NEWSLETTER JULY 2010
Walk For Life
Pictured above are some of the members of the committee at the start of
the Walk for life in March. On the back row from left to right are: Jaquay,
Newsletter Secretary, Cathy, Secretary and Sarah, Vice Chairman. On the
front row from left to right are Jill, committee member, Suzanna, Kennel
Reporter and Jackie, Treasurer. Also pictured are friends and supporters
of the Re-homing Centre.
We had a fabulous afternoon walking along the seafront in the sunshine. We walked from Peasholm Park to the Spa with all our dogs and whilst we were enjoying ourselves we were also raising important funds for the charity. Not all the money has been received at the time of writing but the amount we raised will be in the next newsletter.
The committee would like to say a big thank you to everyone who either took part, sponsored a walker or made a donation. All the money we raised will be used to feed and look after the dogs in our care until they can find loving new homes. Somebody who thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon has contributed an article below, with a little help from her mum!
Dottie’s Day Out
It all started very early one morning. Whenever mum gets up extra early
I know something is going on, so Em, Bess and me were all dragged out of
bed and given breakfast early, at least we were allowed to go back to bed
while mum went out to walk and feed our guests. The next thing that happened
this coat thing appeared and mum had the cheek to put it on ME, yes me,
an 18 week old English Springer Spaniel who is destined to be a gun dog
not a ponsey coat wearing puppy. The next bit was better, the coat came
off, thought good, got rid of that, then into the van for a ride out. Yes,
can cope with this OK, but what was in store could not have been predicted.
When I got out of the van I could not believe my eyes. I have never seen so many people in my very short life, ever! Where did they all come from? Then out came that stupid coat thing again and mum put it on me. I had to look like a fool in front of all these people. I was most relieved when I saw Bess was coming with us (and yes, she had to have a coat on too ha ha ha). At least I would have some moral support from someone I knew. We crossed the road and then met up with some other people with dogs. I thought I knew some of them but there was far too much going on for me to concentrate on anything for long. We seemed to be attracting a lot of attention. Loads of people were taking out photos and talking to us. Well, maybe it’s not going to be so bad after all.
Oh great, it was time to set off for our walk but what went seriously wrong was that mum and her so called friends decided to invite ALL the rest of the people there to come with us so off we went with most of Scarborough following behind. We had a nice walk and all the dogs were very well behaved. After so long we stopped and mum and her friends all had an ice-cream. All we got was a drink of water, the cheek of it! Then my friend Bess started performing, doing all sorts of tricks for the people watching her. My goodness what a show off she is but at least it meant I could have a quick nap during the proceedings. We then set off again and walked a little further then stopped again. Thank goodness we seemed to have finished. Bess spotted a lovely little girl in a wheelchair, oh yes she loves children, straight over there and showing off again doing her tricks. Do you know she ended up sat on the little girls’ knee? How she managed to get away with that I do not know. I would have been in serious trouble for doing something like that but oh no, Bess gets away with it somehow.
I was so pleased to see our van arrive for me to get in. I couldn’t have walked any further. When I got home I had my tea. Do you know, I was starving hungry. Em wanted to play and get to know where I had been for the day. It was all right for her she had been asleep all afternoon, I’m afraid this had to wait till the morning. The only thing I wanted to do was go to bed and I did.
Mum said she would like to thank the people that had given money to us for walking. I don’t really understand much about this but she was really pleased and said that it would help care for some of the dogs that we care for that are not as lucky as me. Bess told me she goes every year, oh no, does that mean I will have to go again. Hopefully next year there will be lots of new people that would like to join in and then I will be able to stop at home with Em and snooze the day away. Maybe not. That doesn’t sound like a day in the life of a Springer Spaniel does it?
Luminous Jackets
As you can see we are now able to wear high visibility vests printed with
the Re-homing Centre’s logo. This means we can stand out in a crowd
at fund raising events and everyone will know who we are raising money for.
We are very grateful to BDC Machinery for donating the money for these.
The dogs have got some smart matching coats too!
Cathy with Cindy and Jaquay with Angus at the Pets at Home event in March. Don’t they look smart in their new jackets!
Fund Raising
Members of the committee have been very busy raising money over the past
few months at a variety of events. We ran tombolas at Pets at Home in February,
March and April and of course took part in the Walk for Life in March. May
found us packing bags in Marks and Spencer where we raised over £400!
Jill also gave a very informative talk about ‘The Dogs’ Mind’
and we all went away with new ideas to tackle our dogs’ problems as
well as some funds for the rescue dogs. All the money we raise goes to the
Re-homing centre and we are always grateful for your support at these events.
Forthcoming Events for your diary , a tombola at Pets at Home on 10th July (This date to be confirmed) and a stall at the charity event in Scarborough town centre on 14th August. We try to hold some sort of fund raising event every month and if you would like to come along to support us we would be very pleased to see you. Alternatively if you would like to help us run an event we are always looking for volunteers so please contact the re-homing centre for further details.
Newsletter Jan 2010
Message from Sue Williamson Charity Chairlady
As a founder member of Cliff Top Kennels Re-Homing Centre, I was delighted
to be elected Chairlady at last year's AGM. I have always been a committee
member since the Charity was formed in 2005 and served initially as secretary.
I have always been fortunate to be able to keep a dog. When we were growing up it was a Collie but, when I had been married only a fortnight, my husband was given a dog by a customer that otherwise would have had to be put down. That dog was a Boxer called Buster and I have remained faithful to the breed and continue to be owned by one some forty years later! The companionship I have had from my dogs has taught me many things and brought me endless fun, love and laughter. I hope that my involvement with the Re-Homing Charity helps to bring that same sort of joy to anyone generous enough to re-home one of our abandoned dogs. The committee members of the Charity are always trying to think of ways to raise funds, and if anyone reading this has any ideas then you would be welcomed with open arms! We always have dogs to re-home and the committee work tirelessly to ensure that they are safe, warm and well fed while they are in our care. As a charity, we rely on public donations and our heartfelt thanks go to all of you who have ever helped us. I look forward to any help or assistance you think you can give us in the future.
Tale of the Hot Cross Buns by Maureen Chambers
Last year, Charlie a black Labrador retriever joined us. He had been found
straying in Scarborough and taken to Cliff Top Re-homing Centre. Having
had him checked by the vet it is thought that he is about three years old.
He joins Polly, also a black Labrador retriever, who we have had from puppy.
Polly has never been a food “pincher”; not so Charlie. Within
a few days he had taken 8 hot cross buns from the table and all had disappeared.
How many Polly had eaten
with him we don’t know. He also climbed on the work surface and took
a bun and an apple watching us out of the window as he did it!
We quickly learned not to put temptation in his way. However, one evening I went out and did not shut the larder door properly. When I returned a tray of dried fruit was on the floor, with various packets of currents, sultanas and mixed fruit either empty or with a lot less fruit in them than previously. There was also a packet of bread buns gone! I cleared up the mess and thought little of it. We discussed it when David came home but just agreed we must both be more careful in the future. In fact we laughed that having an obvious taste for hot cross buns and there not being any about, Charlie had decided that bread buns plus dried fruit is as near as you can get to the real thing so he made the two of them a treat.
The following morning both dogs were quite sick with every bout of sickness containing a lot of undigested dried fruit. This progressed throughout the day to both ends! Our response at this stage was that this would hopefully teach them a lesson but we had no idea at this stage that it could have been a very tragic one. When the sickness continued throughout the day, especially for Polly, we were becoming more concerned. By mid-afternoon I was becoming concerned and ‘phoned the Filey vets, who look after both dogs.
The receptionist said that they would usually have the dogs in to make them sick but as this had already happened she would speak with the vet and see if we should be doing anything else. Within minutes the vet was on the ‘phone telling us that dried fruit is highly toxic to a dog and we must keep a close eye on them to make sure they continue to urinate and not drink to excess.
About 15 minutes later the vet was back on the ‘phone. She had contacted the veterinary poisons unit who had advised that the dogs should be put immediately on drips to ensure that their kidneys continued to function. Dried fruit is so poisonous to dogs that there is a very significant risk that they will suffer renal failure resulting in death. At this stage we thought that we would lose both Polly and Charlie.
We rushed the dogs to the surgery where they were given blood tests. At this stage the results were normal. They were then put on drips for 48 hours with blood tests following this, and further blood tests 48 hours after that.
We were very lucky as all the blood tests were normal and Polly and Charlie are still with us. The speed at which the Filey vets acted saved their lives. We heard stories of other dogs that had not been so lucky especially one young dog that had been fed currants as training treats and died very soon after.
Needless to say the dried fruit is now out of reach in a sealed container with the larder door closed!!
Having done some more homework on what is and is not safe I have found
that the
following are some of the items which are potentially poisonous to dogs:
Chocolate,
Dried fruit, Grapes, Onions, Coffee, Tea, Macadamia nuts, Tomatoes, Avocados,
Nutmeg.
While I think most dog owners are aware that chocolate is dangerous to
dogs some of the others in the list I am sure would not feature on anyone’s
radar as far as their dog is concerned.
Polly and Charlie want owners to know that all the things on the list are
attractive to them but they didn’t like what they did to them so listen
to them! Thanks to the Filey Vets they were brilliant.
Kennel & Charity News from Rosemary Croizat Charity Secretary
We’ve continued to have considerable success with our fund-raising
activities. One of the Charity’s most pressing problems has been the
need for more accommodation for our rescued dogs. With this in mind, David
Chambers, one of our valued committee members responsible for corporate
funding, applied to the Kennel Club for a grant with which to purchase some
mobile kennels. David’s detailed submission was successful and we
subsequently received a generous donation. Siting of the kennels will take
place once the warmer spring weather arrives.
We
have continued holding our tombola and tabletop sales which have proved
to be as popular as ever. When possible we have taken Misty, the new Charity
mascot, along with us. She is a Lurcher who is now a long-term resident
in our kennels. Originally found in appalling condition, she has been successfully
nursed back to good health following extensive surgery. The photograph shows
Misty at Pets at Home together with committee members Louise and Rosemary,
and the Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Scarborough who visited our tombola stall
at the recent open day celebrating the first anniversary of the store’s
opening.
Helen Pennock, who has worked at the kennels for many moons, has decided to try new pastures and has been appointed as of one of Scarborough Council’s Dog Wardens. This has, unfortunately, resulted in Helen having to resign as Kennel Co-ordinator. The Committee wish Helen every success in her new job, and thank her for all the hard work she has done for the Charity in the past.
The Annual General Meeting of the Charity will be held at Cliff Top Kennels on Monday 22 February 2010 commencing at 7.30 pm. We are always looking for volunteers with previous administrative experience to serve on the Committee. Please telephone either Jill or Suzanna on 01723 870456 if you would like to help us.