Registered Charity No Newsletter. Summer page. page 3. page. pages 4-5 RESCUING AND RE-HOMING ANIMALS SINCE 1937

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1 Registered Charity No Summer 2013 Newsletter page 3 A garden for dogs page 8 Charity walk in Devon pages 4-5 Adopt me! page 10 Neglect on the rise RESCUING AND RE-HOMING ANIMALS SINCE 1937

2 2 3 Contents Page 3 A garden for dogs Pages 4-5 Looking for a home Pages 6-7 News: Kitten season, Kennel Break, Charity of the Year, BCDH charity shops Page 8 Join our North Devon Coastal Challenge Page 10 Animal stories: Neglected & abandoned RCN: Bank Holiday Monday 26th August 11am-4pm Tickets Adults 4 Children (5-16) 2 Under 5 s free Family (2+2) 10 Senior Citizens 3.50 Parking Free parking at Bath University Dogs Well behaved dogs on leads welcome Day Bath Cats & Dogs Home Fun y For everyone who loves animals... Kid s Zone Fun Dog Show Doggie Games Meet Tractor Ted Dog Agility Animal Zone & Digger Den, get arty at the Creation Flyball from Trade Stands Station, plus bouncy Cotswold Flyball Club Barbeque & Bar castle, magician, Music from face painting and much more Venue Bath Cats and Dogs Home, The Avenue, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AZ More information Visit www. bcdh.org.uk/ funday or call All money raised will help us save animals in need BCDH Open Day poster A5 for print.indd 1 04/07/ :04PM Welcome to our Summer newsletter. I am very excited to be the new Chair of the Trustees for Bath Cats & Dogs Home. It may be a tough time financially to care for a charity, but I am always amazed by the generous support from all of you just read the story opposite to see how everyone worked together to make our Enrichment Paddock happen. We have also been promising another cattery for a while now and, while we are still finding times financially tough, a legacy left to The Friends of Bath Cats & Dogs Home specifically for this purpose has now made this possible. Work starts on the 15th of July! We will keep you updated with progress on our online news section and on Facebook. I look forward to meeting many of you at our Fun Day on the 26th August. Liz Oldroyd Liz Oldroyd Chairman of the Trustees, Bath Cats & Dogs Home Fun Day Monday 26th August Our annual Open Day has had a bit of a makeover now called Fun Day, it will be on the Bank Holiday Monday so we can entertain you on your holiday weekend. Well-behaved dogs are welcome as always. There will be a dedicated Kid s Zone with bouncy castle, magician and a chance to meet Tractor Ted and Digger Den. But of course it s the animals that we love so enter our Dog Show (we d love to see some old friends enter the Best Rescue category!) and watch agility and flyball demonstrations. There will be a chance to get hands on with our smaller residents as well guinea pigs, hamsters, rats and ferrets! There will also be food stalls and artisan sellers to potter through, plus music from Heart FM. See our poster on the back page for more information feel free to cut out and display. We are looking for volunteers to tend stalls, tea tents and ticket booths for the day or half day. Please contact Sue if you can help sueforder@bcdh.org.uk or call Improving welfare We do all we can to make our dogs days exciting from time out in our paddocks to walks across local fields but we are always looking to do more. We are really pleased to say that a unique Sensory and Enrichment Garden will open in August. Turning a normal paddock into something special has been a personal project for Head Behaviourist Steve Hill for a couple of years now and has grown from sketches to reality through donations of goods, services, volunteer and fundraising time. You may remember The Big Dog Walk Out organised by Daniel Adams and Harri Bice in June 2012, where a small group attempted to walk all 120 dogs in one day raising over 800 in sponsorship. Staff also took part in The Doggie Paddle; canoeing down the River Avon with dogs! in September 2011 raising over There s even somewhere for doggy paddling! The Big Dog Walk Out The area includes something for every dog a raised platform and kennel, water feature for paddling and a sand pit for digging fun. All the senses have been catered for bamboo and water spouts create a gentle atmosphere to help screen off the main site noise; slabs of different textures add interest underfoot (well, underpaw); herbs are planted for scent such as catnip, hops, yarrow, St John s wort and valerian which are reported to have positive affects on doggie noses. Thank you to Kye and Zac Paradise, The Flying Pig Renovation Company helped with construction and donated materials. David Reed handmade the raised kennel and the textured stepping stones. John Hill and Joanne Chapel donated paving slabs, pond net and lent a sprinkler for the new grass. Leanne Hatt and Ty Kingsford-Smith helped with the willow tunnel (and their dog Neo helped to test it!) Bathwick Tyres gave us lots of second-hand tyres. Jane Moss Michael Authbert donated a giant boomer ball. Donations from the Paw Store. Matthew James did a large amount of the landscaping. Michael Authbert (pictured) and his carers Wayne Clayton and Roger Bailey have helped with lots of groundwork. Our own maintenance team Ivor and Brian put down the stepping stones and Ivor fitted the pond mat. CITB helped in a Corporate Volunteer Day to lay the slabs around the pond. The behaviour team Rosie, Charlie, Laura and Jackie have all helped in their own time with landscaping tasks. Vince Overton helped with the tripod beams. Verity Lacey and Greg Gundersen helping start the project up. Jane Walwork Gush from Harlequin Herbs gave us lots of plants, seeds and saplings as well as advice on what to plant. Direct Line helped in a Corporate Volunteer Day to plant up. The Friends of BCDH who donated a birch tree and lavender. David Croxton donated elephant grass. Steve Hill donated bamboo, herbs and lots of his own time. Jan Clare grew herbs for the tyres. Caroline Ingraham gave advice on which herbs to use. Join us on our Fun Day! Monday 26th August 11AM 4PM

3 4 5 Looking for a home Come to meet us we d love to be part of your family! Cosmo The old boy Cosmo is a little crumpled around the edges from living as a stray but is a very sweet lad looking for a comfortable home. His reference number is BC24930 and you can meet him in the main cattery. Gerald The independent one Gerald is a laidback lad who likes his own space but when he s in the mood he enjoys being the centre of attention and getting a fuss too. He is 7 years old. Gerald s reference number is BC24883 and you can meet him in the main cattery. Merlin The shy one Update from our Spring newsletter We are pleased to say that Arlo, Bertie, Billy & Peach, Custard and Chris have all been adopted. Parker and Bailey are still searching for their forever homes. Merlin is a shy but cute lad who just needs an owner confident in handling him so he learns it is fun! He loves curling up under a big pile of shredded paper. Merlin s reference number is BS24841 and he can be found in the Small Animal room. Tilly & Marvin The tiny terriers This brother and sister may have the odd squabble but they always curl up together in the same bed! They are 4 years old, a little shy and looking for a quiet adult-only home. Tilly and Marvin s reference numbers are BD24934 and BD24936, you can ask to meet them by speaking to our rehoming team at reception. This animal is sponsored by Busby The quiet one Busby is 4 years old and you probably won t see him when you visit as he hides away. He is looking for a quiet home with an experienced and sensible owner to help him feel secure. Busby s reference number is BD21977 and his kennel is in block E. Nibbles & Chester The friendly ones This sweet pair are our friendliest rats contrary to Nibbles name they are very gentle. Nibbles and Chester s reference numbers are BS24724 and BS24725 and they can be found in the Small Animal room. Our animals take the lead We held a training day for Platinum Petcare staff, with talks by head behaviourist Steve Hill and cattery and small animal manager Mel Jones, but they also learnt lessons from our rescue animals. Rabbits, ferrets, mice and rats showed the visitors how to handle and care for them. Nibbles the rat even managed to teach Megan, who has a fear of these rodents, that they just get bad press! Dogs welcome! Enter the Dog Show & doggie games KIDS! COME OUT & Play with Tractor Ted & Digger Den

4 26 37 A busy summer Kitten season is well and truly under way! We have looked after over 100 kittens so far, and expect to see about 350 before autumn comes. Thank you to the fosterers who look after them between birth and 8 weeks so we can have room for more here. If you are looking to adopt, please call in and speak to our re-homing team or visit rehoming/kittens. Kennel Break 14th June In June we challenged six local business people to take a Kennel Break and swap the comfort of their offices for one of our no frills dog kennels. Competition was fierce, battle commenced and contacts were called, with the group raising in excess of 11,000. Amy, Partnerships Fundraiser If you are a member of the local business community, why not reserve your kennel space for next year s event? Visit Sainsbury s Odd Down makes us their Charity of the Year We are very proud to announce that Sainsbury s branch at Odd Down have chosen us for their Charity of the Year. The staff have been very enthusiastic and welcoming and have signed up individually for some of our events such as our North Devon Walk and the Bath Half Marathon. The branch will be raising money for projects on site. Their first project is to sponsor a dog kennel for one year, they have chosen kennel E10. You can follow kennel E10 s residents on the Charity Board at the Sainsbury s branch and see how their fundraising is going. If you live locally, please support them as it will support us. Eli, Larysa and Fiona from Sainsbury s Odd Down meet Jasper the great dane cross on a visit to the Home. Our shops We have two shops which raise money and awareness for our work the pet shop Paw Store at Claverton Down and our second-hand charity shop in Frome. Out and about The Paw Store has been spreading the word at local shows and had very successful stalls at both The Royal Bath & West Show and Bowood Summer Fair & Dog Show. It was lovely to meet so many of our ex-residents looking so happy with their families. Many of them won rosettes at the Bowood Dog Show! Our stall s bestsellers were doggie treats pick-a-mix and the stag bar chews. We are already looking forward to going back next year. Rebecca, Retail Manager. Meet the Team! Ella, Retail Operations Manager Jan, Retail Supervisor Laura, Retail Assistant XX Watch XXXX Cotswold XXX Flyball X XXXXXXXX Club & their X XXXXX amazing XXXX dogs XX XXXX DISPLAY XXX YOUR X PICS! XXXXXXXX Enter the X Furry XXXXX Friends XXXX Foto Show XXX

5 8 9 Saving animals one step at a time join us on our North Devon Coastal Challenge With our base in the seaside resort of Ilfracombe, we will walk 21 miles around the rough and rugged coastline across two days. Some of the highlights will include Great Hangman the highest sea cliff in Britain the soft sands of Woolacombe beach and the spectacular views from Morte and Bull Point. BOOKING NOW! This year we are pleased to say that dogs are welcome too! Here s a recommendation from one of last year s trekkers It was great to be part of an amazing weekend. With beautiful October weather we tackled 22 miles of the beautiful Gower coast. Everything was so well organised, from accommodation to packed lunches I can t wait to meet up with everyone again, what a wonderful weekend. Did you know? The cost is 160 per person ( 190 if you would like a single room) including all meals and transport plus professional walking guide. You are requested to raise sponsorship of a minimum of will keep one of our kennels in operation for a whole month! Call or visit for more details. We love making this newsletter for you you can leave it on the lounge table and dip into it when you have a tea break, enjoy the pictures of our animals and you can share it with your family. It is made from recycled paper and when you ve finished you can recycle it yourself! If you want to continue receiving our newsletter direct to your door then you don t have to do a thing. But for those who like things digital, did you know that we can now you this newsletter? You can read it on your computer, tablet or phone! If you would like that then please us and let us know: janinekay@bcdh.org.uk xlibber/flickr Help save lives by leaving a lasting legacy Thanks to our supporters, since Bath Cats and Dogs Home was opened in the 1930 s we have been here to care for and re-home over one hundred thousand animals in need. By leaving us a gift in your will your act of kindness will ensure we are able to rescue many more unwanted and often neglected animals in years to come - Animals that without us would have no future. If you re worried about what will happen to your beloved pets after you pass away, your Will can be used to help safeguard their future too with the RSPCA s free Home for Life service. Any gift is greatly appreciated and can help save an animal s life. To find out more about leaving a legacy to Bath Cats and Dogs Home or the Home for Life scheme please contact us: Telephone racheljones@bcdh.org.uk *If you are making a gift in your will please remember to use our name and charity number Bath Cats and Dogs Home, registered charity number Rescuing & re-homing animals since 1937 Registered Charity Number Lots of stalls, food & music with the Heart FM girls KIDS! Bounce away on our amazing inflatable castle

6 10 Animal stories We mainly get animals handed over to us for no fault of their own through family break ups and financial problems. However our saddest stories - when an animal has been abused or abandoned - are upsettingly on the rise. This is something we hope to stop through education and with your support; giving a voice to pets in need. Neglected Pebbles & Sandy In April we took in a pair of elderly terriers, saved by a RSPCA Inspector from their neglectful owners. These 9 year old sisters were mostly hairless, with itchy and red raw skin. Sandy had a weeping lumpy wound that had never been checked and Pebbles could barely open one of her eyes. Under further checks by our vets, we discovered that although they had similar symptoms, they had different diagnoses. Sandy had inflamed masses on her hair follicles. She had weekly baths using antibacterial and antifungal shampoo and we also safely removed her lump. Pebbles had alopecia, an ulcer near her eye and a grade 2 heart murmur. Medication and eye drops helped her eye and soothing washes using a moisturising shampoo improved her skin. Despite their physical discomfort, the pair were the sweetest terriers with waggy tails for everyone. They are thick as thieves, never leaving each other s side so we were delighted when the Kent family wanted to adopt them as a pair and they went home in June. Such a well behaved pair they re a real treat to take out walking. They play together off the lead and have a lot of fun. Bath time is a highly organised operation! They get plenty of cuddles and strokes. Thank you so much for all your time and advice it was sincerely appreciated. What a wonderful job you do. Penny and Jeremy Kent, adopters Abandoned Warick This tiny kitten was found alone under a shrub in a garden. His eyes were sealed shut with sticky gook and, when our vets cleaned them, it was obvious that he was blind (the red discs are not a reflection but actually on his eyes). He may have caught cat flu from his unvaccinated mother, and an untreated infection quickly damaged his eyes. For a few days he had to be given eye drops every hour, going home with a member of staff for his nightly treatment. He is quiet but alert and eating well now. His other senses are astonishing! We hope he will make it. We will keep you updated on our Facebook wall. /BathCDH ALL MONEY RAISED WILL HELP US SAVE ANIMALS IN NEED.

7 Bath Cats & Dogs Home Bank Holiday Monday 26th August 11am-4pm Day Fun y For everyone who loves animals... Fun Dog Show Doggie Games Dog Agility Animal Zone Flyball from Trade Stands Cotswold Flyball Club Barbeque & Bar Music from Kid s Zone Meet Tractor Ted & Digger Den, get arty at the Creation Station, plus bouncy castle, magician, face painting and much more RCN: Tickets Adults 4 Children (5-16) 2 Under 5 s free Family (2+2) 10 Senior Citizens 3.50 Parking Free parking at Bath University Dogs Well behaved dogs on leads welcome Venue Bath Cats and Dogs Home, The Avenue, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AZ More information Visit www. bcdh.org.uk/ funday or call All money raised will help us save animals in need