Rescue Open Day

We will be holding a Rescue Open Day on Saturday 12 May 2012.

It will be a chance to meet as many of the dogs we have in our care that we can arrange to be there, as well as talking to our welfare volunteers.

The event will be held at Broadmarsh Kennels & Cattery, Wassell Grove Lane, Hagley, nr Stourbridge. Further information will become available on our web site shortly.

Neutering Scheme suspended

We have reluctantly taken the decision to suspend our community-based assisted neutering scheme. The scheme has proved quite popular, but is a cost that the charity feels will be best spent on the rescuing dogs that face an uncertain future. If funds permit in the future we will always consider revisiting the scheme.

2010, a year of learning

This has been an interesting, challenging, exciting, stressful, rewarding and sad year. All rolled into one. The theme for me personally is one of learning. The major event for me was without question the preparation of the day to day accounts and the submission of the accounts to the period ending 31 March 2010 to an accountant. This was an extremely nervous time, not because of the accountant - Tim Pearce was simply wonderful and very reassuring, but I had that sense of the unknown, a dread that I must have made a mistake somewhere. As it happened the only thing I think I missed was a trial balance but Tim told me what was required and I quickly added this and have used it ever since.

As the year draws to an end it is useful to reflect on what has gone well and what has not. You hope the former comfortably outweighs the latter but you have to be honest with yourself if you are ever going to learn, progress and excel.

Our Kidderminster charity shop continued to be a little powerhouse of funding for our charitable activities, and its success led us to Stourbridge. Unfortunately it has not been the success I envisaged, though it remains marginally profitable its income is too low to be able to plan for its income.

Our Neutering scheme in the community was launched in the spring and was quickly successful, and a little too popular. We quickly had to scale it back to the point that at one point it was suspended. It is a useful scheme to remain in place and we appreciate that Charnock Shepherd have helped us administrate this scheme.

There is much more to pour through over the coming days as we make formal plans for 2011.

HSR welcomes Charnock Shepherd

Happy Staffie Rescue has chosen Charnock Shepherd as our approved veterinary surgeons for the Happy Staffie Rescue Subsidised Neutering Programme.

Agreement on how the process would work administratively was agreed swiftly and we look forward to utilising the expertise of Charnock Shepherd over the coming months.

Thank you Graeme and Louise.

Happy Staffie Rescue Neutering Programme

Happy Staffie Rescue believes the world has enough dogs. There are enough genuine reputable breeders and more than enough puppy-farmers and others in the industry of breeding for the sole purpose of money.

That is why, in tune with many other dog rescue organisations Happy Staffie Rescue neuters (and microchips) all of the dogs in our care. Sometimes if a dog comes in and goes out very quickly it may not be possible to do so while directly in our care but we ensure that the dog does gets its op! We issue a voucher that the new owner can use at an approved veterinary practice.

Now we have our Happy Staffie Rescue Neutering Programme aimed at members of the public who already own a Staffordshire bull terrier but who cannot afford the expensive cost of neutering.

We started this initiative in March partly as a result of limited kennel space impacting our public benefit. We have used funds available to further our charitable objectives by reducing unwanted or unnecessary pregnancies and the associated problems to the wider community that this can cause.

We have had a good start, with five enquiries received and four approved for funding (the fifth is just waiting on the application form to be returned!).

We will continue the Programme for as long as funds permit, even though we have now secured additional kennel space and have begun again to increase the number of dogs in our care. The Programme strengthens our objectives and in a very small way contributes to the community by hopefully avoiding unwanted pregnancies and the litters that follow.

Click here for more information.