Issue 059 - Reflect Magazine

Helping Our Four-Legged
24 Drinking Update
Friends In Need
Despite being fondly referred to as man’s best friend,
the dogs that arrive at Shropshire’s Birch Hill Dog
Rescue in Cleobury Mortimer have often seen the
dark side of human nature and every day sees more
and more dogs arriving at the centre.
History
Recently registered as a charity, Birch Hill is lovingly run by animal
lover Jutta Patterson, who bought the rescue centre as boarding
kennels in 1996. Jutta told Reflect: “When I bought the property,
it was 90% boarding and just 10% rescue; a lot of the boarding
was boarding for other rescue centres that didn’t have their own
facilities. Over the years, the centre has developed to cater solely
for our own rescue dogs. We take dogs in from all over the UK and
we don’t discriminate against age, sex or breed. We’re one of the
few rescue centres who will accept bull breeds, meaning we have
a lot of staffies here. We also have a non-destruction policy, so will
never put a healthy dog down.”
How You Can Help
With the monthly cost of kennel and
veterinary care amounting to £6,000, Birch
Hill are desperately seeking sponsors, as
Jutta explained: “The effects of the current
economic climate are double-fold; we’re
taking in more dogs as families can no longer
financially support them, but we’ve also got
less money coming in as sponsors are falling. It
costs us £6,000 to run the centre each month,
including vets bills, food, bedding and heating,
so we’re always searching for donations,
of any size. If you want to help there are a
plethora of ways. There’s our ‘kiddies club’,
which costs £2 a month, we have a ‘sponsor
a dog’ scheme which starts from as little as
£4 a month, then there’s the opportunity to
‘sponsor the centre’ and receive our quarterly
newsletter or you can make a one-off
donation for the year - we really don’t mind
how or what you donate, we just really need
you to donate. We’re only here because of
irresponsible breeding and the cruelty of man;
we’re just picking up the pieces.”
Alternatively, you could leave a legacy in
your Will or donate your time and volunteer
for a few hours a week. There’s always jobs
that need doing from feeding and cleaning
out kennels to the more fun job of taking the
centre’s four-legged residents for walkies.
Charity Shop
In an effort to increase the funds coming into
the centre, Birch Hill have recently opened
their own charity shop, located at 12 Reindeer
Court, Worcester. If you have any unwanted
Christmas gifts, old clothes or general bric a
brac that you no longer want or have use
for, Reflect would like to encourage you to
donate these things to the Birch Hill charity
shop to help make a difference to the lives
of all Jutta’s dogs, some of which have been
treated unbelievably badly.
Grand Winter Draw
In order to encourage more monetary
donations, Birch Hill have organised a Winter
Prize Draw with some great prizes on offer, all
of which have been kindly donated. Raffle
tickets are £1 each and can be purchased by
calling Jutta on 01299 270406
First Prize: A one weeks’ luxury caravan holiday
for up to six people at the Lydstep Beach
Holiday Park in Tenby, south Wales. Not only
does this prize cover the accommodation but
also all occupants will have free entry to the
many facilities they have, worth around
£45 each.
Second Prize: is a much-needed
cash prize of £250
Third Prize: is a cash prize of £150
Fourth Prize: is a cash prize of £75
Fifth Prize: is a cash prize of £25
In August last year, the charity was named
top rescue facility in the West Midlands
by RescueReview.co.uk, after pet-lovers
nominated Birch Hill for the title with glowing
five-star reviews.
For more information, or to make a donation,
call 01299 270406 or visit
www.birchhilldogrescue.org.uk
Alternatively, email Jutta at
jutta552@gmail.com