36 Llanelli Star, Wednesday, January 30, 2013 w w w. t h i s i s s o u t h w a l e s . c o . u k www.thisissouthwales.co.uk Llanelli Star, Wednesday, January 30, 2013 37LSA-E01-S2 LSA-E01-S2

Giving dogs asecond chanceat a futureworth wagginga tail at

“IF this was a week ago Iwouldn't have let you in thisca g e,” Peter told me as heplayfully wrestled withChance, a three-year-oldGerman Shephard-Huskyc ro s s.

“He would have attacked youbecause he was so frightened ofhumans — but look at himn ow. ”

A comment like that wouldusually see me bolt for the cagedoor, but after spending a fewhours with the volunteers atMany Tears Animal Rescue inCefneithin, I trusted Peter’sknowledge and passion for thea n i m a l s.

Chance was now a safe dogwho, like many others, had beenrehabilitated at the centre andwas beginning to learn to trusthumans again.

The snow still frozen on theground, I headed out to the vanto begin my afternoon at ManyTears, where I would be assis-ting staff and volunteers whowere unloading petrified dogs.

As I clutched one terrifiedpup, a volunteer told me wheresome of the dogs come from: “Weare called out by the puppyfar ms.

“Most of the dogs we collectare on death row. If we didn’ttake them they would be dead —a spade to the head.

“It sounds terrible, but it’sthe truth.”

I was shocked, but relievedthat the dogs were now in a placewhere their safety wasparamount.

Sylvia Van Atta, who set upthe not-for-profit rescue centrewith her husband Bill in 2004,gave me the lowdown on howMany Tears works.

And it was clear to see thatshe runs a tight ship. She isadamant that everyone followsthe strict procedures thatgovern the centre.

“We have around 100 dogshere at the moment, andanother 120 out in foster homesacross the country,” Sylvia toldme over the boom of washingmachines, which run almostconstantly to provide freshbedding for the dogs.

“We can see around 2,500animals in our care over theye a r. ”

Sylvia explained the processeach dog would go through,from arriving in the van tobeing adopted, which includeswashing, inoculations and othertreatments and micro-chipping.

“All our volunteers are given aclass if they are regulars,”Sylvia said as she took meo u t s i d e.

“If any one part goes wrong oris missed, a dog may be sent outto a new family without a vitalt re at m e n t . ”

As we visited vets AnnePlummer and Jo Evans inaction, Sylvia explained that

many of the people currentlyworking at Many Tears werepaid staff, but started out asvolunteers at the centre.

Sylvia told me: “We do notpromise jobs, but when jobs dobecome available we obviouslylook at our volunteers first.”

One fine example of apassionate volunteer turnedpaid staff is Peter White, who

told me: “I basically live to workh e re. ”

Peter, 36, who is originallyfrom Stockport and was once asilver service waiter on theOrient Express, moved toLlanelli after various stints ofvolunteering with Many Tears.

As he walked me around thecentre — pointing out the foodroom with massive drums of dog

biscuits and the laundry room,stacked with piles ofcolour-coded bedding — he toldme how he had originally cometo volunteer for a week, but quithis job and stayed with thecentre for six months.

“I just fell in love with thep l a c e, ” he said. “I would muchrather this kind of job. Everydog that comes through this

place is a life that is saved. Thereare so many things aboutworking here that you can’t getanywhere else.”

Pe t e r ’s passion for theanimals — like everyone I met atMany Tears — was instantlyv i s i bl e.

I headed back inside andhelped to wash a poorex-breeding spaniel who was

covered with ticks and fleas. Shewas understandably terrified,but docile and accepted what-ever anyone would do to her.

After drying my hands I washanded a lead by Elke Stilgoe,who volunteers at the centreabout once a week, and has doneso for around four years.

The 45-year-old is originallyfrom Germany but now lives in

Llandeilo, and as we set off towalk two dogs, she gave me theins and outs of volunteering.

“As volunteers we do the oddbit of grooming, cleaningkennels and even provideupdates on how the dog is doingfor the website,” she explained.

“But the main thingvolunteers are needed for iswalking the dogs. On a sunny

day like this it gives the dogs achance to have an extra walk.”

She was quick to notice that Iwas struggling with Ollie — aone-year-old cross breed whowas extremely excited to be outof his cage and was dragging medown the icy road.

Elke suggested we swappeddogs — I agreed and took controlof Jessie, who had only been at

the centre for four weeks andwas noticeably timid. As I tookher lead she cowered andwalked slowly behind me.

“It doesn’t seem like amassive thing, but this walk willmean the world to Jessie,” E l kesaid.

“Just by walking with us shehas seen that humans aren’t allbad and she will be able to trustthe next person slightly more.”

After our stroll we droppedJessie and Ollie back to theirwalk-in cages and Jessie jumpedup and licked me.

Elke pointed at her and said:“There we go, 20 minutes laterand look at the difference. Youtell me that isn’t an ego boost.”

Another regular volunteer is20-year-old Chelsea Morse, fromLlang ennech.

“I was about 14 when I firststarted volunteering,” she said.

“I came up with my dad and Ijust fell in love with the dogs.”

As I walked away from thecages I bumped into Peter again,and asked what he was up to.

“Well, I’m technicallyfinished for the day, but I willstick around to help out,” hereplied. “We all do it.”

As I left the centre, covered inhusky hair and the soundtrackof woofing still playing in myhead, I thoroughly appreciatedthe effort the volunteers andstaff of Many Tears put in dailyto ensure mistreated dogs have afuture worth wagging a tail at.

Many Tearsfactfile

Name: ChanceBreed: GermanShepherd crossAge: 3 yearsGender: Male

Established: 2004

Charity’ssuppor tthanksOLDER people’s charity WRVShave thanked volunteers fortheir commitment during therecent spell of snow inLlanelli.

WRVS head of operations forWales Sally Rivers said:“Volunteers have been battlingthrough the snow and ice tocontinue to deliver services toolder people and check thatthey are safe, warm and well.

“Fear of slipping on icy pathsand treacherous roadconditions mean that olderpeople often cannot get out andabout and without ourvolunteers they may not seeanyone else for days at a time.

She added: “I’d like to say amassive thank you to ourvolunteers across the regionwho have continued to delivervital services like Meals onWheels to the housebound,despite the bad weather.

“Many volunteers have gonebeyond the call of duty andhave carried on when otherservices have stopped.”

Dogs currently waiting for homesin foster homes: 120Number of paid staff: 23

●

●● ●

Dogs currently waiting forhomes at the centre: 100

Average number of animals thecentre will see over a year: 2500

● ● Number of volunteers: countless

THESEare justthree ofthe manydogsChris metat thec e n t rewho arestill inneed of ahome:

■ Chris CarraVolunteering atthe Many TearsAnimal Rescuecentre inCefneithin.LLJM20130124B-019_CLLJM20130124B-013_CLLJM20130124B-010_C

■ Chris Carra meetsone of the residentsduring his timevolunteering at theMany Tears AnimalRescue centre inCefneithin.

Po l i c ecostsset toriseHOUSEHOLDERS willhave to pay more towardspolicing in the region fromAp r i l .

New Dyfed-Powys policeand crime commissionerChristopher Salmonproposed a 3.9 per cent risein the amount it chargesresidents, which has nowbeen backed by the area’spolice and crime panel.

Bills for the averageband D property ownerwill rise from £198 to £206.

Mr Salmon said the hikewas lower than in recentyears — the equivalent of a14.9p weekly increase forband D households.

“In proposing thecouncil tax precept, I havesought to balance theneeds of our police servicewith the demands onfamilies acrossD y f e d - Pow y s, ” said MrSalmon.

It takes the force budgetto £98 million for 2013-14.

Inter netspeedupg radeSUPERFAST fibre-opticbroadband is speeding itsway to Llanelli.

Though Llanelli doesn’tfeature as part of the first14 areas to be developedunder the SuperfastCymru programme, fibreoptic broadband should beinstalled Wales-wide by2015.

A BT spokesman said:“Llanelli is due to get fibrebroadband as part of BT’snormal commercialroll-out. It is scheduled togo live during the summer,but, of course, because ofthe engineering worksinvolved, dates can slip.”

BT aims to makehigh-speed broadbandavailable to around 19,500homes and businesses inLlanelli by the time thework is completed.

B l a n ke t srecalledA RANGE of electricblankets have beenrecalled due to a fault thatcould cause them tooverheat and catch fire.

Morphy Richards hasissued a product recallnotice on its Over ElectricBlankets with the modelnumber 75310 and 75312.

As a precautionarymeasure, the company hasasked customers to stopusing them immediately.● Owners of the blanketsshould contact MorphyRichards on 01709 572570or by e-mail at blankets@m o r p h y r i c h a rd s . c o . u k

Yo b s ’mobilehomesat t a ckVANDALS have causedthousands of poundsworth of damage at aBurry Port caravan park.

Police are appealing forwitnesses to the attacks,which affected 13 caravansand took place some timeovernight on January 17.

It is not yet known what,if anything, was stolenduring the raids.

Shoreline caravan parkmanager Steve Bassettsaid: “They smashed upthe caravans, getting inthrough the front doors.

“They made a bit of amess and raided thestorage sheds.

“But by the looks of itmost of it is just vandalism— they’ve done a fewg rand’s worth of damage.”

He said the caravanswere all privately-owned.

“We don’t know the totalof what’s been taken. Someof the owners have beendown but some of them arethree to four hours away,”said Mr Bassett.

He added that electriclights had been smashed,but some of the caravansstill had their TVs.

“It’s hard to pinpoint ifthey were stealing,” hesaid.● Contact police on 101.

Actionon fisht h r e atERADICATION of ‘a l i e n’fish from Llanelli lakes hasentered its second stage.

The topmouth gudgeon,a non-native fish fromAsia, is deemed to be athreat to native fish.

Environment Agency(EA) officers aimed totackle the issue by adding achemical known aspiscicide to three Mill-ennium Coastal Parklakes. It is toxic to fish, butharmless to humans, birdsand other wildlife.

Previously the lakeswere drained and nativefish species rescued. Oncethe process is complete,the EA expects to haveeradicated one of the threeestablished colonies of top-mouth gudgeon in Wales.

Writer toshare tipsA SIX-WEEK course withnovelist, poet and BBCRadio Wales presenter PhilCarradice starts at Beth-ania Chapel vestry, Morfa,next week. WEA creativewriting takes place from2pm to 4pm on Wednesday,Febr uary 6. Call 01792891679 or e-mailcazleucar um@tesco.net.

Chance is a poor,confused dog who wasdumped into the privateporch of Sylvia’s house.

He will need to behomed with a GermanShepherd savvy owner,who can take time toteach this fellow to givehis heart and trust, andthat this time he won’tbe betrayed again.

He loves to run, butis very controlled with itand will keep checkingback with you that he isdoing it right.

He learns so quickly.His ‘sit’ is pretty much

perfect and hisresponse to name isg re a t .

He is really activeand loves to play with aball, play tug or run withyou.

We have seen aworld of improvementin Chance, he is aspecial and loving dog.

Name: OllieBreed: Springerspaniel crosspointerAge: 1 yearGender: MaleOllie is in need of a very activehome where someone wouldlike to take him running orcycling to help wear him out.

He is a bright boy and willneed mental stimulation as wellas physical exercise.

He loves toys and would

love to go to dog trainingclasses and learn about clickertraining.

He is desperately lonely herein his kennel and is longing forsomeone to come and makehim their special boy.

Name: T revisBreed: Collie

Age: 2 yearsGender: Male

Trevis is a stunningly handsomecollie. He has striking, unusual redand white colouring. He and hisbrother were unwanted farm dogsas the owner had too many dogs.

He is very loving and affectionateand jumps up gently for a cuddle.He is an intelligent boy who learnsvery quickly.

He loves to run free and chasebirds on the open fields, and hisrecall is excellent.

Given plenty of exercise andtraining, he would be a lovelycompanion.

●For information on animals needing homes call the rescue centre between 10am and 4pm on 01269 843084 or visitwww.manytearsrescue.org Toys and treats can be sent to Many Tears Animal Rescue, Cwmlogin House, Cefneithin, Llanelli, SA14 7HB.

Carra in thecommunity