Canine eulogies & charity fundraising from Absolute Radio

Absolute Radio has discovered that they have an audience full of dog lovers.  Absolute’s ‘Hometime Show’, hosted by Geoff Lloyd between 5pm – 8pm every weekday, asked their listeners to send in stories of the dearly departed dogs that they've had throughout the years.

The sad loss of a dog can be a delicate subject, but the segment called 'Dead Dog Memorial Wall' often took a light-hearted and humorous approach to honouring their beloved canine companions.  The feature has been so popular that the station even decided to write a song about it!  You can check it out below:

Penned by Geoff himself, alongside his co–presenter Annabel Port, the song entitled ‘The Dead Dogs Memorial Song’ was recorded by English indie pop duo, The Boy Least Likely To (whose music has featured the hit TV show Grey’s Anatomy as well as adverts for Apple, Coca-Cola and Cadbury).

“So how does this relate to Dogs Trust?”

Well, Absolute Radio has very kindly offered to donate all profits from the sale of the single directly to Dogs Trust.  It’s a very lovely sentiment that will help us with our work in ensuring that no healthy dog is ever destroyed.

The crowd-sourced song recounts the unforgettable and individual quirks that made the dogs such special pets, from licking ashtrays clean to eating an entire raw turkey.  We think we can all relate to the unique and silly reasons that we love our pets.

‘The Dead Dogs Memorial Song’ is available to download on iTunes now with all profits going to Dogs Trust.  Download it today!



Note: If you are finding it difficult to cope with the loss of your beloved dog, you can find our advice on bereavement on our website.

Fundraising from a supporter's point of view

We often have supporters fundraise on our behalf as they undertake a challenge or sporting event. Assaf came to us with his story and we wanted to share it with you. It is a lovely thing that have such supportive... supporters! I guess that's why we call them that, eh?

Take it away, Assaf:

My dog is a Border-Collie / Great Dane Cross, saved from a rescue shelter when he was 6 months old. In the 7 years since, I’ve regularly donated to the shelter, and after relocating to the UK, I wanted to do the same for a local shelter. When I heard about the London to Paris challenge, I knew I wanted to raise money for a dog charity and I chose the Dogs Trust. This event embodies two passions of mine: helping stop animal abuse and cycling.

During the months of training, I found raising donations for the Dogs Trust to be the hardest part of getting ready. Sadly the horror stories we read in the papers almost every day are not enough to push people to help. Not a lot of people understand how big an impact a dog can have on a family’s life. Caring for a dog is just like adopting a child only it’s four-legged, furry and licks instead of kisses.

This is where the Dogs Trust comes in, to help these lost children find a safe and happy home, and this is why I decided to dedicate this ride to this cause.

Please help by sponsoring me at: www.justgiving.com/assaf-flatto. Or just read up on my progress at: http://blog.flatto.net/.

Good luck, Assaf!

Could you spare any stamps?

Our lovely 'stamp lady' Jenny Thomas raises pounds for our hounds by sorting and selling stamps! 

Find out how YOU can help, and how well Jenny has done so far this year - here.

Easy Fundraising, it's really THAT easy!

Ok, by a show of mouse clicks, how many of you plan to do some Christmas shopping online. I'd say that a fair few of us do this. In fact, I know we do! Eighty-five percent of all internet users are also internet shoppers, according to a May 2010 survey.

So, how can you continue to do your shopping AND raise funds for Dogs Trust as the same time for no extra cost to you? How, you ask? With Easy Fundraising!

Easy Fundraising provide a FREE service where you can shop with your favourite online stores and at no extra cost raise funds for any charity, good cause or group you choose to support. You still shop directly with each retailer as you would normally, but simply by using the links from the Easy Fundraising site first, each purchase you make will generate a cashback donation to the cause you wish to support. They explain:

"For example, spend £25 with WH Smith and 3.5% will be donated. You will have raised £0.88, at no extra cost to your purchase. Make any purchase from Amazon and 2.5% will be donated. Insure your car with Direct Line and raise £35.00, or purchase a mobile phone from O2 and earn £17.50, and so on."

The site is great because you can shop with 2000+ brand name retailers and to raise funds you just use the links from their site first - it's that simple! It just serves as a portal, so if you ALREADY shop online, why not help Dogs Trust at no extra cost from purchases you would make anyway.

Go on, at least check it out! I promise it won't exhaust you as much as that little guy in the photo!

Of course, if you're looking for Dogs Trust items from our cataloge you can see all those products online by going to http://www.dogstrustgifts.com/.

Dashing dachshunds in London raise money for Dogs Trust

Guest blogger Lisa Ronchetti of Dachshunds in London writes about their latest fundraising event...

A sunny Sunday afternoon spent strolling through St James’ Park and the last thing you would expect to see amongst a carpet of deck chairs, picnics and sun bathers is a collection of racing dogs and I’m not talking about greyhounds...

Bank holiday weekend the bandstand of St James’ Park in Central London became the meeting point and racing ground for London’s dachshund Spring Fest and race hosted by the dachshunds in London club.

This pack of dachshund and dachshund owners meet and socialise their dogs regularly. After much sniffing about and friendly chit chat about the latest misadventures of their elongated friends, the club proudly lines up its miniature mutts for the moment everyone’s been waiting for, the race.

Following in the footsteps (or should I say paw steps) of our weiner cousins , dachshunds in London has been racing for charity for two years and believe me those little furry stumps and stretched out bodies can give you a run for your money!

As they prepare to race from one end of the bandstand circle to the other, without the aid of lanes that is, one friend holds the dog in place at the start line and the other uses a mixture of high pitched noises, whistles and hand gestures some even using a favourite toy to entice the dog to make the finishing line as quickly as possible.

3,2,1 and off they go...as they dash from one end to the other the odd dog ignores the hysterical calls of its owner and manages to whizz off into the opposite direction almost as if it had been distracted by a giant squirrel traversing the green. It is a comical sight and it happens every time, for those not familiar with dachshunds , they tend to have the attention span of a goldfish at the best of times.

On the other end of the bandstand sits an empty and disappointed pair of arms and the spectating crowd is left in a fit of giggling claps as the owner reluctantly collects the distracted pooch who never made the finishing line. Better luck next time.

Thanks to everyone this year’s races went down a storm with double figures attending the event entering. There are no bitter losers here just a happy crowd of dog lovers united in aid of one cause and one cause only to have fun and raise some money.

We hope our events continue to help unfortunate dogs and we hope that our races will only get bigger and better in the future.

Dachshunds in London and dachshunds forum members raced to raise money for Dogs Trust. For more information on how to join the club visit dachshundsinlondon.co.uk

Raising funds for Dogs Trust through sporting events: the 2009 calendar

Every year, Dogs Trust is lucky enough to have dedicated sports fans take part in a number of endurance runs which raise money to help us care for thousands of dogs. We hope 2009 will carry on this grand tradition, so to make sure you sign up and get training in good time we've compiled a list of runs to look out for over the coming months.

We have places in the following events:

London Marathon - 26th April (ALL charity places gone, but you can use your own!)

Great Manchester Run (10k) - 17th May, entry deadline 6th April

Edinburgh Marathon - 31st May, entry deadline 8th May

British 10k London Run - 12th July, entry deadline 3rd July

London Triathlon - 1st & 2nd August, entry deadline 1st June

Great North Run (13.1 miles) - 20th September, entry deadline 10th July

Great South Run (10 miles) - 25th October, entry deadline 20th August


For more information, contact fundraiseforus@dogstrust.org.uk or call 020 7837 0006.

World Animal Day: Celebrate and Get Involved

Today is World Animal Day, an annual event created to celebrate man's relationship with the furry, feathered, slithering and scaly and to draw attention to those species on the brink of extinction.

As well as reflecting on the close relationship humankind shares with the animal kingdom, there will be loads of events going on around the world which urge respect for and conservation of animals.

If you've left it a little late to think of your own events, why not join in with one going on right now in your area? There is a handy international Events Diary on the website. I'm in London, so I chose the 'London & South East' area and found out that there are nine events listed, from religious events to open days, mountain biking, rabbit behaviour sessions and lectures.

If none of those appeal, perhaps you could use the day is impetus to think of something you could do more regularly to help animals; why not do something to raise money for an animal charity, volunteer at a rescue centre or just promise to be the one who gets up early each morning to walk the family dog for a whole month?

Have a ball and raise money for Dogs Trust

Dogs Trust Kenilworth and Dogs Trust Evesham have joined forces to create an extra special occasion in aid of the dogs in their care.

A drinks reception, three course meal and fashion show in aid of the charity shop at Shipston on Stour will make it a night to remember. So glam yourself up and get down there to have a fabulous time, knowing the money raised from each £50 ticket will help pay for crucial veterinary care, food, treats, training and more.

For more details on the venue and how to get a ticket, check out the Facebook events page or contact Jane Hirons on 01926486010 / Jane.hirons@dogstrust.org.uk.