The loveable tortoiseshell and white feline had hardly any fur left on her under-nourished body, she had a serious flea allergy problem and a cut on her side.<\/p>\n But thanks to plenty of tender loving care from AID, Daisy has made a full recovery and is now in need of a permanent new home.<\/p>\n Travel adviser Vikki Lomas explained that this will be the fourth year that she and fellow staff members at Co-op Travel in Stretford Mall have held their Christmas collection to benefit AID, which has sanctuaries at Irlam and Littleborough.<\/p>\n Vikki, 28, who has been closely involved with the collections since they began, said: \u201cAID does a fantastic job looking after all kinds of animals but their work needs lots of support, which is why we are again running our collection to provide some extra help just before Christmas.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will start on November 1 and carry on until about the second week in December and once again we are encouraging our customers to help AID by donating things such as food, bedding, new collars and leads and even toys for the animals.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are also hoping there will be donations of cash, which is particularly important to cover the cost of vets\u2019 bills and medicines which they animals need to keep them healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cA group of us at the branch, who are all animal lovers, got together a few years and decided we\u2019d do something to help AID.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the three years we have done it so far the annual collection has always gone down very well with our customers, lots of whom are animal lovers themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be setting up a big table at one end of the shop for people to leave their donations, and once it\u2019s full the charity will send someone to pick up all the stuff.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year people were so incredibly generous that we managed to collect eight shopping trollies and also a few bin bags all packed with goods over the course of about a month.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had people donating more than one thing. In fact, one elderly lady was coming in twice a week to bring in things such as food and treats. She must have been on a pension but that didn\u2019t stop her doing as much as she could to help the animals.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re hoping that our customers will be just as generous again this year and to collect even more stuff if possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Colin McCrory, Stretford Mall Manager, said: \u201cWe can\u2019t thank our shoppers enough for the support they give to Co-op Travel\u2019s Christmas collection.<\/p>\n \u201cIt always gets such an amazing response and the fact it is now in its fourth year shows how our customers continue to give year after year.\u201d<\/p>\n Catherine Durham, supervisor at the voluntary sanctuary in Irlam where Daisy the cat was taken, said: \u201cWe went out in our rescue van, which is on call 24\/7, to pick her up and found she was in an appalling state.<\/p>\n \u201cDaisy is an adult cat aged about five years old. She had been just dumped in the street. She had hardly any fur left and was suffering from a serious flea allergy. Somehow she had also suffered a cut on the side of her body.<\/p>\n \u201cWe brought her back to the sanctuary where she was given lots of attention.<\/p>\n \u201cHer fur is now growing back, she\u2019s putting on weight and we\u2019ve had her neutered. In fact, she\u2019s made a very good recovery and after all she has gone through is looking for someone to give her a loving new home.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, the vet\u2019s bill in her case was around \u00a3300 \u2013 and that was just for one cat when we have many more in need of treatment.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why the annual collections by Co-op Travel at Stretford Mall are so important and we are very grateful to the team there for organising them.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cApart from the other things they donated to us, last year\u2019s collection brought in enough food for the various animals to last for about a month.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we hope that as many people as possible will support the collection this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Catherine stressed that all potential new owners are thoroughly checked out by AID before being allowed to take their chosen animal.<\/p>\n To offer a new home to Daisy and other animals being cared for at the Irlam sanctuary, call 0161 775 2221. Go on to the Facebook page at www.facebook.com\/groups\/38467907786\/<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ceidiog.com\/pr\/files\/2013\/11\/016-ceidiog.jpg\")
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