Acorn News News, views and more from Oak Tree
Autumn/Winter 2023
Welcome to our Autumn/Winter Newsletter 2023
What a year 2023 has been so far! We have been stretched in so many ways as demand for our community and rehoming services has rocketed as people face increased financial challenges and animal behaviour issues. We are not immune to the price rises and, like everyone, our own costs have risen considerably with inflation. In response to the current challenges, we continue to build our Charity Shop network and fundraising activities to try to bridge the gaps to enable us to continue to support the animals and their owners who so desperately need us. Throughout all of this, we remain so grateful to you all for your generosity. Thank you for your continued support; your help really does change lives. I hope you enjoy reading the stories that you have made possible.
Caroline We can achieve more together! Subscribe to receive updates, news and more - be sure to give this form back to us!
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Oak Tree Animals' Charity, Oak Tree Farm, Wetheral Shields, Carlisle, CA4 8JA Open 7 days a week, 10.00am to 4.00pm
T: 01228 560082 E: info@oaktreeanimals.org.uk www.oaktreeanimals.org.uk General Manger: Caroline Johnson Oak Tree Animals' Charity is a Registered Charity - Number 1169511 / SC048389. Copyright OTAC 2023. All articles and photographs remain the property of Oak Tree Animals' Charity and may not be reproduced in any way without the written permission of the Charity. Company Limited by Guarantee 10404912 Registered in England and Wales.
Overcoming challenges in 2023 Following the pandemic, and as the cost of living affects families throughout our region, we are seeing more demand for help than ever before.
With your help by the end of August 2023 we have…
Found loving new homes for animals in our care.
189
201
Helped feral cats through our Trap Neuter Return programme.
1381
Supported owners through our community outreach programmes.
1900
Ensured over animals received food when their owners were struggling to feed them with the cost of living.
You can play a vital role in ensuring the well-being and happiness of our residents!
our r o s Spon ls and e Kenn ry! e t t Ca
From as little as £1 per week! (Our minimum sponsorship length is 52 weeks)
To find out more, please visit: www.oaktreeanimals.org.uk or scan this QR code or email fundraising@oaktreeanimals.org.uk
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The lack of legislation can cause real welfare problems, the results of which we see daily at Oak Tree. Animal Charities across the UK have been working together with policymakers to improve animal welfare legislation. Our work with local MPs, councils and other relevant bodies is vital so that we can make sure that the voices of animals and their owners across our region are heard by those in power. Listen to our latest PetPod on our website for further insight. Across our region and the UK as a whole, Oak Tree works closely with other charities, both human and animal, making sure that animals are not forgotten and have positive futures. It is amazing to see the results of our collaborative efforts - recently one of the horses we were able to rehabilitate at Oak Tree Farm, following a jointcharity approach to a severe cruelty case in Surrey, has gone on to win ‘Champion Pony’ in the unaffiliated section at the British Horse Society Border Union Show. What a success! By working together with other charities and organisations we can be stronger, more effective and skilled advocates for animals. Thank you for supporting us in this great endeavour as we aim to change animal lives!
Flame is now thriving!
Raven Where are they now?
In March, we were contacted by a local vet, who told us that Raven’s owner had requested for her to be put to sleep due to her having cystitis. As a treatable condition, the vets knew there were other options so they asked us if we could take her in. Once at Oak Tree, Raven quickly became a favourite with staff and volunteers – she was a bit of a sassy queen but this just added to her charm! Raven was with us for a few months until the perfect couple got in touch to adopt her.
She has the most amazing character, she’s loving, playful, chatty, sassy and quirky all rolled into one. I’m really pleased to say that her cystitis has fully cleared up, but with our vet’s agreement, we are still giving her a urinary sachet of cat food every morning. We both want to thank you again for letting us adopt her. We just love her.
Pepper and Daisy Where are they now?
Daisy and Pepper were brought to Oak Tree as their owner could no longer care for them due to ill health. Having not been able to walk them for some time the girls had become severely overweight, both clocking in at 40kg! They started on a special diet and along with gentle but regular exercise we started to see the weight drop off.
She loves spending time with people and the more she grows in confidence the funnier she becomes!
She’s an absolute sweetheart.
Tonto
Where are they now?
Tonto has always been a kind and gentle horse with a big heart. He has found a wonderful home in Scotland near Loch Lomond... We have only just started showing this year and it is something that I have never done. I have always been a happy hacker with my horses, but must admit I am now hooked. It helps that Tonto is such a star and the judges seem to love him. He is winning rosettes in Condition & Turnout 2nd, In-hand Novice 3rd, In-hand Unplaited 2nd, In-hand Coloured 4th, In-hand Veteran 1st. I am in the process of registering him with the Veteran Horse Society and next year I am hoping to get qualified for Blair. He lives at home with me in Scotland, near Loch Lomond, with my three other horses; Dizzy my Clydesdale/Cob-cross whom I ride, is the head of the group, I also have Benson, a 32 year old Welsh D, who retired last year, and Barney, a Shetland whom I rescued with Tonto, in January 2022, he is quite grumpy but adorable!
Do horses feel the cold like we do? Horses are able to tolerate a wider range of temperatures before needing to warm up or cool down. They grow a thick coat of hair which allows them to trap air close to their skin to allow for an extra layer of warmth. Their coat also has natural oils which help keep them dry and warm in wetter weather. Body brushes and bathing unclipped horses can strip the coat of its necessary oils, so it’s best to avoid doing so during the winter months. It can be hard to tell if your horse is at a comfortable temperature as they can often be too warm without sweating. This makes choosing whether to rug or not rug your horse even harder during the cold weather. Possible signs of a horse overheating include excessive drinking or if they have a generally low mood and lethargy. Due to their desert origins, donkeys can’t regulate their body temperature as well as horses. They often struggle with the wet environment in the UK, so often need a large shelter, heat lamps and extra rugging.
Find out more by emailing ask@oaktreeanimals.org.uk
I want to help Oak Tree continue its wonderful work. It is comforting knowing that I will still be able to support animals long after I am gone. Barbara Kuss, 2018 Barbara Kuss sadly passed away in 2021 but through her gift, her connection to Oak Tree lives on. In 2022, 4,384 animals and their owners were helped and we’re continuing to help as many lives as we can. However, the cost of this vital work is high – not just direct animal welfare costs but also staffing and maintenance costs. Although we manage to raise considerable funds through our commercial endeavours, grants and the generosity of our supporters, last year over 45% of our income came from legacies in Wills. Without the generous animal lovers who have supported us in this way, we wouldn’t be here. To find out more about leaving a legacy or our free Will service visit, www.oaktreeanimals.org.uk or email legacy@oaktreeanimals.org.uk Not sure if you need a Will? Scan the QR code to take the quiz...
Fostering . . . s e v li s e g n a h c Albus’
owner got in touch about surrendering Albus due to his behaviour. Albus had issues using his litter tray and would urinate on bedding and around the house daily. His owner tried lots of different approaches to help him but nothing worked. It became apparent that the only time Albus would reliably use his trays was when the children and dog were out of the home, and it seemed he just wasn’t happy living with them. Luckily we were able to find a very understanding foster home who took him in knowing his litter tray problems. He took his time settling in, pacing and yowling for the first couple of nights but, as the only pet in a quiet home with a very caring fosterer, Albus’ toileting issues vanished. He soon became a very sweet, happy and affectionate cat. The ability to place Albus in a foster home and confirm the reason behind his toileting issues enabled us to find the perfect home for him. A lovely young couple got in touch, fell in love and gave him his happily ever after! You too can give animals, like Albus, a second chance by becoming a fosterer today, visit www.oaktreeanimals.org.uk
Training at Oak Tree Animals' Charity
Recently, the Training and Behaviour Team welcomed a new addition, Lucy! She’s been a huge help since joining the team, enabling us to fulfil the high demand for training classes and providing new puppy classes. The team are often out in the community, attending events, visiting owners and offering their support and advice. Lucy attended the Pups at the Pond event in September where she spoke to many owners regarding the behaviour issues they face. During the event, we launched our new event vouchers. The vouchers offer £15 off a 1-1 training session if you sign up on the day of the event. This will continue at our future events, so keep an eye out for our training team out and about. They are currently working on a research questionnaire asking members of the public about training techniques and dog breeds.
For more information, please email training@oaktreeanimals.org.uk
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Helping to prevent Dog Bites Over the past 5 years, the UK police have recorded a 34% increase in dog bites... As a nation, we are seeing a rise in not just dog bites but unfortunately dogrelated fatalities. Between 1999 and 2019 the number of hospital admissions due to dog bites increased by over 154%. Dog bites are multi-factorial with breed disposition only playing a small part. Other considerations include breeding practices, owner behaviour and responsibility, training, early socialisation and husbandry. The Government’s announcement in September 2023 to ban the American XL Bully breed is unlikely to have the far-reaching consequences intended. We can only hope that time is taken to examine the fundamental, underlying reasons behind the recent spate of dog bites and to produce comprehensive legislation addressing all of those reasons equally. Over the past year, we have been working on a project to help understand the issue and find ways we can help to improve it. One of our latest outreach projects is to offer support to working professionals who are likely to come into contact with dogs in the home environment. Our first event was held with the team at Family Action in Carlisle, where Mike, our Training and Behaviour Coordinator, gave a talk focusing on the current situation, behaviour, body language and children and dog interactions. If you think your team/workplace would benefit from this free service, please get in touch and we will be happy to help.
This winter our donkeys will be sleeping on barley straw beds to keep them warm. A £25 donation could buy them a nice cosy bed this season.
Your gift can change lives! Donate here!
Give a gift and help animals...
£5
The gift of Joy...
From enrichment toys to training harnesses and specific food, our animals’ requirements are varied and many. You can help us meet all their needs.
The gift of Comfort...
£10
To ensure Oak Tree can continue providing services for both pets and owners in our community, we must raise over £1.97 million a year. You can give the gift of comfort by donating towards our energy costs.
£20
The gift of Hope...
Each year thousands of animals need our help, last year we helped over 4,300 animals. We have many animals looking for loving homes, you could ensure there's always a safe place for rescue animals.
Dedicate your gift to someone special... Write your message in the gift box, cut it out and send it to: Oak Tree Animals’ Charity, Oak Tree Farm, Wetheral Shields, Carlisle, CA4 8JA
All of the messages we receive will be displayed at Oak Tree Farm. Please ensure all cheques are payable to “Oak Tree Animals’ Charity” BACS: Sort Code: 16-52-21 Account Number: 54102146
A special thank you to... Grants and Trust
Organisations who help us to fund necessary projects and veterinary bills.
Fundraisers
For their creative ideas which help generate essential income.
Donors
For their regular donations which allows us to continue providing help.
Partner Vets
For supporting our animals as well as those in our community.
Corporates & Businesses For their hard work and support with a variety of fundraisers and projects.
Volunteers
For donating their time and skills across all areas of the Charity.
Building Confidence Levi is a role model for anyone who thinks their confidence or anxiety is holding them back! Since joining Oak Tree as a volunteer over 2 years ago, Levi has gone from strength to strength and we’re delighted to recognise his commitment and hard work by nominating him for our Volunteer of the Month award. Levi struggles to be around new people or large groups, due to autism, ADHD and an anxiety disorder. He has shown incredible commitment and as his confidence has grown he has taken on new challenges and learnt new skills; working with new teams in the Cattery and at one of our busiest charity shops in the centre of Carlisle. He is also studying car maintenance at Carlisle College. Now Levi is confident at making suggestions to improve things and never says no to a job. In our eyes he is amazing, a credit to Oak Tree and an inspiration to anyone who thinks their confidence or anxiety is holding them back.
Be paw-some, like Levi, and join our amazing team of volunteers, simply visit www.oaktreeanimals.org.uk/get-involved
A new breath of life... Pie
came to Oak Tree in 2014, after he had been neglected. He was originally rehomed as a ridden pony but was returned as he started to show behavioural issues. On reassessment, we found that his breathing became louder whenever he was doing anything more than a walk. After a vet assessment, it was clear Pie could not be ridden anymore as his larynx no longer worked properly, meaning that not enough air was able to pass into his lungs during intense exercise. After this discovery, Pie was rehomed as a companion in June 2022. He is now looking very happy and healthy in his new home. His rehomer takes him out in-hand walking and enjoys spending time giving him plenty of attention. It is often difficult for people to keep companion cob-type horses at a healthy weight throughout the spring and summer, so we were very impressed when we saw Pie looking so slim during his last home visit!
We love hearing about previous residents, please get in touch with your own updates, email info@oaktreeanimals.org.uk
Upcoming Events Check out all of our upcoming activites at www.oaktreeanimals.org.uk/events or
Halloweek 21st to 31st October 10.00am to 4.00pm Halloween Trail at Oak Tree Farm, just £2 per person and there is no booking required.
Pumpkin Carving and Enrichment Fun 28th October 10.00am to 1.30pm Pumpkins are not just for carving, they're also a tasty treat for our goats and ponies!
Christmas Market 18th November 12.00pm to 8.00pm Browse our delightful selection of Christmas stalls and see if you can find Santa’s grotto!
Santa Scramble
18th November 12.00pm to 3.00pm Gather your team and take on the Santa Scramble Inflatable Obstacle Course!
Christmas Children’s Trail 2nd December to 2nd January A Children’s Christmas-themed trail, just £2 per person and receive a prize on completion!
Let’s Skip January! 1st to 31st January Take part in our fundraising Skipathon to raise essential funds for animals in need!
Oak Tree Farm, Wetheral Shields, Carlisle, CA4 8JA
Our Charity Shops Working with the Community
Exciting news!
Armstrong Watson were crowned the winners of the first annual Battle of the Shops Competition!
Our Charity Shop Teams have been working hard over the last few months. We’ve had a new shop open in Blaydon with more shops planned to open soon. We’ve recently teamed up with some amazing businesses and corporations who have helped raise vital funds for animals in need! In June, the Battle of the Shops Challenge saw local businesses team up with our charity shops and raise over £5,000! We’re looking for more organisations who are willing to take part in next year’s challenge. If you’re interested in taking part, please get in touch with us: corporate@oaktreeanimals.org.uk Visit our shops in Carlisle, Penrith, Hexham, Blaydon, Cockermouth, Maryport, Seaham and Keswick.
Caledonia Park’s Superdry Team raised over £500!
Oak Tree Farm
Oak Tree Farm, Wetheral Shields, Carlisle, CA4 8JA
Enjoy a fun trip out! Oak Tree Farm is dog-friendly and open 10.00am to 4.00pm every day. We are a working rehoming centre but we also welcome visitors to shop, have a cuppa, watch the animals, and have a wander in our woodland area.
Did you know? Studies have shown that visitors walking around kennels and catteries can cause the animals distress impacting their mental and physical health. This means that we restrict access to appointments only, preventing stress to the animals and giving them better rehoming prospects.
Treats for everyone! There are lots of tasty treats for humans and their pets in our Tearoom and Gift Shop - gift vouchers available too. Don’t forget to visit our onsite Charity Shop, Second-hand Pet and Tack Shop to find some brilliant bargains too!
A Happy Reunion I truly am a lover of this charity as they temporarily fostered my two beautiful border collies while I was living in a refuge. I obviously missed them like crazy, but I thought I would lose them and it was killing me. Oak Tree Animals' Charity thankfully took them until I moved into my permanent home again. You have no idea the relief that gave me.
In January the Community Team got a call from My Space Housing. A lady had fled her home because of domestic abuse and had to leave her dogs with the perpetrator. The team organised with the owner to collect the dogs and they were fostered by two amazing people, giving the dogs the care and stability they needed while their owner found refuge. With the dogs being quite young, advice was given by our Training and Behaviour Team and the dogs thrived and matured. After 6 months their owner found a new safe place to live and was reunited with her dogs. There were lots of happy tears and lots of tail wags! Our ‘A Helping Paw’ programme supports hundreds of families every year! For more information, please email ahelpingpaw@oaktreeanimals.org.uk
24 ca ts an d 3 dog s micro chipp ed!
Chip and Chat Did you know a microchip is about the size of a grain of rice? Since March this year, our Community Team have held several ‘Chip and Chat’ sessions in local community centres. The scheme was set up to make it easier and cheaper for pet owners to microchip their pets, with just a £5 donation and access to free advice and support. From 10th June 2024, it will be law for all owned cats to be microchipped (this does not include feral, farm or community cats). It has been really encouraging to see so many people come forward to get their cats and dogs chipped. Thank you to our fantastic partner vets Paragon, who not only microchipped the cats and dogs but also ensured the pets involved had a free health check!
We’ll be running more sessions soon, so keep an eye out on our socials for when and where our next session will take place!
A Changed Life... When Cleo arrived at Oak Tree she was very shut down and didn’t want to come out of her kennel. It took the Small Animal Team 10 days before they could get near to her and get her out of her kennel. They worked hard to build up her trust and confidence, and after lots of treats, Cleo came out of her shell and went on her first walk. Cleo has since never looked back. She enjoys her walks around Oak Tree Farm, especially in the Woodland where she loves her zoomies! It took a little longer than usual, but she finally found her forever home and her confidence continues to grow.
We couldn’t be more proud of her!
Help animals while you shop online...
.org.uk
Easy Fundraising allows you to donate to Oak Tree every time you shop online with no extra cost to you! You can even donate when you compare and switch your broadband provider.
It’s completely free to use! Simply sign up online at www.easyfundraising.org.uk or visit our website to find out more www.oaktreeanimals.org.uk/get-involved
Each year we must raise
over £1.97 million to ensure we can continue providing support for both pets and owners in our community.
How Can You Help? There are so many ways to get involved and be part of our mission to make a better world for animals...
Donate
See the next page...
Fundraise For Us We are always amazed by the efforts our supporters go to raise funds, no matter how big or small we are grateful for every donation!
Volunteer Our fabulous team of volunteers help across all departments and give on average 8,000 hours per month!
Foster An Animal Fostering is such a rewarding experience and doesn’t require anything more from you than providing a safe place for an animal in their time of need. There are no vet bills or food costs and all the essential equipment is provided.
more Looking for port us? p ways to su Scan this QR code to visit our website and discover even more ways you can help!
Thank you for your support! Donate by Post, Phone or In-person If you would like to make a donation via a cheque, please make it payable to 'Oak Tree Animals' Charity'. You can also donate over the telephone, please call us on 01228 560082. You can also visit one of our Charity Shops or Oak Tree Farm, Wetheral Shields, Carlisle, CA4 8JA.
Donate via the Bank To set up a regular or one-off donation via your bank whether it be in-person, online, or via a mobile banking app, please use the following information. (There are no extra admin charges for using this payment method). Oak Tree Animals' Charity, Oak Tree Farm, Wetheral Shields, Carlisle CA4 8JA C/O The Cumberland, Cumberland House, Cooper Way, Carlisle, CA3 0JF Account Number: 54102146 Sort Code: 16-52-21
Donate Online You can set up a regular payment or make a one-off donation on our website via JustGiving (please note, JG admin charges will apply) - simply click the 'donate' button. There are also lots of other ways you can donate on our website, head over to www.oaktreeanimals.org.uk and click 'Get Involved' to find out how you can help!
If you choose to donate, please notify Oak Tree of your kind contribution, along with your contact details, so we can update our records and properly acknowledge your generous donation! Email fundraising@oaktreeanimals.org.uk, call 01228 560082 or write to us using the above details.
Add 25% to any donation you make! Please complete our Gift Aid form to add 25% to your donations (monetary and goods). Forms can be downloaded from our website, or get in touch and we can pop one in the post for you!
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