Handed in yesterday - one tiny week old orphan kitten.   This little chap was found by a passerby.   Perhaps his mother is an abandoned cat who had to give birth outside and somehow became separated from her babies.  There was no sign of her and we don't know her fate.

So far, the kitten is surviving, we're snuggling him in a soft blanket with gentle warmth from a heated pad - when we're not cuddling him that is!   Feed is little and often from a kitten feeding bottle, which is just like a dolly's bottle.   He has to be turned and fussed - just like his mum would do if she was still around. 

Really tiny orphan kittens are difficult to hand rear.   They are very fragile and have to be gently turned and fussed just like their mother would.   Keeping a watch out for any malfunction of their bowel or bladder is vital.   Getting a vet to check the baby is a good idea.

We get orphan kittens handed in nearly every spring.  Some of them are strong and rear well.   With others it's touch and go.

We don't know as yet, how this little one will be.   Often an instinctively tuned mommy cat will reject a kitten that is ill - one that she knows isn't going to make it.  Cats, like most other animals, are more practical than humans and give precedence to the healthy.  It's survival of the fittest after all.

This little kitten is taking milk - which is bought in orphan kitten milk, mixed up like baby's formual milk - so that is a good sign.    But it would be best of all if we could find one of the nursing mom's to adopt him.   

We had a young cat brought in with only one kitten - not much older than this one either -  I wonder.......

Sadly, this little chap didn't make it.   In spite of the mommy cat with the singleton taking to another kitten and allowing him to suckle, we found him in his final sleep by her side yesterday morning.   Even though we'd only known him for a couple of days, there was a bond between us. Every creature in this world is as important as the next, the Universal God sees even the littlest mite that falls.    If willing the kitten to survive could have done it, he'd be with us still.  Sleep on, little one ........cat's heaven for sure.

Mr. Boston, who has been resident with us for about eight years, loves to find a sunny spot for his afternoon siesta.   Today the flower tub outside Reception is just right.

This handsome laid back feline spends most of his time as our Office Manager - checking out paperwork, greeting customers and always hoping for a morsel of cooked chicken or a spoonful or two of tuna of course.

If your dog or cat has gone missing please get in touch with us.  Even if you live miles outside our area, stray pets are often brought to us.   Please tell us the location your dog or cat was last seen and a description, including any identifying features.

Is your pet microchipped?   We routinely check this out.  Unfortunately, we often find that the registered owner refuses to acknowledge their pet - 'Black labrador?'   'Yes, you had him microchipped as a puppy.  'No, we've never had a dog.'   'But it's your address.....'  'It's not ours and we're not having him back!'

We usually give up at this stage.    Of course, there are lots and lots of happy endings and it's great to be able to re-unite a missing pet with his owner.  

We've had a lot of dogs brought in over the past month.  Some are still in 'pet re-hab', other are taking a while to settle, some are poorly and emaciated.   BUT.....we have some absolutely great canine characters who are ready and waiting to go on to new homes.  These lovely dogs have been personality assessed and haven't put a paw wrong with us.  Please check out our adoption section if you are looking for a dog or know someone who is.

It's a common misconception that Christmas is the time of year when most dogs get 'dumped'.   In our experience it's the opposite.  The summer months are when the dogs are thrown out - left to stray, abandoned, even tied up and left to die, as one poor chap was recently.

There are so many other things occupying some people's minds.  Holidays, moving house, home renovations, allergies, vet bills - we get dogs brought in because they're sick and the owners can't afford vet treatment.  Other times it's because they've had a new carpet fitted and don't want dog hairs on it!  

We keep all the dogs a while to see if they are claimed.  If not we're looking for new homes.  Our dogs will soon get you trained up to their satisfaction - 'mince and brown bread for tea please', 'could you move my basket a bit nearer the radiator', ''can't I go to the shops with you?'    Please get in touch if you can offer a new situation to one of our 'man's best friends'.   They really are you know.

We had a call from a vet yesterday.  She sounded agitated which was strange, nothing much usually freaks a vet out does it?  When she went on, we could see why.  A man who wasn't a client, had brought a dog in to be destroyed.  For no reason.  That's it - I'll pay the money - you put him to sleep.  

'What's wrong with him?' she asked.  'Nothing, I don't want him any more.' 

So the vet examined the dog.  He was fit and healthy and wagged his tail and was very friendly and sure enough, there was nothing wrong with him at all.   She refused to put the dog down and suggested the man re-home him. 

At this stage the man changed his story and said the dog was aggressive and had bitten someone.  By this time all the vet staff had been fussing the dog and it seemed like the friendliest mutt they'd ever seen.   The vet told him she still didn't want to do this.

Then the bloke became angry and snatched the dog back and said he was going to take him home and 'do the job himself' - he told her he was going to beat him to death with a shovel.   Then things got very heated.   A tug of war over the dog,while a member of staff rang through to another animal sanctuary but they couldn't help. 

Fortunately someone thought about the Pet Samaritans and gave us a call.  As soon as we heard what was happening, we told them 'hang on to that dog'  no matter what - we were on our way.   It was a fifteen minute journey - would we be too late?  And how would we get the dog away from the owner? 

We have over thirty goats in the Sanctuary and they're great characters.  Some are Saanen (of Swiss origin), some Anglo-Nubian (the biblical goats from hot countries) and some are a bit of in-between.

If my mother wants to sit in a box, then so do I!

These two lovely ladies are called Myrtle (on the left) and Mischa.  They are permanent sanctuary residents and are also mother and daughter.   We are lucky to have so many lovely cats - and we are happy to take cats in for their retirement, we would never put any healthy cat to sleep.

Mischa was originally known as  'the salt-box cat' because we first heard of her plight when a lady living on an estate noticed that a cat had given birth to a litter of kittens in a salt box.  

Jack Spratt

I'm sure most people will have already heard of me.  I've been at the sanctuary for over a year now and I'm quite famous.  My picture has been in the newspapers, people come to see me and there's always an article or two about me in the newsletter.

If you want to know how I came to be the most important resident, (editor's note - one of the most important residents) it's because I was in such a bad way when they found me.

Most dogs I've talked to are pretty mushy about their puppyhood, their mommy, feedtimes, fighting with their brothers and sisters.  Being fussed over and petted when they go to their new home.   I can't remember any of that.  The first thing I remember is waking up at the vet's surgery.  

There were bright lights and shiny walls and strange instruments and it smelled horribly of disinfectant - ugh!   It was pretty uncomfortable too.   I was on a hard table, hooked up to tubes and drips and with needles stuck in me.  I didn't try to move - everything hurt.  What was even worse was that I could hear the vet saying that he didn't expect me to make it.   To tell you the truth, at that stage I agreed with him.

The Dog Wardens had fetched these people from the animal sanctuary (they call them the pet samaritans) to see me.  They had to find out if these folk wanted to try to save me.  It was all to do with Big Bill, whoever he was.  I could see from everybody's faces that if the pet sams gave in to Big Bill, it was a one way ticket to the Canine Valhalla.  But I didn't have to wait for them to answer -whatever it took, whoever they had to square up to, they wanted the vet to do his best.

St Bernard's Animal Sanctuary is home to over one hundred animals from goats to stray dogs. We are run by volunteers except for one part time worker. Like many other small sanctuaries in the same position, we continue to do day to day pet rescue, taking in stray dogs and cats, all the dogs picked up by the Borough Council Dog Wardens, abandoned animals and those that have been injured or knocked down on the roads. It's a huge commitment and we have no government funding. 

Fund raising - we can't do it without you. We have only one paid member of staff, everyone else at the Sanctuary is a volunteer. There are over 100 animals in the sanctuary - ponies, horses, goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, dogs, cats, hedgehogs, birds, wildlife .... well, you get the idea. We always try to help and try never to turn any animal needing us away. We never put any animal to sleep except on veterinary advice. All the dogs from Chesterfield Borough Council Dog Wardens are brought in here - we see a lot of very sad cases but then there are lots and lots of happy endings. We have no government aid and getting enough funds in to keep going is always difficult. Can you help us?

As we only have one full time wage bill to pay we are able to use ALL of the fund we raise for the care of the animals and for our campaigns against animal cruelty. 

 

We Recycle

To help raise funds for the animals, we turn unwanted items into food, medical care and facilities for the many unwanted pets and animals we look after. Send us your unwanted mobile phones, print cartridges, clothes, shoes, towels, shoes, handbags, teddybears and soft toys.

We also need dog and cat food - especially for senior cats and dogs and, at the other end of the scale, we need canine and feline growth food for youngsters, kittens, juveniles, young dogs.

We always need shredded paper for bedding. Dog coats, leads, new cat beds and baskets. Cleaning materials. First aid items. Bales of wood shavings.

Carrotts and apples are favourites for the ponies and goats. We buy £100.00+ of haylage for them each week.

Keeping the animals warm and keeping up with the ongoing maintenance of kennels is always a priority.

Items can be brought to the sanctuary during opening hours : Mon to Sat - 10.0 to 3.0pm, Sunday 11.0 to 3.0pm or please post if you live too far away to call round.

Sponsorship

If you are about to embark on a sponsorship event and plan on raising money for a charity, we'd love you to do it on behalf of the Pet Samaritans. It's a great way to raise much needed funds for all the animals and have fun at the same time. Here are some great ideas for sponsorship.

• Running/marathons
• Treks/walks
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Triathlons
• Parachuting/skydiving
• Everything else sporty

Of course you don't have to be sporty to take part in a sponsorship. You could just honour the memory of someone you love by collecting money for the animals. If you would like to support the Pet Samaritans, please contact us with your idea and your planned sponsorship. We'd love to feature you on our website and help in anyway with your activity. 

Make a Donation

Of course we like to rattle the begging bowl from time to time and a donation goes a long way to keeping the Sanctuary running and improving our abilities to cope with the many cruelty cases we see. All donations, no matter how small, are welcome. You can donate wherever you see the paypal buttons on this site. 

or by sending cheques, postal orders direct to the sanctuary (address below) and made payable to St.Bernard's Animal Sanctuary.

St.Bernard's Animal Sanctuary

Broomhill Road

Old Whittington

Chesterfield

Derbyshire

S41 9EA

A huge thank you to all the kind people who help us and to our sponsors - we couldn't do any of this without you.

Sparky is a permanent sanctuary resident and as he is a most sociable character, he's on the staff as our 'Greeter'.   Here he is supervising a Yard Sale.

Whilst we usually have lots of cats who would consider adopting you, there are also many cats in the sanctuary who are unsuitable for adoption.  Either they're elderly and settled in their ways with us or others are just a bit too 'quirky' to move on.  Life has to be on their terms.  We don't mind that here.  Some of them look really sweet, but appearances can be deceptive.  Pick me up?  No way!  You don't really want to get scratched do you???

But we do have cats looking for people to love so if you are people who love cats, please give us a call and come and see some of our fabulous felines.