YEAR END REPORT 1 APRIL 2009 – 31 MARCH 2010

There are several things to note from this years year end figures, firstly in that the number of dogs coming through the rescue increased by almost 40 dogs – that’s a 20% rise on last year, however a little more encouraging is that the number of dogs we had to put to sleep as a result of a dodgy temperament dropped. This is encouraging in itself but taking into account the additional number of dogs this is very encouraging indeed.

We rehomed 6 dogs on behalf of their breeders and for the first time needed to use the services of boarding kennels with 6 dogs being moved into kennels – this is due to the lack of foster homes.

We currently have  40 active volunteers who between them fostered 24 dogs but only 14 of our volunteer roster can foster and only 7 of those can take longer term fosters, this lack of foster homes continues to be the biggest problem we have in rescue and still the majority of dogs are rehomed direct from their homes which is not always ideal.

44 dogs came to the main kennel and since taking over in 2001 we have to date rehomed 1075 bulldogs.

2009/10 END OF YEAR REPORT

A full financial report will be published just as soon as the book keeper has completed the accounts ready for audit.

During the past few months we have been running a tail survey on our web site. Following the Kennel Clubs refusal to make changes in the breed standard to the tails we thought we would see what the state of the breeds tails were. Surprisingly straight tails and Screw tails came in pretty much equally at 40% for straight and 42% for screw. Tight and Inverted tails made up the balance also equally coming in at 8% and 9% respectively.

                                        413 RESPONSES

The problem with bulldog crosses continues to grow and the main issue we have with these enquiries is that there is no where to send them on to. Anne Warwick recently started an American Bulldog Rescue which has proved to be very helpful and we have worked together on many occasions, but most of the other recognised crosses have no rescue in place, and still insist that they don’t need one. Sadly, in many cases the crosses are simply a way of mass producing pups that look a bit like a bulldog and being unrecognised by the Kennel Club don’t come under any of the breeding rules that the rest of us have to abide by. There are an increasing number of cases where we have been unsure if we have a cross or a purebred and have to judge each dog on it’s own merits. We continue to resist the pressure of taking cross bred bulldogs, apart from the fact the temperaments cannot always be guaranteed, we simply don’t know anything about the breeds they are crossed with. Besides those on our waiting list don’t want crosses – this has resulted in us having to turn away dogs in desperate need of help simply because they’re not pure bred.

The most common reason for a bulldog needing to be rehomed remains divorce and separation, still closely followed by the good old fashioned “I’m pregnant so obviously the dog has to go”. Finding homes is proving to be more difficult as people applying for bulldogs don’t want any problems and although we rarely see a bad breather, skin problems continue to be an issue in the breed as do problems with ears and eyes.

Several fund raising events brought us much needed equipment throughout the year. Most notably the Van which has already done several thousand miles and is fully equipped with first aid equipment and a washing room equipped with a washing machine and tumble dryer giving my poor washing machine a much needed rest. We have a very well equipped kennel now also with 8 separate pens, but room for 10 dogs at a push. 3 of these kennels are set aside for treatment and isolation and a full intake exam can be undertaken on all dogs that arrive which include weighing scales, a microscope for possible mange cases and exercise areas for assessments. We are also able to check hearts and ears and scan/insert microchips, the chip numbers stay registered to Bulldog Rescue which has meant that in the past we have been able to find out if a dog we’ve rehomed ends up somewhere it shouldn’t. We give each dog a through examination on arrival and although our regular kennel maid has been off for most of this year due to her husbands illness, we still have help on a Sunday which allows me a day off to do the garden

31 March 2010