Contacting your charity and donations.

 So this may turn into a minor rant but the intention is to make anyone in business (and a charity should really be treated as such) think about how easy it is to contact them and for people that want to donate either time or money to their cause to interact with them.

In this day and age of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, e-mails and a plethora of other communication platforms it should be pretty straightforward to contact , and get a response in a timely manner, from your charity and if it isn't you risk losing support. With so much competition for donations it should all be about the 'customer' experience and by customer I mean the member of the public that has shown an interest in supporting you .

How many of you have been frustrated trying to get through to a large organisation either by phone with numerous options, or by trawling through a website trying to find an e-mail address to send a query ? Virtually everyone I suspect. I've just spent the last week trying to donate over £150 to two different charities and have had two very different experiences, both of which could have been better. 

So where to start ? Most people would ideally like to pick up a phone and speak to a person but this isn't always possible in a small charity or one that works over a number of time zones. Also how would  you manage having a single contact number that would need to be diverted to different people at different times ? Do you need it manned 24/7 (Unlikely), is there a need for immediate contact ? 

In most cases the best means of contact would be either e-mail and/or Facebook and both have their unique benefits.

 Given the risk of getting spammed most websites these days shy away from publishing an e-mail address that can be lifted off a webpage and instead opt for a form for you to complete. The benefit of this is you can make certain fields mandatory to ensure you capture all the information you require to answer the specific query. You can have one single contact point rather than a series of different e-mail addresses for different departments (if you have them) and by having more than one person responsible for checking the generic e-mail inbox you are less likely to miss actioning an e-mail if the specific person that is responsible for addressing that facet of your organisations work is off sick or on leave. Someone else should pick up on the e-mail and at the very least contact the sender with a holding response to let them know their query is being handled. There is nothing worse than sending off an e-mail not knowing if it has been received. I would suggest that in addition to an automated acknowledgement you aim to have a personal acknowledgement at least within 48 hours. This might not be the answer to the question but it shows that you value the sender enough to update them .

Facebook messenger is also frequently used and actually tends in my opinion to get a better response as in the 21st century almost everyone seems to be on social media and ready to respond outside normal working hours. Obviously not the format for long questions or to send attachments but useful for nudging an organisation to check their e-mails.

The bottom line is that in this day and age of immediate gratification the charity or organisation that fails to respond promptly to a query or an offer of support often won't get a second chance . Even if the person reaching out to you doesn't get discouraged by your tardy reply their experience of your charity will have been marred even subconsciously and you risk losing opportunities in future.

So my suggestions would be:

1) Have one main point of e-mail contact that is monitored by a number of volunteers or members of staff. That way e-mails that come in will not be missed even if the best person to answer the query is on holiday/leave/sick. Someone else can step in and start a dialogue and either resolve the matter or keep the member of public updated until the right person for their query is available. Always have an initial acknowledgement that your organisation has received their e-mail and a policy of a real person responding within 48 hours.

2) Again if you have a Facebook page ensure that this is monitored by a number of people who may be volunteers or moderators who can acknowledge queries  and ensure that the correct person to deal with the message is made aware and can respond in a timely manner.

Like it or not we live in an instant society where people are used to an almost 24 hour culture. This doesn't mean that your charity or organisation has to have staff available 24/7 but you do need to have procedures in place to ensure that anyone contacting you comes away from the experience feeling valued.

So without naming names here are my two recent experiences dealing with charities.

The first one was a local food bank. A friend had presented  me with a Store Voucher and given the current climate I'm pretty sure that the local food bank would appreciate the assistance. Their  website wasn't the best although luckily  it  had not only a 'contact us form' but an e-mail address I could use . 

The problem was  neither were valid with both e-mails bouncing back as undeliverable. There was a landline number which went straight through to an answer machine and apart from a physical address this was the only immediate means of contact so I left a message. Discounting a physical visit or a letter this charity had already lost 2 chances of being contacted and it would only have taken the answerphone to be full of messages for a potential donation or gift to be given to another charity and this particular one would never have known they lost out.

Luckily the next working day I received a call back in response to my message from a very helpful and proactive volunteer and the £150 was on its way. A reasonably positive response and I would be happy to support them in future.

The second one was to a reasonably large national veterinary charity with celebrity patronage. This charity had a much slicker website and the contact us page gave a variety of e-mail options along with links to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc. I e-mailed them using the e-mail address that was the nearest match to my query regarding donating dog food and supplies and sat back. There was no automated acknowledgement and nothing to say that they had received my e-mail so I gave it a few days. Then a few more, and a few more. After almost 10 days I checked out their Facebook page and sent them a message. To their credit I got a reasonably prompt response asking me which e-mail address I had used. 

The following day I received a personal message from a member of staff advising me that they had received my initial e-mail but that they had been waiting from a response within their organisation before getting back to me. Who knows how long I would have waited before they responded (if at all) had I not chased my e-mail up ? At the very least a holding e-mail or a quick phone call could have been made.  In the end they said that  they had more than enough donations and suggested I support someone else.  

All in all quite a poor response to someone wanting to support their work especially as I had also mentioned in my original e-mail that in addition to wishing to donate £150 of pet food and supplies I would like to volunteer  with my time and large van in collecting donations and assisting with transport as required yet this was not even mentioned. As a fellow animal welfare professional sadly this charity is now off my radar and I'll approach another charity with the offer.

Conclusion.

Put yourselves in the position of someone trying to contact your charity and see how easy it is to contact yourself. Take a close look at the various methods and physically try them out. Fill in your contact us form and hit send - does it generate an auto acknowledgement ? Did you receive the query ? How many people regularly check your social media messages, e-mails, voicemail ?  Why not use a mystery shopper type scenario and without telling anyone send in a random query and see how satisfactory the response is ( a bit difficult if you are the sole person responsible but that in itself highlights the need to have more than one person involved in your organisations media and customer/supporter response systems).

Remember in the current climate where every charity and organisation is struggling you only get one chance to make a first impression - don't blow it.

Feel free to contact me if you would like a review of your organisations communications. 

Pangolins - On the road to extinction

In the 21^st Century with all the wonders of modern medicine and science from robotic surgery to face, limb and organ transplants, functioning prosthetic limbs and cochlear implants not to mention vaccines it really is appalling that some people still believe that a piece of Keratin, hair, cartilage or ivory hacked from an endangered animal can have medicinal and magical properties.

There are eight species of pangolin: four found in Asia and four found in Africa. In both regions these mammals have traditionally been killed for their meat and scales which are said to have various medicinal properties from supposedly increasing blood circulation and lactation in pregnant women to treating physical and psychological disorders.

I’ve seen many animals in my travels but never a Pangolin. I have however sadly plunged my hands into a bag of seized pangolin scales and despaired at the loss of life.  The scales resemble those found on fir cones and vary in size depending on where on the Pangolin they came from.

The numbers are shocking and we are decimating our planet for what? Just reading the recently published report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (Link below) it is difficult to comprehend how any animal can possibly survive when 100’s of thousands of their species are being killed almost annually.

I urge everyone to read the report below and support those organisations such as TRAFFIC and The African Wildlife Foundation working hard to combat the trade in all endangered organisms.

UNODC, Wildlife Crime: Pangolin scales, 2020. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

It is believed that around 70% of emerging diseases are zoonotic – that is they originate in animals and are subsequently transmitted to humans with the general opinion being that wet markets trading in wild animals for human consumption are the primary vector.

The outbreak of Covid-19 has been linked to a coronavirus found in wild bats which jumped to humans via an intermediary with Pangolins – scaly anteaters living in Asia and Africa – among the likely suspects.

Pangolins remain the most trafficked mammal in the world despite the international ban on the trade of all pangolin species since January 2017.

 One operation last April seized 25 tonnes of African pangolin scales - representing an estimated 50,000 dead pangolins - with a market value of some seven million dollars. Between 2014 and 2018, the equivalent of 370,000 pangolins were seized globally.

The above photo shows 14 tons of Pangolin scales seized in Singapore in 2019.

The above is just a snapshot of the frightening  report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the full report can be found using the link below.

Link to the report : 

http://www.unodc.org/documents/wwcr/2020/Wildlife_crime_Pangolin_UNODC.pdf

African Wildlife Foundation        https://www.awf.org/stop-trafficking

TRAFFIC                                           https://www.traffic.org/about-us/our-mission/ 

Vetting new staff.

In this day and age of the internet, social media and professional websites like LinkedIn there really is no excuse for taking a CV or Resume at face value.Anyone can talk up their achievements and say basically anything they like but a smart employer takes independent steps to verify any claims made.

This pre-employment screening should work both ways , with the potential candidate also vetting the organisation they may be working for. For example, is it a completely new position or will you be replacing and existing or former employee ? If the latter is the case ask yourself why are they leaving and try to do some digging.

For Employers

Look at the CV or  resume and just see if the dates make sense. We all know about making sure to enquire about significant gaps but also what about overlapping dates ? It is highly unlikely an individual can hold significant positions in two large organisations at the same time or even freelance whilst working full time with one organisation. It can be possible but you should certainly explore what the arrangement was or even if it formally existed, after all if you are employing someone then you want their full attention for the money you are paying them.

Sit back and read through the resume a few times and get a feeling for it. Does it look like a logical progression or is it jumping around ? Varied experience can be a good thing but most people tend to stick in an area they know best. Do the skill sets appear to be what you need ? They may have done a tiny bit of  investigation and enforcement but if the rest of their experience is teaching husbandry it is unlikely they will cut it if what you are looking for is an RSPCA type Inspector. It takes a special individual to be able to work on their own in hostile environments with little back-up and even more so in a different country. In my experience you have to get at least 5 years under your belt working as a cruelty investigator and prosecutor before you are  competent to be able to handle almost any situation you come across.

And on that note whilst many people like the idea of working in a foreign country the reality can be very different. If the individual you are considering has never spent more than a few weeks outside the UK then how are they likely to cope with living permanently overseas ?  My first experience volunteering and working overseas was in a disaster zone with no running water, sleeping on fishing netting outside under a mosquito net and drinking bottled water. Subsequent experiences have not always been much better, for instance living in a run down allegedly haunted house on the edge of the jungle sandwiched between a Chinese and an Indian cemetery.

Use Social Media and Google to  do a basic name check. If someone is claiming to have 'worked' in dozens of countries over 20 years there should be quite a lot on the internet backing this up. For instance if you Google 'Glyn Roberts RSPCA  Animal Welfare' the first two pages you come to relate almost exclusively to my work (not surprisingly you may say) and back up the claims I make for my experience. Leaving aside the self generated publicity - website, LinkedIn profile etc - there should be independent articles confirming any claims made. Just in the first two pages of the search results you can find a Guardian Newspaper article dating back to 2005 along with BBC news links, a Malaysian Radio show I did and numerous newspaper articles from Bermuda and elsewhere.

Now all this does not necessarily confirm anything other than the dates on the resume are accurate and that the individual was in fact where he or she  said they  were , doing what he or she said they were  doing but it does add credibility to a  work record.

Check references . This may seem obvious but it is often overlooked. Recently I was recruiting a deputy and had to go through a number of resumes that were submitted. The obvious first choice got my employers quite excited as he seemed perfect . Using Google I was able to confirm his identity and some of his resume (mostly college activities) but hit a snag with his work history. On the face of it this matched up although I was unable to approach his current employer ( not a major concern as no-one wants their boss to know they are thinking of leaving). His previous jobs seemed very short on contact details with just a company name, town and work period. No matter how I tried I was unable to verify his previous employment and even the one company where he listed himself as a supervisor that actually seemed to exist had no knowledge of him. This on top of a background check showing that he had motoring offences was enough to push him down the list of candidates.

Also don't just go with the details that potential candidates supply, check for yourself the current address and HR contacts for the organisation your applicant currently works for. For all you know you could be e-mailing a friend within the company who has nothing to do with the management structure and no authority to vouch for the individual but does have a seemingly legitimate company e-mail. 

Work shadowing. Depending on how sensitive the work is spending a day or so with your shortlisted candidates might be worthwhile. It may seem overkill for an admin job but if you have a small team a day or half a day working with a potential employee could be invaluable in seeing how they fit it and cope with the work.

For Employees

Now most of the above relates to the employer but not exclusively so. Think of all the British Football (Soccer to my American readers) clubs that go through 2-3 (or more) managers a season. Would you really want to work for an employer that would throw you under the bus at the first sign of things going wrong. Similarly Google the potential employer and job position and see what comes up. A high turnover of staff or numerous reports of poor practices should make you think twice before handing in that resume .

That is not to say that the organisation is necessary at fault. Take for example a case where an organisation fired a number of staff seemingly with no grounds. By all means investigate news reports surrounding the organisation and firing but also perhaps Google the sacked employees name and see what comes up. You might find out (if it was a historic incident) that subsequently those employees had issues with more recent employers which would help put perspective on things.

The bottom line is that with all the open source information out there from charity accounts, meeting minutes, news websites and the internet both employer and employee should be able to find a suitable fit for each other.

Good luck and best wishes to everyone working in the field of animal welfare and conservation. I salute you.

Take care.

RSPCA Inspector Mike Reid - Final Call

2016 has started off badly with the very sad news that another of my colleagues has died.

Mike Reid had been called out at the height of Storm Imogen to check on  a flock of seabirds that had apparently been forced down onto rocks and were being battered by the high winds and heavy seas.

There would likely have been very little that anyone could have done given the conditions and it may well have been that they were weathering the storm in a normal manner but no RSPCA Inspector could take that chance and certainly not Mike.

Sadly his RSPCA vehicle was found nearby the following morning  and after days of extensive searching by the Police ,  Coastguard and the RSPCA it has been presumed that he was swept out to sea.

Although originally from the Wirral Mike had been one of the Cornish based RSPCA Inspectors for most of his career and we regularly met at joint group meetings, training and rescues. You usually heard him before you saw him as his infectious laugh always proceeded him into any room.

One of the few really genuine 'nice guys' it has been my pleasure to know. 

Hopefully the RSPCA will institute a rescue award in his name that will ensure his memory and devotion to duty lives on with each new intake of RSPCA Inspectors. 

RSPCA Inspector Mike Reid - End of watch February 7th 2016.

Certification

It does seem that years and years of experience counts for very little these days and everyone wants paper qualifications which can certainly be an indication of knowledge but not necessarily competency.

I started working with animals long before I left school and was employed from 17 onwards working in a veterinary surgery so next year it will be 30 years working in the field of animal welfare - scary !

Sadly the RSPCA didn't go down the external certification route until just before I left so despite all those years experience I don't have any paper qualifications to show for all the jumping off cliffs, complex investigations, court appearances, driver training and boat handling (apart from a Royal Yachting Association level 2 Power boat handling certificate somewhere).

Obviously , and as you can see from earlier posts I have numerous RSPCA commendations and awards which I'm immensely proud of along with a fair few letters of appreciation from members of the public but not really any professional qualifications.

I would however  back myself against anyone in an investigation and prosecution scenario and must be almost unique in that I've worked as an (R)SPCA Inspector in 3 Countries.

The UK

Malaysia

And Bermuda

For the past 12 months I've taken a step back from front line animal welfare and have been studying for a qualification in a slightly different field and can now officially put CRCST after my name.

It is unlikely most people will know what a Certified Registered Central Service Technician is but if you have been in hospital for an operation (or even possibly to the dentist ) you will have benefited from the work of a Central Service Technician (or Sterile Service Technician in the UK).

Basically Central Service Technicians deal with all the surgical instruments that are used in hospitals and operations and are responsible for collecting them after the operation, decontaminating, inspecting, assembling instruments sets, repackaging, sterilising and distributing them back out again to the Operating Theatres. In some hospitals duties also include the stores and general medical supplies as well.

Certainly a very interesting field and still very relevant and useful to my passion for animal welfare. The study reminded me of the time in Sri Lanka during the first Tsunami back in 2004/5 when I was volunteering at a mobile field clinic , cleaning and reprocessing the instruments in basic conditions.

Lets hope I put these new qualifications to good use in 2015.

Dr Neil Burnie another great animal advocate and friend lost.

After leaving Bermuda last year I regularly check in on the Royal Gazette website to keep up to date on what is happening and Skype with friends but nothing prepared me for the shock of finding out Neil had died doing what he loved most - diving.

I worked closely with Neil in Bermuda on numerous investigations and he always had time to stop and chat. Many an evening I'd been called out to an injured stray cat and met him at his surgery and ended up chatting for hours in the car park. He never seemed in a rush and rarely if ever billed the SPCA for his call outs.

He was one of those people who had an amazing passion for life and was always bouncing off the walls. One of his many many talents was music and he could seemingly play any musical instrument he put his hands on. You would find him at street parties and events wandering around with a saxophone around his neck or if you were really lucky he would pull out his harmonica and just start riffing. 

His timing sometimes could leave a lot to be desired and I well remember the day when we were just leaving magistrates court and he decided it would be a good time to play a tune. No sooner had the inner courtroom door closed then he started playing some blues , walking through the court building, through the metal detector and out into the street. Only Neil could get away with something like that.

'Diego' is just one of the hundreds of animals he examined for me in my 2 1/2 years in Bermuda. 

A truly amazing, unique man. 

Royal Gazette Article

He had just finished filming a TV show called 'Ocean Vet' and I'm sure it would have been a massive hit and resulted in him travelling the world (even more than he already did) and becoming a Superstar not just in Bermuda and the marine community.

Here he is before he actually managed to get his shot at television - quite prophetic.

Dr Burnie - Filmed at the Bermuda Aquarium

Another amazing friend I'll never get to speak to again.

Belize

Lots of interesting adventures since leaving the Bermuda SPCA, one of which was volunteering at a cat sanctuary on an island off the coast of Belize.

Six weeks living in a hut on the beach trying to avoid (unsuccessfully) getting eaten alive by sand flies. Compensated by the fabulous views and a dock surrounded by tropical fish and stingrays.

Fabulous snorkeling when the weather wasn't tipping down with rain (which is did constantly at least 50% of the time)

Treated myself to a guided snorkel tour on the reef 2 miles offshore with a dodgy tour guide who just moored the sail boat and took us swimming up to half a mile away from the boat actually over the top of the reef and into the rough water on the other side. The swell was bouncing us all over the place and one minute we were 5 feet above the coral and the next we were dropped down on top of it.

I was bleeding so much that I had my own personal shoal of fish hovering around and even got nipped once or twice as I was waiting my turn to climb back on the boat. Good job I brought a decent first aid kit. So the moral of the story is only go out with reputable guides.

Although I helped out with the cats most of my time was spent helping another volunteer Gavin with some much needed structural improvements. The shelter has rental cabins for the backpackers which help fund the food for the cats and we started improving the shower and toilet facilities. Unfortunately the water table was so high that the hardest part was digging the footings for the shower-block walls which filled with water within 4-5 minutes.

Certainly a worthwhile experience.

Lots of new plans for 2014. I've got a commission for a series of articles in a pet magazine as well as a new job in a new location so watch this space.

Inspector Deb Large . An Inspiration and sadly missed.

It was with great sadness that I found out  that an amazing friend and colleague Deb Large from Hereford passed away on 2nd October following a long illness.

Deb was an inspiration to myself and colleagues when we were first posted to Wales as Probationary RSPCA Inspectors way back in 1994. An equine expert, Scuba Diver and a dead shot with a shotgun Deb was always up to something.

We worked together on a number of large and complex equine investigations and prosecutions and she was the go-to person for local knowledge after working in Hereford and surrounding counties for most of her career.

She was a good friend and whilst working all around the world has it's advantages one of the biggest sadness's that I experience is not being able to keep in touch as much as I'd like with friends like Deb.

 I last spoke to Deb a few weeks before and I knew she was having problems and I was hoping to see her when I got back to the UK in December sadly this was not to be.

The animal welfare community has lost another dedicated guardian. I will miss you Deb.

If any readers to this blog want a fallen SPCA Inspector mentioned please get in touch and I will be honoured to include their information.

Book review : Trident K9 Warriors

I'm a great fan of military autobiographies so when I was leaving Bermuda and found a book token I had been given I was straight down the bookshop to find a book to read on my travels. This title immediately caught my eye and as it was the only copy and was for the exact amount (almost) of the book token I thought it was an omen.

On the face of it the mix of a military autobiography and a book about K9 service dogs would seem an ideal and interesting combination but if you were expecting lots of action and adventure along the lines of the popular works such as 'Bravo Two Zero', 'Sniper One' or even 'Apache', you will be sadly disappointed.

The plus points of the book are that Mike Ritland comes across as a very caring handler and is quite outspoken about negative reinforcement training techniques. For dog trainers it might prove to be an interesting insight into the training of military working dogs. It also gives a general historical perspective of the adaption of the dog from a means of static guarding to an offensive and tactical weapon .

The problem that I had with the book is that it wasn't very well written and jumped around all over the place. There was no logical progression . Some authors have a skeleton of a narrative and do dip into the past when events prompt a flashback type chapter. Mike however swings back and forth from operations to Seal training to dog and puppy training with no apparent structure.

Even the actual war zone encounters don't really get you interested. The whole book is written like your confused and slightly absent minded uncle would talk about his wartime experiences.

Clearly too many people are jumping on the bandwagon  with their Seal Autobiographies in much the same way as the SAS guys did after Andy McNab published his first book.

This book retails at $25.99 in the US and Bermuda and is certainly not worth the money. I'd wait for it to hit the discount and remainder book sellers if you felt you really had to add it to your library. 

I'll shortly be leaving Bermuda after 2 years as the Bermuda SPCA Inspector and taking a much needed break to catch up with friends.

I'm also working on a YouTube channel as well as updating my website and will post the  links here when they go live.

If anyone has any projects or suggestions or knows of any vacancies don't hesitate to get in touch and there is no need to worry as the beard was a very short lived experiment and is long gone.

Best wishes

I had the privilege of knowing Sabrina who was the SPCA Selangor Inspector before I arrived in 2008. So many devoted rescuers sacrifice all to care for the animals that society neglects. A lot has happened in the last 12 months but you have not been forgotten.

From SPCA Inspectors and animal rescuers worldwide - you will be sadly missed.

Feral Kitten rescue Bermuda

Bermuda

Well for all of you that don't know I'm now back working full time as an Inspector, this time for the SPCA in Bermuda. There are lots of challenges but the work is exciting (and slightly more dangerous than usual) with a multitude of Horse, Pig and Pit Bull complaints to deal with.
You might be surprised to know that apart from the Pit Bull issue there are no stray dog problems in Bermuda. The problem is that there are very few adoptable dogs full stop !!! If you don't want a Pit cross then you are out of luck .

And don't get me started on Feral cats !! They are a major problem and are currently in a turf war with the Feral Chickens . When Chickens turn wild could be the title of my book ! There I am looking at all these chickens running around with tiny fluffy chicks and cockeralls cock a doodle doing all over the place thinking 'Ah how cute' when all I hear from the locals is curses and gnashing of teeth as the birds root around in their flower beds. I got the same response from a friend in Australia when I went all misty eyed at the sight of some Kangaroos and their babies in her field. All I got was a frantic ranting and a search for some big rocks to chase the 'overgrown vermin' out of her hay field. I guess one mans pet is another mans pest.

Still, it is truly a beutifull Island and as soon as I get a day off I'll take advantage of the fabulous beaches.

Fundraising for Animal Charities

Whether you are a group of friends rescuing street dogs or a large international animal charity with many departments probably the most vital person in your organisation is the fundraiser. If you had told me that when I was on the front line of animal welfare kicking down doors and taking names I would have laughed as surely the most important person is the one actually doing the animal welfare work ? Well yes and no.

Clearly no charity can exist without people who are prepared to get ‘down and dirty’ and work at the often unpleasant end of animal welfare on the streets but without funds to pay for animal food, vets bills and advertising for your work then you will always be struggling.

Now more than ever it is important to look at different ways to fundraise so that you have an income to continue your vital work.

Where do you start? Firstly you need to look closely at your supporters and volunteers. How well do you interact with them? It is likely that you will have a small core of regulars who volunteer weekly but what about the wider circle of people who have come into contact with your organisation, do you know anything about them? It may be you have a supporter who is an athlete or a top businessman or a fashion designer or even an entertainer that might be willing to help with a specific event like a sponsored run, designing a logo or even just helping sort out your finances.

Your volunteers and supporters are your greatest asset so it pays to try and get to know them and what better than to recruit them to help fund raise.

So let’s quickly go through fundraising options starting with the most common.

Stalls and booths at events. A good way to sell your merchandise and promote your organisation provided the stall is well stocked with good quality merchandise and literature. To maximise revenue how about a raffle? You could approach some of the shops in the Mall or nearby before the event to see if they would be willing to donate a prize in return for being included in your publicity material for the event. Also if you kept contact details of those who entered the raffle you might be able to increase your supporter database.

Dog shows and sponsored dog walks Can take a lot of organising so not an event you can just put on. You need to make sure that you have enough volunteers to ensure it runs smoothly. A good way to get people involved in your organisation. Try and get people to sign up to different classes before the event so that you know roughly how many will turn up. Remember it is a fun event so try and share out any prizes. In the UK fun dog shows are very popular and often a local celebrity is asked to judge some of the classes which may have themes like’ Dog most like its owner’ or ‘Dog with the waggiest tail’.

Charity/Celebrity Auctions A charity I advised organised a celebrity auction. They wrote to as many famous people in the country as possible asking for items to be donated which would be auctioned to raise funds for their shelter. They got quite a good response with paintings from artists, signed scripts and items of clothing from actors, signed photographs and sporting items from other celebrities as well as the unusual like a day at a Spa or a meal for two at an upmarket restaurant. They combined this with an open evening/auction night at an art gallery and sold tickets to people interested in bidding for the items. Simon Cowell of X Factor fame was the auctioneer.

Collecting Boxes. Do you use collecting boxes ? Perhaps you can organise a tie up with a chain of shops or pet stores to have your collecting boxes near the till. Think wacky, another charity I worked with had some handmade wooden dogs with a Perspex tummy so you could see your money being swallowed by the grateful pooch.

Charity Shops/Garage Sales . In the UK charity shops are big business , especially in a recession. The secret is to obtain good quality donated clothing, books and bric-a-brac to sell. You may have to chase donations and if you have a van and driver you could perhaps leaflet a suitable area asking for certain items like books, unwanted good quality clothing, ornaments and possibly even small household appliances or furniture, if you have the storage and display space. You never know what you might get and it is worth getting an expert to cast an eye over the results just to make sure you haven’t got a Ming vase in amongst the items collected ! The charity Oxfam in the UK even have specialist charity shops which sell the designer label clothing that is donated whilst other charity shops specialise in books, records and CD’s

Sponsored events. Again very common in the UK. Probably the most popular is a sponsored run with people entering marathons and other races and getting people to sponsor them per kilometre completed. The event does not need to be competitive, how about a sponsored swim at your health club or a sponsored row on a rowing machine in the gym ? A team of fundraisers in the UK raised £1,000’s for the Haiti earthquake appeal by rowing the distance to Haiti from the venue in the UK on a number of rowing machines . They had been sponsored by friends, family and workmates for each kilometre completed.

Overseas challenges are also popular with charities organising sponsored climbs and treks to places like Machu Picchu (Peru) or Kilimanjaro (Tanzania , Africa). The participants must raise a minimum amount of sponsorship to be able to take part. How about a sponsored trek up Kinabalu ?

Corporate Sponsorship. It is always worth approaching large organisations to see if they will sponsor a specific project. Usually they want something to show for their money so make sure you do your homework on what they might contribute to. This is where your volunteers and supporters will come in useful . Do any of them work for a large bank or international company ? being on the inside they will be able to find out the information you require and the person that you need to approach to maximise your chances of pitching your appeal for funds successfully.

Regular Small Donations. Many charities work on the basis of regular monthly donations from their supporters. This is where the mailing list is invaluable. By requesting a small regular donation for a specific use your supporters can visualise where their money is going. For example “ 10RM will feed a kitten for a week, whilst 15RM will treat a dog against heartworm and ticks for a month. 20RM will vaccinate a dog against rabies and 50RM will pay for a cat to be neutered” By giving a range of donations each individual can give what they can afford each month and provide a regular income for the charity .

These are just a few of the more common ways to raise funds but in a recession it pays to be quirky and inventive. So get together with some friends and start planning . Let me know how you get on or contact me for help and advice . Good luck

Police Dogs killed by handler

Yet another Police Officer has left their dogs to die in a hot car. This time it is a Police Sergeant from the Metropolitan Police and it even happened at their Training Center.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2008691/Sergeant-Ian-Craven-suicide-bid-police-dogs-die-heat-car.html

It seems that some of these 'handlers' treat their dogs just as tools of the trade and whilst the majority of Dog handlers put their dogs first there are some that clearly would be better off looking after nothing more valuable than a stack of traffic cones.

It is an honour and a privilege to work with animals particularly ones who are prepared to lay down their life to protect you. There should be no second chances or cover ups for these evil people and the full weight of the law must come down on any person, Police Officer or not, who does such a horrendous and despicable act. This guy needs to be prosecuted and thrown in jail with all the other abusers and criminals. He apparently has 'previous' as a dog he was training died.

I certainly don't want to hear the Police whining about implementing new procedures and safeguards to prevent it happening again - it shouldn't have happened in the first place , it isn't too difficult to comprehend the risk of leaving dogs in vehicles.

There are many websites devoted to Police Dog Memorials and some are truly moving but unfortunately there are a significant number of dogs that have died as a result of errors by their handlers. I fully support the Police but this must be the last time any dogs are killed by inadequate handlers.

A K9 Prayer.


Oh almighty God, whose great power and eternal wisdom embraces the universe, watch over my handler while I sleep.

Protect my handler from harm while I am unable to do so.

I pray, help keep our streets and homes safe while my handler and I rest.

I ask for your loving care because my handler's duty is dangerous.
Grant my handler your unending strength and courage in our daily assignments.
Dear God, protect my brave handler, grant your almighty protection, unite my handler safely with the family after the tour of duty has ended.

I ask nothing for myself.

Amen.

~Author unknown.

Animals in War Memorial - Hyde Park London

Since the dawn of time when man first domesticated the wild dog we have used the special instincts of animals in our battles with each other.

Horses were probably the most common animal used initially but some armies even used elephants and camels in their ‘cavalry’ units. The Great General Hannibal in 218 BC crossed the mountains with 37 war elephants to attack the Roman Empire and many tribes in desert regions used camels instead of horses due to the harsh conditions.The 20th century probably saw the greatest use of animals in warfare particularly during the two world wars. Almost 8 million horses, mules and donkeys were used in WW1 to carry supplies to the front lines in horrendous conditions which proved too much for the early military vehicles. Horses and mules were again used in WW2 in the jungles of Burma and East Asia to carry weapons and supplies through the mountains and valleys which were inaccessible by any other means. Many didn’t survive or were abandoned when the armies withdrew. (The Brooke horse charity came about in the 1930’s due to the plight of hundreds of war horses abandoned in Egypt by the UK, Australia and America after the first world war)

Apart from the obvious duties of guarding camps and soldiers dogs have been used for carrying messages, laying telephone wires and detecting mines as well as searching for injured people in collapsed buildings. In the Vietnam War America used over 4,000 dogs to protect its bases, seek out the enemy and enter tunnels which were too dangerous for the soldiers to climb into. 500 were killed in action (KIA) and shamefully when America withdrew at the end of the war the rest were abandoned to their fate.

In the two world wars of the 20th century over 300,000 homing pigeons were used to transport urgent messages back from the front line and many units moved forward under fire with cages of these birds to send back updates on the battles. Even cats have played their part and many a Royal Navy warship has had an official ships cat whose duty it was to keep the rats and mice under control. The most famous of these cats was Simon who served on HMS Amethyst during the late 1940’s. He had been found wandering sick and exhausted in the docks of Hong Kong by one of the crew and taken on board the ship and nursed back to health. He repaid this kindness by catching and killing any rodents he could find that posed a threat to the food supplies of the ship. Even when he was badly injured during a protracted battle he still stayed with the ship until it managed to escape a blockade and return to its homeport. For his dedication to duty he was awarded the Dickin medal for gallantry and given the official rank of ‘Able Sea Cat’ (An Able Seaman is the equivalent human rank). Elephants, camels. Dogs, oxen, bullocks, cats, canaries, mules, horse and donkeys are just some of the animals that have given their lives in the wars and conflicts of the 20th century. Often struggling on through appalling conditions wounded, hungry and thirsty. Always loyal always giving their all.

In November 2004 a large memorial was unveiled at Brook Gate, Park lane , London as a powerful and moving tribute to all the animals that served, suffered or died alongside the British, Commonwealth or Allied forces in wars and conflicts of the 20th century.
The memorial comprises a large Portland stone wall partially shielding an arena through which two bronze mules are struggling, heading for some steps and a gap in the wall leading to the gardens beyond. Once through the gap in the wall you find two further bronze statues, one is of a large war horse closely followed by a medium sized dog. The horse is breaking into a gallop whilst the dog is looking back over his shoulder. These two animals symbolise hope for the future whilst at the same time bearing witness to fallen comrades.
The arena side of the wall has raised carvings of the different animals that have gone to war for mankind whilst on the reverse are silhouettes of animals intended to depict the spirits of those lost in conflicts. Carved on the front of the memorial below the dedication is a simple sentence, “They had no choice”

Standing next to the bronze dog in the shade of the trees I felt an overwhelming sadness about what mankind does to the animals of this planet. Dogs and Equines in particular give unending devotion and service yet are often abused and neglected. I watched as people and vehicles passed by rarely stopping to read the inscription or taking time to study the memorial.

Scattered at the foot of the memorial were a number of fading poppy wreathes probably from the preceding armistice day (marked on the 11th Hour of the 11th day of the 11th Month each year commemorating the end of World War 1) and some poignant messages from people who had not forgotten what sacrifices were made by the animals in conflicts.

A lone candle was lit by a Dutch cyclist completing a 540km sponsored bike ride for a Sri Lankan animal charity and those people at the memorial fell silent for a few minutes. The Animals in war memorial in London does not glorify conflicts but serves as a reminder to us all that mankind owes a great debt to the animals we use for our own ends.
“They had no choice”