Since HOME was launched …

• At the end of 2017 we decided that the success of our new venture called HOME meant that we should renew our Charitable objects to better reflect our more focused activities. We also opted to convert to a CIO – just a different type of Charity structure, more suited to our activities.
• 2018 was destined to be more of the same, capitalise on the foundations we have built, help more people and their pets, raise the much-needed funds to support the growing work we do. We had this rather bold idea, called Run Free, that we ‘floated’ with our sponsors and volunteers at our Christmas bash at the end of 2017. Since then, our feet hardly touch the ground such is the groundswell of support and enthusiasm for the project! We continue to work towards this goal.
• The year of 2019 was a productive one!
  We achieved a great many of our stated objectives and a few more besides. We are buoyed by our successes but have also learnt from our failures.
  In our third year of the HOME service we have been able to look at take-up and trends for each element. The stand-out success has been with our Over to Us element – the demand for temporary respite care for animals has been high. As we all live longer, whilst at the same time our families and friends are more geographically spread, so the burden of pet ownership becomes ever more challenging in a crisis. Who looks after the dog or cat when someone is rushed into hospital? That someone who has enjoyed the constant companionship of a beloved pet and can’t imagine recovery without knowing they will be reunited. Over to Us has been a lifeline for many – and a joy for us to provide. It has naturally led to more activity as Hand to Hold kicks in to support the reunion phase. Meant to Be, our rehoming service continues to provide the alternative solution if all else fails.

How we have financed the activities to date?

Initially we did some very traditional things generally in a fairly quirky way – ran dog shows, ran stalls at local events; took the Charity stall at Stamford Market; had picnics; had BBQs; ran raffles; …. We will always do some of these things as they are brilliant for getting the message out there, talking to local people about local needs, promoting animals for rehome, participating in fundraising for Charities at large – not just ours.

But, we have also been lucky enough to attract the attention of some sponsors and partners with whom we now work closely. We stand together at events with Stamford Veterinary Centre and Pets Korner & Tails and Whiskers Pet Suppliers. They help us with our vet bills, provide food and supplies – sometimes from generous customers – promote our cause in their own establishments, and generally direct people to us who can benefit from the service.

Evergreen Care Trust of Stamford have been hugely supportive of our aims and have involved us in their own activities to promote working with the elderly. They have referred clients to us who need help with their pets and sought our advice

We have also developed some amazing Sponsors;

• Alert Cascade who have been instrumental in the design and execution of this website – and have dragged us into the 21^st century with our telecoms and systems! These guys are real ‘fairy dogmothers’!
• Stamford Round Table who provided a state of the art alarm and CCTV system for one of our foster facilities – and offer invaluable professional expertise when needed
• Daniel Lambert’s Dining Club who have been our shadows since Day 1! They sponsor whatever they can as and when the need arises and have participated in some of our more memorable fundraising events, including the Mayoral Dinner and a luncheon to celebrate the Queen’s 90^th birthday
• Amazon of Peterborough who popped up out of the blue and pledged a sum of money for ongoing expenses – so valuable to have sponsorship for the boring, but very necessary things!
• Tesco bags of Help Scheme who have helped us to get dog walking for the elderly off the ground by sponsoring our Mutt on a Mission campaign to bring about increased awareness – and new volunteers
• Bourne Animal Rescue Sanctuary Fund which provided a slug of money to install our first foster facility for cats
• Waitrose who support us annually via their Community Matters token scheme

And then there are all the wonderful people who contribute financially on a monthly basis – or as and when they can. Without these guys we just wouldn’t have a chance of providing the level and quality of Care that we do.

Having launched HOME, our four-part comprehensive service, we can safely say the journey has begun but it is still early days on the road. We’re proud of our achievements so far, and passionate about striving to achieve even more in the future. Our five year vision is for The Mutts Nutts Rescue to be in a place where we are:

• the ‘go to’ local provider for these kinds of specialist services
• well and truly on the map for all those seeking help
• recommended by referral organisations as a professional, reliable and compassionate charity who are quick to help and good to work with
• spoken of fondly by our growing community of elderly animal lovers as ‘the right people’ to do the job
• justifiably proud of the key part we play in making a difference.

To get there, we have devised a detailed plan of targeted activity based on the best use of our limited resources, funding and capacity. As we grow, we know that we need to ensure these things will grow with us, and our Bread and Butter Nutters have been tasked with making sure we have have the funds available to reach our goals.

Of course we plan to be here forever, but we’ve only got as far as the next 5 years in our diary!

We fervently hope that you, the local great and good, will take up our story, champion our aspirations and help us to become the template for a new way of working. We’re a friendly and fun bunch, so if you’re looking for something to do with your time, why not take a look at How To Help or our upcoming Events? We’ll be keeping our New Ventures page updated as well, letting you know how well we’re getting on with our new Run Free project.