Skiddle visits Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary

What better way to spend a Thursday than being paid to walk dogs? Well, that is exactly what I did. I have wanted to do a MAD day for a long time, and I’m very glad I finally got around to arranging it and getting out there. I knew that I wanted to assist at an animal sanctuary of some form, so I did my research and came across Bleakholt in Ramsbottom, an incredible charity that has been going since 1968, doing just as their mission statement claims; “Caring for those who have no one”. Upon looking at the website, I saw they had cats named “Plonk”, “Heavy Machinery” and “B&M”. I knew this was my calling.

I absolutely adore animals, so this was an obvious choice! I sent them an email and they responded to say they would be happy to have me help out for the day and that my duties would include “dog walking and gardening” and would I be ok with that? Of course, I was. However, just how much walking I would be doing, that I was yet to discover. I arrived at Bleakholt at 8:45 and was out walking the first dog of the day 10 minutes later. My first client was the beautiful ‘Cleo’, a 2 and half year old Staffy cross. She was incredibly well behaved, not an ounce of trouble and was happy to go and get completely lost with me around the rolling hills on the outskirts of Rammy.

I was given instructions that walks should be around an hour and a half. I saw other volunteers picking up their first pooches and slowly meandering out of the gates. Myself and Cleo, on the other hand, set off with more than a dollop of spring in our step, marching at a pace befitting such a young, spry dog. However, at 10am, when I hit 10,000 steps, I realised that I could potentially have sore feet come quitting time. As it turns out, no gardening was to be done on this drizzly Thursday. Instead, my legs would be put through their paces. Next up was Daisy. A one year old Lurcher cross.

Look at that face. How could someone give that up? She was somewhat more challenging than Cleo as she was not having it that other dogs could be out for a stroll, so she made sure to shout at everyone we saw. Which, when you’re near an animal sanctuary with other dogs out for a meander, you know, there’s going to be quite a lot of barking going on. However, despite that, I loved the time I spent with her. She was so well behaved and when we took a break, she just wanted petting and to be close. Such a loveable mutt!

Then, we had Zak, a 7 year old Fox Terrier (who, since last Thursday, has now been reserved and should be going to a new home!), such a handsome chap. But, another who was wary of other dogs and was very vocal about said wariness. Despite that, he was such a good little walker. We went completely off road and trekked through boggy marshes and streams, with Zak leading the way at all times (he knew the area better than me, so I let him take the lead). Just like the others, he was so well behaved and only threw a hissy fit when other dogs were on the scene (oh, and when a cat ran across our path, he kicked up a right fuss. I had to pick him up and carry him away from the scene because he was NOT happy.) As we neared the end of our time together, my feet were crying out in pain, blistered up to their eyeballs, but Zak was as full of energy as when we first left the gates. Little trooper.

In the end, I totalled 14 miles of walking. I don’t think I was quite expecting that (I didn’t even take a bottle of water with me), but, despite the fatigue, I felt great. I’d spent the day doing something good for an incredible charity, getting much more than my daily quota of steps in and making some neglected dog’s days a wee bit brighter. Not only would I recommend everyone adopt animals when they can, but I’d also say get out there and do a MAD day! It was such a nice change to my weekly schedule to give my time to such a worthy cause.

To find out more about Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary click - here. To find out about Great Ormond Street, one of Skiddle's charity partners click - here.

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