We are also getting ready to unveil the winners of the 2008 Best Event competition and of course all the category winners. That will come through in mid August - watch this space! Many thanks to everyone that entered - the judges’ job was really difficult as we had some fantastic entries again this year. We’d still love to see any event photos!

Have a great summer with your pets! Alison

The scrapbook was excellent - so much so that the rules of the competition last year were extended slightly from being just for schools to accommodate the rainbow’s entry - and this year’s NOAH’s Art competition will reflect this by being open to youth groups from the off.

Here’s what Sue Turrill, Rainbow leader, had to say to Nicole:

“I’ve just got home from school and will be back out to Rainbow Guides this evening but I wanted to drop you an e-mail to say a BIG THANK YOU on behalf of the Rainbows and leaders for the wonderful presentation assembly this morning. I know from talking to some of the girls during their lunch break, that they were over-the-moon with their certificates and surprise prizes. There was quite a buzz going around the infant section of the school this morning.

I’ve been asked to leave the scrapbook in the staffroom so that staff can have a look and I will certainly speak to the art co-ordinator about taking part next year - I’ve offered to help co-ordinate it at school and no doubt the Rainbows will want to take part as well!!

Thank you again. It has been one of the highlights of my 18 years with the Rainbow Guides and we look forward to seeing the photographs!!

Thank you again for everything you did.”

Check out the schools section of the website to see how you can enter this year’s competition - get creating as the closing date is 31 March!

Our theme this year is ‘Great British Pets’ and we’re really looking forward to all the exciting ways we can celebrate - while spreading the responsible pet ownership message.

Towards the end of the month we’re going to be mailing all our National Pet Month contacts, to check that your details have not changed and to see how you’re going to get involved. We’ll be asking you to register your event and claim your free publicity pack.

We’ll also be sending out some advice about how you can use JustGiving, to raise money for your favourite animal charity during National Pet Month, or even for National Pet Month itself.

We had such a fantastic response last year, and over the next few weeks we’ll be putting some of the reports of last year’s events onto the blog, so you can get some inspiration of what to do this year.

Here’s to a great National Pet Month 2008!

There are fun days, open days, a swimathon and the intriguingly titled Neolithic cani-cross (see www.canix.co.uk for more details) - the last event of their season. Their event on 22 April raised £1001.00 for charity - split between Cheltenham Animal Shelter and Riding for the Disabled.

Africa Alive in Kessingland are having a weekend of special events, there are dog shows, a cat welfare day at Pets at Home Romford - many more events - too many to mention them all but let’s hope they all have fantastic attendance and loads of fun.

If you are thinking of inviting a greyhound into your home - this is the weekend to meet some of these fantastic dogs. There’s a meet a greyhound weekend in Galloway Forest, there are greyhounds to meet in Penrith, Motherwell and a dog walk for Greyohound Awareness in Glasgow. And in Wales, there’s a fun dog show at Swansea Greyhound track.

Have a good Bank Holiday weekend and look at our What’s On to find a National Pet Month event near you..

“At one o’clock this morning I finished my Charity Sponsored ‘Bingo-a-Thon’. It took me twenty hours and I played TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY ONE games in a row – and I didn’t win a single penny - nowt, zero, nada, zilch, nothing, nil. You wouldn’t think it was possible, would you?

Although I didn’t actually win anything from the Bingo itself (as it was a Sponsored Event too) I anticipate receiving a couple of hundred pounds of sponsorship so it was successful as a fund-raising event – just not as successful as it might have been, had I have won!

It was an absolutely fascinating thing to do and I don’t begrudge a single minute of it. I started at five o’clock in the morning and I was amazed to discover (at that ungodly hour) that there were already eighty-two people playing Bingo!
As I was playing I was telling fellow players (or ‘Roomies’ as they are known) all about my endeavours, the support and encouragement I got from them was simply incredible. People were wishing me luck and kept signing on throughout the day just to come onto the Site to say “How’s Smiley (my Username) doing?”

As they were enquiring about my progress – or lack of it! - they imparted information about themselves which made it enthralling as I could just imagine their lives too. The Landlady from East Sussex who kept leaving the Pub, the Security Guard from Leicester who popped in between his security checks, the Owner of the Kilt Shop in Dundee who logged in during her lunch hour, the recently bereaved widow who stayed with me until an hour before she took her Driving Test, all these immensely kind people made those twenty hours just fly by.

I got down to one number (a sweat) on numerous occasions and if ‘my number had come up’ I’d have won well over £2,000. But, like the lottery on a Saturday night, I NEARLY won!

I did research prior to the event and checked out all the Bingo Sites but found the Sun Site to be far superior to any of the others. The ‘Chat Rooms’ were flourishing with very friendly people, the Chat Room Moderators did a super job keeping the ‘Roomies’ entertained and the prize money was much better then on anyone of the other Sites. So that was where our stake money went – and stayed!

I actually felt very sorry for the Sun Bingo Site because they were in a ‘no win’ situation. If I’d have won I’m sure the Roomies would have said that it was fixed – when I didn’t win they said “It was for Charity – they should have fixed it”! Bless them, the Sun Site have said that they’ll make me a donation anyway so that will be added to my sponsorship.

The most abiding memory I will have of the whole event will be of another world that I accidentally stumbled upon. As ‘Roomies’ were chatting electronically a lot of very personal information was imparted and many a tragic tale of immense loss shared. As a Bereavement Counsellor it was just wonderful to witness that such an informal network does a simply amazing job of mutual support. It was both touching and heart-warming to share their stories and I feel privileged to have spent a full day of my life being part of a world that I probably wouldn’t ever have seen if I hadn’t have tried to think of something different to raise funds.

As a fund-raising event I wouldn’t recommend it but as a life experience I certainly would!”

Yvonne has put a most welcome cheque in the post for National Pet Month - and if you would like to find out more about her charity, see www.yvettesbook.com.

…….but we very nearly didn’t have a cake to cut!

Marc Abraham acted as the compere and his presentation went down really well with most of the audience…