Into the limelight

After a relaxing holiday, where too much time means too much thinking, today we made it home to some fantastic news about Doglost and their publicity encompassing Jacob (and all the other lost dogs out there)
We and our friends, as many of you already know, hold a fundraising party in the Essex countryside, to raise much needed funding for the geneticists at the AHT Newmarket to research canine epilepsy.
It started off small, just a group of friends meeting (as we are located far and wide) and now in it's 2nd summer, the party guests have quadrupled and the breeds attending are many.
Word has spread, and through our involvement and support from Doglost, we decided that due to the fabulous work they do, we would fund raise for them as well as Ollie's Fund this year equally.
Today, the owner of Doglost called to say that she had managed to get some publicity for Doglost, and that the Daily Telegraph newspaper would like to interview her at our fundraising party venue in Saffron Walden, Essex on the 29th August, and come along and see how the dog loving public rally and offer support for their canine counterparts. FANTASTIC !
Doglost hope to be able to achieve a 2 page spread in the 'review' section of the Telegraph, coupled with photographs (and hopefully) using Jacob as their example of a dog still lost, and how we, Joe Public won't let him dissappear without a massive campaign and fight.

I admire so much all that the lengths that the founder of Doglost has gone to to to ensure that 86% of our missing dogs get reunited. I refuse to let others become complacent in thinking it'll never be their nightmare, as quite clearly, looking at the pages of dogs every day on their website, it could be anyone's dog being listed as 'lost'. We have to offer support, it is most definitely the right thing to do to give back a little of what I can only say has been a huge support from all the Doglost volunteers. To see Jacob's profile raised alongside valuable monies being raised, would a great day.

We so want Jacob to become another happy ending, and so by fundraising to keep Doglost alive we can only hope our dream can be realised.

Looking forward to seeing lots of you on Saturday 29th, be good to put some faces to names and to see your lovely dogs having a great time too :-)))

These 4 walls.....

It's been a strange month, trying to get our heads around the whole Jacob things hasn't been easy as you know, but sometimes you feel that you just have to pull yourself together and try as best you can to move in a positive direction, looking forward, not back.
We tried to do this, we went on a fabulous holiday to Cornwall with our 3 Spinoni and our friends and their 3 Spinoni too, it was a great time to get away, and came at a much needed time to escape these four walls, especially at a time where they felt like they were slowly closing in on us.

We came back refreshed, and knowing we just had to get on and deal with the fact that Jacob may well be never seen by us ever again.
Harsh, but true. We have to think in real terms now no matter how draining that is.
Deep down we have this hankering thought that one day, maybe in a year, maybe 3 even, that phone call will come out of the blue, as life has moved on, and this whole scenario is a little more distant, maybe only then will the powers that be allow us to be rewarded for our efforts.
Who knows ?

We've had a few different calls with regards to sightings, all of which has sent our hearts racing like mad, only to be pretty quickly hope dashed.
2 EasyJet security staff spotted a Bracco the same as Jacob, and even went to say hello....they soon got wind of a Bracco being missing through a dog forum, and got in touch. For 2 days we made enquiries through the airport and security as well as our own police, only to finally be told it was a well known Bracco owner there meeting her parents from a flight.
Damn it !

Another call telling us of him possibly being on a campsite in Dorset also came to nothing despite our frantic enquiries.
Yet another call only came in at the weekend, and was via a lady that thought she saw Jacob (and this dog she had heard being called Jacob) at a country show.
Again more enquiries threw up nothing.

As much as we try to move on, little snippets keep Jacob firmly in our thoughts - all good in our eyes, we love nothing more than to know that he is still other peoples minds too., and that they are being vigilant......gives us hope if nothing else that if he is out there, someone will slip up one day.

We had a great time last weekend, seeing friends and their dogs for our 1st Spinoni Swim day, and finally met up with Ffion and Tim who have suffered the same in loss with their missing black Labrador Sky (http://skyisstillmissing.blogspot.com/) both of whom delved in at the deep end (though thankfully not literally!) to help out, Tim assuming chief bbq supervisor (well done Tim :-)) and Ffion on bread roll duty !
It was so good for us to meet up, we've all been there for each other for so long it was as if we've known each other all of our adult lives, and I just know we'll stay friends now.
One good thing to come of our lost dogs I guess is that we got to meet.

I will of course keep this blog updated as and when I have some news, or will just drop in for a quick chat, or to offload thoughts with you all. Please continue as best you can to tell people about our boy being missing, it's word of mouth that really does help.

If anyone has any other ideas we haven't addressed as far as advertising or notifying people about Jacob (and Sky) please do get in touch anytime haggerwoods@aol.com

We always are happy to hear new ideas, anything you feel is valid, please do get in touch.

Meanwhile we will work silently in the background keeping our boys profile high, and continue to campaign for his return to his rightful owners..... US.

P.S Please don't forget our fundraising party on 29th August 2009, whereby we will be raising funds for both Doglost and the Animal Health Trust, Newmarket charity we have in our (sadly now gone) epileptic Spinoni's name. Ollie's Fund for Canine Epilepsy Research raises much needed funds for the sole research into canine epilepsy.
We desperately need to raise funding to help the geneticists continue their work into this rapidly increasing and truly horrific canine disease.
A disease which is savagely taking far too many dogs lives before they even have a chance to begin.

Details of both our charity and the party can be found here
http://www.adoredpaws.com/page24.htm

http://www.aht.org.uk/supporting_appeals.html#ollie