15 August 2010

Presley in Picture - The finished Article

We received the final picture of Presley today, we're both delighted with it! Now we just need to find a space aomewhere on a wall to hang it! thanks again to Andrea for her wonderful picture.

08 August 2010

Best Dressed Hound

One of our friends has recently started making tassels for dogs, we couldn't resist buying one for our girl Ruby. Here she is picturred with her brand new tassel, doesn't she look great!

30 July 2010

Presley in Picture!

We were recently made aware of an artist who specalises in unique dog pictures. Andrea Ritchie does portraits of dogs using a different style from the types of artist currently avaialable. We were both so impressed by her work that we've commissioned a picture of Presley. We'll post it on here when it's complete, we can't wait to see the end resuts. Below is a small sample of Andrea's work, if you are interested in finding out more about her work please let us know and Pet Undertaker will pass on your contact details to her.

11 January 2010

Christmas Star

You may have noticed on our website during the month of December our 'Christmas Star' memorial page in aid of Royal Heart Greyhound Rescue . The Christmas Star proved very popular and we've collected £155 for our chosen rescue organisation.

As a lasting memory we've decided to keep the Christmas Star web page live, it can now be accessed by clicking HERE. We'll be doing the same in 2010 so if you have a charity you think might benefit from our support please let us know.

22 August 2009

Paws in the Park

Saturday 22nd August saw Dawn and Dave at Rouken Glen Park in Glasgow for 'Paws in the Park' organised by the Glasgow Dog Training Club. We decided to take our 3 'veteran' dogs for a day out so Basil, Ruby and Wizzard joined us for the day. Despite the inclement weather in Lanark the sun was shining in Glasgow and the park was mobbed with dogs of all breeds and sizes.

We had a great day wandering round all the stalls and displays, topped off by Ruby claiming 3rd place in the veteran category of the fun dog show.

Pictured below is Ruby taking a well earned drink and showing off her newly awarded 3rd place rosette.

26 July 2009

Dogs Trust Fun Day

On Sunday July 26th Dawn & Dave took Molly, Presley & Mac for a day out to Chatelherault Country Park in Hamilton to the annual Dogs Trust Fun Day. Pet Undertaker had initially been invited along with their stall however it was decided we needed a well earned rest so we declined the invite, favouring instead to attend the event and have some fun. The show was a great success for the Dogs Trust and I'm sure they made a lot of money, Molly, Presley & Mac certainly enjoyed their day even though we arrived too late to enter Presley in the 'SCRUFFS' copetition!

Pictured below is Dawn with our 3 dogs outside the German Shepherd Rescue stall (one of our chosen charities)

09 June 2009

Opening of the Cancer & Imaging Centre at the Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh

June 9th saw Dawn and Dave, representing the Pet Undertaker, attended the opening of the new Cancer and Imaging center at the Royal Dick Veterinary School in Edinburgh. The new £3 million centre now makes the Dick Vet the leading cancer treatment facility in the country. Centrepeace of the new facility is the new imaging machine, a substansial investment for the university but one that will make their diagnosis, treatment and research into cancer easier and quicker.

The new facilities were officially opened by the Dutchess of Hamilton, in front of a small invited guest list.

What made the day more poignant for Dawn and Dave was this is where Ruby was treated last year. Pictured below, Dawn (center) as the new facility is officially opened.

28 April 2009

Lucky

Last year we told you the story of Lucky, the Staffie Cross, from the Dogs Trust who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and who was looking for a permanent home to live out her final few months in comfort. Lucky found that home on the 13th of October.

We're sad to announce that on the 22nd of April Lucky lost her fight with cancer. Lucky was PTS in her home in Glasgow late that afternoon, surrounded by the loving family who cared for her.

Luckys’ foster family felt blessed to have shared their lives with Lucky despite that time being so short. They have many happy memories of Lucky and I'm sure everyone who read Luckys story will admire the courage of the family, who cared for Lucky knowing that their time together would be limited. Rest in Peace now Lucky, and may your spirit live on in your beautiful pups.

27 April 2009

Sandy

All the pets that come into the care of the Pet Undertaker all have their own special story, however last month we were called out to a particular sad situation. We were called by German Shepherd Rescue Scotland. Sandy was a young dog, full of potential, bred in a puppy farm then abandoned, and he'd been brought into the charity for re-homing.

Sadly, Sandy never got to find the forever home he richly deserved. Sandy’s short and lonely life, was abruptly ended as the result of train accident. It was a very upsetting time for those volunteers involved in his care.

12 March 2009

Our 'In Memory' Montage

With the loss of a number of our own pets recently the Pet Undertaker has taken the time to update our 'In Memory' montage which is featured on the 'Our In Memory' page of this site. We feel this is a very fitting tribute to our departed pets, you can access the montage by following this LINK

10 January 2009

Our Pre Payment Plan

Today we have launched our new Pre Payment Plan, our plan allows pet carers to set aside a small amount of money every month which can be used when the time comes..

For more information on our Pre Payment Plan please see our Pre Payment Plan page.

30 November 2008

Dumfriesshire & Cumbria Greyhound Rescue Christmas Fayre

The 30th of November saw us heading south to Rockcliffe near Carlisle for the Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue Christmas Fayre. Dave had been invited along this year by the committee to be the judge in the dog show, Dawn went along to add moral support and do some shopping! The Fayre had lots of stalls jam packed full of Greyhound merchandise and Dawn was able to pick up brand new collars for all our hounds, and when Dave wasn't looking she managed to buy a lovely portrait for Dave's christmas too!

With the shopping done it was onto the dog show, Dave had a really difficult time choosing the winners in all of the 13 classes, each class became more and more difficult to judge as more and more hounds entered each class. As the day drew to a close Dave final got to the Champion of Champion class featuring the winners of the subsequent 13 classes, Dave finally picked Genmma, a lovely black female Greyhound that he'd previously picked as the winner of the 'best bitch' class. It was a fitting choice as unknown to Dave, Gemma, who had recently been rehomed by the charity, had been the 500th dog rehomed since the charity began 7 years ago.

For more information on the charity and pictures of the Christmas Fayre please visit their website Dumfriesshire & Cumbria Greyhound Rescue

Below, Dave gets a closer look at one of the dog show entrants..

23 November 2008

Fate & Fortune Magazine

The December edition of Take a Break's Fate and Fortune Magazine is out now. This months edition has a large feature on Gordon Smith and his new book 'The Amazing Power of Animals'. As part of the Gordon Smith feature a whole page has been dedicated to the story of Denzil and Kaz. If you manage to pick up a copy of the magazine Denzil is featured on page 56!

09 November 2008

Joanne Hull - Animal Communication Workshop

Sunday the 9th of November saw Dawn and Dave making the short trip to Shotts to take part in an Animal Communication workshop held by Joanne Hull. Joanne is one of the country's leading animal communicators, you can find more about her work by visiting Joanne's Website

Through Dawns work as the Pet Undertaker she has always felt a close affinity to animals and has indeed had a few psychic moments round animals, particularly around the time Denzil passed on. Dave on the other hand, although being a believer has never had any sort of psychic experiences.

We both traveled to the workshop with open minds and both had a great day out. The workshop was packed out with the maximum number of 20 people in attendance (including a few psychic mediums for good measure in the audience!) Joanne started the workshop by giving us all a little test to see how psychic we actually were, simple questions like ''have you ever though of someone then suddenly the phone rings and it's the person who you've been thinking of?'' Most of the attendees scored very high marks but Dave came bottom of the class!

Joanne then went on to describe how to communicate to animals, both living and dead, and we were then ready to try the techniques she'd shown us on our first subject for the day, Dee Dee the Pug. Dee Dee was brought into the room and introduced herself to us all, we were then given a list of questions to ask her whilst trying out the communication techniques Joanne had shown us. After the communications session with Dee Dee we were all marked on the answers to the questions we'd all asked Dee Dee, most of the class had managed to get fairly accurate answers to a few of the questions, including Dawn, however the person who came out with top marks, much to his and everyone elses's surprise was Dave! Dave had managed to communicate with Dee Dee to such an extent, that, without prior knowledge of the dog he'd managed to identify a number of key things about Dee Dee including the name of the dog she lived with and the name of her owner's daughter!

The rest of the day progressed in a similar vein, we were introduced to a cat whom we had to communicate to, then taken outside to the stables and introduced to three horses where we were asked to choose one and communicate with them. As the day progressed the attendees of the workshop slowly improved their skills, giving more accurate answers to the questions we asked of the animals however Dave continued with his very accurate reading, particularly of the horse where he was able to describe, in detail, the events leading up to Joanne actually purchasing the horse from a dealer in Newcastle.

As the day drew to a close our final task was to perform a reading from photographs of pets brought in by the workshop attendees, just before we started this there was a number of people, including one of the psychic mediums on the workshop, very keen to let Dave carry out a reading on for their pets photograph! Joanne did intervene at this point and allocated the photographs herself! Dawn did a fairly accurate reading for a white Alsatian called Rico whilst Dave did another very accurate reading for a hamster!

We both really enjoyed our day 'talking to the animals' and we would highly recommend the workshop to all, Joanne holds a number of these each year so please check her website for future dates. Both Dawn and Dave have been busy practicing their new found skill and Dave already had a waiting list of pets that he's been asked to do readings for!

13 October 2008

Lucky, the homeless dog...

On the 30th of September the Glasgow Evening Times published the story of a homeless dog called Lucky. Lucky is a Staffie cross and she was handed into the Dogs Trust in Glasgow when her owners discovered she was pregnant. Lucky had 10 pups however 4 died of natural causes, the other 6 found teriffic new homes. During a routine pre pregnancy check up vets at the Dogs Trust discovered a cancerous tumor on Luckys rib cage, whilst surgery was an option it was decided not to operate but to allow Lucky to live out her final months free from any invasive surgery. The initial story which you can read HERE was an appeal to find a final home for Lucky.

Both Dawn and Dave were very touched by this story and immediately called the Dogs Trust, we have offered a free Cremation Service for Lucky when her time comes.

On October 13th the Evening Times ran a follow up article on Lucky and were very pleased to announce that Lucky has now found her forever home, you can read the full story HERE We wish Lucky and her new owners best wishes for the future.

30 September 2008

Dawn on Radio Five Live

On Tuesday 30th September Dawn made the short trip to the BBC studios in Glasgow for her first broadcast on National Radio. Dawn had been invited onto the Richard Bacon show on BBC Radio Five Live to take part in a live debate on the subject of 'Should Pets have Funerals'. From the remote studio in Glasgow Dawn joined the panel made up of a Vicar and a Comedian! At the end of the hours debate we're sure that the whole country was left in no doubt the Pets SHOULD have funerals.

01 September 2008

Gordon Smith's new book out 25th September 2008 featuring the Pet Undertaker and Denzil!

World renowned Psychic, Gordon Smith, (better know as The Psychic Barber) releases his new book on September the 25th entitled 'The Amazing Power of Animals'. Packed with real life stories including Gordon's own, this book reveals the unconditional love that animals give to their owners and how they can remind us of how simple life can be and what the purpose of our life really is.

Gordon's new book mentions the making of the BBC Documentary about the Pet Undertaker in which he kindly took part in and also more poignantly, the story of Dawns beloved cat Denzil, and his devotion and vigil at the graveside of her Greyhound Kaz.

To coincide with the launch of his new book Gordon will be doing a number of Bookshop Talks and Signings throught the UK, for Scotland he has dates booked in Ayr, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee. For more information about those events please visit The Psychic Barber Events Page

25 August 2008

The Pet Undertaker visits The Dogs Trust Glasgow

Dawn and Dave were invited by the Dogs Trust in Glasgow to go along and meet some of the staff and the 4 legged residents. They were delighted to accept the offer and were given the full guided tour on the 25th of August. The Dogs Trust operates a number of schemes both for elderly owners and elderly pets and the staff there were coming under increasing pressure to offer both pre and post euthanasia support to these pet owners and carers, the Trust's initial approach to The Pet Undertaker had been to find out what sort of service we offered to grieving pet owners. The Pet Undertaker offers free pre and post euthanasia support and we have been able to assist the Trust by supplying them with our contact information and some leaflets, we hope we can assist the Trust in future by dealing with the many enquiries they have in this area.

We were given the full guided tour of their state of the art kennelling facilities. The centre was opened in October 2006, the 17th such rehoming centre in the UK. It boasts 66 kennels in total, including 20 rehoming kennels, 8 puppy kennels and 38 holding kennels. We were impressed by the facilities on offer to the homeless dogs, and the devotion of the Dog Trust staff and their dedicated volunteers. The kennels have a very comfortable feel about them and rather than viewing the dogs through bars, the kennels are fronted by glass, which have 'sniffer holes' where the dogs can take a sniff at their visitors. The kennels also have under floor heating to keep the occupants warm during the cold winter months. It was sad to see so many homeless dogs in the centre, their policy is to double up each kennel so they have the facilities to take over 120 dogs, and when we visited they were almost full. Our eyes were caught by the 2 lovely Whippets looking for new homes and also 8 lurcher pups, only weeks old, (which are already reserved), it's very difficult to walk away under those circumstances and I'm sure if we had any free space we'd have applied to take one of the lovely homeless dogs home with us! Maybe next time!

For more information about the Dogs Trust please visit their website The Dogs Trust

17 August 2008

The Pet Undertaker @ Bark in the Park

Sunday 17th August saw the Pet Undertaker pack up our marquee and head for the Bark in the Park 'four legged festival' in Kings Park, Stirling. This annual event is very popular with the people of Stirling and this was no exception. We were treated to a number of amazing dog displays by Stirling's Top Dog training club who organised the whole event, also in attendance were Central Scotland’s Fire, Police and Search & Rescue dog teams who all gave great displays of their dogs and the work they do.

The Pet Undertaker's Stall proved very popular with the many visitors to the event. We took along some of our Urns and Caskets and we also had one of our Pet Hearse's on display for people to see what type of service we can provide. We received a really great reception from the people of Stirling in what was our first 'public' outing at an event of this type.

We'd like to thank the Top Dog Training Club of Stirling for inviting us along and for the great reception they gave us, see you all next year! For more information about Top Dog Training Club please visit their website Top Dog Training

28 June 2008

Big Harry gets a Home!

We're delighted to announce that Big Harry, The Pet Undertakers current sponsor dog, has found his forever home! Today Big Harry left his kennel for the last time, jumped into the back of a car and headed to a new place that he can call home. After going through the usual re-homing procedures with the Scottish Greyhound Sanctuary a suitable home and loving family were found and introduced to Big Harry. It was love at first sight and big Harry was chosen to become part of a lovely family from Greenock. We wish Big Harry all the best for the future!