Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare
World Animal Day 2010; Raystede Dog Walk - Sunday October 3rd.
Celebrate World Animal Day on Sunday, October 3rd by joining in our sponsored dog walk!
Taking place from 10am till 2pm.
Walk the perimeter of Raystede's grounds, just under a mile in total with your four-legged friends!
Simply click on the image (left) for full details.
To register to take part in this event, email fundraiser@raystede.org or
telephone (01825) 840252.
We hope to see you there!
A Taste of Italy for Raystede's Animals !
Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare’s taken delivery of nearly 1500 hundred daily meals for their dogs and cats – courtesy of an Italian company.
During July, A Coombs Pet Centre, which has stores in Brighton and Hove, teamed up with Almo Nature of Italy, to support Raystede. For every sale, ten percent was donated to Raystede, in the form of food. This resulted in 1000 dog meals, and nearly 500 cat meals being presented to the Centre.
Animal Manager Jason Caulfield said, “We are very grateful to both A Coombs Pet Centre and Almo Nature for their generosity towards Raystede. As you can imagine, we get through tonnes of pet food every year at the Centre, and this donation will really help us with feeding the cats and dogs in our care.”
Dog "Selfishly" Dumped In Car Park.
Around 3 o’clock on Monday 16th August, animal care staff at Raystede Centre of Animal Welfare were alerted to a Jack Russell, tied up in the overflow car park of the site.
The dog, which had been left in a remote area, in the hot afternoon sun, was frightened and stressed, and was having difficulty breathing owing to its muzzle. The animal was in great danger of being hit by a car because of where it had been dumped.
It’s thought the owners had previously spoken to Raystede staff, but had taken matters into their own hands on hearing there was a waiting list for taking in unwanted pets.
Chief Executive Nigel Mason said, “This is a cruel and irresponsible act by a pet owner. We run a controlled waiting list at Raystede to enable us to do the best by all animals and their owners. If we didn’t have this system in place, it would mean we would have to put dogs to sleep, just because we don’t have room. Currently, Raystede will only put an animal down on medical grounds. I would encourage any pet owner, who is having problems with their dog, to call us as soon as possible, and we will do our best to help them, but currently our kennels are full and the waiting list is in operation. We will, of course, do our best to find this abandoned Jack Russell a loving new home, as soon as possible.”
Anyone interested in re-homing any of the dogs in Raystede’s care, should call 01825 880464
It's Raining Cats & Kittens !
We are appealing for new homes for the large number of cats and kittens currently in our cattery.
The Centre has 23 cats and 29 kittens seeking new homes but they are the lucky ones. In an eight week period there have been requests for rehoming over 100 cats.
Jason Caulfield, Animal Care Manager said: “At this time of year we do expect an influx of pregnant cats but the number this year has been greater than usual. We have even had to hand rear a litter of kittens which puts an added strain on the workload of the staff”.
Anyone interested in finding out more about homing a cat or kitten or other Raystede animals looking for new homes, should contact the Centre on 01825 840252.
Summer of Fun at Raystede!
Summer has officially arrived at The Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare - and there’s a packed programme.
Every Tuesday throughout the school holidays, there’s Whiskers and Wet Noses Family Days, which gives children – and Mum and Dad – a chance to learn about animal senses, from dogs and cats through to tortoises and horses.
The popular Raystede Rangers, which is taking place every Thursday, is already fully booked. It will see children aged between 8 and 12 learning about the various animals at Raystede.
Three days a week between 10am-3pm, The Den will be opening its doors for children’s activities with Eva. Just look out for the signs.
Education Development Officer Lucy Owen said, “We have such fantastic facilities at Raystede, it’s brilliant that we can offer children the chance to get up close and personal with our animals. At Raystede, we see educating kids about animal welfare as essential.”
For further information please contact:
Lucy Owen
Education Development Officer
education@raystede.org
07932 152687
A 'Bench'mark in voluntary support.
Staff at Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare marked their thanks to Ex-Chairman Cyril Mann by planting a tree and dedicating a bench to him.
Cyril stepped down as Chairman last December after over 50 years of loyal voluntary support to the Charity. He served on the Board of Trustees for 40 years before becoming Chairman for the past 10 years.
Cyril worked alongside Raystede’s founder Miss Raymond-Hawkins for a number of years until her death in 1998. Since then he has seen many changes take place at the Centre.
Cyril said ‘ Over the past 10 years I have seen dramatic advances in Raystede’s expansion, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the dedication and care the staff give all the animals that come to Centre and my thanks goes to them for all the support they gave me.’
Although now officially ‘retired’, Cyril will still be a regular visitor to Raystede and encourages anyone who hasn’t been to the Centre to come out and enjoy a great day out!
Summer Fayre Success!
Our annual Summer Fayre on Sunday 27th June raised over £13,000 in total!
An estimated 4,000 visitors enjoyed a great day out that included stalls, fun dog show and live music plus the opportunity to meet some of the 1,000 animals in care at the Centre.
Nigel Mason, Chief Executive said: “We are tremendously grateful to everyone that came along and supported us. The Summer Fair is our major fundraising event of the year and we are delighted to have raised so much. The total is slightly less than 2009 but the extremely hot weather and of course England playing in the World Cup was bound to have had an effect. It costs over £4,000 a day to run the Centre and we rely totally on voluntary donations which is why events such as this are so important for us”.
He went on to say;
“What makes Raystede different to other animal centres is our belief that animal welfare should be an integrated part of the local community. That’s why we hold Summer and winter fayres, and many other social events throughout the year. We
think it’s important not just to “fix” an animal so they’re ready to be rehomed, but to learn about animals and our relationships with them.”
Many (Helping) Hands Make Light Work.
Many thanks to the EDF helping hands group who came out on the 19th of May to create the education ponds and re-stain the goat shelter and sanctuary fencing!
Raystede wins award!
Raystede beat 10 other candidates recently at The Sussex Express Business Awards to scoop the Community Award presented to CEO, Nigel Mason by the sponsors G.W. Ironworks. Nigel accepted the award on behalf of Raystede.
Fred Dinage was compare for the evening and when interviewed, Nigel told the audience that Raystede was proud of the quiet way in which Raystede had delivered services to the community over the last 60 years and was now gearing up for more services with a greater impact than ever before.
The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes expands to secure a brighter future for rescue animals.
News from the ADCH, of which Raystede is a member;
The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes is to open its doors to more like-minded rescue organisations. Since 1985 the Association has helped to improve the standard of care for rescued dogs and cats. With over 50 members the Association is now introducing a new category of associates to enable even more charities to benefit from its membership.
Being a member of The Association of Dogs and Cats homes is a unique way of networking with other organisations to develop best practice across the animal welfare industry. Many rescues are small organisations unable to attend regular meetings but could greatly benefit from the expertise within it as well as sharing their own valuable experience with other members.
Clarissa Baldwin, Chairman of ADCH explains ;
“Opening up membership to associates must be the next step in the Association’s development. In embracing more animal welfare workers under one roof, there will be huge advantages to the welfare of our dogs and cats whilst in the care of rescue homes. Keeping open dialogue with our animal welfare counterparts, embracing new ideas and pushing the boundaries in the build of new state-of-the-art shelters will undoubtedly secure a better future for rescue animals.”
For a membership fee of £25 per annum, associates can access The ADCH Forum, which entitles members to exchange knowledge and experience, provide mutual support as well as combine resources to encourage Governments to introduce workable, pet welfare legislation.
Associate members will also be able to attend meetings where specific topics are discussed with professionals in their field. They will be able to glean advice from top UK experts as well as meet other senior personnel from all sectors of the animal rescue industry including veterinary services, environmental health and local authorities.
The ADCH is open to any charitable organisations /NGO’s within the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands. For further information about joining the Association please visit www.adch.org.uk.
Qualified With Animals!
Raystede have been forging ahead over the last year with their staff training programme and as a result Sussex Downs College have acknowledged the recent successes of some of the staff.
Click here to read the story!
Energetic Painters!
We are very grateful to EDF Energy who spent a team building day by helping in the vegetable garden and re-stained the horse shelter in the 'October' field on 14th April 2010!
An Apple A Day ...
Due to severe cold during the winter, the fruit trees in our orchard have sustained rabbit damage. Some unfortunately will not survive.
If anyone could donate a pot grown apple or plum tree, we would be very grateful!
If you can assist, please contact Jacqui Tucker, Gardener.
An Abundance Of Cockerels!
We have lots of rescued cockerels desperately looking for new homes!
For further information please telephone Raystede at (01825) 840252 and ask for Wendy Holford, Sanctuary Supervisor.
Urgent Fostering Appeal!
We are urgently looking for experienced, caring volunteers to foster dogs and cats temporarily.
Please call Emma on 01825 880478 for more information.
Oh, the weather outside is frightful..
The snow in January 2010 was enough to bring much of Britain to a standstill - for Raystede it was business as usual(ish). Captured here are a selection of photographs and video of the weather and the animals.
Click on a small image to view it larger in a separate window.
