The BVNA has named the Trust as its official charity for 2012 in a bid to help raise much-needed funds for homeless greyhounds at the end of their racing careers, and to promote the great work of the Trust and its volunteers.

Peter Laurie, Chief Executive of the Retired Greyhound Trust, said: “This partnership makes perfect sense. The lives of BVNA members revolve around animals. They have a great appreciation and understanding of what it takes to care for so many retired greyhounds around the country while we are trying to find them loving new homes. I am delighted that we have been invited to partner with an organisation whose members will really care about what we do. We look forward to working with you to raise lots of money for the charity throughout 2012.”

Claire Fraser, President of BVNA, said: “We chose the Retired Greyhound Trust because of the great work its volunteers undertake for the welfare of the dogs.

“The Trust has hundreds of volunteers around the country who work tirelessly – fundraising and looking after homeless greyhounds. We are delighted to be able to offer a little help and support to make their lives just a little bit easier throughout 2012.

“Our members know that greyhounds make wonderful pets and we are delighted to have the opportunity to spread the word and tell everyone all about the joys of owning a greyhound,” she added.

The Retired Greyhound Trust volunteers will work with BVNA members around the country to provide top tips for charity fundraising and help to maximise any fundraising opportunities.

Around 8,000 greyhounds retire from racing each year, most between the ages of three and five. This means that after their racing careers, greyhounds have around seven to ten good years left in them and need to find homes to enjoy a happy life.

After retirement, greyhounds undergo a transformation. They change from being the fastest breed of dog to ‘couch potatoes’. Retired greyhounds are peaceful and calm and need just two 20 minutes walks a day. The much-needed funds ensure these dogs are looked after in kennels until a home is found for them with a caring owner or family.

Without funds, the charity will struggle to continue its great work in caring and finding homes for retired greyhounds. With funds, the Retired Greyhound Trust can carry out checks to ensure homes are safe and secure for the dogs. Funds also ensure that the greyhounds are fit and healthy before they arrive at their new home – the dogs are neutered, vaccinated, wormed and flea treated.

Notes to editors

The charity has housed more than 50,000 dogs since it was set up in 1976. Around 8,000 greyhounds retire from racing each year.

The Retired Greyhound Trust has 72 branches across the country made up of volunteers who are dedicated to finding homes for the dogs in their areas. Many have websites, showing pictures of the dogs that need homes. For further information, go to http://www.retiredgreyhounds.co.uk or call 02083353016.

Media Contact Details
Name: Helen Barklam
Company Name: Retired Greyhound Trust
Town: Surrey
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone Number: 07917 148900
Email: N/A
Language: English

Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

The Street End Farm Elves are still hard at work putting orders together so there is still time to do some last minute bird food shopping before Christmas!

The last date for orders to ensure delivery before Christmas is Wednesday 21st December.

December News from the Farm………..

What a difference a year makes! This was the farmyard a year ago – knee deep in snow and a real challenge to get our orders out to our customers. And today – a balmy 8°C. That is what I love about the UK -the unpredictability of the seasons! However it does make planning for a bird seed business an interesting challenge!

The warm weather has encouraged the Plain Canary Seed which was left in the ground after harvest, to re-sprout and go mad, and the ground is acting as a wonderful haven for the pheasant and partridge that are hiding from the shooters on neighbouring farms!

There are two breeds of Partridge found in the UK; the favourite Native English (or Grey) Partridge, and the imported (French) Red-legged Partridge.

When I was a child (back in the 1960s!) there was an abundance of Grey Partridge in the UK. However, sadly, over the years the numbers of breeding pairs have declined drastically and they are now on the UK Red-List as a bird of conservation concern. The reason for their decline is multi-factorial, but probably the main contributor is the poor survival rate of chicks. Reduced availability of insects, aligned with fewer weeds in cereal crops, less ‘set-aside’ land and more predators such as birds of prey have made it increasingly difficult for Grey Partridge chicks to survive. If you also add in the impact of bad weather, then even on a chalky Downland Farm like ours, the Greys have a tough time.

Grey Partridge fly in groups called ‘coveys’. They fly close to the ground and their wings make a lovely characteristic ‘whirring’ sound.

At this Festive time of year, it will be the Red-legged (or French) Partridge which will be found in the Pear Tree!

The Red-leg was introduced to the UK in the 1600s by King Charles II, who brought them from France to use as targets for shooting. And that is still true today. There are vastly more Red-legged Partridge in the UK Countryside because they are bred, reared and released as Sporting Game.

Ironically, these birds naturally prefer to run, rather than fly – I am not sure I blame them! Perhaps it is years of being shot at!

These Partridge are larger than the Grey Partridge. They have a characteristic white chin and throat patch.

The females do have life sorted. They can often build two nests, lay two clutches of eggs, raise one clutch and leave their men to raise the other one. I must admit – they seem to have better organisational skills than I have!

New Look Website!

And last but not least………….. we have been working hard on a new website which we will be launching in the first week of January 2012. The website will have new features and information and a fresh new look! To celebrate the launch and to say thank you to all our customers for your loyalty and support, there will be a Special Promotion running throughout January – more information to follow – but put a note in your diaries to visit us at www.streetendfeeds.co.uk or www.reallywildbirdfood.co.uk in the New Year!

Well it just remains for me to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and to thank you once again for your custom.

Best Wishes

Lesley

December 5, 2011 – In the midst of rising crime rates and social upheaval in many parts of the country, more and more people are looking for new ways to protect themselves and those they love. For many people, finding the right solution is tricky because they may not feel completely safe simply because they have an alarm system that can alert a security company or the police, but do nothing to protect them in the moment. By the same token, having a firearm or similar weapon and the training to use it only goes so far and does not alert to potential intruders or attackers. For this reason, many people are deciding on Protection Dogs as their way of protecting themselves, their family or their property. These highly trained dogs are capable of not only alerting to an intruder or other type of danger, but they are also trained to do a variety of other life saving tasks such as overpowering and subduing an assailant. With an intelligent source of protection, many families also feel more safe than they would about having readily accessible weapons in their home. With the right training, experts say that a dog can often be the difference between life and death for those who are the victim of a violent crime.

Finding the right source of such dogs is what often proves to be the trick. While attack dogs are certainly not legal in our modern times, dogs trained to defend certainly are. Dog trainers never recommend that an owner train their own dog and those who want the Ultimate Protection Dogs are definitely going to need to seek one from a pro level trainer who is able to provide a dog with a rock solid temperament, exceptional intelligence, rapid reflexes and nerves of steel. These traits are not found in every littler, much less in every dog. Even a very capable dog possessing all of these traits needs a loving and knowledgeable trainer to teach it how to use those traits for its own safety as well as those it is charged with protecting the lives of. This is why those wanting such dogs do need to find a source that can help them.

To learn more about dogs trained to protect individuals and families, visitors should head to http://ultimateprotectiondogs.com today. Or they can call 1-945-548-8051 to speak with someone over the phone.

Contact Info:

Ivan Mosquera
Tel: 9545488051
info@ultimateprotectiondogs.com

Our wild bird food shop supplies and sells variety of products like seed mixes, black sunflower seeds and sunflower hearts, straights seeds, suet and fat foods, Niger seed ( which can also be spelt Nyger seeds or nyjer seeds), peanuts, mealworms, bird feeders, pick and mix, Live Foods for Garden Birds and bird hygiene products. All our wild bird seed are home produced, so you will find them fresh, clean and nutritious when they reach to your garden birds. 

 Also feeding birds is not enough; you can make them feel more special and happy with bird nest box, bird tables and water bird bath.

 Now when we have such healthy and nutritious bird seed, how can we forget squirrels? Squirrels are always famous for destroying our bird feeders and consuming vast quantities of wild bird seed. For deterring squirrels and protect your bird seed, we have squirrel resistant bird feeding accessories.  If you are really serious, then try the Amazing Yankee Flipper – the NO 1, top selling squirrel-proof bird feeder in the USA.

Birds need feeding all year round so don’t delay – order bird food today from our farm shop. Our order process is very simple.  You just select products and complete the online order form. We accept payment by credit card, debit card and also by cheque.  Using debit card or credit card in our site is secured. Security is provided by Thawte digital certificate technology. Once we receive the payment, goods will be dispatched to you within 48hrs.  Bird Feeders, fat products and accessories can only be delivered with bird seed orders.

If you are placing order for first time, you will be invited to join our frequent flyer club. This will help you next time when you making any purchase with us. It will make the order process much quicker and easier. 

We have special service called ‘PICK AND MIX’ where you order a selection of smaller feeds packs to ensure your birds get variety. We give advice about birds, bird nutrition and bird care. Our bird care products are based around ark-klens, tamodine E and cleaning brushes.

We offer our customer bird gift service were you can tell us a message and the address of a recipients and we send our bird products as a gift form yourself.

We also offer a gift voucher service where we provide gift vouchers in multiple of £5.00 for use on our site.  This voucher will be sent with gift card by first class post. To order vouchers select one of the voucher options within our Bird Shop.

If you still have doubts regarding product, service, order process, or want to make a suggestion, you can contact us either by sending email, by phone, or by fax.

A website overhaul would not be complete without new website content. Several pages were added to the original list making the present number of pages 11 in total. The recent pages of the site include: dog training, pet insurance, veterinary secrets, cat secrets, dog walking business, healthy food for dogs, healthy food for dogs, dog tools, privacy, terms and conditions, contact, and blog. Each page contains an in depth information about the pet trainings and guides being offered and some valuable blog posts that involves a wide array of topics about pet cats and dogs.  The last part of the site makeover is the creation of a static page where a welcome message is posted to provide a warm welcome to the site visitors. The new feel of the Good Pets for Children website is more personalized, so people who visit the site can feel at ease reading through the contents and eventually be able to find the product that they need for their pet dog or cat.

Barack Obama, a 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, shattered more than 200 years of history Tuesday night by winning election as the first African-American president of the United States.

A crowd of nearly a quarter-million jammed Grant Park and the surrounding area in Chicago, where Obama addressed the nation for the first time as its president-elect at midnight ET. Hundreds of thousands more — Mayor Richard Daley said he would not be surprised if a million Chicagoans jammed the streets — watched on a large television screen outside the park.

“If there is anyone out there who doubts that America is a place where anything is possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,” Obama declared.