The DogCast Radio blog

Here's a message from Ricochet who is fund raising to buy guardian angel teddy bears for the children returning to school at Sandy Hook Elementary School:

Please help us pay tribute to the kids, teachers and families who lost a loved one by donating $5 or more to Ricochet’s Guardian Angel fundraiser at
http://www.surfdogricochet.com/GuardianAngels.htm

I can’t think of a better Christmas gift than one of compassion in the name of your child, loved one or pet.

Our ultimate goal is to raise $26,000… one thousand dollars for each life taken.

They say London is a multicultural city, but it appears its dogs are too. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home says it has seen an increase in continental canines coming through its doors. Not only are these worldly woofers finding refuge at the charity, they are learning a new language there too.

WEST END STAR HELPS KEEP CANINES COSY
Jodie Prenger hands out Dogs Trust hampers for homeless people’s dogs at a St Mungo’s hostel

West End star and Dogs Trust supporter, Jodie Prenger, visited a St Mungo’s hostel today to hand out the first of 850 Dogs Trust Christmas Hampers being given to the dogs of homeless people and those in temporary accommodation across the UK. Receiving one of the hampers today was Sam the Samoyed, belonging to Michael Lyon, a current resident at a St Mungo’s hostel in Covent Garden.

This Christmas 450 dogs will be spending the festive season in kennels at one of Battersea’s three centres. Nobody knows these dogs better than the charity’s Ambassador Paul O’Grady, who will be documenting some of their stories in a Christmas Day Special of ITV1’s Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs at Christmas.

Here, the dog-loving presenter highlights 12 dogs desperately seeking a new home from one of the three sites in London, Brands Hatch and Old Windsor.

As the nation prepares to tuck into turkey and Brussels sprouts, dog-lover Paul O’Grady has teamed up with Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to give his top tips to ensure the country’s dogs and cats enjoy the fun-filled festivities.

Paul certainly knows how to plan a four-legged Christmas as he shares his home with six pigs, nine sheep, four owls, two goats, four dogs and an army of chickens. He will also be appearing in Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs at Christmas at 6pm on Christmas Day on ITV1, which is filmed at Battersea.

They may not have found a new home yet, but Chloe and Dale the Greyhounds have certainly found love at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Old Windsor. The two abandoned dogs have become inseparable and now the charity is hoping to find them a home together where they can live happily ever after.

The canine couple arrived at Battersea separately under different circumstances. Six year old Dale arrived at Battersea Old Windsor after his racing career came to an end and was no longer wanted, while Chloe found herself at the charity as her owners could no longer care for her.

Dogs Trust reveals shocking reasons for dogs being handed into its care

We all know ‘A Dog is for Life, Not Just for Christmas’, but it seems that many existing dog owners are finding the most bizarre reasons to dump their dogs. From not matching the sofa, to wanting to exchange it for a smaller one, sadly Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, today reveals that dogs of all shapes and sizes are being handed in apparently just for being dogs.

A Dog is for Life, Not Just for Christmas

On Tuesday 11th December, Clarissa Baldwin CEO of the UK’s largest dog welfare charity Dogs Trust met with Lord De Mauley, newly appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary for DEFRA, to urge people to think carefully before purchasing a puppy as a gift this Christmas.

We met the Lintbells team at Crufts this year, and you can hear Julie's interview with John Howie in Episode 129 of DogCast Radio. Lintbells have a wonderful range of products and now they have won a business award. Here's more information:

Lintbells crowned winner at top business awards.

The natural pet health supplements firm Lintbells, manufacturer of YUMOVE and YUMEGA Plus, is celebrating after being named the best small business in Hertfordshire at a prestigious awards ceremony.

The positive externalities of pet ownership / Pets are good for Government:

The benefits of pet ownership also extend to the Chancellor as the Autumn statement approaches. The Pet Advisory Committee (PAC) using the government’s own figures estimates that pet lovers spent almost £6 billion in 2010 and contributed more than £2 billion a year to the nation’s coffers in taxes.