Logan the greyhound, who has been busy writing his memoirs, sent our hounds a kind donation of £50 from his book sales. Thanks so much from the hounds at GRACE!

Thank you to the wonderful colleagues at Asda Thornaby for their trolley load of donations. As always the hounds and volunteers at GRACE are extremely grateful for their support.

Happy 10th birthday to Ellen, who celebrated her special day recently.

Ellen is in long term foster care with Charlotte and Ashley who made sure this gorgeous GRACE girl had a lovely day!

We’ve said it before, but a ‘greyt’ big THANK YOU to everyone who supports GRACE. Our charity is run entirely by volunteers, so every single penny we raise goes to help the dogs in our care.

There are too many people to mention by name in this post – although we try to give a shout out via our Facebook page to as many people as possible.

So whether you have fostered or adopted a GRACE hound; helped with fundraising activities; supported our events; taken photos for our campaigns; spread the word about our work; taken part in our regular bonus ball; made a donation; given a percentage of your product sales to us or given or crafted something for us to sell ….thank you, thank you, thank you!

Everyone at GRACE was incredibly sad to hear the devastating news that Doreen and John had to say goodbye to their beautiful Sky last month.

Sky started off as a foster girl with Doreen and John, but despite a few trips to try out potential homes, it was obvious that Sky felt that she’d already found her forever home with Doreen and John – and so they officially adopted her.

As Doreen says: “She was always by my side, whether I was in the toilet or in the bath. When I was upstairs doing my GRACE fundraising stuff, she laid on the bed watching me, or getting in the way when I was trying to wrap things up.”

Sky will be missed by everyone at GRACE, but especially by Doreen, John and her greyhound brother Max who all loved her bits.

We are looking for a long term foster home in the North East for this lovely girl Natasha.

We think she is probably aged 7. She is looking for a quiet home with someone who understands dogs who are sensitive. Natasha has epilepsy, which requires daily tablets. These are easy to give in food. A foster carer must be able to continue with her seizure diary, monitoring any potential seizures. We hope that once settled into a permanent foster home, she will be able to live a normal active life.

Natasha has been happy to meet other dogs on walks and does enjoy being out. This girl has not had the best start to her life and was confined to a kitchen for 4 years, so is just learning that the human touch is not necessarily a bad thing. Natasha needs an understanding foster carer who will give her time to come to them. GRACE will be paying for her veterinary costs. If you feel you have a quiet home that Natasha would be able to live out the rest of her life, please contact Tracy on 07840 771583.

Sadly Ellen had to make the devastating decision to help Judith gently over the rainbow bridge recently. After developing a limp in February, Judith was diagnosed with the horrible disease osteosarcoma. Ellen had no alternative, as after x-rays were taken, the vet felt that Judith was in too much pain. Judith had not even celebrated her first gotcha day, but she lived her life to the fullest.

One of our boys Snuff has also sadly been helped over the rainbow bridge recently, as he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma too. He had been a had much loved part of Dora’s family in Scotland since December 2017, when he joined the pack after breaking his hock. He recovered from that injury really well and very quickly decided he loved the sofa life. Snuff got his name for the snuffles he made when getting hugs.

Sending much love to Ellen and Dora during this incredibly sad time. And please give your hounds an extra hug this evening in memory of Judith and Snuff.

Thank you to GRACE supporter Cindy Aldridge, who has kindly written this guest article, which explores strategies for balancing your daily entrepreneurial duties while welcoming a new dog into your life.

Starting and running a new business is a challenging task in itself. The idea of welcoming a new pet into your home during this stage of your life can seem downright overwhelming. However, with the right knowledge and tools, you can effortlessly help your new companion acclimate to life in their forever home. 

Plan to take your new dog home at the weekend

If at all possible, plan to take your dog home at the earliest part of your weekend. The workweek is filled with enough deadlines and duties as it is. Adding the responsibility of picking up and starting to help your dog settle in, on top of everything, is a recipe for overwhelm. By bringing your dog home at the start of the weekend, you will optimise your time. If you have the option, consider taking an extended weekend to have more one-on-one time with your dog. 

 Create a space for your dog in your office

While you may not be able to do this the entire day, if you work from home, consider keeping your dog in your home office. Create a space that is their own to make him or her feel as comfortable as possible. Include a bed, toys, a dish for water and treats for training. By having your dog in your office during the day, training will become much easier. You can praise good behaviours and help your dog get used to the pace of life during the workweek. 

Use the latest apps and technology to make life easier

Various apps and technology have made it far easier to raise a happy and well-behaved dog. Rather than trying to do all of the work and research yourself, download and use some of today’s top pet apps. Have an extended period of time where you’ll need to focus on your business? Find dog sitters in your area using one of today’s top pet sitting apps. There are also apps to give you the tips and advice needed to be your own dog trainer. 

Delegate tasks to free up more time in your day

As a business owner, outsourcing and delegating tasks is essential. Even if you start off running your company solo, this ultimately needs to change to keep your business growing. When you are concurrently welcoming a new pet and starting/running a business, delegation becomes even more necessary. Continue to develop and grow your business — while being attentive to the needs of your new dog — by outsourcing at least two types of tasks. Whether you need a graphic designer, virtual assistant, mobile app developer or web designer, there are experienced professionals waiting to help you. Simply post what you need to the right freelance jobs board and get connected with reliable and capable candidates. 

Develop a routine around your workday

Although you might be tempted to create a special routine for your new dog, you will eventually have to meet their needs within the confines of your work schedule. From as early as possible, start developing your dog’s eating, sleeping, walking and play routine around your day.  

Planning is key when it comes to continuing to smoothly run your new business while bringing your new dog into their forever home. Following the above strategies will keep both you and your dog as happy as possible for the long-run. 

A huge thank you to GRACE volunteer Doreen, who has pulled out all the stops to raise much needed funds. This week alone, Doreen has sent £613.57 to GRACE! The money is a huge help towards our veterinary and dog food bills.

Helped by her furry assistants Sky and Max, the money raised includes £373.57 from an online auction on our fundraising page (search for GRACE Fundraising Page on Facebook). There was also a lovely £20 donation from Sox. Plus £99 was raised from our regular 100 club and £29 from our weekly bonus ball.

Thank you to everyone who has made donations, bought items or has weekly numbers in our draws. Doreen says if she can find some more donated items, she is hoping to run another auction at Easter time. So, if you are doing out your cupboards and find something you won’t use and think we can sell it, please get in touch with Doreen via our contact page. Thank you.

This is a particularly hard news post to write, as the whole GRACE team are so devastated by the loss of the wonderful Tag.

Tag came to us several years ago, along with his brother Curtis, when he was rescued by GRACE founder Tracy Cook. Initially, Tracy found Tag a great foster home, where he could forget his past traumas and enjoy just being a dog. And it wasn’t long before Tracy found Tag the perfect ‘forever home’ with Linda, Terry and their family.

Tag was totally adored by them all and had a life of unconditional love, home comforts and treats!

Good night sweet boy Tag. We will always, always love and remember you.