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Sapphire's Story
Sapphire, a young lurcher with horrific burns, has received treatment at Summerhill Vets in Newport and will soon move to a foster home where she can continue to recover from her terrible ordeal and receive the treatment she needs.
The appeal to help fund the expensive treatment and ongoing care that Sapphire needs was launched on Monday evening via social networking sites. The original target was to raise around £1500 to cover the costs of her treatment which would potentially also include skin grafts.
We have been astonished and delighted by the scale of the response as our target was met, and surpassed, within the hour. From as far away as Australia and the USA, donations began to arrive to Sapphire’s Justgiving page and via other online payment sites. Our thanks go to everyone for their messages of support, offers of help and donations.
So now the future is definitely looking brighter for Sapphire, thanks to the generosity of the public who have taken her to their hearts. You can follow Sapphire’s progress via our forum or facebook page.
And finally, some words of thanks: to everyone for their support and offers of help; to Jordan, Kathleen, Damien and their friends who were Sapphire’s Good Samaritans; the wonderful staff at Summerhill Vets for caring so much, who donated their time and also some money from their ‘Skin Strays’ fund; to everyone who has offered gifts, including a memory foam mattress, fleece PJs and healing remedies; and to her new foster family who will take extra special care of her.
We raised well in excess of the target we set ourselves, thanks to the amazing generosity of people, but anyone who wishes to make a donation to help other dogs in our care, can still do so.
You can donate using the ‘Donate’ button at the top of this page.
Thank You!
Here are some photos that show her wounds – we know that they are upsetting but it is important to show the extent of her injuries and why we are so keen to find out what happened to her.
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Online Valentine Photo Competition .........the results!
A HUGE Hope thank you to our celebrity judges. Here is the winning photo:
February 2013
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Valentine's Online Photo Competition - open now until 9pm 17th February
This is your chance to show your softer side – the theme of our Valentine’s Photo Competition this year is "Love Is..."
There are no separate classes, so all you need to do is choose a photo that sums up what you think “Love Is….” – simple!
Photos of any pets (not just dogs) / people & pets are welcome, but photos must include at least one pet.
We have two fantastic celebrity judges for the competition!!
Entries cost just £1 per entry (one photograph per entry). You may have as many entries as you wish.
We have 2 fabulous celebrity judges this year!! Want to read more? All the details of our competition are here
Strictly favourite, Falvia Cacace is one of our wonderful judges!
Pets At Home - supporting our Cosy Kennels Appeal
Our thanks go to Pets at Home for their extremely generous donation of £150 worth a goodies for our Cosy Kennel Appeal this year. Our dogs has some wonderful treats and chews - and they all went down a treat!
Here is a very small selection of the treats:
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We are facing ever increasing demands for our support and the number of dogs we are being asked to help is at an all-time high. As a result, we are incurring very large bills for vet treatment, emergency kennels, transport costs - as well as the ongoing cost of supporting our foster dogs. We have just paid out for a £4,800 kennel bill and a £5,400 vet bill. Another £1,200 vet bill arrived immediately afterwards. Our kennels are full of difficult to place dogs and we remain their only lifeline. No matter how hard our dedicated fundraising team work, it is becoming increasingly difficult to raise funds due to the economic downturn and people tightening their belts. Some difficult decisions need to be made.
Our operations need to be scaled back for the foreseeable future to ensure that the dogs currently in our care get everything they need. We must also give priority to the dogs living on borrowed time in our Pounds to ensure that they are saved. Therefore, we have made the very difficult decision to ‘close our doors’ to owner surrenders and dogs from other rescues/pounds with immediate effect. This has not been an easy decision but when times are hard, we have to prioritise those dogs to which we have already made a firm commitment.
We need to raise funds URGENTLY or the next step will be to close our doors to some of our beloved poundies. We cannot even begin to think about “cherry-picking” as it is an alien concept to us. But unless something changes, and quickly, this is exactly what we will have to do in order to reduce our kennelling bills. Our supporters believe in us because we prioritise dogs by need and we help the dog who is going to die next irrespective of breed and not the dog that can be rehomed the quickest.
So we are making a direct appeal to everyone for donations as this is the quickest way to raise the funds we need so urgently. All donations, however small, will make a difference.
Our Hope Rescue Crisis Appeal page is here https://www.justgiving.com/Vanessa-Waddon1
Donations can be made from mobiles using JustTextGiving by texting WOOF55 plus the amount to 70070. Donations can only be in the amount of £1, £2, £3, £4, £5, and £10.
Larger donations can also be made by cheque, payable to Hope Rescue, and sent directly to:
The Treasurer, Hope Rescue, Bryony House, Willow Close, Ulceby. N Lincs. DN39 6UR
Thank you so much for your support.
November 2012
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Sparkle's Appeal
Why Sparkle needs your help
Unfortunately, Sparkle has yet more problems to overcome as she has become quite poorly over the past few days. She has never been as developed as her sister Evie, and sadly she has been showing some worrying symptoms over the last couple of days, both physically and in her behaviour. Initial blood test results show she is anaemic and it is apparent that she may also have neurological problems that need to be investigated urgently. She is being referred to a specialist neurologist and for an MRI scan. This will cost in the region of £1300. At Hope Rescue we believe that every dog deserves a chance, especially one so young where the odds have already been stacked against her. Please help us to give Sparkle that chance.
How you can help Sparkle
We need your help to spread the word about this appeal - as far and as wide as you can. Please share via Facebook, twitter and by all other means as possible.
Donations can be made via Sparkle's own Justgiving page http://www.justgiving.com/Hope-Rescue-Sparkle
Or from mobiles using JustTextGiving by texting HOPE98 plus the amount to 70070. Donations can only be in the amount of £1, £2, £3, £4, £5, and £10.
Larger donations can also be made by cheque, payable to Hope Rescue, and sent directly to: The Treasurer, Hope Rescue, Bryony House, Willow Close, Ulceby. N Lincs. DN39 6UR
Every donation, however small, will add up to make a real difference to Sparkle.
Please help us to put some sunshine into Sparkle's life.
Thank You!
COSY KENNELS 2012
This year we are also working in partnership with The Wallich to support their clients with dogs as part of our ongoing Hope in The Community project. The Wallich is a Welsh homelessness charity that has been working with homeless and vulnerable people for over 30 years. It works throughout Wales to find lasting solutions to homelessness and prevent its occurrence by working with those who are in danger of becoming homeless. We will be delivering donations to their base in Pontcanna, Cardiff for distribution to their clients.
SO HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Could you organise a local collection point for our Appeal? Or perhaps you could make up your own individual ‘shoebox’ of goodies?
Some ideas of where you could set up a collection point include:
- Supermarkets - ask them to provide a trolley to collect the goodies!
- Vets/Groomers/Pet Shops
- Corner/local shops
- Pubs
- Hairdressers
- Dog Training/Agility Clubs
- Your workplace/office
- Brownies/Scouts
- Community Centres/Day Centres
We are sure that you probably know more places where we could collect, so all ideas are very welcome!
If you are interested in organising a collection point or shoebox donation then please either post in the Cosy Kennels area on our forum >> HERE We can provide you with the posters, tubs (if needed) and help with collections/dropping off. We also have a standard letter if any supporters would like to approach suitable venues.
If you do not have the space or time to organise a collection point then why not help us to raise some extra funds by placing a collection tin in your workplace, vets, local pet shop etc over the Christmas period? Please contact Ray and he can organise to send you a tin, seal and details for returning the (hopefully full!) tin.
Another great way to support us this Christmas is to organise your own Christmas Coffee Morning. You could hold one in your home or workplace and ask your friends, family and colleagues to donate homemade cakes (and even doggy deli?!). We can provide collection tins and leaflets, and subject to timing with our other events, we may be able to lend you our display boards if you are local in South Wales. If you have the space, we can also help you with extras to sell, including handmade Christmas Cards, craft items, doggy Christmas stockings and second hand books. Why not combine a Christmas Coffee Morning with promoting a Collection Point? Again, please contact Ray on walesfundraising@hoperescue.org.uk and we will provide any support you need.
If you could also spread the word via email, facebook and twitter, we would be very grateful. Before you cross-post onto other forums, please remember to ask the forum owners first.
Any questions, please contact Ray by email on walesfundraising@hoperescue.org.uk, or call him on 01600 713904.
Thank you!
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OUR CAMPAIGN AGAINST BREED SPECIFIC LEGISLATION
Hope Rescue believes that the current Dangerous Dogs legislation is ineffective and supports the introduction of new legislation that focuses on education, responsible ownership & preventative measures. This includes the repeal of Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991) and removal of ALL breed specific references. Please take a few minutes to read more about this in the new section on our forum >>>Here
We will be concentrating our campaign activity initially in Wales where the political door is open for us to influence proposals to introduce new legislation on the Care and Control of Dogs. Our role as a rescue is to advocate on behalf of the dogs, and to ensure that the proposals include a repeal of Section 1.
Our campaign will include writing to the First Minister and Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development and production of a postcard to be sent by supporters in Wales to their MPs and Assembly Members; we will be asking all addressees if they support proposals for reform, including the removal of all breed specific elements. The postcard is currently being printed and will be available this week, timed to follow on from the ITV Wales programme on Dangerous Dogs, which is scheduled to air on Tuesday 24th July.
There is more to come; this is only that start of our campaigning and we hope that we can count on your support to really make a difference. We cannot help the dogs that we have lost but we can work hard, together, for the sake of all dogs in the future.
Please read more about our campaign and how you can get some of the postcards to send to your MP/AM >>>Here
Sapphire was found with horrific injuries by the side of Newlands Road, Cardiff by a group of friends at around 7pm on Sunday 14th April. They initially thought she had been hit by a car and took her to Summerhill Vets, where she was actually found to be suffering from severe 2nd and 3rd degree ‘chemical’ burns. The cause of her injuries remains unknown, but the RSPCA are now investigating her case.
Anyone who believes they have information that could help this investigation is asked to call either the RSPCA cruelty line on 0300 1234 999, or Hope Rescue on 07545 822919. All calls will be treated in confidence.
Please read Sapphire’s story – warning: some of the photos of her wounds are quite graphic.