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June News

June has been a sad month in some ways for Kim’s Home.  Zak, our very elderly Whippet cross, became suddenly lame.  His pain increased so quickly and dramatically that I arranged for x-rays.  These showed a tumour in his shoulder which had cracked his scapula.  There was no option but to let him slip away.  We miss our worried little old fellow.  He was a great cleaner-upper in the family and always dried up the other dogs and cleaned eyes, ears and wounds.

Then we had a request from a local pound to help with an elderly Cocker Spaniel, picked up as a stray, who had mammary tumours.  I agreed and put an appeal on Facebook to raise funds for her operation.  When I collected Shelley, as the pound had named her, it was obvious that the tumours were much more extensive than mammary tumours.  They were huge and covered the area from in her armpit right to round her anal area.  And it was obvious that the little dog was not well.  My vet said he could have a try at removing the tumours so that she could enjoy some good times.  However, we decided to x-ray her first in order to check for internal tumours.  Our worst fears were confirmed – internal tumours, one as big as a tennis ball, were found in her abdomen.  It seemed kindest to let her go while she was sleeping.  That hurt a lot because Shelley was the sweetest, happiest dog you can imagine.   For nearly 2 days my daughter and I gave that little dog as many cuddles as we could to make up for the neglect and cruelty that she had suffered.  She was happy and waggy-tailed.  She deserved so much better.

I would like to thank all the people who contributed to funds for Shelley’s operation.  Sadly it was not to be, but everyone has said that the fund should be kept for the next needy case that comes along.  Shelley’s story can be seen on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimsHomeForElderlyAbusedDogs?fref=ts

On a happier note, Kim’s Home has funded the release of 3 dogs from a northern pound this month.  I paid donations to secure lurchers Blaze, Carly and Olly.  Thanks to a wonderful team of volunteer transporters and GRWE, the dogs made the mammoth trip from Durham to Newquay in Cornwall.  They can be seen on the St Francis website.  Olly has already found a home as companion to Harvey who came from Durham last month.

Molly, an elderly rough-coated lurcher, who came from a northern pound has been fostered by a friend.  She is now ready to find her permanent home or to come to Kim’s Home.  If you think you could offer this beauty a home, please contact me.

Foster dog for GRWE, Laurie, is doing very well and is now ready for his forever home.  He is up to full weight, neutered, vaccinated and civilised. He is young, boisterous, wicked, funny and will give his new home a lot of laughs.  Is it you? 

Meanwhile the remaining 14 Kim’s Home dogs are all doing well. Even wicked Lucy has stopped being a runaway fiend and has developed a rudimentary recall.  And she has become such a happy, loving dog.  Her bald patches have nearly grown over.  Long may it last!

Thank you to everyone for your continuing support for Kim’s Home.  It means a lot.

Wendy and the dogs

May News

May was another busy month for Kim’s Home. 

Firstly, Zoe’s health scare turned out fine.  Test results showed that her lump was benign and that she is a lovely, healthy ten year old Saluki who behaves like a two- year old.  Such a relief!

All the others are doing well although Freya’s back legs are getting a lot worse.  She will soon start another course of acupuncture – it seemed to work well last time.

Our GRWE foster dog, now called Laurie, arrived a month ago from Strayaid.  He was as thin as a wire coat hanger with red, raw, itchy skin.  Since then he has put on 6 kilos and his skin is nearly sorted.  He is however a bit of a handful:  young, bouncy and feeling full of energy.  He has been running off-lead and is muscling up nicely.  He does have an old injury to one hip and this will be investigated next week when he’s at athe vets’ to be neutered.  Then he will be ready for a home with confident, sensible dogs who will continue his education.Here he is showing off his good recall skills.

Sam and Harvey, the lurchers that Kim’s Home bought out of a northern pound, did not linger at St Francis Dog Sanctuary in Newquay, Cornwall.  They have both been happily rehomed.  We are hoping that we can get more dogs down from the NE, where there are so many unwanted lurchers, to the SW where there seem to be good homes waiting.

A couple of weeks ago I had an appeal about a 13 year old lurcher, Molly, who was stuck in a northern pound.  Just the sort of dog that Kim’s Home would take in but I couldn’t because of mad Laurie.  So I sent out an appeal and a friend’s dad offered to foster her.  All is going well and I hope the arrangement will be permanent. Here she is in her new garden enjoying the sun.  She looks like a different dog

Last weekend Kim’s Home attended the South Wales Dog Charity Fun Day.  I took along Grace, Ruby and Freya.  They enjoyed the day – the two lurcher girls love socialising.  Freya supervised the event from her best bed in the van.  We met lots of lovely people, spread the word about Kim’s Home and were very tired by the end of the day.  I judged the veteran class with the help of Lisa of Health Mutt.  Our winner was a black lab who looked extraordinarily fit for his fifteen years and four months.  It was clear that his owner thought the world of him.

Thanks to everyone who has sent donations to Kim’s Home.   It is very difficult to raise funds in these difficult times.  There are so many calls on people’s compassion.  And there are more and more dogs being dumped and abused.  I have emails telling me of such cases every day.  I can’t take them all in and so much of my time is spent liaising with  other rescues to ask if they have places.  And if they do, I organise the transport to the rescues – often right across the UK.

Kim’s Home is very costly because we take in sickly dogs and also have a lot of elderly residents.  Freya’s acupuncture will cost a lot of money.  And her insurance will not pay much because she is so very old.  Insuring the dogs costs me £320 per month – that’s before food, supplements, medication, equipment, petrol and any vet treatment, etc etc.   Thank goodness for the excellent free meat from our organic butcher, Martin Player.

Anyway, many thanks for any contributions

Best wishes

Wendy and the Kim’s Home Residents

April News

Kim’s Home has had quite a busy month so far.  We attended a Vegan Fair in Cowbridge last Sunday.  Most people had come for the food but we did meet some lovely people who made a big fuss of Ruby and Grace – my crowd-pullers.

All the dogs are doing really, really well on their raw food diet.  I’ve even managed to be brave enough to leave off their mixer for breakfast.  Their coats feel so much softer and shinier and they all smell so much fresher.  Lisa of Raw2Door  is my mentor as well as my supplier of raw food.

 There have been a couple of health scares: Zoe has had a lump removed and we await the result of an analysis.  Lucy is still bald but there are signs of hair regrowth.  Her blood tests came back clear.  I’m now hoping that her baldness and irritability are down to a vitamin D deficiency.  She was kept in a shed in the dark and came to me at the end of December and has been wearing coats until recently.  Now that she’s running around in the sunshine things are looking better.

Next week Kim’s Home is taking in a new foster dog.  He is from Strayaid in Durham and was picked up as a starving stray.  He was as skeletal as Biddy.  Thanks to the good care he’s had at Strayaid, he has got over the worst.  He’s only 9 months old and is coming to finish his convalescence.  He is a GRWE dog and will be up for re-homing as soon as he’s well. So far he doesn’t have a name.  Jan of GRWE has been tasked with that.

St Francis Dog Rescue in Newquay Cornwall has taken a lot of pound dogs from me over the last few months.  They have all been successfully rehomed.  Sue, the Manager, also took in Ripley from Strayaid.  She contacted me last week to say that she could take in 2 more lurchers from Strayaid.  Kim’s Home paid the donations to “spring” the dogs and so Sam and Harvey will be making the trip from Durham to Newquay on Sunday, 28^th April. Organising that transport and the one for Skinny Lad was a challenge!

In my last blog I gave a list of things that Kim’s Home needed.  Thank you so much to those of you who responded by sending various things.  That was so helpful.  And thank you too to you kind people who have sent money donations.  It’s made things a lot easier.  It has been a bit of a shock losing my salary and becoming a pensioner but your contributions are helping to make up some of the shortfall so that I can go on getting dogs out of trouble.  I couldn’t do it without you.

March News

So what’s been happening at Kim’s Home this month?

Well we’ve rescued 3 dogs.  First was Ripley, a Saluki cross, who was brought into Strayaid in Durham as a stray.  He wasn’t claimed and so, for a donation, he passed to Kim’s Home.   Luckily for Ripley he had a place waiting for him at St Francis Rescue in Newquay Cornwall and from there he found a wonderful forever home.

Then came Tan, a cream, rough-coated Deerhound cross Lurcher. He came from a local gypsy/traveller site.  Tan is about 6  years old and was being retired from a working life.  He was offered to Kim’s Home and we agreed to find him a good home.  He went straight to GRWE in Somerset.

Next there was Sid, advertised on Gumtree, and pictured looking very sad chained up to a fence.  So Kim’s Home acquired him.  He is only 8 months old but looked to have the cares of the world on his shoulders.  He spent a night at Kim’s Home before travelling on to GRWE Somerset.  He will soon find a wonderful home.

Biddy, a foster dog, who came originally from Strayaid as a skeletal waif, went off to her new home in Cornwall after spending nearly 4 months recuperating at Kim’s Home.  She has gone off to live with 2 other sighthounds and together they make up the Benson Brindle Bunch of Bramble, Brady and Biddy.  She seems very happy in her new home.

Lucy Locket, a three year old Saluki, is still here.  She still has a skin problem and her nervousness is not yet sorted.  So it will be a while longer before she is ready for a new home.

Kim’s Home is out and about in the Spring.  First we shall be attending the Absolutely Fabulous Vegan Fair in Cowbridge on 21^st April.  Then on 27^th May, Bank Holiday Monday, we shall be at the South Wales Dog Charity Fun Day at the beautiful Fonmon Castle.  That will be a fantastic day for all the family – just check it out here:  http://www.fonmoncharitydogshow.com/

Lots of good news on the food front for Kim’s Home dogs.  First of all a Raw2Door company opened up in Cardiff.  They supply great food and I have been able to move my dogs over to almost totally raw food.  Have a look here at the great products they sell: http://www.raw2door.co.uk/raw-dog-food

Then a high class organic butcher in Cardiff was told about Kim’s Home and offered to supply good quality meat and bones for absolutely free.  Thank you so much, Martin. http://www.martinplayer.com/  So the dogs are now really spoiled and should be super-fit from now on.  They certainly love their new diet.  And they nag me to give them dinner right from the moment we come home after the afternoon walk.

Such a lot of meat necessitated a chest freezer – and this was kindly donated by Bethan Williams via Freecycle.  Thank you so much.

Someone suggested that I draw up a wish list of things that we need at Kim’s Home.  Understandably some people are reluctant to give money to an organisation that they don’t really know.  After all I could be spending the money on luxurious holidays and flash cars……………that makes me laugh somewhat wistfully since I haven’t had a holiday without dogs since 1997 and my flash car is a dog van.  But it did seem sensible to give people the option of sending things rather than money.  So this is the current list:

Salmon oil
Solgar High Strength Fish oil capsules
Nicotinamide
Biotin
Vet bed
Wormers (Drontal plus)
Leads
Slip leads (for transporting rescue dogs)
Cheap martingales (for transporting rescue dogs)
Biodegradable poo bags

Before I retired from my job in education last year, I stocked up on most things like beds, coats, fleece jumpers, towels, etc.  But things wear out, get chewed and so there is always the need for something.

Finally, I should like to thank everyone who has supported Kim’s Home in a variety of ways.  Without you I couldn’t go on doing this.   Thank you very much.

Best wishes from Wendy and the Kim’s Home dogs