Archived Documents 2nd Quarter 2009

Update 13 June 2009...

HELP URGENTLY NEEDED FOR RESCUE IN SPAIN Tailends would like to help this rescue in Spain. We all need to raise money in order to survive but this rescue is in dire need right now and they have so many dogs depending on them. This is where little Alfonso is being cared for while his pet passport is being prepared. He, like many other dogs in this area of Spain, owes his life to the existence of Paws - Patas. Please help them if you can. They are seriously affected by the number of British people returning to the UK because of the global recession, after living in Spain. Many of these people are leaving their dogs behind for spanish rescues to care for as they cannot or will not bring them back with them - often due to the cost of transport and quarantine. These spanish rescues have been depending on local Brits for support and fund raising to maintain their rescues. It is very difficult for them to survive with only limited local support. PAWS (People's Animal Welfare Society) in Spain are suffering badly due to having so many dogs in their care and a severe lack of funds. Earlier this week Parvo virus was confirmed amongst the dogs and because of overcrowding in the kennels the virus has spread to the puppies (some as young as 11 weeks) that they have in their care. They have no foster homes to get them into. The shelter are finding it hard to even cover veterinary bills for all the dogs at the moment. Sadly 7 young puppies have died in the past 2 days from Parvo and there are 2 who are very very ill and it's touch and go whether they will make it. I know it's not the best time to ask people to help financially with how things are currently but this shelter are in desperate need. If you can spare £5 or £10 it will help them at this awful time. If 5 people each donated £10 this would neuter a dog or pay for the treatment for a parvo pup. In order to pay money to PAWS/PATAS click the Donations button on the front page of the PAWS-PATAS website it will take you into the Spanish version of Paypal, in the top right corner you put your money in, you have to use a comma i.e. 50,00 euro then use the blue button to total it, then below you will see IDENTIFÍQUESE EN PAYPAL, in the first box you put your e-mail address and the second your paypal password, press the yellow button marked Identifiquese and woo hoo your directed to an English page, where you can review your payment about four lines down on the left hand side, you will see a wee cross and type a note here press the cross this is where you need to put who your donation is for, then press pay and the money should be winging its way to help in Spain. If you wish to pay by debit or credit card ignore the box IDENTIFÍQUESE EN PAYPAL, but you willl see on the left hand side of the page PAIS (country). Scroll down and click on REINO UNIDO (United Kingdom). This will open a page in english to enter your details. Hope this helps as I do not want them to lose out on your donation because of confusion when trying to pay. Paws also need medications, flea treatments and wormers. These cost a fortune in Spain so if you have any spare please email Tailends and I will give you a UK address to send them to. It does not matter if they are out of date so long as they are dry and look alright. Thank you so much for reading this, rememember every penny counts for these dogs!

Stoke Bruerne - Greyhound Garden Party – Another great success! Over 80 human guests and more than 60 dogs enjoyed a country walk followed by a delicious afternoon tea in a very sunny garden on Sunday. The hottest day of the year (so far) led to a siesta for many of the hounds (& some of their owners) and a peaceful, relaxing time was had by all.

The raffle, bring and buy and plant stall were very popular and the event raised £1500 overall to be shared equally between Northants Greyhound Rescue and Tailends. Alison and Marian hope to arrange something a bit different next year – may be a 'PICNIC IN THE PADDOCK' one summer evening.

Tailends would like to give a massive thank you to everyone involved in the Midsummer walk and Garden Party this year, especially Alison and Maz. The wonderful sum raised will be such a great help with veterinary treatment and forthcoming surgery and dentals necessary for our residents to keep them healthy and happy. We fully appreciate the amount of hard work which went into this event both beforehand and on the day itself. We are truly grateful. You are all absolute stars! Angela.

Evie - is doing so very well at Tailends. She has conquered all her fears and is now a relaxed happy girl. She has been spayed and was no trouble at all going to the vet and even sat next to a cat without reacting. She is now confident to move around the house and try out new beds. She has also made good relationships with Lizzie and Denise particularly.

Todd - has also made tremendous progress since arriving here on 22nd May. He has adapted to living in a home and is enjoying the comfortable beds which are all new to him. He has needed several flea treatments to deal with the severe infestation which he had and I will bath him when we get a nice warm day. His urinary infection has now been cleared up and he has been neutered which has reduced the size of his prostate gland. His ears are also now clean and free from infection. The best thing of all is that he no longer seems to have the noisy laboured breathing which he had when he arrived. This may have been caused by the straw which he had for bedding in his kennel. I will continue to monitor his breathing in case there is any recurrance. He has no sign of laryngeal paralysis or of lung disease though he has not been x-rayed at this point.

Tweenie - had her delvosteron injection without any trouble this week. She continues to enjoy her life to the full in spite of her great age and disabilities.

Boris - had another urine test recently and at long last the results were clear. It has been a long battle with this seemingly chronic condition of repeated urine infections and I was resigned to giving him treatment on a regular basis. However he is now making real progress. The "leaking" will never be cured but we are used to coping with the help of nappies which really make life so much easier for him and us.

Wilfred - managed to split his claw recently (probably during one of his digging expeditions in the garden) and it was bleeding quite badly so he had to go to the vet to have it sorted out. He wore his bandage very bravely for a few days and was put on a course of antibiotics. He is now fully recovered and back at the digging!

Gloucester Dog Show - 28th June - Please come along and support Jan McAllen by attending or taking part in her show. Details are in the events section of this site. Jan works very hard to arrange and run this fund raising event so if you live within travelling distance do bring your dog along and enjoy the day.

Update 23 May 2009...

Todd arrived at Tailends at around 7.30pm last night (Friday May 22nd).  He is a 13 year old sandy coloured longhaired  lurcher who has spent his entire life in an outdoor kennel with other dogs who were used for hunting.  He had become unable to keep up with the other dogs and could not cope with a working life anymore. He has never lived indoors or owned a collar but now he is enjoying all the home comforts we can provide.  His breathing is very bad.  I am not sure whether this is due to his heart or to laryngeal paralysis.  His coat is in poor condition and he has lots of scars and several bald patches but with a course of fish oil, vitamins and special food, this should improve.  He had a bad flea infestation and mucky ears which were immediately treated and today he has been wormed.  He will be checked by our vet on Tuesday and have blood tests and then be neutered unless the vet thinks it inadvisable.  Todd is already settling in here very well and spent a peaceful night in a large comfortable bed with a memory foam base.  He looks very happy and is eager to fit in with the other Tailenders - even with Boris who is not a very sociable person with newcomers and behaves like a growly bear if I am not around.   We will do our best to ensure that Todd has all the love and care to which he is entitled, and that he spends a happy healthy retirement with us in sunny (?) North Devon.

Update 21 May 2009...

Evie has arrived safely at Tailends. She is gaining confidence all the time and has made friends with Lizzie who was also a little timid when she first came. I would like to give a massive thank you to everyone involved with transporting Evie from Halifax in Yorkshire to North Devon last Sunday 17th May. I would also like to thank Debra Rothery of Tia Greyhound rescue for saving Evie and all the other dogs who were rescued with her and for letting her come to Tailends. I know Debra became very fond of Evie as she was such a nervous girl and she did everything she could to help her. Thank you from Evie and myself to all the drivers:- Nina Kwasniewska, Elaine Ball, Lynda Furnival and Ronnie Callegari. You are all stars! See Evie's page here.

Update 18 May 2009...

Old Lurcher - We were expecting this old boy to be brought down to us by his owner 2 weeks ago but then I had a call to say his vehicle had broken down en route. In spite of a very generous offer by Ronnie Callegari to drive 300 miles to collect this dog and bring him safely back to Tailends, it was eventually declined. I have waited in vain for a call but none has come, so it now looks as if the poor dog will not be coming here and there is nothing more I can do. It is sometimes difficult dealing with owners of working dogs who have always lived outside. Tragically these are the very dogs Tailends exists to help and give some quality comforts and veterinary treatment at the end of their life. I do my best but sometimes we fail. I cannot help worrying about the old dogs who fall through the net.

Evie is an older brindle greyhound from Yorkshire. She was rescued from an allotment with a number of other greyhounds whose owner had recently died. We heard about her from Debra at Tia rescue who has taken all the dogs into her kennels. Evie (known by her former owner as BB - Brindle Bitch!!!) is an extremely nervous girl who cowers at the back of her kennel while her kennel mate plays happily around her. Debra felt that she would never be offered a home due to her traumatised state, so Tailends offered to take her and give her an indoor home with all the comforts she has not had before. It is very quiet here so we are optimistic that given time and patience Evie may blossom and come out of her shell enough to begin to trust people. She may always be nervous but we can at least give her all the care she deserves and she will not end her days in kennels. Evie is being transported to Tailends on Sunday May 17th by Nina, Elaine, Lynda and Ronnie. We are very grateful to all these generous people for giving up their time to help Evie.

Denise - Our resident lunatic girl has been lame this week so off she went to see our vet - auntie Alison. She has some dermatitis between the toes on her front right foot so she now has fuciderm applied twice a day and wears a boot on her walks. She is quite proud of this and hobbles around showing her new footwear to everybody.

Spring Fever - Cindy and Boris seem to have fallen for each other. They follow each other around and I would be quite concerned if I did not know that Boris has been castrated and Cindy has Delvosteron injections to prevent seasons. (The vet decided that spaying was not advisable due to the cancer which she suffers from.) Happily they eventually both get tired and curl up in their beds to have their morning sleep, worn out by their games in the garden. They really are the most unlikely pair - a large muscley staffie type and a slim shaggy lurcher.

Update 30 April 2009...

The Heaven Diaries - is a 12 page booklet that has been written, illustrated and dedicated for all those who rescue the unloved ones by Jo Brodie who is an artist and lives in County Durham.

It is called The Heaven Diaries and is a short story of a greyhound who goes to heaven and reflects upon his life. His companions are there waiting for him and he becomes young again. The greyhound watches over his last owner who loved and cared for him, and at last one day she arrives in heaven and they are all re-united.

Jo Brodie has been painting for over 40 years, and draws inspiration from the landscape, animals and birds all around her. She produces original work, prints and cards, and now small booklets. She has 4 lurchers and 2 cats who all feature in various paintings, and are a source of great delight.

It is also for her friend Angie who has rescued many, many lurchers and greyhounds. The story is about a greyhound, and his owner, but it is also for anyone who has ever loved a dog.

The book costs £4.99, of which 50p will go to Tailends. Please if ordering, add the cost of a first class stamp per book to the order. A cheque or Postal Order will be fine, and booklets will be posted out upon receipt. Please order directly from Jo and NOT from Tailends. Jo Brodie 6 St Vincents Terrace Cockfield DL13 5HB or by email

Jack - has made a full recovery after his recent illness. He is now bouncing around again when he meets strange dogs on his walks - pretending to be a real tough guy when really he is a big softie. Jack is such a loving boy and I am so relieved that he has found the strength to fight off all his afflictions.

A Big Thank You - to everybody for your patience and generosity of spirit during recent personal problems. I am so grateful for all the offers of help and cards, good wishes etc which I received. They helped to lift me through a difficult time and keep me battling on to continue the work done here with our oldies. The love in the faces of these dogs is the best treatment anyone could have. Tailends is now back to normal!

Lizzie - still has problems with her front right leg. Recent x-rays showed damage to two areas of her spinal chord but nothing which would account for the pain she is having. She will be having a consultation with Simon, our orthopedic specialist vet on Thursday 30th April. Lizzie is such a devoted affectionate girl and I am hoping we can get to the bottom of her ailment and get the best treatment for her. The good news is that her blood test last week showed no sign of her former kidney problem.

Judy - has been a little off colour recently and has not been having her hydrotherapy. However she is now eating a lot better and will have a consultation tomorrow (Thursday) followed by a short session in the water if all goes well.

New Boy - We are preparing to welcome a new Tailender this weekend from the Staffordshire area. He is 13yr old and has been kept in outdoor kennels during his life as a working dog. He now deserves some home comforts at last. He will be checked over by our vet after the weekend. More news and photos asap.

Reminder - 31st May 2009 - Greyhound Walk and Garden Party at Stoke Bruerne, Northants, at 2.00 pm in aid of Northants Greyhound Rescue and Tailends. A great opportunity for greyhound lovers to get together in lovely surroundings for a walk with the hounds followed by an afternoon of relaxation in the garden, enjoying a scrumptious afternoon tea. Tickets are £10.00 per person, the dogs go free, so please bring them all! To book your place, please ring Alison on 01604 863598 or email Marian by 17 May 2009. Directions, local information and details of parking will be provided nearer the time.

Newsletters - If you have not received the Spring Newsletter yet please let me know and I can put a copy in the post.

Raffle - I still have some books of raffle tickets so if anyone could sell a few more for us please let me know.

Update 10 April 2009...

Please Note - . I would appreciate your cooperation during the period 21st April until 27th April. The Tailends computer will be turned off during this time so please do not send emails until after the 27th April as they will not be received or replied to until much later. I would also be grateful if you could delay posting letters to Tailends until after 27th April when "normal service will be resumed". There is nothing to be concerned about but admin jobs will have to be restricted during this time. I am very grateful for your continuing cooperation. I know you will understand that the dogs needs must always come first.

Emma - I am so very sorry to have to tell you that our darling girl died tragically and unexpectedly on Tuesday April 7th. The previous evening she got up from her bed awkwardly and at first I thought she was having a fit. However it soon became obvious that she was suffering pain. I gave her tramadol - which are a very strong analgesic, but she did not seem to get much relief. By midnight I knew that I had to get her to a vet as there was nothing I could do to make her comfortable. I rang the vet and Emma was immediately taken to the veterinary hospital where she was put on morphone and monitored overnight by the veterinary staff there. Alison, our own vet, examined her in the morning and found a hairline fracture of the humerus. There was only one explanation for this as she had not been involved in any sort of accident. Alison x-rayed her and found confirmation of her suspicions. Emma had a bone tumour. She rang me and said there was nothing to do but put her to sleep while she was still under the anaesthetic. It was a horrible shock and totally unexpected. I did not even get to say goodbye or give her a last cuddle, but it was better for her not to be revived with such a painful terminal condition. Her bed and cushions lie untouched at the bottom of my bed and I am desolate at the loss of my big gentle girl. Emma was such a lovely girl and was never a bit of trouble. Always keen to please and so affectionate with everybody, we all feel her loss and the other dogs are very quiet. Dear Emma I so hope you are with the other souls who have left here and that Gloria is showing you the way and looking after you as I feel she is also looking after me now.

Tailends seems to be under a huge black cloud at the moment with the loss of Gloria, Chloe, Ben and now dear Emma in just a few short weeks. An old terrier girl (who was due to come here) deteriorated and had to be put to sleep following poor blood results. I know this will all pass and Tailends will go on as before but I know you will share my grief at the loss of these special dogs.

A New Tailender - I have been asked to take a 13 year old lurcher who has always been a working dog and now cannot do it anymore as he is frail and weak on his legs. He has lived outside in a kennel throughout his life and now he deserves some home comforts at last. More information as soon as I have it.

Jack has also been cause for concern this week. He became ill during the same night as Emma was taken to the vet. He suffered uncontrollable diarrhea and was obviously feeling very poorly. He had eaten as normal during the day previously and gone for his usual walk. His food is already prescription food and just a little chicken so this could not have upset him. I gave him kaolin but this did not resolve the problem. He was taken to the vet on Tuesday morning and put on a drip while being closely monitored and given antibiotics. Blood tests showed nothing abnormal for a greyhound of his age. Jack came home on Thursday morning after Alison was satisfied that he was stable and keeping his food down. He is eating and seems happy enough now he is back in his own home but he is still very frail. I am desperately hoping this is not going to become serious and that he will gradually perk up and fully recover back to his normal self. I am aware that he is an old boy who had not had a very good life with no previous veterinary care. He has never put on the weight which I had hoped for, yet he enjoys his food and has not shown signs of any serious problems. Please keep Jack in your thoughts and prayers. He is such a loving old boy and I am devoted to him as he is to me.

Wham Dog Show - I am still desperately seeking someone in the London/Essex area to take on the Tailends stall at this show in September. The show ground can be accesssed from 8.30am to set up, and the show closes at 4.30pm so it is a full day commitment. However there is a great atmosphere there and I can assure you that you will have a great day. Please let me know if you can help asap.

Spring Newsletters - These are now available so let me know if you have not received one by the end of next week. (17th April)

Update 3 April 2009 ...

Thank you to everyone for your patience and support during a difficult time at Tailends. Life goes on as usual for the dogs who are all enjoying the sunshine and warmer weather.

Cindy - had surgery last Friday (27th March) to remove a nasty lump on her back which could have been cancerous. She was diagnosed last August when she had a large tumour removed and was not expected to have much time. However she is doing very well and recovered quickly from the latest surgery. Her stitches will be removed next Monday.

Raffle - The annual Canine Friends raffle tickets are now available from Tailends. Two books of tickets will be included with our Spring Newsletter which will be sent out at the end of this week. If you do not receive one or would like some of these tickets do let me know. This is a major fund raiser for Tailends.

Boris is doing very well and is happy and bright. However a recent urine sample has shown large volumes of both blood and bacteria again in his urine so our vet has sent it off to the lab so that we can find out which treatment would benefit him most. Conventional antibiotics have not cured the condition so we are hoping that this test will pinpoint the cause and solution for our cheeky old staffie boy.

Mollie - Our good friend Ronnie is taking Mollie down to the Exmouth eye clinic to have a routine check on her eyes on Friday 3rd April. She is fine and stable so we are hoping she can now be "signed off" by the surgeon who operated on her in December 2007.

WHAM SHOW I still have not received a firm commitment to run the Tailends stall at the Essex show in September. If you could help in this way do let me know asap. Thank you.

Please note: All previous news items, are to be found on the Archive pages.