Hi all,

Going to try and raise some money for Bath Cats and Dogs Home this December by being shut in a cat pod for 90 minutes with one of the Home's many resident felines! This is something like the ninth or tenth fundraiser I’ve done for BCDH over the years, but if ever there really was a good year for me to do one – and for you to sponsor me, if you can – it’s this one.

Why?

Well, I daresay we’re all acutely aware at this stage of the cross-sectional damage wrought by Covid-19. The crisis has not only transformed our lives; it’s also had a significant impact on the welfare of animals and the work of the rescue sector. Job losses, illness, financial difficulties, and even some people's fear of contracting the virus from pets, has sadly led to a rise in animal abandonments in the UK.

To give an idea of the kind of strain animal rescue services are under at the moment; during just the first three months of the lockdown, the RSPCA received almost 3,500 calls – 40 a day – about abandoned animals, including 1,509 dogs, 1,165 cats, 299 small animals such as hamsters and guinea pigs and 275 exotic animals. In the West Country alone, RSPCA officers responded to more than 10,000 incidents involving animals in need during the coronavirus lockdown.

The full or partial closure of many rescue centers, shortages of staff, the cancelation of almost all normal fundraising events and decreased public donations, and the aforementioned surge in the numbers of abandoned animals have put many animal rescues in a very difficult position, financial and otherwise. Winter is always a tough time for rescues, with operating costs such as heating kennels and catteries needing to be factored in on top of the usual expenses, which combined with the multitude of challenges posed by COVID-19, means this year is going to be one of the most difficult to get through in living memory.

To this end, it falls to people like me, doing events like this where restrictions allow, and people like you, generously donating towards them if you can, to try and help these charities raise the funds they need to get through to next year and – hopefully – be able to resume their usual fundraising efforts on the scale needed to keep doing the amazing work they do for the long term. For BCDH - a completely financially-independent charity, small in scale, committed to an increasingly rare non-kill/open-intake policy and dependant entirely upon the goodwill and donations of locals and supporters to fund the good work they do – the stakes are even higher, and the imperative even greater.

In short - if you care about abandoned animals, have a spare fiver or tenner to give, and want it to go somewhere that will really see the benefit of it, a place that’s staffed by people who feel the same way as you and work long and hard every day to do animal care the way we all want it done, you will find few charities as deserving of your support at this extremely tough time as BCDH. Your sponsorship, should you be able to do it, would thus be extremely appreciated!

Ethan (and Lilly!)

Some general facts about the home and the costs involved in running it:

• Bath Cats and Dogs Home is a local animal charity that rescues and rehomes animals that are unwanted, are abandoned, or have been abused.
• They take in and care for over 1,300 cats, dogs and rabbits every year, an average of four animals every day, at a cost of £1.3 million a year
• They operate a strict non-destruction policy, with all animals given the best possible chance of finding a new home irrespective of their previous circumstances
• Every animal who comes to us has a vet check, and is given a personal care plan including medication, essential vaccinations, diet and exercise. For those that require it, behavioural rehabilitation is provided by our on-site experts.

To give an example of ways the money raised might be used:

1. £12 will buy essential items for our vets to help a sick
animal
2. £15 will keep a litter of kittens in food for a week
3. £40 will provide a safe kennel to an abandoned dog
4. £100 will help run 10 cat pods for a day