Doggy detective

I love writing letters, as well as emails and the like. I also love the 'plop' of a letter back on the doormat as a reply.

A while ago, I wrote to my local RSPCA branch, to thank them for looking after Puffin before I found her, and to let them know how she was getting on. I thought that would be an end to it, but... they wrote back. And they wrote back with a) details of the people who found her and b) an invitation to their annual 'Open Day' next month - saying that they thought some of her siblings might be there. Now I know you don't need an invitation to an open day, but this delighted me.

I googled the name they gave me (and location) - obviously they couldn't give me more details than that, but it turned out that this guy was an inspector for an organisation called Waterford Animal Welfare in... Waterford, Southern Ireland (yes, the same place the crystal comes from). I found a generic email address for them, and sent them an email too. I gave them the info I had regarding Puffin (born in November, I assumed she was found sometime in December as I have the record of her first 'jabs' which were 31st December 2009), and...

...just after a day later, a nice lady called Isabel replied, saying that it was exactly the right place to email, she remembered Puffin and was happy to hear she was doing so well. She couldn't give me many more details about her heritage other than the slightly ominous, 'She definitely needs to be in a place with lots of love and cuddles'.

Poor Puffin, I hate to think that she went through. All I can gather is that she was taken away from her Mum too young, and then watched all her siblings disappear - one by one - until she was left on her own for a few weeks before I fell in love with her and took her home. No wonder she has abandonment issues...

She is currently curled up next to me (NO, NOT ON THE SOFA) well, yes - stretched out full-length on the sofa - but she will absolutely not be getting any tummy tickles from me in the next five minutes. OK, four minutes... well, yes alright Puffin, coming now...