SUPPORT PETER TO RESCUE MORE CATS LIKE GEORGE

As an owner of many cats over the years I know how it feels when your pet goes missing. Not knowing where they are, if they are hurt or worse is something none of us would want to go through. Imagine then how it would feel if your pet had been deliberately taken from their home and dumped in a completely unfamiliar location miles away.

 

This was the case with a gorgeous young ginger cat called George and it was through this particular rescue that I first met an extraordinary human being who unconditionally gave his time, dedication, commitment (and funds) to capture and bring George back home to his loving family. This person is Peter Hawkins and I hope you will take a few moments of your time to read about this special person who needs your support to continue his amazing work.

 

There are some fantastic social media groups who can help communicate the message when a pet goes missing but sometimes you need to enlist the help of someone who has the expertise, skills, knowledge and experience to bring your pet home.

 

You may have already read on social media recently about the rescue of Ginger George who had been abducted from his home and dumped some 5 miles away on the open heathland of the New Forest. George, who is a rescue from Romania, had been spotted 4 days later near the location where he had been abandoned and his story had attracted immense support and following from the local and wider community. Peter heard about the story and immediately offered his support to rescue George despite living a considerable distance away from the site (1-1.5 hours drive).

 

Over the next 4 days and nights Peter travelled from his home to the rescue site researching the area, marking out the sightings and developing a plan to set up traps in likely areas where George might visit. Conducting a rescue in a town, village or someone’s back garden is challenging in itself – carrying out this rescue for George was hugely problematic as Peter had to come up with a plan that took into account the vast open spaces of the heathland, the nearby busy road, dogs on walks and of course the New Forest ponies (in addition to the local wildlife).

 

Peter worked tirelessly throughout the nights monitoring the traps from his car – he had little or no sleep most nights, had to travel back home during the day, set up the humane traps each night with food and bedding and then kept a vigil using his thermal camera for any sightings. However, despite, the weather, the lack of food, sleep and uncomfortable conditions, nothing was going to stop Peter rescuing George. Eight days after George was taken from his home he was finally caught in one of the traps and reunited with his owners – seeing this reunion of George with his loving family made me realise how important Peter’s work is. Due to the circumstances of this particular rescue, without Peter the outcome could and may have been very different.

 

Peter Hawkins runs ‘Cats Lost Found Stolen in Dorset’. He is a self-funding independent volunteer who has rescued many cats in the past. He funds his rescues which include his specialised equipment, food for the cats, traps, travel costs etc. To bring more cats like George home to their families will require people like Peter to be ready to help at a moment's notice. I would love to give Peter a medal for his amazing work with George but in the absence of a medal let’s give him the next best thing and that’s funding for him to continue with his selfless work.

 

Your donation (even just £1) is going to help Peter bring more pets get back home where they belong.

For further details of Peter's rescues, please follow this link to his Facebook page Cats Lost Found Stolen in Dorset https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatsLostFoundStolenInDorset

With many thanks