Keep Out!

Now the summer is here it’s great to get back out on the bike/skates/running shoes in the sun to try and burn a bit of the fat off I put on over the winter (I am a fair weather exerciser!)

My plan is to jump on the bike at least once a week for increasing longer rides locally, taking a light camera kit to build both stock and maybe “art” images along the way. So far I have been heading north and east but Sunday I headed west; toward Littlehampton.

The South Coast Cycle route heads inland just west of Worthing but I thought I would ignore that and try to wind my way along closer to the sea. I soon found out why it heads inland; the coastal area between Ammering and Littlehampton is full of private estates all declaring no public right of way. I am all for privacy but not even having bridleways through the estates near the sea?

No Fun!

This sign is right next to the beach, beside a wide strip of grass. As I walked my cycle along the path with the sea on my left and 6ft high walls on my right I could not help feel that allowing many of those things would not cause a problem. All the houses nearby had big gardens but I’m sure the children growing up there would much prefer to picnic and play by the sea..

There were many of these estates and “Keep Out” became the theme of my ride. I could not help but be drawn to this “No Trespassing / Way In” sign combination..

Trespassers / Way In

Down by the river (on the west side of Littlehampton), there was a different reason for keeping out; the bridges and walkways were just too rickety..

No Admission

All in all, 3 hours in the sun, 25 miles covered and a new batch of stock.

Happy ending for suitcase puppies

It’s always nice to work on a happy story. The story behind todays job could have ended so differently.

RSPCA inspector Rachel Bell visited a house in Uckfield in August 2008 along with police officer Dave Price. An “unearthly wailing noise” was heard coming from the cupboard under the stairs. The RSPCA staff found two suitcases containing 15 puppies, some dead and some still alive. One contained four puppies, one of which was already dead. The other case contained 11 puppies, four of which had died. In total, 25 dogs and a cat were seized from the property after they were found in squalid and cramped conditions.

The collies and their owners

It was touch and go whether the puppies survived but as you can see here, they did and today for the first time in 2 years the mothers of the two litters, Beth and Flo; Patch, another adult dog and puppies Kizzy, Macca Pacca, Tonio, Dudie, Megan and Daisy attended were reunited together with Rachel Bell.

Rachel Bell with the collies

Whilst a couple of the collies were very shy it was amazing to see them remember the RSPCA staff that cared for them. It was a very happy and joyous event.

Rachel Bell and the collies

NB: The dog breeder who put the puppies in suitcases and kept the adult dogs in squalid and cramped conditions was banned from keeping animals for life in November 2009. She had faced nine charges of causing unnecessary suffering and neglect, and was also sentenced to 20 weeks in prison for each of the charges, with each term to run concurrently.