SewLomax: 'Poo Bag' Give Away

www.sewlomax.com have kindly donated a number of these creative and fun Embroidered Poo Bags in aid of our 'The Big Scoop' campaign.

A cult item among dog owners, the SewLomax drawstring Poo bag is a stylish way to discreetly carry those necessary plastic bags, and even has a helpful clip to attach to one's lead.

Our Campaign:

As the dog population sits at approximately 8 million and is only set to grow so too is the problem with dog mess. For the first time in ten years a rise in dog fouling has been reported* and with 64% of people considering it to be the most offensive litter item, something needs to be done to tackle the problem. As such Dogs Trust and Keep Britain Tidy have teamed up with celebrity campaigner and dog owner Ben Fogle to urge people to not only collect their dog’s mess but dispose of it properly too. 

As a national campaign The Big Scoop will engage with children, councils and park wardens to raise awareness of the importance of responsible dog ownership. Children will be asked to show their support and don specially designed capes transforming them into Scooper Heroes and councils will be supplied with free poo bags and literature on the issue.

 About SewLomax:

My creative imagination has always been a big part of who I am and a place I love to escape to. For me, creating and making is my coming home and I am filled with excitement when I find just the right fabric or catch sight of rows and rows of beautiful wools, silks and cotton. Even discovering an old bobbin or button fills me with butterflies and glee in anticipation at what can be created from these often discarded items.

I was delighted to see a shift away from mass produced items and the return in popularity of craft and everything "home made" and therefore in 2011 SewLomax was born when I decided to mix my passion, experience and skill to create attractive and wittily stitched ethical bags which have been created by me in the UK. Each canvas bag is ethically sourced and is treated with Scotchguard™ to protect from stains, critically it also means you can wipe clean your SewLomax bag.

My selection of bags are not only fun but also stylish, and offer unique and creative ways to organise your day. Each piece in the SewLomax range is lovingly finished by hand which enables the owner to feel that they own something individual and unique. SewLomax products are ageless and timeless and appeal to many genres from the gym goer to the busy city worker! I will be adding new styles regularly to ensure my customers are kept in a buoyant mood!

www.sewlomax.com

To get your hands on one of these trendy little poo  bags, just email feedback@dogstrust.org.uk with your address and the correct response to the below question:

Of the four facts below, which ONE is FALSE?  

A) The Great Dane is the tallest dog 

B) The Chihuahua is the smallest dog

C) The German Sheppard originates from Russia

D) The St. Bernard is the heaviest dog

Please send your name address and answer to feedback@dogstrust.org.uk. We will be choosing the lucky winners at 9:00am on Friday 24th of May 2013 and will be replying  to the lucky winners via email.

We'll pick twenty winners at random! 

Good Luck! 

Do you love Dogs Trust and live near a Sainsbury’s? If so, you could help!

Sainsbury’s is looking for nominations for a local charity for each of their stores.

For the past five years, Sainsbury’s stores have partnered with a local charity. Every May, local communities are encouraged to nominate their favourite charity for this partnership. The one selected becomes the store's Local Charity and is supported over the next 12 months through fundraising and volunteering.  It's a fantastic opportunity! 

There are three ways to nominate Dogs Trust as Local Charity at your local Sainsbury’s:

• INSTORE:  Just fill out the nomination form at your local store and post it in the store's nomination box.
• AT HOME: Click here to download a PDF of the nomination form. Print it, fill it out at home and drop it into the nomination box at your local store.
• ONLINE: You can email your nomination to: local.charity@sainsburys.co.uk. Remember to include the name and address of your local store, the charity's contact details, and the reason you are nominating that charity.

We think we'd be a great fit for this initiative because, in addition to our well known rehoming centres and education programme, we do a lot of community work too. Dogs Trust liaises with local communities to ensure responsible dog ownership is promoted to all.  Our Campaigns Team works closely with local councils to ensure that as many dogs as possible can be microchipped and we provide subsidised neutering in several regions across the UK.  We also work with housing associations and private landlords to allow tenants to keep dogs in their properties.  

Entries are due today, the 14th May.  You can find your nearest centre to nominate on our website, or please use our head office address of 17 Wakley Street, London, EC1V 7RQ.

Thank you for your consideration!

Dogs Trust Loughborough... a year on!

1^st May 2013 marks exactly one year since the full team started working at the centre in Wymeswold, Loughborough.  The building was finished and the time had come for everyone to come together and begin the induction into their career at Dogs Trust.

The day began with introductions to key personnel from Head Office before the Management Team were introduced.  The team were then allocated of uniform, handbooks and lockers before getting a guided tour of the centre by Paul who had designed the building.  The centre was now alive and already everyone was counting down the days till the barking started and the dogs arrived!

Sam

Receptionist Sam remembers this time fondly, “There’s nothing more nerve-wracking than starting a new job, but knowing that there were 30 other people starting with you helped turn the nerves into excitement! I can remember the first four weeks leading up to the first dogs arriving as if they were just last week, and I am very proud to say that I have been a part of the past year’s accomplishments that all of us at Loughborough have achieved! I look forward to us continuing our success in the years to come, and thank everyone who has visited us for all their support.”

Kelly

Kelly joined Dogs Trust Loughborough as an experienced Vet Nurse Assistant and says: “The 1^st few days were exciting but daunting as everyone was getting to know one another. But it wasn’t long before we all became a team, especially when the dogs arrived and the real work started. The thing that stands out most about our induction time was all the people from head office and different areas within dogs trust and how each and every one of them was genuinely passionate about the welfare of dogs and how to help and improve this in the future”.

Ella

Ella was very excited to joining Loughborough as their Supporter Relations Officer after being involved with the charity for a number of years.  She says: “1^st May 2012 was my dream day! After being a volunteer for a number of years at Dogs Trust Leeds I couldn’t wait to be working for Dogs Trust Loughborough.

Walking through the reception doors on the first day, I was nervous to meet the new team but at the same time I was filled with excitement to start my new role. Ever since that day I have never looked back!

The past year has gone so quickly, with some great stories to tell. Every day is different, one day you could be planning the first Summer Show, the next you could be filming the dogs playing in the snow. One of the big highlights was our first Xmas Fair, which raised a massive amount of money thanks to the amount of supporters we have gained in the area. We saw so many of our dogs coming back to say Merry Xmas and of course to come and see Santa Paws, they all looked so happy with their new forever families. My personal highlight was of course adopting my blue merle border collie Moss from the centre, who I would never be without”.

Claire moved from the Glasgow centre to be part of the Loughborough team and as the Assistant Manager Admin remembers those first few weeks “being super busy sorting kennel routines, ordering cleaning supplies, food bowls, beds and everything to make our first dogs comfortable when they arrived later that month. It was really exciting for the site to finally be ours, although I was worried I was going to get lost as it was like a maze at the start! It was great to meet all of the team and there was such a buzz about the place. The best moment during this time was when our first dogs arrived, at last the kennels were full of barking, excited and waggy-tailed canine residents, all looking for their new homes. This was what we were here to do!”

It's just a matter of weeks until the centre celebrates its first birthday and with a full of fun events and activities taking place, please do pop down and join in the fun.

• The fun starts on the 24^th May with a 'wear yellow and black non-uniform day'.

• On the 27^th staff and volunteers begin an 464 mile (distance between our Ifracombe and West Calder centres) cycle ride and will be peddling away every day on an exercise bike in the reception area. 
• A cake sale, plus fun competitions such as name the puppy, and win the giant dog, will be taking place at the centre over the weekend of the 1^st and 2^nd June. 
• On the 2^nd June why not join us at Rushcliffe Park for a sponsored dog walk!

For more information on taking part in the dog walk or non-uniform day please email Loughborough@dogstrust.org.uk

 Thank You!

Meet some more of the team....

Adrian

Caroline

Meg

Nico

Steph

Kirsty

Lauren

Sarah-Jane

Sam E

Zoe

WIN a family ticket to the East Anglian Game & Country Fair!

THIS WEEKEND for the sixth consecutive year Dogs Trust will be returning to the East Anglian Game & Country Fair, at the Norfolk Showground, to join in their 10th Anniversary Celebrations. With new attractions, displays and workshops added, the event, yet again, promises a day packed with fun for all the family. The event features animals in their plenty, arena displays including sheep racing & crazy stunts from the like of mountain bike team Savage Skills, Have-A Go activities including clay shooting, mountain boarding, donkey rides & helicopter flights, canine events in the plenty as well as food tents, shopping and so much more…this is a must do date for your diary.

With its eye-catching yellow mobile rehoming unit Dogs Trust will take up position at the fair with two loveable four-legged friends from the Snetterton based rehoming centre which are looking for new homes. So whether you love dogs, have your own, or are looking for a new addition to your home pop in and say hello to the team. The team will be there to offer information on rehoming a dog, the local Dogs Trust centre, and the work of the charity, including ways in which you can get involved, plus the chance to meet a couple of our beautiful dogs.

And what’s more we have a family ticket to attend the fair up for grabs! All you need to do is just answer this question:

Which of these is not a dog breed that could be found at Dogs Trust Snetterton?

A) Collie Cross

B) Beagalini

C) Labradoodle

Please send your answer to feedback@dogstrust.org.uk with your name and address. We will be choosing the winners at 9:00am on the 25th of April 2013.

Please note: The prize consists of one family ticket per winner, which covers 2 adults (17yrs+) and up to three children (5-16, under 5s admitted free). UK entries only. Winners will be chosen at random after the closing date, and notified by email. Dogs Trust reserves the right to reject incomplete entries, so please remember to include your name and address. Your details will not be added to our database.

A Happy Rehome: The Aldcroft Family & Murphy

It all started about two years ago with a family discussion.  Should we get a dog?  A Simple question, with a very … very lengthy answer.   Our kids, Jacob (15) Grace (12) and William (9), of course immediately said YES!!!  Simple...  But what about walking, holidays, the cost, fur removal, where would he/she sleep and the dreaded poo handling situation!! Be very clear, this is a FAMILY dog and we ALL have to be involved!!

Eventually, and slowly the search began about four months ago.  Quite early on we decided that we didn't want a "breed for purpose" puppy from goodness knows where or off of the internet.  Horror stories aside it just felt a bit better to give a dog a second chance, so we began looking at some homes.  We had been searching for a long time to find a suitable mutt.  Nothing nasty, hairy, problematic, tall, short, smelly...  we soon realised that we were falling in love with just about every dog we saw on the internet!  When we did see a couple we really liked we were inevitably too late and they had already found homes.  Hunting high and low, via web sites and some desperately sad visits to the various dog homes had at times proved a bit too much.  Never the less we carried on.

Then, one Sunday afternoon, I pestered everyone to get in the car one last time.  A Lady I had spoken with had suggested the Kenilworth Dogs Trust centre as a good place to visit.  "Come on" I said "it's just down the road", I did, of course mean an hour...  Amid groans we set off.  What a pleasure.  The building was great.  Nice, modern, spacious, and groaning with people.  We had a look around, filled in the forms and were just about to leave empty handed again when Emma approached us.  She was Brilliant!  "Just give me a moment" she said as she quickly finished off doing whatever she was doing.  "Now, how can I help?"  She answered all of our questions, and queried who we were, why, how old, work, leaving the dog alone, what we wanted. She listened to us all giving our reasons and opinions, then said "Hang on I think I have a dog that could be good..."  She was off...

Two minutes later, we were being spoken to about a boy dog, Black Lab x Collie, lovely nature "been here a few days so he needs to have his final sign off but he's a delight.  Came in from Ireland,  would you like to meet him?"  I, of course, said yes, the kids said yes, Kara my wife was a bit hesitant.  "I don't want a black, boy, Labrador dog..." - Everything that was being offered.  In any case we were now en-route to see the individual!

Enter Murphy!  Ta Dahhhh!   Bounding about he was delighted to see someone.  Wagging his backside off he was all around us.  No barking, no jumping, just genuine excitement.  We had a long chat with Emma who had all the time we needed.  I looked at the family, they looked at me, we all looked at Murphy... it was a done deal!!!  He was called Alec but Emma said he has no attachment to this name so changing it was no problem.  Three days of arguments and a fair few "constructive discussions" followed, resulting in us as a family narrowing it down to just Irish names.  Hence Murphy was chosen!

We signed up there and then!  A week went by and it was time to collect our new family member.  With trepidation we collected him on a Friday.  Fully expecting carnage, no house training, and a bit more carnage - we took him home.

Here's the good bit…  Every single thing Emma had said as part of the assessment came true.  Once he settled (which took just 1 day!), he became the perfect pooch – and he has been brilliant ever since.  No problems with house training, his temperament is fantastic, he is a proper soppy unconditionally loving dog.  Yes, he has a taste for the occasional TV remote control (we lost one completely and the others have suspicious chew marks on them) and yes, he will succumb to his natural urge to eat anything we leave laying around for him (half a pack of butter and an iced bun most recently) - but that was our fault not his.  He also looked really, really guilty afterwards..."I'm sorry, that was bad wasn't it!!".

He now runs with me a couple of times a week, knows "sit", "down", comes back to his name, loves his ball and flinger to play "fetch" with, and most of all loves lounging about on his special bed in the living room having his tummy tickled of course!  It's only been a month but we really can't imagine not having him about.  He follows us about everywhere (including room to room at home) and has not once caused us a problem!

The change within our family has also been dramatic. We all have doggy jobs to perform and no-one complains.  We walk lots as a family and chat as we are doing so, even without the now apparent "essential" enhancement of an IPod!!  We are outside more than we are in (including when it snowed!!) and we all take turns with poo bags.  Unbelievable!!

Murphy has been on holiday to the beach in South Wales and comes everywhere with us. He truly is a credit to the Dogs Trust and the canine world.

I just wanted to write our story so far.  We can't believe our luck in finding Murphy and credit Dogs Trust with this - as their assessment procedure, staff training and general processes clearly work!

Please pass on our thanks to Emma and the team at Dogs Trust Kenilworth!

The Aldcroft Family (and Murphy!)