Yarmouth Greyhound Homefinders - Winter Newsletter 2019

Newsletter

Kennels situated at 51 Cromer Road, Hainford, NR10 3AU (on A140) and are open from 10am until 2pm every day.

Note from the Editor Hi everyone, well another season has come and gone, and we’re at Christmas and New Year again already. How did that happen? I’m sure you all feel the same too.

We’re feeling the chill with the first cold spells and frosty mornings. We are still in our temporary home, as we’re still working on the renovations to our new house. It’s been a long job, but hopefully Jack and Bella (and us of course!) can move into our new home in the Spring. We are so grateful not to be living in the house as we do the work, there’s no heating just yet, that would never do for a hound!

One job we will get sorted before we move in, is a new fence which needs to be Bella proof. So far she’s been very good on the many occasions we spend our days and evenings working there. She has a 10 metre long lead that we attach her to her harness, she likes to supervise us working. I can’t wait to secure the garden, so we can let her explore off lead, knowing the great Houdini is safe from escaping!

Please do read the warning article about Christmas goodies and dogs (all dogs, not just greyhounds). Our houses will be full of treats and lovely things to eat, so just remember to keep them safe from hungry hounds.

Issue: 50 - Winter 2019

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Michele

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You can email me articles, photos, and “spotted” items ready for Spring, I really do need lots of input to keep the newsletters full. (michele_storer@hotmail.com)

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Remember to take lots of festive photos for us, we love to see them in the new year, and I’d love to make a montage for the spring newsletter. Our dogs are very much part of the family, and it’s lovely to see them take part in all the Christmas festivities.

Registered Charity No: 1172132

Co-ordinator’s bit A happy Christmas and a peaceful 2020 to you all, and of course your lovely hounds, from the Chairman, Committee, Kennel Staff and volunteers.

As I reflect on 2019, I realise it was a sad one for me. The year started with my lovely Tanya (Confident Tanya) collapsing and dying at my feet. Fate took over and Summer (Jacky’s Reference) was returned due to her owner’s ill health three days later. January is not a good time to put a rehomed dog back into our kennels, so I fostered her once again becoming a ‘failed fosterer’. Throughout the year Marley was becoming more and more immobile but soldiered on going out every weekend meeting and greeting the public with the stall which he enjoyed so much. Two days before his 14th birthday I made the decision he was suffering too much and sent him over the rainbow bridge.

Many people question how you can rehome another greyhound so soon after losing your companion for ten years but once again fate took over. Summer was so bereft and when out had always looked towards him for protection she now didn’t want to leave her bed, didn’t want to eat and I knew getting a companion for her was the only option. I introduced her to JJ (Glenrock JFKay), and they got on straight away. Next, he had to pass the meeting other breeds test which he passed with flying colours. As he will need to come to many events with me next year this was essential. He came home with me two days after losing Marley and hasn’t put a paw wrong so far. Friends with everyone and all other dogs and best of all he’s given Summer a new lease of life. She is happy and they love to play together, something I now realise she missed with Marley. He will never replace Marley, all greyhounds have their own personality, just like humans but he fills a massive gap in the house and mine and Summer’s heart. We so look forward to meeting you all at the events we will be attending next year.

2020 is looking to be as busy as this year with invitation to events already being received. In the next newsletter we will publish dates where we will need help.

If you would like to help at any event you will me made very welcome. We also need collectors at the Stadium on race nights in the summer months and often outside shops. Thanks to the hard work of a small band of volunteers we raised nearly £4000 during the Spring and Summer this year.

Corinne Page 2

www.yarmouth-greyhound-homefinders.co.uk

Hetty’s Helpers, Sponsors, Fundraisers I have to start with sad news this time as my new friend Rosie who was staying with us suddenly collapsed and Mr Grumpy took her away and I haven’t seen her since. Mr Grumpy said she is now playing with her other friends somewhere over the rainbow. I miss her because she distracted Romeo and I could sneak past and eat his dinner as well!

Mr Grumpy now calls me Podge whatever that means.

Now for better news, I am jumping with joy, well I am in my mind when I am on my bed, because we now have 100 registered supporters on EasyFundRaising. Thankyou very much to all of you. It is such an easy way to raise money and costs us nothing. That, of course, pleases Mr Grumpy who gets very happy when he sees the word FREE. So I am now looking to reach 150 as a happy Mr Grumpy means more treats for me.

That nice Mr Pearce has well over 100 people playing the Greyhound Lottery which is really good apart from the fact Mr Grumpy will get grumpier because he says he will never win now. There are places left for the Lottery so you still have a chance to join.

Did you come to our last Open Day? It was very good and I met lots of my old friends as usual and made new friends as well. The best thing about the Open Days is the friendliness of everybody and you get to talk (woof, bark whinge) to lots of different people. I especially like the fact that I can get lots of biscuits and treats by telling everybody that Mr Grumpy never feeds me. I was saying this to a new friend I made called Paddy (see photo) who had come to the Open Day for the first time. She gave me lots of treats when I told her my story and she even gave me lots of fuss and looked after me when Mr Grumpy was doing what he likes doing most which is getting people to give him lots of money. Of course it is not for him but goes to all my friends in the kennels, lucky things.

I am trying to find out what Bah Humbug! means as it is all I hear from Mr Grumpy at the moment particularly when pictures of a man in red with a white beard come on the TV. I think it looks fun.

I hope you and all your doggies have a very lovely and happy Christmas and I will hopefully see you all at the next Open Day, if not before

Hetty Telephone: 0845 458 3797

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Christmas goodies warning At Christmas there are a lot of things we humas love to eat, but as always, pease remember that many of our treats can have disaterous consequenses to our pets. with a range of hidden dangers for dogs Chocolate The chemical theobromine, which is a bit like caffeine, is found in chocolate and is toxic to dogs. Even small amounts can cause agitation, hyperexcitability, tremors, convulsions and problems with the heart.

The darker the chocolate, the more potent levels of theobromine become – with baker’s chocolate the most dangerous.

Chocolate should be avoided at all costs. But what do you do if your dog does eat chocolate? Even small amounts have the potential to make them feel sick, but veterinary treatment should be sought for any dog ingesting more than 20 mg/kg of theobromine – that’s equivalent to 3.5 g/kg of plain or dark chocolate and 14 g/kg milk chocolate.

White chocolate does not contain enough theobromine to cause toxicity, but it can be fatty and pose a potential risk of pancreatitis. Avoid putting any chocolate on or under the Christmas tree, as the temptation might be too great for our four legged friends.

Christmas pudding and mince pies: Grapes and their dried products (currants, sultanas and raisins) are toxic to dogs.

Ingestion of even a small quantity can cause severe kidney failure. Don’t forget this will include food items that contain dried fruits such as Christmas pudding and mince pies.

Be aware that chocolate-coated raisins run the additional risk of chocolate toxicity.

Please do see vetinary advice if your dog eats something it shouldn’t this Cristmas, fast action could save lives.

Article taken from Wymondham Veterinary Clinic - Facebook page.

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www.yarmouth-greyhound-homefinders.co.uk

Treats they can eat... biscuit recipe INGREDIENTS: 100g Cheddar cheese 75g fresh parsley 150g carrots (topped & tailed) 150g wholemeal flour 150g plain white flour 75 ml olive oil (or other oil) 1 egg 30ml hot water

PREPARATION: • Set the oven to 170°C fan, gas mark 5 • Line 2 baking sheets with a liner or baking parchment • Grate the cheese • Put the parsley and carrot in a processor and blitz until the pieces are very small OR Grate the carrot and chop the parsley very finely

• Combine the carrot, parsley, and cheese in a large mixing bowl • Add the flours and mix well – It’s easiest to use your hands • Drizzle the oil and water over the mixture, add the egg and use your hands to pull it all together into a dough. It will be smooth and not sticky. If it feels dry, add a little more water • Tip the dough onto a floured surface and roll out to 1/2 cm thickness. Use plenty of flour on your hands and rolling pin to avoid it sticking • Cut out the biscuits and put onto the baking trays.

• Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on size • Cool for a minute or two then turn onto a wire rack until completely cool.

Dogs homed since last newsletter Cushie (Cushie Heart), Wilma (Mystical Willbe), Ralph (Fenisky Sky), Prince (BartleyPrince), Sophie (Sophies Diamond), Bubba (Its Personal), Garth (Magical Garth), Candy (Pandycan), Spud (Blighty), Gem (Kilpipe Gem), Toby (Hartwood Cobra), JJ (Glenrock JFKay), Mama (Dromana Special), Poppy (Miss Hurricane), Bracken (Brackenstone Boy), Mac (Mad Mac Mad), Dubh (Cill Dubh Design), Arnold (Thymelea Arnold).

Greyhound walking Do you have an odd hour in the morning or afternoon you could spare to walk a greyhound or two round our field? We normally walk at about 10am in the morning and about 1.15pm in the afternoon. We are very short of walkers on Wednesdays, Thursdays and weekends and every afternoon. If you come you will be assured of a warm welcome and a cup of tea or coffee afterwards sometimes a piece of cake too!

Just turn up and we will show you the ropes.

Telephone: 0845 458 3797

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Letters to the editor Hi Michele,

Hi Michele,

Thought that this photo of Bart after what must’ve been a good night with his chums may amuse you.

Willow has been waiting all year for December to see her special friend Modric in the Homefinders Calendar.

Willow loves meeting him when she is out on her walks in Rackheath. She can now look at his photo every day.

Happy Christmas to all the Greyhounds

Regards, Sue and Steve Roberts.

From Josephine Howes

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www.yarmouth-greyhound-homefinders.co.uk

Hello Michele, Here is the main man, our darling boy “Shadow”. He’s our first “ Yarmouth Homefinders” rescue boy ( but not the last ). He has appeared in your magazine before (North Wales, Western Highlands, Isle of Skye). But here he is on the beach at seven in the morning this September on Scratby beach near Great Yarmouth.

He is now eight and has a few medical problems, he had a minor stroke last week, but he is our star and the day after this photo was taken we got permission to walk him around Gt Yarmouth greyhound stadium track. So we all had a lovely trip down memory lane, especially myself and Shadow. As he actually raced on the track and my father was a bookmaker on track during the forties, fifties and sixties A happy day out for all of us, including my wife. Shadow, Coleen and I all had a wonderful time. Here’s to many more years together big lad, and many more trips like this one. He is an absolute star and also a lifetime kennel sponsor! Good boy !

Ps . So is my bookmaker dad and my sister Sara xxxxxxxx

Marley 1/11/2005 - 29/10/2019 R.I.P my beautiful boy. A great ambassador for greyhounds for10 years you accompanied me weekend after weekend to our stall and events.Never a paw wrong you had been crawled over by multiple children, you have perfectly led out the race dogs for our Homefinders races at the Stadium,you have been to schools, cubs,ladies groups and never once complained. Fly over the bridge free from pain beautiful boy.

Corinne

Telephone: 0845 458 3797

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Hi Michele In October my husband Steve sadly passed away after becoming ill in June. Our beautiful boys, Asher and Gad, have been my absolute rocks, bringing me so much comfort during this difficult time.

Steve adored his furbabies, they brought him so much joy, so I wanted to share my favourite photos of the three of them with all this wonderful greyhound family.

Sarah

Ronnie at the Christmas Fayre....

Many of you will remember the adventures of Greg, which Andrew Spinks shared with us on Facebook. Sadly he lost Greg earlier this year, and has missed him very much. We are all thrilled that in a few weeks time, Ronnie will find his forever home with Andrew. We’re all looking forward to hearing updates from them. Ronnie visitied the Christmas Fayre with Andrew, and looks like he had a fantastic day out.

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www.yarmouth-greyhound-homefinders.co.uk

I’ve recently become obsessed with following Blue the Grey on Facebook, who lives in Australia. He reminds me so much of our Blue Dog, and he makes me smile daily! I love this diagram his “human” has produced, and has given us permsission to use, there is a mug avaialable with this on too: https://www.redbubble.com/people/bluethegrey

Telephone: 0845 458 3797

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Donation Thanks A great big THANK YOU to Burns Pet Food for the generous donation of 8 X 12kg sacks of their quality Sensitive food. Ron and his pals really appreciate it and are looking forward to some tasty dinners!

Greyhound Lottery Results Date Nos. Winner

Prize

Date Nos. Winner

Prize

November

September

2nd

635

9th

352 Tracey Gabbey

£60

16th

143 John Sawyer

£60

£120

23rd

425

Ella Hardy

£60

453

Sandy Dyball

£60

The lottery has run for 30 weeks so far, we’ve had 23 different winner, 5 rollovers, 1 person has won 3 rollovers.

19th

516

Justin Franklin

£60

26th

524

Laura Riley

£60

7th

152

No Winner

14th

462

David Prentice

21st

261

No Winner

28th

462

David Prentice

5th

264

12th

£120

October

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Linda Stead

£60

Charlotte Hardy £60

19 places are still available in the lottery, contact pusspearce58@yahoo.co.uk to take part.

www.yarmouth-greyhound-homefinders.co.uk

Long Stay Residents

Richie

Ron

A super handsome boy, Richie has an endearing greying face and a happy expression. Richie has a real zest for life, he loves to go for walks and have a play with his toys. He is a friendly and affectionate lad and enjoys plenty of fuss and attention from everyone he meets.

Richie would appreciate a more active home where he will be involved in fun days out, he’ll be a really fun pet..

Ron is a super handsome boy with his shiny black coat and lovely big ears. An excitable boy, Ron is very enthusiastic for his walks and enjoys having a game with his toys too. Still a youngster, Ron can’t wait to become a part of a family to enjoy spending lots of time together and exciting days out, he’ll be a great pet once he settles..

Thanks To Richard Skipworh for allowing us to use another of his fabulous illustrations. For all things greyhound visit his shop: www.redbubble.com/people/ RichSkipworth

Telephone: 0845 458 3797

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Spotted Lots of greyhounds Spotted

by Lois Artpeach on a trip to Budapest. The first two are at a macaron shop, she even spotted charity greyhound cards..

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www.yarmouth-greyhound-homefinders.co.uk

Spotted at the Gosforth Park Hotel, Newcastle by the editor

Spotted at Temple Newsam, near Leeds, by Celia Blyth

Extra ways to fundraise for us Have you thought of stopping sending Christmas Cards to non family members and donating the money to a charity? If so, please bear us in mind. Also, one or two people have set up Go Fund me pages in lieu of Birthday Presents. A modest target would be a much needed boost to our funds and the hounds would be forever grateful

Telephone: 0845 458 3797

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Fundraising Committee Update It is now 9 months since the Fundraising Committee was set up. Our prime objective is to support the Co-coordinator (Corinne Douglas) and think up new ways to raise funds for the Charity.

The summer was very busy with the team attending an event somewhere in the county most weekends, often both days and sometimes two events at the same time. A fantastic £3971 was raised. With particular thanks to stalwarts like Corinne, Debbie and Chris (the latter two who made up vast quantities of tombola prizes and folded hundreds, if not thousands, of raffle tickets). Not forgetting the dogs that showed potential adopters what greys do best, i.e. sleep!

We are collecting tombola donations for next year’s open days and the events we attend.

Any unwanted Christmas presents would be most gratefully accepted.

In addition, Sandra Clayton (a committee member and trainer), gave up her Sundays most weekends to attend car boot sales. She just about cleared out the bric a brac shop at kennels and accepted loads of donations, turning her dining room into a clearing station.

She raised a fantastic £900. She is still collecting things ready for next year but also doing online selling. So before you throw anything out, please bear us in mind.

Some new ideas were put into place. We held two Quiz Nights, started the Greyhound Lottery and held a Sponsored Greyhound walk (all by Barbara and Phil Pearce, with Deryck Self’s input on the walk). Jo Guise organised a Craft Sale in November. We have done some collecting at Taverham Garden Centre and Jollyes Pet Store. We have two more in the pipeline (7th December at Taverham and 14th December at Jollyes). If you and your hound could spare a couple of hours to help please contact me (e mail address at the end of this article).

We are exploring an exciting new idea for on line Fundraising. This will run beside our already successful Hetty’s Helpers Standing Order arrangement and kennel sponsorship but will reach a much wider audience. We will let you know when it is up and running. We are also going to look into Tetra Recycling and Used Stamps.

The regular Open Days were their usual successful, well attended, events - the Dog Show, Auction and Xmas Fayre particularly so. Also, the collections at the Stadium. Keep an eye on The Newsletter for the dates of next year’s Open Days.

We also have a great event lined up for 4 April 2020. Mary Alexander will give a talk on Greyhounds in Art with tea and cake. Details will be published soon.

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www.yarmouth-greyhound-homefinders.co.uk

Don’t forget the lovely calendars, Christmas Cards and Notelets which are on sale at kennels.

There are still some places on the Greyhound Lottery so contact Phil to sign up – pusspearce58@yahoo.co.uk.

The committee meets again 18 January to plan next year’s events and put our thinking caps on for yet more ideas to raise money. If you have any thoughts or ideas we would love to hear them or if you can spare some time to help out in the coming year, whether the odd day at an event, collecting at the stadium or helping at an Open Day. In the meantime, thanks to all the committee members, other volunteers and dogs that have helped throughout the year and for all the owners who have supported the events.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Linda Johnson (linda.johnson@ntlworld.com) Chair

Dog Friendly Holiday Cottages Around North Norfolk We offer specialist self catering holiday accommodation for owners with one or more dogs. So ALL THE FAMILY can enjoy a holiday.

Visit our website to see what’s available book your Pack Holiday today Phone: 01692 535741 Mobile: 07935 375899 Email: gail@packholidays.co.uk Web: www.packholidays.co.uk

Telephone: 0845 458 3797

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Christmas cards, calendars and notecards Hot off the press, the new Chritmas cards, and calendars are ready to buy. The Christmas cards have an illustration by the very talented Abbey Wilkinson. They are sold in packs of 10 x A5 cards in this fabulous design.

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All will be available at the kennels.

Christmas cards are £3.50 a pack, calendars are £5.00 each and the notecards are £3 a pack.

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The calendars will also be avilable by the time the newsletter is sent out. The photos have been taken by Molly and Abbey, it would be a great Christmas gift.

Finally, we will also be selling packs of A6 notecards, 5 of each design, again by Abbey Wilkinson. The notecards are blank inside, so can be used for any occasion.

Yarmouth Greyhound Homefinders

51 Cromer Road, Hainford, Norfolk NR10 3AU Tel: 0845 458 3797 Email: kennels@yarmouthgreyhoundhomefinders.co.uk www.yarmouth-greyhound-homefinders.co.uk Designed and edited by Michele Perrywww.yarmouth-greyhound-homefi of www.px2co.net Design for print and web Page 16 nders.co.uk Printed by www.blackwellprint.co.uk