"Telling a story within a photograph is what Stephen Wylie does BRILLIANTLY!
SHAK – The Sanctuary aim is to raise awareness of the plight of Abused,
Mistreated and Neglected Dogs. Every single penny helps SHAK Dogs in Need
and so much more needs to be done."
S Ballantyne, Crowther Ballantyne Associates
Pictures say a million words. A 6x9 Print in 12x8 mount,
showing the story that is SHAK - The Sanctuary.
All photos's taken by Stephen Wylie with a quote to make you think a little.....
"He Is Your Friend....."
"The Bars That Bind....."
"The Loss When They're Gone....."
"The Love Of A Dog....."
"The Pain Of Being Discarded....."
"The Privilege Of Running Free....."
"The World Through Their Eyes....."
At the moment they are only available through the official SHAK fundraising stall or SHAK Shop, although several retail outlets are expressing an interest. In the meantime you can order yours via the link below:
And please remember EVERY PENNY from the sales of these go back into the charity to help the dogs.
"I'd like to thank the people who gave me the confidence to produce these prints, and hope they may mean a little bit to you as well as meaning a whole load to me. " Stephen Wylie.
I enjoyed a lovely walk on Friday night with Laser, watching the sun go down over Simonside. Laser was at the vets just a couple of weeks ago and old age and arthritis has caught him up.
We've changed his medication which seems to be helping him, and as you can see he is still enjoying just pottering around and catching the late sunshine.....
Following on from the post of Star working her magic with Taz, here they both are with little Tia. All three of these dogs had vets appointments made to be destroyed because of issues they had. Seeing the three of them help each other like this really is incredible.....
It's so reminiscent of the old GSD Club where my Oskar helped Star and Kai over come some of their issues with dogs. Now Star is helping others and making her dad very proud!
After losing Doyle on Friday its hard to believe it's 5 years today since we lost the biggest (in every sense of the word) dog SHAK has ever had. Mama Bear passed away in her kennel 5 hours before she was due to go into a foster home, and two days before she was due for surgery to remove mammary tumours.
Having arrived from the Midlands where she'd been a stray, she quickly won over the hearts of everyone, we were all desperate to see her through to better times, but it just wasn't to be.
The photo's above weren't staged, she literally decided she wanted to sit on my knee. At over 60kg she took some getting off. Still what a hug.
Nobody that was lucky enough to meet you Bear will ever forget you. I just wish we'd got you sooner. I'll see you at Rainbow Bridge for another hug one day.
I'm sitting here this morning totally shell shocked as last night we lost one of the biggest dogs and biggest characters we've ever had. Doyle was a huge in every way, and I guess in every sense Doyle was SHAK.
Rescued with his brother Bodie from a disused scrapyard that had been his home for the last 8 and a half years, and less than 24 hours from receiving a bullet in his head, Doyle's turnaround and his ability to not only trust people again, but to enjoy life was something I think we're all very proud to of witnessed and been part of.
Deemed dog aggressive, Doyle spent the last 6 months or so sharing his kennel with Anja, and when CDRM started to take hold, she stuck to his side like glue. Even when he was in his wheel chair or harness. Such was the magnetic pull of him.
Both of these pieces of equipment changed his life, in fact they even extended it, and I'd like to thank my team for supporting me in trying them out and having faith. On Thursday Doyle was out the back playing with his boomer ball like he did everyday. Yesterday he was more lethargic than normal, he got more subdued throughout the day, and come play time he just didn't have the energy. After checking the colour of his gums I knew we were in trouble.
Moorview Vets were again simply sensational in fitting him in, dealing with him and keeping us posted as to what was happening and why. Explaining how one thing would effect another, and what steps they could do depending on the results.
A scan and blood tests were the first step. However after the scan we knew we could go no further. Doyle was suffering from horrendous internal bleeding. Both his liver and spleen were riddled with tumours. He had been so brave battling on for so long, but then Doyle always did.
He slept away, his head in my hands and our foreheads touching. Paul, Rachel and Janet had travelled to be with him too, such was the love for an amazing boy. The sheer size of becoming so much more apparent when he was resting so peacefully. He had been brilliant for the vets and lay awake throughout all the tests, but you could see in his eyes he was so tired.
I want to say so much about how much I loved this dog, how much I learnt from him. We all did. He and Bodie proved the world wrong, proved that scrapyard dogs didn't have to be treated like the scrap they had protected, proved a charity like SHAK could AND HAS TO exist. The memories are whirling around my head now that I really can't seem to get it all down. Maybe I can share them another time.....
After a pre-sale at last weeks fundraising events, I'm delighted to announce that the Official 2016 Calendars are now on sale. Remember thanks to the wonderful sponsors the printing costs have been met, so EVERY PENNY from their sales goes straight helping us save even more "Dogs On Death Row."
You can order yours from our on line shop via the link below:
I'm really proud to announce the release of our brand new T Shirt....."Even CDRM Can't Stop The Love" in honour of our beautiful, brave boy Rohan.
Having lost his battle against illness on the 20th August, his memory lives on in these T Shirts as we continue to battle against the illness with Doyle.
Order yours from our new T Shirt partner tboom via the link below but hurry as they are only available for a limited period.
Star never ceases to amaze me, and for a dog that came to us after we stopped her being destroyed for being both human and dog aggressive, I think she is one of our best ever stooge dogs.
Her latest patient is Taz (on the left) who came very stressed and with a big reputation. He (in his mind) fended off trains, cars, strangers everything really, but he is coming on so well.
Today was the big test, out for a walk just us three with no muzzle on the big guy for the first time.....
I just want to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone that got our year as Sainsbury's Alnwick Charity Of The Year off to an incredible start this weekend. The three day bag pack extravaganza took some organising, but wow..... it was well worth it.
The total for the whole weekend was..... drumroll..... £2,511.15 Quite simply amazing. I'd like to thank all the customers and staff at Sainsbury's who supported the event, we met some wonderful and generous people, also all the volunteers who packed bags or helped with the dogs, and to all the SHAK dogs who attended and did themselves and us proud!!! A special mention for Joan who lost many a night sleep arranging it, and gave up 3 full days of her life for the event, it really is greatly appreciated! On a personal note, I had a great day there on Sunday, as did the 6 SHAK dogs I brought down. Here's their reward afterwards.....
We are still looking for that special couple of people to join our team. If you would like to learn about dogs and help them to overcome their issues the SHAK way then drop us an email on foreverfoster@shak.org.uk
(Please note that only applicants that can meet the time commitment we need will be considered and due to our time restrictions not all applications will receive a return email. Thank you.)
As the dust settles on what has been a very traumatic and eventful 6 days, I've managed to reflect tonight on what a great day I had on Saturday at the Warkworth Show. Invited along by our good friend Emily Renton from Moorview Vets to help her judge the dog classes, I had a great time meeting some wonderful dogs and owners!
You can see some of the fun on the Northumberland Gazette website at.....
Warkworth Show 2015 Linda Bell with Lacey who won the geriatric class. Picture by Jane Coltman
The finalists of the "Dog The Judges Would Like To Take Home" category including winner Rafferty the Lurcher.
I'd like to thank the organisers for a great day and inviting us along, everyone who took part and donated to us on the day, all the girls from Moorview who gave up their day off to host the event, and finally a special thank you to Emily for arranging the whole thing!
