Tiggy's Pet Care Services

09/12/2024

My dad might be 100 miles away in Norfolk but I can still hear him muttering “stop getting involved Megan, leave it alone” 🤣 This is Bebe Bluetit (left) and Annie Woodpigeon (right). I found Bebe today and Annie last week, both worse for wear and in shock. I couldn’t leave them to pass away in the cold so collected them and contacted local wildlife rescues. Mansfield Wildlife Rescue took Annie, who had a poorly foot, couldn’t fly and was wet through and cold. Pet Samaritans Wildlife Angels in Chesterfield took Bebe who had had a close encounter with a cat and was in shock. Both are now warm, safe and receiving the help they need ❤️

Our wildlife, no matter how big or small, is so precious and we must do everything we can to protect it, just like we would our beloved pets. Mansfield Wildlife Rescue and Pet Samaritans are both absolutely fantastic; warm, welcoming and extremely dedicated to helping all kinds of wildlife. Whilst it can be tempting to try and help injured animals ourselves, the best thing we can do for them is find a registered rescue to take them to for rehabilitation. Rescues can give antibiotics, treat wounds and do lots of things that the average Joe like me is unable to. It’s important to know when to ask others for help and value their knowledge and experience.

Whilst I was trying to find a rescue space for Bebe I popped her in a small cage in a quiet room and covered most of the cage with a blanket. She was completely unresponsive when I first picked her up but after two hours in the warmth and left alone to come round from the shock she was flying around in the cage. On advice from the rescue I took her in as they let me know that all birds who have had encounters with cats need antibiotics, as cats carry bacteria in their mouths that can infect birds through the smallest of cuts and this infection will likely kill them. She had her first dose whilst I was there and will hopefully make a full recovery!

Please consider donating to Mansfield Wildlife Rescue or Pet Samaritans Chesterfield if you can. I cannot thank them enough for their help with these two loves ❤️

28/11/2024

❗️ SCAM ALERT - PET MICROCHIPS ❗️

I’ve just been made aware of this scam that is currently doing the rounds. Scammers are posing as microchip companies and telling animal guardians that their animal’s microchip has expired.

If you get an email or message like this, you can call your microchip company directly and check that all is well, but otherwise, please IGNORE it.

The next time you take your animal to the vet you can ask them to scan their microchip to check it is still in place and scanning okay just for peace of mind.

20/11/2024

20/11/2024

Morning all, sadly no better today. Very nearly passed out in the bathroom at 6am but managed to make it back to bed and lie down. All fun and games! Poor Teddy 🐶 is unsettled with the change in his routine but has been very lucky to have my mum to step in to walk him and look after him whilst Chris is at work.

Thank you for all the well wishes and understanding; I hate being ill and feeling like I’m letting people down but you have all been wonderful. I really do owe you all ❤️

19/11/2024

Morning all, what a lovely snowy day ❄️ Unfortunately I’m really poorly and am cancelling all walks today as I’m really struggling and feel like I’ve been hit by a bus! All clients with walks today have been contacted and I’ll keep everyone updated with regards to tomorrow and the rest of the week.

Thank you, as ever, for your continued support ❤️

08/11/2024

Currently in Greggs waiting whilst my car has its MOT and forcing myself to get through the list of invoices! Sorry to everyone who has waited so patiently! ❤️ I like to believe in karma but am hoping my poor organisation of invoices isn’t punished by a failed MOT, but we’ll see 🙈🤣

05/11/2024

I had a FAB morning and must tell you about it. Ted was at his lovely groomers near Rotherham this morning so I took the chance to pop and feed some of the local friends whilst I waited 🐦 I was surprised to get lots of smiles from passers by and the birds seemed very happy. The vast majority looked really healthy and I only saw two with stringfoot. Hopefully I can go back soon with a treatment kit and catch the stringfoot birdies and help them.

I cannot explain how much joy feeding pigeons and other wildlife brings me; I was near enough skipping back to my car and grinning to myself afterwards 😂🙈 Hopefully the joy is mutual and the pigeons enjoyed my company and food as much as I enjoyed them.

11/10/2024

❤️ MUZZLED DOGS ARE NOT BAD DOGS ❤️

10/10/2024

Head outside with your phones - the northern lights are out! ✨

08/10/2024

In case you ever wondered what I get up to when I’m not working! I have become a part-time pigeon lady 😂🐦 Feral pigeons have it pretty tough; many humans see them as “dirty pests” that need to be gotten rid of, many suffer horrendous foot injuries caused by string and human hair becoming tangled in their feet as they forage for food, and food can be quite sparse in winter months.

They are tough birds with individual personalities and quirks, and tend to be quite tame and bold. They are capable of demonstrating complex social behaviours and emotional expressions and actually mate for life. Feral pigeons are descendants of escaped or abandoned domesticated birds. These birds were used during World War 1 & 2 as carrier pigeons, taking messages from one place to another. Scientists haven’t quite worked out how pigeons have such an incredible natural homing instinct, but it is known that they are highly attuned to the earths magnetic field.

Despite being considered “dirty” by many humans, pigeons actually pose very little risk of spreading disease to humans. They are often the victims of humans, as they are targeted by pest controllers and our infrastructure and lifestyles directly cause them injury and ill health. Some local councils have put Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in place to ban people from feeding the pigeons, with fines of £100 for anyone caught feeding them, but none exist in our local area. I’ll leave my thoughts on the PSPO to your imagination!

(A side note: I feed the pigeons away from any large crowds of the general public and ensure there is space for people to pass, as I understand not everyone is into birds. I have been pleasantly surprised at the reactions from others whilst I’m feeding them, most are fascinated and think they are brilliant birds, and the few who look down on it are given a friendly smile in the hope that one day they’ll understand that these birds just want to live alongside us in peace.)

03/10/2024

Happy Thursday! The sunrise was beautiful on my morning walk with Ted. A busy day ahead today so please bear with me as I’ll be trying to catch up on admin between walks and cat cuddles! ❤️

30/09/2024

What a rainy day! ☔️ Little Bear was super brave and ventured out for his walk despite not being a fan of wet weather 🐶

There are flood warnings in place, particularly around Rother Valley, so please be careful if you’re out and about. Fingers crossed the rain will ease tomorrow; it’s a tough gig trying to excite dogs to go on walks when it’s this wet! 😅😂

26/09/2024

Sharing this video because I think this raises some incredible points and is really informative! Can’t really put it much better than this brilliant lady does, so do give it a listen if you have time!

It also highlights something that I often forget - electric shock collars are NOT banned in England at the moment. There are plans for a ban, but they seem to be at a stand still at the moment. This is REALLY concerning as it is a huge animal welfare issue. No dog should be trained using pain and punishment.

22/09/2024

This was a lovely surprise this weekend ❤️ Fostering with the Blue Cross has meant so much to me since we lost our last gerbil girl, Daisy, in January. I feel so lucky to have met so many wonderful animals and people through fostering 💙

09/09/2024

A busy day (and week) so please forgive me if replies are a little slow! Hoping to get round to answering any non-urgent messages this evening and sorting through the last of the invoices.

I won’t lie - I think I may have taken on too much, but there are often quiet periods over winter so I try to build a bit of a buffer in anticipation. It’s all a big juggling act and I’m not so good at juggling.

In good news, sweet Luna finally found a wonderful new home after quite a while in foster with us! She went yesterday and I’m so, so pleased for her as her new home sounds beyond perfect for her. She will hopefully have a new friend (pending successful bonding) and a huge enclosure to enjoy ❤️ Good luck sweet girl! 🐭

06/09/2024

🐶🐈‍⬛ MICROCHIPS 🐶🐈‍⬛
Just a little reminder to always ensure the details are up to date on your pet’s microchip! I’ve been meaning to update Ted’s details for a while and got round to it tonight! It was really easy and only took a couple of minutes.

If you’re unsure on how to update your details please contact your microchip company or your vet and they will be able to guide you ❤️

03/09/2024

A reminder that enrichment doesn’t have to be expensive! Here is Ted enjoying ripping apart a McDonald’s bag that has treats scrunched up inside it. I also hid one of his favourite chews (a yak chew!) at the bottom.

Something small like this can also be really good at building dogs’ confidence! Ted has always struggled with his confidence since we’ve known him but has come on leaps and bounds with lots of positive reinforcement, gentle and positive exposure to new things and confidence building activities ❤️

31/08/2024

For anyone who needs a laugh this evening. This was Ted enjoying his mid-walk zoomies. Approximately 90 seconds later he found the decomposing body of a dead seal. And rolled in it. Happy Saturday! 🦭