2012. A summary.

Katie says thank you!

This year has been one of our busiest to date. In the last 12 months we have rehomed/rescued in the region of 700 dogs.

Our  vets bills have totalled a colossal £23,000 this year alone. Although we try not to use kennels and get all of our dogs into comfy foster homes our kennel costs have been a massive £28,000.

We couldn't have done any of it without you and would like to say a big thank you to all of you lovely volunteers who have fundraised, donated, fostered, homechecked, adopted, helped with transport runs... The list is endless.

Pulling together as a team we have managed to save so many dogs and although we have had many ups and downs this year, we are ready to face the challenges that the new year will almost certainly bring.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Keep your dog safe this Christmas

Morrisons supermarket caused outrage with their Christmas advert featuring a dog taking a Christmas pudding from a little boy. Although it clearly shows the dog just leaving the pudding in a plant pot it was thought that perhaps pet owners would be encouraged to feed their dogs Christmas pudding without knowing the risks.

As many of us are already aware the dried fruit in the pudding is highly toxic to dogs. Many owners have come forward with horror stories of their beloved pets consuming just a small amount of raisins and not living to tell the tale.

Please take care - none of us want to be calling the emergency vets over the holidays.

Christmas show 2012

Thank you to all those who supported us. We raised a fantastic £720. Here are some pictures:

The doggy stall

Peppa Paws sets up

Neal's Yard

Rhi's Beads and JV Crafts

Little Pixie

Very special home required

Breed: Whippet
Sex: Male
Age: 24 weeks
Dog Friendly: needs to be an only dog
Cat Friendly: yes
People Friendly: Yes
Child Friendly: Yes
House Trained: See description
Food: Dry puppy food. 
Vaccinated: Yes
Flea and worm treatment: Yes
Neutered: No, but this will be a condition of adoption at 6 months
Micro-chipped: Will be before rehoming
Fostered: South Wales

About Asha
Asha has his own section you can read by clicking here.

The extremely concise version is this; Asha came into Four Paws care at 9 weeks old. He was taken to be put to sleep at a vets, as he had hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain).  The vet called Four Paws, and the rest is history. Asha's prognosis wasn't great, and he had very little vision, which came and went.  He came into foster with us at 10 weeks old, where he immediately had everyone falling in love with him.

Asha had a major operation on October 1st which involved fitting a shunt which runs from a catheter into his skull, the tubing goes (under the skin) down his neck, and along his left side. The shunt takes excess fluid from around Asha's brain. He recovered brilliantly.  

He is having a major check up at Langford Vet hospital on December 18th, which should give a good idea of how he's doing, but all seems well with the op.

Asha is very typical of whippets! He is quite cat-like and quiet. He gets cold easily, and needs lots of cuddles. Lots. All the time is fine by him.  He likes walks (not massive walks) and is gentle as a lamb on his lead. Because of his tubing Asha cannot ever wear a collar it could put pressure on his brain), so he has a harness for walking, and nothing in the house.  

Our little boy loves taking him for a walk as he can hold his lead and Asha prances along very gently next to him. He is great off lead, and comes back nicely.  He runs just as fast as any other little whippet, and loves chasing and picking up leaves.

We haven't tried him loose with other dogs yet, more on that in a second. He loves his food, and will sit very nicely for you if you have a treat for him. He is ever so loving and sweet, and his idea of heaven is to be able to have a blanket over his back and be snuggled up to you on the sofa.He sleeps in his bed on his own in the kitchen at night with no fuss.  He is fine when we leave him to go on school runs etc, but he really needs someone who is home.  A home with a retired person/people with no other dogs would be perfect.He walks around in circles when he needs to go to the toilet. He will go to the back door, but if it is shut, he doesn't mind going in the kitchen!  We let him out regularly during the day, especially after meals, and this means accidents aren't as often as they may be. 

There are a few quirks he has as a result of his condition.  The reason Asha needs a quiet, calm home, where he can have a quiet routine are because of these.  If you have a busy family, with lots of coming and going, he really isn't the pup for you.  He hates any kind of disruption, at times when our house is busy (getting ready to go out for school) he prefers to be quiet in his bed. Otherwise he paces frantically, rubbing against everyone's legs and gets distressed.  The same happens in busy places. We sometimes walk him to school to collect the children, but he found all the activity around the school very distressing, so one of us walks him away from the school while the other collects the children!  


He paces like mad when he is worried. Whenever we are cooking, he paces and winds through our legs non-stop. Something to get used to!  He sleeps a lot, preferably against a warm lap.Asha likes other dogs and children, however i think the perfect home will have no dogs, and perhaps only visiting children.  He doesn't really know how to play with other dogs and doesn't know when to stop pestering them, and gets horribly distressed (screaming) if they try and play with him when he doesn't want to.   He also doesn't like competing for cuddle space! He is fine with our cats, and happily cuddles next to Pixel, our giant tabby.   When Asha wants attention, he sticks his legs straight out and paws you.  If you try and type on a laptop when he's next to you, he will pull your hand away constantly to cuddle him properly. 

Apart from avoiding his shunt being moved (we get used to asking strangers not to rub his head on walks!) and getting used to his leg-winding, his condition doesn't require any day to day special treatment.  He really is the easiest, quietest, sweetest little fella, cuddles, his grub and a walk is all he wants.  He gets loads of attention when out, partly because of his wardrobe of jumpers and coats ;-) But mostly because he trots so prettily, it's like taking Bambi for a walk!  

He loves a fuss individually, and doeesn't mind a couple of people giving him a pat when he's out and about, but not sudden grabbing, and doesn't like crowds. He doesn't get nasty, just deeply distressed, and it's very obvious he wants to be away.

It has been an absolute priveledge to have been part of Asha's life. Seeing him transformed from the tiny, blind, swollen headed baby to the handsome, sighted boy we have now, who takes joy in everything, is amazing.  Someone will end up with a fantastic little companion.

Because Asha is such a special case, we're looking at his home being somewhere between long term foster and adopted.  Four Paws would remain involved to offer support and cover his medical costs indefinitely. If you think your lap would be a happier place with a warm and deeply loving whippet (and frankly, whose wouldn't), please complete the adoption form, which along with our procedures can be found here:http://www.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/adoption_procedures.htm  

Christmas Bazaar

We at Four Paws Animal Rescue central would like to say a big thank you to all of you who took the time to browse our Winter Auction items and place a sneaky bid or two. There were some great lots including holidays in the UK and abroad.

It looks like we have raised over £1,100 so again, thank you for your support. At this time of year we are stretched to capacity - although this year it seems to have been a similar story whatever month we've been in.

Other welcome news is that Pets at Home have recently agreed to donate £150 of their stock to help our rescue dogs. Thank you so very much PAH, the dogs will appreciate it.

Now, for those of you living in the South Wales area we are holding our FPAR Christmas bazaar this Saturday where you can buy homemade cakes, handcrafted cards, aromatherapy products and even get your picture taken with your favourite pooch.

Come along and have a look. We will have a parade of foster dogs who are looking for their forever homes as well as a chance for you to grab yourself something lovely...

Appeal for funds or volunteers

EMERGENCY/TEMPORARY FOSTER HOMES

THIS year hasn’t been an easy one for most Rescues and now with Christmas on us it is our busiest time of year when many people are dump

ing their dogs ahead of the holidays. Our kennels will be full to bursting, in addition many rescues close their doors during this period which adds to the pressures on us. As well as trying to fund these extra kennels which cost us £6 per kennel per dog, we need to free up as many spaces as possible by moving dogs into foster homes.

We understand that fostering is not possible for everyone due to work commitments but could you open up your home to a dog temporarily over the Christmas holidays? If you can we’d love to hear from you http://www.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/page3.html

Four Paws Animal Rescue are now working with three council pounds, saving poundies after they have served their statutory seven days. On top of this we try to help the public by taking in there dogs - without our intervention some of these dogs would be killed. 

TRANSPORT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

As many of you know we work closely with a number of larger rescues who help us by taking some of our pound dogs for re-homing. This is a positive thing for us as it helps us to save more dogs, and also for the dogs who have increased exposure and quickly go on to find their forever homes. We need help with transport runs and would like to put together a list of driving volunteers. A vehicle will be provided and you will need to have a full, clean driving licence and be over 21 years of age. If you can help could you let us know which day(s) you could be available we will contact you and arrange for you to go along on a run with an experienced driver to get a feel for what's needed.

APPEAL FOR FUNDS

Our funds have been stretched to the limit this year with a number of dogs needing expensive and life-saving surgery and to date this year we have spent £25,000 on vets bills and £22,000 on kennel bills providing emergency boarding for the poundies that have completed their seven days and are waiting for rescue or foster space. 
We have also seen a massive increase in the numbers of people needing to hand their dogs in to us for many different reasons, but increasingly for financial reasons and also in the number of calls we get from local vets who have a dog, sometimes healthy and sometimes needing expensive medical treatment, in their surgery which has been taken there to be put to sleep by the owners who can’t cope with the dog for a variety of reasons. We always help in these circumstances and fund any treatment needed.

It costs us on average £250 to rehome a dog including neutering, chipping, vaccinations, flea/worming treatments plus any vet treatment needed while the dog is in our care which means £100 has to be raised to help fund every re-homing.Every pound raised or donated goes directly towards helping the dogs in our care, we don’t have any paid employees or high administrative overheads so you can be sure any money you donate is put to very good use.

*PLEASE DONATE IF YOU CAN* using any of the following methods:
You can also donate via text - just text FPAR22 £5 (or other amount) to 70070
We can also accept donations by bank transfer - please ask for account details.
This year so far we have rescued/rehomed over 600 dogs and given then a future. We couldn’t have done it without you, our amazing volunteers and supporters, so a big thank you from all at FPAR.You can also donate via text - just text FPAR22 £5 (or other amount) to 70070We can also accept donations by bank transfer - please ask for account details.
This year so far we have rescued/rehomed over 600 dogs and given then a future. We couldn’t have done it without you, our amazing volunteers and supporters, so a big thank you from all at FPAR.We can also accept donations by bank transfer - please ask for account details.This year so far we have rescued/rehomed over 600 dogs and given then a future. We couldn’t have done it without you, our amazing volunteers and supporters, so a big thank you from all at FPAR.This year so far we have rescued/rehomed over 600 dogs and given then a future. We couldn’t have done it without you, our amazing volunteers and supporters, so a big thank you from all at FPAR.

You can either donate via justgiving -http://www.justgiving.com/fourpawsanimalrescue 

Christmas gift guide

Stuck for a Christmas gift for someone who has everything?

Here is the FPAR ideas guide for presents!

One of our dedicated volunteers is a little bit crafty, well more than a little bit, she is really rather clever and she has these handcrafted 'Cwtchers' for sale at £15 each (various colours available):-

For information on them and how to get in touch with her in order to purchase one please visit http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=10257.0

________________________________________________________________

Have you seen our professionally shot FPAR calendars yet? At £7.50 they are available at all of our events and online. 

For more information and details on how to order please visit http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9996.0

          _____________________________________________________________

What about a warm and cosy fleece or other items of clothing to help spread the word about the great work of FPAR.

To order, click here to visit the website and choose your items.

http://www.waggitt.co.uk/acatalog/Four_Paws_Animal_Rescue_South_Wales.html

     ___________________________________________________________

The FPAR wristband is a great stocking filler and at £2 each, how can you afford not to!

To order, please visit http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9605.0

    ______________________________________________________________

Not forgetting our four-legged friends, which is what we are all about, why not treat them to a new bed at Christmas? Handmade, affordable and very, very comfortable.

Visit  http://www.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/dog_beds.html   for more information

      ________________________________________________________

For handcrafted cards another of our volunteers has put together her own page and is taking orders now:

She may even design a Christmas card for you if you speak nicely to her!! For more information visit
http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9721.0

___________________________________________________________

Feeling peckish? Wondering how you are going to make it to the next even without one of Dave's yummy bakes? Gluten free options are also available.

Please visit  http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9612.0  for details on how to order.

Winter Auction 2012

In case you hadn't heard we are almost ready for our winter auction. It is open for viewing now and once you are registered on our online forum you will be able to place your bids from Monday 9am.

We have scaled it right down this year to attract more competitive bidding and it includes some truly stunning lots to bid on. We have... comissioned artwork, doggy grooming package, flashing leads, dog beds and even  something for you to help prepare your nails for the Christmas season.

Pop along now and take a look (with your pen and paper of course) and come Monday - get bidding! The auction will close on Monday, December 3 at 9pm so be quick.

Please visit http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php#c44

Latest news

Our volunteers have been very busy lately sorting out our online auction. This is always a very exciting time because not only do you have the chance to grab lots of lovely items: normally anything from dog collars to holidays abroad and in the UK but because you'll be helping raise money for us to save more dogs from death row. Please watch this space for more information next week.

Morse

Ziggy

Have you considered a lurcher or a sighthound as a pet? They do make the most wonderful companions and don't need as much exercise as you would think - obviously they are all different and some are more active than others so it is worth doing your research on your chosen dog first!

When Morse first came into our care he was suffering from a terrible case of mange and had barely any hair. With lots of medicated baths, plenty of tlc and lovely grub Morse now looks like this. We are expecting him to be about greyhound size as so far all he seems to do is grow!!

If you prefer a scruffy then perhaps Ziggy is for you. He is a bundle of fun and can't be accused of being a couch potato. We think he is about 2 years old and is a lovely, friendly boy. Do you have space in your home for this great companion?

Zac

Zac is a whippet. He is about a year old and is perfect. No, really, he is. He walks well on the lead, is housetrained in his foster home, sleeps quietly at night, gets on well with other dogs and loves people.

We don't know what these dogs are like around around cats but given that they are all sighthounds care will have to be taken around both cats and small furries as they do love to chase!

They are all looking for a homes and we don't allow adoptions to take place too close to Christmas so get your forms in now!!

When adopting a dog from us you will need to register your interest with an application form for your chosen dog (the link to the form is found on each dog's rehoming thread).

If you are successful with your first choice we will arrange a meeting between you and the dog initially. When you already have a dog a second meeting will probably be arranged where the dogs can meet just to check that they like each other. After this one of our volunteers will pop over and carry out a homecheck and meet everyone who lives in your home - because our volunteers are exactly that it may take a few days or even weeks before someone becomes available in your area to undertake the check so please bear with us.

If the homecheck is a 'pass' you will be able to collect your new companion after paying your non-refundable adoption donation to the fosterer. Sometimes, especially with younger dogs there will be certain conditions that have to be applied at adoption, such as training classes and if your pet is under 6 months old neutering will have to be arranged at your own expense.

Your new pet would have received his/her vaccinations, flea treatment and worming. If they are 6 months or over we would have arranged for them to be neutered at our expense.

With any rescue dog their new owners must be prepared to continue with training and have plenty of time and patience while settling them in to their new surroundings.

For more information on Morse, Ziggy, Zac and any of our other dogs looking for homes please visit  
http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?board=8.0

Firework night

Kennel dogs needing a foster home

Bonnie

Bow

Doyle

KayDee

Nina

Quavers

All of these beauties are in kennels at the moment and are desperate for a foster home or rescue space.

Bonnie is a gem. She loves cuddles and is a very friendly crossbreed girl. Bow the gorgeous blue Staff is only about 10 months old and would love a sofa to cuddle up on.

Doyle the collie boy is not suitable for a first time fosterer but needs someone with collie experience who is able to visit him a few times before fostering him as he is a very nervous lad.

KayDee is a young, big and bouncy bundle of fun. She needs someone who is able to work on her training and teach her a few manners as she can be a bit over enthusiastic at times.

Sweet Nina, the American Bull dog is an unclaimed stray but from everything we've seen of her she is a lovely, friendly girl. She has shared her kennel with a variety of large breed dogs and has got on well with all of them.

As for Quavers, how can you resist him! He is around 3 years old and really wants to be out of kennels soon. Can you help?

If you feel you have the space and skills required to foster any of these characters please contact us. You can read more about them here http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?board=9.0

Can you?

Do you love dogs and cats? Are you sad you can’t foster?   Do you feel helpless and wish there was a way you could help? Well there are LOADS of ways you can help every one of them as important as fostering, probably in lot’s of respects MORE important.

Home checking

We desperately need more home checkers in more areas. This is the most important part of our process the report and detail a home checker can give  is essential for the trustees to be happy that the home the dog is going to is the right forever home. We sometimes struggle to get homes checked quickly enough because there aren’t many people available to check. It’s honestly easy to go and talk to someone who really wants to share their home with a four paws dog, and most of the time it’s like having a really pleasant hour with a new friend.  We really need your help to get our dogs the sofa they deserve!

Meet and Greets

These are an essential part of getting our information out to people who have never heard of us. We are looking to increase the number of venues we attend, but desperately need people to volunteer and lead the events. We are looking at two-hour quick sharp events that don’t tie up too much of people’s precious time. Specialist skills required, just holding a tin and handing out leaflets, fosterers will come along and provide the dogs for people to see and hopefully apply to re-home.

Paws for Tea

Jayda

Another essential fundraising activity these are held monthly in a variety of venues. They normally last about  two and a half hours and if you can come along buy a raffle ticket and a cake that’s good, but even better if you can man a stall, or bake or help with the setting up and pulling down, or perhaps you have a craft you enjoy that you would like a stall for and could share your profit with us, we would love to hear from you. We are trying to think of new ways to keep the P4T events fresh and exciting so if you have an idea no matter how far out and think you know how it could be achieved please Four Paws needs you!

Events

We go to loads of shows over the year to increase awareness and provide funds; we could attend more if we had more volunteers willing to man the stall. It’s not hard work but it is essential and it gets the word out about the rescue and the important work we all do alongside our everyday activities, and the dogs we help.

Street collections.

Something we are really keen to get into to generate much needed funds and spread the word further. We’ve applied for licences in Cardiff, Whitchurch, Blackwood and Caerphilly but we will need volunteers to man them, we aren’t looking for you to tie up a whole day just two hours and that time is essential part of allowing Four Paws animal rescue to continue.

Ideas

We bet you have hundreds of them and your shouting at the computer saying what about ... well share them with us. We need the ideas as well events such as Clairvoyant night and Karaoke night are really popular we need people to make them happen. Four Paws needs you.

Donations

We bet you have cupboards full of things that we could sell, things that you don’t want or need that people would love to buy. If you haven’t got any time to give us we would LOVE to have these items for our raffles, stalls, auctions and car boot sales. Non-perishable human and dog food and drinks of any description are also high on our lists for tombola’s raffles and stalls. So go on have a search through and find things that will help the dogs that find themselves through no fault of their own, needing our care.

So there are loads of ways you can support us. Which one will you choose!

PawMail

PawMail - October 2012

Welcome to your monthly catch up for October!  We’ve got a busy October ahead.

October Events

13th October 2012
We are doing a quick appearance at Pets at home in Llanishen between 12.00pm and 2.00pm. Pop along and see a couple of fosters have a snuggle and some doggie kisses. You can buy a raffle ticket to win a prize in our on the spot raffle!

20th October 2012
Join Jacky and Julie at Pets at Home in Llantrisant between 11.00am and 4.00pm. Some of our dogs will be waiting to shower you with kisses and while you’re there you might like to buy one of our gorgeous 2013 calendars full of beautiful rescue babies.

27th October 2012
Come to our spooky Halloween event at  Heath Citizen Community Hall CF14 4EP between 2.00pm and 4.30pm. Loads of fun for you and your dogs with apple bobbing for you and tennis ball bobbing for your furry friend and a fancy dress competition for dogs and Hoomans! We will have our usual stalls raffles and tombolas and of course loads of yummy homemade cakes!
http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9990.0  Click here for more info.

The calendar!!

This year’s Christmas must, you can purchase them at any Four Paws event at the very reasonable price of £7.50 for a very high class item, or you can purchase them on line and pay via Just giving http://www.justgiving.com/fourpawsanimalrescue follow this link to post on line your Justgiving donation code so the calendars can be sent to you http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9996.0

Volunteers

We would love to have more volunteers to help us. There are loads of different ways you can help it’s not all about fostering dogs because we realise not everyone can do that. If you are thinking about it you can ask any of our volunteers at the events for information and advice, we are quite a friendly bunch and love to talk, honestly you can’t shut us up!! We would love to run more fundraising events so we are trying to attract more people with specialist skills such as shaking a bucket, shaking a tin and manning a stall!! Honestly you will enjoy it we’ve recently run more unusual events in fact we have one coming up a clairvoyant evening on 10th October 2013 organised by the lovely Maggie, follow this link to find out more http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9876.0
We really need your support to help more dogs in need so if all you can do is join us at one of our events that’s awesome we would love to see you!

Asha Update

In other news thanks to all your support, Baby Asha is recuperating well from his operation, It is early days yet but it does seem his vision is improving a little day by day. He is still the bouncy fun loving pup that we first saw and fell in love with from the video posted online! He still has a long way to go, and will be with us a while. But, with your continued support we know that we can give little Asha the full happy life he deserves!
If you want to follow little Asha’s progress and get more updates with beautiful pictures of our gorgeous boy please follow the link to his thread: http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9960.0
And if you want to donate
http://www.justgiving.com/fourpawsanimalrescue

So what will be coming up in November? More Paws4Tea so that you can start getting together special treats for humans and dogs.
More Pets at Home events so you have the opportunity to meet our beautiful foster dogs looking for homes.
More Asha updates
And our Christmas auction where you can pick up loads of lovely bargains that will make lovely Christmas Pressies!!

Re homing in September

21 dogs were re-homed in September plus 35 moved to other Rescues that we work with.  To end these are a few of our furry friends that found their forever sofas in September!

Beautiful Betsy
http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9799.0
Little Biggie 
http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9833.0
Marvellous Max
http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9901.0
Jesse J
http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9945.0

We are all really looking forward to seeing you guys soon!
The Four Paws Team

Terrier heaven

Bertie

Katie

Lacey

Maggie

Monty

Poppet

These beautiful terriers are all looking for their forever homes. First of all meet Bertie. He is aged between 2-3 years old and would prefer to be the only dog in the household. He has the most beautiful temperament and would win any canine smile competition.

Then there's Katie, who is quite a nervous little girl. She came in to our care with her Mum Maggie and they are both looking for homes. Could you be the right person to boost her confidence and show her how she can enjoy life?

Lacey is our little star from the pound. She used to be a terrified and skinny dog but after a few months of tlc in her foster home she is ready to find her own family.

Just look at Monty. Isn't he adorable? He is a poodle cross Yorkie and has so much love to give. Someone must have space for this lovely little guy in their home?

Poppet is also another pound success. She came to us with a terrible skin condition and has come on beautifully since being in foster care. She is now confident, fit and healthy but really needs a family to call her own.

For more information on all of these lovely terriers and other dogs needing new homes please visit http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?board=8.0

Our new calendar

After a few months of planning and preparation here it is! With our 12 winning doggy models and our gorgeous cover girl we really hope you like it as much as we do.

It will be retailing at £7.50 and is A3 size when opened out. For information on how to buy please visit
http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9996.0

Thank you

Asha in his foster home with beautiful Biggie

Thank you for your never-ending support. Firstly, for Asha the whippet pup. He had enough donations to cover the cost of his scan and the scan has shown that he will benefit from a shunt operation. This is likely to cost between £2,000 and £4,000 so it's a costly business but we think he's worth it.

We held our Paws4Tea event at Llandaff, Cardiff last weekend and raised an amazing £445. This will go a long way with vets fees, kennel fees and the general running of the charity. We are very grateful for your support.

There are a few new arrivals, and a couple to look out for who have just gone into foster. One of those is a cocker spaniel girl called Millie. She is off to her foster home sometime today so look out for her rehoming thread on the forum.

Another beauty who is off to a lovely foster home is Kenzo. He is a 22 month old Pom so keep an eye out on the forum for his rehoming thread if you are interested.

Mali the GSD cross pup went into foster last week and is as soft as butter. If you are interested in putting in an application please visit her thread for more information. http://forum.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/index.php?topic=9947.0

Lucky Asha has also gone to his new foster home. He has been placed with Lydia - who spent many months looking after poorly Chou Chou and did a fantastic job. Currently, he is keeping Biggie the pup company and acting like any other puppy of his age - to think that he was going to be put to sleep when he is obviously enjoying life so much.

A special goodbye

This is a special tribute post to Lady Tara. She was found a couple of months ago roaming the streets with a massive mammary tumour that had gone untreated for a considerable time. We do try not to judge at FPAR but there is no excuse for this amount of neglect whatever your circumstances.

Tara was found by the dog warden and served her time in the council pound, when after that she came into our care and one of our very special foster carers took her in. After a check up at the vets it was decided that the tumour had gone too far and could not be removed. It was a waiting game so Zoe, her lovely foster mum, gave this girl everything she could wish for and more. Wonderful walks, paddles in the sea, caravan holidays and lots of love.

Tara was an amazing girl. For someone that had been through so much she was the most loving dog you could wish to meet with such a zest for life.

Last weekend her health began to deteriorate and it became clear that her time had come.  Yesterday evening Zoe, Zara and their families said their goodbyes to Tara.

She has left a trail of broken hearts behind her and has touched so many people. Thank you Tara for being such a wonderful companion in your final weeks.

Help for Asha

Asha is a 10 week old whippet pup who has come into our care following a phone call from one of our vets where he was booked in to be put to sleep.

He was born with hydrocephalus or fluid on the brain which means that he has limited vision - at first we thought that he was completely blind but the video below shows that he does have some sight - his head is mis-shapen where the fluid is creating pressure and he is likely to have some brain damage.

Some people would say that he would be better off put to sleep as he faces an uncertain future but we have learnt from Anya that dogs with hydrocephalus can go on to live a full and happy life and we believe he, the same as all our dogs, deserves the very best chance we can give him.

The next step is for Asha to see a Neurologist and have an MRI scan at Langford. After that we will know more about his options for treatment, if any, and what the future will hold for him.

The cost for the scan alone is £1400 and on top of that will be the consultation, feedback report plus any treatment.

You can donate simply and safely on line here http://www.justgiving.com/fourpawsanimalrescue or we can accept direct bank transfers - please just ask for details.

If you can help us towards the cost of Asha's treatment we would appreciate it. Please give generously, this little boy deserves all the help we can give him.

Meet our winners

Thank you to everyone who has entered our calendar competition. Thank you to all the people/businesses who sponsored a month. Here are our winners who will be attending a photoshoot on Sunday.

Axl

Missy

Snowy

Alvin

Bilbo

Higgins

Neo

Odie

Pebbles

Saffy

Shamus

Tommy