It shouldn't happen at a vets BBC1 22 July 2010

Well, what did you make of it? Personally it came across to me like another docu-hatchet job as apart from the inflated invoices which I've talked about before and will talk about again in a mo, the footage of cruelty appeared to be straw grabbing trying to sensensionalise the odd occassion when something went wrong. I'm not saying that spinning a cat round by it's scruff whilst giving an injection is right (and that vet was struck off), nor am I saying that the joking of the cat who was fighting back when his Pre-Med had worn off is acceptable. I'm certainly not saying that striking a dog after major surgery is normal, but nor is it common and the poor Red Setter fighting to catch his breath was very upsetting indeed but if that's the worst they can come up with then things really aren't that bad, I was expecting real cruelty on a major scale but what I saw was sensationalised errors made by trainee staff that should never have been in that situation in the first place.
However, when it comes to money the new "branded" vet "business" does have some serious let downs. It was pretty much admitted that if an animal was brought in limping, rather than go for the rest and anti inflammatories and see what happens they would jump straight in with thousands of pounds worth of tests - that has been going on for a while and we see a huge difference in the vet bills that come through rescue with those that have come from a rural old fashioned vet and those that come from the big "chains" such a MediVet and VetsNow. The new rule that you must pay BEFORE the animal receives treatment is also on the increase and I'm not at all suprised that insurance claims were being falsley lodged in order to gain as much money as possible from one single treatment.
The vet profession has certainly changed over the years, especially in the last 5 years as many of the rural vets have been taken over by big businesses and I've talked before about how animals are held to ransom pending full payment which is most definately wrong and bearing in mind all vets take an oath to treat all animals the money really shouldn't be the first priority, in fact I think it's illegal to do so under RCVS rules (maybe someone could clarify that for me).
So let me know your thoughts on the programme, if you missed it I guess it's on iPlayer so take a look at see what you think

Life, Death and Holidays

Our new arrivals story started yesterday morning with a phone call at 20 to 2 in the morning from a distraught owner who was frantically trying to arrange something for her bulldog when her friend who was looking after him told her he no longer wanted him. So after many hours of tears and conversations with the local volunteer, dear Alfie arrived, very bewildered but OK and pleased to be able to settle down in his bed with a bowl full of food.
Sunday sees our lodger move out and my daughter move back in. Mark has a new flat to move into but I can see it being a very long day and if you read the story in the paper about the boy killed on the M23 at the weekend, that was in fact his cousin so there's lot going on in his family right now and another house move is probably the last thing he needs.
As for me, well my annual week off looms ever closer - for the first week of August I will, as usual, be in hibernation, only contact me if you absolutely have to LOL

Calm Memories

What a lovely weekend, despite the fact that the pub we ate at on Saturday night caught fire and in true British tradition everyone ignored it and carried on eating, until someone shouted "the store rooms on fire" to the bar staff who then promptly disappeared leaving a customer to grab the fire extinguisher. Diz had only just said to me he could smell burning plastic but thought it was a vain attempt at starting a barbecue. Once the drama was over everyone carried on like it had never happened - God bless the Great British Public LOL

Sunday was peaceful, time spent between gardening and studying saw the beginnings of my pond area begin to take shape, can't say I'm looking forward to digging it though!!!!!

Diz sorted through some old paperwork that he found in a box in the cupboard and in amongst piles of pedigrees dating back to the early 1970s was some old rescue paperwork. A letter from Liz Heslop dated May 1980 welcoming a new volunteer to the fold and the original sign over forms and home check form - to be honest they are not that much different to what we use now and to me was really fascinating to see how things were at the very beginning. You can take a look at the memorabilia which is listed on ebay (the money will go to Bulldog Rescue, Diz listed it under the wrong account) and see full size copies of the letter and the forms.

YOU GOT THAT FRIDAY FEELING?

It's Friday already, my day sick has thrown me into confusion (not that I usually have any idea what day of the week it is anyway). I've got 3 days off in the kennel now with help coming in today, Saturday and Sunday and the inflatable Gerbil that is fondly known as Blossom has gone in to a foster home in an attempt to house train her. There's a few new dogs waiting to be listed which I will try and do this afternoon or tomorrow so if you are a regular to our Homes Needed page make sure you check it out.
If you are not yet a member of Reggie's Den Face Book club be sure to join, we are running a series of special offers just for our Face Book members to check it out, you can find the link at www.reggies-den.co.uk
Have a great weekend, it's meant to get warmer again so keep an eye on those bulldogs

What a difference a day makes

Where's the Summer gone? It's blowing a gale force wind here today!!!!! Thankfully all is still standing and I had the forthought yesterday to get Jason to take the Gazebo down before it decided to visit the land of Oz!!
Yesterday was a bit of a time waster, I didn't feel right Tuesday night and woke yesterday to the most horrendous stomach ache, the initial plan was just to take the morning off but I didn't feel better all day so spent most of yesterday sleeping - I know I often wish for a day in bed, but it just goes to show that you have to be careful what you wish for LOL as today is going to be spent chasing my tail trying to catch up. It was nice, but I am sorry to anyone that couldn't reach me yesterday, there's a number of messages for me to sort through so please bear with me as I work my way through them

Lets hope the St Swithin's theory is wrong or we are in for a pretty rough Summer.

St Swithin's Day, if thou dost rain,
For forty days it will remain:
St. Swithin's Day, if thou be fair,
For forty days 'twill rain nae mair.'

Much is written on the threory of St Swithin's day, most notably that

"St. Swithin, bishop of Winchester, was a man equally noted for his uprightness and humility. So far did he carry the latter quality, that, on his death-bed, he requested to be buried, not within the church, but outside in the churchyard, on the north of the sacred building, where his corpse might receive the eaves-droppings from the roof, and his grave be trodden by the feet of the passers-by. His lowly request was complied with, and in this neglected spot his remains reposed till about a hundred years afterwards, when a fit of indignation seized the clergy at the body of so pious a member of their order being allowed to occupy such a position; and on an appointed day they all assembled to convey it with great pomp into the adjoining cathedral of Winchester. When they were about to commence the ceremony, a heavy rain burst forth, and continued without intermission for the forty succeeding days. The monks interpreted this tempest as a warning from Heaven of the blasphemous nature of their attempt to contravene the directions of St. Swithin, and, instead of disturbing his remains, they erected a chapel over his grave"
How, then, did the popular notion about St. Swithin's Day arise? "Most probably, it was derived from some primeval pagan belief regarding the meteorologically prophetic character of some day about the same period of the year as St. Swithin's. Such adaptations, it is well known, were very frequent on the supplanting throughout Europe of heathenism by Christianity. Many of our popular customs and beliefs can indeed be only satisfactorily explained by tracing them to such a source."

So Pagan or Christian, looks like we are in for a rough ride LOL



Source:http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/july/15.htm

The holidays are coming .....

And with it comes the deluge of calls from people who need their dogs picking up urgently because they are going away, like, now!!! There will be a rush of foster cases during the last couple of weeks of July and then come August things start to settle a little as the kids are off school and looking after the dog becomes a little easier. The phone hasn't stopped yet this morning, there certainly is no rest for the wicked LOL
I've had confirmation of the Seminar in October, there will be a maximum of 10 tickets reserved for bulldog people that will be on a first come first served basis so if you are hoping to come it might be an idea to let me know, I should have an idea of the ticket price within the next few days.

New Week, New Start

Not only is it a new week but it's a new moon so it's an excellent day to draw a line under any bad stuff and start completely afresh. Bad stuff certainly became the theme of the weekend following the tragic death of a bulldog in transit to her new home on Saturday afternoon. What made it so upsetting for all involved was that the dog wasn't hot or distressed she simply died in her sleep. It was very difficult for all concerned to come to terms with and many hours has been spent on the phone trying to make sense of it. In reality, there is no sense to be made; it's a risk we all take, but I just wanted to use this tragidy to relay some basic rules when transporting dogs, especially bulldogs, especially in the Summer months.

If you have air conditioning, keep it at a constant cool temperature and keep the windows shut, if you don't have air conditioning then please do not travel any dog on a hot day unless you absolutely have too - waiting until later in the day when it is much cooler and safer. Open windows are fine until you get stuck in traffic and that when you can no longer control the interior temperature of the car and an overheating situation could occur.

One of the biggest misconceptions when travelling dogs is that you need to stop frequently, you don't! I can't stress this enough because each time you stop, get the dog out of the car, walk it around in the sun and put it back in the car you are unsettling the dog all over again. If you need to stop for a wee or a coffee feel free to offer your dog a drink but don't feel the need to take him out for a wee too unless he really needs to go and if he's settled then just leave him alone.

The following was written for rescue volunteers transporting dogs to foster care, but it may be useful for the general public to have access to it also - please feel free to read it here

The evening became a little less stressful though as my daughter's birthday brought about a small party in the garden, and as the night drew on and the bottle of wine I was drinking grew lighter the awful events of the day were finally fading into a blur. The party went ahead with no hitches or hiccups and as someone had brought some chinse lanterns we had great fun letting them go and watching them travel for miles in the skies above Midhurst - sorry to anyone that found one Sunday morning with the ravings of a group of kids scrawled over them - well I say kids, Katie was 22 on Saturday but I guess when you reach my age anyone under the age of 30 is a child LOL

My PowerPoint presentation is finished and I'm actually rather pleased with it, I've never used PowerPoint before and was suprised at how much fun it was. So Sunday I sat in the sun for most of the day studying from my AMTRA training manual and hoping enough of this information stays in my brain for me to actually pass the exam in October.

Have a great week and please look after your bulldog.