"It's A Dog's Life"..... SHAK (Safe Homes And Kindness): Farewell To The Constant In My Life.....

Sunday 9 March 2014

Farewell To The Constant In My Life.....

Its with great sadness this morning that I have to tell you that our big brave boy Oskar lost his fight against cancer late yesterday afternoon. Having been diagnosed with a hemangiosarcoma (a very nasty tumour on the spleen) just before Christmas resulting in the removal of his spleen, we were gutted to find secondary tumours 11 days ago. To explain what a ruthless and aggressive cancer this is, please follow the link below:

What Is A Hemangiosarcoma.....

Despite never being a SHAK dog, Oskar was the dog the who made me realise I needed dogs in my life after Shak died, he helped so many in so many ways. From sharing his home with so many, even just the over night stays, to walking and teaching others how to socialise, Oskar was responsible for some of the best work we've done.Like Harvey before him, he was a great teacher, and one who we all will miss dearly.

Oskar (centre) showing Kai the ropes.

Oskar (second from the right) with Doyle, Star, Laser and Murphy.

Oskar (centre) leading the way with Melissa walking 5 dogs together for the first time.

With his big mate Doyle.

Personally I do not think myself or my family can believe he's gone. As I wrote the post about Shak and Dudley yesterday I was nursing him, knowing that the clock was ticking down and that he wasn't getting any better. I knew this was coming, but I just didn't want him to go.

My daughter Neve used to call him "Boss of the Dogs" and you know I think that he truly was. That quickly earned him the nickname "Boss Dog" and watching him roam nobly around the countryside off lead where we live, you couldn't disagree.

My heart was in pieces when Shak died, Oskar glued them all back together as one the very first time I saw him. We now need to show the same bravery he has done and try and stick them all back together ourselves this time. Right now it feels like walking on water would be easier.....

I'll leave you with some pictures of how I like to remember him, taken just last Wednesday.....

Oskar..... The Constant in my life.

IMPORTANT STATEMENT APRIL 2018

A Statement From SHAK.....

One of the drawbacks of gaining followers through Facebook, the press and other forms of media is the demand for our expertise is growing beyond a level that is manageable or even acceptable. We are a victim of our own success and with constantly running with around 70 dogs in our care, being such a small charity we are always stretched beyond our limit.

Therefore I think it is important for me to explain exactly where we get our dogs from and who we will deal with. For the past 12 years we have dealt very closely with vets taking destruction cases, local councils taking strays and a few recognised partnered charities that we have built up strong relationships with. Today this is still the case.

As I mentioned space and resources are very short resulting us being unable to take dogs from members of the public and due to time we are ubable to deal with the publuc in any way. Likewise we are not looking to extend our pool of partnered charities or organisations, so can not take dogs from groups we have never worked with before.

It is not out of ignorance, but due to concentrating our time on our own dogs that no unsolicited emails, phonecalls or Facebook messages will be returned.

Thank you for understanding and for all of your support.

And What We Do.....

Celebrating its 10th anniversary on June 19th 2016, SHAK has come a long way since its founder Stephen Wylie uttered those fateful words ‘never again...’ after the shock death of his dog and best friend Shak.

The hundreds of dogs whose lives have been changed because of that loss is testament to a dog that had a lasting imprint on everyone he met.....

Today the registered charity has approximately 70 dogs in
its care, offering sanctuary to the ones that really need it or a place to simply become a dog again for others.

Working only with destruction cases from vets, strays and
dogs from our trusted charity partners, SHAK does not take in dogs from members of the public. Likewise we are not a rehoming centre, although we do offer the opportunity for people to apply for our Forever Foster project.

We concentrate all of our time, energy and resources directly into the well being of our dogs, enriching lives that others had written off.....

Change Lives

Sunday 9 March 2014

Farewell To The Constant In My Life.....