The Farmhouse
Fen Bank, Friskney
Lincolnshire
PE22 8PS
Tel: 01754 820593
Tel / fax: 01472 822979
Newsletter
Summer 2008 The Archives
There have been many comments recently about “Love being in the air at Fen Bank” and there is always a lot of love at Fen Bank- but usually for the dogs! However since our last Newsletter, Jenny who runs the Sanctuary on a daily basis has married Shawn Miles and elsewhere in the Newsletter there are some pictures of a memorable Greyhound Wedding which many of our owners brought their dogs to as a surprise for her when she came out of the church! One of them (Sir Fosse) even peed on her dress- but being Jenny she forgave him!!! We are of course delighted for them and wish them a long and happy life together both at Fen Bank and wherever and whatever they choose to do in the future. We hope they will stay with us for a very long time!!!
Sandra too has moved after meeting a lovely man when homing two dogs. She continues to be closely involved with the Sanctuary and as always, the dogs come first! Fortunately her new partner fully appreciates that and puts up willingly with her long absences from home. To complete the picture, Shaun who has been known to many of our supporters over the past ten years has now moved on and is to be married again later this year to the new lady in his life. So yes I suppose Love has been in the air!
However in the midst of all this we have also made some changes at Fen Bank, the house has some new windows because if there had been a fire everyone would have fried as there were only top openings and we were breaking the law! We were very fortunate to find a friend of Sandra’s new partner who put them in for almost nothing, just as well really because donations are seriously down this year- so if anyone can organise a coffee morning or a sponsored activity for the dogs we would be extremely grateful!! Even a few pounds would help- and the dogs would bless you! As would we…….
The other activity has been generously sponsored by Mr and Mrs. Hazell who have Ben and Ellie, and is slightly less pleasant in that for the first time in 10 years we have had a noise complaint from a not very near neighbour who regularly stands in his garden shouting and threatening to shoot the dogs! As a result we have had to erect a huge fence to block out the little barking that occurs at feed and walk times and the Hazell’s generously provided miles of timber to help us do just that. We are also indebted to Mick, Ditch and Adam from North Sea Camp who have helped Jenny and Tim erect the noise barriers and we now wait to see what happens next. We have had two visits from the Council who are at a loss, as are we, to understand what the man is complaining about – and have had to notify the police concerning the threats made. Hopefully the fence will solve the problem- if there is one, since no one else has ever complained in ten years! Those of you who visit Fen Bank will attest to the fact that the dogs are not noisy and on the Council’s two visits you could hear a pin drop! And it wasn’t engineered- just Fen Bank operating as usual!
NEWS OF THE DOGS
It was wonderful to home
Bluebelle Shadow
earlier in May- we had her for over a year and she has found a wonderful
home in
DUKE another of our long stay dogs has also found a brilliant home as has Flyte who came in with him a year ago.
THREE sadnesses were the deaths of Misty whose
owner Shirley Stewart was devastated to lose her to liver failure at the
age of ten only two weeks after she won first prize in the Fancy Dress
at the Phoenix Dog Show in Chapel St. Leonards. She was a dear dog and
ill as she was tried to rise and greet me as I took her to the vets to
be put to sleep. When we got there we had to wait so she was able to lie
in the van in the sun and watch the sheep in the field until the vet
came. She had the very peaceful end this lovely girl deserved. On the
same day two days later we were notified of the death of
Shaemus
and Zenna
(Hawain Heart). Both owners are devastated and we are deeply saddened as
they were both great characters and Kennel favourites throughout their
long stays at Fen Bank. Shaemus was particularly lucky to find a very
special home as he was a very fiery dog and his new owners were
absolutely wonderful in the way they prepared their existing two
greyhounds to integrate with him and Bernice. He died of Bone Cancer at
just over 7 which is a very cruel twist of fate after just less than a
year in a perfect home. Zenna developed very serious Epilepsy soon after
Marian Fox took him on. And I do not believe that there is anywhere in
He adored her and she gave up her life to keeping him stable and spent a fortune on vet bills to give him the best possible chance of life with this wicked illness- sadly after two years he had a series of serious fits which ended his life. We are wordless to express our thanks to these very special people who took on a huge task and did it with love and dedication- Fen Bank is indeed fortunate in the quality of homes we find and we daily give thanks to all our owners who are so dedicated to these lovely dogs.
Another special dog is BRUCE now fully recovered from his wrist plating operation and waiting for a home. He is now 4 and if the other three dogs we have had plated in the last tem years are anything to go by, will have no further vet bills associated with his operation. Tim and Pauline who have been specialling him since Christmas are deeply attached to him, but he is one too many for them and we need to find him a home. They will be delighted to tell you what a super dog he is, good with everything except cats and rabbits (!) and a beautiful fawn boy to boot! Tim has written about him in the main magazine.
It’s a bit like Henry Ford at the moment you can have any dog as long as it is black! But we do have other colours too and some lovely boys who are aching for a home so look at the website for a fear of greyhounds- here are just a few-
TOBY – a big black loving soppy date of a dog
SNOWEY- a little black bitch with white snowflakes- very sweet
CINDERS – Jenny has done a fabulous job in giving this little coal house dog the confidence to enjoy life for the first time at the age of five and she is now ready for a home.
CHARLIE - a beautiful light brindle boy now turned round and well behaved and ready for a home- a man on his own would suit him well, as he is a one man dog but will live with a bitch.
ANDY and ANGELICA two more Irish dogs who are very loving
DANNY a black boy who was a thug but thanks to “ little” Sean ( to distinguish him from all the other Shauns littering Fen Bank!) who has integrated him with his Husky and little cross breed girl – is now fine with other dogs and ready for a home.
SPOTSY a dear 7 year old black and white boy who had a terribly cruel start in life and has had to be given up by the owner who rescued him – a beautiful boy whose only flaw is that he is terrified of children- we believe it was they who broke his ribs and left him with a punctured lung to die on an Irish roadside from whence he was rescued five years ago. Who can blame him for being afraid? His owner is now pregnant and has had to bring him to us- so please give him a thought he has been much loved and is lost in kennels.
GUMDROPS a lovely blue boy rescued by Sandra’s partner when he noticed that his jaw had been broken and no one wanted him. It was an old injury and cannot be repaired, but it gives him no problems and he is in lovely condition, very affectionate and aching for a home of his own.
MAX a black and white boy who was taken back from a home where he was not being well treated and brought to us. He is a big softie and will make a lovely family pet. He shows no scars from his previous experience except that he is unconfident in new situations, but by no means shy.
MAX 2 a black boy we have had for some time as he was a kittle keen but is now turned around and ready for a home.
BUSTER and BREEZEY are still with us – will now one take on this lovely pair?
KATIE with only three teeth. She is a gorgeous fawn girl rising 5 who was Sandra’s Rottie’s kennel mate and frequently came indoors with him. She has perfect manners and will make a super pet.
Do look at the web site- homing has been very slow this year and we have some really beautiful dogs waiting for a home with YOU!!!
NEWS OF THE CHARITY
OUR DOG SHOW this year is SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 7th at the usual venue NEW LEAKE VILLAGE HALL AND FIELD starting at 11.00 with GREYHOUND and FUN CLASSES and as usual something for everyone. A special feature is our midday
AUCTION of
GREYHOUND COLLECTIBLES
Which
include Sandra’s personal collection of statues as well as pictures,
Greyhound Trophies and unusually two prints from the
All proceeds are to the Sanctuary - cash or cheques will be very welcome - especially for some of the rarer items! which do carry a reserve.
WE urgently need volunteers to help us set up and take down the Show
As well as to help run the Fen Bank stalls- so if you can help even for a couple of hours please ring Sandra on 01472 822 979 preferably in the evenings –Your call will be very welcome! CAKES and BOTTLES are also urgently required please! - or the funds to supply them if you live too far away!
As funds are down this year we are hoping for a bonanza event so that the dogs can continue to eat!
Our other main Fundraising event the Christmas Party will be held in December. Probably the first Sunday- but this has yet to be confirmed
At the same venue- and those lovely Swarovski crystal collars will be available- regrettably the price has gone up by 10% on last year – but the dogs do look stunning in them!
We will not be having FEN BANK Christmas Cards this year as funds don’t permit the huge outlay involved – but we will have some of last year’s lovely cards as well as some from other sources. We have yet to make a decision on Calendars at the Trustees Meeting in August.
We have been asked by Annie Boddy of Greyhound Action to support her 50th birthday Sponsored Parachute event in aid of Greyhound Action. Annie does a lot for the most endangered dogs and this is particularly brave of her as she has never been up in a plane before
So if you would like to recognise her commitment to the dogs, please send a cheque however small made out to Greyhound Action and we will pass them on to her!
We would like to thank Christine Mason of Canine Friends for including us in her raffle which raised over £300.00 for the dogs and also Anne Phillips whose cake making activities in the wilds of Aberdeenshire have raised with her friends, a thousand pounds this year! Also to Rose and Gordon Shadbolt who have run two shows for us this year and with the donations from their car boots have raised well over £700 for us this year and also Melanie Smith and Sharon Lane who send regular and generous cheques from the Isle of Man and all of you who have made a regular commitment each month as well as all who have sent cheques this year. We value every penny we receive which is carefully spent to give our dogs the best chance of a good home.
We would also like to thank those who have donated goods to our shop,
which under Wendy’s careful eye continues to be a vital source of funds for the dogs
Sandra Miller and the Trustees