Collie rescue
Collie rescue
speeded up
THE Border Collie Rescue charity has teamed up with BT Highway in a bid to save the lives of more dogs.
Based in North Yorkshire, Border Collie Rescue takes in unwanted collies and working sheepdogs and assesses their suitability for stock work, police work and mountain rescue. It also provides dogs as companions for the disabled and as household pets.
* Too slow
The decision to update the telephone system was sparked by a recent incident in which the lives of four collie pups depended on immediate action being taken. Unfortunately, the limited telephone lines at the Border Collie Rescue centre were busy and, on this occasion, the response was not quick enough.
This was the moment, says promotions director Mike Cooke, when they decided the time had come to upgrade their paper-based office to an electronic one: "We provide a service which is key to the lives of thousands of dogs. When we learned that communications had failed in the instance of the puppies we were deeply saddened." The BT Highway system will make the operation far more efficient by providing additional telephone lines, an internal hotline, e-mail, faxes and voicemail.
Now, the future looks much brighter for the 1000 or so unwanted dogs that the Border Collie Rescue centre takes in each year. Two thirds of these dogs are allowed to return to their owners after guidance from experts at the centre and, last year, the Home Sharing Scheme was started, providing information on how to keep and re-home Border collies.
Nick Shepherd
Inquiries: Tel 01889-577058. www.bctgb.freeserve.co.uk