Dumfriesshire & Cumbria Greyhound Rescue

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Your letters

Send us your comments, letters or poetry and we will add them to this page*

Huggyhoundzblog.jpg
5th July
 
Dear DCGR

This is me in my new forever home with my new mum, Samantha. I live in Cornwall now and my name seems to be Finlay.

I have been introduced to lots of new things: - the sacred blue crisps which seem to be called Ritos, something else with green fur and teeth called a Geen Trocatile !?! and an even stranger thing called Macca Pacca

It's sunnier here than in Cumbria - life is very good for this huggy 
hound

xx

27th June
 
Dear Graham,

Thank you very much for your fantastic talk this morning. I thought the way you pitched it was superb and I have been inundated with questions in my lessons. Please thank Margaret for all her hard work too.

I will post a cheque to you in the next few days and I also intend to ask a student to write a brief report on the chapel so it can go on the school website. I will forward it to you when it is complete. DCGR does superb work and any time you need a roof for the night or temporary accommodation for a rescued dog in Edinburgh, please feel free to get in touch.

Many thanks for all your hard work, hopefully Hazel and I will come and see you in Moffat in a couple of weeks.

Kind regards,

Hugo Battersby

May 13th 2008
 
Hi my friend wrote this poem for me i thought it was wonderful and
would like to share it with you my friend has 2 greyhounds Jet and Tina.

                     JOSH

         I'M A HANDSOME RACING GREYHOUND
         YANKEE RANGER WAS MY NAME,
         I RACED AT BROUGH PARK, NEWCASTLE
          'TILL I FINISHED MY RACE LAME.

          GREYHOUND RESCUE TOOK ME IN,
          A HOME THEY SAID THEY'D FIND
          NOT JUST ANY HOME WOULD DO
          BUT ONE WHERE FOLK WERE KIND.

          I WENT INTO A FOSTER HOME
          BY THIS TIME MY NAME WAS DON,
          WHEN ROSE AND STEVEN SAW ME
          THEY NEW I WAS THE ONE.
  
          SO NOW MY NAME IS JOSH
          I RUN THESE DAYS FOR JOY
          MY MUM IS ALWAYS TELLING ME
          I AM HER SPECIAL BOY

I really hope you enjoy my poem i just think it is lovely
   Rose and Steve Priestley

Mintymoo.JPG
Bendy Minty

May 11th 2008
 

Dear DCGR

 

Thank you for your kind words and card. 

 

Yes, unfortunately we have lost one of our adored dogs but without the hard work of DCGR our Minty would not have had the last 18 months in luxury with us. 

 

Although she was reasonably young to have died so suddenly we (and the vet) feel that this may have been an underlying birth defect and we are confident that she died peacefully after a lovely gallop in the sunshine.

 

She will be sadly missed but like all the other greyhounds we have had contact with we have enjoyed caring for her and she has given us all great pleasure and  many laughs. Greyhounds were new to us as Westie lovers, but I would recommend them as a breed to anyone who needs companionship and a cuddle. They are so affectionate and gentle and the hardest part is dragging them off the sofa in the cold winter nights for a wee! 

 

Thank you for introducing us to greyhounds and although it is too soon to think about replacing our special Minty Moo we are very keen to be actively involved with the charity. You aint seen the last of us and our little tazmanian devils yet.

 

Thanks

 

Jeni, Robin & Hannah

Jacob & Ebony

Carlisle

 

 

 

March 14th 2008

Dear Graham

On behalf of The Northumberland West Branch of the RSPCA I would like to thank both you and your colleague for a fascinating and witty talk.  We were impressed by your fund-raising skills (perhaps we could borrow you for a while) and the love you have for the greyhounds.  They are beautiful dogs and I am sure many of our audience went away considering adopting one.

Like you, we do not “sell” our dogs, they are adopted and then the public give us a donation which goes towards the hefty costs involved in re-habilitating the dogs.  The pleasure we receive and assuredly you too, in finding wonderful homes makes all the work worthwhile.

We very much hope that you will attend our dog show at the end of July this year (free of charge) and bring some dogs with you.

Thank you very much again, and if there is anything our Branch can do to be mutually supportive please do not hesitate to ask.

Yours sincerely

Penny Powell

Branch Manager

RSPCA Northumberland West

KellyFeb08.jpg
Kelly February 08

February 2008 - update on Kelly
 
Hi Al just a quick note to let you know how Kelly's getting on.Since we last spoke Kelly has not needed to visit the vet. She has had plenty R&R and is coming on well. The attached photo was taken today (Sunday 10th February) . The leg is still swollen (but the wound is completely healed) around the joint and Kelly is still walking with a slight limp but hopefully we can get that sorted in the next few months. If possible would you be able to put a little item about her on the web site as many people were concerned at the christmas fayre to hear she was to have the leg amputated.I'm sure they would all be pleased to know that we were able to halt the infection and took the last ditch attempt at letting nature take its course by leaving off the bandages.We have nothing but praise for Craig Robinsons for all their care and attention but I think the lesson we have learned is that with a bit of help from us "letting nature take its course" has a lot to be said for it.

KellyFeb08.jpg
Kelly February 08

If I could speak

 

I awake from my sleep and stretch open my eyes

I must have been dreaming but to my surprise

The children rush in and they’re followed by Mam

I do my best leap’s and I don’t give a damn

They stroke me and pat me and call me by name

I give them my best licks then run round the garden again

I spin and I turn and I slam on my brakes

I’ve come to my new home and I’ll not make mistakes

 

I’m fed this big breakfast it’s like being at the Ritz

The on slip’s my jacket and I’m thrilled to bits

It’s off to the park where I see my new friends

I meet Dotty the poodle and Mum feeds the hens

On the way home we stop at the shops

Mr. Fenwick the butcher he gives me a treat

It’s a nice juicy bone scrummy to eat

We pass by the school and the children they shot

“Look there’s Jonty the new dog strutting about”

 

We arrive back home and I feel rather sleepy

I climb into my bed but then I feel weepy

I soon drift off and I dream of the past

Thos long endless days when life was so sad

I dreamed of my old friends still living that life

Still trapped in their kennels from morn until night

No cosy fire to warm them right through

With big plumped up cushions if they could only come too

 

I’ve got toys and chews and a garden to roam

This is now a place I can call my own

But what can I do for these friends of mine

I have no voice so I cry and I whine

But maybe just maybe I’ll wait and I’ll see

For one day soon they may come and join me

 

Bev Riddick

A Happy Tale

 

Another dawn another day the greyhound man he comes our way

Another long and boring day, it’s endless in this cage

No gentle strokes no play no love, Oh what I’d give for some undying love

The hours and days tick by at a pace, But my time moves slowly except when I race

 

Then one day I hear him, that dog will have to go

He never wins his races he’s too old and slow

I shiver and I shake oh what am I to do

If I could only break fee I could run away too

 

A day has now passed and I see him this man

He walks down our yard, with his cap in his hand

He stands and he looks with a smile on his face

I can hear him say ‘you’ve run your last race’

He puts on my lead and he takes me away

We travel sometime on the cushion I lay

 

We stop with a jolt and arrive at this house

He calls “we’re home Judy” and I hear her shout

“Oh you poor little thing so hungry and cold”

As tears fill her eyes and she kneels on the ground

With the gentlest of voices she talks in my ear

“You’ve found your safe haven and here’s where you’ll stay

Come meet your new friends they’ll all want to play”

 

I’m given a name and they call my Rose

For they say that I’ll blossom with each passing day

I feel so much better just in this short time

And upon my face I manage a smile

 

I’m taken one day to my new family

It’s out in the country I’m happy as can be

I’ve a new Mum and Dad there’s a boy and a girl

They laugh and they shout as they spin and twirl

They seem so happy just like me

And now we’re a complete forever family

 

Bev Riddick

grace.jpg

16th August 2006

 

Dear DGR readers,


Just to let you know that I have now been happily living with Anne and Robin Yates in Repton, Derbyshire for the past 16 months. Although I am still rather apprehensive of dogs other than in our family, Spring the greyhound and Scaffey the boxer, I do enjoy free runs whenever possible. I am now playing with my toys but of course I will never be interested in retrieving [not in my nature].

My most favourite occupation, apart from eating and sleeping, is lying
in the back of the car, moving or static. I do love travelling.
Everyone was relieved when I stopped stealing food when no one was
looking. I once peeled a bunch of 6 bananas carefully, leaving the peels laid out in a line. They also were not too thrilled when I disposed of 2 phones [well the answer phone disturbed me]. All that is now well in the past. I can honestly report that I am extremely happy and thank you Al for placing me as you did.

 

Yours Grace. [Previously Iris Grace].

 

Molly in the woods
molly.jpg

August 6th 2006

 

Dear DGR

 

We got Molly from you in February 2005, she was called Ruby but we didn't like the name so we changed it. I will never forget the day she arrived with Al, her coat was scruffy and she had never been inside a house before (she was taken straight from the owner's kennels), so the first thing she did was wee on my new carpet. We already had another greyhound called Sally, we got her from the greyhound trust 4 years ago, at first Sally and Molly didn't get on and Molly bit Sally, which resulted in a £200 vet bill, but now they get on really well and Molly is so playful, she has loads of toys and likes nothing more than to go in the park with a ball. Sally just likes to eat and sleep, which I believe is very common in greyhounds!

 

Molly was quite bad tempered when she came to us, but she has mellowed with a lot of TLC and I'm so glad she came to us.

 

Yours sincerely

Joanne Wilkinson

 

DGR comment - It is often the case that dogs have to establish a 'pecking' order, but this is the first time, to our knowledge, that it has resulted in real injury to one of the dogs!

August 2nd 2006

 

My Last Race

 

The kennel door opens he stands there so stern,

“Come on lass this is your turn to show them who’s the best”

He tightens me collar ‘hey that’s a bit tight’

Then on slips that muzzle now there’s a delight

I hate this contraption does he think I may bite?

 

If you only knew me for the dog that I am

And not as a tool used only by Man

My heart is so big it could burst through my chest

I’m a loyal companion and need lots of rest.

 

So off to the track we go in the car

My pals they come with me, it isn’t too far

There’s Mel and Sal and the new girl called Jan

We’re anxious and nervous. We must do what we can

It aint just a race we’re put to the test

I just know today I don’t feel my best.

 

I’m put in the trap my heart is racing

The trap door is pulled my legs do the pacing

I’m out in the front I know I can do it

But in the next second,

There’s gravel and grit it flies in my face

I take such a tumble. I wont win this race

My knees are all torn and I’ve got a scuffed chin

But here comes my master, his face fixed with a grin.

 

He is so strong his hands are like steel

Oh please my lord this if for real

I’ve won my races o’er the past

I’ve got a gut feeling that this is my last.

 

My thoughts are a racing of days long ago

When once as a puppy my life moved so slow

The warmth of my Mother as I snuggled to her chest

Her milk so delicious it really was the best

I played and I played from morn until night

I never had no worries my future looked bright.

 

I gave him my best this thing they call Man

But he just used me for the dog that I am

My life is now over the trigger is cocked

So I think of my Mother and days of the past

I look in his eyes and I give him a smile

Do I get my reprieve, yes, for only a while

I cry and I yelp, hey what have I done!

But BANG. Here’s the bullet, my days are a done.

 

By Bev Riddick

Mum to Jack and Fern Riddick

 

Fern and Jack are pictured on our homed gallery 2006 with Magic

 

*At the discretion of the web manager and DCGR committee

To contact us tel: Arthur on 0845 3451148 (Lo-call) or  Al on 01228 674127
 
Registered Charity Number SCO32858. All photographs on this site are the property of DCGR and may only be reproduced with our permission.