Kennel News - 31 July 2011

Our wonderful new Isolation Unit has been full this week with a mixture of hounds that have been neutered, are on holiday or out-of-date with their vaccinations.  In the mornings the kennel team are still feeling their way around what works best now there are 3 bases to clean out rather then 2.  We have got all new equipment such as mops, brushes, bins, etc. but we keep forgetting there are more paddocks to bleach at the end of the day and checking one of us has changed the waters in the paddock.  We have to be on our toes as the foxes play in that area in the evening and so cleanliness is extra important.  Anyway it's working great and the extra kennels have been useful.  We had two holiday hounds arguing at 2am over the bed so next morning they went of down the Isolation Unit and enjoyed stretching out in their own space.

We had something dreadful happen this week!  Tess came in on her holidays last Sunday and did not eat and looked 'fed up', which is not unusual when they return to us, but we expect them to perk up on the next day.  However, next morning it was quite obvious by the bloody stools in her kennel that all was not well.  We rushed her to our vets who ran lots of blood tests and scans.  She was immediately placed on a drip and given 3 different anti-biotics to try to halt the problems.  The owners came back from holiday early to visit her and following advice from Ian, the vet, the decision was made that she should go to the Willows Veterinary Hospital for more investigations.  The family went to move her on Friday lunchtime, but her condition had markedly deteriorated and she was quietly put to sleep.  There will be a post-mortem to try to discover what was going on internally and, as you can imagine, we are all very saddened by this.  Bless you Tess.  Rest in Peace.

On a happier note, we are pleased to report that having been in a foster home with Kay & Neil for three weeks, Pixie, one of our Sponsor Hounds, is doing really well.  Due to her medical condition, Cushing’s disease, Pixie was peeing and pooing frequently, was not eating particularly well and was a bit stressed whilst in the kennel environment.  The decision was made, following advice from Ian our vet, to assess her in a foster home to see how she got on.  She has done really well, and although she has had a couple of accidents she is now in a routine and is “happy as Larry” as Neil puts it!  She loves to have a cuddle and is ‘eating for England’, and is a very happy girlie.  Her exercise tolerance has increased and she now enjoys two walks a day.  She’s going to stay in her new foster home where she’s living quietly with Champ & Cherry.  She came up to the kennel for Sponsor Weekend and had a little romp around the field, but she was glad to get back on her bed when she got home where the rest of the afternoon was spent.  You can see some pictures of Pixie on the Gallery (New Win) doing what she does best being an old girl – sleeping!!

This weekend has seen lots of our homed hounds come back for nail clipping and a romp around the newly-cut field.  We received over £700 in the bucket with the sale of food, merchandise and donations.  Huge thanks to the volunteers who were here to help on both days as it enables us to get all the jobs done quickly.

This coming week we need to do some sorting out!  We are hugely grateful for the donations of towels, blankets and duvets, but at the moment they are in a mountain! We need to restore a little order, then of course we move on the room full of bric-a-brac, which is an interesting challenge!  Tombola prizes are a little thin on the ground so please keep them coming in.  

We are now planning the Christmas party for the volunteers and, as last year, there will be a bottle raffle on the night.  Any bottles of spirits or champagne you can spare, please send our way.  We have a few already, but if anything is on offer in your supermarket we could do with lots more.

The list of awareness events for the next couple of months is on the website (New Win) now so if you and your hound can come along for a couple of hours your help will be appreciated.  We need 2 passport photos for Head Office ID badges if you help at events where we collect money.

We have not had any new hounds in this week, but all this will change as we are helping out Hall Green RGT by taking another 4 hounds on Monday and then others from the trainers at our Stadium over the course of the week.  They will be ready for you to check out on next week’s adoption pages.

Have a good week everyone!

Donations can now be made by text message: please text WGRT11 to 70070 and £1 to £5 or £10

**NEW** Download our latest Homing Poster, print it out and display at your workplace/vets/community noticeboard. More details here (New Win). **NEW**

We have had a tip off about a new way to raise funds for the hounds that is simple to do but doesn’t cost a penny to our supporters.  Find out about it here (New Win).

New Competition for August - Click the picture below for details:

Shop online to support Monmore Green (Wolverhampton) Retired Greyhound Trust and you could win £500 to spend with Viking! 

Win a spending spree with Viking!

easyfundraising are giving away £500 to spend at Viking this month. Everytime you shop to raise funds for Monmore Green (Wolverhampton) Retired Greyhound Trust or tell a friend about easyfundraising, you'll be entered into the draw!

You could spend on all those back to school essentials but you don’t have to stop at kitting out the kids for school - there's also a great range of gaming consoles, home entertainment products, cameras and technology, gift experiences and great gift ideas.

This competition runs from 1st - 31st August 2011. Click here (New Win) to find out more.

Good luck!

Neil has created a new e-mail address for the Awareness Events.  We have sent an e-mail to regular helpers, but if you can spare the odd hour at events near to where you live then please let us know at monmoreroadshows@googlemail.com. If you know of an event near to you that might be useful to us please let us know too.

That's all for now folks!!! More kennel news next week.

* * We have a range of merchandise (New Win) for you and your hound which is available at the kennels, on roadshows and at reception at Monmore Green Stadium.

* * Please remember we need your old towels, blankets, quilts and don't forget to send us your unwanted pressies - we can use them for tombola prizes during 2011.

* * We have many road shows in the future (check out the events page (New Win)) so if you would like to be added to our list of volunteer helpers, contact us on monmoreroadshows@googlemail.com.

Please do not attend an event without letting us know as the numbers of greyhounds at events are often limited.

* * We are asking families when they complete adoption paperwork to consider taking a collecting box for their loose change.  If you already have a greyhound from us, next time you come up to the kennels please ask for one as these pennies will help us to get more hounds into safe loving homes.  

* * If you have a photo of your greyhound please send it to us at the gallery: gallery@rgtwolverhampton.co.uk  , we love to see the hounds doing new things and settling into their new surroundings.