Kennel News - 02 May 2010

Sunday 25th April was the very first RGT Conference. What a great idea to bring together so many of the 73 branches from around the country to celebrate what the Charity is doing well and to focus on what we need to change to keep up with legislation. It was good to meet representatives from other kennels and to share ideas and it made us proud that many of the proposed changes are things we do as routine here at Wolverhampton branch. There is a volunteer agreement which needs to be completed by regular volunteers, as well as ID cards for home checks and awareness events. Other documents are in draft form and will be discussed by the Branch Committee at the next meeting on 21 May 2010 before we agree to them. After listening to tales from branches around the country it is apparent how fortunate we are to get the massive support from Richard, General Manager at Monmore Green Stadium, and also from Ladbrokes. We are a strong team.

Thanks this week to Morrison's of Bilston for the donation of tinned and dried food, also all the blankets and tombola prizes that have found the way to us, and for all the old sponsors who have chosen to continue with their support and posted the cheque or DD acknowledgement back.

On Tuesday morning, which was a beautiful sunny spring day, Alison took Johnson's ashes down the field. He has been sitting on the lounge windowsill since last September, but the time felt right to let his spirit run free in the field where he spent time chasing the rabbits and the occasional fox. He will never be forgotten as he was such a cheeky character.

Now for an update on Fifi, or Phee as she is now called. A number of our volunteers fell for her when she was in the kennel and felt sorry for her owing to her muscle problem (polymyositis), as diagnosed by Tom Bingham our wonderful vet. She was obviously in a lot of pain and no end of times would cry out when she moved off her bed in the kennel. She was taken home by Neil and Kay H, initially as a foster hound with their existing two hounds Champ & Cherry. She soon fitted in with her new pack and Neil and Kay decided that she was there to stay. There was some concern about how Cherry would react to Phee, as Cherry could get very jealous (the green-eyed monster!) whenever Champ was having a cuddle. However, she and Phee soon hit it off and often Phee will give Cherry a kiss, and indeed Champ gets one too! Phee obviously never went upstairs in her previous home as she won't even entertain the idea of trying the stairs, which is a bit of a relief really bearing in mind the problem with her muscles. As per Tom's instructions, Neil & Kay tried to wean Phee off the steroid tablets she'd been taking whilst at the kennels and initially in her new home, but it soon became apparent that she needed these to be continued. She's on alternate day treatment now and Tom is keeping an eye on Phee, but it could be that she will have to stay on long-term steroids. She's such a happy loving girl and a most welcome addition to Neil & Kay's family. Some of you may remember that whilst in the kennel she lost quite a bit of weight and didn't seem interested in her food and it took some imagination on Alison & Andy's part to get her weight up. We're proud to say that she's steadily putting on weight now, although she is rarely still at home (a complete fidget) and is constantly looking for food!! Bless! Also her lack of teeth doesn't stop her finishing her Dentastick before Champ & Cherry!

The weekend saw an up turn in interest and quite a few hounds being reserved. It has generally been a quiet start to the year so we are hoping for better times ahead.