The next sausage sizzle is on Saturday the 3rd of March at Mega Mitre 10 in Upper Hutt. If you’re in the area, please come & meet some of our amazing team….. & fill your tummy at the same time.

Milky’s been moved out of Isolation ward into a Isolation room within the Cottage and despite how bad that sounds, it’s actually very good news.

We’ve had a few queries in regards to how we’re going raising money for Milky’s costs. We’re aiming to raise approximately $750 which will cover teeth extraction, shaving, vaccination and removal of absesses. To date you’ve helped raise $403.25 ($220 previously donated, $100 pledged by one of our new Volunteers and thanks to Zumba® Fitness Instructor Carolyn Patchell’s generosity, we’ve raised another $83.25 ($90 less TradeMe fees). We have $346.75 to go so we’re getting there.

We’ve welcomed 17 new residents – Kittens: Peaches, Plum, Merlin, Yoda, Jade, George, Berry, Maren, Stacey and Kate, Cats: Fluffy, Opal, Susie (George’s mum), Sweet Pea, Hoppy (RIP) and 2 rabbits, Cookies and Cream.

We’ve also said goodbye to 10 – Kittens:Tammy and Bumble, Cats: Pedro, George-Girl, Peanut, Robyn, Darkie and Moto and Rabbits: Bunbun and Bubbles.

With the kitten season upon us, it seems that the trend this year is black and white babies, a couple of tabbies, but a ginger is hard to find. At present we have some kittens waiting to find their forever home, so if you can help or know someone who can, please contact us.

Unfortunately there is a sad aspect of being involved at the Haven. We sometimes welcome new residents only to discover they are very sick and in a lot of pain. ‘Hoppy’ was unfortunately one such case. Found wandering for 3 or 4 weeks, he was brought in to us by a kind family who couldn’t keep him hoping he could find his forever home. Hoppy was just much sicker and older than we thought and a decision had to be made to let him go. I take my hat off to the ladies that made this decision that day as I know it’s an extremely hard one to make. Rest in Peace Hoppy. I’ll miss you but I’ll see you over the Rainbow Bridge one day.

As always, thanks for your support.

Milky is a large pedigree, either 5-7 years or 10-14 years of age. It’s hard at this stage to tell as his teeth are in such poor condition, his mouth is full of abscesses and he is badly felted and will need to be shaved.

Despite the pain he must be in, he doesn’t complain and is very friendly.

He is currently at our vets being assessed and we need your help! We need to raise money as he needs a LOT of dental work and we’re now asking for donations towards costs. You can pay by:

1. donating through PayPal
2. by calling into the Haven during business hours (Mon-Fri 10-2 or weekends 10-12) or
3. by posting a donation (noting that the donation is for Milky’s expenses) to:

Upper Hutt Animal Rescue Society

4 King Charles Drive

Kingsley Heights

Upper Hutt

Any help you can give Milky would be appreciated.

With over 50 kittens in our care already, both at the Haven and out with our fabulous fosterers, we desperately need your help to find homes for both the kittens and their Mum’s.

If you are unable to help rehome, we can always do with help either in the way of financial assistance or donations of kitten food or kitty litter.

Please contact us for more information and as always, we appreciate your support.

Latest news as at 8 January

Happy New Year!!!!!

We’ve welcomed 7 new residents – cats: Anne (pregnant), Misty, Molly, Ninja (pregnant), Molly, Willow (9 and a half months and has had kittens….grrr) and rabbit Marcy. We’ve said goodbye to 3 – cats Misty and Murphy and rabbit Benjamin.

We have 3 fundraisers coming up:

1. 14 January at Bunnings, Porirua
2. 29 January at Mega Mitre 10, Upper Hutt
3. and 4 February also at Mega Mitre 10, Upper Hutt

 Please contact us if you are able to assist.

Volunteers/Fosterers urgently needed

It’s becoming increasingly common for some volunteers not to turn up for duty on their allocated day. Although coming to the Haven is purely ‘voluntary’, it is also very hard on those who do go in to volunteer when there is a heavier workload.

If anyone is able to spare a couple of hours – Monday to Friday 10-2pm or weekends 10-12pm, we’d love to hear from you.

We’re also in dire need of fosterers. Again, please contact us if you can help.

Kelly came into the Haven with her brother Zion who has already found his forever home. She is a little shy but with love and affection, will make a wonderful companion.

If you’d like to meet Kelly and make her first Christmas a special one, please contact us.

On behalf of committee, we’d like to thank everyone for supporting us this year especially our amazing volunteers who return week after week and give their time freely and unconditionally.

Thanks also to our amazing supporters that come in to work around the property (both inside and out) and you the amazing public for helping those who can’t help themself.

From all of us here at the Haven, both four legged and two, we wish you all the very best for a safe and happy Christmas.

News as at 12 December 2011

We have eight new residents : rabbits – Nibbles, Bubbles and Naylor, cats – Cyndy and Monty and kittens – Tigger, Peter Pan and Piglet.

We farewelled four – beautiful Ella (who came to us in early 2009), rabbit – Harley and kittens – Petula and Foxz.

Items for sale

• Don’t forget we have bags of ‘Ragbags’ for sale at the moment. Ragbags are clean, ready to go, flannel sized rags. You can buy a full to the brim supermarket sized bag, all for $5. If you can use a bag of these for around the home, office, workshop or garage, please get in touch.
• Tees at $25 – great bargin and fantastic christmas gift.
• Calendars $10 – also a great christmas idea.
• And various items on Trade Me.

We need your help

• If anyone can help with a donation of ‘hay’ for our rabbits, we’d truly appreciate it.
• We’re still desperately short of volunteers on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and can do with an extra set of hands on a Thursday

Lastly, Susan’s grumpy rant

Sadly it is becoming more and more common for people to surrender or abandon their pets when they move with a high number of instances recently where new owners are obtaining a new home and a new pet.

This behavior is selfish. Imagine having an owner in the morning, going out for your daily walk/wander/hunt and returning to an empty house. Being abandoned is not only stressful for the pets that are left behind; more stress is added when they have to rely on scavenging just to eat. Then all too common, the new owners have pets of their own and so the old pet then has to fight for a space in life. The new home owners/tenants will perhaps bring the abandoned pets to us…. but what if they don’t?

If you need to move house and your new landlord won’t allow you to take your pets with you (and assuming we have space to help you rehome them) please surrender them with a donation to help us for ongoing care and expenses until we find your pet a new home. We rely on public donations and generousity to help feed, house and medicate (as required). A lack of donation at the time of surrender takes much needed money away from residents of the Haven who are sick and in our care.

Owning a pet is a life-long commitment.

Have a fantastic week and as always, thanks for your support.

We also welcomed Squeak who was rehomed the same week! Well done team!

One of our new residents is Pedro. He has a lovely nature and is only here as his previous family had to move overseas and couldn’t take him. I took my 2 year old granddaughter to the Haven on Sunday afternoon to help take photos. He was smitten with her. He was cuddling up to her, was extremely friendly and patient with her. If you’re looking for a beautiful boy to fill a gap in your home, please come and meet him.

We farewelled 11 – Pawz, Elsa, TomTom, Angelina, Jonesy, Coulthard, Smudge, Benji, Sweetpea and rabbits – Flop and Muppet.

Items for sale

• Don’t forget we have bags of ‘Ragbags’ for sale at the moment. Ragbags are clean, ready to go, flannel sized rags. You can buy a full to the brim supermarket sized bag, all for $5. If you can use a bag of these for around the home, office, workshop or garage, please get in touch.
• Tees at $25 – great bargin and fantastic christmas gift.
• Calendars $10 – also a great christmas idea.

Have a fantastic week and as always, thanks for your support.

Petula will need a quiet home without children and possibly where she is the only animal.

If you’d like to meet Petula, please contact us.

Tonkinese cats are described as lively, friendly and talkative cats with great personalities. They are the result of crossbreeding between Burmese and Siamese and may possibly have existed since the 19th century.

Benji is all this. He’s a lovely natured cat who will make someone a very happy employee. If you’d like to meet Benji, please contact us today.