We hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and you enjoyed seeing the New Year in! Here’s wishing all of you a very happy and healthy 2015.
In 2014 we homed 42 greyhounds. This would not have been achievable without all the volunteers that support Greyhound Lifeline, in the form of, our team of dedicated “all weather” volunteer kennel staff and dog walkers, our tireless fundraisers and a multitude of other people too.
There are so many things, sometimes quite small, which people do and that perhaps many people will not realise even need doing, but all those things add up to make a big difference to us and the dogs in our care.
As examples of the variety of ways that people help us we have ladies who make, repair and/or wash the dog coats, we have people and sometimes business’s as well who donate food, treats or even bake their own treats for our dogs to enjoy. We also have people who conduct online auctions and donate some of their funds to us.
The Pets at Home VIP loyalty card scheme has been a big help to us as quarterly we receive gift cards of varying values to spend in Pets at Home to help our dogs. We have received several hundred pounds worth of goods just this year through that scheme alone!
A big thank you to Morrison’s, the Southwood branch, they have allowed Greyhound Lifeline to be their chosen charity for a year now! They have a food bin where the public can donate dog food for our greyhounds. This has been a huge help towards the food bills.
We have people who take kennel rubbish to the local tip, or who take home sacks of recyclables for disposal, there are people who collect up bedding and towels etc for us to use as bedding, there are people who offer greyhound transport for vet trips, those who give of their time and fuel for home checking. There are our handy men (and women) who help maintain the kennel buildings, fences, gates, drains etc.
We also have our wonderful foster carers who do an amazing job. There are jam and cake makers, people who assist with promoting greyhounds as pets by doing meet and greets, attending events or even the simplest things like displaying a poster in suitable places.
Thank you:
Thank you for all of the wonderful donations that have been delivered to the kennels over the last few weeks. We have had donations of tinned fish, dog food, toys, treats and human chocolates and biscuits too. We have also had some very generous financial donations which will help all the greyhounds in our care. Thank you everyone!
A big thank you to Ark Veterinary Practice, who recently held their Open Day. They raised £359 on the day and have donated this to Greyhound Lifeline. We really appreciate this very kind donation, thank you on behalf of all the staff and the greyhounds in our care.
VetVits who are part of (Healthspan) have very kindly donated a large quantity of some of their products to Greyhound Lifeline. We would like to say a big thank you to them. They have also given us a discount for our future orders.
Thank you to Charmaine at Beauty Within in Verwood who have very kindly displayed Aqua Jewellery in the salon throughout 2014. She has helped raise a lot of money for our greyhounds through these sales. A big thank you also goes out to Amy for spending her time making these pieces, with all profit being donated to the greyhounds. If you are interested in buying some earrings for yourself or a friend please take a look at Aqua Jewellery that can be found on our merchandise page.
Viewings and Homings:
Homings are back to normal as of 1st January 2015. We look forward to seeing you all at the kennels, some time in 2015! If you are interested in rehoming a greyhound please get in contact with us so we can arrange a viewing for you.
Kennel Updates:
Lights, camera, action!
We have been very lucky to be chosen by the RGT trust for our branch to be filmed and it will be shown on their new updated website in the New Year. The crew came down and filmed the ‘day to day’ life at the kennels and the adoption process. The greyhounds were of course the main stars and showed what wonderful pets they can make!
Our own little ‘Reggie’ made an appearance as one of the RGT sponsor dogs. He performed very well and we were able to tell his sponsors about his condition, how it can affect his life as well as what their sponsor money would pay for. Reggie also made an unique film wishing everyone a Merry Christmas! This film is now available to watch on our Facebook page and on the Retired Greyhound’s Trust Facebook page too.
The video once produced we are hoping will be available for us to use on our website too. Hopefully it will help to show what amazing pets these greyhounds can make. We will keep you posted when the rest of the filming is available.
Available Greyhounds:
Please take a look at all the lovely greyhounds, most have updated descriptions, in our greyhounds for adoption gallery. We have some very friendly, loving greyhounds who have waited far too long for their forever homes. Could you give one of our hounds their dream home?
Our latest arrivals: Angus, a friendly, medium size black greyhound.
Mimi, a young, friendly, black female.
Homed Greyhounds:
Nando and Deena (now Tilly) have been homed.
Dogs in Foster Care:
Robbie, Reggie, Misty and Eliza are in foster care. If one of our foster dogs interests you as a potential new family member then you simply need to contact us and we’ll arrange a mutually convenient date and time for you to meet him/her.
Bedding:
We have had an overwhelming number of donations recently which means we have lots of duvets. Thank you for the supply as we get through a lot of them. Currently we do not need anymore duvets. If you are having a clear out of blankets or towels we would still be very grateful for these. In the winter months we use them as the under layer to the greyhounds beds with paper bedding on top. We would appreciate any spare blankets or towels that you may have as our stocks in these are getting low. Thank you in advance.
Stock Appeal:
Fancy having a post Christmas clear out to make some extra room for all your new gifts? We are in need of stock suitable to sell at car boot fairs or at local fairs/events. The things we need the most are DVD’s, CD’s, children’s toys, jigsaws (adults and children’s), board games and console games.
Used Postage Stamp and Ink Cartridge Appeal:
Many of you may already know that the Retired Greyhound Trust collect used postage stamps to raise funds for the greyhounds in their care. For some of you collecting the occasional stamp here and there and finally getting around to posting a collection off may be a bit of a nuisance. We also collect old mobile phones.
Fundraise for us using eBay:
You can sell items on ebay and choose to donate between 10% and 100% of your sale price to Greyhound Lifeline. If you are an ebay member you could also simply donate by using your Paypal account. For ebay members only please visit their Sell for Charity page and enter “Greyhound Lifeline” in the Charity name area. If you are a UK tax payer please also tick the Gift Aid box. Please read ebay’s terms and conditions carefully as we cannot be held responsible for any problems you may encounter. Could you sell your unwanted items and help us to buy food, provide veterinary care and generally look after the greyhounds in our care at the same time