2022 finished with a flurry of seasonal events including our own Christmas Fair at the Old School in Long Melford. Once again, our volunteers pulled out all the stops with beautifully displayed stalls and over £3900 was raised, including a generous anonymous donation.
A big thank you to those who supported the SESAW stall at the Tiptree Christmas Fayre last month. It was a great evening with lots of food, drink, entertainment, children’s rides and many other stalls. Volunteer Lorraine and her friends were delighted to find they had raised £465 from the sale of handmade craft items. They enjoyed meeting the visitors including one lady with her ex-SESAW dog.
Well done to Ronnie who braved a bitterly cold December morning to attend the Langham Winter Fair. Despite the inclement weather, she raised over £56 from the sale of pet accessories.
Thanks are also due to the organisers of the Langham Winter and the Tiptree Christmas Fairs for inviting us to their events.
Finally, thank you to regular volunteers, Joan and Keith, for decorating a tree in the annual Christmas Tree Festivalp at St. Gregory’s Church in Sudbury. This year, our stalwart couple dedicated the decorations to the theme “Crackers about Animals”.
Each year happy owners often return with ex-SESAW dogs for a Christmas visit. One of these catch-ups highlighted an interesting issue which is well worth repeating so here is Carmen’s story:
“Last year we were ready to open our hearts to another dog, having lost one in lockdown. We just missed one we liked at SESAW but were introduced to three Cocker Spaniels. Poor things, they were so scared and neglected, understandably after being used for breeding. We fell in love instantly and knew they were the dogs for us.
They came home where they are safe, cared for and very much loved but we noticed strangers giving us horrible looks when out on walks. We couldn’t figure out why, but then it clicked.
They saw the girls’ low-hanging bellies, caused by having so many litters of puppies in their previous lives, and they were judging us for how they looked. It made us feel awful.
The moral is, please don’t make assumptions based on how a dog may look or act. Maybe, like ours, it didn’t have the best start and the owner is trying to make a good life for their pet and help it heal from horrible past experiences.
Our girls have come on so well since we’ve had them, but there is still a long way to go. So please don’t judge a book by its cover, because you don’t know what’s happened on the inside.”
Well said, Carmen. It’s the same for canines like me. Many of my fans used to think little dogs were nasty and vicious until they met me, Kenny (the Boss) Chihuahua.