5th November 2009
A little update on Rupert, and my continued fundraising for LRRSE.
I am currently producing a set of 2010 calendars for the members on Labrador Forums - the calendars are comprised of winning photographs in a competition I held on there. Two member photographs have been chosen for each month, based on a theme, and I'm busy compiling photos right now. The calendars are going off for printing on Monday, so I am really busy right now bringing it all together :)
I have added a little donation on top of the cost price of the calendars, and because the more calenders I buy, the cheaper they are, the more people who buy them the greater the % of the purchase price will be donated to LRRSE.
Right now, I have orders for 34 x A3 calendars and 39 x A4 calendars, and the estimated surplus at the end (after taking out all costs like envelopes and postage etc) will be in the region of £170! Woohoo! It has been a VERY successful venture and although it is time-consuming and stressful, it will all be worth it in the end, when I have a big fat cheque to bank for LRRSE. It will also finally tip me over the £1000 mark for fundraising, which became my new target once we smashed the original £500 I wanted to raise :)
I spoke to Rupert's new mum recently, and he has settled in well and has had no more health problems. We are hoping to meet up in a few weeks time to see him and let the dogs all have a hooley about together, when that happens I will put some photos up. It will be sooooo good to see him again :)
Cheers
Ness xoxo
PS - if you are after a calendar, you can find details on how to purchase on the LRRSE website, or on Labrador Forums. But be fast - they are only going to be on sale until Sunday 8th November, as I need to send the order off to the printers on Monday!
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21st September 2009
WOW!!!!!!! Fundraising Aim well and truly SMASHED!!!!!!
Just a quick note to say that I have added up all the offline donations, and combined with the online donations here, we have the following:
Donations received directly to LRRSE £154.70
Donations received from a Lab Forums GT in August £7
Donations received at LRRSE Dog Party £127.80
Adoption donation received by LRRSE £75
Funds raised from Car Boot sale £195.50
That's a total of £560 just in the offline donations, and then we have all these amazing online donations as well!
Thanks so much guys, much appreciated!!!!
Also, a huge thanks to my dog walkers, Katie and Anji, who have very generously given 1/4 of their August bill straight back in to Rupert's fund, we really appreciate it guys, thanks so much!
Ness x
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20th September 2009
Today, myself and a very generous friend (thanks soooooo much Gerry!) had a stall at a local car boot sale. Many friends and colleagues had donated unwanted household items to the cause, and selling those, plus a huge pile of my patented "Rupert Chutney", has netted us £195.50 for LRRSE! Wow, that was such a great fundraising day, we really did achieve far more than we had expected to! We have now smashed the £500 I was aiming for, so we're really happy about that :) So a huge thank-you to everyone at Drayton Car Boot in Oxfordshire who was so generous in buying items from us, every penny will go to LRRSE.
Many thanks all, I have some more ideas up my sleeve so I will have a good think and see what else I can come up with to add to this tidy little sum :)
Ness x
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14th September 2009
A HUUUUUGE thanks *must* go to Karen Hartnell from Portraits of Pets - Karen is a fantastic artist and all-round great gal, who has very kindly donated a pet portrait for auction! We raised £60 from the auction and another huge congratulations to Moj, who made the winning bid. We're so grateful to you both!!
Ness x
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12th September 2009
It was with a heavy heart that I had to say goodbye to Rupert Bear on Saturday 12th September. But it was also a really joyous and happy day for him, as it was the day that he got to meet his new mum, and go home to his "Forever Home". He has two other dogs to live with, and a lovely mum called Sue, and her gorgeous daughters to love him just as much as I do.
He is doing really well and has fully recovered from his surgery. Sue said he is happy and settled in his new home and is loving his walks with the other dogs, so it's just been a perfect ending for him!
I look forward to receiving more email and telephone updates in the coming weeks and months from his new family, and as soon as I receive some updated photos of him in his new home I will post those as well. He has attracted quite a fan club so far :)
Ness x
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6th September 2009
Today was the LRRSE Annual Dogs Party, held in Denmead in Hampshire. We attended, but unfortunately we couldn't take Rupert with us, as he was at home in "solitary confinement", having been exposed to the KC virus just a few days earlier. We couldn't take the chance, with so many oldies and young dogs going to be attending the party, we just couldn't risk taking him incase he was by chance incubating the virus, he could have spread it around. We sold loads of my delicious "Rupert Chutney", and some very kindly donated "Rupert Jam", and those sales, together with the "Big Black Bucket" walk-around we did, we raised £127.80!!! An amazing success, and it has helped immensely with our fundraising efforts, so a huge thank-you to everyone who donated
Ness x
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1st September 2009
Hi. My name is Vanessa, and I am a foster carer for Labrador Retriever Rescue Southern England (LRRSE).
About 6 weeks ago, I was asked to foster a Golden Retriever called Rupert. He was given up into rescue because his owners were moving house and were not able to take him with them.
The day he arrived home, he stunk. Not just like a smelly dog, but he *really* stank. His coat was matted and knotted together in big clumps, and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to groom his coat back to what it should look like - there were moments when we were wondering if shaving it all off mightn't have been the easiest option! But we persevered, and after about 10 days, with many many hours of grooming and about 4 baths, he finally looked like a gorgeous Golden Retriever once more.
Unfortunately he has had a bit of a health problem. When I was giving him his first bath I discovered he had a tumour. After a few weeks of trying alternative treatments in an attempt to shrink the tumor, LRRSE's vet decided there wasn't much more we could do without surgery, and Rupert was scheduled for an operation to remove it. The vet also suggested that at the same time as he was under GA we should also get his teeth looked at (they were coated in thick tartar and some had the beginnings of decay), and he had a few toenails which were so long they had snapped off, so he needed a good pedicure to sort his feet out as well.
Sadly, while he was being operated on, the vet found another tumor, which he removed at the same time, and after being sent off for tests we discovered the tumors were cancerous.
Luckily for Rupert, our fabulous vet is confident that he managed to remove all of the tumor, so at this stage it is very much a wait-and-see game, but hopefully he won't need any further treatment for the cancer.
I am raising funds on behalf of LRRSE in order to help them to pay for Rupert's operation and treatment. As well as this Just Giving page, I am also holding a Car Boot sale, and I am selling some of my delicious cakes and jams and chutneys.
Everyone who has met Rupert thinks he is such a wonderful old gent and such a cuddly teddy-bear; he'll make someone a fantastic companion! Fingers crossed, we may have found his new forever home, so please watch this space for more updates.
If you could just spare a pound or two for Rupert's fund, we would really appreciate it. All funds will go directly to LRRSE, and for UK tax payers, Gift Aid means we'll raise even more money, without costing you a penny!! Every little helps, so please give what you can, all donations are gratefully received.
Ness x
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31st August 2009
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
