News

Freshfields Wales Open Day Success

Thursday July 30th 2009

The Open Day began with torrential rain and gales.  A truly dreadful start to the day, resulting in a last minute dash to move everything indoors, the dog show had to be moved from a field to the barn, the other half of the barn was used to fit in stalls and the stables for the rest of the stalls, children's activities etc. Unfortunately because of the weather some of the games could not be utilised, the wind had already taken down two of our gazebos!

Refreshments were laid out in another stable which had been carpeted for the occasion.  Thankfully the rain stopped at 12 noon but the day remained cold and blustery. nevertheless hundreds of people attended this first event and we had to open not one but three fields for car parking. People simply poured in. 

The dog show was a resounding success and my last minute arrangement with an outside caterer was fortuitous as everyone was clamouring for food which was sold as quickly as it was displayed.   An excellent DJ Eddie Vincent supplied the music for the day and kindly offered to entertain the staff in the evening.

The staff worked exceptionally hard this past week to help make the day a success and a "wind down" party was held for them in the evening.  Everyone involved thoroughly enjoyed the day and we will definitely be making this an annual event.   A very big thank you to all who attended and all the helpers and staff who contributed to the success of this very First Open day in Wales.   It was also good to see some familiar faces from Liverpool (4 Liverpool volunteers came to help).  The sum of £2,500 was taken on the day.

Pictured are :  Best Rescue - 1st Finlay handled by Sharon Britnell and 2nd Yogi with Kira Leung

Best vintage 12 year old Laika and best veteran 8 year  old Yenta owned by Paula George and judge Mr Arwyn Ellis

And finally Best in Show - Carly Jones with Wire Haired Dachshund - Talhula Best Puppy - Glenys Hancock with Flat Coated Retriever - Indie

Scooby Doo meets the Haunted Liverpool Ghostwalks

Friday July 24th 2009

Date 23rd July

Scooby Doo & the Gang are on the Liverpool Empire in a production of "Scooby & the Pirate Ghosts". The show runs from the 23rd July to the 26th July 2009.

Scooby is a real scaredy cat when it comes to ghost hunting so he decided to take some advice from the 'professionals' at the Haunted Liverpool Ghost Walks. Scooby and the gang met up with some of the members of the Ghost Team and was taken to St James's cemetery, where the real Ghost tour takes place. He was very, very scared but eventually he came out from behind a gravestone and took part in a real live ghost hunt - with the help of Captain Moonlight and Ex Chief Inspector Ironside of the Merseyside Police... and some children who were delighted to meet him.

The Ghost meter went off and Scooby saw an orb in the corner of the cemetery. It was verryyy scary...

He's promised to come and visit us again next time the show comes to Liverpool. The gang said they had a great time and they picked up some great ghost hunting tips.

If you would like go on a ghost walk go to www.ghostwalks.org or phone Jan on 07983 160479 to book in.

Snowdon Race News

Wednesday July 22nd 2009

Tegid Roberts recently ran  for Freshsfields in the annual Snowdon Race (to the top and back!). He is  pictured just about to cross the finishing line at a time of 1 hour and thirty minutes.  The weather conditions were not good due to heavy rain the previous days and tragically one runner lost his life on the way to the summit with several others sustaining minor injuries.  Teg is a valued member of staff here and we are very proud of him.  The total sum raised has not yet come in but we estimate around £300 has been raised in sponsorship.  Well done Tegid!

BILL - A tribute to a wonderful, kind man!

Friday July 17th 2009

Bill was a dedicated dog walker here for many years, who sadly passed away on Tuesday 14th July 2009. 

Bill came to walk the dogs every single day without fail.  We would hear his Robin Reliant pull up (very loudly!) outside the rescue and we'd all know Bill had arrived!  Bill loved Lurchers as they would 'always do a good walk' which was usually about 6 hours long!  He would focus on one dog at a time until he or she found a new home.  One of Bills favourites was Shy (pictured above with Bill).  Shy was terrible with other dogs when he came to us.  But Bill spent months socialising him down at Crosby beach until one day Shy found a lovely new home - with another dog!  This was all thanks to Bills dedication, commitment and patience.

Bills commitment was not just to the dogs at the rescue, every week without fail he would bring bags of vegetables for the rabbits and guinea pigs in the small animal unit.
 
Words can't descibe how much we will all miss Bill.  He was a genuinely lovely man.  He was kind, caring, generous (bringing us ice cream and cold drinks all summer!) and commited to animals.  He went vegetarian a few years ago when he saw a programme about how animals are treated in the meat industry.  He was very proud of this and we were proud of him too.
 
Our thoughts go to his brother George, his family and friends on the sad loss of such a wonderful man.
 
All the staff and volunteers of Freshfields Animal Rescue

Dog Show at Liverpool Open Day

Wednesday July 15th 2009

This year was the first time we had organised the dog show "in house".   As you can see from the photos the sun shone most of the time and even the odd down-pour did not dampen the enthusiam of all who took part.  Pictures displayed are Dog Judge Would Most Like to Take Home, Best Veteran and Best Rescue. To view the full range of photo's taken at this year show please visit Freshfields Flickr site by clicking the link below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/freshfieldsrescue/

 A couple of special Thank You's.   First to 'Healthy Paws' Dog Food owner Lisa who kindly donated all the prizes for the event and to Lyn Fleet for being the "MC" for day event making it a enjoyable, humerous good spirited occassion.

Liverpool Open Day - Huge Success!

Wednesday July 15th 2009

Freshfields Open Day

What a great success our annual open day was.  A big thank you to all who attended and the wonderful news is that we raised over £5000

The event was well attended and an enjoyable day was had by all.  This year we had our first ever dog show organised by the staff at resuce which was the highlight of the day for most visitors both two and four legged!

As ever, the event would not/could not have happened without the dedicated support of our willing band of volunteers (you know who you are), not to mention the extra hours (unpaid) put in by our staff who take such pride in readying the site for the day. Thank you to all of you!

This year saw a difference or two on the food front with Helen and her team of volunteers from 'Something Fishy' (or more to the point NOT fishy as all food was vegan) supplying mouthwatering fishless fish and chips amongst other extremely tasty wares.  Our Vegan Burger Stand was manned by a team of volunteers from 'Food from Nowhere' the catering arm of Liverpool Social Centre 'Next to Nowhere' situated in the basement of the book shop 'News from Nowhere' on Bold Street, Liverpool. Confused? Don't be, the food was great so thank you to the team.

To see more photo's of the day please click on the link below which will take you to Freshfields Flickr site. Click on a thumbnail to take a closer look at a shot.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/freshfieldsrescue/sets/72157621552910468/