Ghost is our Dog of the week

We hope you find this site easy to use, it is updated on a daily basis. On this page you'll find our latest news and appeals. Everything else you need to know is on the menu on the left hand side of the page.  Please check out our 'Dogs for adoption' page and if you are interested in adopting please ensure you first read our 'How to adopt a dog' page.

Full details are now on our Events page - please tell all your friends and family to come along and help us have fun, we are hoping to see many of you that have adopted or fostered Dogs Friends dogs on the day but please tell everyone you know that this is a fun show open to all dogs and dog lovers.

We need donations of cakes etc to sell on the day so if you bake - great - please bring one along - if not we don't mind, bought ones can be just as nice  Thank you!

Thank you to Kaz Woods and the Cadbury Garden Centre who have said we can do some collections there in aid of our dogs.  If you could spare 2 hours to help on any of these dates please call Lyn 18th July, 29th and 30th August, 19th September and 14th October.  Thanks!

Please remember dogs can really suffer in hot weather and some can get quite grumpy when hot and bothered!  Please try to keep your dogs cool, shut curtains in the house, walk them earlier in the morning or later at night when its cooler.  They can get sunburnt too so if you are out with your dog in the sun you might want to put some sun block on them!  Obviously lots of cold fresh drinking water needs to be available to them at all times, and if they are outside they need shade they can shelter in.  Do NOT leave any dog in the car in this weather - even with a window open the dog can very quickly overheat.  Please be careful, so many dogs suffer at this time of the year just by people not realising how very hot they can get!

Bottles & Jars please - if doesn't matter what of - pickle, sauce, jam wine -have a rummage in your cupboards as long as they are in date we can use them at our next fundraising event in July. Thanks!  

If you could help by taking one of our dogs out for a walk please call Rose on 07977808645 (near Cheddar) we have a few we urgently need more help with.

We have received a letter from St. Paul's players who have advised that after 43 years Dawn Mullen has retired from the post of Secretary. A collection was made for Dawn and she very kindly designated Dogsfriends as one of two chosen charities! Thank you

Thanks to Animal Affairs for the donation

Also to Julia for donating her birthday money to us.

Thank you to all volunteers who helped out at Weston In Bloom, especially Pete & Diane who organised it all, set it up and packed everything away at the end.  We raised a fabulous £464!  So a big thank you also goes out to everyone who came and had a go on our stall!

Some of our volunteers has very kindly offered to do car boot sales in aid of Dogs Friends.  If you have any items you would like to donate please call Lyn or Paulette on 01275871007, or Diane on 01454 312097

Many Thanks for all your donations the car boots are a fabulous way of raising money and awareness, we will be doing them for as long as we have items donated to sell!

Dogs Friends would like to say a HUGE thank you to Gloria for the donation of the Winstanley Cats.  Thank you too to those involved in selling them, especially Paulette and Clevedon Auction rooms.  All together they raised a fantabulous £305.00, which could not have come at a better time because of the huge vet bills we have had after some of our dogs being so poorly so... THANK YOU ALL!

If you really would like to help Dogs Friends we are desperate for more people to be willing to pick dogs up and take them to foster carers in the area.  If you could possibly help please get in touch!

http://www.staffycampaign.org.uk/

Even if you have labs or collies or any other breed you must feel sorry for the 1000's of staffies being bred and discarded like trash- then to be destroyed after 7 days in most big pounds.
Something needs doing and a campaign has been started to try to improve the staffies lot . 
Visit the website and please sign up as a supporter and download the poster promoting these lovely little dogs and get those posters in vets pet shops doctors surgeries libraries - in fact anywhere that the 'family' visit particularly older people visit.
Thanks

Please also visit

http://www.staffycampaign.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54&Itemid=56

A Dogs Friends volunteer was badly injured recently whilst walking their dog.  They were on a public right of way through a field that had a herd of cows in it. The cows surrounded him and the dog and knocked him to the ground and started kicking and trampling him.  He released the dog from the lead so she could escape, she managed to run away (thankfully found safe and well later if somewhat traumatised).  The man is very badly battered and bruised but thankful to have survived without serious injury.  Apparently this is quite common this time of year when calves are around so please be careful when out walking especially with your dogs near cows!

The Bristol Evening Post are following up on this story this weekend - watch out for it as we hope they will mention Dogs Friends!

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/homepage/Yate-man-warns-Beware-cows/article-997704-detail/article.html

We have lots of dogs in with skin conditions such as Rosie and Dottie, or just poor coats in general, we do like to help these by giving the dogs tins of sardines in oil, it really helps them so if you could donate any tins please call!

If you have adopted a dog from us (or indeed foster) and want any advice on anything, please remember we are here to help as we care greatly about all our dogs.  For advice on anything you would like to discuss please call one of our contacts and we can put you in touch with someone to help.  However if it is a matter of the dogs health please do not delay in taking your dog to the vet!

Would you love to help a dog but cannot foster one yourself?  If you could spare some time perhaps you would like to come to the stables near Cheddar and walk one of the foster dogs there, weekdays between 9 and 5, Saturdays 10 to 4.  If you can help please phone first and speak to Julian on 07877680107 to arrange a time. Thanks!

The Weston Breast Cancer Group's 2010 calender which will be featuring some DF dogs will be available for sale at our fun day on 11 July.  If you can't get there to pick up your copy, don't worry as it will no doubt be available at later events too.

We need more fosterers, the more we have the more dogs we can help. You could make a real difference and save a life by volunteering for us. Please visit our 'Could you foster for us' page for more information and then contact Louise if you think you could help.

The Western Daily Press have very kindly agreed to feature one of our dogs EVERY Saturday.  This will be a fantastic help in finding our dogs their home for life.  Please check the paper each week to see who is featured!

If you are looking to adopt a rescue cat or kitten, please contact Lyn Venal on  01934 820038               

Lyn often also has feral cats and kittens looking for homes.

Fosterers, and those who support us by doing fund-raising etc, might want to consider the new look DF t-shirts.  Subtle they aren't - but they aren't supposed to be!  They were worn to great effect at the recent vegan fayre, attracting much interest in our work.

Essentially, you supply us with the shirt of your choice, and i'll get in printed with the usual DF logo on the left chest, and our web address in bold on the back.  We found navy shirts polo shirts with dayglo orange writing worked well!

A printer local to me does the print work for a flat fee of £5.

If you would like to discuss further, give Georgina a ring -                               01934 814237                

Is there anyone out there handy with a needle?  To help with our fundraising and awareness raising efforts, it would be really good to have some dog costumes made.  We have found that they have helped to attract people over to us!  If you could help, could you email Georgina at gcp123@btinternet.co.uk