SANTA AT DAYBREAKS 3rd DECEMBER

Despite yesterday's monsoon conditions (not at all festive!) our Santa Open Day raised the incredible sum of £1364.94

A big THANK YOU to all our friends and supporters, we are so very grateful.

Angie x

We had to resort to the trusty can of Halfords lock de-icer to get into the kennels this morning!!! Lordy it was fffreezing, but the boys & girls were all toasty and warm in their cosy kennels.

They all got my Gold Star clean kennel award today as well - thank you kids, made my life much easier!

My heart still aches for Josh - he does not like being in his kennel and will not go back in once you have brought him out for his first wee. We popped him in the doggy kitchen this morning, where sadly he had another chew at the door once we were out of sight. I think everyone's Christmas wish is for this soul to find his very own home soon. xx

The kennels is starting to look festive ahead of tomorrow's visit from Santa. There will be stalls both inside the kennels and out in the sand run, so plenty of opportunity for us to relieve you of your cash, lol!!!

Stay safe and warm everyone - and hope to see some of you tomorrow.

Angie xx

Oh Josh darling, I am so upset. You were such a good boy when at mine and with Fergal. I dont know if something has gone wrong or the lady has had a change of heart. You are always welcome here but with you being a bit destructive on your kennel returns I know it isn't suitable to help you just part time in terms of house visits. You are still welcome here for Xmas but it will be the same problem when you return. I will keep praying for someone to give you the commitment you deserve. I cant bear the thought of you spending the rest of your life in kennels. Come on DB followers & volunteers....where ever you live....there must surely be an experienced dog person or couple who have a child free, animal free house.....please, please.....this boy is lovely, well mannered & just wants his own sofa.

It has been sooooo cold today! Grateful thanks to Michael and our 3 work experience for keeping things running whilst I dealt with non stop phone calls, along with corns and nails and sorting donations brought in and our influx of post. Thank you also to Elizabeth who took Josh to the park today. he is very sad back in kennels and despite letting him spend time in the kitchen today rather than his kennel, he chewed all the stable door :-( All we need is a quiet home where he can be on his own and this would be a dream for us........

Thank you to everyone who is sending in raffle tickets and donations - I really appreciate it. I am especially grateful for the very kind donations in memory of Ruby to help towards the cost of her scan.

We will be hanging a memory tag in remembrance of her and will remember her especially tomorrow on what would have been her birthday.

I am still at the kennels as my car wouldn't start and I am still waiting for the breakdown service so a much needed glass of wine and probably a chinese takeaway is on the menu tonight!

Shanesmum is right, it was very chilly this morning! At least it was a nice bright day and our Daybreaks residents enjoyed morning and afternoon walks. Xxx We had two new recruits to our morning walking team. :) Xxx Thanks to our fabulous DofE students for entertaining the boys and girls with enrichment treats and toys. :) Xxx

Bessie came in for her 4 week health check. She looked great and as beautiful as her photo in next year's calendar. Xxx

Penny went off to her new home. She is such a sweet little girl. She got quite bored of all the filling in of her paperwork...but did enjoy modelling various coats and Fleeces. Of course she looked gorgeous in everything! Her lovely new family were so excited to take her home. Wishing them lots of great times together. Xxx

Thanks to everyone who popped in with donations of bedding and treats. Xxx it was lovely to see George's Dad. George went home a couple of years ago and is very happy living in beautiful Cornwall. Xxx

It was very quiet at feeding time, thanks so much to Anjna for feeding the dogs and for doing all the tidying up! Xxx

Xxx

It was fffffreezing this morning! Needed to breathe on the gate padlock to gain access to the kennels!

Fortunately the boys & girls had the benefit of under bed heating to keep them toasty overnight (honestly I am contemplating moving in as it is so much warmer than my house!!!!)

I just love Monty - his kennel is full of toys and when he goes back in after his breakfast, the tidy group of toys on his bed soon degenerates into a heap of fun on the floor as he just loves playing and throwing his toys around!!!

Really hope this handsome and clever boy can find his own sofa soon. Xxxx

A big thank you to all the wonderful Greyhounds who came to the kennels to donate blood yesterday. Xxx
We have had a message from Megan at the Blood Bank to say they collected 12 units from the dogs, 11 of which were the negative blood type which means they are universal donors. :))
Richard and Shirley's, Freida and Lynnes, Nadie received a special present each as they were both giving blood for the 10th time! What amazing little girls! Xxx
Four of our current Daybreaks residents also became donors, Penny, Pan, Jack and Monty. It was a very long day and it was nearly 6pm before Monty got to bed! He loved it so much he wanted to go back out with the nurse and do it all again. :) Xxx
If you are interested in your Greyhound becoming a Blood Donor please give the Blood Bank a call on 01509 232 222. Their next visit to us will be on 18th January 2024.
Xxx

You too Rob/Penny! I'm over the moon, as always wanted him to make it into previous ones and this is such a tribute to him. He still makes me so proud every day even from over rainbow Bridge xxx

i completely agree JetLucy... Our Penny is at the start of the fab January! I've brought 3 already, more to buy at some point... Congrats on geting in :)

Thank goodness my calendars are reserved and paid for! Was panicking incase they'd sell out and as my boy is 'Mr May' everyone is getting a calendar this year! Xxx

Our 2024 Daybreaks Trust calendars are now in stock!
They are £12 for a large (A3 size) and £7 for slimline.
If you would like one, please call the kennels to arrange a time to collect or if you would like to pay over the phone, we can post one out to you.
They are fabulous!

I went to visit Daybreaks friends, Phil, Sylvia and their two beautiful Greyhounds Rio and Ella this morning. The reason for my visit was to collect donations for the kennels and home cooked meals for our Daybreaks boys and girls. :))

Phil had been up since around 4am busy cooking Full English Breakfasts,
Fish and Chips, Spaghetti Bolognese and Christmas Dinners...10 of each, all packed up in individual boxes. :)) Xx They look great and I know they taste great as Rio and Ella have been chief tasters! :))
Included in 20 boxes of donations were several hundred tins of Sardines, jars of hot dogs sausages, tinned meat, Bonios and treats! Also included were lots of cleaning products and treats for volunteers too. Xx We are so grateful to Phil, Sylvia and to Phil's friends and work colleagues who sponsored him to do his mammoth cooking challenge! Xxx Hope he had a well earned rest this afternoon. Xx

I took everything to the kennels, breakfasts are in the fridge ready for tomorrow morning. :)) The other meals in the freezer. Thanks to all at the kennels today for helping to unpack the boxes. :) Xxx

Thank you so much to everyone for all your help in so many different ways that keep Daybreaks Kennels open. Xxx xxx

It's been another busy week at the kennels. Sadly no Reservations for any of our lovely girls and boys but hopefully they will all soon find their forever homes. Xxx

We are very grateful to Phil, Rio and Ella's Dad and his work colleagues for organising the BIG delivery of goodies we received today for the dogs and volunteers.
Food for making casseroles, hotdogs for treats, Bonios, Dental sticks, tinned meat, cocktails sausages and a tub of Celebrations to name but a few!! Thank you all so very much. :))) Xxx

We also had several visitors to drop off bedding and towels. Thank you. Xxx

Josh had a lovely afternoon out with Seana and Fergal. He is such a sweet boy. He is so happy to go out for a walk and he is very partial to an Oatey crunch biscuit at bedtime. :) Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone who helped out with walks today, it was a little chilly....Xx

We had a delivery of new cosy Fleeces. Beautiful foxy and galaxy designs. So if your looking for a Christmas present for your beloved four legged friend why not treat them to one! :))

We also have tickets available now for our Christmas Raffle. You can pop in and buy some from the kennels or call us on 0121 782 7702. Thank you. Xxx

Don't forget our Christmas Party is only a few weeks away...it would be so nice to see everyone!!

Xxx

Good morning everyone,

Some of you may be aware of this some may not. But as a little reminder when commenting on the Daybreaks Diary or any dog's page please don't use emojis . They appear on the website as ? Question marks. You can make smiley faces with :)

Any comments that have those question marks in replace of emojis will be edited to make the comment look better.

Thanks everyone!

It was a busy day today....
We had our third new arrival this week, a very pretty girl called chick. :))
On Tuesday we welcomed Penny and Toby. They are all lovely dogs. Do hope they will soon find their forever homes. :))

We had a visit from former Daybreaks resident little Ginger and her Mum and Dad. She came on the bus. :)) She went home with a with a new snug fleece, ready for the winter! Xx
We also saw Padfoot and his Mum Carol this morning, he had a pamper. :)) Of course Padfoot made sure he had a good Greyhound lean on everyone! Xxx

Many thanks to Alan and Declan for going to the warehouse. Xx

iIt was great to see Stacy today, a volunteer since she came along as a very young DofE student and is now in her final year at University studying to become an animal Physiotherapist! Xxx On one of the afternoon walks, she was approached by a gentleman who gave her a donation of £10...he explained to her that when his dog was very ill and needed a blood transfusion, his life was saved by blood donated by a Greyhound. :))) What a wonderful story! We are very grateful to the gentlemen and so happy for his dog! Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today. :))
Xxx

IMPORTANT NOTICE
SUNDAY 12TH NOVEMBER

Due to illness, the Trustees are having to close the kennels to the public this coming Sunday 12th November.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, and can assure everyone that the dogs will be taken care of throughout the day.

It will be back to business as usual on Monday morning - thank you for your understanding.

Angie x

REST IN PEACE HENRY

When God looked around his garden, he found an empty place. He then looked down upon the earth and saw your tired face. And so it was that he put his arms around you and lifted you to rest. God's garden must be so beautiful because he always takes the best. He saw how rough the road was getting and how hard the hills were to climb so he closed your weary eyelids and whispered "Peace be Thine".

It broke my heart when I failed you and I know I lost the right a long time ago to call you mine but in my heart you will always be a little bit mine and if I still feel the same after only 7 months with you then God knows what Mark is feeling after 7 years. My heart goes out to him with thanks that I can never ever repay for loving this very special boy.

And so whilst it breaks both our hearts to lose you, you haven't gone alone dear Henry because a little part of me and a massive part of Daddy went with you the day God called you home.

Seana xxxx

It was a busy day today...

This morning I carried out a home check for the gentleman who has reserved our lovely Gal. She is going to be a very spoilt and much loved little girl....Great! :)) Xxx

Robin went out on trial to her new home. Thanks so much to Shirley and Richard for taking her. Do hope all goes well for this sweet little lass. Xxx

This afternoon Rocky was officially adopted! :)) It certainly brightened up a wet afternoon! Wishing him a wonderful new life. He has waited so long. Lots of love to him and his family. Xxx

Thank you so much to everyone who helped at the kennels today. You are all brilliant! Xxx

Xxx

IN MEMORY OF TONY

Although his smile has gone forever, and his paw you can no longer touch, you still have so many memories of this boy who you loved so much. His memory will be your keepsake with which you will never part, God has Tony in his keeping while you have Tony in your heart.

Rest in peace beautiful boy... take your wings and fly to your stepbrothers and stepsisters and all those who have gone before us.

Sending love to Ruth, Andy, Momma, Tiggy & Miss Vodka.

Seana and Fergal. xxxx

Really lovely day yesterday as I was able to spend lots of time with the residents instead of stuck in the office. Pan, Ruby and Robin went to work with Rob at Morrisons to promote themselves and Daybreaks…. A job well done to all the volunteers two and four legged for all their dedication.

A returnee always makes us sad but we applaud those who are brave enough to contact us if things aren’t working out. We are always there to support as it’s our job to do so. I hope Ruby’s owners kept to their promise to go home, have a cuppa and cake and stop beating themselves up x hugs all round x

On a lighter note I had a corn clinic and helped several greyhounds with corns and in addition I was ‘Dr Pimple Popper’ with a ginormous lump on a grey that the vets had suggested surgery wouldn’t be possible!!!! Obviously for those that know me it was the highlight of my day!

It certainly felt more like Autumn today, can't believe we are already half way through October! It won't be long until Santa is here to visit us again! Xxx

We were a little short of volunteers for walking this morning, so our residents had a short stroll around the sand run followed by play time in the runs. Xxx Thanks to Diane and our young DofE volunteers.

Our gorgeous lad, Larry went home with his fab new Mum. :)) It was the first time I had met Larry today. He is very small for a boy, weighing just over 26Kg. He is a happy chap, he loves to lean and have lots of cuddles. Xxx Wishing him a very happy new life? :))

We had a delivery of goodies from Iceland today! Thank you so very much to Phil, Rio and Ella's Dad and his work colleagues for arranging this for us...we received lots food and treats for the dogs, cleaning products and biscuits, tea, coffee and sugar for everyone to enjoy. Our residents enjoyed hotdogs for lunch today! We are so grateful for everything, you are all so kind. Xxx xxx

This afternoon, everyone enjoyed a walk, thanks so much to Jan, Jayne and Jess. Xxx Jess took Bess and Jess which got very confusing! :))

Erik came in today for one of his free behavioural consultation sessions. There will be another one next month...if you are having a problem with your Greyhound, please give us a call and we can arrange for you to have a chat with Erik. Xxx

Our boys and girls were tucked up in nice warm Fleeces before we left tonight. :))

We have some really lovely dogs with us at the moment. If you think you can offer one of them their forever home, please give us a call and arrange to come and meet them! Xxx

DO YOU LOVE GREYHOUNDS?
Are you an energetic, hard working person with a happy outlook on life?
Would you like to work at Daybreaks in an Assistant Manager role for 3 days a week (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday's)? This is a temporary post for 6 months to cover sick leave.
The role would include all aspects of running the kennels, from managing the dogs with new intake, viewings and rehomings, managing volunteers and students, vet runs etc!
Closing date for applications is 22nd October 2023.
To apply, please email ruth.price@daybreakstrust.co.uk

This is currently to provide cover whilst Jo is off on long term sick. We send her our continuing get well wishes x

Three gorgeous new arrivals today - Larry, May and Monty. A viewing turned into a reservation for Larry.
We have had little Fleur in the office all day. She was neutered yesterday and so has had a lot of TLC from us. She was a bit panting and shaky this morning and wouldn't eat.... bless her - however she has eaten well this evening and I am sure will feel much brighter tomorrow. The day has ended as a soggy one but it won't dampen our spirits!

Little Fleur went off to the vets this morning for her Neutering operation. Thanks so much to Ian for picking her up for us this evening. She was a little wobbly and sore. Hope she will feel better tomorrow.
Xxx All being well, she will be going home on Thursday. Xxx

it was very sad to see Robin back at the kennels today. Hoping she will soon be in a new home. Thinking of her and her family who were so upset to have to return her. Xxx

A lovely family came to visit Pan this afternoon. They had a very sweet older Greyhound, she liked him very much. :))

We are expecting three new arrivals tomorrow! Two boys and a girl. :))

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today. Very much appreciated. Xxx

Declan and I had an early morning trip to the vets today. New lad William was off to be neutered and Fleur had the first part of her vaccination. They were both so well behaved at the vets. They met three smaller dogs and were very friendly and polite. :)
Many thanks to Richard and Ian for picking William up later this afternoon. He was very bouncy when he arrived back at the kennels and enjoyed his dinner. Xxx

It was a pleasant autumn day and all the dogs enjoyed morning and afternoon walks. According to a weather forecast, we are having a mini heatwave at the weekend, so it will be back to summer again! :))

Shirley has been busy recently planting up the containers with winter pansies and daffodils. :)) Thank you! Xxx

It was lovely to see Nifty, Cilla, Flo and their Mom and Dad this morning. They came to have a play in the sand run. Nifty had a nice rest in the office for a while afterwards. He has recently celebrated his eleventh Birthday and is still a very handsome lad! He was a long stayer at Daybreaks before he found his lovely forever home. We hope that the same will happen for our current long stayers, Rocky, Robbie and Gal. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today. Xxx

Hi all,

Sunday 22nd October has been confirmed as our roadshow at Morrisons Sheldon.

It will be the same timings as we did in June – I will get there around 9am to set up.

If you wish to help out on the day, please let me know. The more the better the day goes. Any timings with help is welcome.

You are welcome to bring your own dog if you wish, if you plan on doing so please let me know so I can then account for kennel dog numbers.

We will be just inside the store at the bottom of the escalators with the possibility of being outside under the gazebo, weather pending.

The last time we did this store we raised a total of £285 which was amazing!

Contact me on rob.daybreaks@outlook.com if you wish to help out / brign a dog a long for the day

A great day for Bessie, she met a lovely couple this afternoon. They were just, 'coming to have a look' and ended up falling head over heels for her! She will have a lovely home. Xxx
We had lots of donations of bedding today. Thank you so much to everyone who thought of us. One lady drove passed us twice before arriving....we are very grateful she persevered and found us! :) Xxx
The rain stayed away for most of the day, all the dogs had two nice walks....in between breakfast, lunch and dinner. :))
A big thank you to everyone who came in to help today, especially Jayne who did a lot of extra cleaning and sorted out all of the donated bedding. Xxx
I can't believe it is the 1st of October tomorrow, where has this year gone? Do hope that Rocky, Robbie and Gal will all have happy forever homes before the end of the year. Xxx xxx

A very busy day today...The Pet Blood Bank were at the kennels. Current residents, Gal, Gracie, Pan and Special were all donors. :)) Lovely Bessie was more than happy to jump into the mobile unit and meet the vet and her assistants but was a little too scared to donate today. Xxx Pet dogs Shadow, Star, Betty, Freida, Sammy, and Nadia were donors too. Well done to them all! Xxx
If you are interested in your Greyhound becoming a Blood Donor, please call The Pet Blood Bank on 01509 232 222.
Cath came in with her little dog Pod and we introduced her to Gracie, Special, and Bessie who were all very good with her. Xxx
Cath has Fostered Gracie for us! :) She is going to help her lose a little weight as she is rather well rounded at the moment. :)) And hopefully find her a new home...Fingers crossed. Xxx
Alan and Declan went off to the Warehouse for us. Thank you. Xxx
Thank you to the visitors who brought in donations of bedding and food. We are very grateful for your support. Xxx
Thanks so much to everyone who helped at the kennels today!
Xxx

Today I saw Robbie go off to foster. Next was Dukey to go out to his new home and followed swiftly by Tegan now called Bella. We have taken in Lola today on respite and have new arrivals booked to fill the kennels. It has been non stop and inbetween this I have been trying to learn how to claim gift aid! This is normally Jo's task but with her still off sick, I am trying to take this over. If anyone has experience of this and is willing to help, I would be more than grateful!

It was my first day back at the kennels today after having a lovely holiday in Devon with Skip, Lyra and Cracker. :)) It was very hard getting up at 5am this morning! Xxx I can throughly recommend taking your Greyhound on holiday with you. They like a break just as much as we do. :)) I loved being able to spend more time with them. Xxx

It was great to meet recent new arrivals at the kennels, handsome Pan and beautiful Bessie, and to see Lady and Babe have new homes. Xxx
I was really hoping our Three Musketeers Rocky, Robbie and Gal would have found homes while I was away but alas, they are all still patiently waiting....it was lovely to see them all. :))

Xxx

Wow! All I can say is I was considering renaming Daybreaks to ‘New Street Station’ yesterday as I had back to back appointments.
Amongst these I did 8 week post homing checks for Izzy and Penny who are both thriving in their new homes and gaining weight nicely. I was busy with corns. Poor greyhounds seem blighted with them so I hull them to give them temporary relief.
Laura was busy with well care bookings, the sand run was also back to back appointments.
Mid afternoon a viewing for a couple not ready to adopt until the New Year seemed positive. Whilst I was driving home I had a phone call from them asking to reserve pretty Tegan!

Kate has been on holiday this week and I look forward to her being back on Monday.
We all send our continued love and get well wishes to Jo and she is missed greatly.

Another busy day ahead but as everyone knows …. I thrive on ‘busy’!

It was a busy day today. Welcome to our three new work experience students, we hope you all enjoy your time at Daybreaks.
We also had six volunteers from HSBC so all inmates were able to have walks this morning, fun in the sandrun this afternoon and lots of cuddles. They each had their favourite :)
Two new volunteers were signed up. We are so very grateful to all our volunteers, we couldn't manage without you.
Huge thanks to Phil and his work colleagues for yet another large Iceland delivery. Tinned food, treats and lots of ingredients for casseroles for the dogs, cleaning products and treats for us hoomans too. Very much appreciated :))
Fingers crossed for Gracie's viewing on Sunday.
xx

Today was another sad day for not just Daybreaks but for family, friends and those that knew Bob. Today he was laid to to rest in his final resting place. He was peacefully laid to rest, with a bag piper playing along the way, at St. Nicholas (Elmdon Church) in Elmdon not far from the kennels where he is now reunited with his wife. He is and will alwayds be missed, loved and cared about.

What an incredibly hot week it has been! It's been so hard trying to keep the dogs as cool as possible when we have all been "melting" ourselves!
I am so grateful to all of our volunteers who have come in to help. Xxx
Most mornings, we managed to take the dogs out for short walks with the help of the cool coats. But the afternoons were just far too hot.
Last summer we were very kindly donated a huge industrial fan, it has been great! :)) It has happily been blasting cool air around the kennels and has helped to keep,the temperature down, but today was so very hot. The temperature in the kennels this afternoon reached 29 degrees.
:((
I cannot fault our beautiful Greyhounds this week. Despite the heat and not being able to get out as much as they normally do, they have remained happy, affectionate souls and have been no trouble whatsoever. Content to pop in and out of their kennels for a change of scene, groomed and teeth cleaned. Plenty of cool mats to lie on, one or two had a play in the paddling pools and they all enjoyed having lunch! Greyhounds really are fabulous! Xxx

Xxx

A busy day today...Thanks so much to Angie for feeding everyone and cleaning all the kennels this morning. :)) We had visits from Penny and Izzy for health checks. They both looked absolutely wonderful and were very happy girls. Loving their new homes. :))
Laura had lots of clients for pampers and nail clipping. Xxx
Maud came in with gorgeous Smokey, now called Brian. He is currently out on trial with her and doing really well. He wasn't keen on getting out of the car when he arrived, but after a few cocktail sausages he decided to come in and say hello. :)) Thanks so much to Maud for all her help at the kennels today.
Robbie went out for a lovely trip to the park with Kitty and her family. He had a supper time and they said he was such a good boy. :)) They also took Rocky out for a play in the sand run. He was very happy to see them. :) Xxx
Thanks so much to everyone for your help today. Great to see Patric back on a Saturday morning! :))
Despite the heavy rain showers, everyone went out for walks this morning and this afternoon. :))
Jess came in with Koda and helped Dukey meet a small dog, he was very good. Fingers crossed he may have found his forever home. :)) xx
Our longer stayers, Rocky, Robbie and Gal are still waiting patiently for their forever homes. They are all fabulous dogs...hoping their special someone will soon come along. Xxx
Xxx

On Sunday 22nd October 2023 we have been invited to join the local car boot sale in Measham.

We can take a van load of items to set up for sale on the day as well as kennel dogs for walking round and bucket collecting money for the kennels.

I will be going and I ask you – please please help us out on this one as it is another huge opportunity that can’t be missed. I want to have at least 4 volunteers for the day.
If you are available for this day please let me know as soon as possible and I can start planning it. If you think someone else would be able to help that would also be great.

I will confirm details closer the time regarding where exactly it is, timings and what I may need bringing from the kennels like items.
If there is anything you think we could sell at the car boot then that is another great help.

Date: Sunday 22nd October 2023
Times: TBC but possibly from 7am til 1pm
Tasks: Selling items on the stall, walking dogs, collecting money in buckets, looking after dogs on site
Own dogs: If you are bringing your own dog you MUST let me know as this will be crucial to the logistics side of this event.

If you are available please email me on rob.daybreaks@outlook.com

Thank you to the "birdies" who came and caught their early "wormies" from me at Saturdays tea event......I hope you all enjoy your gifts and crackers! DB are grateful for the money raised. For those who didnt attend please dont forget you can always ring DB & put in an order for crackers......this years offerings are chocolates & wooden ornament ones @ £1.50 each or larger ones with shower gel....mint, lemon or herbal with a rafaello chocolate @ £2.50 each. They will be off to the salons in a few weeks so again early birdies catch the wormies as they usually sell very well.

If anyone is interested in xmas cakes again please call DB or ask Alan (Belle's dad) re a rating....he is at the top of the list!!!

Thank you everyone. Seana

A big thank you to Phil, Rio and Ella's Dad. He very kindly got together with his work colleagues and ordered us lots of supplies from Iceland for our Residents. :)) We are so grateful to you all. :)) Xxx

Alan has a trip to the warehouse tomorrow....if anyone is free, he would be very grateful for your help! He has 20 bags of Burns Dog food to collect! If you are up for an exciting journey to West Bromwich please call us at the kennels in the morning... 0121 782 7702. He is planning on leaving around 11am. Many thanks! Xxx

Hope Chris got home OK and is feeling better. X

What an absolutely gorgeous day it has been! Beautiful sunshine.......

We are currently hosting a veterinary student - Hollie. I have been teaching her how to do corns and nails and yesterday we did three corns on Poppy and today a large corn on Beryl (Peril). 'Hulling' the corns only provides temporary relief but some relief is better than none!

Many of you may remember Peril and it was lovely to see her looking so well.

Today we had a new receptionist! Jack who is one of our last years college students has continued as a volunteer and wanted to gain some office experience. He has done a brilliant job :-)

The residents had their walks with the Wednesday walking crew and this afternoon had their enrichment stations and a play in the sand run. Later I will add some photos and videos to our Facebook chat page.

Whilst hanging out the blankets this morning, Chris unfortunately felt her back 'go' and we helped her to her car as she was in agony! We hope you feel better soon Chris!

Yesterday we saw the lovely Smokey go out on trial and Babe also went out to Cath. Cath is one of our volunteers who attends a 'dog playgroup' and finds lots of wonderful new homes for our residents through this outlet. Let's hope Babe finds her furever home soon.

On Sunday, I did some moving, sorting and being 'Ruthy Ruthless' I got rid of lots of stuff we don't need or use. I also added lots of lovely things to our Honesty Box (our little on site charity shop) full of great donated items helping us to fund raise.

With all the clearing, this enabled me to set up another office area out the back as quite often we need the extra working space. This meant I could attack a lot of my paperwork without impacting on hogging the office!

Casper, our new addition to the Daybreaks Family has now settled in really well. Since the devastating passing of my beautiful cat Socks, Casper has joined Tyke and she has really come out of her shell! We have never seen her so playful which is great to see - she is obviously enjoying the company of the little fella!

We only do cat temperance testing on demand and currently we have Lady in foster who has 'passed her cat test'.

Today the sun is shining and we are going to have a fun day with our current residents; Gal, Rocky, Dukey, Robbie and Mari and we have new arrivals coming soon.

Angie had everyone fed and cleaned by the time I arrived yesterday morning. :)) Xxx It was a good weather day for walking....thanks so much to Diane and Isla for giving all our residents a stroll around the sand run in the morning. :) Jill and Jan were here for afternoon walks. Xxx
Thanks so much to Yvonne, Shirley and Richard who all just "popped" in for things in the afternoon and ended up helping with walks and feeding! :))
And lovely Caroline who loves cleaning the runs! Xxx

We are so lucky at Daybreaks to have so many wonderful people to help us...but that's because Greyhounds are so wonderful too! :)) Xxx

Well sirenmelody - it is only 136 days until Christmas - thank you for helping raise much needed funds for Daybreaks - I am so grateful.

As I wasn't in yesterday, today I got to meet Mari the new arrival who came in. She is such a pretty girl and we have been told by her trainer she was a non chaser on the track and is great with young children. I am sure she wont be here longI have uploaded a snippet of her time since arriving to our Daybreaks Trust Chat Facebook page!

We already have a viewing booked tomorrow for Dukey who arrived Wednesday but sadly still no interest in our gorgeous long stayers - Rocky, Robbie and Gal. I am sure their homes our waiting around the corner!

It has been a very warm day and this afternoon as we were short of walkers, so the Daybreaks Guests all enjoyed a frozen peanut butter smoothie as one of their snacks this afternoon!

With only one week to go until the Cream Tea Event dare I mention the word "Christmas"??? If you are attending the event and are one of those early birds who likes to catch the best worms then I will have crackers containing varied chocolates and different shower gels plus doggie stockings and gifts from popular brands Kipling and Yankee Candle which are not available elsewhere and all at very heavily discounted prices. All items will be heading off to 2 salons in Solihull and Harborne at the end of September so this may well be a good opportunity to get organised!! Every single penny of all my sales always go to DB which in turn helps all the wonderful boys and girls who so very patiently wait their turn for a loving home. If by chance you live elsewhere in the UK but would be interested in crackers I am happy to pay for packing and postage. Please contact DB and I can in turn make contact and provide photos etc.

Thank you everyone. Seana x

Summer returned today! We managed to take the dogs out for their morning walks, but it was just too hot to do anything this afternoon. We did our best to keep the dogs cool. Xxx
Pretty little Mari arrived this afternoon.What a cute little girl! She is a non chaser. Her trainer says she can run around all day long but prefers playing. :)) Her trainer said Hello to our kennel dogs, he spotted Robbie and spent several minutes fussing him. Robbie loved all the extra attention. :))
Thanks so much to Shirley for giving Mari a bath. Richard and Declan looked after feeding the other residents. Xxx
Thanks to Alan and Declan for for going on a trip to the Warehouse. :)
We now have some large bags of Burns Sensitive in stock. I know some people have been having trouble purchasing it recently.

Xxx

Wow! 3333 hounds rehomed is phenomenal. Well done to Ruth and everyone who's played a part in the rehomings. Long may it continue. I love volunteering at kennels and helping to look after the dogs but one of my favourite parts is viewings. I love meeting prospective adopters and showing them the dogs who ultimately adopt them as we all know it's the dogs who choose. There's something the dogs do to make the humans fall in love with them. Skip, my first greyhound from Daybreaks and the start of my becoming part of the Daybreaks family, decided he would just get into our campervan after his introduction to our other greyhound Bert in the sand run. He wouldn't get out so that was it. He became ours. He was 4 then and is 9 now. Since then we became failed foster parents with Sam and then adopted Nadie in lockdown. "No we're not having a third" were famous last words after seeing this pretty little girl.

So I don't doubt that 3333 will very soon start climbing higher. Keep up the good work Ruth and everyone. x

3,333rd beautiful greyhound rehomed... this is fantasic news!!

We will continue to look after greys that arrive and always thrive to find them their forever homes!!

Wow! We had lovely clean kennels yesterday morning so I had refreshed them all by 9.45 and then mayhem started! It was such a busy day and I saw Babe go off to her new home.

I opened the doors of Daybreaks on 1st July 2006 and yesterday marked our 3333rd home found for these beautiful greys. Running Daybreaks is immensely hard work and emotional but the joy of seeing these beautiful dogs go to loving homes is worth it.

Just before we closed up I had big snuggles with Robbie one of our long stayers - total therapy! Thank you to all our volunteers who make this all possible too x

Thank you so much to Laura for taking such good care of our precious Sparky today - she was lovely with him! He's had a lot of pampering and is now very soft and clean. Thank you!

Erm daybreaks, where have all your dogs gone lol?! So lovely to see all these red and green signs, long may it continue xxx

Shirley has been really busy today weed clearing and tidying our car park! We have lots of pots which just need some plants to cheer the place up! If you have any plants you can donate to make our place look pretty please get in touch! Also, green fingered volunteers are always welcome too!

Socks was a truly wonderful girl, always purring and loved cuddles. She used to "help" you to fill in the feeding notes by sitting on the page you were trying to write on. :)) She also took great delight in waiting for you to clean one of the litter trays and then using it straight away! :)) Xxx
Good night and God Bless you sweet heart, you will be missed so very much by us all, especially your best friend Tyke. Xxx Always loved, never forgotten. Kate Xxx

Ah, so sorry to hear about socks. God bless you xxx

Today the new owners of Penny came in to sign the paperwork ready to go off to her new home on Wednesday. She spent several hours in the office after this, happily asleep on a bed under the desk! We had a viewing for Babe and the family have gone away to think about adoption.

Socks, my beautiful cat who was part of our Daybreaks Family sadly passed away on Saturday. She had been instrumental in helping us find many homes for greyhounds with her amazing temperament. She will be missed massively. During her illness I took her home. Because of this Tyke also came home with me temporarily and she has come out of her shell with her new companion Casper who is a wonderful boy who has been used to living with large dogs.

I am just on my way to see Magic who was rehomed recently to help his new owners with a few settling in issues and then tomorrow it is an early start with Buddy off to the vets for his dental along with my Tiggy Pops who had surgery on her toe last Thursday and Maisie who belongs to one of our volunteers is also having a check up following her foot surgery on Wednesday last week.

Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers who have helped today - I couldn't do it without you all! x

What a whirlwind of a day! We saw Truf come back from foster and straight back out to another foster. She came back with a glowing report bless her.
The lovely Simba has been reserved by one of our volunteers and Bobby has gone out on trial also with two of our volunteers.

Cath came with little Pod and all the residents were 'tested' to see how they reacted. Only Gal, Rocky and Robbie are the only residents who need a bit more socialisation training.

We have got several viewings booked this weekend which is great.

Work has been taking place this week at the kennels with new windows and doors where needed and the roof of one block is having new sky lights.

We have been joined with Yeva this week, a student who has done really well and will be sad to see her go.

I am off to the vets to collect Socks one of our resident cats as she has had a scan - fingers crossed she is ok.

Today is our Cash's birthday.

I know she wasn't a greyhound full fledged but she was cross grey and lurcher, looked the perfect whippet.

Sadly, we lost her at the age of 14 last September. She was such an amazing, cute, loving dog. I will always love her, have a place in my heart for her, miss her and never forget her!

For her 15th birthday I have done a short YouTube video to celebrate. You can watch it here: https://youtube.com/shorts/QHna_tzyP1I?feature=share3

Happy birthday my angel... love you loads!!

A busy day today...Laura had Pamper customers including the very handsome Padfoot! He had a lean on everyone! Xxx

Sophie came in for her four week health check up, she looked wonderful! We also had a visit from recently homed Magic, he is doing well in his new home. :))

We are having some much needed repairs done to the kennels at the moment. Our old blue gate has now been replaced with a much higher, sturdier one. Today, one of the very old windows in the bottom block has been replaced with a brand new one. :) It looks fantastic and will make such a difference to keeping the cold out this winter. Next on the list is renewing some of the panels on the roof of the bottom block. :)) We are so grateful to John the gentleman carrying out the work....Although, we did have to ask him to stop making a noise this morning as he was putting Penny off her breakfast! Xxx

Richard and Declan spent a good couple of hours emptying and moving food stores around...Xxx

After all the hard work, much to Richard's amazement, I made a hot drink for everyone today...It doesn't happen very often! :))

This afternoon, Alan and Declan went to collect some very kindly donated food and treats for us from Morrisons in Sheldon. Thank you so much. Xxx

Thanks you to everyone for all your help today. Xxx

Rob, well done to you all, especially your lovely Penny for being a wonderful ambassador for Greyhounds. :)) Xxx

Short post roadshow update after the Stratford Racecourse event today. It was very busy with other stands, family things to do and dinosaurs walking round!! I took my Penny today and it was her first time in the van and to such a massive social event, I'm pleased to announce she was superb in the van and most of all made Daybreaks so proud by showing off her bib and what we are all about at the charity. By the end of the day I raised a total of £174.70. This was a good amount and cannot wait to go there again, this event in particular needs a number of volunteers to cover the whole area so please let me know if you would like to help out.

If there is anyone that would like to volunteer on roadshows, please email me your name and phone number to rob.daybreaks@outlook.com and i will add you to my database for future events.

A better day today....not as wet as yesterday!

Thanks so much to everyone who came in to help. Our residents enjoyed morning and afternoon walks, mostly in the sunshine. :)) We had some thunder and lightning, all the dogs started barking and my little Lyra dived onto the bed under the desk in the office. Xxx

Beautiful little Panda has gone out on Foster. Such a very cute little girl! Xxx Do hope all goes well for her. Xxx

It was good to see Jeremy and Casey today, although Casey wasn't very happy to have to have his nails trimmed. Xxx

A big "Thank You" to Phil and his work colleagues who have again sent us lots of food and treats for the dogs and also goodies for the volunteers. So very kind of you all. We are very grateful for you constant support for us. Xxx

We have some lovely dogs at the kennels, all waiting for their forever homes. Please give us a call if you would like to meet any of them. :))

Xxx

Friday was like the pop group….. wet wet wet!!!

I took Penny in for her Spey first thing. Lady went out on foster for a night and Chris and I unpacked the delivery of natural treats whilst rearranging the office!

Penny came back and had had 4 teeth removed bless her. She is a very sweet girl. As it was very quiet with volunteers the residents all had a soggy time in the sand run!

Hi jetlucy,

Thanks for offering anyway.

Drop me an email on the email below, that way I have your email and will be in touch with other events I get hold of.

Rob

Ah we would have loved to come to this but mia's got a party. Would love to come another time, please always announce it! Xxx

Hi all,

This is short notice but we have been contacted by Stratford Racecourse and invited to their Family Fun Race Day this Sunday 16th July.

I am looking for anyone that can help me make sure the day runs as smooth as it can by volunteering.

Tasks would be setting up the stand, looking after dogs, bucket collecting and breaking down the stand.

I will be there from 8am (approx) and we are not allowed to leave the stand area until last race finishes (6pm approx). We are allowed to take dogs but be aware of the long day it is.

If anyone can volunteer on the day please email me on rob.daybreaks@outlook.com as soon as possible.

Thank you.

A very busy day today....

We had two beautiful new arrivals, Babe and Penny. They are both very happy and friendly girls. Xxx

Super Sid has been reserved! Thanks so much to his foster folks. Maggie and Paul for bringing him to the kennels to meet a very pretty lady called Maisie. Having recently lost her friend she has been feeling very down. She was very happy to meet Sid who reciprocated by giving her several kisses! They chose each other. :) Xxx

Bobby has been reserved by two of our lovely volunteers. Such a very handsome lad. Xxx

Ash came in for a pamper and left looking and smelling beautiful! :)) Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today. Xxx a big thank you to Laura for giving Skip a pamper too. He really is a very hairy Greyhound! He was such a good boy and didn't mind the hairdryer. He was incredibly fluffy when Laura had finished...anyone my age who remembers the cartoon, "The Hair Bear Bunch" will know exactly how he looked! :)) Bless him. Xxx

Massive thanks to Chris and Karla who after we cleaned out, have pretty much run the kennels today for me. This has meant I have been able to attack volumes of paperwork and emails and now feel more on top of everything.

Being in the office, I have rotated the stressed dogs so they have enjoyed having a change of scenery - especially Gal - it was lovely to see her actually calm down and fall asleep after she had worn us out!!!!

We are getting prepared for our Birthday celebrations this weekend and 17 years ago tomorrow is the day I opened Daybreaks and our party is on Sunday. Let's hope the weather is kind to us.

Yesterday myself and Kate went to visit Jo in hospital. She is still very ill but sends her love to everyone. As she will be off recovering for many months, we welcome Chris as Assistant Manager until Jo is back. I have started showing Chris the ropes but as she has been volunteering on Wednesdays and Fridays for many years, she knows a lot of how the kennels work.

Well, it is (as Angie always says) wine time.... we have a very very busy day tomorrow!

Hi Rob! Thank you...I discovered it this morning! :)) YIPPEE !! :)) Xxx

I'm a little bit late on the update on this:

The slip road onto the A45 towards the kennels from Birmingham Airport is now back OPEN... it has been a long 6 months with that being closed but thankful its back open.

Much quicker getting to the kennels from Sheldon area.

Do you have a greyhounds that is 10 years or older and have NEVER had a corn?
If you do, I need your help!

We are helping Fivelands Vets with a study on corns and a simple swab from your greyhound will help this research.

Please contact Daybreaks as soon as possible if you can bring your greyhound up for this. All those who participate will be awarded a treat!
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Many thanks
Ruth Price
Daybreaks Kennels Manager
0121 782 7702
I can post out so please DM me your address if you can help

For those of you who knew Bob, his funeral will be at Robin Hood Crematorium on Tuesday 11th July 2023 at 1pm. Family flowers only and donations to Daybreaks Trust.
We are asking for Daybreaks volunteers to wear their Trust tops if possible please.

Another very warm day. Thanks so much to Angie for feeding everyone and cleaning all the kennels first thing. Xxx

We were able to do morning walks as it's very shady in the lane, but this sfternoon we just did short walks in the sand run as it was too hot to take our boys and girls very far. Xxx

Many thanks to everyone who came in to help today. Jess came in with Koda who proceeded to show my Cracker how to jump over the gate from the back kitchen! :)) Xxx

It was good to see Simon with Jet and Amber, thank you so much for the donation of food. Many thanks to the lovely people who brought in donations of bedding, towels, food and pilchards. The dogs had pilchards with their dinner this afternoon. :)

Thanks so much to everyone who has sent or brought in donations of food. We are so grateful. Xxx

Thinking of Jo, who is still in hospital and not feeling well at all. Sending lots of love and get well wishes. Xxx xxx

Seana, thank you for your lovely thoughts and poem for Bob....He was a truly special person. Xxx xxx

Due to ill health I have been out of the loop for several months and so it is with great sadness that I learned from Ruth today that Bob is no longer with us. It was always a pleasure to see you and have a chat Bob. May you rest in peace. Love Seana and Fergal.

MISS ME BUT LET ME GO

When I come to the end of the road, and the sun has set for me I want no rites in a gloom filled room, why cry for a soul set free? Miss me a little, but not too long, and not with your head bowed low. Remember the love that once was shared, miss me but let me go. For this is a journey we must take, and each must go alone. It is all part of the Master's plan, a step on the road to home. When you are lonely and sick of heart, go to the friends we know. Bear your sorrow in good deeds, miss me but let me go.

And a Pam Ayres poem...

Don't lay me in some gloomy churchyard shaded by a wall, where the dust of ancient bones has spread a dryness over all. Lay me in some leafy loam where, sheltered from the cold, little seeds investigate and tender leaves unfold. There kindly and affectionately, plant a native tree to grow resplendent before God and hold some part of me. The roots will not disturb me as they wend their peaceful way to build the fine and bountiful, from closure and decay. To seek their small requirements so that when their work is done, I will be tall and standing strongly in the beauty of the sun.

Thanks so much to Rob for his enthusiasm to arrange more road shows and wanting to help find homes for our beautiful Greyhounds! Xxx

It's been a very warm and busy week...starting with Peggy being homed and Gabby going out on trial. Josh went back out on Foster, he really was unhappy at the kennels. Xxx
Sweet Gypsy found herself reserved and will be going home next week. Her soon to be new family came to visit her today and took her for a walk. Xxx
Little Truf Truf was fostered and is having a wonderful time with her foster family. :)) Xxx
Roxy came in for her post homing health check. She looked great and is a very happy girl. Xxx
Wilma also came in for her post homing health check, still the little pocket rocket we had at the kennels! :))
Our latest new arrivals came in on Thursday, the very handsome Bobby and Simba. Xx

Richard and Alan...also known as the chuckle brothers made two trips to collect some furniture for us. It was an incredibly hot day and they needed a nice cup of tea and a donut to revive them on their return to the kennels! Thank you! Xxx

Thanks so very much to everyone for all your help, and support. We have missed quite a few of our Daybreaks family the last few days...Ruth has been away and Declan was unable to come in Xxx Big hugs to Vonnie and Jo, please get better soon. Xxx

Bob, we will miss you forever. Xxx xxx

Hello ladies, gents, boys, girls and woofs...

Last weeks roadshow was a huge success and I am now in the process of finding other places/venues to go to.

I have already got in touch with a few just waiting to hear back from them soon. But, if anyone has any ideas of places or venues we could go to do a roadshow please let me know...!! The more I have the better the chances of us getting in.

Any info please email it to me on rob.daybreaks@outlook.com (new email I am using for just Daybreaks stuff)

Have a great weekend all!

Oh my gosh it was a hot one today! I felt like a damp rag when I had finished feeding & cleaning this morning!!

It was the gorgeous Magic’s birthday today, and he shared frozen treats with his doggy pals to celebrate.

As it was so hot, the residents took it in turns to come out into the feeding runs for some fresh air and paddling pool playtime. It was so funny to see all the different reactions to the pool - some wouldn’t go near it, some thought it was a giant drinking bowl - and the beautiful Gal got it sussed and decided to lie down in the water! I have taken a photo and Michael will post it on FB later - it is sooo cute!

We had a delivery from Iceland courtesy of Phil today with fabulous treats for both hounds & humans together with lots of cleaning products - thank you!

Also thanks for the donations of towels & bedding, greatly appreciated.

A reminder that raffle tickets for our 17th Birthday Prize draw are on sale at the kennels, the draw takes place at our open day on Sunday 2nd July. If you can’t get in to the kennels don’t panic- give us a call on 0121 782 7702 and we will happily sell you some tickets over the phone. The 1st prize is £250 cash very generously donated by Fivelands Veterinary Centre.

The weekend is here, and a bottle of white wine is chilling in the fridge for me for later! Whatever you are up to stay safe and cool. Cheers.

Angie xx

Thanks so much to everyone who helped cover the kennels today. So grateful to you all. Lots of love Kate Xxx

Dearest Bob, so very sad you had to leave us. I really thought you would live forever. :( A fabulous person and a true friend....Now reunited with your lovely Ellen and surrounded by Greyhounds. I Will miss you so very much. Thank you for everything, love always Katie, your Skip, Lyra and Cracker. Xxx xxx xxx

Rest in peace Bob. So sad to hear of your leaving us. The kennels and Daybreaks family has lost a true gentleman, a wonderful person with a huge personality and character, and a friend to many. We will all miss you xxxx

Such sad news, God bless Bob. Thinking of you all xxx

I would like to echo Ruth's words regarding Bob. I first met him in 2011and always enjoyed our chats as he sat in the kitchen dunking his biscuits that were always available with the cups of tea, coffee etc endlessly available. As Ruth says it's a wonderful legacy he has left knowing what Daybreaks have achieved over the the last 17 years based at the rear of Conifer Cottage.
RIP Bob

On top of Ruth's words below I am extremely saddened to hear the passing of Bob. He was a true gentleman and always committed to greyhounds and the kennels at Daybreaks.

I only met him a couple of times, thanks to Jo, and he was a lovely kind hearted man who respected everyone he met.

He even enjoyed seeing greyhounds having their photoshoots taken in his garden by Sharron.

But most of all knew what Daybreaks was all about and the team, actually family were always working hard to find loving homes for greyhounds.

Rest in peace my friend, always thinking of you!

Our hearts are broken and we are devastated to announce the passing of Bob yesterday evening.

He was a very proud man, generous and kind to the end. Fiercely protective of those he loved and the amount of friends he has is a true reflection of a very much loved and respected man.

We are going to miss him immensely - the world has been blessed with a true gent.

I met Bob 17 years ago when I was put in touch with him and asked him if I could rent his existing racing kennels to set up Daybreaks.

At the start, Bob was the ‘landlord’. Over the years he became not only a great friend but a father figure, even walking me down the aisle in 2020.

Because of Bob, Daybreaks has allowed me to help find over 3,400 homes for greyhounds and created an enormous family of volunteers which has lead to our ever growing Daybreaks family. This is a true legacy to Bob.

Greyhounds were his life - a true passion and he had his first greyhound at the age of 12.

Bob has touched all of our lives beyond measure and I cannot imagine life without him.

Sleep tight Bob. You will be in my heart forever and may your star shine bright.

Friendly reminder with the hot weather upon us:

NEVER LEAVE DOGS IN HOT CARS. The internal temperature in a car can significantly increase and will not take long for a dog to pass out, this will be fatal to a dog.

If you find a dog in a car on a hot day call the police on 999, even if the dog doesn't look in distress because it will soon become distressed.

Yay!!! We are back online after a problem with our website.

Apologies to everyone and thank you to everyone who alerted me. X

I am normally at the kennels on Saturday's but unfortunately Jo is still not well, so Ruth was in yesterday and I was in today. It was a busy day and I'm so very grateful to Denise for opening up and having nearly everything done by the time I arrived. Many thanks to Carol, Alison and Ben for all their hard work and to the lovely people who came in to help with walks this afternoon. :)) Xxx

Peggy has gone out on trial today...hoping all goes well. Such a sweet little girl. Xxx

We had several visitors for Nail clipping, including the very handsome Jag. :)) He went home with his customary two bags of puff jerky. Xxx

Little Sasha came in for her four week check up. She looks absolutely fantastic. It was obvious how much her family love her and she was such a happy girl! Xxx Great to see you all.

We also had a visit from previous Daybreaks resident Jasper, he will soon be an Usher at his owners wedding, Can't wait to see the photos! He looked absolutely stunning and so happy. :)) Xxx

Another handsome visitor was Padfoot and his lovely Mum Carol. :) Xx It really is wonderful to see lots of happy Greyhounds!

I'm just a little confused tonight as I keep thinking it is Monday! I was most disappointed when I sat down to watch Springwatch....it's not on until tomorrow :)) It's not just Greyhounds who like their routine! Xxx :))

Hope you feel better soon, Jo. Xxx

Xxx

I have three pairs of tickets to give away for the dog fest at Ragley Hall on the 10th & 11th June. If you would like a pair, please comment on our Daybreaks Trust Chat page and we will pick 3 winners on 1st June 2023. If you do not 'do Facebook' send an email to daybreaks2006@gmail.com and I will add your name for you!

I’ve just spent three days in bed feeling rotten so having to be in today was a killer! However therapy from our residents especially Truf Truf was the medicine I needed to make it through!!

Today the girls on site were viewed and the lucky Peggy was chosen and is going out on trial on Sunday. Little Gabby is now sharing the big kitchen run with Fox and seems much happier. Big thanks to Angie, Laura, Chris, Erik, Matthew and the Ranstead volunteers for being part of a fabulous team today x

Big Happy Birthday wishes to Kate whose birthday is today and get well soon wishes to Jo xxx

Another warm and sunny day today...:))

Kevin went out on foster. He has been quite stressed in his kennel since he arrrived las week. Hope he will be happier in a home, with two other lovely female Greyhounds. We are very grateful to Michelle. Xxx

Ginger has gone out on trial. Such a sweet little girl. :) Xxx Thanks to Alan and Richard for taking her to her new home. Xxx. Hoping all goes well. Xxx

CJ, one of our Work Placement students from last year came in to volunteer for the day. It was so good to see her again. She is hoping to train to be a Veterinary Nurse. It's so nice to see our ex students being given the chance to work with animals. :) Xxx

Truf had another dressing change today. It's so difficult keeping her foot dry in a kennel environment, what she really needs is a nice home where she can keep it dry! :)) Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for their help today. I Don't know what we would do without you all. Xxx xxx

Today has been quite an emotional day as we saw both Ginger and Gabby back from trials in their new homes. They are both wonderful dogs but sadly it was not the right homes this time for each of them. Both girls were rehomed from other centers who were unable to take them back for various reasons.

We are now full and would be really grateful if there is anyone who is willing to foster, as the two girls, in addition to Kevin our new arrival from Saturday are extremely stressed. This in turn stresses us - not only from hearing them cry and see them unsettled but with the ever increasing waiting list we are under pressure emotionally.

If you think you could help please call the kennels on 0121 782 7702. Homing is incredibly slow currently and this sadly makes our work stressful. :-(

On a happier note, Truf Truf went to the vets today and her toe is healing well and our thanks to Growler Phil who sent us a big delivery from Iceland and our freezer is now full! The slow cooker is already on for a casserole for the inmates tomorrow!

Thanks Ruth for letting me know about my badge. Thicky person that I am I hadn’t even missed it! It must have fallen off whilst I was walking Miss Moose after opening up yesterday.

So glad that our residents had a great day out yesterday - it does them good to have a change of scene and some mental stimulation in the form of new sights, smells and sounds. Thanks to everyone who took a hound yesterday.x

I shall reclaim my badge when I open up on Friday - I clearly need to know who I am!!!

Wow what a whirlwind of a day! We had three viewings today with two family's going away to think about it and the gorgeous Mr Fox has been pencilled in to go out on trial shortly. We are over the moon for him as he is a wonderful boy and surprised he hasn't been snapped up sooner.

All the inmates who went on the Agria Walk yesterday were visibly tired and showed little interest in their enrichment time today.

Cath came with Pod (her little dog with an enormous attitude) to do some 'small dog socialisation testing' and all the residents excluding Robbie were excellent.

Our new boy Kevin who arrived yesterday was quite stressed but was golden with Pod and did eventually show a bit of interest in his treat ball and licky mat! On his walk we noticed him limping and he has a slightly swollen toe - hoping it is nothing serious but we will keep an eye on him.

We had a visit from Poppy aka Crusty for me to trim her pads and nails..... yes trim her PADS! She suffers with hyperkeratosis so I cut off the overgrowth of her pads - she has very cronky feet but it doesn't stop her enjoying life.

I am grateful to all the volunteers who have come in - Denise, Dave, Gill, Ben and Alison - a totally great day but I am shattered and it's time to go home to my 4 legged crew!

ps Angie - if you are wondering where your name badge is, it was found by the volunteers on the walk this morning!

A beautiful spring day! All the dogs and volunteers enjoyed their walks today. So nice to not have to wear coats...it's been a long winter! :)

Such a shame Truf was unable to join us as she had to go to the vet today to have an operation on her toe. Thanks so much to Richard for picking her up this afternoon. Xxx

The dogs loved being out in the runs, they all enjoyed playtime and licki mats. :))

Laura had several nail clipping appointments, including my Skip and Shirley and Richard's Murphy....Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today. Mary, one of our College work placements finished her time with us today. Thanking her for all her hard work and enthusiasm over the last few months. We wish her well for the future. Xxx

Xxx

A slow cooked casserole was on the menu for the residents yesterday which they absolutely woofed down!

Our Wednesday walkers were in (which means it was toasted tea loaf day - yum!) and all the residents had walkies except for poor Truf Truf who hurt her paw the day before.

Laura had one well-care package and sorted all the residents with their daily grooming and teeth cleaning whilst I attacked the emails!

I am pleased to say that Larky now called Roxy and Hilda now called Wilma are doing really well following their adoption on Monday.

We sadly saw the return of Magic yesterday but he seemed quite settled being back.

Chris, Mollie, Caitlin and I had a busy but quiet afternoon and we left on time which is a rarity!
Sending get well wishes to Denise and Jo x

Today we received a donation of £400 in memory of Lynton Bradley who was born in Coleshill and lived in Chelmsley Wood for the past 50 years, owned, trained and raced greyhounds for many years.

Sadly, he passed on 29th March 2023 at the young age of 79yrs after having expressed a wish that a donation for retired greyhounds would be preferable over flowers.

However, one greyhound floral tribute was commissioned, which he would have loved."

A copy of the photo of this floral tribute is on our Daybreaks Chat facebook page.

Hilda and Larky both went off to their new homes today…. I am so happy for them x

It was a busy day today.....the Pet Blood Bank came for the day. It was great to see ex Daybreaks Residents Barney, Nadia, Sammy, Shadow, Frieda and Betty all give donations. :)) Due to a medical condition, Alan's lovely girl Belle, has had to retire from being a Donor. She was presented with a special jar of treats. Well done to her for all her previous donations. Xxx Brother Sammy is carrying on the family tradition! :))

Trust dogs, Truf, Fox and Larky also donated today....it was Truf's second time. Bless her. Hoping the next time she will come along with her forever family. Xxx

Later this afternoon our gorgeous little Hilda was reserved! :)) So,happy for her! Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for all your help today. Don't know what we would do without you all! :)) Xxx

Xxx

The Pet Blood Bank will be visiting the kennels in their mobile unit this Thursday 11 May. If you are interested in bringing your dog to the kennels to donate and would like more information please give them a call on 01509 232 222 or visit their website www.petbloodbankuk.org
It really is a great thing to do, one donation can help save the lives of four other dogs. Xxx

After yesterday's lovely sunshine it was back to grey sky and rain today...we are very grateful to everyone who came in to help despite the weather and looked after our beautiful Greyhounds. They all enjoyed their walks, playing with toys and licki mats. :))

Foxy spent a lot of the morning chilling out in the kitchen. He isn't very happy being in his kennel, but is quite relaxed with the extra space in the kitchen and getting extra cuddles from us all as we come and go. :)

If you think you could offer one of our wonderful boys or girls their forever home....please give us a call and come and meet them. Xxx
I know things are hard at the moment, but when you have a dog there are so many good things you can do together for free...walks in the park, playing games, meeting friends, making new friends, lots of cuddles and of course, unconditional love Xxx Absolutely priceless.! Xxx xxx

To me Shane's mom you are super woman!!!

Haha! Not superwoman Jo, just some very clean kennels making my life very easy.

It was the same again this morning- really think we should check the cameras to make sure the residents are actually there overnight!!!

Pretty little Peggy is an absolute bundle of fun, she delights in pulling down the washing that is drying over the feeding run bars and lying on it! She will also have a nibble at your shoelaces while you are trying to scoop her poo!!!!

Hope you have all had a great Coronation Day, although the weather has been most unkind for any outdoor events. Hopefully things will improve as the month progresses, and if you fancy a lovely hound walk that will also raise money for Daybreaks, have a look at the Agria walk details in the events - we would love some if not all of our residents to go along so if you would like to take one of our boys & girls for a great day out please give the kennels a call.

Stay safe & well

Angie xx

Thanks so much to Angie for opening up, she had finished feeding and cleaning before we arrived! Superwoman!!!

We were very short of volunteers today, but this morning Erik arrived to do some enrichment play and assessments with some of the Kennel dogs. Today it was Hilda, Robbie and Trufs turn. They all had fun, Peanut also had a go at one of the games and successfully managed to complete it.

Thanks so much to Chris and Carla for doing four afternoon walks!!!

We have lovely dogs looking for their forever homes, if you are considering giving a dog a home please contact the Kennels, don't be put off thinking greyhounds need lots of exercise, it's the complete opposite, they are generally lazy dogs who love a bed or sofa and a couple of short walks a day. They just want a loving home, a comfy bed (a duvet will do) and food. We are always on hand to offer help, support and advice.

Go on, give us a call. Xx

If you are planning to visit the kennels this weekend, please be aware, due to a planned demolition of the old Solihull Road bridge, the M42 will be completely closed in both directions between Junctions 5 and 6 from 10pm on Friday 5 May until 5am on Monday 8 May.

This will mean extra traffic on the surrounding roads including the A45. :(

Xxx

All the inmates enjoyed morning and afternoon walks as well as enrichment time in the feeding runs with licky mats and kongs. There was confusion with the volunteers when they arrived and saw the kitchens had swapped over!!

Thanks so much to everyone for their help today. ????

Thanks so much to everyone who came in to help at the kennels on a Bank Holiday. :)) We are very grateful. Xxx

The weather wasn't too bad at all, everyone enjoyed their walks and no one got wet!! :)))

Yesterday, Ruth and the volunteers swapped the kitchens over...so the people's kitchen is now the dog kitchen. It's more convenient and it's easier to keep an eye on the dogs during feeding time. My Skippy wasn't very impressed! Despite there being beds in several places, there just wasn't one in its normal place and he kept flitting between the two kitchens....we all know how much Greyhounds like their routine. Bless him. Xxx xxx

Great to see Cain reserved today. :)) Xxx

Thanks so much to Kitty's family for taking little Hilda out for the day, she had a lovely time. Xx Such a happy little girl. Xxx

Xxx

Yesterday morning I was on my ownsome lonesome with cleaning and feeding which was great as I got a full day of being with the inmates. Our Wednesday walkers came in so all those that were able went on walks and all those who couldn't as they were post op had gentle playtime and extra grooming.

Chris and Tom helped out during the afternoon and we are now the proud owners of a lovely slow cooker kindly sent to us by Phil (Growler) and the kids had sausage casserole with Burns for their tea!

Worrying how the casserole would affect their toileting, I opened in trepidation but wow - all clean apart from Robbie and Truf Truf.

We are well stocked with volunteers and work experience today so I am back in the office attacking paperwork and Alan has just brought me a chocolate donut and a coffee.... it can't get better!

Thankfully the grotty weather that was forecast didn’t happen until we had left the kennels. The dogs that could go on a walk did and the post op dogs had some fun in the feeding runs. Thanks to everyone for their help today.

I met our new arrivals today, Villa is so gentle when eating his food and Fox is also sensible when eating. Two absolutely handsome hounds. Xx

A brighter day today. :). Angie had everyone fed and kennels cleaned when we arrived this morning. Thank you so much. Xxx

Several of our residents are still resting after their recent Neutering ops so only able to go on short walks around the sand run for the next few days. Thanks to Di and Heather for taking the others out for their normal walks this morning. Xxx

All the dogs enjoyed some playtime in the runs, there were lot of toys being thrown around! :)) Robbie especially enjoyed himself, he loves his toys! Xxx

Laura was kept busy with pampers, it was great to see ex Daybreaks resident Rocky and his owner Michelle. Rocky is now an older gentleman of eleven years, still very handsome! :)) Laura also had the pleasure of bathing our two very gorgeous new arrivals, Villa and Fox. :)) Xxx

Many thanks to Gill and Jan for organising all the walks and sand run strolls this afternoon. :))

Thanks so much to Phil, (Rio and Ella's Dad) and his work colleagues who all very generously put together to buy us a slow cooker to prepare meals for our residents. :)) Cooking isn't my thing but Ruth soon had it filled with meat and potatoes this morning which turned into a lovely meal for our boys and girls this afternoon. :))) They all loved it. Xxx

We have so many fabulous Greyhounds at Daybreaks ....waiting patiently for their forever homes. Hoping their wait won't be too long. Xxx xxx

What a blooming grotty morning it was!!! The boys and girls were very reluctant to leave their cosy kennels to go out for a wee!!

The lovely Sasha was as bright as a button this morning following her spey, and gets my Gold Star clean kennel award. She happily polished off her breakfast bless her.

Ruth took Cain off to the Vet first thing for his neutering- it was so sad to see him in his kennel whilst I was bringing all the others out for their breakfast - goodness how guilty did I feel!!

After yesterday’s beautiful weather today was really grotty! Can’t believe the difference 24 hours makes.

Stay safe one and all.

Angie xx

Thanks as always to Denise for opening up. The Wednesday walkers were in and all the dogs apart from Hilda who is post op had morning walks. This afternoon all that could walk had their afternoon walks. Xxx Sadly Truf came back limping so missed the afternoon walk. Not much else to report!!!

Angie arrives extra early on Friday and Saturday. So when I arrived this morning the inmates were all fed and kennels cleaned!
Karla and myself sorted our cats Tyke and Socks, Socks is so funny, she will sit on your lap when sorting the litter trays or once you have lined the tray she will sit in it!!
I met our two new arrivals, Hilda calmed down after a while, it’s all very new to her, Cain went out with Liz_Beth and her husband to Brueton Park where he was apparently very well behaved even coming close to little dogs. Many thanks for taking him out today. X

We were short of a couple of volunteers today, but Karla my Friday student came in today so with her cleaning and me helping between feeding we got the Kennels cleaned fairly quickly. The Wednesday walkers were in this morning so the inmates all had a lovely walk. Thanks also to Erin and Kara for taking care of teeth cleaning and grooming. It was quite sunny and seemed quite warm in the sun. However, this afternoon was grotty and wet, Chris, Karla and a lovely new volunteer Dawn got absolutely soaked.

Ruth headed out to do Truf Trufs home check. She will be going home very soon. X

Thanks as always for everyone coming in to help today, we really appreciate it.

It was a busy day today which saw fabulous Magic go home. Wishing him a very happy new life. Will miss seeing his lovely face. Xxx

Truf Truf was Reserved! So happy for her. Xxx

Jimmy came in for Ruth to look at his corns. His new sister Summer is doing great and settling very well with them all. :) Xxx

Norman took lovely Larky to the park. They both had a great time. Xxx

Cath came in and her little girl Pod helped with small dog testing. Great to see so many of our residents being so good with her. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone who came to the kennels to help today. Our walkers managed to get morning and afternoon walks done before the rain set in! Thanks Di for the great homemade cake! Xxx

Xxx

We were several volunteers short today for one reason or another. Despite that all dogs that could walk had morning walks and this afternoon the residents had walks around the sand run.

It was quiet for visitors, just sand run and food collections, but we were kept busy bringing the residents out to spend time in the warm without their coats on in the sunshine. Thanks to Denise and Carol for undertaking teeth cleaning, grooming and health checks.

I managed to clear some paperwork that had built up.

Well, that is all for now, apart from Peanut was almost smuggled out of the Kennels today (again)!!!!! It is my policy to frisk everyone who sees her before they leave!!!!

Hoping everyone had a lovely Easter. Xxx

What a glorious Spring morning it was- the Minnie Moose and I made our way to the kennels in fabulous sunshine.

The boys & girls were happy to be out and get there coats off for a while, and let the air get to their skin!

Newcomer Sasha is such a cute little girl, quite lively and bouncy but then she is a youngster. Minnie had more kisses with the handsome Magic (good job he is soon off to his forever home!!).

Wishing you all a Happy Easter and hope you enjoy your celebrations - the diary is understandably quiet for the weekend but you never know…….

Cheers one and all.

Angie x

It has been an extremely frustrating day as we have had awful problems with our internet and phone line. I apologise for any problems with trying to contact us if you have tried and failed.
Hence, I am only just attacking emails so it will be a late finish tonight....... grrrr.......

Oh Minnie Moose, Cooper said it's ok Auntie Kate is your favourite but his Mom loves you so very much too. X

As Michael was under the weather today, the Minnie Moose accompanied me to the kennels this morning and she had a lovely time. She has a soft spot for Magic and delights in giving him kisses through the bars of the run!

Her favourite Aunty Kate very kindly clipped her nails, and she waited so quietly and patiently whilst I did my work - my little treasure.xx

Thank goodness the weather forecast for tomorrow is much improved, we may even see the sun! Hope to see you at our Easter Open Day, there are stalls to browse, games for your hounds and a raffle with great prizes on offer. Parking at Birmingham Exiles RFC on the grassed area to the left of the entrance gate as there are matches on and the car park may be full.

Angie x

What a miserable wet day, I'm sure it got colder this afternoon. Thanks to everyone who came in and helped, the dogs had morning walks and time in the feeding runs this afternoon.

Matthew took charge of teeth cleaning and grooming.

Selina, now Phoebe went off to her new home, wishing her and her family lots of happy times together.

Sparky was quite bright today after his dental yesterday, certainly hasn't affected his appetite!!!

Just a quick reminder, this Sunday is our Easter Open Day, there will be stalls, refreshments and entertainment for the houndies. Laura will be on hand to offer mini pampers and nail clipping. Please come along and support the kennels if you can make it. Parking is at Birmingham Exiles Rugby Club. Parking is on the grass area near the entrance.

A very busy day today...Ruth took Sparky off to the vets first thing for his dental. Xxx

Alan and Declan went to collect some office furniture for us while Richard cleared out our roller shutter storage van!

Laura was busy with pampers and nail clipping. It was great to see Marina, Molly and their families . :))

We had a viewing this afternoon which saw gorgeous Selina Reserved! Xxx

Ruth had a corn appointment with sweet Cassie, who will be fifteen later this year.!!! Xxx

Richard collected Sparky for us from the vets, he had quite a fan club there! :) Xxx

After his furniture removal this morning, Declan then helped Richard erect three Gazebos ready for our Easter open day on Sunday. :))

Ruth was desperately trying to catch up with paperwork! Xx

Thanks so very much to all of our volunteers and students for your hard work today! Xx A big thank you from me to Richard and Declan for helping me to trim Skips nails....Xxx

Xxx

Hi jetlucy, it was sad to hear Paul O'Grady has passed away. I feel so sad for his own dogs who must be missing him terribly. Xxx What a nice idea to think of him being at Rainbow Bridge saying hello to all our much loved and missed boys and girls. Xxx xxx

Well what a sad day to hear of the sudden passing of a beautiful soul and true gentleman, Paul O Grady. God bless you Paul, you will be sadly missed and you did some truly wonderful work for the animals. I hope he's giving all our rainbow Bridge doggies a fuss and their 'claim to fame'! Give jet an extra special kiss from me xxx

A chilly day today...just when I thought spring had arrived!

Larky was back at the kennels after her stay at Ruth's. She was very bright today, she is a very friendly girl. :) Xxx

We had a gorgeous new arrival, Peggy. What a very pretty little girl. She enjoyed having some lunch with the other residents and had her first walk with Shirley this afternoon. She was quite excited and wasn't very good at walking in a straight line :)) Sure she will soon relax and walk beautifully! :))

Many thanks to everyone for all your help today. Xxx

Ruth was back today after her holiday. :)) She took Larky off to the vets this morning for her Neutering operation. She also collected her this evening and has taken her home. Xxx Larky looked very sleepy when Ruth picked her up. Hope she will feel better tomorrow. Xxx

Many thanks to our wonderful students and volunteers for all their help today. All of our Residents had walks this morning and this afternoon. After his recent Neutering operation, Linda took Sid for a gentle stroll around the sand run. :)) After lunch there were games and licki mats to play with! Xxx

A lovely lady came to visit this afternoon, she was looking for a Greyhound friend. :)) Magic was the lucky boy to be chosen! Xxx

It was fantastic to come home in the light tonight! Hurrah for Spring....at last! :)) Xxx

Angie opened up this morning as usual, Sid was booked in for his neutering today so off I went to the vets with a urine sample Angie managed to get!!!

Due to the bus strike our college student wasn't in, thankfully Chris was and Richard came in for a meeting which was unfortunately cancelled, we took advantage and he went out on a walk with Chris.

Matthew was back in after surgery and enjoyed his time teeth cleaning and grooming. Thanks Matt.

Liz_Beth came in and helped with afternoon walks, so very grateful to her.

There was a late viewing for one of the inmates with a further viewing tomorrow, fingers crossed for the prospective lucky dog, it was actually the daughter of the parents who sadly very recently lost their lovely boy who came in to do the viewing and went onto a video link. Every thing crossed. Xx

Random quesion, and quite possibly a weird one... Does anyone know of a place where you find adault fancy dress costumes? More specifically greyhound related preferably.

Oh my goodness! We have sooo many beautiful Greyhounds looking for their forever homes at the kennels! It's a good thing I already have three of my own and not able to have anymore, as I would be taking every current resident home with me! We have girls Larky and Selina, both so very sweet and Truf Truf who is a real character and will bring lots of fun to the family who adopts her! :) Then we have our gorgeous boys, Robbie who is such a happy lad. Sid and Magic, both very gentle boys with lots of love to give and wonderful Sparky, who,is just perfect! :))) We also have an ever growing waiting list of more boys and girls waiting patiently for their chance of a forever home. Please give us a call if you are interested in meeting any of our fabulous Greyhounds. :)) Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today...we missed our friends who have to rely on getting a bus to visit us....Laura's husband had the car today, and as there were no buses Laura came on her brother's scooter! :)) X

Xxx

It is officially the First day of Spring today! :)) Xxx

It did feel quite warm and the sun came out. :) The dogs enjoyed their walks, so did their walkers! This afternoon our residents all had time out of their kennels to play games and have a Licky mat covered in peanut butter. They throughly enjoyed them. Xxx.

It was a quiet day for visitors but we had our lovely students and volunteers to keep everyone company. Xxx

Many thanks to Ella and Rio's Mom and Dad for sending us a delivery of goodies for both Greyhounds and Humans! We had donuts today and the dogs have all got hot dog sausages to look forward to tomorrow....! :)) Xxx

Xxx

I know I always start by thanking everyone for their help, but it is so important to recognise the time and effort everyone puts into the Kennels and the inmates.

It was very quiet for visitors today, all of the inmates had morning and afternoon walks, the two new girls that have broken hocks had shorter walks.

Liz_Beth came in today with her niece Maisie, lovely Maisie asked if she could move into the Kennels!!! She was able to go out on walks albeit not walking a dog.

Rob T and Sarah came in with Penny, she is doing really well and looks great, such a lovely girl.

We left tonight with the heaters on in the Kennel blocks, coats on and all dogs tucked up in their beds.

We actually had some sunshine today! :)) It didn't stay very long but it was great while it lasted. :)) Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone who came in to walk our residents. They all enjoyed getting a break from their kennels. Our two new girls Selina and Larky are recovering from broken hocks. They are having shorter walks for a while. They are both very cute! Xxx

Many thanks to our visitors who brought in donations of bedding, so kind of you. Jaz met two young girls, she was so good with them. Xxx

Jaz has gone home today! Wishing her a very happy new life. I will miss her pretty little face and happy waggy tail. Xxx

Thanks so much to Jess for all her help today. Her gorgeous lad Koda came in with her; he entertained visitors by manically chasing a ball around the kitchen run.... :))

We have lots of beautiful Greyhounds at Daybreaks, all looking for their forever homes. Please give us a call on 0121 782 7702 if you would like to know more about them. Xxx xxx

Alan, maybe there could be a sponsored stroll around the sand run for us oldies or a let's have a sit down for a certain amount of time with a coffee and a donut? !!! I think I could maybe manage one of those!!!

I was just wondering Rob T if there was a Geriatric run for us 60 plus oldies to do. It would probably take me a week to finish though. But seriously good luck to you all if you can do the wolf run.

I've just forwarded the wolf run link to my Ryan as he'd like to do another 1 after the mud run so watch this space...! Xxx

Thanks to Angie for opening up, to Karla our college student, Dave Maisie Moo with Chase for coming in on his day off, Chris and Suzi. I hope that is everyone!!!

I had a trip to Morrisons Sheldon to collect a donation of dog food, I would like to thank Melanie at Morrisons, the store and the very generous shoppers who made donations to the Kennels. I was so overwhelmed and so was my back o certainly the goodies were loaded into my car!!! Thanks to Dave for unloading it at the Kennels.

We had a lovely new arrival today in the shape of Larky. She came in from Ickle Pickle Princess Peanut paws and Coopers trainer. Peanut was soooooo very happy to see him as was our Truf Truf. It is great to see the reaction of these dogs when they recognize their trainer, always a good sign. Peanut was homed over a year ago and Cooper nearly two years ago, goes to show that they do remember, especially if they had decent memories.

New girl Larky is another lovely girl (even if the trailer doesn't pick the best names for them, Coopers pet name was Friend)!!!!!

The Pet Blood Bank came to visit us today. Pet dogs, Sammy, Shadow, Freida and Betty gave donations and our lovely Truf Truf and Magic became donors too. :) The vet checked out Sparky's teeth for us and agreed he will sadly need some dental work before he goes to his forever home. He also had his vaccination booster. Xxx

Richard was busy doing jobs around the kennels, Alan and Declan had a trip to the warehouse and our students were looking after the dogs with grooming and teeth cleaning. :)) Many thanks to our Thursday morning walkers for taking everyone out for a stroll. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for their help today. :) Xxx

Hi all,

reference the traffic update couple days ago with 1 lane closed on the A45 going towards the M42 just past the airport.

This has now been lifted... I past it this morning.

The slip road onto the A45 from Airport/Catherine-de-Barnes is STILL closed though.

Sorry if I have casued a little confusion!

As always many thanks to Denise for opening up and to the Wednesday walkers for their help this morning. We had a lovely new arrival today Selina and also a new volunteer Tom. He helped Denise with the bathing and new arrival health check. He told Selina it was his first day as well as hers.

I met the gorgeous Sid who arrived yesterday, a little unsure of his new surroundings but I don't think it will take long for him to settle.

Thanks to Chris, Anne and Tom for doing afternoon walks.

Rob T has also posted about a fundraising event for the Kennels, a wolf run, Kate, I have to agree I am also too old and decrepit to take part!!! However, if the fitter amongst you are up to the challenge please let us know. Xx

Hi Rob, sounds like a great idea....happy to sponsor you, but sadly too old and decrepit to take part!! :)) Kate Xxx

I am looking at doing another fundraiser for Daybreaks this summer. Thinking of taking part in the Wolf Run, Autumn event September 2nd or 3rd.

I am currently trying to gather a group of people so we can all fundraise and participate together. The more the merrier right?

What are your thoughts on this being suitable??

Link to site here: https://thewolfrun.com/autumnwolf/

Ladies & Gents,

Following on from my message below:

((by RobT Thursday 23 Feb 15:02

IMPORTANT TRAFFIC INFORMATION FOR STAFF, VOLUNTEERS AND VISITORS TO THE KENNELS:

The slip road onto the A45 at the airport island has been CLOSED due to roadworks. This closure is going to last 6 months. Please plan your journeys ahead to count for this closure if it affects you.

If you normally turn around at this island to rejoin the A45, you will need to head to the M42 island or the Stone Bridge island to turn around and back onto the A45.))

If you are travelling from Sheldon towards the Airport there is 1 lane closed just after the Airport junction going towards Stonebridge Island. Not sure how far down that way it goes as I get on the M42. The lane closure looks like it may be in place long term so please take extra care travelling in that direction.

Well, what can I say, today was almost tropical after the sub zero temperatures of earlier in the week. I personally did feel the temperature dropped this afternoon.

All the inmates had walks that could and the gorgeous Magic had a few hours out at Brueton park and Solihull town centre. Thanks to Kitty's family for taking him out for a change of scenery.

As always many thanks to all of the lovely volunteers who took the time to come in and give their help and give the hounds love and attention.

Thanks also for the donation of bedding and towels.

I was very relieved to not have to drive through snow to get to the kennels this morning! :))

Angie had almost finished feeding and cleaning when I arrived. Thanks so much. Xxx We would be lost with out you! Xxx

Diane and Jess walked the residents for us this morning, and Jan and Gill walked them this afternoon. :)) Xxx

Summer was due to go home today but due to unforeseen circumstances will now be going home on Monday....only a couple of extra sleeps at the kennels! :)))

Jaz found herself reserved this afternoon! Xxx She will be going to live with three other beautiful Greyhounds...they all got on great today and Jaz didn't know who to talk to first. :)) She will be off to her new home in a couple of weeks. Xxx

We had another viewing late this afternoon, lovely family. :)) I am so grateful to Keira for feeding all the dogs for me! Bless you. Xxx

Normally on a Saturday morning we have Patric, our volunteer of nearly four years to help us...but he finished last week as he had been offered a part time job. :(( We were all very sad, including Pat. He has been invaluable, a real asset to the kennnels and it has been an absolute pleasure to have seen him grow from a very young Duke of Edinburgh student to the confident young man he is today. Wishing him every success for the future and hope one day he will have a Greyhound of his own. Xxx

I am so grateful to everyone who comes in to help look after our wonderful Greyhounds, THANK YOU! :)) Xxx

It was a cold and frosty journey into the kennels this morning - but thank goodness most of the snow had disappeared. The boys and girls were all warm and snuggly when I opened up - I was tempted to have a lie down on one of the lovely heated beds!!

The gorgeous Magic & Sparky are joint recipients of my Gold Star Clean Kennels Award today. The other kennels were, for various reasons, a bit more work - not the least of which was little Miss Truff Truff's. She had found or created a hole in the duvet cover and had kept herself entertained by pulling the innards of the duvet out and scattering them all over the bed and floor - it looked like indoor snow!!! She is such a character but is not happy in a kennel - she likes to be out and have some company.

Tickets for our Easter Raffle have gone on sale at the kennels today. There are some great prizes, many thanks to Denise for donating the choccy hampers and eggs. There is even a hamper for your hound containing an Easter egg and special treats. The raffle will be drawn at our Easter Open Day on Sunday 2nd April.

The diary for the weekend is quite full again so keep everything crossed that we see some red or green signs by Monday.

Hopefully we have now seen the back of winter - I think we can all do with a bit of warmth and the sun on our face. Whatever you are up to this weekend, stay warm and safe.

Angie x

Just when we thought the snow was gone, at 4am this morning when Peanut wanted a wee the snow was coming down fairly heavily. By 7an there was a substantial covering. We left to the Kennels extra early, not just because of the weather but due to Crufts being on and with the slip road by the Kennels being closed (thanks to Rob T for posting it is closed for the next 6 months) we had to go to the motorway island and got stuck in traffic but made it just in time to open up as we were without Angie today who is normally in earlier.

Thanks to Laura and Chris for all their help today, it was so very cold and I had to shovel the snow from the paths around the Kennels. Thankfully as the day went on any remaining snow started to melt. Forecast is minus 8 degrees tonight!!!! Heaters on, under bed heating on and fleecy coats on. X

We were plunged back into Winter today! Not a nice experience driving to the kennels this morning! Even though the weather was grotty, my Skip insisted on coming with me and then spent the day next to the heater in the office! :))

Despite the snow and ice, our hardy students and volunteers came in to look after our dogs. :)) They were all very warm and snug in their beds and didn't seem to notice the snow when they came out for their breakfast. :)) Everyone had a stroll around the sand run morning and afternoon as it was a little slipply underfoot for walking along the lane or road.

Understandably all the appointments in the diary were cancelled today...it wasn't the nicest of days to visit the kennels. Xx However, I did receive several videos on my phone from friends showing their Greyhounds having fun in the snow. Xxx My own lad, Cracker was dancing around in it on our morning walk. :))) Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone who came in to help today. Xxx Hoping Spring is just around the corner!! Xxxx

One word for today....freezing! Despite this the inmates had morning and afternoon walks. All had their teeth cleaned and were groomed, in addition as it was too cold to bring them out for playtime their enrichment for today was lots of cuddles and fuss.

It was great to welcome Chris back after her holiday and the Wednesday walkers were in full force this morning.

I for one cannot wait for the warmer weather, no doubt when that happens we will complain about it being too hot. As I was doing some work on the computer before Ieft I hadn't noticed the snow coming down thick and fast, when Peanut and I left my car had quite a good layer of snow!

Take care everyone and be careful in this weather. X

It wasn't quite as cold as I was expecting it to be today, we even saw a little sunshine. :) Our residents enjoyed their walks and Truf had a trip to the park with Norman. Xxx

Post-op girls Jaz and Summer had a gentle stroll around the sand run. Summer will soon be going off to her new home. Hoping it won't be long before Jaz finds her forever home too. Xxx

We had a problem with the shower in the treatment room....Laura was giving little Truf a quick bath when it gave up working. We had to fill up a few buckets of warm water to finish off her bath! Thankfully with the help of Richard and Steve all is good and the shower is fixed. :)) We also have a problem with the electric gate which is still work in progress....

Thanks so much to everyone for their help today. :)) Very, very much appreciated! Xxx

Thanks as always to everyone for their help today, we were a few volunteers short but all the inmates had morning and afternoon walks.

We saw the gorgeous Stacy now Ruby go home, all the very best to her and her family.

It was so very cold today, but the dogs were all comfy and warm with their under bed heating and fleecy coats on.

Angie gave everyone a gold star award for clean kennels today. Jazz is still post OP and not very happy. All dogs that could go on walks did this morning. This afternoon it was walks around the sand run.

Laura had visitors for pampers and nail cutting, some were not as keen as others. !!!
We said goodbye to Theo a college student who had spent a week with us. He was very keen to be involved with all aspects of the kennel duties.

Thanks to Karla and Suzi for their help today, very much appreciated.

Denise opened up as usual on a Wednesday, we have a new work experience student Theo, he and Tina set to work finishing cleaning the Kennels, I finished breakfast feeding and helped Denise sort our resident cats Tyke and Socks.

We were back up to full strength with the Wednesday walkers so the dogs that could go on walks did. This afternoon we had new volunteers Anne and Teresa so as the weather looked so awful the dogs had walks around the sand run. Thanks to everyone for their help today and to Denise for staying until closing time. X

Another quiet day for volunteers today, thanks to Denise for opening up. It was very strange not to see Rocky Rockstar in the Kennels but really great he has gone out on foster. He is such a lovely boy and really melts your heart. X

We saw the gorgeous Steve reserved today, the lovely people occasionally look after a little dog. They did meet Sparky and Jazz yesterday without little dog, so came back today with little dog. Jazz was a little too interested, Sparky was quite good and although Steve wasn't initially on their 'shopping list' he was such a good boy and he and little Nancy were soon play bowing to each other!! They went away to have a chat and a coffee and returned to say that Steve was the lucky lad.

Thanks for the donations of bedding and towels.

Despite being short of help the dogs had morning walks, this afternoon it was sand run time.

Many thanks to Kitty's family for taking the fabulous Magic to the park and then into Solihull, he was an absolutely fantastic boy with a glowing report.

It's turned cold again so all the inmates had their coats on, the heaters and under bed heating on.

Rocky went out on foster today for a short break from the kennels Xxx I'm sure he will enjoy a change of scene...such a shame he is still waiting for his forever home. He has been with us since last August. Xxx

It was a quiet day for volunteers, thanks so much to Patric and Laura for walking everyone this morning and to Jan and Laura for doing all the afternoon walks....Laura did lots of walks! :)) And a pamper for a lovely girl. Xxx

Many thanks to DofE students for all their help too! Xxx

Summer and Jaz are both doing well and becoming more comfortable in their new surroundings. :))

It's gone cold again, so coats and heaters on tonight! Xxx

We had had two beautiful little girls arrive today...both Blue, they look like sisters. :)) Shirley and Louisa gave them a bath and health check. Jaz is just two years old and not three until October. They are both lovely. Xxx

Rob popped in with newly homed Penny. She looked very happy and has already got her Dad firmly wrapped around all four paws! :)) Xxx

Many thanks to Alan and Richard for going to the warehouse for supplies. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone who came in to help today. Xxxf

IMPORTANT TRAFFIC INFORMATION FOR STAFF, VOLUNTEERS AND VISITORS TO THE KENNELS:

The slip road onto the A45 at the airport island has been CLOSED due to roadworks. This closure is going to last 6 months. Please plan your journeys ahead to count for this closure if it affects you.

If you normally turn around at this island to rejoin the A45, you will need to head to the M42 island or the Stone Bridge island to turn around and back onto the A45

Thanks to Denise for opening up as usual on a Wednesday. We were very short of volunteers as Two of our Wednesday walkers were not in, so thanks to Deb, Paul, Laura and Denise the dogs had morning walks. Gill arrived in time to take a dog out.

Laura was kept busy with Pampers and Noah did most of the teeth cleaning and grooming. This afternoon we were even shorter of help. Laura stayed and helped with feeding and cleaning the runs down, Denise also stayed later than usual, I've thanked her a couple of times already so won't do again as she will get big headed and think she is special!!!! Lol.

Thanks to everyone who came in with donations of bedding and treats for the inmates.

As it is the half term holiday this week our students were not in...so it left us "oldies" to take care of things today. :))
Vonnie, Linda and I were greeted by lots of happy dogs first thing including a rather grubby Truf Truf who had managed to roll in poo again! We gave her a quick rub down so she could have her breakfast and after the cleaning and feeding was completed, Linda gave her a bath. Truf really is a super little girl who will bring lots of joy to the family who gets to take her home. :))

Louisa and Myra joined us later in the morning, so all of the residents got a chance to enjoy the spring like weather either on a walk or in the sand run. This afternoon, for the first time in months walks were taken without coats! :))

Jude spent a good part of the morning ordering Martingale collars, so we should have them for sale in the next couple of weeks. :))

We also had a delivery from Burns and thanks to our lovely friends Phil and Sylvia a delivery from Iceland of food for the dogs and supplies for the kennels. We are so grateful to them. Xxx

Before we knew it, it was time for dinner and bed! All of our residents had a Dentastix and obviously bedtime cuddles! :))

Thanks to everyone for your help!

Xxx

It was a very busy day yesterday...Laura had so many pampers, I lost count! It was so wonderful to see lots of past Daybreaks residents and hearing how happy they are and what joy they have brought to their families. :)) Xxx

Arthur came in for a health check, he looked fabulous and has settled really well in his new home. He had a pamper too! :) Xxx

Seana brought Fergal in for a pamper. After losing Teddy a few days ago they were both understandably very sad. Fergal was a very quiet lad. He had a little play in the sand run with one of our visiting beautiful Greyhounds. He enjoyed his pamper with Laura too. Xxx It all helped to cheer him up and we were so happy to see him with a waggy tail. Sending Fergal and Seana lots of love. Xxx

Steve found himself an andmirer, a lovely young lady was quite taken with him....she tried very hard to get her Mom and Dad to take him home but they have already got two fabulous Greyhound girls. :)) I'm sure his home will be along soon. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone who helped out at the kennels yesterday.
:)) Xxx

Heartbroken to read about Teddy, there are no words to express all the pain you are feeling for your beautiful Teddy Bear, such a wonderful poem, I hope it brings you comfort in the sad times ahead, rest easy beautiful boy, you have been loved xxxxxx

It was Gold Stars all round in the clean kennel awards today - with an extra special mention for the gorgeous Steve and Magic, yet again all I had to do was straighten one corner of the bed in both kennels - think we are going to have to check the cameras to see if they actually do spend the night in their kennels!!!!

Truff Truff had entertained herself overnight by working at her dressing and destroying most of it!! There were bits of vet wrap all over her bed this morning, and she gives you that innocent "Well, I don't know where that came from" look - you just can't be cross with her. Ruth has spoiled her fun now though, as she has put boots on her!

It's shaping up to be a busy day at Daybreaks, Laura is fully booked with her Valentine's pamper sessions, and there are lots of appointments in the diary so - I will make my usual wish for some red or green signs by Monday.

Have a great weekend one and all, stay safe and well.

Angie xx

Many thanks as always to Angie for opening up and to Karla for doing morning walks and sorting the cats.

Laura had bookings for nail clipping for Bertie and a pamper for the gorgeous Padfoot.

Turf Truf was limping so Ruth had a look and thinks she has something in her pad so dressed it, later on today she decided to hold her other paw up!!

We had no Chris today so Karla and Matthew took it in turns to take the dogs Into the sand run. Thanks too to Suzi who came in and helped with feeding and cleaning the runs and sitting with the dogs and helped keep an eye on Truf Truf who tried to get her dressing off, I managed to do a temporary repair until Ruth looks at it again tomorrow.

After a few days off it was nice to be back. Xx

Seana, I am so very sorry and heartbroken, I would dearly loved to see Teddy's gorgeous face one last time. He achieved a great age, I know it's no concellation but you gave him a wonderful life. What a good boy Fergal was to cuddle up and make him feel safe, warm and loved. We are thinking of you at this very difficult and sad time. Much love, Jo, Arry, Cooper and Peanut. Rest easy Teddy and watch down on us all. Xxx

Seana, my heart breaks for you and fergal, so so sorry for your loss. What a grand age Teddy achieved all because of your love and devotion...a very lucky boy.

God bless you Teddy, run fast and pain free and please find my boy and give him lots of kisses from me xxx

Dear Seana

I'm so very sorry to hear your lovely little Teddy has gone to Rainbow Bridge. He was such a happy, affectionate, friendly lad. It was always lovely to see him. Xxx How sweet Fergal cuddled up to him today, best friends to the end. Xxx Xxx
Teddy had a great life with you; no one could have loved him more. Xxx. Thinking of you both at this terribly sad time and sending lots of love.
Kate, Skip, Lyra and Cracker. Xxx

For my wonderful Step Uncle Teddy

If I could use my million tears to build a staircase I would build one right up to heaven and bring you back again together with my Daddy and Brother. You have been the best pal and I am glad I got to snuggle up to you today whilst you slipped away. I hope you know how much I loved you. I did try to show you by snuggling up to you as much as I could and always letting you have the treaties first! I will try to be a good boy for Granny but I honestly don't know how I will fare without you. It has been so very hard without Daddy and then Eoghan and now you have gone my life will never be the same. I hope you will wait patiently for me and Granny but until then be healthy, be happy and please remember to look down on us every day before you go and play.

lots of snuggles and sniffs. Fergal xxx

R.I.P. My Beautiful Teddybear - 28.8.2009 - 15.2.23

My darling Teddy,

My heart is truly broken. Having barely accepted losing Eoghan a few months ago I really believed we would see your 14th this year but life is so cruel and your aggressive cancer diagnosis just before Christmas had other plans. You have fought so valiantly these past 8 weeks and it has been a true honour to be your Mum these past 5 1/4 years. You have been just the sweetest son one could wish for. You were so kind and respectful to Daddy Melly, then welcoming Fergal and Eoghan into our home and so I couldn't be more proud. The DB team welcomed you as part of the family always and I know in particular Auntie Kate and Auntie Jo will be sad not to see your lovely face again. I know Auntie Kate was grateful to be able to say goodbye to you and that Auntie Jo should have been able to today but obviously we didn't make it into DB.

I am hurting too much to put the right words together and so here is a beautiful poem from Auntie JetLucy just for you.

It's my first day in heaven, and what a beautiful place, you'll be glad to know there's a smile upon my face. The moment I left you, two angels in white, carried me up here to heaven that night. All those stories you hear about Rainbow Bridge are true but you don't walk over it because the angels carried me through. There's a gate at the end made of pearl and it has got to be the biggest gate in the world. Once I got in and started looking around, you just won't believe all the things that I found. The first place they took me had to be the most fun, a humongous field with miles to run. Once I was tired the angels then said we will take you to your home but first we need to stop by this place full of tasty bones. They told me to take one with me but one is all I need because every good thing lasts forever up in heaven you see. They took me to my new house, it took my breath away, the most beautiful place I have ever seen and with a huge yard to play. They said come on, let's go inside and have a look around. They took me to the bottom floor and you won't believe what I found. The bottom of my house has a window and you won't believe the view for my house sits right over yours so I can still keep an eye on you. I was so worried about you when I went away but now I can watch you every second of the day, when we can walk around this place and I can cover you with puppy kisses on every inch of your face. Until we meet again.

Teddy my sweet boy, remember all that Mummy told you and make sure you find your way to Daddy Melly and Eoghan. Play amongst the fields of gold and green and enjoy the sun filled blue sky. Try to find my other sons so that they may not be alone. Wait patiently for me and for Fergal as we have to stay here for a while longer but please god in the not so distant years Fergal and I will join you all and we will be a family again.

With all the love my heart can send. Mummy xxx

Yesterday Steve spent the day in the office as he just isn’t happy in kennels. He was PERFECTLY behaved and when Izzy arrived who belongs to volunteer Alison they curled up together whilst I signed up the gorgeous Bobbie who has been out on trial to her new owner.
Catherine brought Pod so we could do some small dog socialising…
Steve, River, Truf Truf, Magic and Stacey were absolutely fantastic however in the naughty corner remains Rocky and Robbie… so we stepping up our training with them. Mollie did paperwork whilst I actually got to go out on an afternoon walk with Carol and Alison. I took double trouble boys Rocky and Robbie who met 2 small dogs at the end of our drive….

The paperwork was signed for the gorgeous Bobbie who has been put on trial and River was reserved and is off to his new home tomorrow.

Cath with Pod came to bring Jens homing paperwork and Truf Truf, Magic and Stacy all were fantastic…. But Robbie and Rocky…, they definitely need confident owners.

Goodness, it almost felt like Spring this morning as I headed to the kennels - mild, daylight and no wind blowing - more of the same please!!!

It was Gold Stars all round in the clean kennel awards today, well done boys & girls, makes my life nice & easy!

It is good to see Rocky much improved now following his spell of being under the weather, he is back polishing off his food and has enjoyed trip to the park. He led the "howling chorus" this morning, standing very majestically with his head back howling at the moon (well, the sun actually) being joined by the other residents - it's such a plaintive sound, although gets a bit out of hand when you've got 7 dogs doing it!!!

It's a busy diary again for the weekend, so keep fingers crossed for some red or green signs by Monday.

Stay safe and well everyone.

Angie xx

Yesterday, there were just 2 appointments in the diary so after cleaning out, with Denise feeding, I thought I would have a great day spending time with the current inmates...... ha ha not a chance! The phone did not stop and as fast as I finished a call, another one came through.

Inbetween, we had the arrival of Ginger, homed from a GT branch that wasn't able to take her due to space and communication breakdown so we agreed to help. The owner was very upset but an increase in working commitments had forced the decision.

Ginger was bathed by Laura and had great fun in the sand run and then came home with me as she was too distressed to stay in a kennel. She is going out to foster on Saturday and if all goes well, she has bagged herself a new home.

Herbie, Tig, Momma and Tony also came to the kennels with me and today, whilst I sit doing my laptop work, they are absolutely crashed out!

Thanks to our Wednesday morning walking crew and Chris who was a godsend in helping me during the afternoon to feed and tuck the inmates up for the night. It was a very productive day!

Monday morning started with a trip to Fivelands for the very gorgeous Magic. I had the opportunity at the vets to sing ‘Could it be Magic!’ when they asked his his name on arrival :-)
Yvonne is on holiday this week so Kate, Lynda and our two work experience Emma and Izzy cleaned and fed the dogs as I attacked the pile of invoices with Mollie and we figured out our new franking machine! I took my three; Tiggy, Momma and Tony along with Herbie who I am fostering at the moment into the sand run and they were all doing zoomies together! Herbie is doing so well gaining weight and is such a happy boy x

Magic came back from the vets - not impressed I guess that parts of him were missing but he was bright and happy to see his dinner! Myra was busy helping in the afternoon and after my appeal on Facebook we had a new volunteer come along and is going to start today helping answer the phone and with paperwork which will be a godsend.

Rocky is much brighter and Robbie has settled back into kennel life although we are still seeking foster homes so we can attack our waiting list which is forever growing.

If you are thinking of giving a home to a Greyhound, please take a look at our beautiful boys! Our current lads are all fabulous....Rocky is our longest resident having been with us since last August. He is a big boy but all the more to cuddle. :)) We have two Magics, both great lads who have so much love to give. There is Steve who just loves to lean and has a tail that never stops wagging and our gorgeous older gentleman River. Xxx As for Herbie, everytime I see him I love him a little bit more! :)) I have two boys of my own, they are both wonderful. I adore them. :) Xxx
So please, give our Daybreaks boys a chance to show you how fantastic they are! Xxx

We were several volunteers short today. Thanks to everyone who came in and made sure the dogs that could go on walks did so and helped with feeding, cleaning and general kennel duties.

Rocky Rock Star still didn't want his breakfast, however, he had a visit to the park with Jackie and Ned. He was so excited to see them and had a lovely time with them, he was nearly back to the Rocky we all know and love. This boy desperately needs his forever home.

Steve was a happy waggy boy, not sure he is impressed with wearing the cone of shame after his neutering.

Laura was kept very busy with back to back Pampers.

The sand run was very busy today, we had a donation of bedding and a viewing too. The gorgeous Stacey was reserved over the phone after the lovely couple who viewed her went home and had a chat and decided she was the one for them.

I have a few days off this week but will be watching the website for updates and any news about the Inmates!!

Take care everyone. X

I hijacked Kate's login earlier - it has been a very busy day! We had Amelia officially adopted after being such a good girl on trial.

Unfortunately we had an emergency vet trip to do as Steve's wound had opened up following his castrate so Jess kindly took him to the vets where he was stapled. He was so brave....

We saw Robbie come back for 'respite care' as he pulled his owner over after a small dog ran up to him and his owner fractured her wrist. It is such a shame as he was doing so well in his new home and as his owner can't currently walk him, he is back at Daybreaks. If we could get offers of walking help for his owner, he can go back home.....

Poor Rocky is not himself so I have started him on Cobalaplex and already seems a bit brighter. Those who didn't go on walks Robbie, Truf Truf, Steve and Rocky all had extra TLC instead.
Thank you to all our volunteers who came in and walked our other inmates - they all had enrichment play with licky mats too!

Herbie who is currently being fostered by me has increased from 27kg to 29.8 and he is building confidence daily. He had great fun in the sand run this morning!

I have just seen Poppy (aka Crusty) for her pads and nails to be trimmed. She suffers with hyperkeratosis of her pads and is so brave when I clip them!

As it is almost 6pm, it is wine time so I will finish here. Kate and I have homes to go to!!! :-)))))) x

Massive thanks to Angie for opening up. Ruth took Steve for his neutering and I collected him, everyone at the vets fell in love with him. Not so sure they will feel the same when they find out he had a massive wee up the vets car!!!!

Thanks so much to Chris for covering the Kennels whilst I collected Steve, he ate all of his dinner when he got home.

Thanks too to Angie for doing an early Daybreaks Diary. Xxx

I opened up bright and early this morning, and can award Truff Truff a silver star and all the other residents a gold star award for their kennels! Cleaning & breakfasts were done in good time today - well done all.

Rocky is still a little under the weather, he didn’t eat much breakfast which is very unusual for him. A visit to the Vet is on the cards to see what’s going on.

It was Steve’s turn at Fivelands for his neutering this morning, it is always so sad when they watch their pals eating breakfast and they can’t join in!

I took the lovely Stacy out on the morning walk, she is understandably a little nervous of her new surroundings, but she was happy walking alongside Magic, and not overly bothered by the traffic noise.

Hard to believe it’s February already - where is the time going?? I shall be raising a glass later to our boys & girls and wishing forever homes for them all soon.

Stay safe and well everyone.

Angie xx

Monday was a busy day at the kennels and whilst Kate and the crew of volunteers were sorting our inmates, I was in the office with Jude and spent all day attacking the stack of paperwork!

The amount of invoices that come in on a daily basis is staggering, but I am so grateful to all of our supporters who donate which makes the continuation of Daybreaks Trust possible.

Herbie spent the day in the office too - he is starting to put on weight and was so much more alert and wagging his tail to all that said hello to him! His anaemia is resolved and now is on medication for a low B12 and folate.

Yesterday I worked from home but went over to Fivelands Vets to collect little Truf Truf (TT) following her spey. Unfortunately TT has to have a bath every morning due to the mess in her kennel (you really don't want to know the full details!) so I was almost dreading taking her home last night..... however, she has been little Miss Perfect Pants and despite being very grumpy last night (totally understandable after an operation) this morning she is very bright, has eaten and is now crashed out with Roman who I am looking after for his owners whilst they are attending a funeral, Herbie and Tig, Momma and Tony.

A photo has been posted on our Daybreaks Trust Chat Group of the sleeping beauties!

Everyone said it felt warmer today, sadly I didn't agree!!

As always Denise opened up and started feeding and cleaning. Thanks to our lovely volunteers all the dogs that could go on a walk did this morning. This afternoon it was sand run fun.

Cora came back with her lovely dad today to see if she could find a playmate, so happy to say that Amelia was chosen and was reserved and has gone out on trial. Hoping that everything goes well.

All the inmates enjoyed their grooming, not everyone was as happy with the teeth cleaning!!

We had a lovely Iceland delivery from Phil the Growler and Sylvia, something for the growlers, the moms and dads and some items for the cleaning of the Kennels, thanks so very much for their very kind donation.

We also had a donation of items from Pets at Home, many thanks to Julie Beasley and Adrian for bringing that in and to Steve for helping bring it into the Kennels.

I guess it was a little warmer today and it is definitely getting lighter in the evenings! Wonderful! :))

We were quite low on volunteers today. Everyone had a walk or a play in the sand run this morning. Many thanks to our DofE strudents for looking after our residents and ensuring they all had their teeth cleaned and a nice groom.

Many thanks to everyone who dropped off donations of bedding and toys. River managed to sneak some of the toys out of the bags and through the bars of the run. He was very happily playing with them! Do hope it won't be long before his forever home comes along. He is a great lad. Xxx

Gorgeous Cora came in with her Dad this afternoon looking for a friend. Cora is such a lovely girl who liked everyone! She is coming back for a second look tomorrow. :))

Thanks so much to Caroline for her help this afternoon and to Shirley for helping me with feeding. Very grateful. :)) Xxx

Yesterday I dropped Amelia back to the kennels… she is so happy and playful and only having been speyed the day before, she was very bright and managed the stairs! She was very interested in Mrs Chuck though! For such a little lady, she has got the appetite of a horse!

As we are away this weekend visiting family I dropped Herbie at the kennels yesterday also…. It is ridiculous how upset I was to leave him as he didn’t want to go in his kennel…. Tina to the rescue however and she will pick him up today- he needs as little stress as possible with him being so underweight. His anaemia is sorted but with low folate and B12 levels he is now starting to gain weight slowly x

We missed Angie today, hope she had a nice day off.

Thanks to Laura and Kerry for braving the cutting of Coopers nails, the last time he had them done he was spinning, jumping generally not a happy boy. Today, however, he didn't make a sound! He stood beautifully and let Laura cut them whilst I held the Biting end and Kerry had the rear end in case he decided to try and back off. He was such a good boy, little Peanut also had hers done.

All inmates had morning and afternoon walks, in between walks they all had their teeth cleaned and were groomed, thanks to Matt and Karla for doing that.

Liz_Beth and Amy took Rocky and Steve to the park for a change of scene, thanks so much to them.

It has started to get very chilly this afternoon, all of the inmates have their fleecy coats on with the under bed heating and wall heaters on. I have just checked the cameras and they are all nice and quiet and look very warm and comfy.

Cooper, Peanut and myself will soon be heading off home to get warm and comfy!!

Firstly thanks to everyone for their help today. Most of the Wednesday walkers were back so all dogs that could go on a walk did this morning. This afternoon was a mix of walks and sand run.

We had two new arrivals, confusingly another Magic, now Magic 2 and Truff Truff!! Both are gorgeous, to avoid confusion I wanted to call Magic 2 Houdini and Truff Truff Truffle, Truffs trainer said she knows her pet name so I left it at that. So very sorry for any confusion caused by having two Magics! Sorry Rob T!!

Laura had nail clippings and Pampers today, we did have an issue with the water supply to the shower but late this afternoon I managed to find the problem so normal service is now resumed. If you would like to book for nail clipping, mini pamper or full pamper why not call Laura direct on 07960 344252.

Lovely Lorna went home today with a new wardrobe, she is such a happy little girl, wishing her and her family many happy times ahead. She was an anniversary present for her new mom!!!

Okay, so I know I check this website and comments page a lot, like many other people. Am I the only one that was threw off by the second Magic grey to be seen pictured...!!

Both look absolutely amazing. Can't wait to see and film these guys!!!

Yet another bitterly cold day, many thanks to everyone who braved the cold and made sure that the inmates had both morning and afternoon walks. Thanks to Dave for having another tidy up.

The sand run was very busy despite the cold.

We had a viewing booked to find the very handsome Ronnie a friend. The lovely family were initially interested in Amelia, Ronnie had other ideas so Bobbie was reserved and has gone out on trial, fingers crossed all goes well.

Timmy came in for food and nail cutting, we were warned that he could be a big baby, not at all, he was very brave and well behaved.

Rob T came to shoot some more footage and take photos for his YouTube site. Today was the turn of lovely River, he will be back to get more footage over the next couple of weeks. For those who have not seen the video of Rocky, click on his page on our website and follow the link, it's really good.

Thankfully it looks like it is going get a little warmer, I for one hope it is!!

It was a busy day today....

Gorgeous Sally was reserved. :)) She will have a very handsome Greyhound brother to share her life with. Xxx

We also had another family come to meet the dogs. Thanks so much to Jess for showing everyone around. :) Xxx

We have another viewing tomorrow, so keep,your fingers crossed another lucky girl or boy will soon have their forever home. Xx

Laura had pampers and nail clippings, it was great to see some ex Daybreaks residents and their families. :)) Xxx

Many thanks to all our Saturday regular walkers and volunteers. It was a very chilly day! So grateful for their help. Xxx

As usual thanks to my wonderful Skip for just being there and supervising....mostly through closed eyes!:) He was joined in the office by his lovely nephew Koda. :)) Xxx

What a lovely video. And absolutely, no dry eyes here! Miss my boy beyond belief, taken too soon from me. The world isn't the same without him. Hoping one day he'll send me another grey to help fill the void he left, but as my mom always says 'there'll never be another jet' and there won't but hopefully the one he sends will be almost as good! Xxx

Have a look at this youtube video, says what we all know about the wonderful world of greyhounds. No dry eyes here now :-)xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CBOzRafjJE

A huge thankyou to Kate Laura Richard and Declan for taking care of Ash and cutting his nails this afternoon. Reportedly he was a good boy for them. Xx

it was another very, very cold day to day. We were very short on volunteers, sadly most of the regular Wednesday walkers are unwell, hoping they are feeling better soon.

The inmates managed morning walks, this afternoon it was sand run fun,

Hoping this weather gets warmer soon.

Very quiet for visitors too, only sand run and nail clipping.

Brr! It was very chilly today, Winter is back!

So grateful to everyone for their help today. Xxx We had a mountain of duvets to put away, thanks so much for your kind donations. Xxx

Great to see sweet little Lorna reserved. She has a wonderful new home awaiting her. :) Xxx

Met our new girl Amelia, so very cute! Xxx

The internet decided to stop working this afternoon....I'm afraid my computer skills leave a lot to be desired, so after turning the router on and off a few times I gave up! I found much comfort in giving all our present residents a dental chew for bedtime, they didn't care about the Internet :) I enjoyed lots of cuddles with Sallly, what a super little girl she is!

Xxx

Thanks as always to everyone for their help today, and to Ned and Jackie for taking Rocky to the park.

It is starting to get very cold again, all the inmates are tucked up with their fleecy coats, under bed heating and wall heaters on.

We had a lovely new arrival today, Amelia, she is a very pretty affectionate girl.

Jen has not been doing well in kennels, she has gone out on foster today and I have already had an wonderful update about her. She was cuddled up with Kitty and had settled really well. She was also small dog tested with Pod this morning and was deemed to be small dog friendly as were Steve, Lorna, Magic and Sally.

Wow! What a crazy day! We had Steve brought in this morning - homed direct from a trainer 18 months ago but the owners are unable to keep. He is absolutely gorgeous and Kate took him off for his vaccination this afternoon.... during this time I did the homing paperwork for Quivers and Duque and Django was viewed and promptly rehomed. We had a viewing for Bobbie as well and I am doing her home check on Thursday.

I have had Jen in the office for a short while this afternoon - she doesn't like being in the kennel! She was very excited to start with but soon settled down!

As always, thanks to everyone for their help today. All the inmates apart from Jen had morning and afternoon walks. Jen had fun in the sand run and she seemed a little happier with the extra exercise.

Jim came in for his four week health check and to use the sand run, he is doing well.

We had a donation of bedding, the lovely couple had a look at the residents. They had sadly lost their greyhound last year. Vicky liked Lorna and Brett liked River. They are coming back on Friday with some more bedding for us, I'm sure they will want to see the residents again. Fingers crossed they may find the right dog for them, they do have two smaller dogs so we will have to wait and see.

The gorgeous Minnie was officially signed up today, before Christmas we have frantically looking for our list of potential fosterers, I found the list albiet a little late, it had made it's way into the foster paperwork taken with her!!! That is one mystery solved!!!

Today we saw the gorgeous Django come back from his Christmas foster break. He is heartbreakingly handsome but does need to go to a home with the company of another dog as he has been absolutely brilliant in foster.
No surprise..... he will be coming home with me and fingers crossed for a viewing in the near future!

The gorgeous Beryl who was sadly returned Boxing Day to our house and promptly went straight out to foster following an appeal on Facebook was officially signed up.... she is the opposite of Django and we think she prefers being an only princess!!!

Most of you will know Jess one of our volunteers.... she finally became an official greyhound owner today and signed up her gorgeous new boy Koda. He is an absolute bundle of fun and has the cutest face.

I am having a battle with the internet, printer and computer taking it in turns not to work so I may just forget the paperwork and go and cuddle an inmate.... there are plenty to choose from but bouncy Jen will probably be top of my list today. We had great fun in the sand run together earlier.... but then I do love the black and white ones!

It was so dark when I opened up this morning I had to check my watch just in case I was an hour early!! The doggies did not appreciate the dash between their lovely warm kennels and the feeding runs in the driving rain!!

When I reached Bobbie's kennel It looked like an explosion had taken place - the stuffing from a pillow and 2 duvets was literally carpeting the bed and floor!!! She looked at me with such lovely eyes as if to say "I don't know how it happened, honest"!!!

Jen, who is a very lively little girl, absolutely hates being shut up in her kennel, so after we were finished feeding & cleaning, Ruth let her out for a run round the kennels (gates securely latched!). She thoroughly enjoyed exploring every corner of the kennels, but especially loved her play time in the sand run.

There is lots in the diary for the rest of the weekend, so keep fingers crossed for some red or green signs - we have so many lovely residents deserving of their very own home.

Angie xx

Thanks to Angie for opening up today, and to Chris, Karla, Matthew and Suzi for all their help and hard work.

We had two lovely new arrivals today, Magic a boy and Bobbie (she is a girl and we were told her pet name was Bobs)!! When she was dropped off her trainer called her Bobbie, so Bobbie it is. She is Kate's Crackers sister and also Peanut and Coopers trainer. My two instantly recognized him, it was lovely to see that they recognized him and were happy to see him!!

Thanks to Denise for opening up this morning and to Brad and Karla for coming in to help.
We had two new, Jen and lorna, two lovely girls. This takes us up to five dogs in the Kennels with two new arrivals on Friday.
We had lots of bedding donations too, thanks so very much. X

Ladies & Gents,

The final video is complete from our Cycle & Sleepover.
Credits are in the description for those that helped make it happen.

Link here: https://youtu.be/C4RwCJ-Rm-o

Please share, like and leave a comment. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more Daybreaks videos in the future.

Carrying on from Ruth's comment about the ride.

Please stayed tuned to this feed for updates on the final video that I am currently creating to show where we went, what we did, and how we coped! (May take me a week or 2 to finalize/complete)

Massive thank you to all of our sponsors, local bike donations and companies for helping us make this possible.

Following our Sponsored Cycle Ride and Kennels Sleepover over we have now raised a staggering £1846.00!

You can still sponsor us through just giving
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/cycleandsleepover

Taking part in the cycle was Andy, myself, Rob and Mollie and for the sleepover sleepover was myself, Mollie, Rob, Matthew and Carol with her gorgeous greyhound Padfoot x

Another quiet day at the kennels today. A massive thanks to Dave for all his hard work. The boys are now tucked up in their warm beds.

I have spoken to Nelson's owners this afternoon, it was great to hear how well he is doing.

A very Happy New Year to you all. x

I’d like to wish everyone a Wonderful New Year. Thank you so much to all those who have supported all we do - I truly appreciate it. Let’s hope our Rehoming continues to be successful x

On behalf of and to all the residents currently in the kennels and those on foster, as well as all the staff and volunteers at Daybreaks I, my partner and our families wish you all a happy new year.

Thanks to all the help given to Daybreaks throughout 2022 in so many ways. It has helped massively from front line work to behind the scenes work, it all helps.

A quiet morning at the kennels with just me, the lads Rocky and Robbie and my Skip and Lyra. It was quite mild, so snug in their fleeces and a comfy bed the lads sat in the runs with a few toys and treats. :)) They enjoyed all the extra attention from any visitors who came along. Xxx

They had a lovely walk at lunchtime with Stacy and her boyfriend Tom and later in the afternoon Gill took them both for a stroll around the sand run. Rocky and Robbie are both wonderful lads and have so much love to give. Hoping they won't have to wait too much longer for their forever homes. Xxx

We also had visits from Stanley and Yogi for nail clipping and recently homed Amber came to see us too. She is a very happy girl and loving her new life. :))

Thanks so much to the ladies who donated duvets and blankets this afternoon. Very grateful to you. Xxx

Left the lads tucked up in their beds, heating on, listening to Classic FM....There was a Pet Special on tonight! Xxx

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year! Thank you so very much for all your support throughout 2022 in so many ways. Xxx Lots of love Kate, Skip, Lyra and Cracker. Xxxxxxx

I arrived at the Kennels this morning to be greeted by Matthew and James following the Kennels sleepover. Matthew very kindly made me a coffee, James said in all the time he had worked with Matt he had never had a drink made for him!!! Thanks Matt.

One by one the remaining sleepover and cycle victims (sorry, participants) made their way to the kitchen to get a hot drink.

One by one they departed so eventuality it was just me myself and I with Peanut. Rocky and Sonic were also in attendance, Sonic now Nelson went home today and Robbie came back from Christmas foster.

No visitors apart from sand run bookings.

I really hope that Rocky and Robbie find their forever homes after the wonderful reports from their foster families. Please don't overlook Rocky, yes he is a big lad but full of love and character. X

Well done to everyone on the bike ride and sleepover at the kennels yesterday. :))

Great achievement! Xxx

Xxx

Would like to give huge congratulations to Rob, Ruth, Molly and Andy on completing their bike ride from the Kennels to Perry Barr Stadium and back again!!
They are also sleeping in the kennels tonight accompanied by Mathew and Carol.
A great amount of money has been raised but it's not too late to support them!
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/cycleandsleepover

Fantastic.

I am in talks with Ruth today anyway. Can you be at the kennels for around 10am tomorrow? This will give us time to go through stuff :)

Thank you so much.

Rob, I can help with the support driver on Thursday if you still need someone. Ruth has my number if needed!

Hello everyone,

Less than 2 days for our cycle and sleepover fundraiser for Daybreaks.

With us being on the road cycling, we are appealing for anyone to volunteer as a support driver for us.

This would involve having some of our items in your vehicle in case we need anything. Such as first aid, food, drinks, clothing etc.

The ride will start from Daybreaks in Elmdon going to Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium. Stopping for lunch then back k to Daybreaks. All kit we need will be provided by us.

All we ask is for someone to be around the half way mark on stand by. If any assistance is required we will contact you by phone and give you a precise location from there.

If there is anyone that would be available to offer support please get in touch.

Thank you

I along with Asbo Arry, Good Boy Flloyd, Cooper the Pooper and Ickle Pickle Princess Peanut paws wish you a very Merry Christmas to everyone associated with the Kennels (too many to mention individually). Thanks so very much for your help and support. Xxxx

So pleased to say all of our lads and lasses have found foster homes for Christmas. Xxx

Rocky was the last one to leave the kennels this afternoon. He really is a lovely lad...full of life and interested in everything! Xxx

When we arrived at the kennels this morning Ruth got Rocky and Robbie out and let them have a wander around the kennels. They met Ruth's Tony, Tigger and Momma and my Skip. The poor Christmas Tree outside the office was the target for a lot of wees! :)) They all had a great time.

Rocky helped with the Christmas Raffle draw, congratulations to those who were lucky enough to win one of the prizes. :))

Thanks so much to everyone who has donated food, Sardines, treats, toys and bedding for the dogs and sweets, chocolates, biscuits and mince pies for the volunteers. So very kind of you. Xxx

Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas. Sending lots of Christmas hugs to your four legged friends. :). Xxxx

Simple message but... have a lovely Christmas and a happy new year everyone!!

I hate to say this but I think I almost prefer it being minus temperatures - crikey was it WET today!!!

It was so strange only having 2 dogs - cleaning & feeding was done in record time! Not sure I like it being quite so quiet- there is an eeriness to the kennels.

Our work placement student, despite being on Christmas holidays, was in again today bless her - so we grabbed the opportunity to take Rocky and Robbie for a walk this morning during a lull in the downpour. It was a good plan - but it absolutely bucketed down on us when we were halfway down the road and we all returned to the kennels dripping wet! Must confess both boys enjoyed our ministrations with towels, followed by cuddles in their kennels - I think they forgave us for getting them wet!

Well Christmas is almost upon us - where did 2022 go?? Hope you all have a happy Christmas and a healthy and peaceful New Year. Thank you all for your continuing support during what was a difficult year for us all.

Angie xxx

Although we only had three dogs at the kennels it was a busy day today...lots of things to try and catch up with!

Sonic went out to his Foster home, what a lovely lad he is! He will be going to his forever home next week. :))

Rocky and Robbie are still waiting patiently for a foster home for Christmas. They are both lovely boys. Rocky is a happy and exuberant lad and Robbie loves to play! :)) Xxx

We have had lots of donations of food and treats this week...thanks so much. Xxx

We had better news about Pearl which is fantastic! Xxx

Xxx

Thanks to everyone for their help today, we only have three dogs in the Kennels so they all enjoyed extra attention. Sonic is not happy about wearing his cone of shame, Denise spent time with him in his kennel so he could be watched and have a break from the cone!
It's definitely warmer but I still felt it was a bit chilly. It was fairly quiet for visitors, just some food collections and sand run bookings.
Well, not long now to the big day, it would be great to have foster families for the remaining inmates, it's always good to hear the feedback on how they dealt with the whole 'home' experience. Xx

WOULD YOU LIKE TO FOSTER OVER CHRISTMAS?
We have found foster homes for all except three residents! Rocky and Robbie are our longest stayers at the kennels and Sonic who only arrived a couple of weeks ago is reserved and off to a new home on the 29th December.
If you have adopted from Daybreaks Trust before please get in touch - 01217827702

Ruth took Sonic off to the vets for his neutering operation this morning.
Thanks to Richard for collecting him this afternoon. He ate his dinner and went off to bed. He is such a sweet lad... Xxx

Django went off to his Christmas foster home this afternoon. He seemed much happier today, enjoyed going for walks with the other dogs. :)) Xxx

We have had lots of great donations of food, treats, medical supplies and bedding over the last few days. Thank you so much,we are very, very grateful. Xxx Xxx

Thanks also to everyone who has brought in chocolates, biscuits and mince pies for staff and volunteers! Very much appreciated. I am getting to be quite a connoisseur of mince pies!.... :)) Xxx

We still have Raffle tickets and Calendars available at the kennels. Xxx

Xxx

What a lovely warm day!!:)))

It was great not to have to warm the padlock up to be able to open the door and to only have to put one coat on the dogs for a walk instead of two!! :))

River has gone out on Foster for Christmas with one of our lovely volunteers. I'm sure he will have a great Christmas. Day. Xxx

We had visits from some old friends. Who enjoyed giving our current residents a cuddle or two. :))

Many thanks to our students Emma and Jack who came in today even though they are officially on holiday and to all our volunteers for all their help. :))

Big hugs to beautiful Pearl, hoping she will be feeling better soon. Xxx

Xxx

At last! It was a little warmer today! :))

Beautiful Ellen, now called Izzy went home this morning. What a wonderful Christmas present for her. Xxx

Rocky went out for a trip to the park with Kitty and her family. He had a great time and they said he was such a good boy! It must be his turn to find his forever home soon. Xxx

Many thanks to our volunteers for all their help today with walking, grooming, teeth cleaning and health checks for our boys and girls. Xxx

The award for best Christmas outfit today went to lovely Jag who came in for a nail clipping dressed in his fab red and green elf coat complete with bells! :)) What a handsome boy! Xxx

We also had a visit from previous resident Ruby Rebel and his Dad, lovely to see them both. :)) Xxx

We also had one brave girl who came in for a pamper...we did warm the room up first! Xxx

Thanks so much to Jess for helping with feeding this afternoon. :))

Xxx

On arrival at Daybreaks this morning my car thermometer said it was -8!!!

Fortunately the residents were all toasty in their kennels, and although it looked quite festive with the extremely heavy frost resembling a covering of snow, I am not sure they appreciated me warbling Christmas carols along to Classic FM as I cleaned!

The sun did warm things up a bit, but the morning walk was very bracing - I think the doggies were happy to get back their heated kennels, we were certainly happy to get our hands round a nice hot cup of coffee!

Stay safe everyone and keep yourselves and your hounds warm.

Angie x

It’s been a busy few days… on Sunday I headed over to Rugby to collect Arthur who had gone on trial. Unfortunately he was not settling so I took him back to his foster home in Cannock with a warehouse run thrown in on route!
I still have Kitty at home who was speyed on Friday. She has been quite poorly and ended up on a drip yesterday.
She is doing much better and today ate some chicken! She is such a sweet girl.

It was so very cold again today, not good when you are full of cold!

It was a good start with Jim being signed up, I would like to say welcome to the failed foster club but they have failed on more than one occasion!

Very sadly one of our resident chickens crossed the Rainbow bridge, she seemed fine when Denise went to feed them but very shortly after was found to have passed away. Fly high Pepper.

Pearl found herself reserved and Ellen had a visit from her family.

Thanks to everyone for their help today and for the donations of bedding and monetary donations, so very kind.

Trying to warm up now!!

If anything I think it was even colder this morning - even the hosepipe was frozen which meant relays of buckets for cleaning this morning!!

However, all the residents receive my Gold Star clean kennels award today - certainly made cleaning out much easier & quicker, great for the boys & girls impatient to get back into their snuggly beds.

It is the lovely Laura’s turn to go home today, wishing her all the best in her new home. X

Stay safe & warm everyone.

Angie xx

It was ffffreezing this morning!!! but when I opened up all the boys & girls were cosy and snug with their under bed heating and fleecy coats.

Jo was on the vet run first thing, taking Kitty off to be speyed. She wasn't too impressed watching all her friends come out for their breakfasts and she couldn't join in!!!!

Despite being so very cold, the sunshine was lovely and the inmates enjoyed a lovely walk this morning. New girl Pearl was very keen indeed to get out & about!!! She just needs to learn that she can now walk for pleasure, and doesn't need to forge ahead like a train!!

Just a quick reminder that our lovely 2023 calendars are on sale, as well as tickets for our Grand Christmas Draw. Every penny will go towards looking after the beautiful boys & girls in our care.

Stay safe & warm everyone.

Angie xx

A busy morning....Laura went to be Neitered and Robbie had his vaccination booster. I also took my little Lyra to see Christian as she has a nasty spot come up on her bottom! They were all so good going to the vets together and impeccably well behaved once they went into the vets. Xxx Thanks so much to Richard for popping in to give me a hand to take everyone to the vets! Xxx

Thanks to our students and volunteers for all their help today. Yvonne and Jack gave the paintwork around the kennels a good clean. This afternoon Yvonne and Lynda sorted all the recently donated bedding. Skip and Lyra supervised them from beneath their cosy blankets! :)))

Despite the chill and a little rain the dogs enjoyed going out for their afternoon walks and looked forward to having their dinners. :))

Xxx

It was a chilly day today but we had lots of enthusiastic volunteers :)) So everyone had morning and afternoon walks. Xxx

Phantom came in for a pamper. It was lovely to see him again. He went home in a beautiful new Red Winter coat and looked so very handsome.:))

Baby's new family arrived to take her home at lunchtime. She came into the office and snuggled into one of the beds while her paperwork was completed. She has a new name, Phoebe which really suits her. :)). Do hope all goes well. Xxx

Thanks so much to Jess for coming in to help and to all our volunteers! Your help is very much appreciated. :))

Please come along to our Christmas Party tomorrow...there will be things to buy and of course Santa will be coming to meet your fourlegged boys and girls and make sure they have all been good this year! :)) If you can spare the odd tin of Sardines or pilchards we would be very grateful. Xxx

I would to say a big Thank you to everyone who helped cover my days last week as I was not feeling too good and needed some time off. Bless you.....XXXXXX

I am after help! I would be truly grateful if anyone is willing to be filmed at Daybreaks to say a little about how the cost of living crisis may affect your decision to adopt again? You would need to be available on Tuesday 6th from 1.30pm for a short while. Please contact me directly either by PM or at the kennels (0121 782 7702).

It was a very cold day yesterday but it was lovely to meet Ellen's new owners who came up to visit her and she had fun in the sand run.
Baby had been stressing a lot in her kennel so she spent the day in the office with me and I took her home last night. She is quite cranky with other dogs but as she was muzzled she was just fine. She slept in a crate overnight and was totally dry as at the kennels she generally wets the bed most nights. She is a poppet!

Many thanks to everyone for their help today, I won't name everyone just in case I miss someone out!!

However, thanks to Norman for taking Laura to the park and giving her a glowing report.

Ellen had a visit from her prospective family along with their little daughter Emma. Emma was a little unsure to begin with, she then asked if she could take Ellen home!! The family are going to visit her several times more, Ellen was such a good girl and very gentle.

I must say a massive thanks to Richard and Shirley who stayed for afternoon feeding and cleaning down.

Please don't forget that Santa is taking time out of his very busy schedule to pay Daybreaks a visit on Sunday between 11.00an and 2.30pm. There will be several stalls and a fab photographer, he will be taking photos of your hounds with Santa so please bring your pennies and pounds, this is all in aid of the hounds. Xx

What a crazy whirlwind of a day it was.

We saw Baby reserved, Jim fostered, Laura fostered and Duque reserved after a call from Ruth!!

Massive thanks to everyone for their help today, as it was so very busy with normal Kennels activities we also had the very talented Sharron Alexandra and her lovely assistant Helen come in for the final photo shoot of the year.

We have come up with a plan for the following year calendar providing it is approved, sounds exciting if it can go ahead.

Thanks to Denise for opening up and to everyone for their help, very much appreciated as always.

Well, it looks promising for another couple of dogs on foster for possible homing opportunities, watch this space!!

Thanks all. X

Unusually for a Saturday I was covering the Kennels. Thanks to Angie for opening up and dealing with some messy Kennels. There has been a problem sourcing Burns Pork and Potato and this sadly has resulted in some iffy tums, just goes to show how good Burns sensitive food is.

Dog Angie came in for a health check, she is doing really well and has gained some weight, she is setteling well and looks great.

We had two lovely new arrivals today, sisters Laura and Ellen, both gorgeous.

Many thanks to everyone who came in to walk, the D of E students and the people who took time to visit. Thanks to Rob and lovely Sarah who stayed and helped with feeding.

Keep an eye on the website as we may potentially have a couple of exciting news updates tomorrow!!! Not saying anything else. X

First day back after annual leave, lovely to be back and see the dogs. It was fairly quiet for inmates as Ruth has Duque and Jim at home after their neutering ops.

Thanks to the Wednesday Walkers, Tina and our new College student Bradley for all their help today and for braving the awful weather this morning.

This morning I went to visit Greyhounds Rio and Ella and their lovely family, Sylvia and Phil. :))

Phil had been up really early cooking 12 breakfasts and 12 Christmas Dinners for our residents. I got there just as he had finished cooking. :))
The meals look brilliant. :)) Rio and Ellla both had a sample of everything, just to make sure it tasted ok! :))). The Christmas Dinners are in the freezer at the kennels until it gets closer to Christmas, but I know the trust dogs will all have a special breakfast tomorrow! Xxx

Phil and Sylvia have also donated 500 tins of Sardines!!! Along with many other items....We are so grateful to them both. Thank you. Xxx

What a great day in Worcester yesterday! :)) Well done everyone. Xxx

An amazing £468.77 donated by the generous shoppers in Worcester. Massive thanks to Lindsay Johnson for organising.
Thank you so much also to Janet and Simon Bursey, Mike Webber, Mollie Bagley, Hazel & Dave Landey & Andy Price for giving up a Saturday to help Daybreaks- it really was great xx

Thank you Kate for covering the morning as Jo is on annual leave. I arrived at lunchtime and Daybreaks‘stepped into Christmas!’ The decorations are up and I turned the Honesty Box into a little Christmas Shop…. Loads of lovely things to have in return for a donation. Erik bought his daughter Sofia up and she helped with the decorations and bedtime treats for the inmates.
Gorgeous Jim is such a sad boy…. After being unreserved as the lady had now found a greyhound from the Dogs Trust, and having major surgery as he had retained testicles, he seems so sad. Also with my commitments to going to Worcester Roadshow all day today, I made the hard decision to leave Lucky at the kennels last night…. She is such a good girl in the house but so stressed in her kennel.
Finally I’d like to thank all the volunteers - but especially Chris who did so much. You are awesome.

What a very wet and cold start to the day! It is certainly beginning to feel more like winter. :(

We did manage to go out for morning walks as the rain eased up for a while. Many thanks to everyone who ventured out to come to the kennels to go for walks. :)) Xxx

The Pet Blood Bank came today. There were several Pet dogs who donated today including first time donors, Betty and Sammy! Well done to them both. Trust dogs Rocky and Robbie were first time donators too. :)) Xxx If you are interested in your Greyhound becoming a blood donor and would like more information please contact the Pet Blood Bank on
01509 232 222 :))

Jim had a check up at the vets this afternoon. He is still very sore after his recent Neutering operation. Sending him lots of love tonight. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today. Xxx

Well care Assistant and Kennel Hand

As Daybreaks Kennels is now fully governed by Daybreaks Trust (registered charity 1142270) with a new committee of Trustees, the decision has been taken to now employ someone as a Well Care Assistant. Previously, the wellcare package offered at Daybreaks Kennels was carried out by volunteers. It is felt that this paid position is part of the continuing expansion and improvements for Daybreaks.

We are therefore looking for a motivated person who is available for initially 3 days a week which includes some weekends including some of our events at the kennels.

The applicant must be flexible in their work availability and have experience and knowledge of dogs – greyhounds in particular.

They must be capable of doing the Daybreaks well care packages and assisting with bathing and health checking of the Trust dogs in addition to general kennel duties and other kennel related tasks. Full training will be given.

The applicant must be an enthusiastic team worker and must be willing to work alongside work experience students and those with disabilities.

The well care service consists of bathing, blow drying, nail clipping, grooming, teeth and ear clean of mainly greyhounds but the service may accommodate different breeds.

A qualification in dog grooming would be desirable but not essential.

The applicant must be able to drive and have a current valid clean driving licence.

Please forward your CV and covering letter to ruth.price@daybreakstrust.co.uk

Closing date for applications is 12 midday on Wednesday 30th November with interviews taking place shortly after.

Salary will be discussed at interview.

Thanks to everyone for their help today. It was a day filled with nail cutting, I think it was at least seven dogs!!

Mikey had another trip out today, sadly there were no sausage sandwiches left, instead he had a sausage roll minus the pastry, at least it was a change for Ned who usually has the sausage flavour bread and had to make do with the pastry!!!! Thanks for taking him out.

We were short on volunteers this morning, thankfully this afternoon was a little better so the inmates had a longer walk this afternoon.

Our calendars are selling well, Peanut was a great ambassador today, anyone who met her said how cute she is, so Miss August stepped up and persuaded people to make a purchase!

Gorgeous little Bee went off to her new home today. She has a lovely new family. She looked a little nervous when she got in the car to go home...but I am sure she will soon settle in into her new home. Xxx

Buck came in for a pamper. It was great to see him and Lisa his owner. It was obvious to see how much she loves him. :)) He was such a good boy. He was not impressed with having his nails clipped but didn't mind the bath. :)) Thanks to Sarah our new DofE student for all her help. :))

We had several visitors for nail clipping, lovely to see Jag, Al, Sky and their families. We also had donations of bedding and items to sell in our shop. Xxx

The chicken Rob brought in yesterday was very much appreciated by our residents. They throughly enjoyed breaksfast and dinner today! Thanks so much Rob. Xxx We all know how hard it is to lose our beloved dogs...Cash was a very lucky girl to have found her forever home with you and your family. Xxx

Liz took Mikey out for most of the day, he had a trip to the park and went to Liz's home for lunch! :)) He had a great time. Xxx

Many thanks to everyone for all their help today. Xxx xxx

It was strange not having Angie in to open up this morning, hopefully normal service will resume soon. So it was just myself and Karla our Friday college student for cleaning and feeding. Matthew arrived later and took the dogs into the sand run.

This afternoon we had Suzi our lovely receptionist come in, she did some of the office stuff and then went and spent some time with the inmates (Baby had lots of cuddles from her). Peanut had another introduction with her mom and it was waggy tails again.

Many thanks to Rob who came in with freshly cooked chicken for the dogs, despite working a night shift after he finished he got home and then cooked the chicken. There was also a big bag of treats for the hounds. Many thanks for your kind delivery and also for the sardine delivery yesterday.

Thanks to everyone for their support and everything that you do for the Kennels and our residents. X

Paid a visit to Daybreaks yesterday (Thursday 10th) to drop off 50 tins of sardines after seeing Kate's post about being empty. Shelves were empty to say the least and they were much appreciated.

Our own dog, Cash, has recently crossed the Rainbow Bridge and I miss her every moment of every day. But her favourite food was simple boiled chicken thighs. Since we had a load in the freezer still, I cooked them all and took them into Daybreaks today. Jo was pleasantly surprised. We also gave them a ton of treats. I fed all residents a couple of treats and even shared some with Jo's peanut.

On another note - mine and Ruth's Dog Cycle and Sleepover bike ride is on 29th December. We have so far raised £600 across multiple platforms and fundraising is going extremely well. You can find my GoFundMe page here: https://gofund.me/53dc7133

Yesterday at Daybreaks Trust we had 6 absolutely amazing volunteers from HSBC. I got them straight to work with cleaning, making beds and feeding- including our residents chickens and cats. Next was sweeping leaves, cleaning drains, taking the greys in the sand run, health checking, grooming and teeth cleaning - as this is our daily routine. As I’d got the help I got them moving the store cupboards as well! Awesome day!

The gorgeous Karen went out to foster - she was such a good girl with Pod. She has been stressed in her kennel but I heard she has already settled with Cath and is off to a doggie play group today!

Erik came along for his free consultation sessions. His next one is in December- please call us if you want to book…. No matter how big or small your question or problem is.

We had five lovely people from Virgin Media volunteer with us today. They came armed with paintbrushes! This morning they gave our Summer House in the sand run a new lease of life! It looks great. :)) This afternoon they enjoyed spending time with the dogs and joined in with the walks. A certain young Greyhound lady, Baby was especially happy to meet them and spent a lot of time receiving cuddles and having a good "lean" with them all! :)) We are very grateful for their help today. Thank you all so much. Xxx

Thanks too to all our regular Tuesday volunteers. :)) Norman took Jim for a visit to the park. He had a lovely time! Many thanks to everyone for feeding, cleaning, walking, grooming, teeth cleaning, health checks, washing up, cleaning runs..........and so many other things! :)) Xxx

We have the large Calendars for next year at the kennels now, they are lovely! The month of January features a super photograph In memory of our very beautiful lad Sully who passed away during his neutering operation. Xxx Xxx
The slimline Calendars and Christmas cards will be arriving very soon. Xxx
It you are planning on coming along to our Christmas party in December we would be so grateful if you could spare a tin or two of Sardines to bring with you. We have run out completely! Xxx Thank you! Xxx

What a crazy busy chilly day it was. Thanks to everyone for their help

We had 2 viewings which resulted in Bobby being homed and Bee being reserved.

Little Chloe came in for her 4 week health check, she is doing well.

There was also a pamper, thanks to Carol, Denise and Alison for doing that.

If you are interested in any of our residents please give the Kennels a call.

It was a damp, grey & chilly start to the day today, such a contrast to yesterday’s lovely Autumn sunshine. I don’t know about you but things never seem quite so bad when the sun is shining!

Sad to see River back in the kennels, but his famous “paw of more” is still in action! Let’s hope we can get him back out onto his own sofa again very soon.x

Minnie enjoyed meeting up with her pals again this morning - she has taken quite a shine to the handsome Rocky! She sits in the office so patiently waiting whilst we do our work, and is always rewarded with the toast game when we get back home - she loves her toast!

The weeks are flying by and it will soon be time for our online Festive Auction - check out the Daybreaks Chat Group Facebook page. There are some really lovely items up for grabs. And Santa is waiting in the wings to join us for our Christmas party on 4th December - it’s all happening!

Stay safe and well one and all - wine time is fast approaching. Cheers!

Angie xx

Another quiet day for visitors, many thanks to Angie for opening up and to Karla our Friday college student for helping with feeding, cleaning, teefs cleaning, grooming and general kennel duties. Many thanks also to Chris and Matthew for their help. I managed to get some much needed paperwork done before the website I needed to submit it to decided to crash!!!

Very sadly we saw the return of River, his owner is due to circumstances unable to keep him any more. He will be assessed over the next couple of days and will hopefully be able to find a foster or forever home very soon.

Rumour has it that Ruth collected some of the large calendars today. Slimline ones should be with us soon. As always they are stunning. If you want to get one tomorrow pay a visit to the Tanworth in Arden Christmas Fayre which is being held in the village hall between 10am and 12pm. Ruth has some very lovely items up for grabs to raise funds for the Kennels. There are also other stalls to peruse. Just for info dogs are also allowed!! Why not pop along and take a look? Xx

Another soggy day...... I think we have had our fair share of rain this week..... Poor Mikey was paddling in his kennel yesterday as the drains couldn't cope..... I took out the drain filters and dried him off..... bless him! Thank you to the Wednesday morning volunteers for helping move and sort the Christmas 'stuff'..... now the nights are getting darker early, it is soon time for a pretty Christmas Tree I think!!!! It is NEVER too early if it is something to cheer us up! :-)

I arrived this morning a few minutes late due the horrendous traffic, and wow a new surface on the drive and car park. No more walking to the car worrying if you would slip on mud or stone.

Great to see Minnie and Lucky go out on foster and trial. Sad to see Quivers come back, she wasn't settling and was becoming more stressed. Things have to be right for everyone concerned, both dog and humans.

Thanks to Denise, the Wednesday walkers, Chris and Mollie for their help today. Ruth was on office duty attempting to sort a mountain of paperwork and sorting items for the Christmas Fayre on Saturday. There are some lovely items up for grabs. X

Wow! What a day.... not sure if I have recovered!!! On arrival at 8.30 I was met with a chap from the Highways Agency who offered to tarmac our driveway. It is a job that has been desperately needed for a long time, so we had the noise of leafblowers, rollers, the tar and road surfacing waggons etc etc! In between we had Steve turn up to fix our kitchen water heater - thank you Steve for doing this for free for us! We had donations of blankets and food, and a viewing - and the lovely lady who I had met in the vets several months ago with her poorly dog, was now looking for a new companion. She fell in love with Jim and whilst our dream team work experience assisted with Myra, Louisa, Lynne and Yvonne set to with the afternoon feeding, I took him out to do a home visit and see if he liked his potential new owner! Needless to say he did and he will be off to his new home very soon.
Thank you to Jude for trying to keep me sane and it was totally crazy with phone calls but I wouldn't have it any other way! Let's see what today brings!

In contrast to yesterday it started as a nice autumn day, however it was a different story this afternoon. As we were short of volunteers Carol took the dogs into the sand run with Noah. Whilst the weather was better this morning the dogs all had a nice morning walk.

It was very quiet for visitors, so I managed to get some much needed paperwork done.

Mikey had a visit to Brueton park with Jackie and Ned, they just managed to get to the park cafe before the heavens opened. He was very happy to jump into the car to come 'home' and stay dry! However, he was not so Impressed with his doggy ice cream, he has gotten used to having sausage on his trips out! Ned said he likes sausage flavour bread, Mikey says he likes the sausage!!!

After a rather damp start It turned out to be a very nice Autumn day. :)

First thing this morning beautiful little Minnie went for a vet check at the track. All was good. :)) Many thanks to Richard for taking her. Minnie is such a lovely girl. She can be a little anxious so would probably be happier in a home with another dog for company. Xxx

It was a quieter day at the kennels....there is more disruption with work on one of the newly installed bridges which means part of the Coventry Road is closed all weekend. However we still saw gorgeous Eli visit the kennels to have his nails clipped and handsome Flash and Jet come in for pampers. Thanks so much to our Duke of Edinburgh students for assisting with their bathings and to Jess for checking teeth and nails. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone who came to walk our residents. It was a warm day and they all enjoyed having a break from their kennels.
Mikey was a little out of sorts :( Tina popped in to see him and gave him a Reiki session. He did seem more relaxed afterwards. Xxx

This afternoon Shirley and Richard came in with their fabulous Greyhound family which has increased to four after adopting Betty Spaghetti. :))) Xxx
We had fun trying to get all of them to look at the camera at the same time for their homing photo! They had a play in the sand run afterwards. :)) Thanks so much to Shirley and Richard for helping with feeding this afternoon. :)) Xxx

Many thanks to Angie for coming in early this morning to feed and clean our boys and girls. Xxx

Jo was in today too and as it wasn't too busy was able to catch up on updating some paperwork. She didn't feel too good after having her flu and Covid boosters yesterday! Xxx

I met our latest new arrival, Baby. What a very pretty girl. Xxx Magical Bumble was due to come in today but will now be arriving next Thursday. I have been told she is a super girl. Looking forward to meeting her. :)

Xxx

Thank you Angie for opening up this very wet morning! We welcomed a new arrival - Baby, and Mollie and Chris bathed her. She really is stunning and I am sure she won't be at Daybreaks for long. Big thanks to Pam and Suzie for all their help with admin today and sorting the Honesty Box for items ready for a Christmas Fair I am doing next weekend (yes it is only just November then)!

It was a really busy day today....

We welcomed our two newest arrivals this morning, Minnie and Jim, both very lovely!

We had a visit from the Fire Alarm engineer and had lots of "fun" testing the alarms! It's very disorienting when the buzzer is going off and you are trying to remember which buttons to press to Reset it! Fortunately Alan had bought chocolate donuts which helped our frayed nerves recover!

This afternoon Ruth and Sue tackled the mountain of paperwork in the office. Richard and I went to visit Tilly and Timmy in their new home to see how they are doing...they have a wonderful Mum Hillary, who absolutely adores them. Xxx They are really happy and relaxed and generally having so much fun. It was a pleasure to see them and Hillary. Xxx

Thanks to Alan and Declan who went to the Warehouse and also collected a new supply of collars/leads and muzzles for us. Xxx

We are so grateful to everyone who helped out today, walking, feeding, grooming, teeth cleaning, preparing lunches for our residents, sorting bedding donations, bathing the new arrivals......THANK YOU!! :)))

Big cuddles to all of our residents tonight. Hoping everyone will soon find their forever homes and be as happy as Tilly and Timmy are. :))!!

Thanks to Denise as always for opening up the Kennels. Despite diversions on the Coventry Road I just about arrived in time!!

Thanks as always to the Wednesday walkers, now back up to the normal numbers and to Hayley and Ilenie for doing teeth cleaning and grooming.

We saw both Molly and Angie return for health checks after their homings, it's great to see how the dogs are getting on and where necessary offer some advice and tips.

Ruth took Mikey for his MRI scan today, Willows decided that his issue may be more behavioral than medical. He will hopefully go and see a chiropractor to see if he has an issue. Bless him he came back to the Kennels and was so very happy to have something to eat, he loves his food.

Thanks to Chris for taking the inmates into the sand run this afternoon.

We have been given the opportunity to stage 2 awareness roadshows at the Morrisons supermarket in Solihull Town Centre next Summer - Sat 10th & Sun 11th June 2023 (it might seem a long way off now, but with the way time is flying by at the moment it will be here before you know it!!!).

Whilst we have a list of volunteers & hounds willing to attend (keep an eye on your email inboxes folks, will be contacting you soon!) newcomers are always welcome - and we really need people willing to act as a "Mr Shifter" - collecting and assembling the gazebo, then dismantling and returning to the kennels after the event.

If you think this is something you could help us out with, please let me know, or give us a call at the kennels - the Daybreaks Trust van would be available to move everything to and from the kennels.

Many thanks

Angie x

What an absolutely horrible morning it was. The weather forecast was horrendous, but thankfully it dried up and the inmates all had morning and afternoon walks. Thanks to everyone for their help today, at one point we thought we would have to occupy the kids with some games and touch training as the forecast was so bad. We were a couple of volunteers short, hoping that they will feel better soon.

Not surprisingly it was very quiet for visitors, we had some bedding donated, thanks very much.

Hoping for some better weather and some more viewings. All of our inmates are absolutely gorgeous. Please give the Kennels a call if you are interested in giving one of them a home. X

A little late for Saturday's Diary! :) It was a busy day which saw beautiful Jet go home. It was great to see Genie and her family again....Genie was and still is a real character! :)) I'm sure she will enjoy showing her new brother the big wide world. Xxx :))

Bluey had a viewing too, but having only recently lost their beloved previous dog the family felt it might be a little too soon for them to take another one home. I'm sure many of us know what a very difficult time It is...Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone who donated bedding today. So kind of you. Xxx

Thanks to everyone for your help today. Thanks so much to Angie and Michael for the early cleaning and feeding and of course to their lovely Minnie for supervising! Mikey went out for the day with kitty and her family. He was so happy to see them and had a great time. :))

Xxx

How nice to see the sunshine today after yesterday’s monsoon!!

It was Gold Stars all round again this morning for clean, easy kennels - well done boys & girls.

Duque was a happy boy, bouncing rather high in the run in anticipation of his “soggy” breakfast - food well soaked after his dental yesterday.

Our Miss Minnie Moose loves accompanying us to the kennels on a Saturday, she just loves her Aunty Kate, likes greeting the other Greys (especially the boys!!!) and is now happy to receive some fuss from everyone who comes through the gate - she has made such progress bless her.

We have some beautiful boys & girls in residence, all patiently waiting for their forever families to walk through the gate.

Stay safe everyone, and keep your eye on the events calendar to keep up to date with what’s happening in the Daybreaks world.

Angie xx

What a very wet day we had but I still enjoyed it as we had extra indoor time with the inmates. I had the help from 6 volunteers from HSBC and they really enjoyed learning all about the breed and were very hands on with giving every dog a full health check! They took Mikey in the sand run and he loved showing off how fast he can run!
Jo dropped off and I collected Duque from the vets - he is such a lovely lad.
I have been taking Jet home with me and he is just fantastic. As we have 4 viewings booked for this weekend the Greyhound Board agreed I could keep him rather than him being transferred to a foster home up north.
Thank you to Angie, Chris, Matthew, Suzy and Kayla for volunteering too.
I have today finalised the proofs for next year’s calendar which should be available in about a week along with our Christmas cards!

Thanks to Angie for opening up and to Karla my Friday college student for helping with the feeding and cleaning this morning whilst I took Rocky for his neutering. He was quite reluctant to get into the car, he must have known what was coming or rather what was going!! He was such a good boy at the vets, they all fell in love with him. I was able to collect him a little earlier than usual which was nice, he could hardly wait for his dinner.

It was very quiet for visitors. Thanks to Liz for taking Mikey to the park, he is one very spoiled hound. Liz stayed for afternoon walks and surprise ended up taking Mikey on the walk. Not sure he was entirely impressed after his hour and forty minute walk this morning!!!

Little Bluey was very unsettled today so Ruth has taken her home, hopefully she will settle soon back at the Kennels.

All of our residents are gorgeous, so if you would like to visit any of them please give the Kennels a call.

Oh my word JetJucy, what a fantastic amount Ryan has raised, I know you will be so proud and bursting with pride. I agree that Jet would have been by his side throughout, probably with several other of our Daybreaks dogs pushing him on. God bless you all for your support. Jo and the furry four. X

Jetlucy, sending lots of congratulations to Ryan on raising a fantastic £505 for Daybreaks during his Tough Mudder Run today!! I'm sure you are right your lovely Jet was there with him in spirit; every step of the way...but certainly would not have liked to get his paws muddy! Thank you so much. Lots of love Kate Xxx

We were a few volunteers short today, despite that all of the inmates had morning and afternoon walks apart from Sully who seemed a little lame this afternoon and Mikey who had a lovely visit to Packwood House with Jackie and Ned Kitty's mom and dad. They said he was impeccably behaved as always, but today instead of his usual head and ears up he was very focused on a scent he picked up so was nose to the ground and he walked where he wanted to!! Bless him, he got back to the Kennels in time for dinner and promptly proceeded to lie on a bed with his tongue hanging out. I don't think he had the energy to reel it back in. He will sleep well tonight. X Thanks for taking him out, he really enjoys his outings with Kitty's family and with Liz, he has been to places I've not even been to!!

The gorgeous Chloe went home today with a selection of coats for every e eventuality. Wishing her and her family all the best.

Next to leave the building was our also gorgeous Mena (now Nina). She has gone home and will be with Dolly (now Molly) and three other greyhounds! She is so much more confident than when she arrived at the Kennels, I suspect she will turn into a cheeky girl with lots of personality. X

So Ryan managed the course in 1hr 19mins so has come back very pleased with himself! Last time we looked he'd got £505 on just giving and we know we've got a few little cash donations still to come which we'll pop in when we get back from holiday. Not a huge amount but hope we've helped! Jets collar came with me and waited at the finish line to cheer on his daddy and I made sure it was in the photos! I know he'd have been going round with him in spirit, I said as much as he followed us everywhere, he may not have done this race with you, after all he never did like getting his paws too muddy! Xxx

It was a quiet day for visitors ....no viewings today. :( We do have some beautiful boys and girls hoping to soon find their forever homes. Xxx

As it was quiet it gave us chance to get some jobs done. Sadly we have washed and stored the wet coats until next summer, which seems a long way away! We have had a delivery of lovely new Winter Fleeces, so if your Greyhound is starting to feel the Autumn chill please pop along and get them a nice snug fleece. Mine are wearing theirs already and have been sleeping much better. Winter Blizzards are next on our list to order. :)).

We have also had a delivery of Martingale collars. :) There are some great designs. :))

Tina carried out some Reiki sessions this afternoon. Mikey was one of her clients. Jill, one of our volunteers noticed how much calmer and relaxed he was after his Reiki. :))

Many thanks to everyone for your help today. Very much appreciated. :)) Xxx

It was destined to be a very quiet day for volunteers today, with Angie now only in in the morning (she deals with the microchip registration and emails which she can do at home) and Chris on holiday it would have left myself and Karla our college placement student on our own for the rest of the day. Denise very kindly offered to come in for the day, so very kind of her. I had a nice surprise when Jess arrived as she couldn't come in tomorrow and then Liz called to ask if she could come in and do morning walks. Needless to say I accepted her offer!!

This afternoon Matthew and Karla took the dogs one by one into the sand run. So very grateful to everyone who came and helped today. X

Our new arrivals are gorgeous, Sky who arrived yesterday has already gone out to see what she thinks of a home life, hoping all goes well.

It was just Mary and myself first thing this morning. Our wonderful Yvonne has broken her wrist!! Sending her lots of love and best wishes for a speedy recovery from us all. Xxxxx

Thankfully Diane arrived early for walks and helped with the cleaning of kennels. Then Jean arrived and cleaned the runs for us and Anne did the washing up! So it was a real team effort! :))

The day continued to be very busy, a bathing, nail clippings health checks and three new arrivals! Sully arrived first a very handsome lad followed shortly afterwards by pretty girls Sky and Peril. Xxx

Thanks so much to Shirley and Mary for bathing them and to the lads Richard, Declan and James for taking the boys and girls for afternoon walks. Xxx So very grateful to everyone for your help. Xxx

Xxx

Jetlucy, sending your lovely husband lots of good luck wishes for his run on Sunday. So kind of you both to help raise funds for Daybreaks. :))
Xxx

Well I am very proud of myself tonight! My husband is doing the 'tough mudder' run on Sunday and I thought I'd add to his pressure by telling him he's now doing it for Daybreaks in jet's memory (isn't he glad he married me?!) I'm totally useless with computers but have managed to do a just giving page tonight so very pleased with myself! Not sure how much we'll get but hang on Daybreaks we're trying! Xxx

It was very quiet for volunteers today, many thanks to Denise for opening up, Kitty and Annabel for coming in this morning and to Alison for staying this afternoon. It was looking like the inmates would not get an afternoon walk but then Caroline arrived and soon after Kitty's Mom and Dad after she had told them how short of help we were!! Thanks so much for coming in and making sure that the dogs had afternoon walks. People's kindness always amazes me and to know that it is a pleasure and not a chore is fantastic. You are all amazing. Xx

It was Gold Stars all round this morning - every kennel all lovely and clean, thankyou boys & girls it makes my life much easier!!!

It was nice to see the sunshine after yesterday's miserable rain, and the residents enjoyed basking in the sun after their breakfast whilst waiting for their kennels to be cleaned.

We have some lovely boys & girls just ready and waiting for their own cosy sofas - fingers crossed that we see some red signs soon.

Stay safe everyone.

Angie xx

Today started with a vet run to take Dolly for her neutering. Thanks so much to her new Mom for going to collect her this evening after completing her adoption paperwork.

We are still experiencing problems with our phone lines, so please use the number given in the previous diary post.

Thanks to everyone for their help today and for getting so damp this afternoon!!

We are very grateful to Morrisons Sheldon for their donation of dog food to the kennels. Thanks to them for their continued support.

Thankfully, the weather report for the next few days looks like it will be drier and a bit warmer.

We are experiencing problems with the phone line to the kennels, we are unable to make outgoing calls and incoming calls are apparently just ringing out. Should you need to contact us could you please call 07421 099643 for today.
Many thanks and sorry for the inconvenience.

Massive thanks to Kate for her patience, kindness and resourcefulness with my frightened of getting his nails clipped boy, Ash, who growled everytime she even approached him with the clippers. 40 kilos of heart racing quivering greyhound (and to be honest mum). Bless Kate she enlisted the help of Alan, who just happened to be passing, and Ruth, who as we all know never shys away from a challenge. Alan and Kate, fork lift style, hoisted Ash into the air and Ruth deftly cut all his nails. Wonderful feat of cooperation. Many many thanks to you all.

A POEM FOR OUR BELOVED BROTHER EOGHAN

When tomorrow starts without you and you are not here to see, the sun will rise and find our eyes all filled with tears for you. We know how much you loved us, as much as we loved you, and each time we think of you we know we will be missing you too. But when tomorrow starts without you, we will try to understand that an angel came and called your name and caressed you with her hand. We will think about our lives together, in the kennels then in different homes and then finally with Daddy Melly and Granny and we will be sad but we will think of the fun and love we all shared and so when tomorrow starts without you Eoghan we will not be far apart because every time we think and speak of you just know that you will always be in our hearts. Rest in peace our beautiful oldest brother.

With love from Fergal, Brother/Uncle Teddy, and your other siblings Lady(Maisie), Fuzzy, Melody and Saddler Wolf xxxx

PRAYER FOR EOGHAN - RIP

My darling grandson,

Every time I think my heart can't break any more but if that is the case then why oh why does the grief and pain rip through my body. I give thanks to Alan and God for allowing you to spend your final 21 months with your biological family. I am so very sorry for the circumstances that took you from us but I give thanks for the nearly 12 years that you had.

May God stay his hand over thee and guide thee to Daddy Melly and Daddy Alan and may you find peace amongst the fields of gold until such time as we can all meet again.

I love you Eoghan and will miss your singing.

With all my love Granny. xxxxxxx

We have been advised by the Highways Agency that the M42 will be closed in both directions between junctions 5 and 6 for three nights from 10pm on Friday 30 September to 5 am on Monday 3 October. Please bear in mind as this may impact on your ability to get to us.

My name is Sue and I have just started volunteering at Daybreaks Trust having seen an appeal by Ruth on Next Door. Although I do not have a Greyhound myself I am a real animal lover. I have a rescue German Shepherd cross Collie dog called Chester who is 12 years old and two rescue cats Fizz and Pepsi who are both 17. I live in Monkspath with my husband Dave and two children Jake(26) and Justine (21). I am looking forward to helping find lovely new homes for all of the beautiful Greyhounds who find themselves here.

My first day back at the kennels after a week on holiday and it was really cold! :) I only went to Devon but it seemed much warmer there! :)) Skip, Lyra and Cracker had a great time, we all had post holiday blues yesterday. We missed our walks by the sea! Xxx
In the nicest possible way it was great to NOT see Zavi or Tommy in their kennels...Brilliant to see they have both gone off to their new homes. Xxx
We had a new arrival this morning, beautiful Mia and we have a new lad arriving tomorrow. Xxx
We have three new students with us on Mondays, hoping they enjoy their time with us over the next few months. :))
Thanks so much to all our volunteers today, our boys and girls are lucky to have so many lovely people who are very happy to be at their beck and call! Xxx

I can’t believe how fast the year is flying by, we are almost at the end of September already and starting to get ready for Winter.

It is great to see so many red signs for our boys & girls, meaning they will soon be off to their forever homes and we can welcome some new kids into the Daybreaks family.

We have some events planned as we head towards Christmas ( dare I mention that word!). The Great West Mids Quiz is a totally interactive online event you can take part in from the comfort of your own home or even the pub- just use the link on the event page to register your team. The start time has been changed to the evening in the hopes of capturing lots more participants.

We will be running our online auction on the Daybreaks Facebook page again in November, and already have some lovely items that have been kindly donated and which will make great Christmas gifts for 2 and 4 legs.

And finally Santa will be making his usual visit to the kennels on 4th December with presents for all good hounds. Keep an eye on the events descriptions for more information.

The beautiful boys and girls are the heart of Daybreaks and everything we do is for them, so despite the rather challenging times we find ourselves in at the moment, let’s hope we can get together, enjoy some activities and help raise funds for the boys & girls that find themselves in our care.

Thanks to everyone for your continuing support.

Angie xx

Many thanks to everyone who has donated bedding for the residents, they are all really grateful.

We had a very handsome new arrival today, Arthur, such a lovely boy and ate his dinner so gently!!

There were several lovely volunteers in today so all the Dogs had morning and afternoon walks. Thanks to everyone for their help, I really appreciate your help and support.

We have another new arrival due tomorrow and another later in the week. We will be welcoming Kate back from her holiday tomorrow, hoping that she, John, Skip, Lyra and Cracker had a fantastic break. X

So lovely to see the beautiful Evie adopted yesterday. The little monkey had her nose and paws into everything in the office… she has such a great personality x

As always thanks to everyone for their help today. Ruth delivered the handsome Zavi, now Archie to his new home. Hoping everything goes well for this lovely boy. X

Mena and Dolly had a visit from their new Mom, little Mena is slowly growing in confidence each day, I even got a kiss from her.

I called Tommy's family for an update this afternoon, he is doing really well, has mastered the stairs and has settled fantastically.

We should hopefully have some new arrivals next week, so keep a lookout on the website to see who we get!

It is going to be a very emotional day. Not only a family saying goodbye to their Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother, Aunt and Friend but we as a nation pay our respects to Queen Elizabeth II who dedicated her life to serve us.

As Jo mentioned in her update yesterday, the kennels are open as the greys still need us but we would ask if possible allow us to grieve with the Nation.

After my emotional visit to London, I’ve truly realised we are witnessing a great moment in history.

Rest in Peace Ma’am.

Today we saw the very handsome Tommy go home, hoping all goes well for him and his family.

Thanks to Denise for opening up this morning and to everyone for their help.

Becky also went out to see how she would settle into a home life, good luck sweetie.

It went mad at some times during the day with people waiting for nail cutting and sand run.

Lois one of our D of E volunteers finished today, wishing her all the very best for whatever she decides to do, she has said that when time permits she will come back and volunteer, she will be most welcome.

It's been a couple of strange days, I will be back in on Wednesday.

The Kennels will be operating a limited service tomorrow in honour of the very sad passing of Her Majesty the Queen. If you need to call please try and call in the afternoon after 1.30 to enable people covering the Kennels to watch the funeral service.

Many thanks for your understanding in advance, our residents will still need to be fed and have their rooms cleaned!

URGENT APPEAL......
Do you have any old/unwanted duvets or pillows (not feather) that you could spare and donate to the kennels. Our supplies are rather depleted, the residents would be most grateful. Please give us a call and arrange a time to drop any off.
Many thanks.

I was covering the Kennels today as Kate is on annual leave and Ruth was off to London to pay her respects to Her Majesty the Queen.

Thanks to Angie for opening up, Dave Maisie Chase a d everyone who came in and volunteered.

We saw the gorgeous Tommy reserved, such fantastic news, hoping things go well for him.

Well I must remember that today is Saturday and I still need to get up and do my normal Sunday shift, it was strange going home and seeing shops open not like a Sunday when I am going home and everything is closed!!

What an absolutely bonkers day! Early bird Angie was in first thing and along Mollie they sorted the residents whilst I took Tiggy to the vets for a dressing change for her broken toe.

Back to the kennels we had a viewing and Zavi was reserved. We had our new arrival Chloe and a second viewing for Dolly and Mena found herself reserved also!

Chris and Mollie walked their legs off taking all the inmates for their walks whilst I took Mikey and Mena into the sand run. Hmmm Mikey decided to run into my legs and I have a great video
to show the evidence!

During the afternoon after bathing new arrival Chloe, Chris took all the dogs in turn into the run whilst Mollie did weighing and health checks. The phone has been pretty non stop today so apologies to those who couldn't get through.

A phone call from Chris in the run and I went to help her catch Mena as she didn't want to be caught!!!!

Another viewing and then feeding soon quietened all the residents down and before we knew it, it was time to go home.

Due to commitments I am unable to have Betty at home this weekend so she has been left at the kennels. As she has been so
stressed I am desperately hoping it doesn't knock her back.....

In the tradition of Angie - I will be pouring myself a lovely very LARGE glass of red medicine later!

Thanks as always to our fantastic Sunday volunteers, all dogs had lovely morning and afternoon walks. All the inmates also had their teeth cleaned and had a lovely groom.

Mikey had a few hours away from the kennels, yet again he was impeccably behaved.

The gorgeous little Becky was reserved, she will have a great family.

Many thanks too, to Sharron Alexandra photography for their photoshoot today, the raffle was drawn and the winners have been notified that their dog/dogs will be in next year's calendar. Well done everyone.

Hoping for some more red and Green signs this week, all of our residents are absolutely gorgeous, please give us a call if you would like to make an appointment and come and visit any of them.

A massive thanks to everyone for their help today, all the dogs had morning and afternoon walks before the torrential downpour. The bottom block flooded again and after another check of the drains it very quickly subsided. Poor Mickey watched in a bemused way when I went to mop his Kennel, I'm sure he thought I thought had had a wee!! He didn't even move off his bed.

After the long, warm summer it really felt like Autumn is just around the corner today. There was a chill in the air when we arrived this morning....

We had some new helpers, thanks to Georgie for your hard work and to Mary one of our new work experience students. :) We also were very happy to see old friends Lucy and her beautiful Ellie. Xxx

Not sure they would have all come in if they had known they would be caught in a flash flood on the afternoon walk! We had a torrential downpour which flooded one of the kennels and the bottom corridor for a while. Poor Mikey, Rocky Dolly and Evie got very, very wet along with Shirley, Lucy, Georgie and Mary. I felt rather guilty standing in the nice dry office when they got back soaked to the skin! Mikey was especially not impressed about being very wet! I did fetch towels for everyone!! :))

On a sunnier note, gorgeous little Molly went off to her forever home this morning. She has a lovely new family. :) While we were filling in her paperwork she amused herself in the office throwing a squeaky toy around. :)) Wishing them lots of great times together. Xxx

We have lots of really super dogs at the kennels all looking for loving forever homes. Hoping it won't be long before they find them. Xxx

Well, the thunderstorm last night was quite spectacular! Sadly my poor little Lyra was really terrified and joined us upstairs followed by Skip and Cracker who just wanted to follow Lyra! Skip was in our room, Cracker and Lyra in the spare room. Thankfully the storm soon passed, they all settled and went back to sleep. Xxx

When we arrived at the kennels this morning Zavi had managed to wriggle free from his cone. :(( He had licked the wound on his shoulder but it's not looking too bad. He really is such a lovely lad and I am sure once he is settled in his forever home he would be a pleasure to have around. Xxx

Ruth and Mollie took Mikey for a full check up with the vet this afternoon. On the advice from our vet We are going to arrange further investigations into a couple of concerns he has raised. Xxx

Norman and his Grandson Jake took Dolly for a trip to the park for us this morning. She had a great time. :)) Norman said she was a really good girl. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today. We had enough walkers for the dogs to have nice long walks morning and afternoon. :))

Please don't forget our Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Evening on Saturday 24th September. It's a special way to remember the four legged memebers of our families who are sadly no longer with us. If you are not able to attend but would like us to light a candle on your behalf in memory of those who are running free at Rainbow Bridge, please give us a call and we will be more than happy to arrange this for you. Xxx

Another quiet day for visitors again today, I echo Kate's sentiments that hopefully we will have more viewings and homings now that the holidays are over. All of our residents really deserve their forever homes.

Thanks to everyone for their help today all dogs had morning and afternoon walks, thanks to Liz for taking Rocky to the park, it seems he was a little overwhelmed at times, but it is early days.

We had visit from Alice to use the sand run and also Pippin who was Diva at the Kennels for her 4 week health check and sand run fun, she had a ball with the ball launcher and tennis ball. It's always lovely to see our homed dogs after they have been in their homes for a while.

Mr Zavaroni (Zavi) is still sporting his cone of shame after his little accident last Sunday, he really looks a little sorry for himself. He is in the kitchen run and seems a little happier with the extra space.

Here's hoping for some lovely red and green signs over the next week or so. Xx

It was a quiet day at the kennels today. I guess everyone is gettting ready to go back to school, college and work after the summer holidays...can't believe it is September already. It has also been quiet for viewings and homings the last couple of weeks. Hoping that will change soon...we have lots of gorgeous Greyhounds waiting for their forever homes at the kennels and on our waiting list. Xxx if you think you could offer one of our boys or girls a loving forever home please give us a call - 0121 782 7702

Thanks so much to everyone who helped out today. So kind of you...Gill and Sam were our only walkers this afternoon...four walks for Sam and five for Gill! :)) All of our residents were very grateful and so was I :)) Xxx

Morning everybody,

I am currently raising money for Daybreaks by doing my own bike ride.

I work at the CBS Arena in Coventry, home to Cov City football club & Wasps Rugby club. I will be riding from the arena to CCFC training ground then to Wasps training ground then to Daybreaks kennels. I have set up a GoFundMe page if anyone wishes to donate. All funds on there will be going straight to the kennels.

I am currently in the process of getting a bike and kit together for my ride. I will be updating my go fund me page with more info and updates on what is happening so keep checking :)

https://gofund.me/ca90a7cf

I look forward to seeing you at the Elmdon Park Fun Day 10th September.

Rob :)

?Many thanks to everyone for their help today, the Wednesday walkers this morning and our two lovely afternoon volunteers. There were health checks and weighings to be done, thanks to Denise for doing those, although Rocky made it very difficult to weigh him as he wouldn't stand still. Wishing Denise a very happy birthday for tomorrow and the same to Wednesday walker Deb for Saturday. Xx

Just a tip....if you are in the sand run with Ruth's Tony, don't bend over to pick up poo, he will run into you as he did with Ruth today and knocked her over flat on her back!!!!

We had two beautiful girls arrive today, Evie and Dolly. Thanks so much to Myra and Lynda for bathing them. :)) They both enjoyed going for a walk this afternoon, followed by their dinner. :) Xxx

Molly found herself reserved this afternoon. :))) So happy for her. Such a lovely happy girl. Xxx

To add to our busy day we had a power cut! Its amazing how much we rely on computers and printers these days! :)) Fortunately everything came back on and I was able to print off paperwork for our two new arrivals. :) xx

Thanks so much to to everyone who dropped off donations of bedding for us. So kind of you. Xxx

Thanks to our fab volunteers who gave up their Bank Holiday to come and look after our residents. Lovely to have Vonnie back after her holiday. :)) We missed you! :)) Xxx

It was very quiet for visitors today, thanks to everyone who came in and helped. All the inmates had their teeth cleaned, some were less enthusiastic than others, they then all had a lovely groom, that part they all enjoyed.

Not to give too much away, but watch this space for some potentially exciting news for one of our residents. I am saying no more than that!!!!!

I take it all back when I said Zavi wouldn't donate at the PBB. I should have had more faith. Well done to Mikey, Zavi and Tommy. x

Wow what a busy day! We had the blood bank visit today and brave boys Mikey, Zavi and Tommy all gave blood. My brave boy Tony gave for the first time and I am so proud of him.

We did some socialising with Betty, Becky and Molly with visiting little dog 'Pod' - unfortunately Betty was not on her best behaviour so really will need a very experienced new owner. Monty came along for a well care pamper - it is great to see how well he is doing.
Alan bought chocolate donuts so we were all happy!

What a great day! We saw the gorgeous Cassie (now called Coco) officially adopted after being out on trial. Whilst this was happening, our new arrival Becky turned up..... and before we knew it, she was reserved!
We had a team in from Virgin Media yesterday who spent a whole day in the sand run. They have made it safe enough for the Trust dogs to use but until essential maintenance is carried out, unfortunately the sand run is not open for visitors.
Mikey and Zavi had a fantastic time running around and playing.... such great fun to see.
I will put a video on to Facebook later of their antics!

A warm day again today. It was a quiet day for visitors. All dogs had morning and afternoon walks, thanks to everyone for their help today. The inmates all had teeth cleaning (those who would put up with it)! and grooming done, and health checks were done.

It was lovely to see River reunited his owner after her recent hospital stay, they were both over the moon to be reunited. Thanks to the foster families who took care of him until he could go home.

I said my goodbyes to Bocko who is due to go home tomorrow and little Angie who is due to go on Tuesday.

Once again as always a massive thanks to everyone for their help today. Xx

It was a busy day which saw handsome Prince go off to his new home this morning. He has a fabulous new family. :)) Bocko will also be going off to his new home early next week. :))

This afternoon Angie found her self reserved. Such a happy, pretty girl. xxx

It was a lovely day and all the residents got morning and afternoon walks. :)) Many thanks to all our volunteers for their hard work and for making our boys and girls feel very much loved with grooming, teeth cleaning and lots of extra fuss and attention. :)) They really do appreciate it.

Mikey had another trip to the park with Kitty's family. He had a great time. :)) Xxx

A big thank you to Pets at Home in Stratford, Morrisons in Solihull and
Sheldon for their great donations of food and treats for the dogs. So very kind of you. Xxx

Xxx

It started to get very warm again today. We had some lovely ladies who came on a company volunteer day. We were a little late finishing feeding and cleaning this morning so instead of the usual morning walks the dogs all had extra cuddles as well as their daily teeth cleaning and grooming. It was made up to them this afternoon as they had extra long walks down the shady lane. Thanks to everyone for their help today.

The decision was taken to temporarily close the sand run whilst essential maintenance is undertaken, we are very sorry for any inconvenience caused, our priority is to the dogs using it. Hopefully it will be up and running soon.

URGENT NOTICE.......Due to essential maintenance the sand run will be closed until further notice. We will advise here when it is open again. Sorry for any inconvenience.

It turned out to be a busy day today....only Declan and myself in his morning and all but two of our residents decided to leave me a nice poo to clean up in their kennels! :)) Thanks to our lovely Volunteer Diane who forsook walking for cleaning up poo instead! :))) Xxx Thanks to Dec for feeding everyone. :))

Bocko went out for a few hours again and while he was out his companion Prince was reserved. :) Xxx

Sue very kindly took Angie off to the vets this morning for her Neutering operation and Richard collected her this afternoon. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help...great walking weather warm and pleasant! Xxx

Thankfully it was cooler today, thanks to the Wednesday walkers the inmates had morning walks. This afternoon it was Chris and myself so we locked the Kennels and took the dogs around the sand run.

Betty didn't want her breakfast but quite happily ate her dinner. She really doesn't know why she is back in Kennels.

Bocko went out for a few hours and was far more settled than yesterday when he went out. Fingers crossed all keeps going well.

At last it was cooler today!:)) We were able to take the dogs out for their walks and they throughly enjoyed them. :)) They were so happy to be able to come out and spend time in the runs instead of having to hide away from the hot sun. :)) We were happy too! :)))
Thanks so very much to everyone for your help today. Xxx

Very short of volunteers today, no walks again just paddling pools and wet towels, some were more enthusiastic than others!

The heat is not doing the dogs any good, poor Angie opened up this morning and was greeted by some very messy kennels, bless them they really can't help it, the heat really does make them uncomfortable. Well the blinds were closed after cleaning which kept the kennels cooler and the fans were put on before we left.

Thankfully only another couple of days of this before it gets cooler, not only will the dogs be grateful but so will we!!

So sorry for no Daybreaks diary yesterday. So today I was covering for Kate, Ruth has not been well so I went in to cover. Yvonne and I opened up and were greeted by several 'messy' kennels! Hosepipe at the ready we managed to clean the walls and the floors. It must have been the heat as the inmates only had their normal food. Many thanks to Yvonne for sorting the rest of the kennels whilst I did feeding and sorted the cats.

It started getting very warm very quickly, so only a few dogs got morning walks, the remaining dogs had the paddling pools out and all dogs came out and had their turn during the day. Poor Yvonne took a tumble but thankfully she was ok.

Thanks to everyone who came in to help, the dogs had their teeth cleaned and had a good groom.

Bocko was reserved and pending another meet and greet with the owners other dog on Tuesday when hopefully the weather will be cooler he may have a new home.

Well, back in tomorrow, not looking forward to the heat but it can't be helped, the priority will be to keep the dogs cool and comfortable.

It's getting warm again! The dogs had morning walks down the lane as it was shaded and cooler. This afternoon it was paddling pools and toy fun.

The gorgeous Dougie came in for his 4 week health check, he looks great and remembered everyone and gave us his best smile!

We also had Star come for her 4 week health check, she too looked great.

Django had a visit from his family, all being well he is going home on Wednesday.

A lovely lady came in for a viewing, she was very taken with Bocko and Prince, Angie and Mikey. She has gone away to make a very difficult decision.

There were visitors for nail cutting.

For those of you who have been following Rivers story, he had been out on foster as his owner was in hospital. Sadly, he attacked the resident greyhound, it's not really known why so he came back to the Kennels this morning. The good news is our lovely Sunday volunteer Carol offered to foster him until his owner is out of hospital and well enough to have him back home.

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone for their help today.

A very busy day which ended with Con going off to his forever home, pretty little Sarah and handsome Django reserved. :)) Xxx

If you think you can offer one of our beautiful Greyhounds their forever home please give us a call! We have more viewings over the next couple of days, so fingers crossed. Our waiting list for dogs waiting to come into the kennels continues to grow daily....

We are very grateful to Morrison's in Solihull for their fabulous donation of tinned food and to Sue for collecting it for us. :) Xxx.

Thank you to the lovely couple who brought in towels and for your generous donation, so kind. The dogs loved meeting you! Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for their help today. Caroline thanks so much for your help with dinners this afternoon. :)) Xxx

It was so lovely to walk my Bronking Bocko yesterday. Although I am sad to see him returned he was one of my favourites back in 2019. He does appear older & a little less confident. For those who remember Robbie, god rest his soul, he did a "Robbie" so it took a little while to get going but once he did he still walks beautifully and did not seem bothered by traffic or bikes etc. I kept him in sight of Prince as obviously they are used to each other. Mikey was another of my favs so again, sad but lovely to see him but being still so young I think he might be more resiliant. It is so hard for those in middle & old age finding themselves returned as I know only too well. If I didn't have my 3 Bocks would be most welcome at mine. I would love to give him a break from kennels for a day but I couldnt take Prince as well as I couldnt fit 5 in here!!! It is tight but doable for 4 providing the 4th is placid. Cousin Dessie has long moved on to Anglesey so maybe a day out if he can bear to leave Prince. I also walked Sarah who was a lovely well behaved young lady. Con was a hoot as I was trying to help his walker lead him up! Once we all got going walkies were nice. Lovely to see Chris & Matthew again.

We had a few more volunteers than normal today which was great. So all the inmates had morning and afternoon walks. They also had their teeth cleaned and a good groom. Thanks to everyone for their help today.

We have yet another member join the FFP club today with Robin being officially adopted. Well done sweetie.

There are several viewings booked for the weekend, so fingers crossed we see more red and Green signs. Xx

Well, I was back at the Kennels today after a few days annual leave. Thanks as always to the Wednesday walkers for their help today. This afternoon was very quiet for volunteers, many thanks to Denise for staying until we closed.
Mikey had an outing to Earlswood lakes this afternoon with Kitty and her family, as always he behaved impeccably and got a doggy ice cream!
We had two new arrivals, both lovely, Sarah and Angie. They both enjoyed their dinners before they went off to bed.
Prince and Bocko were both quite subdued again today, they must be very confused, hopefully a forever home is not too far away.

What started off as a quiet day ended up with seeing our lovely Cristina going home! :)) Xxx Hoping she is being a good girl. Xxx

Thanks to all our wonderful volunteers for all their help today. All of our residents had moring and afternoon walks. They all had a nice groom and teeth cleaned. This afternoon they had time out in the runs with toys and licki mats. Xxx

Prince's nose looks a little better today. He has been given some cream from his trip to the vet yesterday. Poor lad, he really does look so sad as does his companion Bocko. Just have to keep giving them both lots of hugs. Xxxxx

I am really grateful to Leni and her Mum for feeding everyone this afternoon whilst I did Christina's homing. :)) So kind of you. I was a little late feeding our lovely cats Socks and Tyke. Think they forgave me! :)) Xxx

Those of you who know our Bob sure you would like to know he is feeling much better and looks great! Xxx

It's a full house at Daybreaks - so many lovely boys and girls just waiting for their chance. Such a shame to see the recent returnees - it is always sad when things don't work out for whatever reason.

I have gone a bit "part time" at the kennels now - a case of old age & infirmary catching up on me!!! I damaged some discs in my neck when I was young and sadly the wear and tear of life means I now can't spend as much time on my feet as I used to so am having to limit myself to mornings only now. On the plus side it does give me more time to help out on the Admin side and to sort out fundraising events.

There are a couple of events scheduled for September, and an online quiz coming up in October, so keep an eye on the Events section here or on our Facebook page, as details are confirmed.

With Summer holidays here, things are very quiet at the kennels both visitor wise and volunteer wise - but a viewing appointment was made this morning so keep everything crossed!

Stay safe and well everyone - and lets hope for some red or green signs outside some kennels by Monday morning.

Cheers!

Angie

Hope Bob makes a speedy recovery xxx

Apologies for no Daybreaks diary updates since Kate's update on Tuesday!

Monday and Tuesday were pretty hectic and with Jo off this week on annual leave and poor Kate at a funeral yesterday, I have been covering the kennels and it has been a little mad!

I welcomed back Ray, one of our volunteers who moved to Spain 10 years ago! I can't believe where time goes but he is spending some time over here and has slotted straight back in and it is fantastic to have him back!

Poor Josh was returned but he really does seem to have issues with something so he has gone out to foster to be assessed and we are hoping to get him checked by a chiropractor first.

Bocko and Prince who were returned earlier in the week due to a relationship breakdown, have been quite sad at being back. Prince is off to the vets later this afternoon to have his nose looked at as it is very red and lumpy around the edges.

It has warmed up again this afternoon so we have all the paddling pools out and I quite fancy dipping my toes myself! Being short on volunteers I have actually been out on several walks.

For those of you who know Bob who owns the kennels, he was rushed into hospital last week with a heart attack. He has now been discharged and doing well. Hence with all that has been happening, my stress levels have been a little high.... a big sloppy kiss from Mikey just puts a smile back on my face! :-)

A busy day, this morning lovely Topsy and her family came to find a friend for her. She met several of our residents and liked all of them! Eventually it was Topsy who decided Cassie was the one for her. :))
This afternoon we had another viewing which resulted in seeing gorgeous Diva Reserved. Xxx

Thanks to Matt and the young people he supports for carrying out all the health checks today and helping to walk the dogs. We are so grateful to all of our volunteers for their help today. Xxx

When I came to leave the kennels tonight...I couldn't find my Skip anywhere! I knew he couldn't have escaped and was there somewhere. I went around opening the kennels, the kitchen, the treatment room but no sign. When I unlocked the office I eventually found him on the bed under the desk, totally oblivious I was looking for him! :)) Bless him. Xxx

Thanks to everyone for their help today. It was a little cooler so all the inmates had both morning and afternoon walks. It did get a little warmer as the day went on but the dogs were kept cool.
We have a few real characters in at the moment, they are really cheeky and make us smile. Zavi and Tommy trying to pull items though the feeding run bars, Con with his 'I'm not coming out of my Kennel without a belly rub'. Hoping to see some red and green signs this week, especially for Cristina. Xx

I was greeted by a very happy Minnie when I arrived this morning. :)). She was supervising feeding and cleaning by her lovley Mum and Dad, Angie and Michael. Xxx

It was a much cooler day and the dogs enjoyed morning and afternoon walks. New arrival Cassie was very excited to go out and explore her new surroundings :)) Zavi enjoyed a trip to the park with Kitty and her family.

We had several customers for nail clipping including Bobby and his brother Alfie and the very handsome Jag. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone who helped out at the kennels today. Thank you Caroline for coming in this afternoon to help with feeding. Xxx

Thanks to Angie for opening up as usual on a Friday..Ruth was in and had to run some errands. Great to have Chris back from her holiday and Matthew for his help too.
We had another new arrival today, the lovely Diva, another young girl. She came in from my Peanut and Coopers trainer, she remembered him and got lots of cuddles. As we were so short of volunteers the dogs had sand run fun as it was much cooler.
Mikey went out with Liz and unsurprisingly got a glowing report. Kitty, her mom and sister took Cristina to Solihull this afternoon, she too has experienced the lift in Mountain Warehouse!! She came back to Kennels, had her dinner and crashed out, bless her she will sleep well tonight!!
Hoping that the next few days will bring more red and Green signs for our inmates. Xx

Incredibly hot again today! Sadly the residents had to spend a lot of time in their kennels but they were quite cool, we had the fans on and doors and windows closed. They came out several times for a break thorough out the day. Paddling pools out again. :))
Thanks so much to Vonnie and Louisa who came and sizzled at the kennels. I am so grateful for all your help. Vonnie looked very glamorous with a wet tea towel draped around her neck! It certainly helped her to cool down. :)) The dogs wore wet pillow cases...which also worked a treat! :))
One more hot day and then hopefully it will be much cooler... Xxx
Hope everyone is managing to keep yourselves and your dogs comfortable and cool. Xxx

Too hot today, no walks but grooming, teeth cleaning and paddling (or in some cases piddling pools). The inmates all came in rotation.
It was fairly quiet for visitors, just several nail clippings and the very lovely Lola's homing. She is such a lovely sweet girl and has gone to a home with the handsome Harry who Kennels Dave fostered for a while. Pleased to see the update on how they are getting on.
We also had a lovely delivery via Iceland of dog food, treats, and crisps and cans of pop from Phil, Rio and Ella's dad, thanks so very much. X

Many thanks to everyone for their help today, especially with the extreme heat. Xx

Another insanely hot day today, thankfully the sheets that had been put up in the feeding runs meant it was so much bearable for the inmates. Thanks to the Wednesday walkers who were in quite early the dogs had walks before it got too hot.
The rest of the day was spent relaying the dogs in rotation into the runs with the paddling pools, some were less enthusiastic but had a good cool down.
We saw the very lovely Socki off to her new home today. Whilst I was doing her homing she decided the best place to go was under the desk!
Thanks as always again to the Wednesday walkers and to Kitty for coming in and to Denise who stayed until closing for their help, I really appreciate everything that they do, especially as we were very short of help. Xx
Well, it looks like it's going to get even hotter, so please everyone take care of yourselves and your hounds. Xx

DAYBREAKS NEEDS YOUR HELP!!

We have been approached by the Elmdon Park Support Group with a fundraising proposal - however we will need your help to get it off the ground.

The Elmdon Park Community Day is taking place on Saturday 10th September, and we have been given the opportunity to arrange and run a fun dog show during the day, not only a potential good fundraiser but also great publicity for the kennels and the Greys.

So if there is anybody out there that would like to get involved with this please let us know as soon as possible so we can let the Park Group know if this is going to be viable. Please give me or the kennels a call. The Park Support Group are hoping to arrange the Judges and supply the equipment - we just need to supply people to attend on the day and take registration fees, act as Announcer, Marshalls etc.

It may be a bit short notice to make it work this year - but it's always worth an ask!!!

Angie x

It was incredibly hot again today, so sadly no walks for the dogs. Much safer to keep them out of the sun and in the kennels, blinds down and fans on. They did all come out for toilet breaks and short playtimes in the paddling pools throughout the day again.

After taking a paddling pool break of her own, :)) Ruth went around the runs putting up bed sheets to help keep the sun out, they look like a scene from the Arabian Nights! :)) Thanks so much to everyone who donated sheets the beautiful purple and blue ones especially! :)))
We also made sure the sky lights were covered over in the kennels, it makes them quite dark but cooler. Xxx

It was quiet for visitors but it gave us time to catch up on other things. Xxx

Thank you so much to everyone who helped out today. Very much appreciated on such a hot day. Xxx

Have just checked the cameras and all the dogs look settled and relaxed. :)) Xxx

Oh my word, it was so very hot today, much too hot for the dogs to go out. So it was grooming, teeth cleaning and then the paddling pools came out. All dogs came and had a cool down in rotation. The big fans were put into the kennel blocks in an attempt to keep the inmates cool.
Thanks so much to everyone for their help today, it wasn't just uncomfortable for the hounds but to the hoomans too. It's going to get hotter as the week goes on. Please remember to walk your dogs early before it starts to get hot and late evening when it gets cooler.

How very kind of Phil and his work colleagues! Xxx Sending big hugs to your own special Greyhounds, Rio and Ella. :)) Xxx

I had a lovely call today from one of our supporters, Phil the Growler (he will understand the reference)! He wanted to know how much the birthday party had raised. We had raised the fantastic amount of £1888 and some odd pence as well as some donations sent by post. He very kindly made a donation as he and his work colleagues had a whip round. So thanks to them we have exceeded £2000. Thanks to everyone for their support. Xx

What a fabulous day! Kate and I took Tilly out to her new home and she was in heaven with exploring her lovely big garden! She found a stash of digestive biscuits too!!!
This afternoon was hot at the kennels and Matthew helped me clean teeth and groom many of the inmates and then it was time for Dougie's homing and he has just left to live in Gloucester!
Jo popped to Morrisons and collected donations which we are very grateful for. x

Ok, to begin with if this makes no sense it's because I've broken 2 pairs of glasses within a few days! And am struggling to see!!

So, today we were very short of help, it was Denise and myself until the depleted Wednesday walkers arrived, we were two down as they were on holiday. Regardless, thanks to them for walking the dogs this morning.

We had a new arrival, the lovely Molly, she was quite timid to begin with but this afternoon enjoyed her walk and dinner.

Thanks so much to everyone for their help today. Xx

Oo how do you choose who goes in the calendar? Is there a competition to enter or anything? Xxx

I asked Jude our lovely volunteer on a Monday to cover the calls and paperwork whilst myself, Kate, Jo, Denise, Angie and Rosie had our virtual training session with Petplan. We are now all up to speed with the latest insurance guidelines and also positive changes in the Petplan cover.
Following this, we had a viewing for the very pretty and unusual Tilly and then Kate and I went out to do the home visit.
Not only is Tillys new owner just wonderful (we did ask if she would consider adopting us too!), but Tilly is going to be in absolute heaven with exploring the beautiful garden.
Parking was fun as they were doing filming at the house opposite but the security guard helped us out and we got into conversation about greyhounds etc etc… let’s just say Kate and I finally got back to the kennels around 5pm where Jo and Mollie had fed and cleaned down. Mollie and I then had a sad trip to Fivelands as one of our resident chickens, Sage, was helped to fly to feather heaven.
Thank you to our regular Monday volunteers and congratulations to Louisa who collected her raffle prize - the chocolate hamper and a page in next year’s calendar! As she doesn’t currently have her own greyhound she will have her work cut out trying to decide on a current inmate perhaps to be photographed. X

What a fantastic amount of money raised, sorry we couldn't be there, hopefully next year, well done one and all xxx

What fantastic news! :)) It was brilliant to see so many people and their beautiful Greyhounds at the Birthday Party today. Xxx I was helping with the sausage bobbing....many of the dogs were not interested in getting water up their noses, but we did have a champion! Little Rosie who was homed earlier this year didn't care at all about the water...the sausages disappeared in seconds! :))) Well done. Xxx

An absolutely amazing amount raised, you are all amazing. Thank you. X

Wow what a fabulous amount! Well done all! Me and my 2 legged girls were all set to come and then ended up with vertigo in bed so couldn't drive, but gutted as I had promised mia she could come and see all the dogs so she was disappointed...I think you're just going to have to hold another one soon so we can come along lol xxx

Wow! What an amazing amount raised. I knew from the number of people who visited that it would be a good sum but I wouldn't have guessed it would be nearly £2000. That's amazing. The generosity of the Daybreaks family is incredible. Even the shower at lunchtime didn't spoil the proceedings.

A huge thankyou to everyone who came along today to our 16th Birthday Bash, it was amazingly busy and it was great to see so many old friends, both 2 & 4 legs.

Thanks to our stall holders for being there and for your kind donations, and a special thanks to Vet Lorna - fortuitous she was there as there was a tail injury to deal with!

We raised the amazing sum of £1301.62 on site today, and adding this to the raffle ticket sales over the past weeks and donations from folk unable to come along today, our birthday celebrations have raised the awesome amount of £1888.62 - thank you just doesn't seem enough.

We are so grateful for your support - it means we can continue looking after the beautiful Greys in our care and find them the loving homes they deserve.

Angie xx

Happy Birthday Daybreaks! Xxx :))) Can't believe it's been sixteen years...Xxx

Wow, 3,000 homes in 16 years, I really think you and all the fabulous staff and volunteers deserve a huge pat on the back Ruth....well done to you all, you are all superstars xxxxxxxx

Another very quiet Friday at Daybreaks, and with plenty of help from work placement students, I was able to make a start with preparations for Sunday's 16th Birthday party.

Jo took lovely new girl Tilly off to the Vet to be neutered this morning. Tilly is a stunning looking dog, almost pure white with just a couple of small brindle patches on her head and back, and an amazing Roman nose which gives her a very different look.

Following walks, our work placements got to work grooming and cleaning the teeth of every resident. The boys & girls appreciate the extra attention, plus regular teeth cleaning is very important for oral hygiene and grooming not only improves coat quality but gives a great opportunity to check the hounds body for any lumps, bumps, cuts or grazes.

The weekend is here again, and its a rather special one as we celebrate our birthday and hold our 16th Birthday Bash in the sand run on Sunday. The event starts at 11am, there are lots of stalls for you to browse, sossidge bobbing and doggy dip for your hounds to enjoy, mini pampers, small animal Vet Lorna Clark will be on hand to talk about her book and answer your general questions about hound health, and our Grand Raffle will be drawn at 2.00pm - tickets are still available from the kennels or you can get yours on the day. Parking is at Birmingham Exiles Rugby Club - the weather forecast is still looking good so keep fingers crossed, and hope to see lots of you in the sand run to help us celebrate.

I shall be partaking of a glass or two later, as usual, and as usual - stay safe! Cheers!

Angie xx

We had a visit from the Pet Blood Bank today. There were several Pet dogs donating including Belle who gave her fifth donation and received a badge and smart Red lead. :) Two of the Trust dogs also became blood donors, Cristina and our new lad Con. The staff said Con was very calm until afterwards when he was given a treat of some cheese. They said he was extremely impressed and excited to receive it! I guess he might not have tasted it before. :))) Xxx
If you are interested in your dog becoming a donor for the Pet Blood Bank please give us a call and we can pass their details on to you. Xxx

Ruth took Socki off to the vets to be neutered this morning and she has gone home with Ruth tonight. Xxxx

Xxx

A busy day today with Socki off for her Spey and the blood bank in which brought extra visitors to the kennels.

Tomorrow,16 years ago on 1st July 2006, with excitement and trepidation, I opened the doors of Daybreaks - my only mission was to help more greyhounds like my first - Tara (racing name Daybreaks Beauty)
During this time, over 3,000 homes have been found - we’ve had many highs as well as many lows but I hope Daybreaks continues to be able to help many more gentle souls in the future. Thank you so much to everyone who has adopted, supported and continues to support…. This post is not a pat on the back for me but a thank you to Daybreaks supporters and for the greyhounds lucky enough to come through our doors and many more to come ???? xx

So sorry to hear that Spirit has gone to Rainbow Bridge, RIP sweetheart xxxxx

Thanks to everyone for their help today. It was a quite day for visitors. All dogs that could had morning walks and sand run fun this afternoon.

We had a new arrival this morning, the lovely Con, he came in with the pet name of Contact, thankfully his trainer didn't mind me changing his name. Xx

I had the terribly sad news that Steph, Will and Stacey had to say goodbye to Spirit this morning, thinking of them at this very difficult time. Taken far too soon.
He is no longer by their sides but will be forever in their hearts. Run fast and pain free special boy :((( Xx

Our lovely Socki was reserved today. :)) She had a very handsome Greyhound lad come to meet her. He was also introduced to Zavi who was very excited to meet him! Zavi was very happy but was a litttle too exuberant for the lad and he chose Socki to be his new friend. I am sure Zavi will soon find his forever home too. Xxx

When Cristina went out on her morning walk she found something very interesting...fox poo! She managed to plaster her muzzle, collar and tracker with it! Yuk....Yvonne and I gave her a good wash down when she got back to the kennels. :)) Xxx

Norman took Tilly for a visit to the park. :)) She really enjoyed herself. She is such a lovely girl. Xxx

Many thanks to Shirley and Richard for collecting some donations from Pets at Home this morning and to everyone who helped out today. Xxx

It was a busy day today. After feeding and cleaning we had two viewings and a new arrival.

New arrival Tilly arrived early afternoon, she is a very striking white girl with a couple of brindle patches and a wonderful roman nose.

The second viewing resulted in the gorgeous Max being reserved, he will be going home with Bertie (was Joe) and little terrier Spike. He was such a good boy.

Liz took Tommy on an outing to Brueton Park (or so she said), he had a good wander around Solihull and visited several shops and had a trip in a lift!!! Thanks to Liz for taking him to see the big wide world. X

Handsome Roman who had been out on foster was signed up officially this afternoon, he is a very lucky boy, he has got himself a lovely family.

Thanks as always to everyone for their help today, although the diary didn't look so busy it certainly was!

It's now officially wine o'clock time, take care everyone and don't forget our 16th birthday party next Sunday, 11am to 2.30pm. Come along and help us celebrate.

It was nice to be a bit cooler today, and the rain that threatened throughout the day failed to materialise, so the boys and girls enjoyed both morning and afternoon walks.

Jo took Del Boy off to be neutered first thing this morning, he was a bit wobbly on his return this afternoon and didn’t fancy his supper bless him. Sure he will feel better in the morning, especially as he is off to his new home tomorrow - the perfect place to recuperate after his op.

Dougie and Socki are a great double act, and will trap you in the run with them by standing one each side of you and then crossing their necks across you forming an immovable Greyhound barrier!!!!

New boy Tommy is a very handsome big lad and is settling well. Zavi is still finding kennel life stressful, he is not a happy boy until someone is with him bless him.

All doggies had a groom and their teeth cleaned during the day, and we tidied away some more bags of kindly donated bedding and towels.

Well, the weekend is here again and it looks a busy one - so join me in raising a glass to wish for forever homes for our lovely boys and girls.

Have a great weekend one and all, and whatever you’re up to stay safe and enjoy. Cheers!

Angie xx

Another very warm one today. The inmates managed morning walks and this afternoon the paddling pools came out again. Dougie again had fun splashing water all over Socki.

Thanks to everyone for their help today, we also have some work experience students from school helping out. They all said they are really enjoying their time with us.

We had a new arrival today, the lovely Tommy, he seemed a little shy to start with but got better as the day went on, he too enjoyed cooling off time in the paddling pools.

My little Peanut spent much of the day under the desk, only venturing out if anyone went anywhere near the office, one thing she will not miss out on is a cuddle and a fuss!

It was a very warm today. It was too hot to take the residents out this afternoon, so we got the paddling pools out and they all had chance to have a play in the water. :) Some were more keen than others! Of course Dougie had a great time and splashed around like a puppy. :)) He loved fishing the toys out of the water...Xxx

Norman took Natalie for a trip to the park this morning, she had a lovley time. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today!! Xxx

What a contrast in the weather! After a very hot and sunny day yesterday...it was cool and very wet today!

Thanks so much to our walkers this morning for going out and getting wet. Xxx It was worse this afternoon. The dogs spent some time in the runs and enjoyed the company of our great Duke of Edinburgh students. Xxx

Bee had some visitors this afternoon...and found herself reserved.:)) Erik and his family visited the kennels today. He brought his good naughty boys with him, including Timmy who is Bee and latest new arrival Natalie's Brother! :)

Sad to see Robin returned today. :(( Sometimes things just don't work out. Xxx Many thanks to Annette and her family for the very kind offer of a foster home. Xxx

Hoping the weather will be dryer tomorrow as we have Sharon visiting the kennels to carry out some photoshoots. :)) There are a couple of slots still available if you are interested. Just call the kennels to book.
Xxx

Two words describe today - hot, and hot!!!

Unsurprisingly it was extremely quiet, and even too hot for the boys and girls to spend time out in the feeding runs. The shape of the kennels makes the runs a sun trap and it was just so very hot, the doggies came out for wees then took refuge on the cool tile floors of their kennels.

Typical of the British weather the forecast for the weekend is awful - but at least we will be cooler!

Don’t forget raffle tickets for the 16th Birthday Grand draw are on sale, as are tickets for the amazing garden chair - give us a call to take part and be in with a chance for some great prizes, whilst helping our lovely boys and girls.

Another weekend is upon us so join me in raising a glass of chilled white wine to our current residents and foster doggies and wish for their forever homes to come along very soon.

Stay safe & cool - cheers!

Angie xx

What a very busy day - we had two new arrivals and sadly one returnee. The phone was bonkers and it was very hot.
Our daybreaks video diary is ready to view on YouTube if you search for Daybreaks Greyhound Trust Diary. Please subscribe to us if you can.

Thanks to Denise for opening up and getting on with the cleaning and feeding as usual. We only had a few dogs to walk as we had a couple of doggie non walker's today, thanks to the Wednesday walkers for taking the dogs out, making coffee (which sadly did go cold) and sending toasted fruit loaf my way!!

We had a new arrival this morning, the lovely Zavi, I think he and Dougie will have a competition to see who is the best at stealing!! He very carefully tried to remove the donation trolley cover, I managed to stop him before he succeeded.

As we were very few on volunteers this afternoon Denise, Nabeela and myself took the dogs that could walk on lead around the sand run, I took Zavi, I think his sat nav was broken as he was all over the place. He is very affectionate and am sure after a few days he will settle down, after all it is a completely new environment for him.

Tomorrow we have another new arrival, I will look forward to seeing her on Friday. X

If you need to contact the kennels today please call 07587 133 553
We are having problems with our land line today. So sorry for any inconvenience. Kate :(( Xxx

What a glorious day it's been today - has Summer come at last???

We were joined today by a group from Brewin Dolphin doing a volunteering day. We set them to work walking, grooming, teeth cleaning and feeding - in at the deep end, but the best way to learn all about Greyhounds and how the kennels runs. They said they have had a fabulous day and one or two of them have fallen under the spell of our residents!

Having so much help on hand meant I spent most of the day up to my eyes in duvets out in the bedding store!!! Along with the van load of bedding that had been unloaded yesterday, we had another huge donation this morning, so all the bags have been sorted, covers put on duvets, and blankets & towels put away - phew! Many thanks for all the very kind donations. x

Lunchtime saw the lovely Josh off to his new home, wishing him and his new family many happy times ahead.

Our 16th Birthday Bash is only 3 weeks away - there will be lots going on and the Grand Raffle will be drawn during the afternoon so give us a call to get your tickets - I've got my eye on the 4th Prize Doggy Hamper!!

The residents are now having their dinner, then will settle down whilst we do the end of day tasks and close the kennels for the night.

The diary is looking busy again for the weekend, so it's the usual glass raising later with a wish for new homes for our boys & girls. Let's hope the weather stays good - and whatever you are up to as ever, stay safe and enjoy.

Cheers!

Angie xx

Yesterday, as usual, was a very busy day! I took Mollie to the vets for her Spey. She was homed several months ago but had come into season so it was now her time. I took Josh too for his booster vaccination and he was such a good boy.

I then popped to visit Susie who went out on trial the day before and she is doing well.

Back at the kennels Richard had been busy with our list of maintenance requests, and Declan, CJ and Josh unpacked a van load of bedding that Denise had kindly brought in. Once this had been done I could get to my treatment room and redressed Dougies foot… it is healing nicely and Sammy’s leg as he had been licking where he had the cannula inserted following his castrate. That also is healing well.
Although I post videos on Facebook many of our followers are not able to view so here is the link to our Daybreaks video diary on YouTube x

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl-A1Z2dbMI

Thanks so much to everyone for their help today. I am very pleased to say Annie one of my college placement students asked if she could continue at the Kennels as a volunteer. I was delighted to say yes, she was so very quiet and reserved when she started and has gained so much confidence that the change is amazing.

We saw the arrival of Socki today, she is lovely, her trainer said she is not keen on travelling in the car, she was understandably a little unsettled by her new environment but hopefully will settle soon.

What a horrible day it was, despite the weather the inmates that could go on a walk had both morning and afternoon walks. Thanks so very much to my intrepid volunteers.
Dougie and Georgie are sadly on no walks at the moment, each enjoyed spending time in the feeding runs with toys. Dougie managed to dead a toy and looked so very pleased with himself!!!
Thanks to everyone for their help today, it is always very appreciated.

Happy Jubilee Bank Holiday everyone - and what a busy old day it was too!!!

Our crew of walking wounded outnumbered the "fit" doggies, so only 4 could actually go out on a walk! We did enjoy the lovely sunshine on both walks, and it was actually quite warm by the afternoon.

The morning saw Chloe reserved - well done pretty girl. Then it was Sammy's turn to be viewed and reserved - yay! And Buddy had a visit from his new owner who is so excited to take him home next weekend.

Well the weekend is here again, whatever you are doing over this special celebration weekend enjoy and as ever stay safe.
I am in need of a very large glass of wine later after such a busy day, and I will raise it to toast all our boys & girls and wish for forever homes.

On a personal note - our little Miss Minnie is settling in really well and we are so enjoying having a hound in our lives again after such a long time. Thanks for everyone's best wishes.xx

Cheers! Angie xx

We have teamed up with BuddyCare - who deliver services FREE via a platform called SmartVet, led by Lead Veterinary Nurse, Fiona Eldridge. To give you some background on Fiona, she has been a vet nurse for 23 years, working in practices all over the UK before switching to telemedicine. Ryan from BuddyCare told me: My belief is that Fiona can chat to your patrons about dental health, nutrition, skin issues, behaviour, exercise and weight management.
Why not log on and give it a go if you need any advice!
https://buddycare.smart.vet/

Many congratulations Ruth and Andy! What a fantastic amount raised for our beautiful Greyhounds! Lots of love. Xxx

Thank you so much to everyone who supported and sponsored me for my 100 mile bike ride for Daybreaks.

Every mile I completed was equivalent to 32 homes found for greyhounds since Daybreaks opened in July 2006.

With my Facebook birthday fundraiser, sponsorship via the kennels, a very generous donation from ARC and the JustGiving page I have so far raised £1.516.

This is a phenomenal amount and I’m truly grateful xxx
If you would still like to sponsor me, you can do this by making a donation by card payment over the phone, by cheque (made payable to Daybreaks Trust) to 10 Coventry Road B26 3QS or log on to my fundraising page at JustGiving.com/DaybreaksRuth x

Last weekend I visited our good friends Sylvia, Phil and their gorgeous Greyhounds Ella and Rio. Xxx
Every few months they donate lots of food and treats for our Greyhounds waiting for their forever homes and also treats for us! They also give us lots of items we use everyday at the kennels for cleaning etc. We are so grateful to them for their kindness and generosity. Xxx
Best of all Phil cooks a wonderful breakfast for every current resident, including sausage, hash browns, scrambled egg, ham, black pudding and a couple of gravy bones! :)) They love them. :)) Xxx
Thank you to everyone who supports Daybreaks in so many different ways. Xxx

Happy 60th for yesterday Kate! Hope you had a lovely day xxx

What an absolutely glorious day!

Jo was on the Vet run this morning with Dougie, who was off to be neutered. Unfortunately he hurt his paw playing in the sand run yesterday so it was quite fortuitous it was his turn at the Vets today! It turns out the poor boy had broken a toe and had to have part of it amputated, and damaged a nail on his back foot which has had to be removed. He has just come back to the kennels sporting 2 huge bandages - but it hasn't dampened his spirits or his appetite and his tail is still wagging! Sending him a huge cuddle tonight.

It was a very quiet day for visitors so we could get caught up with health checks, groomings, and weighings, and get 2 lines of washing dried outside in the fabulous sunshine.

After their walks, the residents took it in turns to relax in the feeding runs in the sunshine, enjoying lots of fuss and cuddles.

Sad to see Josh come back from foster this afternoon, but unfortunately he was just not happy around the other dogs in the household and they were becoming unsettled around him - such a shame, but it has to be right for everyone concerned.

The weekend is upon us again - and its a busy one!! The Jubilee Afternoon Tea is tomorrow, Ruth is taking part in the floorshow then is heading off to London to take part in the Ride London 100 cycle challenge - it's all go!!!

I shall raise a glass or 2 of chilled white wine later to toast all our boys and girls, and hope for forever homes for them soon. x

Whatever you are up to this weekend, as ever stay safe and enjoy. Look forward to seeing some of you at the Afternoon Tea.

Cheers!! Angie xx

Happy 60th birthday Kate, hope you had a wonderful day, I will be joining the 60 club myself in July lol xxxxx

Thank you so much to everyone for making my Birthday a really Happy Day! I couldn't understand how so many people knew it was my Birthday until I heard Ruth had mentioned it on Facebook. :)) Thank you for all the wonderful cards, flowers, presents and good wishes! I was really quite overwhelmed! Xxx Thank you to Ruth for making my day so special! Lots of love to you all. :)) Xxx
Yes, there were Egg custards tonight! :)) Xxx

Happy Birthday Kate and welcome to the Club! Egg custards tonight? Lots of Love Sue & Tom xx

Happy 60th birthday Kate. Hope you have had a lovely day. Sorry we didn't get to see you today.
Nifty sends special love to his favourite Aunty Kate. Cilla & Flo send kisses

Wishing Lady Victoria (Kate) a very happy 60th birthday today. There were so many visitors to see her, just goes to show how much the Daybreaks family take everyone into their hearts. Happy, happy birthday Kate. Much love from Jo and the furry four. Xxx

The weather couldn't quite make its mind up today. All dogs that could go on walks had morning and this afternoon some had sand run fun and the others had walks along the lane. Big thanks to Stacey who popped in briefly and volunteered to take a dog on a walk.

It was fairly quiet for visitors, a couple of sand run bookings, a food collection and a nail clipping.

Well, the tickets for the Jubilee Afternoon Tea have sold out, I see a fantastic afternoon taking place, not only are the refreshments being laid on, but there will also be a short floor show. It's been a while since the Daybreaks crew put on a show. Looking forward to seeing it.

A lovely warm day, it makes everyone feel so much better.

We were a little short of volunteers this morning as there was a Daybreaks Trustee meeting. All inmates were fed, Kennels cleaned a d settled before some members of the team went to the meeting. As were short of help we had a conveyor line in place...all dogs firstly had their teeth cleaned before moving on to the grooming area!!!!

This afternoon we faired better and with more help all dogs that could have a walk did in the lovely sunshine.

Many thanks to Liz for taking Buddy to the park, to Netty70 for taking Josh out on foster and to Lucy's foster family for officially adopting her today. We also saw gorgeous Marina reserved, her family have a small dog and she was the one who seemed to get on with the little dog, they have had greyhounds before and I feel that Mabel little dog chose Marina.

The Beagle party took over the sand run for an hour this morning, they are a regular Sunday morning booking now, it is surreal seeing them all running around, I'm sure there are not hundreds but when you see them on the cameras it's just a blur.

Angie popped in before the meeting and spent some time with Minnie, I took Cooper and Peanut with me today, Cooper and Minnie are full brother and sister but Minnie was not impressed to begin with, she mellowed as the day went on!! Siblings eh?

Thanks to everyone for their help today, as always very much appreciated.

It was a quiet day for a Saturday today. Angie and Michael did a great job as usual, cleaning and feeding all the dogs before the rest of us arrived. :)) Thanks to all of our young Duke of Edinburgh volunteers for taking everyone out for a walk except for lovely Georgie who is resting after hurting her leg. She is still a very happy, tail wagging girl! :)) Xxx Thanks to Jess for her help too. Xxx

We had visits from recently homed Toby, Alex and Florence. Great to see them all. :))

This afternoon it was even quieter but I had plenty of "Help" from my own Skip and Lyra. When I was cleaning the runs Skip came out of the kitchen and promptly did a wee in the run I had just cleaned. :)) They were both a big help when I was trying to put a cover on a duvet...I had put it on the floor ready for the cover when I had a phone call. When I came back they were both stretched out on the duvet! They could have put the cover on first! :))) Bless them, they did make me laugh! Xxx

Xxx

Another very quiet day, with only a couple of sand run visits and a kind donation of duvets and bedding.

After a grey start, and the rain not making up its mind if it wanted to fall or not, it turned into a beautiful afternoon so as well as enjoying 2 walks the boys & girls spent some time lounging in the feeding runs enjoying the sun and playing with toys.

Dougie had us in stitches, he was in the run containing the 3 toy boxes and very diligently took each toy out, had a quick play, left it on the floor and kept going back until the boxes were emptied and the run floor was carpeted with toys!! This boy does enjoy a play bless him. Cristina also loves toys, but is very good at "dedding" them unfortunately and a few have been consigned to the dustbin tonight!!

Yesterdays newcomers Buddy & Marina are still getting used to their surroundings. Buddy is doing ok, but Marina is sadly quite stressed and has a habit of "paddling" in her water bowl with her front paws, throwing all the water over herself and the floor - then lying down in the resulting puddle! She has a good appetite though, and so we hope that in a few days she will be used to her new home and routine and start to relax.

I am over the moon that our Jubilee Afternoon Tea next Saturday has sold out. We have had our final rehearsal for the floorshow which is looking great, so we're all systems go for a lovely afternoon. Thanks everyone who has bought tickets - hope you have a good time.

Well the weekend is here again, and its a fairly busy diary so I will finish with my usual wish for forever homes for our residents, and raise a glass or 2 of chilled white wine a bit later to toast this.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, as ever stay safe and enjoy.

Cheers!!

Angie xx

It was back to being a quiet Friday today, so plenty of opportunity to sort and tidy the bedding store and get ahead with some health checks & weighings.

Our boys and girls had 2 lovely walks in the sunshine - all except for post op girlies Chloe & Cristina and little Georgie who hurt her leg so is on "bed rest"!! They all spent some time on the raised beds in the feeding runs watching the world go by - and their companions go out through the gate on walks, something Cristina wasn't happy about!!

At lunchtime we had a call from Morrisons Supermarket advising us that they had a donation of food for us which had been collected in store - so Jo raced off to collect. Many thanks to Morrisons and their customers.

Well the weekend is here again, I really cant believe where the time is going. It is a quieter diary for a change, but that doesn't always mean things wont change so I will raise a glass or two later in the hope that we have a red sign or 2 by Monday. We have some lovely doggies in residence, all so deserving of their own forever sofas. xx

Whatever you are up to this weekend as always, stay safe and enjoy. Cheers!!

Angie xx

What a miserable start to the day, and then the Wednesday walkers went home. :))). Only joking, thanks for your help this morning and for the coffee and fruit loaf, oh, and the replacement clock!!

It was very quiet for visitors, we did have a visit from a lovely lady and her daughter with a donation of a dog bed, blanket and a bag of sardines. Thanks so very much.

We were short on volunteers this afternoon so the dogs that could go in the sand run went in with Chris and Annie. Chloe and Cristina are both post OP following their speys this week so spent some time in the outdoor runs with raised beds.

Andy greyhound came to visit, he had started to limp on one of his front paws, on checking it looks like he has a corn so he is booked in with Auntie Ruth for her to check. He also has a new name, he is now Shadow.

Limited tickets are still available for the Jubilee afternoon tea event, if you would like a ticket please give the Kennels a call, there is also the option of the luxury upgrade which includes a glass of prosecco!!

Whhhooaaa! I’ve just sat down! Such a busy day. When I opened up this morning I found a very stressed Josh who had chewed his way out of the ‘back kitchen lounge’. He has been sleeping there as he was so stressed in a kennel.

Then Chloe was off to the vets for her Spey. Back to the kennels and we took the chickens to the end of the run for a day of grass pecking!

Next, a clip and a corn removal. I then had a college visit from the student coordinator, another nail clip then gorgeous nervous Max was returned. He has been constantly toileting in the house since his adoption despite trying everything but he clearly wasn’t happy- but was to be be back! A homing has to be right for both dog and family and the owner did the right thing returning him. In turn Barney found himself off to a new home and so far, reports are that he has settled nicely yay.

The phone was pretty much non stop, we had several donations of bedding and my inbox of emails decreased a small amount but more importantly all the residents have had a good day!

Rosie fetched Chloe from the vets and she came home with me tonight. After setting her in and feeding with Tiggy Momma and Tony, I was off to rehearsals for the short show we are performing at the jubilee afternoon tea.

I am as always very grateful to all our volunteers who help make the place ‘tick’.

Most of you will know Bob who owns Daybreaks. He celebrated his 95th birthday last week and also had an emergency admission to hospital. He is back home now and on the mend. I am grateful to everyone who has rallied around to help during this stressful time. Wine time now!

It was a very overcast start to the day, but by this afternoon we had glorious sunshine. Thanks to everyone for their help today, dogs that could go on a walk had morning and afternoon walks. Thanks to Liz for taking the gorgeous Dougie to the park. He was very interested in the other dogs so really needs socialising with other breeds.

We had no viewings, but had several visitors to collect food and use the sand run.

Many thanks for the very generous donations, our donation trolley is full of all sorts of goodies.

Our cats and chickens have asked me to send an appeal out for newspapers, they are running out and I think they are fed up with reading the same thing day after day!!

The inmates were all tucked up and relaxed when we left. If you are interested in any of our fantastic hounds and would like more information or would like to pay us a visit please call the Kennels.

See you Wednesday - will think up dome new torture for you!! Xx

I would like to respond to the Wednesday walkers....clocks don't leap off walls (Peanut hasn't been the same since)!!! Plastic strips by the block door don't fall off on their own free will and your efforts to tip me over the edge are working!!! I have formally requested that my working Wednesday is changed for a more normal less strange day. See you all on Wednesday. Lol xxx

That was a busy old Friday!!

Ruth had a full house for teeth & corns, she was on her knees most of the morning!!! We had some fabulous donations of bedding & towels, many thanks indeed - it is amazing just how much we go through now we have a full kennels again. And Lorna had pamper customers, so the day just flew past.

Our boys & girls spent time in the outside feeding runs this morning, having playtime with interactive toys and then chilling in the lovely sunshine. They had a lovely walk this afternoon and are now happily tucked up in bed.

Well incredibly another weekend is here - and the diary is busy again. I shall raise my usual glass (or 2) later to toast our residents and hope that forever homes will soon be theirs.

The weather forecast looks amazing so whatever you're up to, stay safe & cool, and enjoy. Cheers!!

Angie xx

Ummm - on behalf of the Wednesday walkers I would just like to point out that the office clock literally leapt off the wall as I was getting the trackers down (it nearly concussed poor Peanuts who was underneath!) Also, the plastic covering bit fell off the wall while we were in the kennels leading up, therefore we accept no responsibility for this! Can I just add how much we agree about Annie who works really hard and puts up with all the madness that occurs on Wednesdays!! Xx

Firstly, I would like to welcome Denise back to the Kennels after being unwell with the dreaded covid, she finally had 2 negative results over the past few days. The chucks were pleased to see her as were we!!

Thanks too to the Wednesday walkers for taking all the dogs out this morning, providing coffee, toasted fruit loaf, wrecking the office clock, knocking a piece of plastic covering off in the bottom kennel block and.....I could go on. I will be requesting a change in my working day, not sure how long I can cope with them before they tip me over the edge (might be too late already) !!!!!!

We were very short on help this afternoon, but thanks to Chris and Annie the dogs all had afternoon walks. Poor Josh was on no walks as he was limping, it looks like he has something in his pad, Ruth is going to dig around tomorrow to see if he has got something in there. He spent the day in the feeding run with a raised bed and toys. He had not been eating well since his return on Monday, but this afternoon he wolfed his dinner down.

I would just like to say our lovely Wednesday college work placement student Annie has really come out of her shell. She was very shy and seemed a little unsure of what was expected of her....well she has blossomed and gets on with the daily tasks, only asking when she arrives what we want her to do, after that she uses her initiative and gets on with whatever needs to be done. I really felt that she should have recognition for her hard work.

It was very quiet for visitors today just a couple of sand run bookings although the phone was fairly busy.

Hoping that the next few days will result in more red and green signs.

It was typical Bank Holiday weather today! Dull and overcast but there was nothing dull about our lovely dogs! :))

They all enjoyed their morning walks and it warmed up enough for them to have some time outside in the runs before more walks this afternoon. :))

A lovely couple who met Georgie yesterday came back to see her again today and Reserved her! So happy for this super little girl. :)

We had a visit from Handsome Tom and his Mum Sue...he wasn't too impressed about having his nails clipped! Gorgeous Bolt came to see us too. Many thanks to Hillary for all the donations. Xxx

Very sadly Josh came back to the kennels this afternoon. We will do our best to find him another home. His owner was very upset to have to teturn him. Xxx

We are so grateful to Jayne for coming in and giving the memorial garden a makeover. It looks great and a fitting tranquil and beautiful space to sit and remember. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today and spending your May Day with us. :)) Xxx

We were a bit depleted for help today, so many thanks to everyone who came in and helped. The inmates all had morning and afternoon walks. It was fairly quiet for visitors apart from some sand run bookings including the now regular Sunday morning Beagle party!

Our favourite boy Mikey came in for a health check and looked fantastic, he then had some fun in the sand run. He is doing really well.

Andy who is out on foster also came in, he too is doing really well and has started to enjoy his food more, so he will be having some extra food now he has settled. Thanks to his foster family for taking such good care of him...hmm it's very difficult to give a foster dog back, who knows what may happen?

Well, as always stay safe and well everyone.

My Gold Star Clean Kennel award goes to all the boys and girls this morning - well done for making cleaning nice and easy today.

Glad to report that Cristina’s tail is absolutely fine, just have to make sure she doesn’t bash it on anything else!

The sun is shining and it’s going to be another lovely day - let’s hope it’s a lucky day for one of our beautiful hounds. Xx

It turned into a lovely sunny day after a chilly start - and yes, I got the washing dry outside!!!

We welcomed our students back after the Easter break so lots of bodies to take our boys & girls out for a walk both this morning and afternoon, as well as completing health checks, grooming and putting away the donations of towels and bedding received.

Not surprisingly the sand run was popular today, and we had a lovely visit from ex-resident Caddy who enjoyed a very short run in the sand run then came into the office for a lie down & a snooze on the bed!!

Our 3 newbies are all so lovely, Dougie has an overshot jaw and he looks sooo cute, but he's not eating very well at the minute though. I made salmon & green bean fishcakes yesterday & brought them in for all the residents breakfasts - but Dougie wasn't tempted by them sadly. The rest of the residents polished them off and licked the bowls clean!!! A seal of approval I think!

Doggies supper time is approaching now, then it's coats back on and time for bed. Despite the lovely day, the forecast is for a chilly night so we will tuck them up warmly with a heater on.

Yet another weekend is here, and another busy diary, so let's keep fingers crossed for a red sign or 2 by Monday morning. I shall certainly be raising a glass or two later on to toast this!

Whatever you're up to this weekend, stay safe and enjoy. Cheers!

Angie xx

Lots going on today!:) With a nearly full kennels it was busy first thing this morning...Declan was in charge of feeding, Vonnie and Stacey cleaning kennels and me Cats and Chickens. :))

We had lots of help with walks both this morning and this afternoon. :) Thanks so much everyone! Wouldn't say it was a warm spring day! It was rather dull and chilly, so fleecy coats on all the residents. (Again!) Xxx

Shirley and Richard went to Collect donations from Pets At Home in Stratford, thanks so much! Xxx Many thanks to Declan and Alan who went on a Warehouse run. Xxx. Meanwhile Lucy was busy taking photos of our latest arrivals. :)) Xxx

The Pet Blood Bank were here too in their Mobile Unit and we had several Pet dogs visit to offer their help including Belle and Spirit. Xxx Cath brought foster lad Joe in to donate, he is looking a very handsome and happy lad. :)) We only had one Trust dog available to give blood today, beautiful Georgie. The team said she was a perfect blood donor! :) The Pet Blood Bank will be back again at the kennels in a couple of months time. Please give us a call if you are interested in helping this very worthy cause and we will give you their contact details...one donation of blood can help save the lives of up to four other dogs in need. Xxx

Handsome Padfoot came in for his eight week check up. He looks wonderful! Xxx

This afternoon a lovley family came to visit Misty. Very sadly they recently lost their beautiful Jenna and their poor lad Sid was feeling very lonely. They were homed together several years ago and he is missing his friend. Xxx He left the kennels with a very pretty young lady. Hoping she will help fill the huge space Jenna left behind. Xxxxx

Finally....Happy Birthday to Richard! There were lots of cakes and chocolates consumed to help him celebrate!! Xxx

Another busy day! Thanks to everyone for their help today and to Dave who had a day off work and came to the kennels. Thanks Dave for fitting the new hose that was very kindly donated, we now have one that works properly!

We had three lovely new arrivals, Barney, Dougie and Cristina. They all had their health checks and baths and all enjoyed their dinner. All dogs are now all tucked up in their beds.

It has been a little on the chilly side today but at least it was dry and bright.

As always, take care everyone.

A very busy day. Sadly our lovely Denise is not very well and so was not in today. Hoping she feels better soon.

Thanks to everyone for their help today.
Lorna also had a couple of Pampers booked.

We had the Sharron Alexandra photo shoot today, it was very busy. Can't wait to see my little Peanuts photos. Peanut made sure she was kept busy by being cute and making friends with all the visitors! There are two more sessions in the diary, one in June and another in September, raffle tickets will be available on both occasions, the prize being your dogs photo will be in next year's Daybreaks calendar, so if you book a slot on either of the following sessions you can enter the raffle. It has to be worth having a go or two.

All dogs had morning and afternoon walks. Gorgeous Chloe was reserved and is going out on trial next Sunday.

River was a happy waggy boy despite finding himself back in Kennels. I have a feeling his stay may be a very short one (fingers crossed)!!

Many thanks to Liz for taking Sammy for an outing today, he had a glowing report on his return.

Well, as always stay safe and well. X

After a very grey, dull start it turned into a glorious day, and yes - I got lines of washing dry!!

We were very thin on the ground for volunteers, just Chris and I for walking this morning, so it was sand run playtime this afternoon.

Little Lucy is still so very nervous bless her, she went out on the walk but wasn't very happy, even when walking next to her companion Misty. She heads straight for her kennel whenever she has been taken out and snuggles up into the corner. Hopefully as time goes by she will realise she is safe and all is well, and she will start to gain some confidence.

It was quite a busy day. So lovely to see our special boy Alex going off to his foster home first thing this morning, then the lovely Liberty bagged herself a forever home with a very handsome fur brother this afternoon, and lots of donations of towels & bedding to sort and put away.

Well, the weekend is here again - I'm sure someone is taking a day out of the week while I'm not looking!!!! It is a white wine kind of evening so I shall raise a glass or 2 later to toast our newcomers and hope Lucy starts to settle soon, Sammy who is currently outnumbered by a bevvy of lovely ladies, and all the doggies in foster care hoping for forever homes soon.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, stay safe and enjoy. Cheers!!

Angie xx

This morning several of us went to the funeral of one of our volunteers, Carol Prince. Carol volunteered at the kennels for many years walking the dogs on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. She homed many Greyhounds throughout her life, Maisie was her last sweet little girl who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. For the last few months Carol visited the kennels frequently and although she was no longer able to go for walks she would sit with them, especially those who were nervous and needed some extra love and attention. Carol was a lovely lady and we will miss her. She is now reunited with all her Greyhounds at Rainbow Bridge, together forever. :)) Xxx

Another quite day for volunteers, just Ruth and myself to begin with. Thanks to the depleted Wednesday walkers for their help today, hoping we are up to full strength next week!

It was lovely to see Alex looking much brighter and eating today. Dog Andy was also much happier and comfortable too. Just a warning.....if you come to use the sand run you may well go home with a foster dog. Thanks to Steph and Will for taking Andy out on foster today.

Thanks too to Chris and Nebeela for taking the inmates in the sand run this afternoon, thankfully after last week it was very uneventful!!!

As always stay safe and well.

Wonderful news to hear Alex has been offered a foster home! Thank you so much to Florence's lovely Mum and Dad. Xxx

Fingers crossed that Alex keeps improving and he bags himself a home xxxxxx

It has been such a fabulous day with the sun shining and the lovely Vonnie and Mollie were in this Bank Holiday morning to help me. We let all the dogs out muzzled so they could roam and interact and then we had Amy and her fella (oops can't remember his name!) come to help with walking along with volunteer Dave, whilst Laura and Eloise arrived and took the dogs in turn into the sand run whilst we did some grooming. We had one unfortunately split her web space :-((((

I saw Rocky out on trial… after a struggle getting him in the car!

Alex has had a great day pottering around and eating well in between sleeping under the desk and so far so good - he has not been sick today and is so happy! The owners of Florence came up for her to have her nails cut.... and after seeing Alex, they kindly offered a foster (hoping to be permanent if all goes well) home for Alex which I am absolutely over the moon about!
Louisa and Myra came this afternoon to help so I have been well supported by volunteers.
We have an automatic winding hose and sadly the mechanisim has broken - so if anyone has a spare or would like to donate one (wishful thinking!) I would be incredibly grateful!
Happy Bank Holiday Monday everyone.... it's been a lovely day x

Well, usually on a Sunday I have the most amazing group of volunteers. Everyone decided to take today off!!

It was just myself and Dave Maisie Moo for cleaning and feeding, shortly followed by Rob and Megan who comes in for morning walks as part of her D of E course and finally Alison. Many thanks to them all for their help and hard work.

It was very quiet for visitors, we had Early Shirley to use the sand run and then we had the Beagle party who are now a regular Sunday morning booking, there are loads of them!!!!

Well as always stay safe and well. Xx

Happy Good Friday everyone!! It has been a glorious day weather wise - but so, so quiet for visitors (and volunteers!!).

As it was quiet, and we have fewer dogs at the moment, it was "open house" this morning as we muzzled them all up and let them wander about the kennels. A trifle chaotic to start as they all wanted to sniff the same place at the same time!! but they soon settled and had a lovely time chilling in the sunshine, waiting their turn to be groomed. It was such a great experience for them, socializing with each other and exploring, and just enjoying some off lead pottering about.

Our handsome Rocky found himself reserved this morning - yay! Well done big fella. x

Liberty's paw doesn't seem to be bothering her at all and she happily joined in the kennel wander this morning. We did however leave her behind when we took the others on a short stroll down the lane this afternoon - just in case.

New arrival from yesterday Sammy is still a little unsure of things, but is a very friendly boy and I am sure he will settle in soon.

Well, it's supper time now, and then the boys and girls will be tucked up for the night as yet another weekend approaches!

It is a definite white wine kind of evening I think, and I shall raise a glass or two later to the lovely Alex, who is sadly still struggling with his health, and wish for a speedy recovery for him - and wish for forever sofas for all the lovely Daybreaks boys & girls.

Have a great Easter weekend, stay safe - and enjoy. Cheers!!

Angie x

What a very busy day! :)

It got off to a great start when I received a call from the lovely family who had taken Winner on trial saying they wanted to complete her adoption. :)) What a lucky girl! Xxx

We had several viewings, our lovely Liberty was reserved and Snowey found his forever home! :)) Xxx

Early this afternoon we had a new arrival, the very handsome Sammy! Xxx Thanks so much to Shirley and Lucy for giving him a bath and checking all his details. Xxx

Alan and Declan went off to the warehouse for us. Xxx Thank you. :))

In between we had cleaning, feeding and walking. :))

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today. :) Xxx

Xxx

The weather couldn't make up its mind today, torrential rain, sunshine, drizzle, more torrential rain then sunshine!

Thanks to the Wednesday walkers for taking the dogs out this morning. This afternoon after Denise left there was Chris and myself, so it was to be sand run fun. Liberty had her turn and Chris called me to say Liberty's paw was bleeding. She had a tiny puncture wound on one pad. Not too bad, surely! Every time her paw was lifted the blood spurted out, literally. We managed to finally get a tight dressing on to try and stem the bleeding, it still came through. Fivelands at Yardley had no one to see her, so off we went to Moseley, they were great, as soon as I pulled up the vet and nurse were straight out to see us. They took the dressing off and thankfully as it was tightly padded the bleeding had stopped. Even they were amazed by amount of blood and the fact she didn't seem to be in any discomfort. Liberty was such a good girl, they took her to clean and check the pad. A new dressing later and she was good to go back to the Kennels. She quite happily ate her dinner and went to bed!

Many thanks to Chris for feeding the dogs and cleaning down the feeding runs. As I got back to the Kennels she was just erasing any evidence of the incident.

Well after that I have a bottle of wine which seriously needs my attention!!!!

All the boys and girls get my Gold Star clean kennel award today! On opening up this morning we were greeted by 2 blocks of happy hounds and clean kennels.

Unusually we have lots of lovely girls waiting for their forever homes, leaving Rocky and Snowey feeling a bit outnumbered!!

Have a great weekend everyone and hope to see some of you tomorrow at the Hounds Easter Parade. Xx

It felt like I'd woken up in another country this morning with today's beautiful Spring weather - what a contrast to the last couple of days! The boys & girls spent the day without coats and enjoyed two walks in some gorgeous sunshine, it makes such a difference.

All our new arrivals are absolutely lovely, and starting to settle in now. Snowey is still a bit unsure about eating breakfast, but does tuck into his supper - maybe he's just not a morning person!!

This afternoon saw our lovely River off to his new home, wishing him and his family many happy times ahead. We shall all miss his handsome face and "paw of more".

Preparations for the Hounds Easter Parade on Sunday are well under way, and fortunately the weather forecast is looking much better than it was. As well as the Parade, there's also a Doggy Dip & Sossidge Bobbing, Lorna offering mini pampers, and an Easter Egg hunt for the human children. Lots happening - so hope to see you there for a fun day. Parking is at the Birmingham Exiles Rugby Club as usual.

I shall raise a glass or two later to toast all our boys & girls, and all those out in foster homes too, and hope for forever homes to come their way soon.

Stay safe one & all - cheers!!
Angie xx

Another busy day, thanks to everyone for their help today. The weather was decidedly undecided! Thankfully it brightened up later on.

I met Snowy a new arrival from earlier in the week, he is still unsure of the new surroundings and is not eating too well. Hopefully this will change in the next couple of days when more settled.

Our two new arrivals today are also lovely, thanks to Annie for bathing them and doing their arrival checks.

Raffle tickets for the hounds Easter parade are on sale, you can pop in to the Kennels or pay by card over the phone.

The inmates were all tucked up with their fleece coats and heating on.

As always, stay safe and well everyone. X

It was a mad, mad crazy day today, but it was the day most of us had been waiting for....(drum roll) Mikey was officially adopted, he looked absolutely fantastic and went home with a new fleecy coat. He got lots of attention and cuddles. Well done Mikey, at last you are officially in your home.

Next was lovely little Molly's turn, off she trotted through the gate to start her new life, good luck sweetie.

Bill was next, such a lovely boy who had been on foster, so well done to his family for becoming members of the failed foster family.

It was still quite chilly, but all dogs that could, had morning and afternoon walks. Thanks to everyone for their help today, I really appreciate it, especially as I was busy with the homings and the viewing for Molly and nail cutting. Thanks to Angie who did a dogs nails whilst I was dealing with other matters.

As always stay safe and well everyone, hope to see as many of you as possible at the hounds Easter parade next Sunday. X

Couldn't agree more Jo! They are definetly a breed that gets under your skin and never known such a beautiful kind breed.
I just wish we could have a lifetime with our special ones but as I always say, that still wouldn't be long enough xxx

It's been a terribly sad few weeks hearing heartbreaking news about so many of our very special hounds that have crossed the Rainbow bridge. How many of us have said 'that's it, no more'? But, when we are ready we go and do it all over again!

We never replace a hound, we merely open our homes and our hearts to another deserving hound. We do this despite the fact we know we will have to at some point have to say goodbye to them too and see them over the bridge. Someone once said 'it's better to have loved and lost than never loved at all'.

We give them the best home and retirement, our unconditional love as they do to us, a nice bed/sofa and plenty of lovely food and treats.

I firmly believe that once this breed gets under your skin it is implanted for life.

Please, despite how painful it can feel at the moment, do not discount homing another regal greyhound, they will reward you with so much love and gratitude. Jo x

Another Daybreaks day is drawing to a close, and it's been a busy one! The weather has alternated between lovely sunshine (and I got a line of washing dry!) and snow showers - crazy!!

Poor Alex was back at the Vet again, fingers crossed he starts to feel better soon.

The new arrivals from yesterday are settling well - and are very lovely! Little Georgie had her bath this morning - and wasn't impressed, think she was glad she missed it yesterday! It was little Miss Clocky's birthday today, she enjoyed her birthday treats. x

This afternoon saw the arrival of the very handsome Rocky - a stunning big black boy with the most gorgeous grey face. Hope he has a good night and starts to settle in with us. x

The sand run was very popular again today, and we had visitors for nail clippings & food.

It's started to get really chilly now so the boys & girls are all tucked up in fleecy coats with the heater on.

Another weekend is upon us and yet again it looks like it will be a busy one. I shall raise my glass later to toast all our boys & girls and hope for some red or green signs by Monday.

Have a good weekend one and all, stay safe - and stay warm!

Angie xx

What a very chilly day!!

We had three gorgeous new arrivals today, Georgie, Clocky and Toby. We had the heater on in the treatment room so they were nice and warm to have their health checks and baths. Georgie missed out on her bath as she had recently been flea treated by her trainer. We will catch up with her in the next few days! Thanks so much to Lucy and Lauren for carrying out the health checks for them all and thanks so much to Lucy for the fabulous arrival photos!! Xxx

Alan and Declan went on a warehouse run, thanks so much. They travelled back in a snow storm! Xxx

Thanks you to everyone for your help today. Xxx

We have nearly a full house again....please give us a call if you would like to meet any of our boys and girls. :)) Xxx

ROADSHOWS/AWARENESS EVENTS

As life starts to return to something approaching "normal", we are keen to get our Roadshows and Awareness events up and running again, and are now recruiting members for the Roadshow Teams.

Do you love to talk about your Hound? Are you keen to promote Greyhounds as pets and share your experiences with the public? If so, and you are in a position to commit some time at various weekends and various locations throughout the year, then please get in touch - we would love to hear from you.

We are initially just gathering names to gauge numbers and areas - owning a hound is not a requirement, although hounds with a solid temperament are most welcome & will act as great ambassadors for both Daybreaks and the Greyhound breed.

These events have proved very succesful in the past, not only for raising awareness but also for finding homes for our boys & girls as well as raising the vital funds we need to continue our work.

So please - give the kennels a call on 0121 782 7702 or give me a shout (or text) on 07963 988883 for further information, or to sign up - and let's get back out there and start spreading the message again - Greyhounds make great pets, and Daybreaks is a great place to home one from.

Angie xx

Thanks to everyone for their help today.

I took Alex to the vets this morning, he has been sick in his kennel for a few days. Thankfully the vet couldn't find anything specific wrong with him, she thought he may have a bit of a gastrointestinal bug but could also be caused by some stress. He was given an anti sickness jab and some probiotic pills to help with the lining of his stomach. He has shown no signs of being unwell apart from the sickness and not wanting to eat the biscuits in his food. He enjoyed the tray meat he had today, we left the Burns out and he was quite happy!

We are expecting some new arrivals in the next couple of days, so watch this space!

As always stay safe and well. X

We only have a handful of dogs in as we are waiting for new arrivals . However, it has still been ’nuts’ with phone calls and things to do over the last couple of days.

Jude who helps with admin on a Monday is a godsend helping with the office side of the kennels - Kate was off and it was so busy we only had one cuppa all day!

Yesterday was a bit calmer - Jean took the calls and sorted paperwork whilst kate took the gorgeous tiny Molly to Fivelands for her spey.

I rehomed the pretty Paaaauuuuline (said in a Arthur from Eastenders accent) and I’m sure her owner feels she was ‘rescued’ from Daybreaks and has not surprisingly given a new name… Djinnie.

Sadly Timmy was returned. He was homed with his sister Bea recently. Bea continuously growls at him and he was getting increasingly stressed and would cry a lot. It was a tough decision but his owner brought him back . After a while in the office he settled (stopped trying to chew the office doorframe) and became friends with Alex who spends the day having TLC in the office. I called Erik and asked if he could foster Timmy as I didn’t want him stressing in kennels.

I fetched Molly later that afternoon and took her home. She has been a perfect little house guest bless her however she will go back to Daybreaks today as I’m currently have a full house with Tiggy Momma Tony Snip Hope and Rigsby…. It’s like an assault course at home!

Thanks always go to Vonnie and all the volunteers who help I absolutely couldn’t do it without you all xxxx.

The weather has turned chilly again, despite that we had a good day. Handsome hounds Joe and Joey both went out to their respective foster homes, so happy for them both.

There were several sand run bookings, including a beagle party which is going to be a regular Sunday booking!

We also had a viewing, fingers crossed that one of the two gorgeous hounds viewed may find their forever home. The family are coming back tomorrow with the younger family members to see which would be the best suited to their family.

Our two new arrivals from Friday seem to be settling well.

Many thanks to everyone for their help today, it is really very much appreciated.

There was also a great deal of interest in my little girl Peanut! She 'mugs' everyone for love and fuss, she is such a friendly tiny little girl. Joey's foster family wanted to take her home!!

All inmates were coated, tucked up in bed and had the heaters on in the kennel block, they all looked very comfortable and contented when I checked before leaving.

As always, stay safe and well. X

It was a very busy day today...

This morning Alfie was officially adopted. :)) He bounced in with his lovely new family, had a race around the sand run and then went off to carry on enjoying his new life. :)) Such a very happy and joyful lad. Xxx

Little Rosie went home with her great new Dad! Wishing them lots of great times together. :)) Xxx

We had lots of visitors to use the sand run and appointments for a pamper with Lorna. Tina was also here this afternoon with clients for her Reiki treatment. :) Xxx

We had a viewing too and a visit from a lovely couple who are hopefully going to Foster out special boy Joey. Xxx

In between there were walks and health checks for our residents. Many thanks to Noah for giving Rosie a health check and a groom before she went home. Xxx

Xxx

It's been another beautiful day today - lots of lovely sunshine and our boys & girls (and volunteers too) have enjoyed walks without coats, and some basking in the sunshine too!

Alex was as bright as a button today following his neutering yesterday. He quite enjoyed lounging in the feeding run whilst the others went out on their walks.

This morning saw the arrival of 2 lovely new girls into the Daybreaks family, Brooke & Molly. Brooke is a gorgeous dark brindle, so dark in fact that you have to be up close to see her lovely markings. Both are understandably a bit bewildered by the change in their circumstances, but it didn't stop Brooke tucking into her supper. Molly was less enthusiastic and really didn't want any food, let's hope she feels more like it in the morning. Hopefully they will both have a good night and start to settle in soon. x

This afternoon saw our fabulous River reserved - yay! He will be off to his new home in a couple of weeks after his owner gets back from her holiday.

We had plenty of volunteers today so all health checks were completed, and lots of tidying up was undertaken. I also got 2 lines of washing dry!

Well another weekend is upon us, time is just racing by - it's crazy. The diary looks full again, so it's raise a glass and fingers crossed that we see some red or green signs by Monday morning. Whatever you're up to this weekend, stay safe and enjoy - and let's hope this lovely weather holds.

Cheers!

Angie xx

I took Alex off to the vets this morning to be neutered. He was a little stressed when he arrived at the vets but I left him in the care of their lovely staff Debbie and Izzy. I collected him this afternoon and he enjoyed his dinner when he got back to the kennels. :)) Hoping he will have a good nights sleep. Xxx

It was good to see Alan and Belle today. We all knew and understood how he was feeling after saying goodbye to his beloved Paddy yesterday.
Xxx

We had lots of help to walk the dogs today, thanks so much to everyone. It was great to see them all go out and enjoy the sunshine. :)) Xxx

Lucy came to see us today! Xxx As you can see from the fab new photos of a lot of the dogs, she brought her camera with her! Thanks so much Lucy. :)) Xxx

We also had a visit from our good friends Tash and John. They very kindly dropped off some items for our upcoming Easter raffle. It was lovely to see them. Xxx

I'm very grateful to everyone for looking after the kennels whilst I did the vet runs today! :)) Xxx

We have two new arrivals due tomorrow...two little girls. :)) Xxx

What a beautiful spring day! So good to be able to take the fleecy coats off the dogs and see them enjoy going for their walks in the warm sunshine. Good for us too...it's been a long winter. Xxx

Many thanks to Norman for taking our wonderful Alex to the park. He had a lovely time and had a long nap on the bed under the desk in the office on his return. :)).

We had a brilliant delivery of food, treats and toys this morning from a lovely person who won a competition at Crufts and donated the prize to Daybreaks! Thank you so much. Xxx

We also had a lovely delivery of fish and a donation of treats. We are so grateful for the wonderful support we receive. You can be sure our residents appreciate everything they receive. They all enjoyed a nasher stick to go to bed with tonight. Xxx

Jo also had a trip to Birmingham Dogs Home on Sunday to pick up Roman who had escaped from his owners home. His owner is sadly very poorly at the moment so I collected him yesterday afternoon from the kennels and later he went to a foster home.

It was a beautiful day for my day off especially after the madness of Saturday and wonderful weather helped my current training for the London Landmarks 100 mile ride in May - during this I had to keep stopping to answer calls regarding Roman so next time I’m taking my ear pods!

Yet another busy day!

Sand run bookings, nail clippings, dropping off of very generous donations, oh and a beagles party in the sand run this morning. This was the second week of what looks like a regular Sunday booking. I have no idea how many there are, but it's A LOT!!!!

Sadly River was unreserved today, please don't let his age put you off, he is a lovely boy.

It was so busy that I started the very handsome Chase's homing this morning and finally completed it at around 4 o'clock this afternoon. He is now the official brother to Maisie Moo. Well done Chase, you will be so very loved and spoiled. Thanks to our fantastic volunteer Dave for giving him a loving home after fostering him since January.

Thanks to everyone for their help today, thanks also to Liz for taking Joe out to the park and also to Kitty's parents Ned and Jackie for taking Joey for an outing this afternoon.

Well, another week is upon us, let's hope for more red and green signs. We have so many deserving dogs looking for their forever homes (they are all deserving I know), but it can be unsettling for the returnees.

Stay safe and well everyone. X

What a crazy day today, lots of ups and downs....

This morning Roxy, Dee and Denver all came in for their post Homing health checks. All of them are really doing great in their new homes and settling well. Thanks you so much to their new families for giving them wonderful loving homes Xxx

Pretty little Robin came into the kennels and within a few hours found herself Reserved! A fabulous family travelled a good two hours with their own three beautiful dogs to meet her. They brought cocktail sausages for all of our residents...they loved them. :)) Xxx

Padfoot Paddy came in to be officially adopted! He was such a patient boy while we were completing his paperwork. :) Lovely Homing photo too. Xxx

Sahara now Marli was signed up too! Brilliant to see she has been reunited with her litter Brother. :)) Xxx

Rosie found herself reserved. She is a super little girl. Xxx

This afternoon Bill was returned. :(( So very sad for this lovely, happy lad. Hoping he will soon find a new home. He has gone home with Ruth tonight. Xxx

In between all of these comings and goings we had visitors for the sand run and donations of bedding. Lorna had a couple of pampers too! Xxx

Ruth and I are so grateful to everyone for Their help today. Thanks to Angie and Michael for cleaning and feeding all of our residents early this morning before anyone else arrived! Xxx thanks to Jess for doing nail clipping and feeding everyone this afternoon. Many thanks to all of our walkers too! You are all Fab!! :)) Xxx

It was gold stars all round this morning for lovely clean kennels from all our residents.

Johnny was as bright as a button after his neutering yesterday, and tucked into his breakfast.

It was a great day by the looks of things - Paddy & Sahara all signed up, and both with lovely new names. And 2 lovely red signs for the lovely Rosie and returnee Robin - great news.

So sad to see the beautiful Bill returned - it has been a difficult past couple of weeks, but Daybreaks is here for these gorgeous hounds and we will take good care of them until we can find them forever sofas again.
xxx

After almost needing a lantern to guide me through the fog this morning, it turned into an absolutely beautiful Spring day - we all enjoyed the feel of the sun on our faces.

Jo was off on the Vet run first thing, this time it was Johnny's turn. He had a waggy tail on his return, and apparently everyone at the Vets had fallen in love with him (quite right too). River, who was neutered yesterday, was as bright as a button today and we enjoyed lots of snuggles as, being post op, he can't go out for walks.

I had to smile at Joe this morning, I was obviously taking too long to clean the kennels while the dogs were out having breakfast, so he pulled the dog bed down that was hanging over the bars of the feeding run, and promptly sat himself down on it!!!

It was a fairly quiet day for visitors, just a few sand run bookings, so we could get health checks and grooming done, as well as 2 lovely walks in the sunshine.

I actually managed to hang the washing out on the line - and get it dry too!!

The residents spent another day without coats on, nice for their skin to have a breather and a break from being covered, but as they finish their supper it's coats back on ready to snuggle up in heated kennels as its forecast a chilly night.

The weekend is on us again,and the diary looks packed for both days, so lets hope for some red or green signs by Monday morning - I shall raise my glass (or two) later.

Whatever you're up to over the weekend, stay safe & enjoy - and let's hope this lovely weather lasts.

Cheers!!

Angie xx

It was a much better day today. It was nice to be able to take the dogs coats off for a while. Sure they all enjoyed the sunshine. :))

Sue very kindly took River to the vets to be neutered and have a dental this morning. He was very lively when Richard brought him back to the kennels. Such a very happy lad. :)) Xxx

Timmy and Bee came in for a visit this morning. It was lovely to see them and their owner. Xxx Timmy loved everyone he met and decided to sit on Richard's feet so he couldn't get out of the office! Xxx

Many thanks to Shirley and Richard for collecting a donation of food and treats from Pets at Home for our boys and girls. Xxx

Capri, now called Sophie was officially adopted this afternoon! She is such a polite young lady and sat in the office very patiently whilst her paperwork was completed. :)) Xx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today! :)) Xxx

I logged into the website to do my Daybreaks Diary post and saw Daybreaks Ruth had already posted. I don't know if she mentioned how cold, wet damp and miserable it was, but it was flipping cold, wet, damp and miserable.

Congratulations to Pauline for her reservation today, something good to brighten the day. Xx

Eeewwwww - what an absolutely miserable afternoon we have had weather wise but despite feeling damp and cold, we saw the gorgeous Pauuuuuuuline reserved. She is off on trial on Monday and most of you will be pleased to know she has got a planned name change!
Thank you to our Wednesday walkers who also helped line up the dogs for me to weigh and nail clip all in turn.
Alex spent time pottering about again and I drenched his skin with the aloe vera solution in a bit to help his bald bits. Still no results on the skip scrape......

I agree with rubytwoshoes the Greyhound who took part in the Final of Crufts tonight is absolutely stunning! What a fabulous opportunity to show people what a beautiful breed of dog they are. :)) The Flat Coated Retriever who won Best in Show was gorgeous too!! :)) Xxx

Despite there not being much in the diary today it seemed really busy! Thanks to our lovely volunteers all dogs had morning walks, this afternoon it was sand run fun, they thoroughly enjoyed it as did our volunteers!

It stayed dry thankfully, although it was quite chilly, fleeces on, heating on and the inmates are all tucked up and curled up on their beds.

Fingers crossed for some red and green signs this week, we are full to bursting!

As always stay safe, warm and well.

Totally agree Lucy and you're right, you are their whole world...in our case, jet was literally my whole world too and it's not the same place it was without him, such a huge part missing. We only got 7 years together, prayed so hard we'd get more. As I have said before I desperately need one of these boys or girls in my life again but as you have rightfully said below, our circumstances aren't quite right at the moment but as soon as they are I would be honoured if we were allowed to give another one their forever home. Goodness help them though with the mad House we live in! Xxx

Fabulous hounds at Crufts today. What a stunning greyhound was the best in group winner and what a pretty little whippet as runner up.

I totally agree Lucy&Ellie, well said xxxxx

So sad to see so many returnees recently. I totally sympathise and understand that sometimes circumstances really change and it's so sad for all involved, but please if thinking about adopting remember that you owe it to your new family member to accommodate all of their needs, that they are not a fad, or a temporary family member. If you are not in the right position to adopt, just wait it out, remember they need stable environments, and a whole lot of love, so if you can not see yourself having the time for them a couple of years down the line, just wait until you know you DO have the consistent time for them for what could be 10+ years they're in your life.
Again, I totally understand sometimes unfortunate circumstances do dictate the return of these beautiful dogs, but they are not a decision to be taken lightly, and when you adopt one of them, you become their whole world, even if they're only one part of yours.

The sad week continued at Daybreaks with the return of Alex first thing this morning. Let's hope that all our returnees, who are understandably a bit stressed and bemused, will soon settle - but even better will find themselves back out on their own sofas again very soon.xx

Jo was on the Vet run this morning - Alfie's turn today. He was still a bit wobbly on his return this afternoon and wasn't interested in his supper, hope he feels a bit brighter tomorrow. He will soon be off to his new home. x

With an overflowing kennels, and a depleted Team, it was a very busy day, but all the residents had walks or playtime in the sand run. The weather deteriorated this afternoon, but fortunately everyone was back from the afternoon walk before the downpour started.

There were lots of healthchecks, weighings and groomings to do, and we had several kind donations of towels and bedding.

The diary is busy again this weekend, so keep everything crossed for our boys & girls - we need to see some red or green signs.

I shall raise my glass later in the hope that forever homes are just around the corner for our lovely hounds. Whatever you are up to this weekend, as ever, stay safe - and dry!! Cheers!!

Angie xx

Rosie was returned to the kennels first thing this morning. It was very sad for all concerned. She is a very sweet girl and I am sure she will soon find another home. Xxx

Many thanks to Alan and Declan for going to the warehouse for us this afternoon. Xxx

Shirley gave the treatment room a good clean and and Richard worked on the rotten wood in the front door. :))

Rosie came in this afternoon and completed homing packs for all the dogs. :) Xxx

Thanks to everyone for all their help today. Xxx

It has been a hard week with Alfie, Winny and Rosie coming back to the kennels. If you are interested in offering any of our beautiful boys and girls a home please give us a call and come and meet them. :)) Xxx

This morning started out bright and sunny, it almost seemed tropical (ok not quite but you can hope)!! This afternoon was a different story, we felt like we went back to the ice age.

Many thanks to the Wednesday walkers and our volunteers. The dogs all had morning walks, as we were short of people this afternoon the inmates that could go had fun in the sand run. The ones that couldn't had a lovely groom in the feeding runs.

I left tonight with the dogs all tucked up with their heating on and their fleecey coats on.

As always stay safe, warm and well.

Thanks to everyone for their help today. Despite there not being a lot in the diary it turned into a mad crazy day! We had visitors for food, sand run and general visits.

We saw the lovely Bella now Betty formally adopted, she was such a good girl in the office whilst her paperwork was completed.

It got very cold this afternoon, all the dogs had their under bed heating on as well as the wall heaters and their fleecy coats on. I was glad to get home and try to get warm, even now my feet are still cold!!

As always, stay safe, well and warm.

It was a busy day...we had lots of visitors with their beautiful Greyhounds to say Hello to! :)) Xx

So happy to see Paddy reserved today. A super boy! Xxx

We had a bit of a technical hitch this afternoon when the hinge on the top of the main kennel door came off! Unfortunately the wood of the door frame is going rotten and the hinge just fell out! :(( I'm so grateful to Richard who came over and fixed it! Thank you! Xxx At one point I thought I would have to sleep in front of the door for the night as I couldn't get it to close! :)))

Sad to see Alfie back at the kennels, do hope he will soon find another home. Xxx

Many thanks to Sam who came in and took some of the dogs off for some lovely canine massage. It really helped Alfie to relax, poor lad was very stressed when he first arrived.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped out today. Xxx Thanks so much to Jess for taking my Skip and Lyra for a walk. :) They had a long wait for their dinner tonight! Xxx

It's been a while since we've had every kennel full - so today was a busy old day, but so lovely to have lots of beautiful doggies to look after.

Jo was on the Vet run this morning as it was Rocky's turn to be neutered. Hopefully he will be off to his new home very soon now.

I met our 3 latest arrivals - and have fallen under the spell of the adorable River! All 3 have settled well and are good out on their walks, and of course the pretty Sahara has found herself reserved already.

All doggies enjoyed morning & afternoon walks in some lovely springlike weather - post op Minnie was not impressed at being left behind bless her!!

We caught up with weighing & health checks, and then all our residents had a lovely groom and teeth clean in readiness for the weekend's viewings - fingers crossed.

As I am typing this, the students are feeding the boys & girls, then we will tuck them up for the night with heaters on, as despite the lovely day, it soon starts to get chilly when the sun goes in. On that note, we are running very low on tinned meat for our boys & girls, especially as there are now so many of them, so if you can spare a tin or two we would be eternally grateful. xx

It's another busy weekend ahead again, and lets hope that we see a red or green sign or two by Monday morning. I shall raise my usual glass later and keep everything crossed.

Have a great weekend one and all- and as usual, stay safe and enjoy. Cheers!

Angie xx

Great to visit the kennels on Tuesday to carry out some video recording. Started off with recording an intro for future videos.

2 test intros created:

1 - https://youtu.be/n57z20IZnc0

2 - https://youtu.be/l7hu2VljGLY

Likes and comments on these videos are welcomed. It will help me improve and make videos better for Daybreaks.

It's in the early days for videos on YouTube so they are on my personal channel. More videos to come though :)

As always... great work by the staff!!

A full kennels this morning, which kept Yvonne and CJ busy cleaning and Declan feeding. I was supposed to be in charge of cats and chickens but kept getting sidetracked by other things :)) Got there in the end! :))) Xxx

Beautiful Sahara has been reserved and so has our very handsome Buick. Xxx

We had some new volunteers join us today. We are always grateful for the extra help. Xxx

Richard and I had the pleasure of giving pampers to Tiggie and his sister Lola this morning. Tiggie has been in his new home for a few weeks and is doing really well. It's clear to see he is very happy and adores his Greyhound sister Lola. They looked and smelt lovely after their baths. :))

Thanks so much to all our walkers and to everyone for all their help today. :))) Very much appreciated. Xx

Xxx

A cold and miserable day today, despite this all the dogs that could go for a walk managed both morning and afternoon walks.

Thanks to the Wednesday walkers and our volunteers for all of their help today.

I met our three new arrivals from yesterday today, they are all lovely. Like all our residents they all need their forever homes with comfy sofas to lounge on.

Ruth brought Minnie back to the kennels this morning, she had stayed with Ruth yesterday after her neutering operation, she is the full litter sister to my Cooper (may explain why she is a little crazy)!!!

Sadly Joe is no longer reserved.

All the inmates are tucked up in bed with their heating on, just remains for me to go home and do the same!!!

As always, stay safe and warm everyone.

It was greyt to be back today, it was still quite chilly but nice and sunny. All dogs had morning and afternoon walks thanks to our lovely volunteers.

It was busy for visitors, nail cutting, sand run and food collections. Many thanks to Lisa B and husband Luca for doing a warehouse run for us this morning, we had literally run out of Burns and the next run wasn't scheduled until Thursday.

Capri found herself reserved and has gone out to see how she is in the home and with her family. Fingers crossed that everything goes well.

Fred was not settling well in the Kennels so has gone to stay with Ruth for a while.

Minnie is gorgeous but is a bit of an excitable girl, she is the full litter sister of my Cooper and also Denver! Despite her trainer trying to convince me I can't. She needs some more socialisation, she did apparently walk very nicely today.

All the residents were tucked up with their fleece and heating on.

Stay safe and well everyone.

Another cold day but at least the sun came out. :)) We had a few problems with the till this morning....it was cold too! I thought Ruth was warming up the microwaveable slippers for herself, but no, they were to keep the till warm along with a nice red scarf. :))) However, it was just what it needed and it worked fine for the rest of the day! :)) Xxx

Great to see Woody officially adopted. He is doing great in his new home. :)) Wishing him lots of happy times with his new family. Xxx

We had a beautiful little girl arrive today, Capri! What a lovely girl. :)
Very happy and affectionate. Xxx

Thanks so much to our walkers this morning and this afternoon. Many thanks to everyone who helped to bath our new arrival and helped with serving the dogs dinners. :) Xx

We had lots of visitors for nail clipping and food collecting. Thanks to everyone for the extra bedding and fish it's very much appreciated. Xxx

One word describes today - craazzyy!!!

The Team was a bit depleted by illness and half term, so I had the pleasure of going on the morning walks. It felt almost like spring as we walked down the lane in lovely sunshine, with the birds singing and snowdrops and buds showing everywhere. Elizabeth & Carol came in this afternoon to take another "boys outing" to the park!! Those that didn't get to go had some time in the sand run.

This morning saw the arrival of the lovely Fred & Minnie. On arrival, Fred's Trainer told us that he didn't have a pet name, so as Erik & his family were visiting at the time, we asked his daughter to name him - and she chose the name Fred.

We had a visit from Timmy & Bee for their post adoption health check & sand run session - it was lovely to see them. And there were plenty of visitors throughout the day for the sand run, pampers, and dropping off donations of towels and bedding. This morning also saw the beautiful Missy reserved.

In between all this activity, and answering the phone, Ruth finally completed the mammoth task of sorting and cataloguing the trackers.

Well yet another weekend approaches - where is the time going?? The diary looks busy again, so lets hope that we see a red sign or two come Monday morning - I shall raise my glass later in this hope.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, as ever keep yourselves safe & enjoy. Cheers!!

Angie xx

Rocky was reserved early this morning...he hadn't even had time to unpack his bags! He is a very sweet lad. Xxx

The sun actually came out for the morning walks although it was very chilly! We had frequent hail showers this afternoon so decided to pop muzzles on all of our residents and let them out of their kennels to have a wander round. :)) Thye loved it! Johnny hooked up with Rocky and followed him around, sure he would like company when he goes off to his new home. Paddy was a little overwhelmed by all the running around and sat on one of the beds in the run. Think he would also be happier with a friend when he goes home. Joe loved the freedom and had a few runs around the kennels with a smile on his face! Buick was able to have his cone off for a while which he enjoyed. Xxx

Thanks so much to Shirley and Richard for all their help today....Wishing Shirley a very Happy Birthday. She had Frieda as her Birthday present last year. We tried to convince her she should have Buick this year! :))

Two more new arrivals tomorrow! :)) Xxx

Xxx

Thankfully we managed to get through the stormy last few days without experiencing any damage at the kennels. :)) We have had some drain trouble which caused flooding at the bottom of the kennel block. Fortunately all sorted now. Xxx My own dogs quite enjoyed going for walks in the wind. Skip got spring fever and wanted to run and bark and Cracker got very excited when all the leaves came flying past him! :))

Ruth took Missy to the vets for her neutering operation this morning and collected her again this afternoon. She has been staying with Ruth and Andy for the last few days as she was quite unsettled at the kennels. She is a lovely little girl. Xxx

Unfortunately our morning walkers got very wet but the sun came out for the afternoon walk. :)) Norman took Paddy for a short walk to the park, he was a very good boy. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today. Xxx

We are expecting a new arrival tomorrow and more later in the week. :))

Xxx

It wasn't a very nice morning...very cold and wet! Roxy's new Dad arrived to take her home in torrential rain. She was such a good girl waiting patiently while we completed the paper work and I'm sure she will live up to her new name and bring some early summer warmth and sunshine to her new home. :)))

Thanks so much to our intrepid volunteers this morning who got soaked going for a walk! Thankfully the sun made an appearance and everyone enjoyed the afternoon walks in the dry. :))

We had two new arrivals this afternoon, Pretty Missy and handsome Paddy. Xxx

Thanks so much to Jez and Sam who helped me to bath and carry out health checks on our new arrivals and also fed all of the residents this afternoon.

Hoping Spring is just around the corner!! :))))

Xxx

Loving having the vital statistics on the dogs, gives them even more of a personality and when the time is right for us, hopefully we'll see the cat and child friendly ones easily! Xxx

Crikey me - what a wet & wild day!! Not surprisingly it's been very quiet for visitors, I can't say I blame anyone not venturing out today unless they absolutely had to!!

During a lull in the storm we did manage both lots of walks, although the lane was flooded. Being so quiet meant that we could spend a lot of time with the doggies, grooming as well as getting some useful vital statistics about them all on record.

The dreadful weather postponed the appearance of our 2 new arrivals - all being well they will be with us tomorrow.

It's fast approaching feeding time now, then the boys & girls will be tucked up warm and snuggly for the night. Another weekend is here, and the diary is busy again so fingers crossed for some lovely red or green signs.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, stay warm and safe.

Angie xx

Ruth took Roxy off to the vets for her neutering operation first thing this morning. Such a quiet little girl, she will be going home at the weekend. Ruth also collected her this afternoon and took her home with her again. Hoping she is feeling ok. Xxx

Little Sophie, now called Florence went home. :)) Wishng her a very happy new life with her lovely new family. Xxx

I will join rubytwoshoes in wishing Bertie, Bess, Jess, Joey and Tess a very Happy Birthday! Hope they have all had a super day. Xxx :))

This afternoon Ruth took Momma, Tiggy and Tony to School! They visited a Primary School where they met all the children there. Erik also went along with his two naughty boys Barney and Caesar. Xxx

We have a new boy and girl due to arrive in the morning...sure there will both be beautiful! Xxx

Having just seen the weather forecast for tomorrow and the prospect of very high winds, do hope everyone stays safe and well. Xxx

Xxx

Happy Birthday to the famous five Bertie Bess Jess Joey and Tess. Big birthday cuddles to you all. Xxxxx

It was a great day yesterday - I saw Dee who had been stopping at mine, go off to her new home. We had Enzo come to visit and we did some socialisation with all our residents. I had a visit from the Greyhound Board of Great Britain who was quite impressed with Daybreaks and then I saw Denver off to his new home.
I took Dave home who is fostering Chase at the moment and I took Roxy home as she is quite timid and tends to lay on the floor a lot. She had a very settled night at our house and this morning I took her to the vets for her spey.
Jo was not well so wasn't in and hope she feels better soon.
Ruth x

The weather was grotty today! Cold and very wet!

First thing this morning Richard and I took Buick to the Vets for his Neutering operation. Joey also had an appointment with the vet. Sadly he has a few health issues at present and went for Blood and urine tests. Our friend Cath collected him from the Vets this afternoon and is kindly going to Foster him for us for a while. Many thanks to Declan who was given the job of obtaining Joey's urine sample! Xxx

Buick's op went well and Richard picked him up this afternoon. Buick loves his food and he had a good appetite when he got back this afternoon. He certainly enjoyed his dinner. :))

Despite the rain this morning all the dogs went out for a short walk. The volunteers had to abandon the walk along Old Damson Lane as it was flooded! It was much brighter this afternoon and the sun made a brief appearance. :))

Thank you so much to everyone for all your help today. :)) Xx

We left everyone tucked up in their kennels tonight with heaters on and a Dentastix. :))

We have nearly used up our supply of Sardines and Pilchards for our boys and girls...so if you are popping into the kennels and can spare a tin or two, we would be very grateful. :)) Thanks so much. Xxx

It was a better day today and didn't rain too much. :) Everyone enjoyed morning and afternoon walks. Xxx

It was great to have our lovely volunteer Yvonne back after being on holiday last week. :)) We did tell her she will have to ask the Residents permission if she wants anymore time off! :)))

It was brilliant to see Polly and Roxy were reserved yesterday. :)) Hoping our gorgeous boys Joey, Buick and Johnny and our lovely Bella will soon find their forever homes too. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone who helped out at the kennels today. Xxx

What a horrible, miserable cold and wet day it was. Thankfully it was made brighter by the reservations of Polly and Roxy. Holly came back to the kennels due to a family illness but was going back out of the kennels within a short time of arrival on a foster basis to see if she gets on with the other greyhounds in the family.

We have several homings booked for this week, so again it will be very busy.

It was very hectic this morning, people queuing for viewings and sand run. Lorna was kept very busy with pamper sessions and nail clipping. This afternoon was a little quieter but still busy.

Many thanks to everyone for their help today, this morning everyone got wet and cold on the walks. This afternoon neither the dogs or volunteers wanted to venture out in the rain again, so the dogs all had time out in the feeding runs. They are all warm dry and have full tummies and are all tucked up for the night.

As always, stay safe and well everyone.

It was a busy start to the day. Pops started his journey to France...he had his bags packed and went off with lots of new gear to wear. :)) It was really lovely to see him before he left. Lots of love to him. Xxx

Sophie's new family came to see her again, she happily went off for a nice long walk with them and her new doggy sister. They get on great together. She will be hopefully going home next week. :)) Xxx

We had a lovely visit from ex Daybreaks residents Ringo and Lady. They looked great! Brilliant to see them and their family. Xxx

We also saw recently homed Timmy and his sister Bea. They arrived in style in their very own black cab! They both looked very happy and are settling well into their new home. Their Dad said Bea is definitely in charge. Xxx

Ruth had to leave early this afternoon to go to a meeting. I am so grateful to Shirley, Richard, Paul and Brooke for their help with feeding the dogs and tidying up. :)) Thank you. Xxx Many thanks to all our walkers and to Angie and Michael for opening up and feeding everyone this morning! It would not be possible to run the kennels without the help of all our hardworking volunteers...Xxx :))

Jo was on the Vet run this morning as it was Denver's turn for his neutering op. He was a bright lad when she picked him up this afternoon and happily polished off his supper!

It was a steady day, with visitors for the sand run and kind donations of towels and bedding - many thanks, with a full kennels they are very much appreciated.

The new arrivals from yesterday are both lovely. Johnny is a very handsome lad who is friendly, but is understandably a little unsure of things. Little Roxy bless her is a very nervy girl, she spent most of the day lying on the floor of her kennel, despite having 2 comfy beds to choose from, but happily when she went back in after her supper she jumped up on the big bed. We have made her a snuggle nest with a big "V" pillow to try to make her feel a bit more secure. I am sure that give a few days she will start to relax and realize that she is in a safe place.

We got health checks and grooming done, and the boys & girls enjoyed 2 walks in some lovely sunshine. Having said that, it is starting to go chilly now so it's heaters on in the blocks as we tuck the boys & girls up for the night.

Well the weekend is here again - and the diary shows it to be another busy one. I shall raise a glass or 2 later to welcome our new arrivals and hope they settle soon, and hope for some red or green signs to appear by Monday morning.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, as always, stay safe & enjoy. Cheers!!

Angie xx

First thing this moring Ruth took beautiful little Dee for her neutering operation. She also picked her up this afternoon and took her home. Dee has been staying with Ruth and Andy since she arrived at Daybreaks and will soon be going to her new home. Xxx

We had two lovely new arrivals today; Roxy and Johnny :)) Many thanks to Shirley and CJ for bathing them and carrying out their health checks. They are both delightful. :))

Alan and Declan had a trip to the warehouse. Xx

Erik paid us a visit with his two good naughty boys Caesar and Barney :))
Caesar is looking great and is a very happy boy. :))

Many thanks to everyone for your help today, we are so grateful. :)) Xxx

Dear volunteers! If you are free Saturday afternoon to help, we would be very grateful! I have got to leave early for a meeting which would mean Kate would be on her own for afternoon walks/ feeding etc..... if you are available, please give us a call to let us know. Thank you so much!

It was a busy day today...this morning saw our lovely little Sophie reserved. :)) She is a real bundle of fun and such a happy girl. Xxx

Norman took Buick for a trip to the park. He had a great time. :)) Hope his forever home soon comes along. Xxx

This afternoon Bella was reserved. :)) She is joining a big family of dogs, cats and another Greyhound! Xxx It's brilliant to see so many of our wonderful Greyhounds reserved and homed recently. We have two more new arrivals due in this week. Xxx

Richard and Declan were kept busy with lots of jobs around the kennels....thanks so much. Xxx

Thank you to everyone for all your help today. Xxx

The day began with a message from Denise who had opened up the kennels only to find the bottom kennel block was flooding!! The drainage company had been out yesterday and thought the problem had been resolved, sadly not! So, out they came again today, fingers crossed the problem has been resolved.

Many thanks to everyone for their help today, the dogs all had morning and afternoon walks.

It again started to get very chilly this afternoon so all dogs have their fleecy coats on and the kennel heaters are on so they are all lovely and warm.

The sand run was busy this afternoon.

Denver who found himself reserved yesterday went out for a couple of hours to his new 'home', he was an absolute star and asked to go out to toilet when he needed to and also played with his new greyhound sister.

As always, stay safe and well all.

After a very wet, windy and grey start, it turned into quite a pleasant day with some lovely winter sunshine - and our boys & girls enjoyed 2 walks. Our post-ops Polly & Joe were really not best pleased at being left out though!!!

Ruth was in this morning and had a busy time with paperwork, teeth & corns. She is recovering, but just needs to take it slowly - so after an intense morning, we sent her home this afternoon to have a nap!!

It was a fairly quiet day, so the doggies got some extra attention and grooming, which they enjoyed.

The highlight of the day was the homing of pretty Penny - wishing her and her new family many happy times ahead.

It's starting to get cooler now as the sun goes down, so the students are tucking up the boys & girls in their snuggly fleeces and it's wall heaters on in the blocks as a cold night is forecast. Roll on Spring!

Well another weekend is upon us, and the diary looks busy again so I will raise a glass or two later and hope for some red or green signs by Monday morning.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, stay safe and enjoy. Cheers!!

Angie x

Thanks to everyone for their help today, we were a little thin on the ground this afternoon so it was sand run fun for the hounds.

We had two handsome new arrivals, Buick a lovely black dog and Denver a very handsome white and blue fawn boy (not much fawn, a little at the top of his tail and one ear and a little around one eye and yes I am biased as he is the full litter brother to my Cooper)!!

Thanks for the kind donations of bedding and towels and to Rob one of our volunteers for a generous donation of much needed sardines. If you are able to spare a couple of tins of food we are always looking for sardines either in tomato or oil, tuna (not in brine) and pilchards, as well as tinned, tray or meat pouches.

If you are interested in any of our gorgeous residents please give the kennels a call and make an appointment to come and view.

It's great to see we can start to hold events again, all proceeds go to the care of the residents, we have the Hounds Easter parade, the Platinum Jubilee afternoon tea and our 16th Birthday party and hopefully more throughout the year.

Take care all.

Yet another busy day today...

We had several visitors for nail clipping, teeth scraping, food collections and bedding drop offs.

Ruth was in for a time before having to go off on an errand.

There were several viewings booked, these resulted in Penny going out on foster, Joe being reserved and shy boy Max getting a forever home!!

The sand run was as busy and as popular as ever.

Many thanks to everyone for their help today, it is really appreciated especially when it was so very busy.

It's getting cold again, so all the residents are tucked up with the heating on and their fleecy coats on.

So all in all another successful day at Daybreaks.

Take care all.

It was a very busy day at Daybreaks today....

Beautiful Jess went off to her new home this morning :) She has a new little Whippet Brother. Xxx

At lunch time Bertie came in for a pamper and to be officially adopted. He was so excited to see everyone and super happy! Thanks so much to Shirley and Noah for giving him his pamper. He actually seemed to enjoy having a bath. :))

This afternoon Bee and Timmy went off to their new home together. :)) They looked so smart in their new coats. Xxx

Wishing Jess, Bertie, Bee, Timmy and their families lots of great times together. Xxx

We also had a gorgeous new arrival. Dee is a very petite, pretty girl. :)) Thanks so much to Richard and Bob for collecting her from the track for us. Xxx

The sand run was fully booked and there were nail clippings too. We had a surprise visit from former Daybreaks resident Brodie....who was Willis during his time with us. He looked fabulous and has gained so much confidence living with his lovley family in Scotland. Xxx

We also saw Noa (Julie) and Alice who were homed recently. They too look great and are very happy and much loved in their new homes. Xxx

I am so grateful to everyone for their help today. Thanks to Angie for all her help this moring and to Richard and Shirley for feeding all the dogs this afternoon. Richard also fed our cats, Socks and Tyke...think they were quite impressed to have someone new to clean out their cat litters...Socks offered her assistance by sitting in the tray! Xxx

Many apologies if you visited the kennels today and had to wait to be seen. Thanks so much for your patience. Xxx

It's another busy day tomorrow with more viewings. Xxx

In contrast to last Friday, it's been a very quiet day today. The boys & girls had 2 lovely walks, and health checks were brought up to date. As it was so quiet, we took the opportunity to do some cleaning and tidying jobs around the kennels.

The lovely Polly is as bright as a button today following her spey yesterday. She wasn't too happy about being left behind at walk time though bless her.

I met our other 2 newbies, the very sweet Penny and handsome Max. Penny is a very cute girl and has started to settle well already. Max though is quite nervous, and is a bit reluctant to exit his kennel bless him. This morning he didn't want to eat his breakfast and kept backing away from his bowl whenever there was movement outside the run. I moved him up to the kitchen run, away from the activity, and he soon tucked in and cleaned his bowl. This afternoon at dinner time we tried him in the main run again and after an initial nervous moment, he happily tucked in and had another clean bowl. Give him a few days and I'm sure he will start to settle and find his confidence. He gets my cuddle tonight. X

A message for the Mikey fan club - Jo spoke to his new Mum this afternoon and she is happy to report that he is doing brilliantly so far.

It's started to go a bit chilly now that the sun has gone, so the boys & girls are tucked up for the night.

Well, the weekend is upon us again already and the diary is very busy, with tomorrow being fully booked! Let's hope that we see some red or green signs by Monday morning.

I shall be raising my usual glass or two later to welcome our newcomers, and wish for forever homes for our boys & girls. Whatever you are up to this weekend, stay safe.

Cheers! Angie x

It's started to get cold again, so all dogs are tucked up nice and warm in their kennels.

Thanks to everyone for their help today, we were a couple of people fewer than usual but all dogs had both morning and afternoon walks. Special thanks to Liz_Beth for taking Mikey out to the park to meet his family so they could see what a good boy he was on the lead and around other dogs. I had a call from them to say how lovely he had been and that they are really looking forward to collecting him on Tuesday, everything crossed for him. There have been offers from both Liz_Beth and Katerina's family to take him on walks as they would like to stay in contact with him.

Chase had a viewing which has resulted in him having a nice red reserved sign. Sadly, Joe's viewing has been postponed, but should hopefully be re-booked in the next couple of days.

As always stay safe and well.

It was a quiet morning so we took advantage of the extra time and had fun with the dogs. We got the games out and they all had a go at finding the treats! Of course Mikey was the best and the fastest! Little Timmy got bored after a few minutes, he preferred lots of cuddles and Jess wanted to chew the plastic bones! :)) Joe, Sophie and Bee seemed to enjoy trying to get the treats. Xxx Thanks to Patrik, Noah and Ami for joining in with them. :))

This afternoon Mikey went out with Katerina and her family. As usual he had a lovely time. Thanks so much. Xxx

It's great to see so many RESERVED signs for our lovely boys and girls. Xxx Joe and Chase have people coming to meet them tomorrow. Xxx
We will be having more dogs coming in over the next few days. :))

If your Greyhound is looking fir a new image....we have new fleeces and Winter coats for them to try on! :)) Xx

Many thanks to Sam for helping me feed the dogs this afternoon, I am very grateful! :))

Xxx

As Angie said it was a crazy day. The gentleman who reserved Timmy went home and had a good think and decided that he would also like to reserve Timmy's litter sister Beeswing! He has been unsettled at the Kennels so hopefully with having his sister with him he will be settled in the home.

What can I say, Mr Mikey is a very lucky boy, he worked his magic today. The lovely couple went home to have a serious talk, they are experienced greyhound owners and have homed from us previously, it didn't take long for them to call and reserve this lovely boy. Mikey just couldn't help giving the gentleman lots of kisses. There will be many a tear shed when he goes home, tears of joy for him.

Many thanks to Angie and Chris for closing the Kennels up so Dave and I could leave a bit earlier to collect Chase from the vets after his neutering, he was very bright when we collected him, he is currently staying with Dave and Maisie Moo. If you would like to view him please contact the Kennels and we can arrange for him to be available to see.

Take care everyone, after the crazy, exciting day today I feel it's wine time!!!

What a day!!!!

It was Chase's turn for neutering today - and when Jo got back from dropping him at Fivelands - it just went crazy!!

There were 2 viewings in the diary - both of which resulted in fabulous red signs. Our lovely Mikey was the first lucky boy to have a reserved sign go up outside his kennel, closely followed by brother and sister Timmy and Beeswing, who are off to a forever home together - yay!

The sand run was busy as ever, Lorna had pampers and we had some kind donations dropped off, so Daybreaks was a real hive of activity! It has gone quiet now, the boys & girls are tucked up snuggly in bed and home time is approaching.

We have had a delivery of Blizzard coats and fleeces, there's plenty in stock now to keep your Greys warm and toasty in this horrid cold weather. Roll on Spring I say!

Well another weekend is here, I really cant believe how fast the days are flying by. I shall be breaking out the Prosecco later I think, to celebrate a fabulous day at Daybreaks.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, stay safe & warm. Cheers!

Angie xx

Another fairly quiet day for visitors but not for the phone!!

Thanks to everyone for their help, the dogs all had morning walks and sand run fun this afternoon. We had donations of bedding and food which is very much appreciated. The sand run was a little quieter today but we did have a few bookings.

It started to get quite chilly this afternoon, so the residents are all tucked up with their under bed heating and radiators on.

A quiet day for visitors so after morning walks we were able to get some much needed jobs done. Yvonne and Myra sorted all the recently donated bedding and Jude got to work sorting the back treatment room. Thanks so much everyone. Xxx

All of our current residents at Daybreaks are beautiful! It you are interested in meeting any of them, please give us a call on 0121 782 7702. why not start the new year with a new friend, it will change your life and their! :)) Xxx

Another cold day today. Thanks to everyone for their help today, all dogs managed morning and afternoon walks. Timmy and Beeswing both had individual play time in the sand run.

We had visitors for the sand run, it is still as popular as ever.

Just going to tuck the dogs up and put their heaters on and then I'm heading home.

It's been another cold day today, even the sunshine this morning didn't help, and it feels really damp & chilly now. As the students have started afternoon feeding I have taken the opportunity to have a sit down and update on a busy day.

I brought in chicken for the residents breakfasts today as it was a special day - Mr Mikey's birthday (well, nearly!!!) After morning walks were done, we gave Mikey an early birthday party in the feeding run. He is a real favourite with our Friday students, and they had brought him a present, treats for him and his pals, and Liberty had done a fabulous drawing of him which is now hanging outside his kennel.

Mid morning then saw the arrival of 2 more new Daybreakers - brother and sister Timmy and Beeswing. They are so young, not yet 2, and were understandably a bit bemused at finding themselves somewhere new with strange sights & sounds - here's hoping they have a good first night and start to settle in soon. x

I met the lovely Sophie - I had to untangle her from her coat this morning as she had managed to get her front leg through the neck!! She thought this was a great fun game, and was not very cooperative!!! x Bella is doing well after her spey - she is so sweet and is desperate to play, but a few more days post-op recovery yet sweetheart! x

The sand run was very popular again, and Lorna was kept busy with pampers.

The boys & girls will be tucked up shortly with the underbed heating on, and we will put the wall heaters on before we leave to keep everyone warm & snug.

Incredibly it's the weekend again - where does the time go?? The diary looks fairly busy again so fingers crossed for some red signs by Monday. I shall raise a glass later to toast our boys & girls - may forever homes soon be theirs.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, stay warm and safe.

Cheers! Angie xx

A cold and busy day today. Thanks to everyone for their help, especially Carol and Gloria who completely blitzed the treatment room, they did a fantastic job.
It was lovely to have our Duke of Edinburgh students back.
Big thanks to Liz for taking Mikey out for a few hours, he even visited Mountain Warehouse and went in the lift!! He is such a lovely boy, we really wish someone would offer him his forever home.
Joey went out on foster this morning to give him a break from the kennels, he has the company of another greyhound to show him the home life ropes.
Jess was reserved this afternoon, she is going out for the weekend next week and will hopefully be signed up if all goes well.
There were lots of bookings for the sand run despite it being so cold, at least it was drier than yesterday.
The inmates are all tucked up and warm, so I will be heading home shortly to see my four and cook them a celebratory dinner as it is Max's (Gummers 6th gotcha day).
Take care and stay well.

We opened up a bit earlier this morning to make sure Mikey had had his breakfast, and washed his face and paws in readiness for his big adventure with Aunty Ruth at training class! Apparently he was a very good boy, and picked things up quickly. We did think this would be the case, and that he would benefit from having his mind occupied. Well done Mikey.x

Beautiful Cassie had somehow managed to wriggle herself around during the night and was wearing her fleece coat like a skirt round her bum!! She is such a sweetheart, and very patiently let me untangle her! New boy Brandy had also suffered a wardrobe malfunction - as he had managed to completely disrobe himself of both his fleece coat and neck warmer!!

All our lovely boys & girls have such individual personalities - there will be just the right home for each of them out there somewhere, keeping fingers crossed it happens soon.
xxx

Not much I can add to Ruth's post - that was indeed a crazy, busy day, but I must confess to having enjoyed myself - it's great to have inmates back in residence. The reports from our festive fosterers are nothing but positive , and have given great insight into the characters of the boys & girls - so lets hope that we can get them out into forever homes soonest.

Between Chase, yesterday's new boy Joey & todays two lovelies - the students seem to have have spent the day in the bath!!!

I sorted all the very generous donations of food & treats that we have received over the festive period into date order, and have rearranged the dog kitchen to accommodate everything so it's used in order.

It was another cold day, but at least we didn't get any white stuff thank goodness!! The boys & girls have been left this evening all tucked up in their fleeces, with underbed heating and wall heaters on in the blocks - I think I may move in!!

The diary looks busy again tomorrow, with viewings booked so keep everything crossed. I shall raise a glass or two later on to wish for a red or green sign by Monday.

Have a good weekend, stay warm & stay safe. Cheers! Angie xx

What a busy and fabulous day we are having! Wednesday was also very busy so apologies for no update and yesterday we had the blood bank in.

We had Pod (small dog, big attitude) come up with Cath, one of our volunteers and we did a morning of socialisation training. All of our current inmates - Mikey, Jess, Cassie, Joe and Joey were absolutely brilliant. Jo and Dave went out to collect Chase, a boy that was homed direct from a trainer but sadly his owner had passed away.
Chase is unfortunately very keen with smaller breeds (he did live with a greyhound and was great) and with him having lived in a home we are quite anxious to find him a new home asap. He lived with another greyhound and is just a very happy boy.

We then had two gorgeous new arrivals - Brandy and Bella. Their trainer told us they love being with each other so tonight they are going to be kenneled together so their 'house move' is not so stressful and we will work on separating them over the next few days.

I am sure Angie will give her side of the story in her update later! Looking forward to taking Mikey to training tomorrow!

Great to donate items from my partner, myself and my work place (CBS Arena, Coventry) hope everything is useful. Can't wait to start helping out even more in the coming weeks!! Be glad to see some dogs soon as they were all with wonderful foster carers. Well done to the team and fosters.

A warm welcome back to Daybreaks to the boys & girls that have spent Christmas out in a foster home - huge thanks to our Festive Fosterers. x It has been great to read all the lovely posts.

They have all received glowing reports - and the information received will be invaluable to us as we seek forever homes for them all. As great as Daybreaks kennels are, you can't beat time out in the real world and a real home. xxx

We were back at the kennels this morning to welcome back Jess, Mikey and Joe. We had great reports for them all from their foster families. We are so grateful to everyone for giving them a chance to have a few days away from kennel life. All the extra information we have about them will help us find the right homes for them. Xxx

Thank you so much to Yvonne, Myra and Rosie for all their help today. Even though we only had three dogs at the kennels, we had lots of visitors! :)) Jess popped in to bring in donations of bedding and ended up trimming nails! :)) Including my little Lyra...she is not happy when I do them!!
Thanks Jess. :)) Xxx

Hoping 2022 will be a good year for all Greyhounds looking for their forever homes! Especially our lovely lad Mikey!! Xxx

Welcome to a a new year at Daybreaks and we are starting the year off with the best news ever…. Mikey, our longest stayer, has finally been offered a forever home and he is off to start his new life on Tuesday!

Little Mollie came with me and she enjoyed pottering around the kennels. She is such a little treasure.

I would like to say a big thank you to all those who have fostered over Christmas - to open your home to a hound is a truly wonderful gift.

Today I was joined by Denise, Dave and Lynne and we we had a busy day clearing away the Christmas decorations and attacking paperwork. Even with no dogs on site, we are kept busy.

We are looking forward to the foster dogs coming back and all the new arrivals and we will keep you posted x

Michael & I would like to wish all our Daybreaks friends & supporters a very Happy New Year.

Here's hoping that as we move forward into 2022, the Covid situation improves allowing us to get our fundraising activities back on track. We have tentatively arranged a couple of events already (watch this space) - and will keeping an eye on things, ready to leap into action if we can!

Thankyou so much for your support during what has been another difficult year - we are so very grateful. We are looking forward to welcoming our foster boys & girls back next week (though hopefully not all of them!!!), and welcoming some new arrivals off the ever growing waiting list.

I shall of course be raising a glass or two later on to welcome 2022, and wish for a successful new year for Daybreaks - onward & upward we go.

Stay safe one & all - Cheers!!

Angie xxx

Despite it being Christmas and all the current inmates out to foster, I have been kept busy - especially on the phone!

Christmas Day and Boxing Day I came in to sort the chickens and I'm back again today and got to see Bea and her owners who have been having a few problems with her so I checked her over and gave some advice.

On Monday, we had Molly dropped off at our house - she had been in a home 3 years - homed direct by a trainer and her owners felt she needed a new home. She is an absolute poppet!

On Tuesday I went over to see Flower and made her adoption official - she is now called Maddie and they did message me the following day to ask if I could tear up the adoption papers as she had been up on their window sill and broken ornaments and torn two blinds down (eek!).

Wednesday I was booked to go and see Nico but this has been arranged for the New Year so instead we took Mollie on a trip to my Aunties and she met the cat! As I was driving, Andy was 'secretary' for the calls that day!

I have been checking in constantly on all our foster dogs and they are all doing well and are starting to arrive back on Monday.

Between myself, Denise, Kate and Jo we have been coming in daily to sort our resident hens and say hello to Bob. The sand run has been in constant use still which i great.

I hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas and I look forward to a New Year starting with lots of exciting things planned for the kennels. I am extremely grateful to everyone who has sent donations - I have written to everyone to thank but there have been quite a few anonymous ones so I would like to say thank you - I am truly grateful for your support.

Best wishes to everyone from myself and Andy and Tiggy Momma and Tony xxx

It was so eerie to walk through the gate this morning to a quiet and empty kennels - it didn't seem right somehow!

I was soon joined by Bertie, who was dropped back to us following his overnight post-op stay. Bertie enjoyed pottering around the kennels during the morning whilst we got ready for the Grand Raffle Draw, and started on the mammoth sort out & tidy up!

Ruth went "live" on Facebook at 10.00am to draw the raffle - congratulations to the winners, especially 1st prize winner Jacqui who has so generously donated back half of her winnings to the kennels, and massive thanks to everyone who took part, we have raised an amazing amount for Daybreaks - your continued support is just incredible and we are so very grateful. x

Following the draw, the lovely Bertie went out on trial - fingers crossed for him that all goes well and he settles into his new home.

We then had a visit from Rob who brought in an amazing donation of treats, toys and blankets that had been collected by his work colleagues - together with some signed Coventry Wasps Rugby kit for us to fundraise with. We send huge thanks to Rob, his colleagues and Coventry Wasps players for their kindness.

It was a chilly, damp day and once our final visitors had gone we decided that as there were no more appointments in the diary, and it was very quiet indeed, that we would sneak the afternoon off and close up at 2.00pm!!

We are so grateful to all our foster parents for looking after our boys & girls over the festive period, enabling us all to have a proper break and a chance to blitz the kennels and get neat & tidy - ready to come back with a vengeance in 2022!!

Although the kennels is "closed", someone will be on site for a few hours each day to provide food collection or sand run bookings - but this is strictly by appointment as it will depend who is covering each day and what times they are available so please do phone & book your slot if you need food or fancy some post Christmas exercise in the sand run! Of course, we will be at the end of the phone for support or advice if needed - please don't hesitate to call.

Well, I will raise my glass today to all our friends and supporters and wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and hope that 2022 will be a better year for us all. Have yourselves a great Christmas, and above all - stay safe.
Look forward to seeing you all next year as Daybreaks Trust moves onwards and upwards into the future. Thankyou so much for your support during the past year.

Angie xxx

I'm another cry baby xxxx

I’m not sure what happened to Monday and Tuesday but it has been absolutely hectic at Daybreaks! I am sure you can see from all the reserved, rehomed and foster signs, the incredible amount of work going on.
Last night I collected Poppy from the vets following spey and brought her home with me. Her new owners came over to visit her and she has had a very settled night.
We had great fun with Enzo, Lisa B’s dog so we could socialise our current inmates, along with a Jack Russell and Will found himself reserved because of this!
Please keep everything crossed for Mikey… he has a second viewing today! I will keep you posted x

That's so lovely Angie, made me cry too! :) Xxx

Love that poem xxx

That is beautiful Angie, and thank you so much for making my eye borls leak (several times as I kept going back and reading it)!!

How fabulous to see all the lovely red & green signs appearing for our boys and girls. Our residents have a special Christmas message for you:-

As stars began to twinkle in the dark and moonlit sky
We snuggled down to go to sleep, at least we had to try
We all were so excited and so sleep was far away
We strained our ears to listen for the sound of Santa's sleigh

We haven't wished for toys or treats or a nice big juicy bone
We've wished for something special - our own forever home
We crossed our paws and hoped Santa had known just what to do
To find our caring Mums & Dads - some people just like you

We love our time at Daybreaks, it's safe and warm and fun
But we'll be just so much happier when our new life has begun
We won't be any trouble once we know our way around
With time and love we'll soon become a very happy hound

We're waiting now for morning when the doors will open wide
And we'll look out of our kennels to see whose there outside
We've been good boys & girls and so we hope our wish comes true
Will you be waiting by our kennel to take us home with you?

xx

It started off as a chilly day and progressed into a bitterly cold day!

Thanks to everyone for their help today, all dogs had morning and afternoon walks, massive thanks to Liz for taking Mikey out for a three hour walk, he still wasn't worn out!

Lovely Boss man had a viewing and was introduced to his soon to be brother, this came in the shape of Bear, a Saint Bernard, they were great together, for those who want to cuddle Boss before he goes home you will need to do this before 11.00 am on Wednesday.

Thanks to those that came in with donations, it is very much appreciated. We left tonight with the residents tucked up with cosy fleeces and their heating on, I'm still trying to get warm.

Stay safe and well everyone. X

I too am upset to read this I know how committed you are and all your team. I was so grateful for the advice and help recently even driving over an hour and a half to do a home visit.

I am sorry to add this post. We spend an awful amount of time with viewings, matching people to the dogs, a lengthy homing process and offer support and advice. We say that we are available 24/7 to support those that need it.

When I hear that someone feels that they have been unable to receive help this makes me extremely upset as we are always at the end of the phone.

We care very much about every dog that is adopted from Daybreaks and do our best and that is all we can do.

Oh my goodness, what an absolutely crazy day that was!!

Ruth was tied up with viewings & phone calls about viewings and a new arrival - whilst I found myself tied to the desk ploughing through the paperwork!!

Both morning and afternoon walks were managed for the boys & girls, amidst all the comings & goings that kept us flat out all day.

This morning the lovely Poppy was reserved, well done beautiful. Then the fabulous Bertie arrived on site - he is the brother of Tess, Jess & Bess and bounced through the gate with a welcoming smile! He is a big lad, but such a friendly happy soul.

This afternoon the beautiful Ellie found herself reserved, so happy for her as she is finding kennel life a bit difficult so we are delighted she will be off to her new home very soon.

Huge thanks to the many visitors who called in with lovely festive treats for both humans & doggies, donations of bedding and food, Lorna was kept busy with pampers and, as ever, the sand run was very popular.

Well the weekend is here again, and looking at the diary it is going to be a very busy one - with so many viewings booked that we may well run out of dogs!!!! I shall keep everything crossed that there are some red or green signs come Monday morning.

After such a full on day it's definitely time for a relax and a nice glass or two of red wine later on to toast our residents, and all our foster doggies, and wish for forever homes to come their way.

Whatever you are doing this weekend, please stay safe. Cheers!

Angie xx

A Tribute to Alan Porthouse

As an unknown soldier killed by an exploding mine near Londonderry in 1989 so gracefully wrote when he left the following poem behind in an envelope for his family and friends:

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

Thank you Alan for giving my grandson a good home for the years that you could. Thank you for the lovely conversations we had during this very hard time. I am just so sorry that we didn't get the chance to have one last get together. Thank you to Emma the Warden who informed me of the details of what happened. Go in peace my friend.

Seana, Teddy and Fergal xxx

RIP 'Daddy' Alan

I have had to wait for Granny to stop crying and help me write this post. I couldn't understand why the Postman returned my Christmas present this week which I could smell through the box so I knew it was from me. The postman couldn't help it but he just blurted out that the recipient was deceased and that made Granny burst into tears. I snuggled up to Granny with my little squeals as seeing her upset makes me upset. She then gently tried to explain in the language that I don't really understand that my lovely adopted Dad had gone to heaven and hopefully was going to meet my biological Daddy. I feel very sad because although I love Granny and my brothers I miss living with my adopted Dad. He was very kind and loving and we had a few wonderful years going everywhere together before he became beset with health issues.

I love you Daddy and I know that I am not your only boy but I was your last boy and we shared special times. Thank you so much for being in my life and for continuing to send me pocket money this year. You were a very kind and gentle Daddy and I am so sad that I now won't be able to see you in February next year. I will always love you and I will do my best to be a good boy for Granny. Until we hopefully get the chance to reunite one day I hope you will be at peace.

Your loving dog son Blue (Eoghan Melody)
xxxxxxx

Gorgeous Poppy arrived today. :)) What a very pretty girl. Shirley would have taken her home....but she already has four beautiful Greyhounds! Xxx

Cath who is fostering Pops visited us today after dropping Pops off at the vets for his neutering op. She brought along her fabulous small dog Pod. We tested Will, Stan Boss and Poppy with her. They all did really well. :)) Cath picked Pops up after his op, we are so grateful for her help today. Xxx

It was lovely to see Linda, Paul, Peggy and finally meet Lulu. :)) She is the smallest Greyhound I have ever met and so very cute! Xxx

Ruth was busy in the office...with the help of Jean, think they were beginning to win the battle! Calendars are still selling well, thank you. We still have Christmas cards available too. :))

Thanks so much to everyone for all your help today. Xxx

We have another new arrival tomorrow! Another young lady! :))

Xxx

After a very busy weekend there were only three dogs left in the kennels this morning! Stan, Will and Boss. They all enjoyed the extra attention. :)) We have three new arrivals due in this week starting with a young lady called Another Delight tomorrow. :))

Ruth and Jude were very busy trying to catch up with paperwork, calendar and Christmas card orders. We are so grateful to everyone who has supported us purchasing a Calendar, I think we have now sold out of slimline ones.

We had visits from three gorgeous lads for nail clipping. Timmy, Ice and Dasher. Dasher arrived wearing a beautiful Christmas bow, looking extremely handsome! :)) Xxx

We also had a visit from Erik, Barney and Caesar. Caesar is still looking great and is very happy with his best mate Barney. Thinking of Erik's young Daughter, Sophia who is missing their beautiful Greyhound Charlotte who passed away recently. Xxx

Lee, Mollie, Liam and myself took down the Gazebos in the sand run. It did take us a while....but we got there in the end! :))

Yvonne and Myra did a lot of much needed cleaning and sorting of donated bedding. Thanks so much to everyone for your hard work.

Xxx

Anyone who’s looking to adopt one of the greys, please don’t forget the ones who are out on foster. It’s often because they’re not happy in kennels and need to have people or dogs around them but they also need their forever sofas. Thank you on their behalf :) xx

Yet another crazy day. Many thanks to my lovely Sunday volunteers, I barely got to see them today!!!

We had lots of sand run bookings, please call us and give us some notice as when you would like to book in as it is becoming very popular and busy.

We had a viewing booked for this morning, it was originally mentioned that Sammy was of interest, but the lovely couple came in with an open mind. They viewed Sammy, Stan and Will, they decided on little Sammy, so off she went home this afternoon. X

Bess went home this morning, wishing her and her family all the very best, her new mom works for one of the trainers so has had Grey's before and is very experienced.

We had donations of bedding, tinned dog food, dog treats and hooman treats too, thanks so very much, so very kind.

Quiver came back from her overnight stay, she was less than happy, however, Deb who had been fostering Billy took her out on foster as Billy has gone out to hopefully his new home :)))

Stan finally had his arrival bath and health check today, he was too nervous on Friday, he was really good. He seems to have found his feet as at feeding time he grumbled at the other dogs!! He is such a lovely boy. I'm sure his stay will be a short one.

We left tonight with the remaining residents wrapped up in their fleecey coats and heating on.

Stay safe, well and warm all. X

Wow what a crazy but great day! Kate and I have been run off our feet and are about to drop! It is very cold and the 'kids' have their under bed heating on, their PJ's on and the radiators at Hotel Daybreaks! We are going home in a short while to defrost ourselves! Thank you to our volunteers otherwise we would have been here 'til midnight :-()

The Friday Team was a bit depleted toady due to illness, fortunately it was a very quiet day so we were still able to give the boys & girls morning and afternoon walks. Sending get well wishes to all the poorly crew, hoping they will soon be on the mend.

This morning saw the arrival of Stan. He is such a handsome boy but is extremely nervous at the minute, quite understandable as he finds himself in a new and strange environment where nothing is familiar to him. As he was quite stressed we weren't able to get him in the bath, but we hope that after a good nights sleep he will start to settle in and gain some confidence bless him.

As I am typing this in the office I can see the monitor for the cameras in the kennel blocks and everyone has settled down nicely - especially the gorgeous Sammy who is upside down on her bed with her legs in the air!!

Well the weekend is here again, and the diary looks busy, so keep fingers crossed for some red or green signs by Monday. I shall be raising a glass or 2 later to toast our lovely boys & girls as usual - may the forever homes they deserve be theirs very soon.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, stay safe & keep warm.

Cheers!! Angie x

Another cold day, thanks to our Wednesday walkers for coming in this morning and to the rest of the volunteers for doing afternoon walks.

It was fairly quiet for visitors so not much to report on that!

Lovely Swift, now Hazel went home, good luck to her and her family.

Denise had cleaned most of the kennels before I arrived, she insists on coming in at an ungodly hour!! She was also on chicken house duty, she had a bit of a panic when Bobby chicken escaped, thankfully she didn't get to far.

Hi Sirenmelody, I have forwarded your message to Jetlucy. I thought it was a message really meant especially for Lucy. Hope that's ok. Xxxxxxx

Another cold and wet day but thanks to our volunteers and students the dogs were able to take their morning and afternoon walks. :))

Beautiful Sam went home this afternoon. He looked incredibly handsome in his new fleecy coat, I'm sure his new Greyhound sister would have been very impressed when he arrived home. :)) It was lovely to meet Sam's new family, they were so excited about taking him home. Xxx

We had a new student join us today, a warm welcome to Liam. :))

Swift had a visit from her soon to be Dad this afternoon. Not long until she goes home.xx

Thanks so much to everyone for your help today! Xxx

We were very lucky with the weather today, not too cold and dry until around 6pm when the rain came down! Thanks to our volunteers all of our residents enjoyed morning and afternoon walks. :))

Many thanks to Katarina and her family for taking Quivers out this afternoon and giving her a break from the kennels. She had a lovely time. Xxx

Richard popped in with food and toys donated to us by Pets at Home. :). We are so grateful to them for their support. Thank you. Xxx

It was wonderful to see ex Daybreaks resident Leo and his family. He came in to use the sand run. He looks absolutely fantastic! :))

Handsome lad Jag came in for nail clipping. He arrived just as Bee was going out for a walk and it was love at first sight. She was absolutely smitten with him! :)) Think he was quite overwhelmed with all the attention from a pretty young lady! Xxx

Julie, now called Noa went off to her new home. She met her two new human brothers and loved them! Wishing them all lots of happy times togheter. Xxx

Thanks so much to Jan and Jez for doing all the feeding this afternoon. :)) Jez very kindly stayed to help me with Bee's poorly tail. Xxx

It's still raining, I do hope it's dry for our Christmas party tomorrow! Looking forward to hopefully seeing lots of ex Daybreaks residents come to visit Santa and give him their Christmas wish list! I'm wishing for forever homes all of our current residents. :)) Xxx

Xxx

The Festive Fundraising online auction closed tonight at 8pm - and has raised the fabulous sum of £593. Thank you so much to everyone who took part - your support is much appreciated. xx

With a full kennels it's been a busy old day today - but thanks to the Friday Team feeding is well under way so I have grabbed the opportunity for coffee and a go on the computer!!

It was a dull day, but stayed dry so all the residents enjoyed both morning and afternoon walks.

I met all our lovely newbies - they are all gorgeous!

I have never seen a tail quite like little Beatrice's (Bee's)!! It twirls round like a helicopter and literally never stops moving!! As Kate has already said this has led to a major case of happy tail!! It was like CSI Miami in her kennel earlier - blood spattered all up and across the walls in amazing patterns!! Ruth took her to the Vet this morning for a vaccination, and he had a look at her tail - advising us to bathe it for a minimum of 5 minutes to prevent infection. The challenge was of course, how to keep it still for that long!! The solution was a large plastic syringe with a taped up bottom, and Bee's tail fitting beautifully into the fluid down the tube before it was taped on to the tail. Of course, she had to be cuddled for the full 5 minutes to prevent the syringe flying across the feeding run!! Let's hope this does the trick for her.

Preparations for Santa's visit on Sunday continued, and we hope to see lots of friends,both 2 & 4 legged, in the sand run to start off the festive season.

More kind donations of bedding were received, and the sand run proved popular again. It is a great facility and is fully booked up for tomorrow!

Tickets for our Grand Christmas Draw are on sale, the first prize is £500 cash very generously donated by Fivelands Vets, with the draw taking place on Christmas Eve. If you can't get into the kennels, we can take payment by phone and get the tickets in the post to you.

Another weekend approaches, and its a busy one! I will raise a glass or two later toast our lovely new additions, our gorgeous existing residents, and make a wish for lots of red or green signs outside their kennels.

Have a great weekend one and all - stay safe and warm, and hopefully see some of you on Sunday.

Cheers! Angie x

We had a full kennels today, lots of lovely girls and boys looking for their forever homes. :)) When Sammy arrived she had to go in the back kitchen kennel, until we had a spare space for her. A very cute little lass who loves cuddles. Xxx

Mikey went back out with his foster family this afternoon. He was so very happy to see them! Xxx

Richard was one of Santa's little helpers today and put the carpet down in the summer house ready for Santa on Sunday. He also built a step and made handrails. I'm sure he will be on the "nice" list this Christmas. We are so grateful for everything he does for us.

Many thanks to Alan and Declan for going to the warehouse today, Xxx. Thanks also to everyone who helped out today. :))

Many thanks to Sarah and Steve for bringing in three big bags of Mistletoe! It will be on sale at the kennels at the Christmas party on Sunday. :))

We have an extra resident at the kennels, a lovley Robin spends a lot of time around the kennels, he went into the Christmas shop today, obviously looking for presents for his family! :))

Yesterday was a whirlwind day! Our storage unit had developed a leak and unfortunately 90% of the donated items we had been given to raise money had become damp and mouldy! Absolutely gutting…. So we had to order a skip to clear it out :-(
We had a little stray brought in…. She is adorable. She was bathed and settled into a kennel which meant we had a full house! Later on the evening I was out collecting some donated carpet for Santa’s grotto! I blitzed the office so apologies to Kate if she couldn’t find anything today!!! X

The weather today was a big improvement on yesterday's snow and ice!

First thing this morning I took Sam off to the vets for his neutering op. I think he knew as he wasn't keen on going into the vets! He was great in the car, just sat down and enjoyed the ride. I picked him up later on this afternoon. He was bright and bouncy and enjoyed his dinner. :))

Everyone enjoyed both morning and afternoon walks. Xxx Many thanks to Norman for taking young Will to the park. Tiggy came in today, but wasn't that bothered about meeting her brother! :) Xxx

Ruth was busy sorting things out for our Christmas Party on Sunday, Santa's grotto will soon be ready for him! Xxx

Xxx

Thanks shanishoo, I have his paw print on a necklace that I don't take off, sleep with his collar and ashes next to me on bedside table. I talk to him all the time and have constantly got a Robin following me and I'm convinced its him.
So sorry about your jack too. Like I said, I guess I am lucky I had jet till 10, but still feel cheated. These animals aren't just animals, they're children and think only us animal lovers understand!

Kate...Mia said if ever you want to open a creche at the kennels, her name is first on the list to come...if not she'll have to wait till she's old enough to volunteer! Xxx

Jetlucy my heart breaks for you, I totally understand that you have found it difficult to talk about Jet, it's still so raw, we lost our beautiful boy Jack to a stroke over 4 years ago, he was only 8, and I still cry every day for him, no it doesn't get easier you just learn how to live with it, it broke my heart when we lost Jack so I know your heart is broken too. When I feel sad I make myself just think of how utterly stunning he was and how he made me laugh and all his quirky ways, I'm sure you have so many fabulous memories of your beautiful boy to remember, he will always be by your side looking out for you. Keeping you in my thoughts xxxxxx

Lucy, it was really lovely to see you and your beautiful daughter Mia yesterday. Mia has grown up so quickly and she did love all the dogs! :))
I'm sure When the time is right Jet will lead you to the right wonderful Greyhound to join your family. They will never replace Jet but you will fall in love with them for who they are. Xxx

Thank you for your kind words shanishoo. Yes, we lost my beautiful boy 1st July, he was only given 6 months back in September as was diagnosed with heart failure totally out of the blue, but we managed to keep him going for 9 months when he decided on his morning walk that he couldn't carry on anymore and sadly collapsed in my arms and had a heart attack. The only saving grace was that I didn't have to make a decision in the end or him go to the vets which he was petrified about. Its the most heartbreaking thing and I still cry about him everyday. People keep saying It'll get easier but it's just not. He was literally the most kind, special boy and really didn't deserve to be taken so young (he had just made 10 but I still thought he would have years). I haven't been able to write anything on his page yet as feel like that's admitting he's not here.

We had a black lab puppy shortly after as we were due to see him before we lost jet and don't get me wrong he's lovely and brilliant with mia the 2 year old feral child, which was the only reason we went for a puppy as, like I said and Kate witnessed yesterday, she is still so young but adores animals but doesn't understand she's rough yet, but my heart totally lies with greyhounds and I just need jet to send me the right one.

I will never ever get another jet but hopefully I will get another in the future xxx

We arrived at the kennels this morning, Denise had already fed the hounds and cleaned the kennels, unfortunately the hose was froze, so cleaning the feeding runs was done with buckets of water!

The chicken house had leaked so Denise cleaned it out and gave the girls nice clean dry bedding.

What was a fairly quiet day in the diary proved to be anything but. The two dogs that were due in last Friday arrived, they are gorgeous, Boss a lovely black lad and Julie a pretty fawn girl. It was far too cold to bath them so they had their welcome health checks done and got tucked up with nice warm fleeces in their kennels.

A late viewing resulted in Bess being reserved. Swift had a further viewing to introduce her to the families children and other dogs, all went very well :))

Millie who has been on long term foster was signed up officially today by our lovely volunteer Gloria. X

Morning walks were done but this afternoon walks due to the weather were abandoned, however, when there was a lull in the snow flurries the inmates had a little time in the sand run.

Despite the weather the sand run was very popular today.

Many thanks for the bedding donations.

Thanks to our intrepid volunteers for all their help today, it was ffffreezing, we all felt it despite trying to keep busy.

I think it may now be breakfast time, although I may forego that for a couple of medicinal glasses of wine!!!

Stay safe, well and warm, looking at the weather forecast over the next couple of days it looks like it may be almost tropical at 12 degrees!!

Jetlucy, I had no idea that you had lost your beautiful special boy Jet, I am so very sorry, I know from your posts how much you absolutely adored and loved him, just heartbroken for you and your family. Rip beautiful sweet Jet xxxx

We had a lovely hour with Kate and the dogs yesterday (sorry for holding you up Kate!) It was the first time I've been since loosing my beautiful boy but wanted to bring the dogs some Christmas treats and get our calendar. It was very emotional going without jet but also lovely memories of a place that gave jet and I the chance to meet and have an amazing life with each other for a few years, just wish we could have had more, but as I always say, a life time with him wouldn't have been long enough.

Mia had a fabulous time with the dogs but demonstrated to Kate how confident she is with dogs but doesn't realise yet that not all dogs appreciate been pulled, poked and messed with as much as she likes too, so needs to be a very special, understanding dog to put up with our family but I hope when jet feels the time is right he will send the next one to daybreaks for us as I have such a void in my life that will never be filled but can hopefully help xxx

I also arrived at the kennels in the middle of a blizzard this morning! My ever faithful little Skip insisted on coming with me, wrapped up in two coats and his snood! Bless him. Xxx

So grateful to Angie and Michael for feeding and cleaning the boys and girls. :) Xxx

Thanks to everyone for their help today, we were able to go out for both walks. Little Quivers wasn't too keen to go out this morning but was fine once she got going. :)) This afternoon she was more than happy to join the others for a stroll. Xxx

It was great to see Jetlucy this morning. She and Mia popped in to see us and brought some lovely treats for the dogs. Mia gave everyone a doggie donut. :) Xx

Joe went off to his new home, had a wee up the chair in the office just before he left! Sure he wanted to leave us a reminder of him! :)) Bless him. Wishing him a very happy new life. Xxx

A lovley family came to visit the dogs and are hoping to adopt one of our boys or girls in the near future. Xxx

A big thank you to Jez our Saturday student for all his help today. It was just us two left this afternoon. Xxx

Left everyone snug in their kennels tonight. :)) Skip and I were very happy to see all the snow had gone by going home time!

Xxx

What a wild, stormy night it was last night - and with that in mind we headed out to the kennels a bit earlier this morning, and the closer we got, the harder the snow came down!!

It was a swirling blizzard on arrival (I kid you not) but fortunately all doggies were absolutely fine, snug & cosy in their centrally heated kennels! The only casualties of the storm were a Christmas tree which had been blown over scattering baubles everywhere, and the canopy that stood over the donation cart - it had taken off but somehow managed to land covering the front of the cart and sheltering it from the worst of the snow & wind!

Gold stars for all the residents as every single kennel was lovely and clean - making my job very easy, thankyou boys & girls.

Well, its stopped snowing now but it's still blowing & absolutely freezing - and its not Winter yet!!

Stay warm & safe everyone

Angie xx

We were all geared up for a busy day today - which didn't materialize, so another early post from me as the kennels winds down for the day.

It was blooming wet & blooming cold today - we did manage to sandwich the walks between the monsoon downpours, but crikey it did come down at times - there were rivers running and we had to barricade the bottom block doors to keep it out!!!

The lovely Quivers arrived this morning - what a friendly, lively little girl she is. Hope she has a good first night and settles in soon. Our other new arrivals have been postponed for a couple of days.

Unsurprisingly it was very quiet for visitors today, so we managed to get all the recent bedding donations sorted and put away.

Well, another weekend is upon us - and lets hope the weather forecast is wrong!!! The boys & girls are all tucked up tonight with their fleece coats, underbed heating and heaters on in the blocks - I think I may stay here as it is very cosy!!

A drop of medicinal brandy may be on the cards later!! - raised to toast all our beautiful boys & girls, hoping all those out on foster are being good and benefiting from their time out in a home, and hoping for forever homes for everyone soon.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, stay warm and enjoy. Cheers!
Angie xx

Rosie and Paul, you are so lovley! I'm sure Rigsby, Hope and Snip would never want to leave you, no matter how many others you took home! :)) Hope Jess had a good night. Xxx

So….I went to the kennels on Monday afternoon to put together some homing packs and as I walked in, Woody had just been returned and was looking very sad. So I brought him home to foster until he finds a new forever home. Then this afternoon I went back to the kennels to finish off the homing packs, and Jess had come back in from her foster home and was really unsettled……so I brought her home too. Hopefully she’ll have a new longer term foster home on Saturday until she gets her forever home but I’m getting worried about going in to the kennels next week to do the homing packs for the 3 new dogs who are coming in tomorrow in case I keep bringing more dogs home! I’m sure Ruth would be happy for me to do that but our 3 greys might leave home and go somewhere quieter :)) Of course I’d have them all if I could…….

Thanks to everyone for their help today.

Apart from lots of bedding donations it was fairly quiet for visitors. Bella attacked the honesty box and had a good tidy up. Denise tackled the thankless task of sweeping up, no sooner are you finished it's time to start again!

It became quite chilly this afternoon, the residents were tucked up with their fleeces on and the heaters on in the kennel blocks.

What a fabulous day! A gorgeous new arrival - Mandy - she is just so gorgeous! Sam was reserved and is going out to his new home at the beginning of December following his neutering and (trumpet roll)...... FINALLY...... our favourite boy Mikey has gone out to foster.... he sat in the back of the car as if to say - this is what I have been waiting for and it was worth the wait! He has been at Daybreaks since the beginning of July bless him.
It is extremely cold but the 'kids' have their underbed heating on and I have got several layers on! Video diary will appear on our Daybreaks Chat Facebook page later x

Thanks to everyone for their help today, it seemed to get colder as the day went on! Gloria and Carol set to work on the summer house in readiness for Santa's visit on Sunday 5th December. I am sure they were exaggerating when the said they chased two tarantulas back down a hole and out in the sand run!!

Joe found himself reserved, he is such a lovely boy.

Delli (Lily) who had been out on foster since her return was officially signed up today, welcome to her Mom, Dad and fur sister Luna for becoming the newest members of the 'failed foster family'. She has a new name...Artemis.

Little Jess has gone out on foster today, she seems much brighter and not as lopsided as she was the other day.

Thanks too for the donations of bedding.

The inmates are all tucked up nice and warm, the forecast predicts that colder weather is set to come in the next few days. On that note, I am heading home to warm up.

As always stay safe and well.

It started off as a quiet day today which gradually got busier as time went on. :))

Ruth and Alan had a quick trip to the warehouse. We have plenty of bags of Burns in stock now. :)

Thanks so much to all our morning and afternoon walkers. Everyone enjoyed the unusually warm weather for November.

Ruth had brought Jess in with her. She is still a little wobbly but she was able to go for a couple of shorter walks which she enjoyed. She spent the day in the office. A very affectionate girl, who loves to cuddle up with you. Hoping she will make a full recovery. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone who brought in donations of bedding and towels. Xxx Jo popped in with donations of bedding she had collected. Xxx

We had several visitors to use the sand run and also for nail clipping. Xxx

Ruth had corns to look at. Lovely Gracie came in wearing her little boots. She suffers from nasty corns, like my Lyra. Gracie's owner and I both agreed if someone could discover a cure for corns they would be a millionaire over night! :)) Xxx

Xxx

What a quiet day today - and thanks to the Friday Team things are winding down for the day here, so I have taken the opportunity to grab the computer again.

The day got off to a great start as the lovely Jim went off to his new home - wishing him and his new family many happy times ahead.

I met new girl Swift - what a lovely girl she is,she seems quite happy and certainly enjoyed her food! I brought in some sweet potato & green bean mash to give to the doggies - I am pleased to say it was something of a hit! Our lovely Mikey especially enjoyed something with a little bit of a different flavour and texture - we didn't really need to wash his bowl it had been licked so clean!!

Morning & afternoon walks were done, along with health checks and a bit of "spring" cleaning and bedding sorting.

Plans for Santa's visit on 5th December are well under way. We hope lots of you can make it to this outdoor event and bring your hounds along to visit Santa. The Grand Christmas Raffle draw which was going to be made then, has now been extended until Christmas Eve giving plenty of time to get your tickets for some lovely prizes.

Dont forget the online auction starts tomorrow - pop over to the Facebook page to take a look. Most items have been added, but I have a few more to go on this evening when I get home.

Yet another weekend is almost upon us - it will be Christmas before you know it!! Tonight's toast is to the beautiful Jess, wishing her a speedy recovery, and all our residents, hoping forever homes will soon be theirs.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, stay safe & enjoy. Cheers! Angie x

It started off with us short of two of our regular volunteers, but we gained an extra Wednesday walker, I would like to welcome Ian back who previously volunteered at the kennels.
Sadly Ruth had an urgent vet run this morning, little Jess was in the run after breakfast and was holding her head to one side, she was also a little wobbly. We suspected that she had had a stroke, the vets seem to think that was the case. She was undergoing tests and Ruth was taking her home for observation. Everything crossed for this little girl.

Buddy was signed up today by a lovely couple that Ruth knows from the days when she volunteered at Monmore!! He is a lucky boy and massive thanks to Caroline who had fostered him after his previous owner sadly passed away. Mentioning Caroline, she came in to drop Buddy off for his homing and was convinced to take Flower on foster for a few days for further evaluation. Thanks very much Caroline. Xx

There is a new arrival tomorrow, she was due to arrive on Friday but had a call to say she is arriving tomorrow, keep an eye on the website.

Many thanks to everyone for their help today, as ever very much appreciated.

It's looking very festive at the kennels with the multinn Christmas trees up and the festive honesty box set up!

On a final note, the Simon Stevens Daybreaks Fundraiser is doing well, let's push this and 'put it out there', share far and wide, there have even been donations fro the USA! You can follow the link on Facebook and donations can also be made directly at the kennels or by phone. Simons wish was to secure the future of the kennels, he was such a lovely, selfless man who always thought of others first (although I secretly think he sometimes questioned Ruth's logic on some of her schemes, he had the rolling eyes down to perfection)!

As always stay safe and well, take care all. Xx

Does anyone live in the Wednesbury/West Bromwich area? We have had an offer of a donation of tinned food but sadly the lady doesn't drive and would need to meet somewhere in that area.

It was good to be back today after my trip to A&E last Tuesday! I attacked more paperwork with the help of Jude whilst Kate, Yvonne and Molly our work experience student cleaned and fed. We also had the the help of Rosie, David, Wayne, Lee, Louisa and Myra so we set to work to make Daybreaks Christmassy!! Sue took Little Jess went off for her Spey at Fivelands this morning and she is now fast asleep at ours…. She is truly beautiful x

A greyt start to the day! My Gummers (Max) sadly has a nasal tumour and is on various medications including steroids which make him drink more and obviously wee more. So just before 5 o'clock he decided to have a wee but on my bed!! So bedding changed and duvet put in washing machine we got back into bed, within a few minutes my husband decided to be violently sick. Poor Asbo Arry and his dog bed bore the brunt of this. Cleaned Asbo down, another load of washing on and all before reaching the kennels.

The day didn't improve much, we had a little stray dog come in, she was chipped, but sadly we were unable to contact her registered owner. Messages were left on their mobile message service to call (no other info was given just our phone number). This afternoon I took her to Birmingham Dogs Home. She was such a little sweetie and very well behaved. Good luck to her.

On the plus side, Joey foun himself reserved, yay!

Massive thanks to everyone for their help today, we were shorter on numbers than usual and big thanks to Denise for letting me leave a little earlier and cover the kennels to go and carry on with the mayhem and cleaning up at home from this morning.

Thanks too to Liz Beth for taking Flower to the park, she was an absolute star and her only reaction was to a squirrel, well done little girl. X

It was a bit like "Emergency Ward 10" at Daybreaks this morning (yes, I do remember it, I am that old, lol!!).

Joe had managed to knock the scab off the cut on his leg, so we cleaned it and administered some soothing Aloe gel to the area.

Then it was Mikey's turn - we undid the bandage and are happy to report all looks pretty good! Fortunately the nail is not damaged or loose, and the toe itself looks fine. We'll just keep an eye though to make sure. He was very happy to be rid of the bandage!

All other doggies were fine, Bess had a good night and enjoyed her breakfast - and the gorgeous Flower was just so happy to see us that her whole back end wags in excitement!

xxx

An early post from me today as thanks to the great Friday team, we are just settling the boys & girls down for the night following a fairly quiet day so I grabbed the opportunity to get on the computer.

Morning & afternoon walks were done in the dry, and it was quite mild too.

We caught up with the health checks, and sorted the food and bedding donations. Mid morning saw the arrival of the lovely Bess, the litter sister to Jess. Another sweet black girl, she seems quite a happy soul. Wishing her a good first night and hope she settles quickly into Daybreaks. x

Mikey is now sporting a very fetching green bandage which has given him a very funny walk!!! Bless him, he went into the sand run this afternoon to have a play and a blast to get rid of some of his pent up energy - and promptly managed to pull his nail!! We've bathed & bandaged it, and I'll have a look in the morning.

Doesn't it get dark early these days, and I'm not too thrilled about dark mornings either!! On that note we had a call from a gentleman who told us his Greys are bringing him early morning presents back into the kitchen when he lets them out in the morning - hedgehogs!! They are not damaged, and no one is hurt, they are just presented as if to say "look what we found!!" - but it might be worth checking your garden before you let your hounds out in the dark.

Well, yet another weekend is fast approaching. The diary looks fairly quiet - but you never know. I shall be raising a glass or two later in a welcome toast to Bess, and wish for forever homes for returnee Flower, long stayer Mikey and all the other beautiful residents who have been waiting patiently.

Whatever you're up to this weekend, as ever stay safe. Cheers!
Angie x

Lots going on today! :)

The Pet Blood Bank team arrived bright and early with Mikey being their first donor. :))Followed by Joe, Pops and Jim...well done boys! :)) We also had some pet dog volunteers. Alan's Belle and Shirley and Richard's Drew and Frieda. :)) Xxx Sadly my lovely Cracker was too nervous to donate but he still received a toy and a bag of Gravy bones! For which he was very pleased! :)
It really is such a good thing to do, if you are interested in your dog becoming a donor, why not sign them up with the Blood Bank for their next session which will be 6th January 2022. Please contact them direct on 01509 232 222 for more information. :))

Gorgeous little Alice went home today! She is such an incredibly sweet girl. Her new family are lovely. Thank you for your patience as it took a while to do the paperwork. :) Wishing you all lots of fun times together. Xxx

We also had a new arrival. The very handsome Sam. He is a fabulous young blue boy. Many thanks to Richard and Declan for bathing him and carrying out his health check. Xxx

Thanks so much to everyone for all your help today. I'm very grateful! Xxx

I got some funny looks from Skip and Cracker tonight...had put them in the car ready to go home and then taken some rubbish over to the bin, unfortunately I managed to drop my torch in the bin! Had to get the ladders climb in the bin to retrieve my torch then climb out again! :))))

Xxx