The Friends of the RSPCA Leybourne Animal Centre
(Registered Charity Number 1049828)
FUN DAY 2009
2009 FUN DAY DOGGY REPORT BY ELAINE BEAL
This year’s fun day was held on 13th June 2009. The weather was very kind to us and despite the credit crunch we had a record number of visitors.
The event included all the usual attractions such as fun fair, stalls, BBQ and the main arena, and my dog Dylan donated his tin bath to cool down those doggies that were hot, which proved very popular.
The main arena was home to the dog scurry and fun dog show, together with 2 displays from Paws in Motion and an appeal for home from some of the dogs at RSPCA Leybourne.
Nearly 300 dogs were registered to take part in the events. All of the dogs that entered the show were beautiful, I would have hated to have had to be a judge. It was very difficult this year to pick those for a special mention in my article but those I have chosen are as follows:
WINNER – DOG IN BEST CONDITION
This class was very well attended and this year was won by a Parsons Jack Russell called Bailey. Bailey is 3 ½ years old and ours was his very first dog show. What was special about Bailey in addition to his very shiny eyes, wet nose and glossy coat was the excellent way he behaved for his young owner Luke. Bailey also went on to be 6th Best in Show.
WINNER – THE BEST RESCUE DOG
This is one of the classes where most on the entrants have a very sad story. For various reasons all entrants are with (at least) their second owners and many have suffered some form of neglect or abuse. The winner of this glass was Freddie. Freddie is a former RSPCA case dog and was a resident at Leybourne for several months. He is a lovely dog and the abuse he suffered was some of the worst that I have heard of in my 13 years as a volunteer. Freddie now lives a happy life in a loving home with a young family. Freddie also went on to be 5th Best in Show.
WINNER – THE BEST FORMER RSPCA LEYBOURNE BITCH
As above all of the dogs in this class are on at least their second owner and many have a sad story. This years winner of this class was Floss. Floss is a 18 month old Mastiff cross. Her family adopted her from Leybourne approximately 7 months ago and she is being trained by her owner Nicole. Apart from being a very beautiful dog, was stood out about Floss was the calm and well behaved way Floss behaved on fun day for her young owner. She is a true ambassador for this giant breed and rescue dogs.
WINNER – BEST IN SHOW
This years Best in Show was won by Inka a Suluki x Collie who also won Best Cross Breed Bitch. At the time Inka had only been with her new owners 5 weeks and was adopted from Leybourne.
One thing that is clear from the above dogs is that Rescue dogs and children can live happily together and that when looking for a dog you should not discount rescue dogs because you have a young family.
AND FINALLY…………..
Apologies but I cannot write this article without mentioning the below dog. One of the very best things about fun day (apart from raising money for the animals at the centre) is that you get to meet lots of animal loving people with their pets and get to see many of the former residents happy with their new owners. Those that know me know that I am very much a big dog person and despite not having one at the moment I really love German Shepherd Dogs. This dog is a former RSPCA Leybourne case dog, after being in RSPCA care for some months he was adopted by his new family a few weeks before fun day. Ziggy (formerly Batman) is another true ambassador for his breed and rescue dogs and I could not hide my delight when the judge picked him as the Most Handsome Dog (and when he became 3rd Best in Show) so for me, Bob, Janet and all the other Friends members and volunteers that just love GSD’s heres Ziggy.
And now for some other memories from Fun Day...
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