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The Club has a very active and
comprehensive Rescue and Contingency service to offer support to members
who may be experiencing difficulties or to find new homes for Shelties
that need them.
The Contingency Fund came into existence
in 1969 and the minutes of the relevant committee meeting record that
the Club "thought it might like to have the means to help Sheltie
members who through sickness or death could not provide for or look
after their dogs". In truth, the Fund was designed to be more
far-reaching than simply assisting at times of death or ill-health.
Miss Mary Davis, who was the driving force
behind the Contingency Fund from its inception and for many years
thereafter, wrote in the Club’s 1975 Handbook that the Contingency
Fund’s name "has many ramifications" and that it is "prepared to live up
to its all-embracing name". The fear in 1969 was that, with the Sheltie
coming very near the top of the most popular breed league table (5970
Shelties were registered in 1971), there would be a lot of
indiscriminate and commercial breeding which would result in a mass of
Shelties being discarded and needing help. Even with this in mind, those
who conceived the Contingency Fund have always resisted naming it
'Sheltie Rescue' so that its title did not imply a limit to its scope.
Today, whilst some cases dealt with by the
Contingency Fund continue to shock, it is true to say that we are lucky
in how relatively few Shelties spend any length of time looking for a
new home. It was recognised very early on that the Contingency Fund
should be for the benefit of the Sheltie in general, and not just
Club members and today a group of dedicated volunteers runs the day to
day operations of the Fund very effectively. Appeals for financial
assistance have always been decided on merit in committee and this will
continue to be the case.
Should you unexpectedly find yourself in
difficulties or
feel you could offer a home to an older Sheltie, please contact the national
organiser who is:
Mrs Betty Peach, Bank End Cottage,
Gosberton, Spalding, PE11 4NU
t: +44 (0)1775 840800 e:
sheltiepeach@aol.com
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