Paws for Thought
Village Vets Annual Charity Dog show
Another great dog show was held at the Village vets on the last Sunday in August. This is the fourth charity fund raiser that Kate and her team has now held, and what a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon it turned out to be.
It is fast becoming known in the social calender as a great afternoon, full of good old traditional fun. Set in the vets practice large garden in Brows lane, it has a really lovely friendly atmosphere. As always, there were dog competitions, best trick, prettiest girl, waggiest tail, best rescue, best dressed, amongst many others. Willow my dog was lucky enough to win a first and two thirds in a few of the classes... how proud was I. There were dog displays from West Lancs dog display team, live music, pony rides, tea coffee, and home made cakes, tombola's, and raffles, with generously donated prizes. It really has an old fashioned garden fete feel about it, and what a lovely way to raise money for the chosen charities this year.
All the dogs were so well behaved, and everyone seemed to have such a lovely time. So well done, and thank you to all involved for such a well organised event. Keep your eyes open for next years, and get it put in your calender, normally held in the month of August.
The charities involved were 'Nowzad' a fantastic rescue for stray animals in Afghanistan. They promote animal welfare with the locals, whilst helping them vaccinate their pets. They look after dogs that have no hope, and no one else to look after them, many rescued by the soldiers serving over there. The other was 'Hack Back'. This fantastic charity gives therapy, training and education with majestic birds of prey. They help bring a smile to children with illness and disability, and to vulnerable adults, whilst creating self esteem. Most importantly they make people happy. Both wonderful charities.
Quieter Beach Walks
So Autumn is coming quickly, and the nights are drawing in, but there can still be some warm days to get out and about with your dogs. The kids are back at school, and Formby residents can begin to get the quieter beaches back... which is always nice. No waiting two hours just to get to the beach to walk the dog. No residents having their drive ways blocked with inconsiderate parking. The litter in the summer time is always a problem. I will never understand the mentality of certain visitors leaving litter, bottles, used nappies etc. Some just standing up and leaving the entire remains of their picnic in the sand, barbecue included, and every year it remains a massive problem. Sadly there is not the resources to monitor it. I personally feel people caught dropping litter, should be given community service to actually have to pick up litter at our beach. However, I know the logistics and resources to enforce this are just not there. It is down to the National Trust Wardens, various beach cleaning volunteers, and to the great Formby public devoting their own time, either on their own, or in the organised beach cleans of which there have been many throughout the summer. I will always collect litter myself on my dog walks, as many responsible dog walkers do.
It always saddens me that people can be so careless in what is one of the countries most outstanding areas of natural beauty. I can only hope that future generations of children are taught at school how to respect their enviroment, and not to drop litter. Maybe the children can then educate their parents how important it is for the future of the environment and wildlife. Clearly some parents have never been educated to respect this. Sometimes I wish I could just put blinkers on and ignore the rubbish occasionally and just enjoy my walk, but that can never happen now, and collecting litter has just become part of the walk for myself and Willow the dog. She even runs off and brings some discarded plastic bottles to me to put in my bag.
