Burgess Pet Care

The Greyhound Awareness League in Scotland recently signed up to our Rescue Loyalty Scheme and they contacted us recently with a short story highlighting the important work they do… the story is a distressing one (but sadly all too common), however, with a little care and hardwork this rescue is doing all it can to ensure both adult and puppy greyhounds find their forever home…

The story of the pups…

We received a phonecall from a lady whose father was a breeder and trainer of greyhounds.  The man has Parkinson’s disease and has not been able to look after his dogs properly for some time.  When we went to assess the situation the dogs were living in their own dirt he was not able to clean out the kennels so was just putting clean straw on top of the dirt.

Two of the dogs had never been on a lead, they had never seen any other type of dog, they had lived in these conditions without getting out for the three years they had been alive.

We have them at our kennels and they are proving very difficult, it will be a long process but we hope that with some TLC and hard work, one day they will find their forever homes.  We have at last managed to get the urine stains off their legs.

The other dog was heavily pregnant ,  she had her pups 3 days after we took her in.  Unfortunately we were unable to take in any of the others but another couple of greyhound charities helped out also.

The pups are all now in their forever homes but most are coming to our monthly walk on the 7th August so we are going to get to see how they progress.  Can’t wait!

During May we celebrated Rabbit Awareness Week 2011, a nationwide event to promote rabbit welfare and a better understanding of how to care for, house and feed rabbits. The event was sponsored by Burgess Pet Care, RWAF, RSPCA, PDSA, Pet Plan, Panacur Rabbit and The Blue Cross.

To promote the event we travelled the UK with Burgess, our Giant Bunny. Did you Spot him? Here is his photo account of the week:

Day 1 - Lake Windermere

On Day 1 of Rabbit Awareness Week Burgess the Bunny visited the beautiful Lake District in the North of England. He enjoyed a visit to the World of Beatrix Potter attraction. The team enjoyed chatting to rabbit owners about the importance of a fibre packed diet and gave advice on local vet surgeries offering free health checks to local bunnies.

Day 2, beneath the Humber Bridge in Hull

Day 2 saw Burgess travelling from West to East. Here he is waiting patiently by the Humber Bridge before meeting up with people to stres the importance of companionship and play. Rabbits need lots of space to hop and play and hate being confined to a hutch all day!

Day 3, Heaton Park, Manchester, with school children

Day 3, Heaton Park, Manchester, with Apricot the Rescue Bunny

On Day 3 Burgess the Bunny headed over to Manchester’s Heaton Park. This day was great fun, not only becuase of all the free range space to hop and play, but also becuase Burgess and the team got to chat with the school children from a local school. Several of the children had rabbits as pets, so we passed on lots of tips and advice.

Day 4, at Bunny Primary School, Bunny, Notts

Day 4, the children of Bunny School read up on RAW2011

Day 4, and the giant Bunny headed over to Bunny. Surely the best named town in all of the UK!! We chatted with children from Bunny C of E Primary school, who learned a lot about rabbits, feeding, behaviour, play and emotional well being.

Day 5 in Edinburgh, meeting Scottish rabbit owners

Day 5 and Burgess the Bunny headed up North to beautiful Edinburgh. We enjoyed a prize spot on the famous Pricess St and the bunny caught the eye of plenty of passers by! Here he is with a Scottish friend who has promised to spread the word about RAW.

The Giant Bunny spent a Windy Weekend at Wood Green Shelters

To finish the week Burgess the Giant Bunny visited our friends at Wood Green Animal Shelters and spent the weekend with their friendly team.

Wood Green Shelters are a key sponsor of Rabbit Awareness Week and every year they rescue and rehome hundreds of rabbits (in addition to cats, dogs, guinea pigs, ferrets, goats and a variety of other field animals).

It was a windy weekend (as you can see in the photo) but we had a great time chatting to potential new rabbit owners about rabbit ownership and how to correctly care for these wonderful pets.

A HUGE thanks to all who have supported RAW this year and many thanks to the members of the public who took the time to come and see our Giant Bunny. The team have really enjoyed meeting you. Now for Rabbit Awareness Week 2012… Watch this space!

Burgess Pet Care are delighted to be attending the London Pet Show 2011 and are pleased to be category sponsor for the Small Furries!

As sponsor of the Small Furries zone at London Pet Show, Burgess Pet Care can offer customers a fantastic deal of 30% off the price of advance tickets. To book tickets with this very special offer and for more information about the show visit www.londonpetshow.co.uk or call 0844 873 7332 and quote BURGESS when booking.

Kids under 5 go FREE! The price includes a show guide and a goody bag.

On 7th and 8th May 2011, Olympia will come alive with hundreds of animals as the Pet Show comes to London.

The London Pet Show is a dynamic live event, packed full of hundreds of different breeds of animals, amazing live animal action displays and fun and informative talks and demonstrations.

With five exciting zones to discover featuring Dogs, Cats, Small Furries, Exotics & Aquatics and Pets, it’s the perfect opportunity for animal lovers to meet and learn about all different types of animals. Plus, goodies and gadgets for pets of all shapes and sizes.

Everything you could ever wish for, for everyone who loves animals.

As a nation of pet lovers, we all know that the unconditional love of our furry friends is more than enough return on the investment to keep them happy and healthy.

However, Barbara Stanier of Thetford, Norfolk could never have dreamed that her 18 beloved dogs could eat their way to a further cash fortune when they recently won her £5,000 after she found a golden ticket in their bag of Supadog Beef Casserole.

Barbara Stanier wins the £5000 Golden Ticket

Avid musher Barbara, has been racing teams of Siberian Huskies and Malamutes for 27 years and has dedicated her life to these beautiful dogs; even showing champions at Crufts. It is essential that they eat a high quality food to allow them to keep up their energy and condition, especially in the racing season.

She said: “Burgess Supadog has always been an ideal choice, but I never imagined when they were running the £5,000 promotion that I would be the one to find the winning ticket– this sort of thing never happens to me! Keeping 18 dogs on the go can get quite expensive, so this money will go a long way with helping towards the cost”

Justin Heaton, head of marketing for Burgess Pet Care said: “ The golden ticket promotion was a great opportunity to thank pet owners for their loyal support of the Supadog brand. It fitted really well with our values of great food with great taste at great prices, which is very important in these hard economic times. With 18 mouths to feed no-one deserves it more than Barbara!”

Burgess Pet Care, a small family Yorkshire based business of pet lovers and owners will be running similar promotions to the £5,000 golden ticket in packs of pet food over the next few months. Look out in store for your chance to win”

When asked how Barbara planned to spend her winnings she replied: “Most of it will go back into the dogs of course, but I am treating myself to a top of the range laptop so that I can follow the Siberian Husky and Alaskan Malamute websites to follow our results as the racing season progresses”.

Burgess Pet Care are delighted to be working with Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue in the build up to Rabbit Awareness Week 2011. Fat Fluffs is a recent Wetnose Award winner, with the centre picking up the award for best Fibrevore Rescue for Rabbits, Guinea Pigs and Chinchillas.

Fatfluffs have a Bumper Bundle of Excel goodies up for grabs, including Excel Herbage, Forage, Nuggets and Nature Snacks from our Five Step Feeding Plan and if you fancy your chances of winning this prize please head over to the Fat Fluffs Blog, by clicking here.

More about Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue and Rehome

“Rabbit Rescue? I didn’t know rabbits needed rescuing!” is the most common comment we hear at Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue. Yet despite being the third most popular pet in the UK rabbits are actually the most neglected with 33,000 currently in rescue. Founded in November 2007 with the aim of being able to provide some of these unwanted animals with shelter and love before finding new forever homes, Fat Fluffs was granted registered charity status 6 months later and things have grown considerably from there. This year we were thrilled to have our hard work & commitment to rabbits rewarded, especially after such a short space of time, when we won a Wetnose Burgess Award for Best UK ‘Fibrevore’ Rescue 2011.

We currently house about 50-60 rabbits at any one time at Head Quarters and with foster carers dotted around the West Midlands & Warwickshire. Our website www.fatfluffs.com has been instrumental in achieving the recent milestone of 550 bunnies successfully rehomed as we keep it up-to-date with all rabbits currently available for adoption and we encourage past adopters to keep in touch with their bunny’s progress. We also maintain a website blog to keep followers posted of our latest news plus there are pages with current, practical information on good rabbit care.

Sadly not every rabbit that comes to Fat Fluffs can be found a new home. Some arrive with emotional issues or physical hurt that cannot be put right and we ensure that these bunnies are never put to sleep by operating a sanctuary to provide long-term homes to those needing special care or ongoing vet treatment. These rabbits live together as a big group, free-ranging the garden at our HQ for the rest of their natural lives. Those that need extra- special attention are placed in long-term foster care.

We see our responsibilities as more than just the rabbits currently in our care. By offering a rescue service people can surrender their unwanted rabbits responsibly knowing they will be well cared for and found a suitable new home. Our rehome service offers those wanting to give a bunny a second chance an opportunity to do so with full support and guidance on all rabbit welfare matters before, during and after the adoption process. Our commitment to individual rabbits continues throughout their lifetime even when they have left Fat Fluffs.

We firmly believe that rabbit welfare issues should be addressed before adoption or purchase of a new pet. At Fat Fluffs we accept as many invitations as possible to visit schools, community, church and children’s groups to educate the young and old alike of the responsibility of rabbit ownership. At HQ we provide work experience placements for college and school students in the area, as well as creating volunteer opportunities within the local community in a variety of roles including foster carers, home-checkers, event assistants and administration & rescue staff. We welcome approaches from individuals and groups within our community offering practical support and fundraising assistance to help boost both our profile and potential future income.

Fat Fluffs has a strong, bright and fun image, which we exploit at every opportunity marketing the rescue and promoting rabbit care & welfare. Almost every weekend during the spring and summer we can be found at fetes, fayres and vet open days across the Midlands. These ventures are also vital fundraising opportunities and could not be carried out without the support of a dedicated band of volunteers who regularly give up their time to help run our stand.

The continued existence and success of the charity relies completely on the dedication of its 5 trustees, all of whom have busy family lives and full-time commitments, one part-time rescue manager, without whom we couldn’t operate at the level we currently do, our bunny foster carers, who provide extra temporary homes for our rescue bunnies, plus the enthusiastic support of around 40 volunteers. We are always on the look-out for new foster carers, as our bunny waiting list grows ever longer, and also volunteers, to assist in any of the roles mentioned above, so that we can cope with the increasing demand for our services. If you think you may be able to help out at Fat Fluffs we’d love to hear from you. Email us at team@fatfluffs.com .

On a daily basis it is a huge challenge to keep the rescue ticking over, however, we aim to develop our work in future as it is imperative that rabbit rescues such as ours begin to be recognised and appreciated in the same way that those for dogs and cats are.

To find out more about Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue visit our website www.fatfluffs.com, follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=495593870485&v=wall and Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/FatFluffs .

Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue, Winners, Best Fibrevore Rescue, Wetnose 2011

A whole host of celebrities and their famous furries are descending on Westminster today to join and honour their less fortunate furry friends at the star-studded Wetnose Burgess Rescue Awards 2011.

Celebrities including Queen’s Brian May, actor Martin Clunes and TV presenter Anthea Turner, will play second fiddle to those at the event who have gone over and above the call of duty to rescue less fortunate animals, and of course a host of saved animals and pets including dogs, donkeys and rabbits.

Founded by not-for-profit organisation Wetnose Animal Aid, the annual star-studded Wetnose Burgess Rescue Awards recognises the valuable and tireless work of small, independent rescue centres that help abandoned animals in the UK and overseas. The event also seeks to raise awareness of the fantastic job centres do in rescuing, caring for and re-homing thousands of unwanted and abandoned animals, whilst honouring the hardworking individuals who devote their time to helping thousands of animals in need.

Andrea Gamby-Boulger, director of Wetnose Animal Aid, says: “Sadly every year thousands of animals are left abandoned, putting their lives in danger.

“The Wetnose Burgess Rescue Awards are truly unique and give a platform to recognise and celebrate the wonderful work and achievements of independent rescue centres. Many of these organisations are often overshadowed by the larger, well-known centres that receive more donations and legacies from the general public – but their work is no less vital.

Our national awards are a great way to showcase the big difference the UK’s rescue centres make to the lives and wellbeing of animals.”

Celebrity supporter of the awards and an avid animal campaigner, Brian May, adds: “The awards are an important part of the growing movement to give animals the respect we need to learn to give them.  It is a moral necessity to change our attitudes to the other creatures on this planet, just as it was a moral necessity to abolish slavery and the very future of the human race depends on making this change in our behaviour. I am honoured to be a part of the Wetnose Burgess Awards ceremony.”

Headline sponsor Burgess Pet Care, one of the UK’s leading producers of high quality pet foods, is giving out awards for the best rescue centre story, best rescue pet and the coveted award for best overall UK small independent rescue centre.

Naomi Chatterley, marketing manager at Burgess Pet Care and sponsor of the awards, comments: “We are delighted to support and be involved in the Wetnose Burgess Rescue Awards and fully support their aims and ethos. We are a company of pet lovers and owners who are committed to helping and supporting rescue centres and their valuable work, through our ‘Forever Promise’. Consisting of a number of initiatives, this promise includes our rescue loyalty scheme, which aims to help rescues with food so that they can spend money on other essential areas in helping pets find their forever homes.”

For further information on the Wetnose Burgess Rescue Awards 2011 visit www.wetnoseanimalaid.com or for further details on Burgess Pet Care, its ranges and the work it does with rescue centres across the country visit www.burgesspetcare.co.uk

The pfma recently conducted a large survey, asking pet owners throughout the country about their pet’s living environment. The aim was to understand if the “humanisation” of our pets is having a negative impact on the quality of our pet’s lives. The survey was quite revealing and the pfma are keen to demonstrate to owners how a few simple changes can improve the quality of their pet’s lives.

Questions were asked about:

• Where the pet is fed
• How regular the pet is fed
• Where the pet sleeps
• Sleeping patterns of the pet

The answers were then correlated with the pet’s behaviour.

The research showed that many owners now feed their cat or dog two meals each day, forcing them to adhere to the owner’s eating schedule. This can have a negative flow on effect, resulting in anti-social or inappropriate behaviour such as spraying, leg lifting, hissing and biting.

Some of the tips to help owners improve the quality of their pet’s life include:

Sleep – animals need their sleep too, and many owners are forcing them to sleep in the kitchen or bedroom, where they are easily disturbed by human activity. Offer them a quiet sanctuary and let them enjoy a good night’s sleep!

Feeding - different animals have different eating habbits. Always try to follow the pet food manufacturers guidelines on feeding, rather than the human body clock.

Mental and physical stimulation is important. Play games with your pets to keep them active and alert and do this on a daily basis.

Toileting. Many owners do not realise that just like humans, animals like privacy when going to the toilet. A cat’s litter tray should be in a quiet spot away from high traffic areas of your house. Dog and cat flaps should be fitted wherever possible to promote easy access to outside (to a secure outside area).

If your pet is showing certain signs of anti social behaviour then have a look at the environment you are providing. Simple changes can make all the difference. For more information visit www.pfma.org.uk.

Interesting fact from the pfma… forty one percent of people say they enjoy walking their dog at least twice a day. Of these, three quarters want to interact with other people during the walk and 66% want to make friends with other animals. Are you a social walker? Or is your time for you and your dog alone? We would love to hear your thoughts on the perfect walk with your dog(s).

The ‘Crufts’ of the small animal world, The Burgess Premier Small Animal Show, marked its newly rebranded 89^th event with an estimated 50 per cent increase in attendance.

Previously the Bradford Championship Show, the recently renamed Burgess Premier Small Animal Show www.smallanimalshow.co.uk is the longest running show of its kind in the UK. Burgess Pet Care, already title sponsors of the show for more than six years, strengthened its partnership with the Bradford Small Livestock Society, organisers of the show, with a five-year support deal for the showcase event.

With Burgess Pet Care’s increased investment into the show, including development of a new brand, new website, new marketing literature and a greater number of attractions and events taking place over the two day event, the show sold out its trade area and doubled public attendance figures, compared to the previous year.

The Yorkshire Event Centre-based show housed the UK’s first Rabbit Grand National within its new Showcase Square, a hub of activity at the show. Swedish competitors flew into Harrogate especially for the event, which saw champion bouncing bunny Cherie and her owner Magdalena Åhsblom take the top spot.

Mr Burgess, president of the show and chairman of Burgess, said: “We are overwhelmed by the sheer success of this year’s show, which has attracted an estimated 50 per cent higher attendance.  We are a company of pet lovers and owners who are committed to making the lives of pets better by encouraging responsible pet ownership. We are avid supporters of the Burgess Premier Small Animal Show as it is a festival for people who are passionate about animals, and as a business it gives us a superb platform to communicate our pet food ranges for small animals, including Excel the UK’s No.1 vet recommended range for fibrevores. We look forward to building on this year’s success at next year’s show, to celebrate 90 years of the Small Animal Show.”

Burgess Pet Care is a small family-owned Yorkshire business which makes high quality food for all small furry pets. Leaders in the field of pet nutrition and care, our products include Burgess Excel, the UK’s number one vet recommended food for small animals, as well as Supadog, Supacat, Supahamster, Suparat, Supagerbil and Supaferret.

For further information about Burgess Pet Care please visit www.burgesspetcare.co.uk

The guinea pig is one of the most popular pets in the UK, but did you know these cute little furries actually got their name from a more sinister past…?

The little rodents were first domesticated over one thousand years ago by the South American Incas and they were bred by families who used them for meat. In the 16^th century the Spanish Conquistadors invaded and were immediately taken with these small, unfamiliar creatures. They called them “Cochinillo das Indas”, which literally translates as “little Indian pigs”. They began exporting them to Europe and after the Spanish dominion of Spanish Guiana the name “Guiana Pig” was born, changing later to Guinea Pigs.

Guinea Pigs became popular in the UK in the 19^th Century (and thankfully not longer for their meat) and were highly prized as show animals. They quickly became as popular as show rabbits. Unlike rabbits, Guinea Pigs do not vary much in size and on average will grow to about 20cm in length, weighing between 900 and 1,200 grams.

Guinea Pigs remain popular today as both a pet and an exhibition animal. They are very vocal creatures, emitting high pitched squeaks, especially at feeding time. They are social animals, so it is best to keep them in (neutered) pairs. They are great fun, making them an endearing family pet. Today, a guinea pig is also commonly known as a “Cavy” and their scientific name is “Cavia porcellus”.