Monday 19 April 2010

time to put your thinking caps on....

as we are a registered charity we have been approached by a lady who has sheep that need help

she became aware of this sad moth eaten crew when they migrated down the hillside in to her own field of sheep....



it turned out that her neighbour just one day got up and left, leaving behind cats, dogs and sheep...

this in itself is shocking and of course the "pets" were rescued and re homed - the sheep being outside and classed as being able to fend for themselves were just left...

the fact that this small group of sheep had been abandoned by a previous owner once before makes this sad tale even worse .....

the lady who contacted us has cared for them well and when stephen visited they were in reasonable condition and certainly not thin...

there was one that pulled at the heart strings as she has no ears ....
when she arrived down from the hills it became clear that her ears had been bitten by the dreaded scottish midges and as their was no one to help they became badly infected and fell off :(

thanks to the lovely ladies care the infection has all cleared up but you can see in this picture the difference between the two ewes...




the reason this group need a new forever home is that they will not settle with the lovely ladies existing sheep - upon visiting it was very clear that her much larger commercial sheep simply would not tolerate them at all and the worry of fighting was very apparent...

sheep bicker and fight amongst themselves all the time - ours are often locking horns but all being the same size no serious injuries occur - thankfully

the biggest worry at the moment is the fact that the ewes are in lamb and should not be under any stress... this fact also makes it impossible for us to move them right now..
judging by size and shape one ewe may give birth within days...

we have made the decision to leave them where they are until they have lambed - the lovely lady has agreed to hurdle them off for safety..

as soon as each ewe gives birth we will move the little family as soon as bonding has taken place - hopefully after only a few days..

over time they will all be here :)




now
all this will cost money

this is where i need you all to come up with bright and breezy fundraising ideas!

my first thoughts are based around the possibility of a handcrafted raffle of sorts..
hopefully prizes could be donated by talented and generous crafters :)

what do you think?

could it work or are folk sick of charities asking for help?

any comments and advice very gratefully received

t x

31 comments:

Unknown said...

I'll donate anything you want and I'll publicise it where I can. Let me know what you need and it's yours!!
xx

Manda

GiddyStuff said...

You could ask crafters to donate a brooch of some sort (then you are attracting people from a range of disciplinesw - sewing, knitting, crochet, beading, ceramic, feltings etc).
And your wonderful part of the country would be a great inspiration for a design theme.

pigeon pease said...

Wonderful idea, but for those, ie me who are rather dreadful at anything, can I at least donate some money,I would love to help save this rather lovely group.

lynn xx

Lyn said...

Just let me know and I will 'rustle' up a few things and send them to you, if in deed you decide to do some sort of 'crafty' thing. I love sheep and will be glad to help in any way I can. If you do need things then maybe I could do a little post about it and hope you get some others joining in too?
Let me know.
Love
Lyn
xxx

Rachelle Blondel said...

I think a raffle is a splendid idea and I will happily pledge a prize..rxx

Jane said...

Count me in Tracy - Whatever you like as a prize.
Hugs
J x

Magenpie said...

Start up a donation web page and advertise it and link to it through your website and blog, This way people on the net can make donations easily and safely.

http://www.justgiving.com/

Val Reaves said...

My heartstrings are pulled...thank you for your good work with them. Count me in...I love sheep.
Val in Kansas :-)

GiddyStuff said...

Back again!
I'm up for it if you want me to donate items and if you want me to blog about it too I can, or if you have a widget we could add to our blogs?

Miss Pickering said...

poor sheep, what a lovely lady to have taken them under her wing, and for you and your beau to rush to their aid.

If you decide on a raffle of sorts, i can offer a bouquet - we deliver within the UK, but not abroad.

xx

Renaissance said...

Sorry nothing crafty here at the mo, but what about something vintage? Vintage & Handmade fairs seem to be springing up everywhere at the moment. let us know.
Anyway another idea for you, how about adoption / sponsorship. When my nieces were younger we used to give them a pony for Christmas ie. we gave them the gift of an adopted pony via the ILPH, they got a photograph and regular updates on the pony all of which could be done via email to keep costs to a minimum

dots and spots said...

Will happily give something to support your cause - just let me know when you decide what to do!

Badschnoodles said...

I will happily donate a brooch or two, or anything else I can make! Just let me know.

Miss Holly said...

I'm In for anything . I hand embroider , sew crochet.I will send You what ever you decide your going to do. I love love all four legged and earless creatures...... poor thing..... you are the best!!

Debbs said...

Hi there, the lady who writes this knitting blog http://cottonandcloud.com/blog/ raises money for various charities through her blog and knitting, web shop, sponsorship for running etc. She may either be able to help you or give you ideas. I will also email her to let her know you need help.
Sadly when I lived in the countryside in Kent we would hear a lot about people dumping animals in their fields. We found several dogs, greyhounds etc just wandering, others had horses etc - words fail me.

Did you ever get my email about doggie snoods and jackets by the way? I'm sure they'd love them with the snow back LOL! Debbs

MrsP said...

I'm not very talented I'm afraid - I only bake really - but as I am mid ebay listing ready for moving if you let me have your charity number I will donate some of the proceeds to you
What about doing a DVD of McDog's training and selling it? It could be hilarious- put me down for a copy if you do...
Or what about an adopt a sheep thing- like Dogs Trust do with dogs? where you give them names and send people photos and updates- you could do the updates on your blog- just ask for a couple of pounds a month for each ewe or something?? That could be brilliant - especially when the lambs appear...
Good luck with the lovely sheep
Jx

Fondant Kiss said...

You are an inspiration and a truly warm hearted lady. I would be happy to donate and blog etc about these gorgeous ladies you wish to help. Will be following for an update.
x

Ditsy Bird Designs said...

hello again - still happy to pledge a canvas but I think the adoption idea is a cracker!
Sarah
x

Unknown said...

What amazing work you're doing, will be glad to send you a prize just let me know by when and where! Good luck - Gabs

mollycupcakes said...

Count me in lovely lady, just ask and you can have x
I'll donate some Mollycupcakes goodies and will sort out the fundraising pampered chef night too.
Speak soon xxx
With love,
Catherine x

French Knots said...

Happy to give you some handmade thingy for a raffle!
We have adopted a donkey and the children found it really exciting to get a picture of him and hear about what he likes. I'm sure they'd like to sponsor a kindly rescued sheep too!xx

Fiona said...

I'll donate a quilt for you to raffle, I can't bear to think of the sheep not being looked after... just let me know when you want the quilt and some publicity! I help run a largish Quilting group in London and belong to another well known womans group. All very generous ladies..
Love your blog by the way I'm grappling with the idea of starting one myself..

Anonymous said...

I'd happily donate something for a raffle and would love to add a button/widget to the blog. Just let me know.
P xx

Anonymous said...

Dear Tracy
I have been following your blog for quite some time now though I don’t often comment.
After reading your last post and the comments what strikes me is that you will need an ongoing meanto bring income to maintain your growing flock.
While selling art and craft now will surely be helpful, I am no sure that in the long run it will be sufficient. So, as you asked, I did put on my thinking cap and came up with a different angle.
Who instinctively loves and cares most for animals? Children. No matter how remote your farm is there must be schools somewhere around within reasonable driving distance. My idea is to get those children and their schools involved in a long-term project. Your whole way of life is an ecological lesson for them and you would be an example to a whole new generation. I see several possibilities:
1. Getting a whole classroom to adopt a ewe and her lamb by raising money either as a class effort (car wash, bake sales, etc) or individually (earning sheep money by doing odd jobs).

2. Having classrooms, one at a time, coming to spend a half day at the farm to learn about the animals and their care, training Mcdog, explaining how the house was built to leave a small footprint, etc. The school could pay from their own funds or raise money to do so.

3. At lambing time, a class that has raised the most money could choose
a name for their lamb of choice and commit to its care for a school
year.

I realize this would be extra work for you, of course, but you’d be raising money and awareness for your charity at the same time.

This is a huge post but I don’t have an e-mail address for you!

Donna -Little Tiny Stitches said...

How lovely of you and the lady to step in...poor sheep, some people do this on purpose, but other just don't think unfortunately...
I'd be happy to donate something...
Another good fundraiser are just plain old tabletop sales..
You rent the hall (maybe at a discount as you are a charity:))and charge £10-15 per table plus
20p or something to get in (for the charity) these are a lot easier to organise than a specialist fair, and generally more people turn out looking for the bargains!
Or do you have enough/any land to hold a car boot? Not sure how many people live in your area obviously :) -just a couple of ideas....
Let us know..
Donna x

Pea Green Kitty said...

What a terribly sad story that is, but hopefully with a happy ending!!
I am such a huge animal lover and would love to do what you are doing, you do a great job!

Im afraid im not the craftiest of people otherwise id donate something. Rather than that though I will most definatley be buying LOTS of tickets when everything is set up.
Best of luck with it all
x

Susan McShannon-Monteith said...

Though the lost sheep have suffered so and are soon to lamb their immediate needs are most important.
If you could set up a fund (via Paypal or something) where those of us from across the sea (whose ancestral roots bring them back to Great Britain) I'd love to send a monetary donation for the sheep.
Susan

periwinkle said...

I'd be willing to donate something if it will be of any help

Bobo Bun said...

Tracey definately count me in for donating handmade to the raffle. I'll also publicise on my blog if that's what you need too.
I like the idea of sponsor a sheep too. Our Little Bun is sheep mad and calls them Betty's after a Shirley Hughes poem about a sheep called Betty. She is desperate to have her own flock for wool and to sell her paintings of them. We watched spellbound as shepherds showed the dogs herding the sheep at a kids country show at Easter. maybe if McDog gets the hang of things?

Also at the local farm college they have school and open lambing days as paid events. Might not be your thing, but some ideas I had.

Good luck with your beautiful ladies.

Lisa x

Barbara said...

Oh so sad and cruel for those poor sheep to be left. Thank goodness you and the other lovely lady are taking care of them. I'd be happy to pledge something handmade. Do you want it mailed to you or are we to post it on our blogs? I love the idea someone had about adoption. I'm a childminder and my children would be interested in something like that. Well done you and good luck. Bx

Woo Gilchrist said...

Is it too late to also donate some things Tracy?