An Aberdeenshire animal rescue centre has started work to repair damage caused by Storm Arwen.
The horse shelters at the Scottish SPCA’s centre in Drumoak were destroyed when the severe weather hit a year ago.
The charity launched an appeal to raise £40,000 to replace the shelters and add new facilities, and is now more than halfway there.
Work has now started on the project, with the team adding taller fencing and building a larger shelter on site.
Centre manager Louise Griese said: “We were devastated to come in to work on the Saturday morning after Storm Arwen and discover that the horse shelters had been totally levelled.
“Thankfully, there were no horses in the shelters at the time and no people or animals were hurt, which is the most important thing.”
Creating a safe space for horses
Donations have been made by members of the public so far, as well as the Co-Operative Group and the Elise Pilkington Trust.
One of the centre’s next goals is to create a quarantine area for new arrivals to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Ms Griese said: “These facilities will help horses as they recover, like Eigg who came to the centre as part of a large group of horses who were seized on welfare grounds.
“Eigg was an older lady, aged 26, when she arrived and, due to being part of an active court case, she and the rest of her herd were long-term residents.
“Unfortunately, Eigg had lice through her coat, a large worm burden, her feet needed trimmed and her teeth were overgrown and needing dental work.
“Our staff at the centre fully clipped her body and it took several special medicated baths to kill the lice.
“The veterinary team took blood samples from her due to her age and condition and it came back positive for equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). This requires a strict diet, especially in the summer months when the grass is rich.”
Help to find forever homes
A special appeal was put out to help find the perfect forever home for Eigg and after a total of 722 days she was finally rehomed.
She added: “Eigg was with us for a year and a half before we could finally start searching for her forever home, but this proved difficult due to her age as well as needing special dental care and a strict diet regime.
“She is very much loved in her home and even made an appearance at her new mum’s wedding. We are thrilled that after so long in our care, Eigg is finally in the loving retirement home that she deserves.
“We hope that by improving our equine facilities we can continue to be there for horses like Eigg when they need us most. We’d be so grateful for anything anyone can spare towards the appeal and we know that the horses in our care will be too.”
Donations can be made via the Scottish SPCA website here.
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