So, it's been another busy week. Last Saturday we went along to the Amelia trust (link here) where they were hosting a dog show in aid of Help for Heroes, a great charity. In fact, the Amelia Trust is also a lovely charity, running a therapeutic farm to help vulnerable young people, set in lovely countryside just the other side of Cardiff. We had a great afternoon at the dog show, which had lots of fun classes, and masses of entrants so I guess it will have raised loads of funds for HFH. Boola got a rosette in the Best Rescue class and was also provided with a complimentary bag of kibble, so Andy and Booty have been eating it appreciatively this week. Pics attached.
I had a surprise message on Tuesday - Caroline, our lovely KC tutor contacted me to let me know there was a space on her Gold course and did Boola and I want to come along? The answer was a very definite Yes, though with a certain amount of trepidation since the course is considerably more advanced than the Silver. It turned out to be one of those "small world" nights. As we were waiting to go in, the Bronze class before us were coming out, and in the group was Wendy, from SOL, who I'd done a collection with down at Ikea. She was doing a class with a beautiful foster lurcher (utterly adorable, of course) who I was smitten by.
Once we got into the class, one of the other dogs (a lively collie) was one we'd done our Silver with, and also there was Angela from Aqua Dogs, with one of her three dogs, a gorgeous blue Staffy cross (she also has two gorgeous lurchers). The class just flew by - it's an hour and a half so is longer than the previous ones. Boola thoroughly enjoyed himself and as usual, once he was home, clambered on the sofa and fell asleep.
Another dog day on Wednesday, again with Caroline, though with her wearing another hat. She'd asked for ideas on helping a local dog rescue improve its adoption rates, and like many rescues, their website was in need of some updating. I'd put together some ideas, and on Wednesday Caroline and I went there to discuss them. I was delighted with the meeting, it went really well, very positive. I was a bit nervous, since it's diffiucult for anyone to accept that what they are currently doing needs improvement but they were very open about teh fact that they had got stuck in the day to day operations and hadn't really stood back recently to look at the organisation more strategically. Sometimes, just having a fresh pair of eyes is is enough to move things along. I'm now going to be writing and updating some web pages for them, with a particular emphasis on the dog adoption process, things to consider before adoption, a walk through the adoption process and what to expect afterwards. Caroline will also be closely involved with the process - her experience will be invaluable. While we were there, it was fascinating and lovely to meet the various dogs, including an entrancing litter of puppies (though they had a heartbreaking story) and I was absolutely bowled over by the most gorgeous brindle lurcher bitch. I'm really looking forward to this - it will be great to think the website can make a difference to the rescue.
Continuing the dog theme, I've also been busy this week collating Freedom of Information requests on stray dog figures for my Houndmistress website (link on sidebar). As far as I know, I'm the only person who's really looking at this, in this level of statistical detail. None of the big charities (like RSPCA, or Dogs Trust are, since they take a UK wide view, and just publish overall stats on numbers of stray dogs, without the extra detail I have). None of the Welsh dog charities do - most of them are simply too busy on the day to day business of looking after dogs. More worryingly, WG aren't looking - I think they should be. And of course local government itself could and should (but doesn't) be doing some comparative work on data. Not a single Welsh Council actually publishes any statistical information on stray dogs and in most cases the web pages are shockingly inadequate. For instance, Cardiff, which is actually one of the best authorities, doesn't tell you how much the charges are to get a stray out of kennels, what payment methods are acceptable and where you should pay.
More importantly, the figures I've been compiling include the depressing statistic of how many dogs are killed each year in Wales by local Councils. The first thing to say is that there is an enormous variation - some Councils are killing none - others are killing many. What I'm working on in particular is the kill rate for seven day dogs. In the UK, stray dogs are taken to a pound (either run by the Council itself, like Cardiff Dogs Home) or run on their behalf by a private kennel. The stray has seven days in which its owner can come and reclaim it, on payment of a fee, vets bills etc. Around 40% of dogs are reclaimed by their owners in this seven day period. After seven days, the dogs then pass into the ownership of the local authority. At this point, the Council could quite legally kill them all, but most Councils do make some effort to rehome dogs, either themselves or often working in partnership with local charities and rescues. The kill rates for these seven day dogs is what I am particularly concerned about. I still haven't had all the figures back but on what I've got so far, a seven day dog in the care of the ratepayer will face between a one in six and one in three chance of a date with a needle. In the 21st Century, I don't think that's acceptable.
As figures for individual Councils come back, I am posting the results on the website and working on an overview. My plans are to submit the relevant stas to the worst offending Councils with a request for action and to share them with local charities. My longer term goal is for Councils to officially make themselves "kill free" - that strikes me as a good aspiration. Of course, I should stress that I recognise that there will always be a need for having dogs put to sleep in certain, very tightly prescribed circumstances - severe illness or injury, or the very rare cases when a dog has suffered major psychological trauma that cannot be rectified. But in general, many of these dogs could and should be given a second chance.
I had a surprise message on Tuesday - Caroline, our lovely KC tutor contacted me to let me know there was a space on her Gold course and did Boola and I want to come along? The answer was a very definite Yes, though with a certain amount of trepidation since the course is considerably more advanced than the Silver. It turned out to be one of those "small world" nights. As we were waiting to go in, the Bronze class before us were coming out, and in the group was Wendy, from SOL, who I'd done a collection with down at Ikea. She was doing a class with a beautiful foster lurcher (utterly adorable, of course) who I was smitten by.
Once we got into the class, one of the other dogs (a lively collie) was one we'd done our Silver with, and also there was Angela from Aqua Dogs, with one of her three dogs, a gorgeous blue Staffy cross (she also has two gorgeous lurchers). The class just flew by - it's an hour and a half so is longer than the previous ones. Boola thoroughly enjoyed himself and as usual, once he was home, clambered on the sofa and fell asleep.
Another dog day on Wednesday, again with Caroline, though with her wearing another hat. She'd asked for ideas on helping a local dog rescue improve its adoption rates, and like many rescues, their website was in need of some updating. I'd put together some ideas, and on Wednesday Caroline and I went there to discuss them. I was delighted with the meeting, it went really well, very positive. I was a bit nervous, since it's diffiucult for anyone to accept that what they are currently doing needs improvement but they were very open about teh fact that they had got stuck in the day to day operations and hadn't really stood back recently to look at the organisation more strategically. Sometimes, just having a fresh pair of eyes is is enough to move things along. I'm now going to be writing and updating some web pages for them, with a particular emphasis on the dog adoption process, things to consider before adoption, a walk through the adoption process and what to expect afterwards. Caroline will also be closely involved with the process - her experience will be invaluable. While we were there, it was fascinating and lovely to meet the various dogs, including an entrancing litter of puppies (though they had a heartbreaking story) and I was absolutely bowled over by the most gorgeous brindle lurcher bitch. I'm really looking forward to this - it will be great to think the website can make a difference to the rescue.
Continuing the dog theme, I've also been busy this week collating Freedom of Information requests on stray dog figures for my Houndmistress website (link on sidebar). As far as I know, I'm the only person who's really looking at this, in this level of statistical detail. None of the big charities (like RSPCA, or Dogs Trust are, since they take a UK wide view, and just publish overall stats on numbers of stray dogs, without the extra detail I have). None of the Welsh dog charities do - most of them are simply too busy on the day to day business of looking after dogs. More worryingly, WG aren't looking - I think they should be. And of course local government itself could and should (but doesn't) be doing some comparative work on data. Not a single Welsh Council actually publishes any statistical information on stray dogs and in most cases the web pages are shockingly inadequate. For instance, Cardiff, which is actually one of the best authorities, doesn't tell you how much the charges are to get a stray out of kennels, what payment methods are acceptable and where you should pay.
More importantly, the figures I've been compiling include the depressing statistic of how many dogs are killed each year in Wales by local Councils. The first thing to say is that there is an enormous variation - some Councils are killing none - others are killing many. What I'm working on in particular is the kill rate for seven day dogs. In the UK, stray dogs are taken to a pound (either run by the Council itself, like Cardiff Dogs Home) or run on their behalf by a private kennel. The stray has seven days in which its owner can come and reclaim it, on payment of a fee, vets bills etc. Around 40% of dogs are reclaimed by their owners in this seven day period. After seven days, the dogs then pass into the ownership of the local authority. At this point, the Council could quite legally kill them all, but most Councils do make some effort to rehome dogs, either themselves or often working in partnership with local charities and rescues. The kill rates for these seven day dogs is what I am particularly concerned about. I still haven't had all the figures back but on what I've got so far, a seven day dog in the care of the ratepayer will face between a one in six and one in three chance of a date with a needle. In the 21st Century, I don't think that's acceptable.
As figures for individual Councils come back, I am posting the results on the website and working on an overview. My plans are to submit the relevant stas to the worst offending Councils with a request for action and to share them with local charities. My longer term goal is for Councils to officially make themselves "kill free" - that strikes me as a good aspiration. Of course, I should stress that I recognise that there will always be a need for having dogs put to sleep in certain, very tightly prescribed circumstances - severe illness or injury, or the very rare cases when a dog has suffered major psychological trauma that cannot be rectified. But in general, many of these dogs could and should be given a second chance.
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