Mon 9th Sep 2024
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended our Danaher Open Day on Sunday, 1st September 2024. What a day it was! The sun shone throughout, and many dogs took full advantage of our doggy pool to cool off and enjoy a splash!
Without the generosity and continued support from the community, Danaher Animal Home wouldn’t be able to operate as it does. The turnout was truly incredible, with so many smiling faces and animals, both past and present residents, joining in the fun. We'd like to take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights from this special day:
First and foremost, our ever-popular dog shows, a highlight of any Danaher Open Day. Over seven fantastic events took place, ranging from "Junior Handler" to "Golden Oldies", each with an impressive turnout and exemplary behaviour from all the dogs. The final show, "Best Rescue", was especially memorable, as Danaher staff had the pleasure of seeing former residents thriving and showing just how happy they are in their forever homes. A huge thank you to everyone involved.
We also had a wide variety of stalls, with dedicated organisers ensuring there was something for everyone. Whether you were looking for a refreshing drink, a unique gift, or information about Danaher, we had it all! It was a particular treat to see some familiar faces – our Danaher cats and dogs recreated in biscuit form! We extend another big thank you to those who worked tirelessly throughout the day to help raise funds for such a wonderful cause.
While our Open Days are all about fun, they also serve a vital purpose – raising funds for Danaher Animal Home. Thanks to your attendance, unwavering support, and generous donations, we managed to raise an astounding £6000. These funds will go directly towards helping countless animals in need, ensuring they receive the care and love they deserve, and allowing us to continue fulfilling our mission: Rescue. Rehabilitate. Rehome. Educate.
Finally, we must acknowledge the hard work of our incredible staff and volunteers, without whom this event wouldn’t have been possible. While you were enjoying the day, they were working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure everything ran smoothly. From our parking attendants and announcers to those manning the refreshments and BBQ, everyone played their part in making the day a success. A final and heartfelt thank you goes to every single Danaher staff member and volunteer for their dedication and hard work in delivering such a fantastic event.
It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of the Dunmow Danaher Animal Home Charity Shop. Since opening its doors in June 2013, the shop has been a cornerstone of our community, providing vital support to the animals in our care. For over 11 years, Diane Cavanagh, a local resident, has been the heart and soul of this shop. Her dedication, along with the tireless efforts of our wonderful team of volunteers, has made this shop a real place of community.
Three team members also deserve special recognition: Volunteer Christine has dedicated 10 years to the shop, providing invaluable support throughout her time here. Mary, another volunteer, has also contributed a very significant amount of time. Finally, Marina Smith, who took on the role of duty shop manager in November 2023, has been instrumental in keeping the shop open consistently. Without her dedication, we would have struggled to maintain our regular hours.
In addition to these key individuals, I'd like to acknowledge the support we've received from other members of the paid team from our other shops. Zandra from Chelmsford and volunteer Adam from Braintree have regularly stepped in to help, ensuring the shop ran smoothly during this time.
The last day of trading for the Dunmow shop will be Saturday, 14th September. Until then, we will continue to accept donations, so if you have items you'd like to contribute, please do so before this date.
While this chapter is closing, we want to remind you that our other four Danaher charity shops remain open. You can continue to shop and drop off donations at our locations in Witham, Sudbury, Braintree, and Chelmsford. Additionally, donations can be brought directly to our main Wethersfield home at Thorley Farm, Hedingham Rd, Wethersfield, Braintree CM7 4EP.
For those who have large/bulk donations and require collection, please email us at [email protected].
We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported the Dunmow shop over the years. Your contributions have made a significant difference, and we hope you will continue to support our work through our other locations.
Thank you for being a part of our community and for your unwavering support of the Danaher Animal Home.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend, Danaher Animal Home enjoyed attending both days of the Countess of Warwick Country Show. In its 36th year since the revival of the traditional show, the weekend was filled with incredible stall holders, classic car shows, delicious food and drink and of course dog shows and animal areas!
Across the two days, we were able to bring some of our four-legged residents to show off their exceptional behaviour in the hope to find themselves a forever home. Our little lurcher puppies enjoyed lots of attention as well as King and Walter, two of our long stay residents who made us very proud. We can now share the incredible news that Walter, our longest Danaher resident who has been with us over 600 days… found his forever home!!!
Another highlight of the weekend was seeing so many of our ex residents enjoying their brand new, happy lives with their forever humans. We were particularly thrilled to see two residents that we knew as Dolly and Teddy. Dolly came to Danaher and went through an eye removal surgery after a rough start in life, but seeing her at the Country Show, she was like a completely different dog. Happy, excited and living her best life.
The dog shows were a smash hit for Danaher. Resident King and animal handler Stephen entered the ‘Canine Musical Sit’ show, where King performed brilliantly. To end the day, former resident Peanut was entered into ‘Best Rescue 2024’ with her owner, 11-year-old Seb. After a close contest, Seb and Peanut were awarded Best Rescue!
We’d like to thank everyone who came along to visit our Danaher stall over both days. We chatted to so many people, got to speak about the hard work all members of staff carry out on a daily basis and were also able to sell an assortment of animal items and accessories. We get many, many kind donations from our Danaher Animal Home supports, however not all of these donations can be used to help our animals during their stay. Therefore, we were able to sell many of these donations and raised over £850! These funds will be used to help countless animals in need, providing them with the care, love, and support they deserve.
We’d like to thank you all for being a part of the Danaher community and for visiting us at the Countess of Warwick Country Show.
In May, our amazing Team Leader Katie Shilling took on the incredible feat of ‘Running 100 Miles for Danaher’. We think Katie is a super-hero for completing her challenge (with ease we should add!) and we wanted to share some updates from her journey:
Q. What made you initially decide to do a running challenge?
A. “I wanted to put my running to good use and felt like it was a great challenge for myself to do, with the motivation of the animals behind.”
Q. Why did you decide to raise money for Danaher Animal Home?
A. "Danaher has a very special place in my heart. I started volunteering there when I was 18, and now at age 24 I am one of the Team Leaders on a dog block. I see first-hand the work and dedication that goes into all the animals at the centre, from the little small-ies and sweet cats all the way to the big loveable dogs by the hard work and time all the other team members put in. I would love to be able to give back and help raise more funds to helping all the animals at the home. The money raised will go such a long way in help continue to provide a safe place for the animals whilst they have their temporary stay with us as well as always finding new ways to improve their welfare."
Q. Tell us about the process, were there any tough moments?
A. “It was definitely challenging towards the end and my legs were very tired but I felt so proud of myself once I had finished the 100 miles and the money raised will go such a long way.”
Katie managed to raise an INCREDIBLE £1400 which will make such a difference at Danaher. We are so grateful she chose this wonderful charity to raise money for, and we can’t thank her enough!
We want to say a massive thank you to all of the wonderful guests, staff and volunteers who attended our Dog Walk Event on Sunday 26th May. Despite the forecast, we did manage to get spots of sunshine (with just a little bit more rain), but not even the weather could dampen the spirits of the day; tails stayed wagging and there were smiles all round.
We were so grateful for the fantastic turn out from the public and their four-legged friends. It was brilliant to bring dogs together from Danaher’s past and present and give them a well-deserved day out to exhaust themselves… and their owners. This event meant that our volunteers were able to take many of the dogs in our care out, which was a great opportunity to socialise the dogs and help towards their behaviour assessments for rehoming in the future.
Of course, whilst the day was brilliant fun, it was also held for a purpose. Thanks to all of your generous donations and purchases, we managed to raise an incredible £1000! This amount of money will go so far in helping numerous animals under our care, providing the love and support they’ll need during their time with us. We simply cannot thank you enough for your generosity.