Saturday 26 July 2014

A fun family afternoon at Foal Farm animal sanctuary

Lovely Foal Farm animal sanctuary 

I probably mentioned that at Easter I asked not to receive chocolate (I was still off it from January) so  instead Hubbie sponsored a rabbit for me. Tootsie lives at Foal Farm in Biggin Hill and I hadn't had a chance to go and meet her so this week we decided to pay her a visit on a sunny afternoon.

Hear hear !! 

I think this sign as we were going in explains why I love their approach so much. They really do put animal welfare first. Foal Farm is an animal sanctuary where no healthy animal is destroyed and if they cannot be rehomed they live here as a permanent resident. In order to support and keep these resident animals they have a sponsorship scheme to pay for food and vet's bills. Tootsie is one such resident and she lives alongside cats, horses, and many other animals.

Hello ponies

The animals are very welcoming to visitors and when we arrived there was some activity around the stables so we said hello to the horses and ponies who were very friendly.

Secret garden 

Hunting wabbits 















Aware that we had come to see one special animal, though we made our way to the 'secret garden' area where the rabbits are. My boy and Hubbie led the way to the Bunny House, but not before we saw the lovely little village that my boy remembered from his visit with Daddy when they came to choose Tootsie for me.

Where the bunnies live !
I'm famous !!
















We looked around the Bunny House, but couldn't spot Tootsie so we said hello to all the other rabbits and then went to ask at reception. All the sponsored animals get a mention on the walls in reception and their sponsors are named too. As you can see I'm one of many who sponsor Tootsie - she is clearly a very popular lady !!

Tootsie poses
Meeting Tootsie



We were told that she is now in the 'Bunny Park' with her companion Fiver so off we went to look for her. At first we didn't see her in the outdoor pen that she shares with her 'boyfriend' so we visited the others who all have lots of space to roam around. When we came back to the pen we spotted her sitting right next to the gate so we'd just missed her right in front of us !!

Receptionist
Ginseng

One of the really nice things about Foal Farm is that the animals are really part of the life of the farm. There are resident cats who are allowed to roam around and meet and greet visitors, one even sits at reception desk ! Sadly there are a lot of cats who are waiting to be rehomed, including kittens and we decided to visit them.

Meeting kittens
Kitten patting the glass 

A lot of people prefer to have cats as kittens and when you see these guys you can see why.

SO CUUUUTE !!

There is so much to see at Foal Farm and a lot of learning about how pet owners should be responsible and care for their animals. Our lovely friends Neil and Sarah rehomed their cats Lily and Milo from Foal Farm and our cat is from Battersea Cats and Dogs Home. As we were leaving we spotted him in cardboard form :)

It's Neo !! 
As you probably already know our favourite family farm is run by lovely Fiona and her family at Coombe Mill in Cornwall, so I'm delighted to share this post on the #countrykids linky that Fiona hosts :)

 Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall 

3 comments:

  1. Aww thanks for the lovely mention! Foal Farm looks wonderful and it's great that they are so dedicated to caring for these animals. I think it would be very hard to resist the kittens - they are so cute. Thanks for linking up and sharing with Country Kids.

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  2. What a lovely place to visit and nice they care so much for the animals. Love tootsie

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  3. What a lovely place. I wish that we have something like this in my country. So many animals die in Manila and we need something like this to care for animals that cant protect themselves. #countrykids

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