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I agree with your OH, Frances! Not being owned by a cat, I had a mental image of cat vomit being rather liquidy and already well digested.... that's the advantage of dogs: they eat theirs before you get a chance to clean up! (sorry, slightly off topic)

aehm, I think it should go into your compost heap? ....and anyway we aren't supposed to be putting paper towel into the blue bin. It says so on the leaflet I still didn't receive, but found somebody's photo online and copied it to my desktop for future reference. naughty naughty Frances, tsktsktsk

^ no idea what he used, he didn't enlighten me. My property is hidden under a cloud on Google maps anyway.... I'd have to drag the bin 150 yards uphill and across a cattlegrid and there is simply nowhere by the road to secure it. Even the nearest fences aren't accessible because of ditches. He asked if I could 'tie the bins to the cattlegrid' and I just said 'You are kidding, aren't you?' I suggested I could leave the recyclables by the side of the road (under a net like my ordinary rubbish) in the purple coloured sacks the SIC provided some years ago for plastics. That would really be the easiest solution but apparently that is 'not cost effective'.

After numerous phonecalls over the last x weeks I am still waiting for a site visit. They agree after looking at the location on their computer that there is nowhere for me to secure these bins.

at Setter, opposite shore from Selivoe, on the Walls - Skeld side road.

I have baked my own bread for years and simply could not go back to shop bought. Home baked bread is not only cheaper than shop bought, it is also much healthier. I bought an electric grain mill from the continent several years ago and buy organic wheat and rye in 25 kg bulk and just mill fresh what I need for each batch baking. This way it keeps all the vitamins and minerals and they are not lost to deterioration by environmental factors (mainly contact with air). It also keeps all the natural wheat kernel, bran and fibre which has to be removed from commercially milled flour as it would greatly reduce the shelf life and make the flour go rancid too quickly. That is why they need to add extra vitamins, minerals and 'flour improver', because they take all the goodness out of it in the first place. Plus of course you can add your own ingredients to your taste like linseed, millet, sunflower seeds etc. Can't beat the smell of freshly baked bread! (in fact, I'll be starting up a Honesty Box soon and fresh bread and rolls will be included along home made jams and other goodies. )

Habro sell it I think.

^...and the same applies to the Co-Op. There was some discussion on "da bus" wether to divert to a weekly Brae Co-op outing, but it was voted down. Shame really, I'd been up for that!

When this first came up, there was some talk by the Co-op to stop the buses from entering their car park all together. Hence their suggestions to use the main road bus stop instead. Insurance was being mentioned, along the lines of "if there's an accident, the driver is liable, not the operator".

Yes, the old folk's shoppers buses used to park outside the Co-op, but after they resurfaced their car park the bus operators were told to just drop off passengers at the bus stop at the main road. It's their car park, so it is their rules. Some of the bus operators just ignore the double yellow lines though. Apparently the CC had talks with the Co-Op, but they did not budge on their new stance. Personally it does not affect me, I am neither elderly nor disabled. But I do feel sorry for some of the old folk on the bus who struggle quite badly. A few of them have stopped using the bus now. I don't think they necessarily look for preferrential treatment, they just don't understand why the Co-Op provides disabled bays but stops the buses whose vast majority of passengers are old and disabled. (On my route there's only 2 of us who don't have a bus pass.)

It is exactly the same situation with the shoppers buses that go to the Co-Op.

The only way forward is education about animal welfare. Spain is no exception, many shelters in Med/ Balkan countries face the same struggles: locals will rarely adopt. They breed/ buy instead. Because everybody wants the cute puppy with the (dubious) bloodlines. Look at Shetland: plenty of needless pet companion animal breeding going on here on our own doorstep.

What concerns me about this situation is that I see more and more foreign imported dogs ultimately ending up in the UK rescue system when adoptions fail. (I am a member on various rescue forums.) In a sense we are importing more dogs that will stretch the reserves of UK rescues who are struggling and bursting at the seams already as it is. But rather than those dogs being re homed, more dogs keep coming in from outside the UK because people find it easier than going through a UK adoption process. This is not just a UK problem, I know the same thing is happening in other european countries too. The bottom line is quite clearly that this is a huge pet overpopulation scenario and there are just literally not enough homes for all the dogs needing to be re homed. Yet there are no restrictions on breeding and neuter campaigns among street dog populations are a drop in the ocean. So what is the answer? Restrictions on breeding and major stepping up on s+n, but neither is realistically going to happen. That is bad for "business". I doubt there will ever be effective legislation to combat the problem. As usual it is the dogs themselves that suffer and yes, I fully agree that a dog in need is a dog in need, where ever it might be. It is not the poor critter's fault where it was born. But we are just reshuffling the cards and importing one overpopulation problem from one country into another without actually doing something about the root cause.

Just for your info: I was in the middle of arranging to visit south to see the dog when the rescue said it wasn't necessary after all. I had happily gone, although it was a bit complicated since I don't drive.

tbh I can't see how you feel personally attacked. But feel free to replace the word "you" with "one" if it makes you feel better.

You are making the same judgements about UK rescues. There are plenty of UK rescues that will quite happily rehome to the isles and no, I did not travel down to meet the dog, it was not a requirement and due to my personal circumstances it was not possible either. It is more a case of people should do a bit of searching before jumping to the conclusion that living in Shetland = can't adopt a mainland dog but let's instead get one off Shetlink which is flooded with adverts. What happens to the failed adoptions in Shetland? Do they get returned to Spain or do they ultimately end up clogging up the UK rescue system as is the case with many foreign dogs already?

@brochbuilder Breeders in the UK are regulated? Really? So we don't have puppy farms and backstreet breeders here that are just after a quick profit and sell sick puppies?

Breeksy, it is absolutely possible to adopt a UK mainland dog while living in Shetland! I adopted a dog from a very reputable scottish breed rescue a few years back and I had no problems whatsoever despite already having a dog. Homechecks and vet references were all arranged and full rescue back up was in place. Have you ever asked yourself WHY rescues ask that a potential adopter visits the dog a few times before the adoption? It is certainly not to inconvenience you! If you can't make that sacrifice and try to actually work together with the rescue orga to ensure that the dog is placed with the right family and is not ending up being pushed from pillar to post than I am not surprised that rescues turn you down.

home brewing is the way to go.

just looking at Lunaandme, they don't deliver to Shetland anyway.

Going by personal experience, feeding raw DIY really is the easiest and only buying in green tripe frozen from south. My dogs did not tolerate Nutriment plus of course Natural Instinct gets delivered straight to your door by the postie. Not sure what Mr. Bump's concern with the ferry has to do with it? I have never had a problem with a consignment, but I keep a close watch on the weather forecast before I place an order, just in case. I have ordered in the middle of winter as well as with the recent warm weather and NI consistently deliver on the dot. "Running out of food over a bank holiday" is something you will quickly learn to avoid in Shetland. It is called keeping stock and a good supply well before your food runs out.

I still feed mainly DIY plus a bit from south and have no problems. With 7 dogs you might be better off ordering bulk frozen food from south and keep a large chest freezer. Nutriment and Natural Instinct deliver free to Shetland.

I managed to watch the first 10 mins and then the dog woke me up. I wouldn't call over one and a half hours "short". Why post it twice anyway?

"One of his/her, cronies has even threatened to shoot my dog and me." Did you report that threat, Rex?

according to this there isn't that much available in Unst.....: http://www.shetland.gov.uk/housing/housing_options_low_demand.asp