Free A Home for Shimmer by Cathy Hopkins Page A

all kinds of dogs appeared at the front of their cages to greet us, some pawing at the mesh, some barking to say hello. A beautiful Irish terrier called Seamus did an amazing jump when he saw us as if to say, ‘
Wahey, look what I can do!
’ Some didn’t stir and just looked at us wearily. On each kennel, there was a notice saying the dog’s name and a little about their history. As we walked up and down the aisles and looked in, we saw all types and ages of dogs: a spotty Dalmatian, a fluffy collie, yappy little bull terriers, an excitable cocker spaniel, Millie the Shih Tzu (so cute, she was only eight months old), a gorgeous white Husky, a long-legged lurcher, some types I didn’t know and one quiet German Shepherd called Bailey who looked up at us with the saddest eyes. I wanted to take all of them home and give them a big hug. Caitlin linked arms with me as we walked around. I knew she found it as hard looking at all the homeless animals as I did.
    ‘I wish we could get a coach and come here and take them all home,’ she whispered.
    ‘Me too,’ I whispered back, ‘but I’m having a hard enough time trying to get Mum and Dad to agree to keep Shimmer.’
    ‘Are there ever animals who don’t find a home?’ Josh asked.
    Mazhar nodded. ‘There are a few who have been here over a year, but we do our best to keep them comfortable. We have a no-destruct policy – that means we don’t put any animals to sleep unless they’re poorly – and as well as the dog walkers who take them out daily, we have an agility area where they can exercise and a place where they can dig too. Dogs do love to dig.’
    I noticed that there were hip-height fences wherever we went. ‘Why the fences? Is that to stop them getting out?’
    Mazhar shook his head. ‘No. That’s to obscure their view of other dogs. It can be overwhelming for them to see so many other dogs, so the fences give them a little privacy and it stops them getting stressed. Although we do our best, no animal wants to be here in kennels with strange people and strange dogs. Like us, they like the familiar. They just want to belong to someone.’
    ‘I know,’ I said and looked at Mum in the hope that she got the message that I was thinking about Shimmer.
    ‘We also have what we call stooge dogs,’ Mazhar continued. ‘They’re like nannies and if a dog is too hyper, we put it in with an older stooge dog who can teach it better behaviour and calm it down. If we have a dog that is shy and scared, we put it in with a stooge dog who can make it feel safe and bring it out of itself a bit.’
    ‘Wow, you’ve thought of everything!’ said Josh.
    ‘Can anyone come and get a dog?’ asked Caitlin.
    Mazhar shook his head. ‘Absolutely not. We screen people carefully. We always do a home visit to ensure that it’s a good environment that they’re going to, as well as a good match with a new owner. The last thing we want is for a dog to go to a home then get brought back because someone didn’t really understand the commitment. It would be too distressing for them.’ I gave Mum another look when Mazhar said this. He was making a very good case for us to keep Shimmer. I remembered how upset Shimmer was when she first arrived at Silverbrook Farm. I looked at Caitlin. She put her hand on her heart to show me that she knew what I was thinking.
    After the dog kennels, Mazhar took us into the cat area and, once again, there was cage after cage. The cats didn’t get up to say hello, they just regarded us through lazy eyes. Max, Charlie, Bindy, Daphne, Mozza, Parker, Graham, Stan – furry face after furry face; black, tabby, white, ginger . . . a total sweetheart tabby with only one eye, called Snowdrop. I’d like to have taken them all home, along with the dogs.
    This time, I had to link arms with Caitlin. I knew how much she adored cats and her eyes had filled with tears. ‘I can’t bear it,’ she said. ‘I really really hope Silverbrook animal rescue happens