On Sunday, Andrew and I helped to move a dog.  One of the wonders of the internet is that it facilitates the many networks of volunteers who are involved in things like transport, homechecks  and so on - all the activities that keep rescues running.  One of the rescues I volunteer for is Evesham Greyhound and Lurcher Rescue.  A boarding kennel they use is north of Cardiff so they often need help in moving dogs onwards into foster care or for adoption. 

I saw a post on Facebook asking for help with this particular dog, and let the organiser know we could help. Accordingly on Sunday we went up to the kennels, had a nice chat with the lovely lady who runs it and picked up Meg.  Meg is a gorgeous dog probably aged about 5 -6.  She had been found as a stray, dumped, and taken to a pound where she had seven days before she faced the needle.  Fortunately she, along with some other lurchers was removed to the kennels and now had found safety.  

The reason for her abandonment became clear after we met her.  On the front of her chest was a large lump, biopsied and now found to be cancerous.  Moving her was urgent as this would allow her to be placed in a foster home, from where she could have emergency vet treatment to remove the lump and then convalesce in a home environment.  

Although she had previously been a working dog, like most pointies she was  a joy to handle.  Relaxed and friendly, she greeted us beautifully and we were both smitten by her gorgeous fawn colouring (so like our darling Boola) and the most stunning dark eyes.    She travelled beautifully and it was a calm, sunny day as we headed off to Monmouth.  This is where we would meet the next volunteer who would transport her the last lap of her journey to her new foster home.  I took a picture of her in the car with my phone (see above).  

The journey went well and we soon arrived at the service station for the handover.  Meg was glad to stretch her legs and easily settled into the next vehicle.  Then we waved goodbye to her and drove home, still with her blonde hairs stuck to my trousers.  

She had her operation on Tuesday, along with her spay and a dental, and the latest I've seen is that she is continuing to recover and had her first short walk today.  When she is feeling better, someone will be able to adopt the most gorgeous dog with the sweetest temperament.  If any of my readers are on Facebook, you can follow her progress on EGLR's Facebook page, where there are regular updates on her and several other foster hounds. 

I mention this incident as really it's not terribly newsworthy ( dog goes for car ride in a nutshell) but is one that I've been thinking about a great deal this week.  In particular, it's very difficult for me to understand the person who simply dumped her rather than pay for vet treatment ( or indeed seek help and free vet treatment).  Doing rescue work is always hard because you see innocent animals bearing the consequences of human choices.  So much of what I see is rarely deliberate cruelty (though of course that does exist) but a sort of toxic combination of laziness, ignorance and unwillingness to spend money.  

Especially as it's Lent, I've been reflecting a lot on this - how much of the evil in the world is created and sustained by these chains of inactivity and a horrible narrowness of vision - either being unwilling or unable to envisage or accept the consequences for others of an individual's choices.  This applies whether it's dumping piles of rubbish in a back lane or abandoning a sick dog.   

It also occurred to me that much of my adult life has in various ways been about clearing up the mess others leave behind, and this in turn brings with it its own choices and dilemmas. 

Saturday was a terrific day.  After Christmas, I wanted to do something that would help people with the January blahs.  It's often a time of year when people are broke, the festivities are over, the weather is terrible and generally things are a bit miserable.  So, I took and adapted an idea I have seen on Facebook, the online dog show, and adapted it for our customers.  In particular, we wanted to set up a Gallery page on the website to showcase our customers wearing our coats and I felt this would be a great way of getting enough pics to get the gallery off to a flying start.  We invited our customers to send in their pics of hounds wearing their coats and bandanas, and organised these into three broad classes.  

As an incentive, we offered lovely rosettes, and for the overall winner a £25 donation to a sighthound charity of their choice.  As the closing date approached, I had to decide who to invite to co-judge.  I asked Sian: Sian also volunteers for Greyhound Welfare, which is how I know her, and she is also a qualified show judge in her own right, so perfect.  She came over for lunch first and Andrew cooked a lovely beef casserole with dumplings, just the thing for a cold winter's day.  To get us off to a flying start, we then had cupcakes (pictured) which I made, for fuel.  

The rosettes were originally due to be delivered earlier in the week, but the terrible snow we've been having changed that plan.  Andrew nipped out to meet Anna, (who made them) at a local service station while Sian and I were gathering our papers and settling in to start judging.  Andrew set up his laptop on the coffee table and then we were ready! Sian and I marked individually in each class, then added up our marks to get the highest scores.  In the case of a tie, Andrew was collared for a deciding vote.  It was lovely looking at all the gorgeous pictures and we really enjoyed ourselves.  Eventually, we got to the Best in Show and Reserve Best in Show (these were stonkingly gorgeous rosettes) and then we were done.  Then it was time to post the results on Facebook, and on Sunday I went through carefully allocating and packing the rosettes to post them out on Monday.  Today I've had several posts from people showing pics of their dogs wearing their rosettes which was lovely.  The whole thing has been so successful we are definitely going to do it again next year. You can see the Gallery page on the website here.  

Online dog shows have really taken off on Facebook.  They are easy to set up and manage, and Paypal makes collecting the entry fees very simple and straightforward.  For many dog charities they are an excellent fund raiser.  I entered one just before Christmas, run by Evesham Greyhound and Lurcher Rescue, and ended up with a couple of gorgeous rosettes, including one for our darling Boola - it was very poignant adding this rosette to his rosette hanger in the study, knowing it would be the last ever.  Callie and Mick now have their own shared hanger in the bunk bedroom - though we can split it down further in the future if we need to, and Sara's rosettes are on the bookcase downstairs.  At the moment, she doesn't have that many, but we'll move to a proper hanger if she gets a few more.  I smile when I look at Boola's - there are so many happy memories in those shiny ribbons.