Happy Staffie no.13 has started his new life

The 13th successful rehoming from Happy Staffie Rescue has just taken place. Thanks again to our volunteer Welfare Manager Donna. We are very happy that he will be starting a new life in a loving new home and wish his new family all the very best for the future.

Things have certainly moved quickly since we began.

We began our charitable fundraising 31 May 2009, and became registered as a company 23 June 2009. While we were a charity by then we could not register as one until we had raised £5,000. This meant that we had to put up with some sniping from one (and only one I might add) other dog charity who saw us not as a cooperative force in animal welfare but as competition; this despite us forging good links with Blue Cross and Worcestershire Animal Rescue Service.

This strange mentality went as far as to question us because we were a company, ignorant of the fact that a great many charities register as companies because this is a recognised framework for charities that want to enter into contracts for services or acquire land. Now we are registered as a charity their sniping has not ended and they still question giving money to charities registered as companies!! Their stupidity must be to believe that a company charity pays a dividend to shareholders (when of course there are no shareholders, and no share capital).

Still they persist. There are others things they have done, one in particular had a marginal effect in undermining our fundraising which we were successful in reddressing after correcting the lies that had been spun. It amazes me that a "charity" could behave in such a way. We considered taking legal advice but decided that this cost money and use valuable time better spent helping the objects of the charity.

Raising the £5,000 required for registration is what Mark and our team of dedicated worked tirelessly towards during the summer of 2009. The summer also saw us take in our first two dogs. Through the autumn we began to take in more dogs and our first successful rehoming took place. In the last six months 13 dogs have been rehomed, and we have 9 dogs currently in our care making 22 stray and/or unwanted Staffies that have come through our organisation in the last six months or so.

We have also started our neutering programme to assist owners on low incomes get their dogs neutered. We have issued three vouchers in the last few weeks to cover the full cost of neutering and will continue this for as long as funds allow, protecting our community from unwanted pregancies and the problems related to this.

These are small numbers though, and we have a waiting list that needs to be addressed. Our second charity shop should increase income to enable to spend more on our charitable activities and therefore take in more dogs in need of a loving new home and benefit the public who can no longer for whatever reason keep them.