Hello everyone and I cannot believe that I am writing this article the for the December edition of the magazine! As you will know if you’ve read the articles, I’ve seen lots of puppies, rescue dogs, teenagers and other dogs for walks, training and advice. I’ve set up my office, downsized my own belongings and started to rebuild my life after the loss of my husband. I restarted the Kennel Club Good Citizen classes at the Village Hall and am looking forward to running more of them next year as well as the social sessions.
This month will most likely be the last of my editorials and I can’t tell you how lovely it has been to connect with everyone in the Cranleigh area about me, my dogs and what we get up to each month. And over the year, I’ve realised that I am becoming part of the village community and I feel like Cranleigh is where I belong.
But with Christmas coming up it’s this sense of belonging that has reminded me that not everyone – human or canine – is so lucky. I have always supported the homeless charities but in the last few months I have been working as a volunteer for dog rescues doing home checks and assessments. And, after the pandemic, there are even more dogs out there that have nowhere and no one to make them feel like they belong.
Each year I pick a rescue to work with and for this coming year I’ve joined forces with Salt’s Helping Hounds Rescue. They aren’t a big rescue but they do literally save one dog at a time – the oldies, the unwanted and the abandoned. The rescue rely entirely on donations and volunteers to foster dogs while they are waiting for a new home and the ethos of the rescue is to find the very best forever family and home for each dog.
I’ll be putting on events to raise some funds for them and the first will be a social session on Saturday 4th December at 11.30am as part of the Smithbrook Kilns Christmas Open Day. In the meantime, if you want to find out more about Salt’s Helping Hounds Rescue, visit them on Instagram @saltshelpinghounds or find them on Facebook. Or to make a donation use the PayPal friends and family option paypal.me/shhrescue.
We all know the phrase “a dog isn’t just for Christmas…” and as you watch your dog sleeping snugly in their basket this evening, warm and fed with love and companionship, remember the dogs who are still looking for a place to call their own. Who desperately need someone to belong to. Something we all want and need as we head in to 2022.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. Sara, Edie and Rupert.
Contact me, Sara Bridgeman on: 07504 925341 or visit my website at: www.rewardsdogtraining.co.uk
