney, Wild Country Lane BS48 3SE 
*Thank you for your ongoing support*






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Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary · Wild Country Lane · Barrow Gurney · Bristol, BS48 3SE · United Kingdom