Parade of Rescue and Sponsor Dogs
2005 Dogs
Leading the 2005 Parade was Sandie Bissett with DANNY JEFFEREY.
Sandie has rescued Golden Retrievers from Ireland for well over 14 years now. 2009 / 2010 has not been a good year in many ways but, despite Sandie’s ill health, the Irish side of the Rescue has still carried on and many lovely dogs have still come into our care
Sandie used to foster most dogs in her own home, regularly driving the length and breadth of Eire to save one. Things have had to change dramatically but she is still one very brave and determined lady. On one occasion, she was receiving her Chemotherapy in one arm whilst organising a dog rescue on the phone with her other hand. Despite everything, she still has never been known to refuse help to a Golden Retriever in trouble.
In January 2005 a small group of us got together to try to help Sandie with what we thought would be a few dogs in distress and Irish Retriever Rescue was born. We started out as a tiny group of friends struggling to do what we could but now there are a lot more people giving their time and energies to these wonderful dogs and, for that, we are extremely grateful. The IRR family has grown.
Apart from the Golden Retrievers girls that have been hers since they were puppies, Sandie has 5 rescue dogs who have all stolen her heart over the years. They are Barkley, Isabelle, Jessica, Molly and mad Monty.
ELMO and Kat Moon
JAKE and Chloe Reynolds
RICKY and Julie Granger
BEN and Pauline Fowler
SAMMY and Ian Lacey
JIM and Rita Turner
JUMBLE and Anne Jones
DANNY JEFFEREY and Sandie Bissett
KIMBA and Pam Morris
Sadly, many lovely dogs (IRR and friends of IRR) have passed over Rainbow Bridge since the 2009 Reunion.
Chloe, Zena and Della, Dawn, Honey, Gilly, Cleo and Molly, Bess, Bailey, Simba, Beryl Sandra’s, Buddy, Murphy, Lynne’s Jilly, May, Jackie’s Gizmo, Alicia’s Shadow, and CHC founder Catherine O’ Driscoll’s Dannie to be reunited with Gwinnie
For sure, they are all running free together now.
2006 Dogs
CASEY and Gwen Flynn
TWINKLE and Christine Astor
LOLA and Lynne Jones
ELLIE and Val Dagger
GIZMO JEFFEREY and Craig Norman
2007 Dogs
CHARLIE and Maggie Long
DAISY and Ray Long
BRIAN and Sandra Hammond
CONNIE McAVOY and Joseph Millar
MILLIE and Terry McAvoy
STEVIE and Alison Phipps
PENNY and Diane James
DAZZLE and Alan James
JACK and Shona Grant
RHANI JEFFEREY and Daniel Norman
DIGBY and Tracey Reader-Hoer
CASSIE and Ann Marshall
2008 Dogs
DAISY and Anne Tuck
MOLLI TONKS and Debbie Fievez
HARRY and Brian Russell
ABIGAIL and Belinda McAvoy
ISSY and Diane Bowler
BUSTER and Richard Warr
ABI and Judy Anderson
LOUIS and Joan Phillips
HEIDI and Barbara Henshaw
FERDIE and Steve Jefferey
OLD SAM and Lorraine Cannon *
JUDY and Ken Taylor
* LORRAINE CANNON is our UK Co-ordinator *
It has been a very difficult year for Lorraine but she has still managed to juggle personal commitments with her continued dedication to IRR. Lorraine heads the team on this side of the Irish Sea with calm efficiency and great compassion. Despite being the youngest member of our team, she has a very wise head on her young shoulders and she is responsible for finding the very best homes for the Golden Retrievers who come to us. This often involves lengthy conversations with prospective adopters but she is very thorough and takes her time to get it right. For those reasons and her intuition and people skills, she has an excellent track record for perfect matches.
2009 Dogs
TEDDY and Maggie Roberts
HARLEY and Owen Edwards
STELLA and Belinda McAvoy
FREDDIE and Julie Moore
MILLY and Kate Morgan
HARVEY WHITE and (with his sister Tess and Jane White)
LEVI and Nicky Herring
MAXIMILLIAN and Ashleigh Abbott
BEN and Linda Harris
2010 Dogs
CASSIE PUSS PUSS and Rosie Hadley
BONNIE and Simon Moore
MOLLIE and Nigel Westray
PRINCE and Wendy Brown
ELLA and Judy Anderson
ELIAS and Lucy Guy
NEMO and Maddy Woodhouse
GEORGIE JEFFEREY and Craig Norman
SAMMY and Jane Beresford
BELLA and Nigel Dracup
MAISIE and Nigel Dracup
ANNIE (forever foster dog) and Julie Taylor
SPARKY (just arrived in the UK and homeless) with Tony Elton
Sponsor Dog Parade
These are some of our very special Sponsor Dogs who have often had severe problems themselves, invariably because of their previous treatment, which they have now overcome. These lucky dogs, who have all been adopted by IRR team members, are delighted to help IRR raise money to help other less fortunate dogs in the future.
For a donation of just £10 a year, people can sponsor one of these lovely dogs, and in return, sponsors will receive a Certificate of Sponsorship with a photo of their chosen dog as well as receiving regular updates about their progress and their happy lives.
A sponsor dog will also remember their sponsor’s birthday and send greetings to them at Christmas. Many people sponsor a dog as a gift for someone else.
Irish Retriever Rescue are extremely grateful to our Sponsor Dogs and their generous owners who totally fund the cards, newsletters and postage out of their own pockets so that every penny of the £10 can help the IRR rescue dogs.
There are 11 beautiful dogs to choose from. Six of these very special dogs with their proud owners were able to be in the Sponsor Dog Parade today:-
DIGBY is a beautiful dog, in both looks and temperament, who, unfortunately has simply lost a leg. He has never let his disability bother him although it was clearly the reason why he was abandoned. Digby is now in a wonderful forever home together with lots of other lucky rescued animals and he is totally adored by everyone.
Digby is very happy to be a sponsor dog on behalf of all the other dogs who are abandoned because they are no longer considered to be perfect any more and he knows that money he raises will help pay for other dogs like him to be released from cold, lonely pounds, to be transported to the UK, to be treated by vets for any problems they may have and, finally, to end up in wonderful homes just like him.
CONNIE (originally called Maisie) is a golden retriever who was surrendered to the pound and possible instant death, with her two lovely puppies Drake (was Minstrel) and Brian (was Merlin) in 2007 when she was about a year old. The owner obviously believed that by producing cross breed puppies, Connie was ‘ruined’ as a breeding bitch and the pups were of no value to him either. Fortunately all three were rescued and were fostered in Ireland before coming to the UK. Connie is now loved to bits in her forever home in Somerset.
Connie is very happy to be a Sponsor Dog to help other dogs who find themselves discarded because of the irresponsibility of their owners..
LOLA is a young ex-breeding bitch. She was mated at her very first season. When she arrived in foster she was extremely nervous and needed a lot of work and several flower essence combinations before she could be rehomed. Her fosterer, Lynne, fell in love with her and adopted her and she is now very happy, playful and well adjusted.
Lola is very happy to be a Sponsor Dog so that she can help us to rescue other bitches like herself from a life of torment
PENNY is a golden retriever who was about 9 months old when she was found as a stray in 2007. She was initially fostered by Pauline and there she met her boyfriend Dazzle. They were rehomed together in Gloucester with Diane and her family. They both settled in wonderfully and continue to be partners in crime. Despite always being up to mischief, they are both loved to bits.
Penny is very happy to be a Sponsor Dog to help other dogs who find themselves homeless through no fault of their own.
STEVIE is blind. He was found by an ISPCA inspector in a dilapidated shed where he had spent much of his life alone. Despite this, he has a wonderful nature and is loved by all who come in contact with him. He is an inspiring ambassador for disabled dogs and is a real credit to his amazing forever mum, Alison.
Stevie does not let his blindness stop him doing all the things that a sighted dog can do and more, because he is exceptionally bright. He does agility training, which he loves, and he constantly amazes everyone with his willingness to take on new challenges. Sadly, Stevie also now suffers from seizures but, fortunately, these seem to be under control.
He is very happy to offer himself as a sponsor dog to help save the lives of other dogs who have lived in similar appalling conditions to him and also to champion the cause for dogs with disabilities like blindness who have been written off as impossible.
GIZMO is still a youngster at heart who enjoys nothing more than playing with the foster dogs who frequently come to live with him and his sister and brothers. He was found scavenging on a rubbish tip as a very young puppy. He is a very loving dog but certain behavioural issues made him unable to be re-homed so he was adopted by Pauline and Steve.
He is happy to be a Sponsor Dog to help raise funds to help other dogs whose past has severely damaged them mentally in the way his has done.
Unfortunately, Buddy was stuck in traffic and didn’t make it in time to be in the Parade of Sponsor Dogs
BUDDY is a loveable golden retriever who was surrendered in Ireland when his elderly owner could no longer look after him and his family were not able to keep him. He came to England in 2008 and is now in his forever home in Surrey which he shares with 6 dogs and 4 cats.
Buddy is very happy to be a Sponsor Dog to help other dogs who, like him, find themselves homeless because their owner falls ill or, sadly, dies.
Our other Sponsor Dogs were unable to attend the Reunion this year but they are:-
ANGEL and ALLIE who are “two for the price of one” are often sponsored as gifts for twins / sisters / brothers in the same family etc.
They are middle aged sisters who have always lived together but, due to changed circumstances, their owner could no longer cope with them. It is always very difficult to rehome two dogs together, even well behaved, adorable girls like them, but these girls were inseparable so we were extremely lucky to find someone who could foster them together. Life got even better for the girls when their foster mum couldn’t bear to part with them and decided to become their forever mum instead.
Angel and Allie are happy to be sponsor dogs on behalf of all the others like them who need to be rehomed in pairs because they are totally inseparable.
ALICE came from a puppy farm where she was used extensively as a breeding bitch. Her story is a horrendous but not an uncommon one. She was so terrified that she just crawled on her belly. Alice gave birth to puppies the day after she landed on UK soil and was gradually nursed back to almost normality by Sandra, her fosterer. Alice is now in the most wonderful forever home where she has learnt not only to walk like a normal dog again but to run and run free.
She is happy to be a sponsor dog on behalf of all the other poor unfortunate bitches, who are bred from again and again until they are worn out physically and mentally. Alice knows that money she raises will help pay for other breeding bitches like her to be rescued and brought to safety.
BOUNCER and his sister Kelly arrived as little puppies with their mum (also Kelly) when eight dogs were rescued after a raid on a puppy farm by the ISPCA. The dogs were severely traumatised but, with tender loving care from their fosterers, they not only recovered but all turned into absolutely beautiful dogs who all now have the very best possible forever homes. Bouncer has a great character and is a very cheeky chappie who is loved by everyone he meets but especially by his forever mum and dad.
He is delighted to offer himself as a sponsor dog to represent all the other puppy farm puppies who have been born in the most horrendous conditions imagineable. Bouncer knows not all of them will be as lucky as him.
FOREVER FOSTER DOGS
We have a few dogs who require on-going medical treatment and they all need extra special care and attention. These are our forever foster dogs who, at the moment, are Max, Bonnie, Holly and Annie. They all live as members of the family with their fosterers who adore them but IRR are responsible for their medical bills.
Two of these dogs joined the Parade of Sponsor Dogs today:-
BONNIE lives with Julie and Simon and family in Wolverhampton. She is an amazing testament to what love and devotion can do. She went from being a very poorly girl, who was not expected to live, to the happy, lively and lovely girl she is today. She is still not totally out of the wars but nobody would ever guess it.
The beautiful Bonnie, today, went on to win the Brace class with her handsome IRR “brother” Freddie. He had to undergo extensive, but thankfully successful, operations for entropion in Ireland before he was well enough to come over to the UK to be fostered by Simon and family and was eventually adopted by them.
MAX lives with Jo and family in Berkshire. His story is well known and his medical treatment has cost IRR well in excess of £7000 since he was surrended to us in early 2009. However, seeing him looking so well has made every penny well spent and, again, is testimony to what the love and devotion of a human family can do.
We are still endeavouring to raise the funds for any ongoing treatments he may need and to try to recoup some more of the monies we have already spent in order to replenish our much depleted medical emergency fund.
ANNIE was in the main 2010 Parade looking healthy and happy and totally belying her 13 years young. She is extremely happy in her forever foster home.
HONEY was unable to travel to the Reunion, unfortunately, but she continues to do really well, against all the odds, and, yet again, is an example of how love and tender loving care can make all the difference.