We thought you might be interested in an angle of our work that probably lies hidden because people tend only to see the finished product. We apologise if it is too long, but hope you will find it insightful.

I read the other day that dogs who find themselves abandoned in refuges “are not broken but betrayed”. I think we would all agree they are not broken – they have got to where they are through their survival instinct. They have, however, all without any exception, been let down by humans and for some this will have led to behaviour along the fear/trust spectrum from aggressive to terrified. Whichever is the case, they are clearly not immediately adoptable – unless one could guarantee a move into safe, very experienced hands, people that are willing to work with them for however long it takes until that trauma they have experienced, along with the reaction they have learned, has blurred into insignificance.

Finding such a family happens very rarely, and a much more usual scenario is that, if they are unlucky, they moulder away in a refuge for a very long time, sometimes through to the end of their natural lives. If they are lucky they move into foster under the wing of an association like Les Amis des Animaux and, little by little, grow and increase in confidence, in their learning, and in their trust. This can take months, even years. For an association this has two effects. It keeps valuable foster homes occupied, hence our constant need to find good fosterers, and obviously there are ongoing costs – veterinary (some have suffered unattended injuries; conditions due to neglect), food, training items, even occasional boarding when fosterers need to go away.) Fortunately we have a wealth of truly good, helpful AND generous behaviourists and trainers which means there is rarely a heavy cost in that direction. Moreover, it is truly thanks to gifts i.e. donations, that we are able to continue with these ongoing costs whilst a dog’s recovery is in the slow lane.

Putting this concept into the feline arena, we have, amazingly, some fosterers whose specialism is taking tiny kittens who have been found living wild. Their mums are usually feral, and helping them become accustomed to human presence and handling, gives them the best chance of having a good comfortable home life, free from those diseases that attack unprotected cats. Needless to say, wherever possible. the Mum is sterilised prior to going back to living in the way she knows best. In addition, we have what we term “barn cats” – rodent controllers as their chosen career – who do this for food and lodgings. These are the semi-ferals who would not survive in the wild – e.g. where people have fed them over time and then this support disappears – people suddenly die or move away – but cats who equally do not want/trust being in a home. Even for these, we have many stories of them “coming round” and being more like house cats. Again these have to be sterilised, vaccinated, tested and treated where needed before leaving for their new placements.