11/01/2026
BRORA - aka SNOWPLOUGH!
Eileen and Paul keep their Lochcarron hedgehog feeding station stocked regardless of the weather. We know that underweight or poorly hogs will seek out food even in many inches of snow and sub zero temperatures.
So BRORA "ploughed" his way to the food through 9" of snow leaving this amazing indentation through the garden, ate some kitten buscuits, and then completely ran out of steam. He lay down, gave up, and fell asleep.
Very luckily for him his human guardians spotted the strange trail the next morning, followed it and found him in their feeding station. Not knowing that we exist, they searched for a rescue and found lovely Dawn at Hogwatch Dumbarton Hedgehog Rescue who provided expert help and guidance.
At a considerable 850g you'd be forgiven for thinking he should be fine to hibernate but he is skin and bone - absolutely no reserves. So they very slowly and gently warmed him and settled him, and posted a poo sample to Dawn that revealed significant roundworm and lungworm burdens; treatment would definitely be needed.
It can surprise people what a huge geographical area we cover but when Dawn and I chatted, I explained how our incredible Volunteer Transport Team works, and travel was arranged for as soon as the weather broke. It's a long trip to us, but not as long as Dumbarton!
A trip that takes over 2 hours on a GOOD day is a bit more of a challenge after such significant snowfall so it was with huge thanks to Nicola who left Kyle to collect him and meet Lynne at Dingwall who completed the journey, that he arrived here safe and sound ready for fluid therapy and medication.
In a complete coincidence BRORA was the next random Scottish place on Dawn's hedgehog naming list, and now that he's here and sponsored, Eileen and Paul are sticking with this entirely appropriate choice!
So many wonderful people working together to give this precious boy the second chance he deserves 💚
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