Ethics and CommunityWe run our kennels as part of our lifestyle and love for both people and their pets. We enjoy being part of a diverse and vibrant community and want to do the best we can for now and the future.
We try and build this approach into all we do and as long as our high standards of care, health and safety are not compromised, we use our unique set up to spread knowledge, build confidence and grow the lives of dogs, young people and adults that we are involved with. Here are a few examples of some of the things we do. |
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Environmental
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We recycle our old plastic dog beds and they are made into chicken arcs and rabbit hutches for more information on the products, please see Solway recycling.
Our dog poo is collected by pooper scooper (not plastic bags) so that it can be broken down by enzymes which we add to our Cess pool. We have washers and dryers designed to reduce our energy consumption. We create habitat for local wildlife by building natural wood piles and sheltered areas for hedgehogs and other hibernating creatures. We also have a small wildlife pond. We purchase "who gives a crap" toilet paper which uses environmentally friendly materials, is plastic free and donates 50% of its profits to build toilets for those in need. |
We have planted over 150 trees in our field and garden since moving in and are now members of the Woodlands Trust. In autumn 2011 we were involved in the Woodlands Trust Jubilee Tree planting and will be planting a further 100 trees in support of the Queens Jubilee.
Ash from our log burners and incinerators goes to feed the trees and provide dust baths for our chickens. We are on a program to gradually replace traditional lighting with energy saving lighting such as LEDs. We are starting to keep honey bees and to plant bee friendly flowers to support them. We have upgraded our water treatment to produce purer water output. Where waste is generated (we try and find more ways to reduce it), we have it collected by a company that segregates the waste into Dry mixed recycling (office paper, plastic bottles, cans cardboard (which then goes to a materials recycling facility) and the rest is processed into kiln grade fuel known as SRF. Food waste is made into bio fuels/ waste energy. |
Charity Work
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Animal Rescue Charities ;
We work actively with local and national animal rescue charities. We care for, rehabilitate and rehome dogs, but also to help with fund raising and awareness of animal care issues. We support local microchipping events and are able to microchip pets on our premises on supported by the Dogs Trust microchips. The team have supported other local rescue organisations by information sharing and spreading the word about rescue pets. We have been able to share donated items to the extent that large donations have benefited our rescue collegues from Carlisle to Preston. We have also supporting their events with donated prizes or taking part in sponsored walks, including taking some rescue dogs on the cross bay walk. We supported a campaign to raise awareness of rabbit housing issues and the welfare needs of pet rabbits by talking on local radio. |
We work with the South Lakeland District Council and the Dogs Trust to promote microchipping and responsible dog ownership (including poo pick up and the countryside code) by attending local shows, setting up specific events and doing talks e.g. to Animal Care Students at the local college and to local primary schools.
We have microchipped over 360 dogs so far and still promoting. We have spoken on local radio and televsion to further raise awareness. Cancer Care ; We supported Cancer care for their Bark in the Park Fund raiser and were able to raise money for both cancer care and the RSPCA during the event. The team here have participated in multiple Race for Life Events. |
Community
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We have for many years supported work experience programs with many local schools including children with special needs.
We have worked with community charities and special needs groups including the Oaklea Trust, Cedar House School, Wings School, Yew Tree/ Underlea Garden School, Music Links. We have also worked with individuals with special needs outside of these organisations. |
We have worked with local animal care colleges including Myerscough, Newton Rigg and Lancaster & Morecambe college, Veterinary Universities and overseas students.
We have worked with organisations that help support the young unemployed or help to build skills and confidence in our young people, including the Princes Trust. |
Guinness World Record Holder
In April 2016 we became a Guinness World Record Holder for the Worlds Biggest Dog Tag.
The tag was a fun way of highlighting the responsibilities of dog ownership, the new compulsory microchipping requirement and the existing requirement for dogs to wear a collar and tag with the owners details on.
With this in mind, we worked in partnership with South Lakeland District Council and Kendal College to form a team to create the tag. We shared information with the students and invited all the students to come up with their ideas for the dog tag. The winning student was Gemma Steele.
South Lakeland District Council took the design and created the artwork that would be used for the dog tag.
The Guinness World Record stipulated that the dog tag needed to be an exact replica of a commercially available dog tag.
A 20mm piece of aluminium that was 520mm x 760mm was purchased from Parker Steel from which the bone shape would be cut. WEC Waterjet cutting specialist were able to use the programmed shape and provide the cut to the exact dimensions required. Custom Colour Anodising is a specialist anodizing company who agreed to help us and the cut bone shape was then transported to them to complete the anodizing process. The tag was then collected and transported to C & R Walne Engravers where it was engraved. The split ring was made by Atlas Tube Bending.
The surface area was calculated using the college computer program and was validated by measurement of key dimensions on our Validation Attempt day 8th April 2016. The measurements were taken by John Burrows from Furmanite, Kendal. John Burrows.
We would like to thank all those people who helped us along the journey for their contribution to this success.
The tag was a fun way of highlighting the responsibilities of dog ownership, the new compulsory microchipping requirement and the existing requirement for dogs to wear a collar and tag with the owners details on.
With this in mind, we worked in partnership with South Lakeland District Council and Kendal College to form a team to create the tag. We shared information with the students and invited all the students to come up with their ideas for the dog tag. The winning student was Gemma Steele.
South Lakeland District Council took the design and created the artwork that would be used for the dog tag.
The Guinness World Record stipulated that the dog tag needed to be an exact replica of a commercially available dog tag.
A 20mm piece of aluminium that was 520mm x 760mm was purchased from Parker Steel from which the bone shape would be cut. WEC Waterjet cutting specialist were able to use the programmed shape and provide the cut to the exact dimensions required. Custom Colour Anodising is a specialist anodizing company who agreed to help us and the cut bone shape was then transported to them to complete the anodizing process. The tag was then collected and transported to C & R Walne Engravers where it was engraved. The split ring was made by Atlas Tube Bending.
The surface area was calculated using the college computer program and was validated by measurement of key dimensions on our Validation Attempt day 8th April 2016. The measurements were taken by John Burrows from Furmanite, Kendal. John Burrows.
We would like to thank all those people who helped us along the journey for their contribution to this success.
