Pets Magazine October 2021

October 2021, FREE

Guinea Pigs & small pets looking cute

JANETTA HARVEY: For the Love of Schnauzers Vet

Photo courtesy of The Michigan Paw pet accessories

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The healing power of horses

Horses, like many animals, have long been held to have therapeutic bene

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Many people enjoy horse

that the use of horses dates back 6,000 years. However, riding, and choose to have more recently it has been their own horses. But you recognised that the partnership might not know that there between horses and people can are many psychological and go beyond work and leisure, to provide educational and physical health bene ts to therapeutic benefits you might equestrian activities. We've not know about.

asked Katie Allen-Clarke

Equine Facilitated Education and Therapy (EFET) can be a come over to Pets Mag and great choice for many people. It is a form of therapy that allows take us through all the budding horse enthusiasts to ways that horses can be learn and develop through therapeutic. horses. It involves horse riding, looking after horses, and Horses and humans have had a learning in practical settings. long and enduring connection, This form of therapy can with many people estimating benefit many individuals, but

fi

fi

s

from Horse & Country TV to

particularly those with learning disabilities.

Here are some of the many things that EFET can provide support and learning for.

Building con dence with horse Working with horses can be a major confidence booster, for many different reasons. Even just spending time with such a large, powerful animal and being in control can show many people their own potential to accomplish things in the world.

The Riding for the Disabled Association found that 77% of people they have worked with thought their confidence had improved.

Horses also provide instant feedback on your actions, so you can see instantly when you do something good, such as stroking them or giving them the right command. This is great for making people feel more confident and capable.

Reducing anxiety through horse ridin

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g

There is a lot of evidence that physical exercise and

movement can reduce anxiety, and horse riding and looking after horses is no exception.

The physical movement of horse riding helps people concentrate on their actions and their bodies, and the exercise relieves some of the bodily tension that builds up through anxiety.

Improving movement and cognitive functio

As well as reducing anxiety, being around and riding horses can be helpful for people with learning disabilities as it improves movement and cognitive function. This is because when you ride horses, you practice balance, and Completing tasks and learning develop muscles that you don't how the tack room, stable, and use much in everyday life. The arena are organised and looked physical benefits also extend to after, also helps people to feel building muscle strength and in control and take on bigger improving posture. practical problems.

Riding and looking after horses also provides a safe environment for many people

with learning disabilities, in which they can practice responding to others and what is happening around them.

This can improve reactions and hand-eye coordination.

Developing social skills around horse

s

Spending time with horses can also help people with learning disabilities to explore and develop social skills. In fact, the Riding for the Disabled Association found that 68% of the people they worked with felt that they had improved their communication.

Giving instructions to horses and building relationships with individual animals gives people a wealth of opportunities to build their communicational abilities. Making friends not only with horses, but the helpers in the sessions, gives people a community and social support as well as physical exercise.

Spending time with horses and exploring EFET can help people with learning disabilities reap all the benefits of the relationship between humans and horses. Whilst people have enjoyed horse riding and keeping horses

recreationally for many years, there are so many psychological, physical and social positives of working with horses as well.

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Cuteness comes in small creatures

Suits you, Sir!

There really is no other point of this feature than to bring your some muchdeserved cuteness. The Michigan Paw is, as far as we can see, the only retailer specialising in handmade crocheted accessories for small animals including create handmade crochet accessories for small pets such as guinea pigs, bunnies, cats, and small dogs. The US based company has a growing fan base and ships internationally; most items with FREE P&P. See their Etsy shop or Instagram for more information.

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Trick or treat?

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Pretty in Pink

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Sombrero Kids!

For the love of

Schnauzers

JANETTA HARVEY is author of ‘Saving Susie-Belle’, a personal account of life with adopted dog, Susie-Belle, a survivor of the worst of commercial puppy breeding industry. The sequel, ‘Saving One More’ examines the global puppy breeding business and updates readers on life shared these days with Susie-Belle’s adopted canine sister, another, severely damaged by her years of imprisonment in a UK puppy farm. She is a leading campaigner and advocate for animal welfare, and founder of the charity, Schnauzerfest . Here, Janetta writes about her latest initiative.

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What happens when a rescue is faced with a vet bill of £6000 to save a dog’s life? Hope Rescue in Wales was in this situation and turned to Schnauzerfest, the charity I founded in memory of my dog Susie-Belle (pictured right with Janetta). The charity pays for veterinary treatment for rescue dogs like Teddy who was in the

I founded Schnauzerfest exactly for cases like Teddy’s. To offer a financial lifeline to rescues. The given to them when his charity pays large bills like owners left him with the Teddy’s to routine treatments vet facing an uncertain such as vaccinations, dentals, future. He was seriously ill spay and neutering.

health problems. This was on top of having everything to learn about living with humans for the first time in her life.

Kind humans were an unfamiliar experience for her, she had no way of understanding that we were and later investigations While the charity is young - it nothing to worry about. By found he had a liver shunt, only gained official registration restoring her eye sight it helped in late 2019 - it really started 10 to remove one of the barriers to a serious condition years ago when I adopted her learning to enjoy life. requiring specialist Susie-Belle. She had received surgery. Schnauzerfest cataract surgery when she’d As soon as I adopted Susiefunded Teddy’s treatment been saved from a puppy farm. Belle I began fundraising.

Restoring Susie-Belle’s vision Knowing that Susie-Belle’s and he now has a bright was a great gift of kindness surgery came at a cost of and healthy future ahead from the rescue which cared for several thousand pounds I her. While not life saving it was wanted to support rescue work of him. life changing. Susie-Belle, like so that other dogs could benefit many dogs coming out of the as she had. The majority of my breeding industry had multiple fundraising supported the

care of Hope. He’d been

rescue centre where SusieBelle was cared for, but as the years passed I came to see the enormous need for financial support in the wider world of rescue.

In 2014 I started Schnauzerfest as a simple fundraiser. It was based on friends organising dog walks amongst themselves and collecting donations. Every year the Schnauzerfest community grew, more people became interested in fundraising under the Schnauzerfest banner.

Our iconic orange theme grabbed both attention and imaginations on social media and when people were out walking with their dogs. We gathered a tremendous amount of support not just within the schnauzer owning community but from other dog lovers who joined the walks and other fundraising events we ran on social media.

In 2019, before it became a charity, Schnauzerfest appeared on ITV’s Britain’s Top 100 Dogs for our work highlighting the problems of puppy farming and the need to support good rescue work.

It’s always been important to Teddy me not only to fundraise but to bring attention to the reasons why it is so badly needed.

Educating people about puppy farming, how to source dogs well and avoid falling into the many traps there are today is a central part of Schnauzerfest’s

work. The charity has a strong educational purpose, enshrined in its constitution.

I always knew Schnauzerfest

of the world and raised

farming and

being a charity was a big step to £19,000.

Schnauzerfest

take and would involve plenty of challenges, as well as new

Our supporters love having

opportunities. However, we

more flexible events and ways

faced an immense challenge in

to support us and in October

•

times about the challenge

2020, our first year and the one we have a brand new monthwhen a pandemic hit! It forced long hybrid event happening. us to radically rethink

One that can be done in

everything. Our established

gatherings, with friends, or

fundraiser - nationwide dog

more quietly from the sofa.

•

Donate £10

•

Pick your 10 - do your own thing and tell us about it

We’re really looking forward to

walks - had to be

seeing what everyone does.

abandoned. But,

With everything to do with

With everything to do with Schnauzerfest, it’s about having fun while raising awareness and funds.

with the amazing community of supporters which

Schnauzerfest, it’s about having fun while raising awareness and funds.

Sadly, Susie-Belle died in

Schnauzerfest

2015. Schnauzerfest is her

has, we not only

legacy and she continues to

survived our first year we did it

#Schnauzerfest10For10 invites

inspire me. Every day I am

in some style!

everyone to do something

awed by the generosity of

around the number 10, in the

Schnauzerfest’s volunteers and

From scratch we created a new

tenth month of the year, of the

supporters who make

event, Schnauzerfest Walks

tenth year since Susie-Belle was everything the charity does possible. adopted and this whole thing

The Globe. The aim was to get

enough pledges of support from started! people that one lap of the globe Take 10 walks • (24901 miles) would be walked between October- the

•

Walk 10 miles

traditional month of

•

Walk with 10 others

the year. We achieved that in

•

Walk at 10 (am or pm)

under 48 hours. So we

•

Get 10 sponsors

extended the challenge! By

•

Wear 10 days of orange or 10 items of orange

completion, over 400 supporters had covered 5 laps

•

Tell 10 people about

rescue dogs, puppy

(dogs or people or both)

Schnauzerfest - and the end of

Post on social media 10

Ember

Ember had overcome a lot of

Ember and will pay for any

her anxiety arising from her

surgery in future.

When Ember was saved from a

background. As she will always

puppy farm at a year old she'd

be partially sighted, and

already had a litter of puppies.

potentially blind one day, she is www.schnauzerfest.org

She also had cataracts in both

staying with her fosterer

and follow Schnauzerfest

eyes. Just as she was about to

permanently.

on social media

To find out more visit

@Schnauzerfestuk.

have cataract surgery, lockdown hit and her surgery

As soon as it is decided that

was cancelled.

surgery is the right thing for Ember, her cataract surgery

By the time it was possible,

will go ahead.

sadly one eye had developed complications and surgery was

Schnauzerfest supports the

no longer possible. After

ongoing veterinary costs for

months with her fosterer,