A Day in the Life of WADARS (Worthing and District Animal Rescue Service)

Last week, I was delighted to be able to ‘shadow’ Vikki Turner, Animal Welfare Officer for Worthing and District Animal Rescue Service. Grove Lodge works very closely with WADARS, examining and treating the majority of the wild and domestic animals they pick up.

First call of the day was to Trisha, who fosters numerous cats while they are awaiting new homes. It is cat heaven in Trisha’s house, with purpose built pens full of many toys, beds and anything else a moggy could want. Lucy (above left) is just one of the many unwanted puss cats needing a home. She is a red point Persian who is not happy being in kennels and can only go to someone who has had Persians before. Shadow (above right) is a striking black domestic short hair who has to be on a special diet for life. Arnie is a stunning white Persian who, like Lucy, can only go to an experienced Persian owner. Check out WADARS website for more details: www.wadars.co.uk.

Next call was from a member of the public reporting a sheep with her head caught in the fence in Borstal Road – she obviously thought the grass was greener on the other side! When we arrived, the sheep was firmly stuck between the wires of the fence with her fleece caught on the barbed wire. She was becoming increasingly distressed at her predicament so Vikki very quickly and skilfully untangled her and the sheep was soon munching on the grass in the field like nothing had happened!

Next up was a quick stop at the office to check for messages and to email pictures and descriptions to the Worthing Herald of many of the animals in WADARS care who need new homes – check out this week’s Worthing Herald for the full story.

A home check to a potential new home for two cats was next on the agenda. All fosterers and adopters have to undergo a home check and short discussion to ascertain their suitability to take on an animal. This takes place to ensure the animal is going to the right home and the potential new owner understands the responsibility of pet ownership. On this occasion, the home was ideal and two lucky cats will soon be joining this family!

While we were there, a call came through about an injured pigeon at Thomas a Becket First School. The staff had put it in a box to keep it safe, however ten minutes later as we were pulling up at the gates another call came in to say the pigeon had flown away!

WADARS are often asked to collect feral cats and kittens and on some occasions they need to be rehomed. The next call was to collect a crate from a gentleman who had rehomed two feral cats and had needed the crate to secure the cats until they were rehabilitated. I think these two were feeling completely at home – they were sunbathing in the back garden!

The next call was a sad one. A member of the public had found a dead cat in their garden and called WADARS to see if they could help. This is not a service WADARS usually provides, however we were in the area and so collected and scanned the cat for a microchip, which fortunately this one had. We were then able to call the owner and give them the sad news, which is obviously very distressing but at least the owner knew what happened rather than him disappearng one day and forever wondering where he went. Microchips cost a one off charge of only £16.05 and can save so much heartache.

After that was another catch the pigeon incident! A lady had found an injured racing pigeon in her garden and asked if we could call to collect it. However, on arrival the pigeon was sitting observing us – from the roof of the house! Unfortunately, we were unable to catch this one and had to leave.

The last call of the day was to a local vets to collect an elderly cat called Twiggy whose owner was unfortunately without transport that day. Twiggy was originally brought to Grove Lodge as a stray and is now approximately 17 years old! She had been undergoing tests for thyroid problems, a common condition in older cats. Elderly cats make lovely pets and WADARS are always needing homes that can offer a peaceful place for them to live out their days. WADARS will assist with the vets bills for these older cats, contact the office on 01903 217788 for more details of them and all the other animals who need loving homes.

A huge thank you to Vikki for a great day and for being so patient with me – even when the cat scratched her! Don’t forget to check out the WADARS website on www.wadars.co.uk if you think you can give an animal a new home.