A Bodyguard Can't Save You From Yourself

I usually avoid blogging about the more popular items in news or current affairs. I like the quirky, small stories or the ones that make you think.

However, the death of Whitney Houston is compelling me to blog.

I won't go into her life, acting, singing, Bobby Brown, drugs etc cause that really isn't my business to judge. Whitney did what made her happy or allowed her to temporarily bury her demons or whatever.

Whitney Houston reminds me of my childhood, my innocence and my naive view that I would be someone who would make a difference in the world.

In 1985 some 22 year old singer was singing about a few stolen moments being all that she could get to share with some dude she was in love with. Meanwhile I was busy wishing I could have a few stolen moments with George Michael. (It wasn't until 1998 that I realised just how unlikely that was going to be.)

I remember the big hair, actually big should probably be in huge capital letters. The fluorescent clothing and fringe that denied gravity, the 'Insette Spiky' hair spray that went all bobbly when you washed your hair.

I remember Bobby Brown getting blamed for leading Whitney astray (maybe it was the other way around and he became the scapegoat).

Who can forget 'The Bodyguard'? Though certainly there were times when I wished I could as the song seemed to be played to death! 'I will Always Love You' must have made Dolly Parton even more cash than Dollywood.

The best tune I think is 'My Love is Your Love' the Wycliffe Jean one, though the one before that rocked a bit too. Each Whitney song that I sang loudly in the car while people tried to call the RSPCA to complain that someone was killing a cat makes me smile, it brings about past memories of a time when I thought I was invincible.


So, is it sad and tragic news regarding her death or is it sad and tragic the way we tend to view people with addiction issues?

It's very easy to be judgemental, you see someone with cigarettes, alcohol, drugs (prescription or otherwise), you hear someone throwing up in the toilet after they eat or do you see someone unable to cope with things in their life and looking for a crutch, an item that will always be there? Something they can control or something that will never let them down.

Part of me thinks that Whitney's death is no more tragic than Amy Whitehouse or every solider in Afghanistan killed for doing his job. All have contributed something to the world, which is more than I can say about myself. At least I can fight my demons with anonymity and know the world isnt staring & judging me.


Whitney famously said, 'The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy'. I think she was 100% correct 'cause I know that no one on this earth can judge me harder than I judge myself.

The Real Death Row Dogs

There are some times that we believe if we close our eyes to things then they will either go away or they will cease to exist.

I've had my eyes opened recently, so I think it's only fair that I enlighten you too. After all, if you tolerate this, your children will be next as the Manic Street Preachers said in 1998.

If I promise really hard not to be graphic or use shock tactics on you, will you promise to keep reading and not turn the page?

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

This is about the plight of the unwanted dog.

Here are some figures for you to get your head round first.

Do you know that according to the 2011 Dog's Trust survey, that there was approximately 126,176 stray dogs picked up between 1st April 2010 and 31st March 2011?

So, what happened to these dogs then?

Well, happily 48% were reunited with their owners, 6% of dogs were re-homed by the local authority, 25% were passed on to rescue/welfare organisations and approximately 7,121 dogs were destroyed.
So, that's about 20 stray dogs destroyed every day in the UK because, well inconvenient, not enough space, being of 'type', aggression etc.

Being of 'type' basically means that someone, somewhere thinks your dog may be a banned breed, or be part banned breed or look a bit like a pitbull, regardless of what DNA testing says or how nice you dog is. Anyway, THAT is a whole different conversation.

Now, I'm going to tell you that the RSPCA in certain centres have stopped accepting stray dogs. Great eh? They managed in 2009 to pay their chief executive £105,000 seriously! Yes people, that is where your money goes, well that and taking people to court.....

So then the homeless dog, let's call her Freya, ends up in a local council shelter, she has been there 7 days and hasn't been claimed. She must've belonged to someone. She will sit, give a paw, appears house trained. What happened?

I'm not here to judge why someone has thrown out a dog. I'm only wanting to make people aware of what happens to dogs like Freya now. This minute. In this country.

Freya has found herself on a list, not a santa paws' good dog list, but a PTS list. Yup, possibly the next time Freya sees the light of day it will be when someone takes her to end her life.

The chances are that Freya who is only known by a number will end her days with someone she doesn't know giving her jag to end her life, then if she's lucky she will be put in a bin liner for disposal.

Luckily for Freya she hasn't been one of the 20 killed today. She has been saved by a rescue, not the RSPCA or Battersea dogs home or the over worked Dog's Trust, but a privately run rescue in this case once loved dog rescue. Here Freya will be fostered by someone who will fully assess her.

There are many different rescue organisations that don't get the same level of publicity as the likes of RSPCA & Dogs Trust, this doesn't mean that they are any less deserving of donations or offers of help.

Dogpages.org.uk is usually a good starting point though, there you can at least look by region as well as by breed.
There are breed rescues for every breed of dog from Afghan Hounds to Yorkshire Terriers. So when you decide you want a dog consider them first.

You may ask why I say that rather than contacting your local breeder or Dog's Trust branch. Well, in the first instance your would be saving not just one life, but two. You save the life of the dog you have adopted and the one that can take its space.

These dogs have been fostered, neutered, vaccinated and have an ID chip for easy identification. They are living with foster carers in their homes, In some cases with dogs, cats, kids and the normal everyday coming and goings of people.

I'll tell you a bit about what happens when you contact a rescue and say for example you wanted Freya, the rescue would ask you to fill out a questionnaire. This really isn't anything to be worried about, remember these people care about the dogs they have rescued from death row!

The questionnaire basically asks about where you stay, when you are home, if you have kids or kids that visit, the reason for that isn't to be awkward, it's to help match a dog to you and your lifestyle. That may sound really harsh or judgemental, but surely if you can't walk a dog for 10 miles a day, they will find a dog to suit you.

Some people only want puppies, some only want bitches, so on and so forth.

The rescue will send someone out to visit you, this is to check where you stay and have a chat with you. Now I know that sounds real scary, when I got a home check I was petrified I would be told that I shouldn't ever have a dog & my house was a mess, my garden was a disaster and I had a child under the recommended age.

It all went well, I let the lovely lady see my garden, she met the dog I had at the time, had a cuppa, chatted with my son and told me that they would always be there for me. Should the dog have settling in problems or whatever I could call them, if I wanted help with anything, I could call them.

That in itself is worth more than anything. I also knew that should something happen that meant I would have to give up the dog, the rescue would take them back.

In return for this, all I had to do was give them a donation and sign some forms.

Help was there every step of the way making it so very easy to save a life. You don't get that from Gumtree and you most definitely don't get the full story. Remember people there could tell you anything in order to rid themselves of their dog. It's not like that with a rescue.

So if you decide one day that you are going to see a man about a dog, tell me now where you think you should you go?

If you wish to help save a dog like Freya, you can donate via PayPal staffyclub@live.co.uk or via the emergency boarding link on http://www.staffyclub.com/discussion/

Written with help from oncelovedrescue.org.uk staffieclub.com second-chances.org hularescue.org dogstrust.org.uk bulliesinneed.org.uk www.islaydogrescue.org.uk Wendy, Angi and Cathy