Since I concluded working full time in an office job, to pursue my writing career, I have begun to foster dogs for Luna Animal Rescue as I now work from home and have the time to commit to helping our animal friends.
I joined their foster volunteer group a few months ago, and found them to be a very supportive network of people who are doing great work and achieving amazing results for the many unwanted dogs/pups, cats/kittens and even small critters such as rabbits and birds.
They are a voluntary non-profit organisation with a non-destruct policy (meaning they will never put down a healthy dog). They even offer further support to any adopted animals with a lifetime of rescue back up to assist if any changes in circumstances arise after adoption and even behavioural support. All animals who are up for rehoming are neutered, microchipped, vaccinated, wormed, fleaed and vet checked. And the do all this using only donations.
There website is HERE Registered Charity Number 1163839
Our first foster dog came to us a few months ago now. He was rescued from a pound in Lincolnshire where he would have been euthanized if he hadnt been picked up by Luna and fostered. He is Charlie the Lurcher. And he is an amazing, wonderful dog.
At first it was a bit of an adjustment as Charlie is nervous of other dogs (not surprising given he came out a pound) and we already have one dog. But we were supplied a crate for him (as well as all other accessories needed, such as leads, harness, bowls, food etc). So we did some slow socialisation along with further crate training with him to try overcome the difficulties. But despite adjustments its been a great thing to do and a fantastic experience. My goal now is to find Charlie the perfect forever home so he can be happy and loved and have stability in his life.
Charlie
Charlie is a very loving and gentle dog and likes nothing more than to
cuddle up on the sofa with you in the evenings. His training is good -
he knows, sit, lay down, shake hands, and he walks wonderfully on the
lead. He is fully crate trained. He attends obedience classes with his
foster-sister twice a week, he is very clever and learns very fast. He
is a happy dog who loves to play and go for walks. He is a bit nervous
of other dogs, some of the work we have
been doing in the classes is to build his confidence when meeting other
dogs and help him be less fearful and to teach him better interactions
skills with other dogs. He is such a wonderful companion and makes for a
truly loyal and loving family member as he forms a strong attachment
quickly. He is very expressive and you really feel he is listening to
you when you talk to him. He is extremely handsome and well behaved, he
doesn't mind being brushed or having his nails trimmed. He is quiet and
doesnt bark much at all, not even when the post man comes to the door.
All in all Charlie is a really amazing dog, and I hope he finds an
equally amazing forever home where all the love he has to give is
returned in equal measures.
If you are interested in giving Charlie his forever home please contact Luna Animal Rescue by completing the enquiry form here: Enquiry Form
Some more photos of Charlie.
Charlie is a beautiful blue and white Lurcher.
Ideally
we would like Charlie to be rehomed as an only dog and definitely no
cats (he has a strong chasing instinct like a lot of dogs).
He could live with children of 13 and over and loves people.
He is a very tall lad and his basic training is very good.
He is neutered and microchipped and up to date on vaccinations.
For more information on the following dogs
please call either Louise 07860 480015 Or Natalie 07970800530 between
10am - 5pm Tues - Sat, or fill in our enquiry form and someone will call you back.
Fostering saves lives, and remember ... Adopt Don't Shop
I would like to thank Kiri Vincent at Dog Tired Dog Training in Whittlesey for all her support and assistance with training Charlie and helping him to conquer his fear of other dogs, she has been an amazing.
An odd title on its own, but in context ‘The Jungle’ is
the unfortunate name given to the large refugee camp that has formed on the
edge of Calais, France. The camp is effectively Limbo for the people trapped
within, they are unable to go back and unable to forward. It no secret the
world is facing a humanitarian crisis and it is ill-equipped to handle it.
‘The Jungle’ has already been demolished once in the past
and even now some areas are being torn down, causing smaller camps to spring up,
and inevitably the main camp regrows as more displaced people arrive daily. Aid
workers, charities and volunteers are overwhelmed by the numbers arriving from
war torn countries and countries with great civil unrest such as Syria, Afghanistan
and East Africa.
There are ways the average person can help with this
crisis. There are solidarity movements taking place across Europe and in the
UK.
I decided to help as best I could be starting a
collection at work and amongst friends. I was looking for donations of warm
clothing – in particular warm winter socks and coats, also men’s shoes (as the
majority present in the camp are teenage boys). I also collected food to create
food parcels and for the on-site kitchen within the camp itself. Working with
local charity on site l'auberge des migrants to ensure the donations met the
requirements of the camp at the time. With winter setting in, many people there
are without shoes and shelter.
Poster Design:
I ended up teaming up with Leila Crerar and the ‘Fill a Van Full of Food for Calais’ project. We combined our donations and got them
out to the camp to make a bigger impact, to try and really make a difference.
In the end I managed to collect more donated clothes/shoes and food than I could fit in my car alone. Even managed to get items such as roll mats to get people off the cold ground at night.
If you see something about the world that upsets you; that you know in your
core is wrong, there is always something you can do about it to make a
difference, that’s what I believe. It may seem small in the grand scale of
things, but if everyone is doing this, it all adds up to something much bigger than
just ourselves.
Amnesty International say according to the UN around 250,000 people have been killed and 13.5 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance inside Syria.
More than 50% of Syria’s population is currently displaced.
One-in-every-two of those crossing the Mediterranean this year – half a million people – were Syrians escaping the conflict in their country.
Amnesty International key facts:
Gulf countries including Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain have offered zero resettlement places to Syrian refugees.
Other high income countries including Russia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea have also offered zero resettlement places.
Germany has pledged 39,987 places for Syrian refugees through its humanitarian admission programme and individual sponsorship; about 54% of the EU total.
Germany and Serbia together have received 57% Syrian asylum applications in Europe between April 2011 and July 2015
Excluding Germany and Sweden, the remaining 26 EU countries have pledged around 30,903 resettlement places, or around 0.7% of the Syrian refugee population in the main host countries
In Calais alone the census taken by 'helprefugees' estimates (figures taken on Feb 22, 2016):
Our census shows:
5497 Total Residents
182 Family Units
205 Women
651 Children of which 423 are unaccompanied.
- See more
at:
http://www.helprefugees.org.uk/2016/02/22/calais-camp-total-number-of-residents-revealed-for-the-first-time-423-unaccompanied-minors/#sthash.AdkpMQP7.dpuf
5497 Total Residents
182 Family Units
205 Women
651 Children (423 are unaccompanied by an adult/family member and are extremely vulnerable).
I will include some information on how people can get involved below, I would also like to share with you a video created by Ian Raphael Gan who volunteered in the kitchen in The Jungle in Calais.
5497 Total Residents
182 Family Units
205 Women
651 Children of which 423 are unaccompanied.
- See more at:
http://www.helprefugees.org.uk/2016/02/22/calais-camp-total-number-of-residents-revealed-for-the-first-time-423-unaccompanied-minors/#sthash.AdkpMQP7.dpuf
Our census shows:
5497 Total Residents
182 Family Units
205 Women
651 Children of which 423 are unaccompanied.
- See more
at:
http://www.helprefugees.org.uk/2016/02/22/calais-camp-total-number-of-residents-revealed-for-the-first-time-423-unaccompanied-minors/#sthash.AdkpMQP7.dpuf
Links on how you can help: (most links courtesy of Calais - People to People Solidarity - Action from UK)
Near to you: http://refugeemaps.org (NB this map was made
around 4 months ago, some donations points may have changed. Calaidipedia has
an ongoing updated list if you don't find what you need on the donations map
Contact an association / a group:
► Do not go to The Jungle without having an appointment with one of
the mentioned association or group below.Your car is full. You have gas
and support from your close ones. Calais is in your GPS, but who's
waiting for you there? You were 10 to load the van, will you be alone to
empty it?
Those association are working directly, and often primarily, with and for the migrants. (Others
might be missing, if you have their name + local phone number + link,
let us know. Doctorsoftheworld - aka Médecins du Monde - is really
active on the ground but is not providing a direct local contact)
In France
Association Salam (food distribution at Centre Jules Ferry and other services)
Centre de santé
Place de l’Europe
59760 Grande-Synthe
Tél. : 0033 (0)6 50 37 77 03
migrants.ndpc [at] medecinsdumonde.net
Secours Catholique Calais (distributes shoes every Monday afternoon and clothes every 3 weeks on Saturdays)
Call Pascal if you are not coming on a Wednesday or Monday afternoon
0033 679 57 34 50 http://pasdecalais.secours-catholique.org
Email: m.christine.descamps@free.fr
00 33 3 21 15 10 20
2, rue de Croy = 62100 - Calais
open every Monday and Wenesday 2 to 5PM.
Drop offs can be made at other times by prior arrangements if you have a lot.
Secours Catholique to drop off clothing, shoes, bicycles, toiletries, smaller quanitities of non-perishable food and most other stuff;
Association Salam or L'Auberge des Migrants for bulk deliveries of food, and dropping off other things when Secours Catholique aren't available to receive them or don't have storage capacity for them;
Calais Ouverture et Humanité are good for receiving material such as tents, sleeping bags, and jackets;
Emmaüs for dropping off potatoes, furniture and various other stuff;
Médecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) to drop all hygiene/health kits and medical supplies;
La Vie Active for women and children;
Calais Migrant Solidarity is an English language group that documents police violence
