Laura_E

Does anyone know of any good websites that contain information about up-coming dog shows? I have spent ages trying to find events in the London area so that I can hold an Oldies Club stall, but am really struggling. I have quite a lot of stuff left from the last two events, including three bags of 15kg Science Plan food which is currently sat in the living room - Tess and the cats are constantly sniffing around it! I found out about one event really close to me in Chiswick via another charities website, but they filled there spaces many months ago so I am now on a waiting list for next year. After two months of 'decision' making, Battersea Dogs Home have concluded that they won't be offering us a space at their event in September as they want to minimize the amount of other charities attending. I find it slightly ridiculous that an organisation with three centres set on acres of land, a huge workforce of paid employees, and a well established profile, would turn small charities away out of fear of competition! Anyway, if anybody does have any links that they can suggest, I would really appreciate it.

I saw a link attached to the 'Bring Bruce Home' group on Facebook that took me through to another group called 'Stop The Usage of Dogs As Live Bait For Sharks'. As I scrolled down there was information from the same group regarding the skinning of live animals in China. It noted that undercover investigators from an animal rights group in the US had filmed the torture that these animals endured as a result of the fur trade in Asia. It said that the animals were suspended by the limbs whilst their fur was cut away from their skin. Many were still alive and struggled, only to be held down, beaten and then tossed onto a heap of carcasses to spend their last few moments of life in unimaginable pain and fear. I was already in floods of tears when I read this, but then it went on to say that one Raccoon Dog, amongst the bloodied dead bodies, managed to lift it's head up and look into the camera. I think this must be the part of the film that Cher was referring to. Just seeing it written down in text was too much for me to bear, so I know that I couldn't watch the video. However, I do think that it is important that these films are made, as disturbing as they may be, so that people are aware that this type of thing still goes on in the 21st century. Too many people adopt the 'head in sand' policy. I have to say that I am one of those vegans that shoves my opinions on everyone else around me, because it is something that I feel passionately about. I've lost count of the amount of times that I have been accused of ruining Sunday dinners! There was also a rather embarrassing incident back in March when I had a little too much wine at my Nan's 80th birthday party and started calling various family members murderous bastards for eating veal! I didn't actually remember any of this, but my Mum made sure to remind me the next day (I have since given up drinking!!) Anyway, I'm going off topic. My point is that whilst this film is obviously deeply upsetting and disturbing, it might help people to make more ethical choices. I'm sure there are lots of people on this forum that eat meat, but being animal lovers, would not knowingly support battery farming. Unfortuntely, amongst the general population, there are a lot of people out there that adopt the 'it's only an animal' attitude. Hopefully this film will be able to change some of those opinions.

Well done for thinking on your feet and getting rid of him. It does make you wonder what his real intentions were, especially given the last post about the dogs being stolen in the Oxford

I’m no expert, and I’m sure that there are people on here that are much better qualified to give advice than me, but maybe a Greyhound? Obviously, just like people, all dogs are different and have different personalities and needs, but my uncle works with a Greyhound rescue and says that they are one of the easiest breeds to care for. Both his Greyhounds are very laidback and also very lazy, so ideal for somebody with a full-time job! Again, each dog is different, but in my experience Greyhounds have lovely temperaments and are very good with people, including children. Perhaps not so great with cats and rabbits, but most rescues will be able to assess this for you. I would suggest having a look on the Oldies Club website as you will be able to read about each individual dog available and see if there are any that you think would suit you. Try and keep an open mind when it comes to size/breed, as there are lots of breeds that have an unfair stigma attached to them, when they are actually fantastic and loving pets.

Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident. Hundreds of children in the UK suffer very similar fates every year, but only a few cases attract the attention of the media. I think the fact that this happened in Haringey so soon after the Victoria Climbie case is an integral factor in all the media interest. I am in no way trying to play down the gravity of this awful crime, but there are people up and down the country that will also be released after serving just a few years for committing equally as Heinous crimes, but because their pictures aren’t plastered all over the newspapers, they will slip back into society completely undetected. These two are far less likely to re-offend than all the other abusive and neglectful parents in this country, as they will be monitored for the rest of their lives. Admittedly, this monitoring will be to ensure their safety, not the publics, but such heavy surveillance will make it almost impossible for them to have the opportunity to re-offend. Having said all of that, I fully believe that these scum bags should remain behind bars for the rest of their lives- and that is purely from a punishment perspective. I also think that all cases should be judged on an individual basis. You can’t compare these two to a battered spouse that finally flips; they abused a helpless and innocent child over a sustained period of time, deriving pleasure from his misery. There’s no comparison. However, I don’t believe that prison should be reserved just for murderers and sex offenders. I worked in a prison for many years and can say with absolute conviction that the most difficult ones to manage were in for drug and gang related crimes. They were generally the most abusive, difficult, and time consuming inmates to deal with. They were also the ones most likely to assault other inmates and staff. Murderers and sex offenders generally try to minimize the amount of contact that they have with the general prison population out of fear for their safety, particularly high profile ones.

Hi James I really sympathize with your predicament as I also work full-time and found it extremely difficult to find a rescue organisation that would consider my application. Before I found out about the Oldies Club I went to Battersea Dogs Home and the Dogs Trust and was basically laughed out the door! The Dogs Trust told me that they only re-home to people that don’t work, or people that just work a coupe of hours a week. I have also had other people tell me that some organisation won’t re-home to people over 65, so it makes you wonder who the hell they will accept! Unless you are a stay-at-home parent, retired (but under 65!) or just extremely privileged, most of us have to work. When I first came across the Oldies Club I sent a very tentative email expressing my interest, fully expecting another knock back. So I was extremely shocked when I received a positive and friendly response from the lovely Fiona. It was so refreshing to find an organisation that understood the practicalities of everyday life, without compromising the best interests of the dog. After a number of supportive phone calls and a home visit, I was on my way to Lincolnshire to pick up my gorgeous boy Bouncer! Since then I have fostered Sadie and Tess for the Oldies Club, and Tess is still with me now. Tess does suffer from separation anxiety, which has been quite challenging to manage with a full-time job, but I have put provisions in place so that she doesn’t get too stressed. If you leave the house at 7am everyday you must be getting up quite early already, but even if you were to set the alarm 30 minutes earlier, it would mean that you could walk the dog before you leave for work. This will ensure that the dog gets a chance to go to the loo and will hopefully tire them out so that they will sleep for the first few hours that you are gone. Since it doesn’t seem feasible for you to get back in your lunch break, you could always employ the services of a dog walker. The cost for this is around £6-£10 an hour. It sounds like a lot, but I generally cut back in other ways, i.e. taking in a packed lunch instead of buying out. It is also worth it for your own peace of mind! If you have got any universities or colleges near to you that run animal care type courses, you might be able to employ a student for a lot less, it’s always worth looking into. You can also buy toys to keep your dog occupied so that they don’t get too bored. You might also find that a retired neighbour would be happy to watch your dog for you during the day, they might even appreciate the company. In return you could help them out with shopping etc. I think I am going of on a tangent here! Anyway, sorry for the rambling, just wanted to let you know that there are options, so don’t despair!

I agree. If the silly tart can afford to fork out £700 in blood money, she can afford to buy a muzzle. Shame on the owner that accepted it though. Surely preventing these dogs from killing again should be the main priority, not the financial implications. I would also have serious concerns for the welfare of her own dogs. She must be mis-treating them to make them act in this way. Unfortunately, as we all know, her dogs are the ones that will ultimately pay the price if any legal action is taken. She clearly has no regard for the lives of other animals, so it's unlikely that she would for her own dogs either. I can't believe that she assaulted you People like that think they can go through life doing exactly as they please, but one day she will say/do something to the wrong person and get her just deserts

Ahhh bless them

Yet another example of what a disgrace certain 'people' are to the human race A few months ago I was walking Tess quite late at night when we came across a gang of inbecilic lads that thought it was amusing to start discussing what a good 'bait dog' she would make. I think they thought that I would be intimidated, and in retrospect, maybe I should have been, but I was so overcome with anger that I confronted them. I won't print my exact words, but I think they were quite shocked that I had the 'audacity' to challenge them- and they were even more shocked when Tess started bearing her teeth! At the time I had just found out that one of my neighbours had received news that their Staffy- that had been stolen from the back garden (whilst they were in the house) at the beginning of the year- had just been found dumped by the road side 20 miles away. By the time she was discovered she was dead, with multiple bite wounds. The vet said there was absolutely no doubt that she had spent the last few months of her life as a bait dog Dog fighting is such a huge problem in London at the moment and there was a stage last year when gangs had been trying to steal bull breed dogs from my local park, whilst the owners were obviously present- which is evidence of how untouchable these scum bags think they are. Fortunately two lads were actually caught trying to make a get away with one dog, but the owner and another member of the public managed to catch up with them and give them some well deserved justice. The police were called, but they were more concerned about the fact that the owner had allegedly held these pieces of s**t against their will then they were at addressing the fact that the dog had narrowly escaped being stolen! Sorry for rambling on, I just think it's time the police started making this type of thing more of a priority. We all know that animal welfare is low on their agenda, but you can guarantee that 99% of people involved in dog fighting are involved in some other type of illegal activity as well.

She sounds lovely, and very lucky to have found you The pyometra and eye infection sound nasty, poor thing. At least now she's getting the care and attention that she needs.

Just thought I'd add a couple of pictures from yesterday. The stall (you can just about see Tess hiding under the table!) ....and in this one you can just about see my cookies before they got stolen

I just realised that I kept referring to All Dogs Matter as Every Dog Matters! Think I'm getting confused with the Every Child Matters agenda (I have this stuff drummed into me at work!)

I know that I am new on here, but I have seen the recent posts regarding Polly and Ebbi and just wanted to say how sorry I am.

Just a quick update. I wasn't allowed to run the raffle at todays event as Every Dog Matters already had one organised and thought that it would clash. However, I have managed to raise £191 by selling tickets to colleagues and friends and getting my family to do the same. I am going to do the draw on Monday at work, as I think officially I have to have witnesses to make sure I'm not fiddling the results! At todays event we also managed to raise £111.60 (very precise I know!) So that gives us a total of £302.60 To be honest, if it hadn't of been for the Every Dog Matters team rallying people for funds, we probably wouldn't of made much at all. For such an affluent area, people were very tight with their money. Plus, I was quite upset when I realised that somebody had stolen some of the home made biscuits that I had made. They had actually opened a pack and stolen three out and then left the rest. Then some women decided she wanted to return one of the pens that she had purchased for her son because he didn't like it. It cost 50p and was for charity, how tight can people be? But on a positive note, Ira did donate £20 from the raffle and also got one of her young helpers to take the collection box around, which helped a lot. So thank you Ira. We also had a few enquiries, so hopefully something will come of those.

Tesco have also just donated a £20 voucher (I think I had better retract any previous negative comments that I made about them! ) Over the last few days I have definitely found that having no shame what-so-ever = lots of donations! However, I now have a huge problem of not being able to get any of the stuff to the event as two friends who both promised to help have let me down at the last minute (one of them didn't even have a good reason ) So if you're in the London area on Saturday and see a women on the tube struggling with lots and lots of stuff, please come and lend me a hand!

I am so sorry I can totally understand how upsetting this must be for you, particularly as you are having to cope with it on your own. But you are obviously doing a great job and I am sure that Ollie appreciates it in his own way. I had a very similar experience with Bouncer, and whilst I am certainly not an expert (a bit of a novice really), I think that the only thing you can do is make sure that he is comfortable and happy, which you are clearly already doing. When Bouncer stopped eating I took him to the vets for acupuncture to help stimulate his appetite. It did help some-what, and also helped with his arthritis. He found it hard to hold himself too, so I put down some puppy training pads from Pets At Home, which helped to protect the carpet area. When this was happening with Bouncer I found it very hard to speak to anyone about it without bursting in to tears, but I was very fortunate that the lovely Melissa (Oldies Club) was able to tolerate my blubbing and offer me lots of encouragement. I think sometimes (as chessy as it may sound) it helps to get it out and lean on others for support, as you are the one that Ollie relies on the rest of the time. I really hope that things improve and, as I said before, it sounds like you are doing very well under difficult circumstances.

Here is a list of the final prizes for the raffle on Saturday: > 2 tickets for Richmond Theatre > A meal for 2 at Pizza Express > £10 Argos voucher > £10 Game voucher > £5 Pets At Home Voucher (x 2) - thank you so much to Fiona for these ) > Coffee machine > Tony & Guy goodie bags worth £30 each (x 2) > 2 cinema tickets for Cineworld > Organic fruit and veg hamper > Wine hamper from Marks and Spencer > Gift bag from L'Occitane Le Provence > Cosmetic bag with brushes from Boots > Body Shop gift set > Small hamper of home made chocolates, cranberry sauce and tea from The House Of Chocolates and Rosie and Java in Richmond So if any of you are around on Saturday please come and buy some tickets, as there's a good chance that you might win something

Hi Amy, I've messaged you about the London area position

Dwayne originally said that he would do it to help me out as I turned up at work tonight feeling a bit sorry for myself due to the lack of positive response I'd had from the shops! He suggested cycling around London and then meeting at the show for the end at 3pm (that would be about 26 miles). But I don't think we've got time between now and the 8th to raise much cash, so he would now like to do it as a seperate appeal. He has even suggested that he could cycle around the whole of southern England, which would be great!

I thought it might be a good idea to run a raffle to raise some money for the Oldies Club at next weeks event (Pup Idol - All Dogs Matter). So far I've got a food hamper from Marks and Spencers, a gift voucher from Game, a cosmetics set from Boots and gift vouchers from Cineworld (the price of 2 tickets). I also have a few places that have said that we will get back to me, but after today, (I went round to about 40 places! ) I'm not holding my breath. My friend has also donated a coffee maker and another friend is going to see if she can pull some strings at work for a big prize, but I don't want to get ahead of myself! I'm going to try and sell some tickets at work and at the event itself, but I wasn't sure if people could buy them online, or if this would be too much hassle? I thought £1 for a strip (6 tickets) would be reasonable. On another note, one of my colleagues at the youth club, Dwayne, has offered to do a sponsored cycle to raise money for the Oldies Club. He has asked me to decide on how many miles he should do, so any suggestions would be gratefully received. My opinion is the longer the better!

Mattie cetainly does look gorgeous and her new Dad looks very happy with her!

Wow, that's a huge amount. It makes my £100 takings look rather poor! You must have worked so hard, well done.

Just thought I' send some pictures from the fair. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great and the wind kept blowing all the stock everywhere. It also meant that the display board wouldn't stay up, so we had to lean it against the table and tape all of the posters down as they kept blowing away! It wasn't quite the look I was going for, but people were still taking an interest. A couple of people were quite interested in George, so I gave them all the information and they said that they would follow it up, so fingers crossed. We made just over £100, and I have to thank my Mum for a large proportion of that as she didn't take a break from face painting all day! I also have to thank my Dad and my friends Becca, Michelle and Glen for giving up their Sundays to help. I also had to add the picture below of Tess and Bobby (my cat) harrassing my Mum last night whilst she was helping me to make the doggy treat bags. Tess was after the treats and Bobby was after the string. Their little faces were so determined!

I need some suggestions please. Pets At Home have just given me tons of food, and I'm not sure how much to sell it all on for. I keep getting told that I am being unrealistic with my pricing. I thought 50p for two cupcakes was reasonable (my Mum has cooked 100 ), but apparently 10p per cake is the going rate, which seems a bit cheap to me. Pets At Home have given me a huge bag of James Wellbeloved kibble ,which normally sells for £36, but it has a rip in the bag so I'm not sure what a reasonable price would be. I also have four 2.5 kg bags of shop brand food that they gave me (none of these are damaged), but again, I'm not sure what to price them at. I keep thinking that people will be more generous when it comes to charity, but I know that isn't always the case! We are also doing face painting and badge making (thanks to Ham and Petersham Youth Club for lending me the materials), and I thought that £2 for face painting and 50p a badge was a fair price, but again, I've been told that I am charging too much I'm starting to feel like Fagan!!

I did get the parcel, thanks Amy I also managed to get hold of some freebies from Wilkinsons. They gave me some dog treats and toys, so I am going to make up some doggy treat bags to sell. I tried getting some stuff from Tesco too, but they were total as usual, not that I should have expected much from a company that supports battery farming, but that's a whole different topic!!!! I am also going to pick some stuff up from Pets At Home tomorrow, so all in all I've been quite lucky. I just hope it doesn't rain on us now!