The Strays Can’t Stay

Did you know ...
• That out of the estimated 500 million dogs in the world, 75% of them are stray?
• That USA shelters altogether receive around 6-8 million unwanted and stray animals each year...
• And that 3-4 million of these are put to sleep each year?
• Less than 2% of cats and only 15-20% of dogs are returned to their owners.

In Teignbridge alone, there are around 50 registered strays in danger that should have never been abandoned. This is only one constituency... and there are 646 in the UK.
How many animals is that?
Many strays are on the streets because they have been abandoned by their owners, because they are not able to look after them anymore, alot of the time due to the recession (lack of money).
Many of these animals are picked up by animals control officers, or reported by citizens, but there are many which are still out there alone because nobody could be bothered to report them.
You can help these animals by calling a hotline if you see a stray, or if you want to get rid of your animal... just don’t dump it in the first place.

Thank you for taking to time to read this, if you have any thoughts please post them below, and if possible please answer some of these questions:

1) We’re you aware of the problems of stray animals before reading this?
2) If not, do you now feel more informed about the problem?
3) Have we changed your opinion about the issue? If so how and why?
4) If you now saw a stray, would you phone a hotline or report them to the Blue Cross/RSPCA?
5) After reading this would you ever dump your animal?
6) Would you be prepared to support this issue or even make a donation to charities that help with it?

Thanks again for taking your time to read this blog!

Larissa and Lizzie

Save the animals, save the trees, stop deforestation please!

Thank you for visiting my blog. Deforestation needs to stop fast, it helps CO2 choke up our planet, please take a small amount of your time to read through and maybe you’ll join the battle to stop it!

• When trees are cut down, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, do we really need to contribute to global warming even more?
• Thousands of species of animal are killed due to deforestation, fantastic animals like orang-utans and exotic birds will become extinct.
• A whopping 24 square km of rainforest is destroyed every hour. If it continues at this great speed, all the rainforests will be gone by 2050.
• Why kill the rainforest? Why destroy all these wonderful rare plants when all you end up with, is bare barren land, with dry, dead tree stumps?
• We must stop this, before long, plants that may contain the cures for life threatening diseases such as cancer may be dead and disposed of, whilst millions of sufferers of these diseases helplessly sit, still uncured.

Please give me feedback about my blog by posting a response below - I would appreciate it very much!

* Before reading my blog, had you heard about the deforestation problem?
* Do you now know more about the issue?
* Has my blog changed your opinion? If so, why?
* Would you now spread the word and join online groups like ‘The Prince’s Rainforest Project’, to do your bit to keep the rainforests?
* Also, if you have a Face book account, would you consider joining my group, ‘Let’s save the rainforests?’

Katie

People should be more aware of Sudden Adult Death (SADS)

Thank you for viewing my Blog! Most people don’t know what SADS is so I will begin by explaining this. SADS is an umbrella term for various heart conditions e.g. long QT syndrome and is a charity. I really feel that this is an important cause to support for a number of reasons. Here are some of them:

1. Each year between 80,000 and 120,000 suffer a cardiac arrest in a public place in the UK and giving money to SADS could reduce this greatly by getting more equipment for young people to get screened for heart conditions.

2. A lot less people would die of heart conditions because your money can be used to buy more defibrillators.

3. Raising money can be a lot of fun- as my picture shows!!

4. It would help people who have a heart condition to lead a normal life.

5. It can be very rewarding knowing that you may have saved lives by just giving a small amount of money.

Thank you again for reading my Blog and taking an interest in my opinion! I would really appreciate it if you now responded to my Blog with your opinion on the matter. It would be particularly good if you could answer some of the following questions:

* Had you ever heard of SADS before reading my Blog? If yes then where from?
* Do know anyone who is affected by a genetic heart condition?
* Would you consider donating money to SADS at www.sadsuk.org?
* Would you tell your friends and family about SADS and ask them to donate?
* Do you now feel more informed about SADS?

Anya

We should all go fishing!

Thank you very much for showing an interest in my Blog! Fishing is something I really enjoy & feel passionate about! I believe that many people do not know about the many wonderful benefits of going fishing, & some are a little misinformed about some of its ‘so called problems.’

When you’ve read my Blog, I hope that you will have come around to my way of thinking & perhaps even – if you haven’t already - give fishing a try! I think fishing is a fantastic way to spend your free time for the following reasons.

1. What could be healthier than spending time relaxing by a beautiful lake, in scenic countryside surroundings breathing in some fresh country air?!
2. Fishing is loved by people of all ages, both sexes & from all sorts of backgrounds – as my picture shows it can be a great family activity!
3. Fishing makes you think & is great fun – fish are surprisingly intelligent & catching a big carp like the one below can be immensely rewarding!
4. Some people think that fishing is cruel, but the fact is that science does not know for sure if fish feel pain in the same way as humans - and in any case …
5. Many fish would not be alive at all were it not for anglers breeding fish, constructing lakes & stocking them with fish.

Thank you so much again thinking about my views! Please do now post me a response with your thoughts. In particular, it would be great if you could write just a few words in answer to the following questions:

* Do you go fishing already? If so why? If not why not?
* Had you thought much about the benefits of fishing before reading my blog?
* Do you now feel more informed about the benefits of fishing?
* Have I changed you opinion about fishing & if how & so why?
* Would you now be prepared to go fishing if you’ve never been before?
* Would you support my campaign to protest against people who wish to ban fishing?

Join me on a ‘Family Fun Day Fish In’ at Creedy Lakes, Crediton in Devon on 1st August – further details at: http://www.creedylakes.com/
Make a donation to the ‘Angling Trust’ at: http://www.anglingtrust.net/
Tell your family & friends about how wonderful fishing is, & try to persuade them to join my cause – maybe even go fishing themselves!?

Mr Charlwood

We should all do more to help children with a cleft lip

Thank you very much for showing an interest in my Blog! Trying to help children in developing countries who have a cleft lip is something I feel very strongly about! Not many people seem to know about the suffering experienced by people who have a cleft lip – people like Arifase pictured below. When you’ve read my Blog, I hope that you will know a bit more about the problems faced by the many thousands of children like Arifase - & feel that you will want to help.

Here is Arifase’s story. Her cleft lip stopped her from living like a normal child and made her life a misery. When Arifase should have been making friends & having fun, she was hiding her face at home. She was ridiculed & ignored by other children for looking different. Arifase was missing out on her education & a chance of a better life because she was too afraid to go to school. Her childhood was being taken away – she just wanted to look like the other children in her village. A simple 45-minute operation was all it took to give Arifase a beautiful smile & stop her suffering. Now at school, Arifase has lots of new friends & is busy making up for lost time.

Arifase’s new life was made possible by the Charity ‘Operation Smile.’ It takes just £150 to take away a cleft lip. Operation Smile have 5,000 medical volunteers in 42 of the world’s poorest countries, ready to perform reconstructive surgery on children like Arifase, but they need more funds to pay for the operations.

Thank you so much again reading my Blog. Please do now post me a response with your thoughts. In particular, it would be great if you could write just a few words in answer to the following questions - & help in any way you feel you can. Further details of all the ideas listed below can be found at: http://www.operationsmile.org.uk Please help give more children a smile that will last forever!

* Had you heard about the problems caused for people who have a cleft lip before?
* Do you now feel more informed about the issues faced by people with a cleft lip.
* Would you now be prepared to do any of the following things to help improve the lives of people who have a cleft lip …

1. Make a donation to ‘Operation Smile’?
2. Start or join a FUNDraising campaign?
3. Sign up to receive regular information about the work of Operation Smile by joining their ‘Student Club’
4. Support Operation Smile every time you use eBay
5. Tell your family & friends about ‘Operation Smile’ & try to persuade them to help out in any of the ways above?

Mr Charlwood