Dogs Trust Products: More info coming soon!

If you've just received Wag! you might have heard about our brand new Dogs Trust products.

We're pretty excited about the launch as it's the first time we've produced anything like this, so we're looking forward to sharing more information about the range as well as giving you a peek at behind-the-scenes footage from a fairly soapy photoshoot!

Please do check back soon as it's all coming later this week.

Beagle 'brothers' have a reunion bash!

In a post from this summer, Looking for Beagle 'brothers', we mentioned that we were searching for any surviving Beagles who had been rehomed via Dogs Trust (then NCDL) following the closure of Consort Kennels near the Forest of Dean in 1997. Well, Wag! editor Deana organised a big get together for all the living Beagles that came forward. Here is her recap of the day:

I was delighted to meet 11 elderly but beautiful Beagles as they gathered for the Beagle Reunion at Dogs Trust Evesham.

All of the dogs had been rescued when Consort Labs in Hereford had closed down in 1997, and thanks to the generosity of the late Linda McCartney, all 126 dogs had been rescued and rehomed. 50 of the dogs had been taken to Dogs Trust centres at Evesham, Kenilworth and Newbury. Consort had bred the dogs to be used for chemical testing in laboratories.

The dogs’ owners chatted and compared notes over a cup of tea and slice of Beagle shaped cake, while the Beagles did what Beagles do best: sniff and wag. They were all impeccably behaved, and most were grey in the muzzle and a bit wobbly on their legs, but at 14 years old that’s hardly surprising.

Annette Chinn of Dogs Trust Evesham made a moving speech about the day of the rescue. She’d been among the first people allowed into Consort to remove the dogs. Willow, owned by Mr and Mrs Young, decided he’d really like a slice of cake, thanks, and sang a little song.

For Mark and Deb Eavers, who’d originally suggested holding the reunion, the event was bittersweet, as their beloved Beagle, Grommit, was unable to be there, having passed away just a few weeks ago. Their younger Beagle, Snoopy, attended on behalf of his late pal.

The beautifully behaved dogs then lined up for a group photo, much like any other school reunion, and posed for the camera. Email addresses and phone numbers were exchanged, and with that, all the owners said a fond farewell and headed back home, Beagles and all.

Some photos from the day:

Of lurchers and men

Dennis, one of our stunning models.

You guys have met Deana before, remember? She's the proud owner of the ADORABLE spaniel, Daniel, and she is the editor of our Wag! magazine. Wag! is our supporter magazine and it's full of pictures and doggie news so you know how your support is helping us take care of dogs.

Well, Deana has seen a photoshoot or two in her day and thought she'd share with you some video... enjoy!

Reuben

Reuben the Lurcher is such a pro when it comes to modelling that he can barely be bothered to get out of bed in the morning for less than 10 gravy bones.

Seen here posing professionally for Wag!, Reuben soon lets owner Wendy and ace photographer Andy know who’s really the star of the show. Watch how Wendy feeds him roast chicken while he reclines on his sofa, then see how Reuben regally smiles to camera while Wendy waves sausages above Andy’s head.

Watching from the sidelines is Ludo, Reuben’s constant companion. Wendy and partner Simon rehomed both the elegant chaps from our Evesham and Harefield rehoming centres. Reuben and Ludo are poster boys for rehoming laidback, lazy Lurchers.

Dennis

Another day, another exotic location. I’m in Northamptonshire with Dennis, a sort of dog/horse crossbreed. Dennis is the kind of dog who looks as if he were created in the Jim Henson creature workshop. If there’s a dog in the world with more expressive eyebrows I’ve yet to see it.

Owned by Paul, Dennis is very happy to lie under a duvet while pretending to be scared of fireworks, and even to hide inside a child’s wendy house. Paul is watching Dennis’s waistline so very few treats were used on this shoot, although he was rewarded with tiny pieces of a well known sausage-esque snack food.

We worked with freelance photographer Andy Catterall, who has snapped his way through many a Wag photoshoot, and believes that his best work is achieved when someone puts smelly sausages very close to his hair. You’ll be able to see the results in the autumn issue of Wag, to be published in October.

If you're interested in getting Wag! magazine, you can request one online. There are three issues of Wag! a year.

Meet Dogs Trust: Deana Selby and Daniel the Spaniel

We're all excited about adding some new content to this blog in the coming weeks. You already hear from Alex and Lo quite a bit, but soon you'll be seeing occasional videos and other bits and pieces from the lovely Deana, so we thought she'd better introduce herself! And Daniel, of course.

Name: Deana Selby

Job: Publications Manager

Location: desk on the fluorescent bathed first floor, head office

Best thing about my job: Getting to read all the letters and emails from Wag readers who are so delighted with their dogs, newbies and old-timers alike, that they simply have to tell someone about it. It’s a privilege to share someone’s dog-joy. I’m also a sort of canine agony aunt and spend time replying to bereaved dog owners, and although you may think this sounds a little strange I feel honoured to do so. Plus, getting to look at photos of dogs all day AND getting paid for it – what’s not to love?

Pets: Daniel the non-specific Spaniel. He’s the Speckled Prince of Barkness, you know.

Favourite websites: www.oldies.org.uk for reams of rheumy-eyed, grey-muzzled oldsters needing love. I’m also secretly addicted to Danny Baker on BBC Radio London, but I’m aware this doesn’t count as a website.

What I’m reading now: The entire oeuvre of Dr Seuss, Lauren Bacall’s autobiography By Myself and Then Some, Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lyndley Dodd.

Weekend plans: Getting excited about seeing Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, and dog/kids/dog/kids/dog/kids ad infinitum.

Diary of a Dogs Trust rehoming: Daniel the Spaniel

Taking your new dog home for the first time is a very exciting experience. For Daniel the Spaniel and his new owners, it was all caught on camera.

Daniel's now living with the editor of our supporter magazine, Wag!. Deana had been along to the centre before with the family to meet the sparky little Spaniel, and noticed that her younger daughter was a little nervous, but needn't have worried as pup and kid have become firm friends already.

The video diary below marks Daniel's first 48 hours with his new family... watch for the bit at Dogs Trust HQ in Islington!

Watching Wag! grow from pen to print

Over 600,000 supporters of Dogs Trust receive Wag! magazine, a thrice-yearly update on all the goings on in the canine world. From behaviour advice and breed features to rehoming appeals and letters, Wag! covers the range of activities and allows supporters a unique insight into the Dogs Trust world.

For the last six years, Wag! has been compiled and edited by Deana Selby, and she decided it was finally time to head over to Eclipse Colour Print in Kettering, whose job is to produce the thousands of copies that will find their way to eager readers. In the past, once it had left her desk and the proof was approved she had never personally observed the production process, so she was excited to get a chance to watch her precious project come to fruition.

Indeed, "excited" was a word that came up repeatedly in my conversation with her on her return! As her photos show, Eclipse is housed in a huge industrial complex with a sheet press (which was thundering out copies of the Next catalogue at the time) and the web press that Wag! is produced on. The thumping of the press was deafening, so ear protectors were provided, and Deana was quite intoxicated by the fresh "felt pen" print smell!

All around her she could see vast reams of sustainably sourced paper which looked, she commented, "just like big stacks of loo roll!". The covers take around 12 hours to print, with the inside copy taking another day or so. Deana was talked through the process and given a colour proof to examine, being shown how saturation of ink can be adjusted to change the final product.

"It was so much bigger than even I expected," said Deana. "It's vast and so noisy, but it felt wonderful watching piles of print emerge."

Deana spends several weeks preparing each copy of Wag!; this involves writing and commissioning articles, obtaining images, planning and consulting on layout and replying to the massed heaps of correspondence from Wag! readers. Together with the web team, there are plans to launch an e-version of Wag! during the course of the year which will help reduce paper use and postage as well as being more inviting to the online generation.

Watch this space for more information!