Keeping up appearances.......

Boomfloom

Honey Bear - thanks for thinking about me! )

I did check if we could foster but we live in a small town in Scotland and there are no rescues here. I checked all the rescues nearby and they want their foster carers to be close by so they can be monitored and use their vet. If we had a car, then maybe we could do it. But then, if we had a car, we would swap it for a cat in a blink of an eye.

I know that Cat Protection League are trialling cat fostering for people leaving abusive homes (as the temporary accommodation does not allow pets). You don't get the cat forever but it's better than nothing. That's only down south for now but there is a chance they will extend it here as well.

Itsadogslife_2

Sorry to hijack your thread Happy lol! but Boomfloom have a look at places like the cinnamon trust as they use volunteers to help other people with their pets when they are in unfortuante situations like if an elderly owner has to go into hospital and they don't have anyone to look after their dog, cat, goldfish etc. You can enlist online on their website I think.

poohbear59

Hi Mrs happy, I hope all is well with you and that you are not on here because you are busy working at reducing your debt.

[Deleted User]

Boomfloom wrote: »

Honey Bear - thanks for thinking about me! )

I did check if we could foster but we live in a small town in Scotland and there are no rescues here. I checked all the rescues nearby and they want their foster carers to be close by so they can be monitored and use their vet. If we had a car, then maybe we could do it. But then, if we had a car, we would swap it for a cat in a blink of an eye.

I know that Cat Protection League are trialling cat fostering for people leaving abusive homes (as the temporary accommodation does not allow pets). You don't get the cat forever but it's better than nothing. That's only down south for now but there is a chance they will extend it here as well.

Hi, have you tried Pet Fostering Service Scotland (PFSS)? We ended up not fostering due to a change of circumstances but do occasional fund raising for them. You can use any vet too.

Anyway sorry to interupt and wish you all well.

Cheers

HappyNow

please-let-me-be-lucky wrote: »

Wow good luck with that one, I can talk . Unfortunately I can't even direct you to bits you can skip, my life makes Eastenders look boring and normal :rotfl:. There is always something going on!! Xx

It turns out I was being wildly optimistic thinking I could read it in one day! It's still a work in progress and I am cheering you on.

PinotGrigio41 wrote: »

Can you believe it was a year ago we all started chatting , how time flies !! xx

I know - a full year! We've both come a long way haven't we?!

Honey_Bear wrote: »

HappyNow Your point about not knowing when and by how much your debt accumulated is well made! Taking your original unsecured debt figure of £69,579 and dividing it by the 15 years it took you to accumulate, it would be a figure of £4638 (and small change) per year, so in effect you've turned the juggernaut around by that plus the £2520 you paid off - giving you a figure of £7158 - and you've done it without your family really noticing it.

Respect!

Thanks Honey Bear. Put like that I really shouldn't be dis-satisfied with my progress! I'm going to do even better this year though :A

PinotGrigio41

Your back !!

Weirdly I was thinking about you this morning when I realised I needed to go shopping today for toilet rolls !!

Do you still repackage the cheaper brands in the posh brand wrappers in the hope the Happy Family dont realise ?

HappyNow

Honey_Bear wrote: »

BoomFloom It might be worth considering offering a pet rescue charity yourselves as a Fosterer. Lots of animals have to be cared for by charities that have a policy of not putting healthy animals to sleep, and they can be oversubscribed in terms of space, particularly at this time of year. Often, older animals don't cope with being in kennels at all well after a life lived at home. If you are home all the time and would consider taking on an animal as a fosterer, I believe there are charities that might pay pet care costs on that basis. I can't name any, but it's worth considering as anyone who cares about a slug needs an animal!

Fostering is such a lovely thing. One of our horses is technically a foster-baby. She was taken in five years ago by a wonderful local dog charity (the charity owners keep horses themselves and couldn't turn the needy horse away), aged 21, unwanted, very thin and with a foal due. The charity have kept the foal who is five years old now and has made a good riding horse for them, and four years ago we offered to foster the mare temporarily as a companion for our own horse, after our other old horse had to be put to sleep. Four years later she is still with us, and although we don't technically own her she will be here for the rest of her life. The charity are literally along the road from us and they pop in to see her every now and then. It is expensive, but horses are herd animals so it would be unfair to keep our other horse alone. I just think of her as 'ours' and pay for all her day-to-day needs, but they pay for her two-yearly injections, dental work and would contribute to vet bills if ever needed.

Itsadogslife wrote: »

Sorry to hijack your thread Happy lol! but Boomfloom have a look at places like the cinnamon trust as they use volunteers to help other people with their pets when they are in unfortuante situations like if an elderly owner has to go into hospital and they don't have anyone to look after their dog, cat, goldfish etc. You can enlist online on their website I think.

Hijack away, Itsa! Hope you are well and it's lovely to see you back again. Cinnamon Trust sounds brilliant.

jeepjunkie wrote: »

Hi, have you tried Pet Fostering Service Scotland (PFSS)? We ended up not fostering due to a change of circumstances but do occasional fund raising for them. You can use any vet too.

Anyway sorry to interupt and wish you all well.

Cheers

Hi jeepjunkie, thanks for popping by . I've just had a look at the PFSS website. They look like a great charity and might be just the solution for Boomfloom.

Boomfloom

Jeepjunkie and Itsadogslife - thanks so much for the links. I will make enquiries later today. My cat died exactly a year ago today so it is a good day to help other cats. )

HappyNow - so good you are back and sorry for taking over your thread. I am back to lurking now. )

HappyNow

Boomfloom wrote: »

Honey Bear - thanks for thinking about me! )

I did check if we could foster but we live in a small town in Scotland and there are no rescues here. I checked all the rescues nearby and they want their foster carers to be close by so they can be monitored and use their vet. If we had a car, then maybe we could do it. But then, if we had a car, we would swap it for a cat in a blink of an eye.

I know that Cat Protection League are trialling cat fostering for people leaving abusive homes (as the temporary accommodation does not allow pets). You don't get the cat forever but it's better than nothing. That's only down south for now but there is a chance they will extend it here as well.

Boomfloom - I've really got my fingers crossed for you, and maybe Honey Bear, Itsa and Jeepjunkie have given you some hope?

If none of the fostering works out, have you considered keeping a few chickens (assuming you have a garden obviously!)? They are relatively cheap to keep once you're set up, and you could possibly find a hen hut on Freegle or similar. The costs are offset by their eggs which is quite MSE! They make surprisingly good pets - they are very friendly and have great personalities and are easy to keep. They do eat slugs though, so you may have a conflict of interests :rotfl:.

HappyNow

NewLeaf wrote: »

where are you happy now?

poohbear59 wrote: »

Hi Mrs happy, I hope all is well with you and that you are not on here because you are busy working at reducing your debt.

PinotGrigio41 wrote: »

Your back !!

Weirdly I was thinking about you this morning when I realised I needed to go shopping today for toilet rolls !!

Do you still repackage the cheaper brands in the posh brand wrappers in the hope the Happy Family dont realise ?

The only reason I haven't been around much is because both kids are still home from uni and I just can't get near the PC! They're either hogging it themselves or peering over my shoulder so I can't do my secret diary-keeping! DD goes back tomorrow and DS on Monday, so I will be round lots more then.

I am VERY fired up right now and debt-busting is my number one priority. It's going to be a good year I hope.

Pinot - I still do my repackaging during the uni holidays, but I've given up bothering just for Mr Happy's benefit as I have realised he either doesn't notice or doesn't care!

Toilet roll wise I had a REAL coup in Tesco last week. They were selling 9 roll packs of Nouvelle half-price for £2.50 BUT some of the packs also included 100% extra free - so 18 rolls. Those packs also went through at £2.50!! None left at my store now sadly, but you might be lucky