The Happy Pants Ranch animal sanctuary & rescue registered charity 1185169

11/11/2025

Gosh yesterday was an awful day mentally, and this morning I’m paying the price for it - my eyes are so swollen from crying so much, I look live I’ve been punched in the face.

I spent the whole day either on the phone or email to APHA and my vets regarding APHA wanting to come and sample the vulnerable pigs and ferrets today.

My livestock vet spoke to APHA expressing their concerns over sedating the special needs pigs. Whilst I found out from my domestic vets that unlike the original plan I had discussed last week, that APHA weren’t planning on sedating the ferrets for their testing! Again, something my vet aired their concerns about as swabs up the bum and mouth and bloods, is a lot for a small animal to have WITHOUT the sedation.

It makes no sense to sedate the animals that don’t need it and it’s a huge risk to, and yet not sedate the ones who actually need it. How they can say they’re proceeding with the animals welfare as top priority??

In the end I sent 3 separate emails to APHA stating I wasn’t happy with the lack of planning and I that they didn’t have my consent to the testing today and wouldn’t have until a proper plan in black and white was given with details of any sedation intentions.

The first email they replied to but just bypassed all my concerns completely and didn’t even acknowledge them saying “As discussed over the phone, we are aiming to arrive tomorrow around 9:30 to test them.”

The other two I sent I didn’t have a reply from.

I actually had a hospital appointment too this morning which I’ve had to cancel because I’m just too worried about the situation here this morning to attend.

So I’m sat here, full of anxiety, still not knowing if they’re going to just turn up or not…

This is all so wrong and so upsetting to deal with.

10/11/2025

Goodnight my beauties, miss you all so much… 💔

10/11/2025

Pleeease all comment on Ricky Gervais’ ORIGINAL post and tag him about The Ranch needing his help!

💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟

True 👍

10/11/2025

After just starting to feel an ounce of better about this whole awful situation, now I’m so upset / angry / frustrated today..

So last Wednesday we had 3 people from APHA on site to assess the logistics of testing the mammals, primarily the pigs as this was deemed most complicated.

They told me the pigs would be snared for ease of handling because they needed a mouth swab, bottom swab and bloods from each of the 45 sanctuary pigs we have. The main group would be funnelled down to an area of hard standing where they could set up a handling pen, to make sure everything was as stress-free as possible for the pigs.

I spoke to them in depth regarding Poppy and George our two most special need pigs as due to their epilepsy, if they were stressed out even in the slightest they would have seizures so this would need to be handled with extreme care and caution.

The sheep and goats would also be sampled this week by APHA vets but as there’s less of them and they’re easier to handle, that process would be simpler.

They told me they would contract in our own vets to sample the other animals, so equines by Bell Equine and ferrets and dogs by Margetts vets.

To be honest after the visit and speaking to the people from APHA I felt relieved actually that things had been discussed and planned properly, unlike my experience with the first stage of the culling of the birds.

However, this morning I got an unexpected call from an APHA vet who is managing the case but who was not present in the discussions last week.

She said they wanted to come and test the three vulnerable pigs and the ferrets tomorrow. When I asked why the plan agreed from last week wasn’t going ahead as agreed, I was told that testing the large group of pigs was going to take time to organise and that these pigs were going to be easier to start with. Also that my vet wasn’t available to test the ferrets for two weeks so they needed to do it.

When I aired my concerns about the special needs pigs handling and having seizures, I was told if there’s issues they’ll be sedated. Straight away this rang alarm bells in my head because as every vet over the years has told me, sedating any pig - never mind an epileptic pig on steroids - is very risky is never usually recommended. I was told it would be an “oral sedation” so it could be administered more carefully. (I asked my vet about this and they’d never heard of an oral sedation for pigs and agreed that sedation wasn’t anything they would recommend.)

After the telephone conversation this morning, I felt completely blindsided. It wasn’t the plan or process we’d agreed and specifically asked for all conversations to be via email so I had record and could understand properly what was said and by who.

Unfortunately my dealings with APHA over the last few weeks have been very stressful / traumatic, constantly trying to get answers about really important matters and having to speak to so many different people, who all give me conflicting information.

After the first stage of having being told 3 different methods of how the birds would be culled, and therefore not being able to prepare myself for the large amount of blood left on site post cull, I’ve been left feeling completely misguided and misled by my APHA dealings.

I just want EVERYTHING going forward to be fully planned, understood and consented to - for the welfare of the remaining animals and of course for myself.

Apologies for the long post, I just feel I need to write all this stuff down and get it out there, as and when I’m going through it so not only can I remember it all and have a record, but also get the support and understanding by you.

💙 amey

09/11/2025

Rescue work doesn’t make you stronger.

It doesn’t MAKE you anything.

It reveals you.

“Well that didn’t go as planned,” is one thing you’ll say (probably with a few expletives thrown in) quite a bit. A lot in fact. In fact it’s hardly worth planning anything. Most things go t**s up. So it’s better to just take each day as it comes and fly by the seat of your pants, happy pants of course!

Control is a mere illusion... The thought that you have any, at any given time, is utterly false. One minute you’re calmly feeding a cow the next minute you’re chasing a pig down the lane. Your entire day can derail within ten seconds of the rising sun.

Sometimes sleep is a luxury... So are lunch and dinner. Oh and breakfast and brushing your hair. Odd socks are quite common too (or maybe that’s just me..)

You find muscles that you never knew existed from trying to stop an overly full wheelbarrow of horse p**p from tipping over. Or from trying to wade through 2ft deep mud without losing a welly.

Injuries become a regular daily occurrence and you find bruises which you have no idea where they come from, in random shapes and strange places.. you get used to saying “oh that’s a cockerel peck,” and “that’s a pig bite..” as if it’s as common as a paper cut. I’ve had black eyes from emus and toenails removed by cows.. but I expect the best are yet to come..

And it’s when one of theses animals is ill, you’ll go to heroic lengths to minimise their discomfort. Their needs come first. Above your own, above your partners, above your friends and family.. they have to. That’s what rescue is.

In summer heatwaves and on bitterly cold winter days - come rain, shine or snow - clean water, clean bed and plenty of feed. Before you have your first meal, they all eat. Standard.

They become your friends. You talk to them and they talk to you, just not out loud. They see you in all your “hedge backwards” hair glory, morning eye bags and evening mud packs and there’s still no judgement. Just love and appreciation for you saving them.

When you lose one of them, even though you know that day is inevitable, you still feel sadness, angst and emotional pain from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. And it’s a heaviness that lingers even though you must regroup and press on.

You’ll remain present no matter what because you must. There is no other option.
You’ll ask for so many miracles and hold out hope until the very last.

You cry a lot. You’ll laugh a lot. And you’ll need some really good soap!

You will, at least once, face-plant in the p**p pile and peeing outside just becomes the norm. When you gotta go, you gotta go - even if you are at the top of the sheep hill!

You’re always on sunset clock, knowing what time it gets dark and what time the chickens need to be put to bed. The earliness of this becomes a great advantage of the winter season.. probably the only advantage of the winter season.

You’ll become weirdly obsessive about the weather. And quite fearful of the wind. When it’s sunny you’re in the best mood because you can see the animals enjoying it.

You friends think you’re nutty but they love your craziness and big heart. And they know you’re always late for everything, with stories like, “sorry I’m late, I found a stray cat on the way..”

You’ll go out in public (which is usually only as far as the supermarket or animal feed shop) wearing dirty clothes, muddy boots and probably smelling of p**p. (Any dogs you meet have their noses superglued to your trousers, addicted to the smell of 500 different types of animal and animal p**p on you.) Muddy boots just become an extended part of your being. And wellies! You get excited about wellies! You’re envious of other people wellies, you’re proud of your own wellies, you’re devastated when your favourite pair get a hole in. Wellies are your life.

You can wash your clothes. They won’t look any cleaner, but they will probably smell nicer. As for your vehicle - it’s most likely a 4x4 or pick up and most likely has an interior lavishly decorated with straw and an exterior that resembles a mud hut on wheels. There’s no point washing that one.

But for all the mud in your life there’s an awful lot of love. And it’s the best type - unconditional love. For every tear in your eye, there’s a thank you in theirs. And that’s why you do what you do.

Rescue is hard - hard on the body, mind and hands! Heavy on the heart, but heavy with reward.

So should you ever have the opportunity to work or volunteer at a rescue or sanctuary, take the chance! You will never do anything more satisfying in your entire life.

Rescue doesn’t make you anything.

Rescue makes you.

09/11/2025

09/11/2025

Can’t sleep…. But the moon looks beautiful…

💙

08/11/2025

💥sign the petition here! 💥

💥Remember, remember, fireworks might seem fun... but for animals and many people they are often absolutely terrifying.
And every year they seem to get worse: louder and for more extended periods - not just Bonfire night and new years Eve..

Dogs shaking in fear.
Cats hiding under beds.
Birds startled mid-flight. Wildlife injured or forced to flee their homes.
All for a few seconds of selfish sensory pleasure.

💥Now is the time to rethink what we call celebration... and choose joy that doesn’t come at someone else’s expense.

💥They can still be colourful, pretty and magnificent without being dangerous and frightening.

💥Petitions for regulations on fireworks get shared every year but THIS YEAR even more so and they’re gaining traction. With your help signing the call to action, the government will now be forced to review the legislation and finally do something.

💥Please sign and share.. for animals and people everywhere.

💥It’s time to BAN THE BANG.

https://c.org/ZwyVnKQGwN

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/738192

08/11/2025

💥 I hope your bang was worth the bees becoming so disorientated that they can’t find their hive.

💥 I hope your bang was worth the birds having panic attacks and mass deaths.

💥 I hope your bang was worth the wild animals raising their young, abandoning their nests in fear.

💥 I hope your bang was worth the fish, horses, cows and other animals perishing from ingesting firework debris.

💥 I hope your bang was worth all the dogs, cats and other companion animals hiding and shaking with fear.

💥 I hope your bang was worth the panic and trauma it instilled in people with PTSD.

I hope your bang was worth it.

To support the animals this year and make stand against fireworks you can donate below or here and receive a free certificate:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19bA8n5dpJ/?mibextid=WC7FNe

08/11/2025

You know who you are and you're not on your own!

08/11/2025

Sorry for the delayed update guys, I’ve been so physically and emotionally drained from everything that’s been going on that I’ve struggling to keep up with it all…

The last 10 days have been awful, to put it mildly, not just of course dealing with the grief of such a huge loss, but also dealing with APHA and all the paperwork, regulations, etc.

I think over the last few days I’ve spoken to nearly 10 different people from APHA, trying to get questions answered about so many things, mostly to make sure I’m doing everything right. And different people have been giving me different answers to really important things - it’s been so frustrating and draining.

I’ve had pages and pages of paperwork sent to me, some of which I’ve had to ask volunteers to assist with because I’ve just not been able to understand a lot of it, never mind process it.

I lost all concept of what day was what with any total routine out of the window and every day has just blurred into one long time... I suppose a lot of which is to do with the emotional strain and trying to get my head around what has happened as well as what now needs to happen. It’s all so awfully complicated.

In fact I still do t think I’ve dealt with the loss properly… throughout my life I’ve had many traumatic times and have grown very good at compartmentalising my thoughts and feelings. I’ve had to survive the dark times. And this is no different.. I’ve been swinging between, putting it to the back of my mind and trying to carry on as normal as possible, for the sake of the other 200 animals that still require care, whilst also remember to think about it and “feel” it, because I know only too well the damage that burying something emotionally can have on a person long term.

As my previous therapists have said, I’m very good at putting stuff in my “emotional backpack” and carrying it around with me.. until one day, because it’s not been emptied properly, the weight is too much strain to carry any more…

So I’m trying to deal with it as best I can - if you see me out I’m managing to smile and “keep calm and carry on” - I’m very good at putting on a smile. But then when I go home, back to The Ranch and see how empty and quiet it all it, that’s when it hits me. The loss is vast. Something I’ve never had to deal with on this scale before.

Yes animals break your heart, and as a rescuer you get used to trying to piece it back together on a regular basis, but this is so much more than I’ve ever felt before. It’s a gaping hole, a huge void - nothing a plaster or a few stitches can metaphorically mend. I guess just time is all that it’ll take. Time to come to terms with things. Time to really accept and time to try to move on.

Anyway, I seem to have gone off the beaten track a bit with this post now.. to be honest I wasn’t quite sure where it was going g when I started. I just wanted to let you all know I’m still here even though I’ve been a bit quiet. And to thank you, as always for being there. And to let you know I’ll post some updates very soon to keep you all posted on what’s happening, because I know you all care so much, and THAT is what is helping me through this day by day…

🖤 amey