Belinda McAvoy
A BEAUTIFUL SOUL 1/5/1944 – 11/4/2019
A Thank You to Belinda
We were extremely sorry to have to announce the retirement of our dear friend, Belinda, but nobody knew just how short-lived that retirement would be. She lost her fight against cancer just a few months later.
During the twelve years she spent working with the charity, she had become a Trustee and the Hon Treasurer. But somehow, she also managed to juggle being acting Secretary, organising the Sponsor Dogs, handling Gift Aid and general Donations, not to mention the website.
When it came to the rescue, the word “no” was not and never had been part of Belinda’s vocabulary. No job was too small or too big and, together with Terry, she did more than her fair share of homechecking and transporting too. They thought nothing of travelling hundreds of miles and turning out at silly o’clock to meet the transport from Ireland.
For many years, they organised the Photo Competition and were totally responsible for the design and printing of all the Christmas cards and calendars as well as designing posters and programmes for the Annual Reunions.
They also used to make keyrings, bookmarks, notelets, mousemats and birthday cards, just to mention a few things. All the delightful goodies were sold to raise much-needed funds for IRR.
BELINDA’S IRR FAMILY
Having been regular fosterers of the older dogs, the disabled dogs and the traumatised ex-breeding ladies who needed their special brand of TLC, it was, understandably, really hard for them not to keep falling in love.
Belinda and Terry adopted their first IRR dog (Millie) in 2007 and they never looked back. Numbers two (Connie), three (Abigail), four (Stella), five (Ellie May), six (Cassie) and seven (Vinnie) followed at irregular intervals, mostly because they fell in love and had become “failed fosterers” yet again.
For quite a private person it’s amazing how many lives Belinda touched and how big a hole she has left behind. There have been many letters, messages of condolence and Facebook tributes from Goldie lovers all over the country.
Everyone at IRR owed and continues to owe a huge debt of gratitude to both Belinda and Terry. They are sorely missed as part of THE TEAM and, for sure, they will always be very much loved by us all.
A GIFT TO ST MARGARET’S HOSPICE
We gave St Margaret’s Hospice a gift in Belinda’s memory. A lovely lady called Gill made this beautiful wall tapestry which she wanted to be donated to an animal charity. Her friend Kerrigan (Dad to Bizzi, Starlight and Ollie) suggested Irish Retriever Rescue and she was delighted.
The tapestry is unique and really beautiful and nobody had anywhere suitable to display it properly that would do it justice, so it was decided to donate it as a gift from Irish Retriever Rescue to St Margaret’s Hospice in Yeovil where Belinda spent her last few days receiving the best care possible.