Answering A Question.....

People often ask me what we need or what use a lot of. Thanks to your generosity we do amazingly well with dog food and bedding donations, so thank you.

However, a couple of things that we do use every day and wouldn't normally be on your standard list of things to donate are.....

Coconut oil which really helps the dogs we get that have skin conditions or the ones whose coats aren't in great condition. Others such  as Bobby the Sharpei cross, it really helps to keep any skin issues from flaring up.

We were recently very kindly donated a dishwasher that's has made a rather tedious and time consuming job a lot easier. Another major bonus means that the dogs bowls are all cleaned more thoroughly and hygenically.

If you would like to donate either of the above, then please drop off at our SHAK Shop, 12 Bowes Street, Blyth NE24 1BD.

Thank you for your support in advance.

Message From Bobby.....

A reminder that you can follow our dogs on Instagram..... shak_sanctuary_official 

Summer Holiday Time.....

I can't believe  the school summer holidays are well and truly under way! Where has the time gone this year.

As always I expect parents are looking for things to do with their children to relieve the boredom and keep them occupied. We're hoping to help!

We are looking for 'entertainers' to volunteer their time in our Blyth Shop, 12 Bowes Street NE24 1BD and offer attractions to give some parents a breather!

We are looking for things such as face painters, people who make animals from balloons, clowns, anything really.

If you have a skill and would like to donate it to help us raise money to help our dogs, then please email: office@shak.org.uk

Thank you.

Have You Booked Your Place Yet?....

Have you booked your space yet? Rumour has it that there maybe a guest appearance from a SHAK Legend.....

To book follow this link:

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/petfirstaidcourse

Mitch.....

Important Statement From SHAK.....

Mitch who was failed by society and the rescue system. He was due to be killed in a pound just last week. He is now safe with us.

I really feel I have to post this because it appears that our position and what we do is either not fully understood or not quite clear enough.

SHAK is a sanctuary for abused, mistreated and neglected dogs. Due to NO government funding or commercial support, which leads to very limited resources (and around 70 dogs constantly in our care), we cannot take or get involved with dogs from members of  the public or take dogs from rescues we aren't already partnered with.

Such is the demand on our time and efforts that we simply CANNOT REPLY TO ANY UNSOLICITED CALLS, EMAILS, TEXTS OR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, even if they come from 'recommendations' from external sources. As I do not have a secretary or administration help, I simply do not have enough hours in the day.

I hope you understand that this is not due to ignorance, we value everybody's support, but to give you an indication I have already had nearly 20 requests from people to take dogs in the first week of the school holidays. We have neither the money or space to be able to take on such large new numbers. Alternatives would be to seek behavioural advice, training classes, breed specific rescues who maybe experienced with the issues you're facing, contact the breeder/rescue you got the dog from.

I'm sorry to have to make this post but putting the line of 'if you don't help I will have the dog destroyed' is unfair to a team of people already punching above their weight to save the dogs we do.

We appreciate everybody's support, without you we couldn't function, but please understand how difficult it is for us.

We do this because too many dogs are killed in this country needlessly on a daily basis, but our resources are stretched beyond belief as it is.

Sorry.

URGENT. Home Needed For Jack.....

We saved this little guy this week from being destroyed this week after his owner sadly passed away. Despite being very spritely, Jack is 16!

He is currently in kennels with us, but we are desperate to find him somewhere to spend the rest of his life.

For an application form please email: foreverfoster@shak.org.uk

Urgently Needed.....

Have A Garden Party.....

Although we are still looking for people to come on board and run our  Voluntary Fundraising Projects, the positions have drummed up a little interest.

One question I keep being asked is "What kind of thing are you looking to do to raise funds."
The answer to that is simple..... anything and everything!

The events themselves don't have to be complicated or take a lot of arranging, sometimes the most fun is had and money raised at the simplest of events.

For example, the weather is glorious at the moment, so why not arrange a Garden Party for your friends and family this week and use it to help our dogs. Have a raffle or play games with an entry fee, run domino cards. All very simple and easy to organize.

Then paypal the proceeds to us via this link:

https://www.paypal.me/shaksanctuary

It really is as easy as that!

Our dogs are enjoying the summer as much as you, with every penny you can raise, they can enjoy it even more.

Thank you.

Fundraisers Urgently Wanted.....

Pet First Aid Course. A New Event At HQ.....

An excellent opportunity to learn some very valuable first aid at our HQ, through our team up with the PDSA.

You must register on line to attend via the link:

pdsa.org.uk/petfirstaidcourse

Ebay Donation Appeal.....

Thanks to a lot of hard work and dedication, plus some fantastic support, our Ebay page has really taken off over the last 12 months or so.

Linking in with our shop, we have had some really nice donations of 'designer label' clothes that have raised a lot of much needed funds for our dogs.

Its imperative to keep this momentum going and to do that we need your support even more.
If you are having a summer clear out and have any brand name wear that you no longer want, we'd love the opportunity to help you get rid of it!

You can donate them to our SHAK Shop at 12 Bowes Street, Blyth, NE24 1BD or via appointment at our unmanned offices at SHAK HQ, Greenwell Road, Alnwick NE66 1HB.  You can arrange an appointment by email office@shak.org.uk

Due to value of the goods, please do not leave in a donation bin.

Thank  you in advance for your support.

Midas Update.....

Midas is being so brave and so strong, despite everything.  We thought we were losing him on Tuesday.....

The photo at the country park was taken Monday Morning and he was so happy.

The photo on the sofa was Monday evening when he started to go down hill a bit.

It was that night, well the early hours of Tuesday morning to be exact that he'd deteriorated and we took him to the emergency vet.  Rather than PTS which was the probable outcome of taking him he was given another chance to buy him a little more time as he wasn't quite ready to go just yet. Even if it was only a few days or a weeks it was worth a try.

The extra intra muscular injectable diuretics to help clear fluid that was collecting in his lungs and the bronchodilator to aid his breathing helped and he was able to come home Tuesday afternoon.

His time now is very short, but he is still home clinging onto the love given to him. Licking my chin and still having the odd belly rub when he's in the mood for it. He touches everyone who gets the pleasure to meet him. The Vet who signed him out gave him a big kiss and cuddle as we left and said what a Wonderfull dog he is.

My deepest thanks to everyone who's helped keep him alive and Stephen and SHAK for giving me  such a precious friend.

Liesa.


Such amazing spirit from  a wonderful dog that is just so determined to hang on to the life that he was deprived of for so long. Thank you to the vets who were very kind and didnt charge an out of hours fee  or for a scan. However, we still  now have a bill to pay. If anybody would like to contribute towards it please do so via:

PayPal:

https://www.paypal.me/shaksanctuary

Or a cheque made payable to SHAK to:

SHAK HQ
Greenwell Road,
Alnwick
NE66 1HB

Or by popping into our shop:

12 Bowes Street,
Blyth
Northumberland
NE24 1BD

Thank you all again for you support and please pray for Midas.

Exciting Voluntary Opportunities.....

We have grown as a charity so much over the last few years, that sometimes I find it really difficult to accept it is all real. To have a workforce and voluntary team, with premises we are proud of, is something I never thought we'd be able to afford.

Of course this has all come at a cost, and continuous fundraising is so vital to our prolonged existence.
To help us grow we are looking at creating a couple of new voluntary roles, solely with the emphasis on growing our fundraising activities and improving things even further.

One of the positions would be someone to act as a fundraising co-ordinator to support and encourage our existing supporters to actively fundraise on our behalf and take some pressure off the existing team. The sort of thing we envisage this role encompassing would include to harness the energy and goodwill of supporters and ask them to fundraise on our behalf. To assist in this role we are looking to develop a fundraising kit which gives suggestions to volunteers on how to raise funds in different ways, eg sponsored walk/run/cycle etc, coffee mornings, garden parties, whatever. There are plans for  a monthly challenge for fundraising, whilst being able to keep a record of how much is raised and share how the money is spent to maintain enthusiasm, will be another exciting and fun part of the position.

This is a very important job and for the right person could be very rewarding, enjoying the contact with our supporters and sharing with them the enthusiasm for SHAK. You would need to be pretty competent on social media as that is the obvious way to both recruit people and then feed them ideas and challenges to keep them involved, whilst some experience of fundraising would also be advantageous.

The other role we have is for someone who might promote events to raise awareness as well as to fundraise. This would include stands at village & town shows, fairs and other events to both raise awareness and fundraise. Think up and promote events at our HQ premises in Alnwick and other fun activities such as an open garden which combines “meet the dogs”,  maybe a promises auction; anything goes here, you will be limited only by your imaginaton.

If you would like more information on either voluntary position then please email office@shak.org.uk

Thank you for your support.

Thank You Angel's Of The North.....

Had a great start to a Monday morning whilst emptying the donation bin at Pets At Home in Alnwick.....

Thank you very much to the wonderful Angel's of the North for leaving us an amazing donation of £1,000 and a note, saying how much they appreciate our work, in a bag of towels

Such incredible generosity will make a huge difference to our dogs!!

Thank you whoever you are!

#theheist #angelsofthenorth