NUFF NANG

Monday, March 30, 2009

LUCY HAS GONE HOME...

Lucy, one of the Stafforshire Bull Terrier puppies I look after at The Mayhew, has gone to her new home yesteraday. A very nice family adopted her and I know she will have a great life... But I will miss her terribly though...

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I will be taking part in the British 10K run to raise money for the Mayhew Animal Home
Please visit www.justgiving.com/natashafernz to sponsor me.


Please note that you can still sponsor me even if you are not in the United Kingdom... :)



Your donation will be greatly appreciated by all the animals at The Mayhew...


Monday, March 23, 2009

WHAT THE MAYHEW DOES...

Hi everybody,

Cameron & Lucy on their second of four walks a day

This is Cameron and Lucy... my two favourite pups at The Mayhew Animal Home. They were abandoned by their owner when they were mere weeks old. If it wasn't for the Mayhew, who knows what would have happened to them.


Lucy making sure she gets her share of cuddles...

Cameron and Lucy have been neutered and vaccinated and have grown so much since they first arrived. With the care from the staff and volunteers - they are now happy and healthy pupppies. Lucy will be going to her new home soon - and this would not be possible without The Mayhew.


Cameron getting some cuddles in her kennel
(Can you see her TV at the back?)

I know I have gone on about how fantastic the Mayhew is, but alot of you must also be asking what exactly does the Mayhew do to make me gush so much about it.

Well here's just some of the things that the kennel staff and volunteers at the Mayhew do on a daily basis (The cattery is also excellent - but as I am dog mad, I don't do much there):

  1. Clean each and every kennel with pet safe disinfectants
  2. Put down fresh and clean bedding for each of the dogs
  3. Take each dog (unless medically un-fit) out for AT LEAST 4 short walks a day (i.e. 15 mins per walk at the minimum)
  4. Take each dog (unless medically un-fit) out for AT LEAST 1 very long walk each week to the canals or scrubs (i.e. over an hour)
  5. Ensure that each dog has some time in the in-door or outdoor runs every day.
  6. Feed the dogs with specific types of food depending on their health and condition
  7. Provide veterinary care by qualified vets at Mayhew's very own state of the art clinic.
  8. Vaccinate every dog that comes in
  9. Spay / neuter every dog that comes in
  10. Play soothing music for the dogs in the afternoons / nap time
  11. Get lots of cuddles from staff and volunteers!
  12. Do LOTS of laundry - as there are tons of bedding to be washed and dried every day!

The actual kennels at The Mayhew are very different from other shelters. The first thing I noticed on my first day was that it was relatively quiet.

The reason for this was that each kennel was built to feel like a room within a house - wooden doors and walls to start with. So if a dog does bark, the sound doesn't reflect off steel walls and cause all the other dogs to bark.

The size of the kennels are also fairly large - the smallest one being the size of a decent single room!

Then each kennel has a small television set that gets turned on at certain hours of the day. This is to familiarise the dogs with sounds that they will experience in a home when they are finally adopted,or to make them feel more at home if they have been given up by their owners. The radio also gets turned on at various times of the day for the same reason.

Each dog also has very sufficient bedding so that they do not sleep on cold hard floors like in most other kennels. AND all kennels are fitted with heaters (for the winter) and air conditioners (for the summer!).

These are only some of the things that are done on a daily basis at the Mayhew. There are many other important things that are done at The Mayhew to ensure that all the animals receive the best level of care possible and to ensure that the best homes are found for all the animals.

I could go on and on about the Mayhew... but I think I shall stop for now. I would however like to appeal to each and everyone of you to sponsor me for the British 10K run which I am taking part in to raise money for the Mayhew so that they can continue their fabulous work. Please visit www.justgiving.com/natashafernz to sponsor me.

Please note that you can still sponsor me even if you are not in the United Kingdom... :)

Your donation will be greatly appreciated by all the animals at The Mayhew...

Friday, March 13, 2009

SPONSOR ME PLEASE...

Hello everyone,
I will be running for The Mayhew this year in the British 10k London Run - so will need all the support I can get. Please "sponsor me" to raise funds for The Mayhew by clicking here. Any amount will do - even as little as GBP10 cause every penny helps...
Please also help me raise money for The Mayhew by spreading the word to all your friends and family. Thanks a million guys - all the animals at The Mayhew will really appreciate your contribution!!!
Please note that you can still sponsor me even if you are not in the United Kingdom... :)

Monday, March 09, 2009

CRUFTS 2009


I was at my first CRUFTS this weekend. I was completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of dogs that were there.

Apparently a total of 22,000 dogs were registered for this year's CRUFTS eventhough there has been quite alot of controversy surrounding breeders and pedigree dogs in the UK recently.

And the activities in the NEC Arena were quite spectacular - as I got to witness first class dogs and handlers in a number of events - agility, freestyle & flyball etc.

I was quite bored at the actual dog showing rings - but the activities in the main arena, Youth Kennel Club and Obedience Rings were really quite interesting.
Though in fairness, there was no way that anyone can experience everything that they would like to at CRUFTS - just because the magnitude of the entire show was simply phenomenal. My favourite bits were all the agility and flyball stuff, and also the Friends for Life bit.

Also, I had intended to get some stuff for my Cleo & Co, but just couldn't. My brains simply malfunctioned cause there were so many exhibitors there that I didn't even know where to start.

I wish I had enough sense to take some decent pictures - but I didn't... Anyway, for those of you who have no idea what CRUFTS is, here's a bit of background and also a link to their official web-site.

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History of Crufts

How it all started: the development of Crufts Dog Show

Crufts is named after its founder Charles Cruft. The young Charlesleaving college in 1876 had no desire to join the family jewellery business. Instead he took employment with James Spratt who had set up a new venture in Holborn, London selling "dog cakes".

Charles Cruft was ambitious and a relatively short apprenticeship asan office boy led to promotion to travelling salesman. This brought him into contact with large estates and sporting kennels.

His next career move with Spratts saw him travelling to Europe and here in 1878 Frenchdog breeders, perhaps seeing entrepreneurial talents in Cruft, invited him to organise the promotion of the canine section of the Paris Exhibition. He was still just two years out of college.

Back in England in 1886 he took up the management of the Allied Terrier Club Show at the Royal Aquarium, Westminster.

The first Crufts show in that name was booked into the RoyalAgricultural Hall, Islington in 1891. This was the first in a long series of shows there. During this era it was possible for individuals to run shows for personal profit, an aspect that appealed mightily to Charles Cruft, and he ran his shows with considerable profit tohimself.

Today there are no privately owned dog shows and permission to hold shows is granted by the Kennel Club which licenses only non-commercial organisations.

In 1938 Charles Cruft died and his widow ran the 1939 show. Three years later Mrs Cruft felt the responsibility for running the show too demanding and, in order to perpetuate the name of the show her husband had made world famous, she asked the Kennel Club to take it over and it was sold to them; 1948 was the first show under the Kennel Club auspices.

Held at Olympia, it proved an immediate success with both exhibitors and the public. Since then Crufts has increased in stature year by year.

In 1979 it was decided to change the venue from Olympia to Earls Court as the increasing entries had the show bursting at the seams. In 1982 the show ran for three days and in 1987 for four days to accommodate the increasing numbers of dogs and spectators.

1991 saw the Crufts Centenary Show being held at the BirminghamNational Exhibition Centre, this being the first time the show had moved from London.

2009 will be the nineteenth year that the show has been staged at the NEC.

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

RUN FOR THE MAYHEW

Watch this space!!!
I will be running for The Mayhew this year in the British 10k London Run - so will need all the support I can get. Will be posting details on how you can "sponsor" me to raise funds for The Mayhew soon...

Monday, March 02, 2009

CAMERON & LUCY FOR ADOPTION - LONDON

Hello everyone...

As some of you know, I spend my Saturdays at The Mayhew Animal Home in Kensal Green. Anyway, there are 2 adorable puppies - Cameron & Lucy (both Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross breed) - that are waiting for someone to give them a forever home...

I have been looking after them for a few weeks now - and while they're my favourite dogs at The Mayhew, it also breaks my heart to see them there every week...

So if there are any of you that live in London or who have friends who live in London, and think that you can give these 2 puppies a good home, please click here to find out How to Adopt or contact The Mayhew at 020 8969 0178 to arrange for an appointment to see these 2 adorable babies.

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Am attaching pictures of Cameron, and will try to get some of Lucy soon too...

Hello, my name is Cameron

I'm an eleven week old, female Staffordshire Bull Terrier crossbreed who will grow to be a small medium sized dog. I arrived at The Mayhew with my siblings because my owner was unable to care for us.

I am a typical lively and playful puppy who needs a lot of attention. I am very affectionate, craving company and I love to learn. I'm also very inquisitive and into everything. I am good with other dogs, cats and children. I'm available for adoption now but won't be able to go to my new home until I've been neutered at twelve weeks.

I am looking for a new home with someone who will make sure I get two gentle, thirty minute, off lead, socialisation outings per day whilst I'm still young, building up to a minimum of one to two hours, of off lead exercise, daily once I'm fully grown.

My new guardians will be at home for most of the day, have owned dogs before and will be prepared to take me to training classes. Any children in my new home will need to be at least sixteen years and upwards. My new guardians will be taking on a fifteen-year commitment, which must not be taken lightly.

Hope to see you soon
Cameron x

Nuffnang