The world needs more Roses
Detail:
I’ve been a journalist now for close to 18 years, and in those years have met some very special people, people who have touched me in some way, and with whom I hold my all-too-brief encounters very dear.
Like the father of two, sitting paralysed in a wheelchair, dying from motor neurone disease, but who wanted to tell others of his condition to encourage donations to a research organisation so hopefully a cure could be found. Not for himself, it was too late for him, but so other families would not have to go through what his family was going through.
Today I had the good fortune to have a long conversation with Rose Morris. Now retired, she used to work in the kitchen at her local hospital, getting up at 4.30am to start her shift at 6am.
Then when she got home, she would spend hours looking after and caring for abandoned ferrets. Today, she is in her sixties, but she still carries on her rescue work – she’s been taking in ferrets for 23 years now. She and her husband have set up Mercia Ferret Welfare (www.merciaferretwelfare.co.uk), and at the moment are caring for around 90 ferrets – 60 at their home in a specially-constructed shed in Coventry, and 30 at foster homes.
As with all charities, fund-raising is critical for survival. Rose organises some 15 events each year, but this year, for the first time ever, has voluntarily cancelled her events because of a viral outbreak in the north of the country, as she does not want to inadvertently allow the disease to spread throughout the Midlands.
Needless to say, midway through the year things are looking bleak.
A local appeal drew a blank – well, apart from £10 – and she is now using part of her monthly pension to pay for the ferrets’ food, shelter and medical bills.
Yet despite this, she remains totally philosophical – “That’s life”, she says.
No bitterness, no panic, no self-pity. What comes across is this pure love for her ferrets. Yet don’t try and offer any praise – she won’t have it. The fact that she has not had a holiday for 18 years does not bother her one bit, and she derides any suggestion that this act in itself is a form of sacrifice. As she said: “I chose to do this, so why should I complain? I do what I do because I love the ferrets.”
Rose is a unique individual, yet at the core is a love for animals. And this is what makes the pet industry so special.
Every customer who walks into a pet shop to buy something for their pet has a love for their animal. And chances are they will enjoy spending a minute or two talking about the antics their pet has been up to. Savvy indeed is the retailer who creates a database – whether mental or on a computer! – of customers and their pets’ names, and uses this as a form of greeting, establishing and engaging that connection every time the customer comes in.
My local pet shop remembers that I have three guinea pigs, and every time I walk in, someone there asks after their welfare. That attention to detail makes me a more loyal customer.
Whether it is the Roses of this world or the boy with a goldfish, uniting one and all is a special bond between human and pet. And that is what makes this industry unique.
Like the father of two, sitting paralysed in a wheelchair, dying from motor neurone disease, but who wanted to tell others of his condition to encourage donations to a research organisation so hopefully a cure could be found. Not for himself, it was too late for him, but so other families would not have to go through what his family was going through.
Today I had the good fortune to have a long conversation with Rose Morris. Now retired, she used to work in the kitchen at her local hospital, getting up at 4.30am to start her shift at 6am.
Then when she got home, she would spend hours looking after and caring for abandoned ferrets. Today, she is in her sixties, but she still carries on her rescue work – she’s been taking in ferrets for 23 years now. She and her husband have set up Mercia Ferret Welfare (www.merciaferretwelfare.co.uk), and at the moment are caring for around 90 ferrets – 60 at their home in a specially-constructed shed in Coventry, and 30 at foster homes.
As with all charities, fund-raising is critical for survival. Rose organises some 15 events each year, but this year, for the first time ever, has voluntarily cancelled her events because of a viral outbreak in the north of the country, as she does not want to inadvertently allow the disease to spread throughout the Midlands.
Needless to say, midway through the year things are looking bleak.
A local appeal drew a blank – well, apart from £10 – and she is now using part of her monthly pension to pay for the ferrets’ food, shelter and medical bills.
Yet despite this, she remains totally philosophical – “That’s life”, she says.
No bitterness, no panic, no self-pity. What comes across is this pure love for her ferrets. Yet don’t try and offer any praise – she won’t have it. The fact that she has not had a holiday for 18 years does not bother her one bit, and she derides any suggestion that this act in itself is a form of sacrifice. As she said: “I chose to do this, so why should I complain? I do what I do because I love the ferrets.”
Rose is a unique individual, yet at the core is a love for animals. And this is what makes the pet industry so special.
Every customer who walks into a pet shop to buy something for their pet has a love for their animal. And chances are they will enjoy spending a minute or two talking about the antics their pet has been up to. Savvy indeed is the retailer who creates a database – whether mental or on a computer! – of customers and their pets’ names, and uses this as a form of greeting, establishing and engaging that connection every time the customer comes in.
My local pet shop remembers that I have three guinea pigs, and every time I walk in, someone there asks after their welfare. That attention to detail makes me a more loyal customer.
Whether it is the Roses of this world or the boy with a goldfish, uniting one and all is a special bond between human and pet. And that is what makes this industry unique.
By:
Sandra
Date/time :
21/06/2010
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