Dog show fund-raiser

‘From Foster to Forever’ recently held a well-attended dog show to raise funds to support its rescue work.

The Island-based non-profit organisation is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abused, abandoned and neglected dogs from the UK and across Europe.

The dog show, held at Butterfly World near Wootton Bridge, saw more than 250 people and their dogs joining in with a variety of classes giving the chance to win a rosette.

Around the site were a number of stalls including homemade cakes, handmade jewellery, a doggy tombola, books and more.

Both Tilly and Betsy were both rescued from ‘From Foster to Forever’ and each won a rosette; Tilly came third in small breed over a year and Betsy came second in golden oldie. Buddy, rehomed by another organisation, came second in best UK rescue.

Volunteer organiser, Sandra Pritchard, said: “We had a great turn out at the dog show, with more than 250 people attending. Around 80 per cent of the dogs that came had been adopted from us at ‘From Foster to Forever’.

“These shows and fund-raising events are crucial for the organisation, as 100 per cent of all donations and adoption fees are used to rescue and rehome dogs in need. We rely heavily on donations and fund-raising events to make trips to European countries to remove dogs from kill stations (dogs caught on the street, if not claimed after ten days, they are destroyed) and transport them back here to the UK, but we also rely on the support of foster homes to look after the dogs until they are ready to be adopted and rehomed.

“I’m so thrilled with how successful this show was, since then, more people have put themselves up for home checks in order to help foster or adopt their own dog.

“Roger is one of many dogs waiting for their forever home. He was taken from a kill station in Spain a few weeks ago and was extremely underweight. He is very friendly and only a year old and is currently being looked after in a foster home, waiting for his forever home.

“If you’re interested in helping or volunteering, or just want to get to know the team, please do come along to our next show and see what we’re all about.”

The next show is on Sunday, May 29, at Shanklin Cricket Club, starting at 10:30am. Entry costs £2 and categories include happiest child and dog, scruffiest dog, beautiful eyes and many more.

For more information visit fromfostertoforever.co.uk or their Facebook page.