Lab Rescue SE & Central Annual Report

Registered charity No. 1059122

I suspect there are many of us beavering away with deadlines looming, November means the chairman is called upon to write a Christmas message for the supporters and volunteers of the charity as you can imagine ‘Thank you’ features frequently, the message from the chairman is then reproduced in our magazine and on the website. At the same time editors of club yearbooks are hoping that they will not have to spend the festive season frantically reminding contributors to pull their finger out and get writing.

The charity covers a large chunk of England, well the South, East and much of the Central bit as the name suggests and Chris Bailliss (Tissalian Labradors) is the co-ordinator for much of the region covered by Midland Counties. The charity can assist with rehoming and may also be in a position to assist in emergency situations for example where people are unexpectedly taken ill or are facing financial difficulty with veterinary costs and if you are aware of anyone within our catchment who may benefit from the help of the charity please contact Chris in the first instance.

In recent years the charity has found that owners are tending to rehome young, fit and healthy dogs by themselves using their own various social media outlets and only turning to the charity when there is urgency or health or behavioural issues or great age. This has resulted in far fewer dogs to rehome but each case tending to be far more complicated to place and far more expensive for the charity. We are not daunted and where we can help we will endeavour to do so and my uplifting story is Dolly who came to the charity as a young dog with a significant palate defect, conventional

Dolly is a beautiful affectionate advocate for a little bit of ‘wait and see’.

Dolly and her chums on the beach.

wisdom has tended towards euthanasia as they can struggle to suck effectively and subsequently there is a risk of aspiration and nasal infections but conventional wisdom is not always reliable and Dolly has lived a normal active life eating or probably wolfing down the large kibble of Royal Canin Labrador. I am not suggesting they will all do as well but without trying there is no way of knowing and Dolly is a beautiful affectionate advocate for a little bit of ‘wait and see’.

The charity will continue our work as best we can through the months ahead within the restrictions laid down by the government. 2020 has been a difficult year for many and at the same time as wishing you and your dogs every health and happiness, I would ask you to also use your dogs as a way of reaching out to your family and friends who may be quietly struggling with all that has been going on, there is no better way to chat than on a walk with your dogs and no better excuse to meet up and catch up. Richard Best