Well, we really can’t believe how well the homing has continued to go since the last Newsletter! Three of our long term and really hard to place dogs have gone to wonderful homes. Shaemus and Bernice are living nearby at East Keal with two old timers who are fitter than they are( dogs that is! ) and Joy and David have done a wonderful job of integrating them with their own two dogs one of whom is nearly as serious a git as Shaemus!! and naughty Willow has gone to Cambridge with another old lad and in both cases have owners who know exactly how to handle them and who have the experience to do so! And FINALLY Kay has found a lovely home. She went through a period of adjustment to being an only dog after the melee of Fen Bank, but the light has gone on and Gill and Andy now have the most perfect and loving girl- and we are thrilled for her! There is a story attached to Shaemus- We have a lady who sponsors a Fen Bank Dog and when we homed her dog we asked her to take on Gordon- within 3 weeks he had found a home- then we asked her to take on Shaemus- within a month he had found a home - now we have asked her to take on Foster – so watch this space- it will be his turn next!! Jennifer has become Fen Bank’s secret weapon in homing long stay dogs!!
Several other dogs have gone to new homes among them two who hardly touched the sides, staying just long enough to have their stitches out ( we neuter and spay every animal we take in) before going to their new homes. The quickest of these was Baby Rue who came in one day was spayed the next, and in her new home with two of the dottiest Labradors about, within 7 days! We have also homed the stunning Polo, and Bella has gone to the Revesby Estate and several others have found homes in the last two weeks both near to the kennels and farther afield. Fidget was one of the most rapid to depart to Grantham together with Becky, and Romeo ( what a lad he was!!!) has gone to North Lincolnshire. In fact it is getting harder to remember who is where and I have to confess that for the first time in 10 years I had to think very hard about some of the people who greeted me with such enthusiasm. I am ashamed to say I recognised the dogs before I recognised some of the humans! So many apologies if I looked at you vaguely at first! More of the Dog Show later………..
OTHER WORK IN PROGRESS
The new Isolation kennel is erected and Vic has sorted out the slab and also lined the kennels with polystyrene and plyboard so that they are both warm and comfy. We are now in the process of tidying up the area around it. He has also re-fenced our little paddock for porely dogs and finished off the top of the drive. Sadly Vic has been unwell and has been in hospital and we will be counting the days when this kind soul will be back among us again…… in the meantime Tim who moved to the Bungalow next door in August with his wife Pauline and their two blue girls, Lottie and Daisy, has stepped into the breach and we already owe him big time for repairing the Sanctuary Loo!! and for several other things too. I don’t think they had any idea how we would abuse them when they moved in! Well, they love Greyhounds don’t they?................................
We are also awash with Shauns- three of them, all spelt differently and all extremely handy. Sean no 1 works in the kennels daily and is adored by the dogs, Shawn no 2 volunteers and has done a brilliant job of the grass and the hedges and helped out at the dog show and in lots of other ways and Shaun no 3 is the Shaun we all know and love! Cook, ideas man, builder etc. It gets very confusing at times!
Jenny has created “ Woodhenge” in the front garden an area where the awfully tall Lleylandii used to be is now a quirky, pretty slate bedded area ( courtesy of
the old tiles from the Ray of Hope Roof) with natural wood sculptures - a total transformation of the front garden has taken place. We lost many of the memorial roses when the septic tank had to be re-sited at the front of the kennels, but these are gradually being replaced or have been moved to other areas in the kennels Our Patron Daphne Ledward has donated some Willows and several shrubs so that Jenny can continue to change the landscape when she is not mending things and looking after the dogs and latterly photographing everything that moves and a few things that don’t!
Having achieved a fair number of physical improvements over the last three months we are now turning our attention inwards to the way the Charity is run by the Trustees. We have been very fortunate in that we have had excellent Legal and Professional advice on all aspects of the Charity’s work since we started in 1997, but we have grown apace in the last two years and are now examining our working practice in the light of the 2006 Charities Act and examining procedures so that we can proceed robustly for the next ten years! It is all very exciting and we have an extremely dedicated and competent Board of Trustees but if there is an Accountant or Auditor out there who would like to consider joining us we would be very pleased to hear from you!
SPONSORED WALK
There have been many sponsored walks for us in the past 10 years including the one Jeff Bateman did last year for Fen Bank and The McMillan Nurses, but none has ever captured the imagination as the one just completed by Jeff seems to have done. We have had cheques from people who met him on the Cleveland Way, we have had cheques from Greyhound Friends who have never ever written to us before, we have had cheques for extraordinarily generous amounts of money, one kind lady sent £200.00 and many have sent £25 or more.
As a result, Jeff’s walk, which he completed faster than the 18 days he had planned it to be, has so far raised £2,000 and cheques are still coming in. We are deeply grateful to all of you who gave so generously in recognition of a very brave and kind man’s care for the dogs.
THANK YOU!
We would also like to thank the two girls who ran the Sea Bank Marathon from Friskney to Skegness (25 miles) in June and raised £250.00. We weren’t able to support them because we were fundraising that weekend, but it was a splendid effort and we do sincerely thank them . They aren’t a greyhound owners, but love dogs- and that is just great as far as we are concerned!
Another £160.00 was raised in Sponsorship by Denise, one of our Trustees and we have had several generous sponsorships towards the cost of the Dog Show some of them unsolicited!
THE DOG SHOW
Was less well attended than in the previous year’s and we did clash badly with a number of postponed events from our spectacularly bad Summer! However there were 111 greyhounds and a small number of other breeds there, and we were inundated with people saying what a lovely day they’d had. Several people commented on the “ family atmosphere and there was a lot of swapping of phone numbers etc. Our vet thought he was coming for a picnic and had a huge entry for the Fun Classes, and was late for an appointment as a result! Our Greyhound judge had a very hard time judging the huge entry for Fen Bank Dogs- and perhaps we’ll have to split the class next year! We raised about £2500 thanks to some generous sponsors covering our costs and these four events on this page will certainly help to keep us going through the winter months.
A very special thank you to the two people who gave me cards which said simply “Thank you for my wonderful dog” that is more thrilling than all the money raised, however much we need it- beautiful dogs who find owners who recognise their worth, is what it is all about, and makes it so worthwhile, and yet again I will say that we are extremely blessed in the calibre of the owners of Fen Bank Dogs!
Sandra Miller Hooker
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