Registered Charity 269668

Kennel News

16th June 2020

It's been a while! 

Our last news to you all and the branch meeting for the volunteers was in January. 

And then... 

We are pleased to tell you that all of the kennel team, volunteers and hounds have remained happy and healthy. With one unfortunate exception.

Kennel manager Terry was immediately shielded by the government due to his ongoing cancer treatment. He is due to start radiotherapy on his neck soon. He tells us that he wants us to thank all of you who have contacted him to wish him well and help cure his boredom! Of course, he cannot wait to return to the kennels as soon as possible as he has missed the lively banter, and of course the hounds!

When the country went into lockdown, it affected the way we operated at the kennels. Strict social distancing measures were put in place, including no longer allowing the public inside of the kennels. We were asked by our Head Office to travel to different parts of the country to pick up hounds who needed to be moved. We continued operating with a smaller number of hounds in the kennels and the kennel team continuing to come in each day. 

We were able to keep the dogs at a more managable number due to the fantastic support from our volunteers and families who previously homed hounds. We put out an appeal on social media for foster homes and had an extraordinary response. Around 20 previously neutered hounds went out into foster families, and 12 of them became 'failed fosters' and won the hearts of their families. 

When we were told homing could begin again, we recalled the hounds so that they could find their forever homes. 

Racing has recently recommenced at our stadium, Monmore Green. This means that we have been able to start getting in males from our trainers. We will revisit the waiting list and get girls in as soon as the vets are able to resume charity neutering. 

We are having to change our procedures due to the ongoing negotiations between our charity and the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (the racing industry). This will include having to pay for our neutering costs and a few other changes.

We are tremendously lucky to have an excellent working relationship with Ladbrokes Monmore Green. From the managers, to the trainers, to the office staff, to the paddock staff and beyond. Everyone has stepped up for the hounds with financial support. 

Our income opportunities have disappeared with the arrival of the virus. At the moment we are financially secure due to the dedicated hard work from our treasurer, volunteer Chris Walker. As soon as we are able to start fundraising and doing roadshows, we will be out there with our collection buckets. We are gratefully accepting unwanted gifts for our tombola, as well as bric-a-brac, books, jigsaws etc. 

Our bedding collection container on the car park at the track was unforunately badly damaged when a tree fell on it. Luckily, our volunteer Barry Pine has arranged to get it fixed. We are so lucky to have such wonderful supporters who help us, as this is a great source of bedding for our kennel hounds. 

We haven't been sat at the kennels twiddling our thumbs! The kennel block has been refreshed with a lick of paint. Again, volunteers Phil and Andrew took on this task while we played musical kennels with the hounds! Luckily this time around, the walls dried quickly which meant none of our black hounds gained white patches!

We have a new addition to our Supported Hounds Scheme. Chief came to us from another branch and needed immediate orthapedic surgery. He will need lifelong support from us and ongoing medical check ups for the rest of his life. The arrival of Chief coincided with the renewals for the scheme going out to our supporters, so this was an ideal time for Chloe to update the Supported Hounds page of our website. If you would like more information about Chief and the other two hounds in the scheme, please visit the 'Supported Hounds' page on our website. 

As restrictions have started to relax, lots of owners have been contacting us about getting their hounds nails clipped. In order to do this safely, we divised a telephone appointment system. Currently, they are half an hour apart to ensure social distancing. This gives time for a gallop in our field (weather permitting!). So far, people have been very generous with their donations in our pot. 

Since this system has worked so well, we have decided to stick with appointments for the future, instead of our end of month Sponsor Weekends, which got terribly congested! It is working very well and means parking on site, no queues, and best of all, our undivided attention! Please call us on 01902 291080.

That's all for now! Thank you all for your continued support. Stay safe and we will speak to you soon. 

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