Grey Matters More : We join the "Blue Cross" and learn how to help our four legged friends

You cannot better seeing a wagging tail.  We go behind the scenes at the Blue Cross to discover just how to keep our four legged friends safe and happy. 

If you want to get involved with the Blue Cross team please follow the link below

https://www.bluecross.org.uk/get-involved

Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586908623318

Grey Matters More Website
https://greymattersmore.buzzsprout.com/

You Tube Homepage
https://www.youtube.com/@royplayer9527

Bluesky App Homepage
https://bsky.app/profile/greymattersmore.bsky.social

Transcript

Derm Tanner 0:00

Hello, welcome to another episode of Grey Matters, the brand new podcast series which aims to give you some ideas to fill all that time you now have on your hands. Whether you've just retired, you're looking to retire soon or just wanting to do something more with your day, maybe, just maybe, we can help. We've talked to many organisations, clubs and charities around Yorkshire and further afield because we wanted to find out what it's like to volunteer and learn new skills. Hopefully, over the coming episodes, Grey Matters will spark some interest for you. Because when it comes to retirement, there's so much more than just ensuring you have enough money to live on, and in this episode, it's animal time. Dogs, cats, it's Roy World. I've been looking forward to this.

Roy Player 0:51

My achilles heel, Dogs, cats, animals, it's a disaster. But I couldn't live without them. I mean, I know you're the same Chris, you got your dog, and it's an integral part of dogs. And that was one of the real, real things about retiring was having that extra time with the dogs and taking them out for walks and doing all that, and it's been absolutely fantastic. So I was really lucky actually because I wanted to go and do some volunteering, and I love animals, but I gotta hold my hands up and go, I could not take the the bad side of sort of dealing with animals that have been really badly treated and things, I, you know, I'm a bit of a wimp, I'm afraid. So I kind of wanted to go somewhere, and the Blue Cross have a rehoming centre up here, and they were fantastic. And we'd actually got a dog from there many, many years ago, and lovely people, and so it was basically I thought, oh great, they that it's really purely for re-homing. Those animals that come in, they just need they're they're there temporary, and they kind of we chatted and they wanted a photographer. Now, I mean a keen enthusiastic photographer, but I was able to take pictures of the animals and they put that on their website, and that's been great because it means and hopefully people will go along, look at the pictures on the website, and then go along perhaps re-home an animal. But it's something very passionate, isn't it? We're very passionate about.

Chris Wiltshire 2:13

We are, and I know when you lost a dog recently, absolutely crestfallen.

Roy Player 2:19

But I think about them every day. I've lost my dog, it's awful. So it's nice to be able to put give something back to these great animals and we had a really good time talking to them and well the animals, but also there were a couple of human beings involved as well.

Sue Macaulay 2:33

I'm Sue Macaulay, I work for Blue Cross Rehoming Centre at Thirsk as a volunteer coordinator, and I also do reception as well. But part of my role as volunteer co-ordinator is to deal with all the people who come and volunteer for us that are on site so that actually come to the centre to help us. That's my main role here.

Roy Player 2:57

And so here we are at the Blue Cross. I came and joined you um because you put out a little advertisement needing a photographer to, to come along and take photos of the animals, and I couldn't believe my good luck for coming along for lots of reasons, which we'll we'll talk about a little bit later on. But I was aware of the Blue Cross because we'd actually rescued a dog from here, this very branch here in Topcliffe many years ago, and took a great shine to the place and the people that were here. But I've talked to people about the "Blue Cross", not everyone necessarily understands what the "Blue Cross" is all about.

Sue Macaulay 3:32

Yeah, I mean I, I think it's quite common that a lot of people don't know about the Blue Cross. We've actually been going since 1897, which always startles people to hear that. But I think we originally started off sort of looking after horses and joined the war and that type of thing. That's that's how it all started, really, with horses and then developed over the years, and we went into dogs, cats, and also smalls. So we have about 10 centres throughout the country, mainly based d own South and our, job or our role really at Blue Cross is to help people who need to re-home their pet, and then we find a suitable home for that pet so that they then have a more fulfilled life or certainly a better life. So we're just sort of like the middleman, I suppose, in a way, but along with a lot of centres, a lot of rescue centres these days, it's very demanding, and most people are very familiar with the RSPCA, Dogs Trust, Battersea, and Blue Cross is not as big as those, but we try to get our name out there as much as we can. But I, I do recognise that it's it's not as well known, unfortunately.

Roy Player 4:53

So it's a large organisation across a wide number of animals, and you have a limited amount of staff here, so obviously dependent or or encouraging at least volunteers to come along, and so, how do how do you go about doing that? What what do you look for and how do you promote yourselves for for volunteers or make them even aware really that you you need assistance?

Sue Macaulay 5:17

Yeah, I, I think I think it's a very good point making people aware. We genuinely, all our centres, all our shops, we couldn't survive without volunteers. They are absolutely the crooks that keeps us going, to be honest,and we have our website, Blue Cross website, that's where we tend to advertise for our volunteers. A lot of it, some of it is word of mouth, you know, word gets round. But I think what possibly some people don't realise is some people think it's just to come volunteer to be with the pets, but there's so much more that we need help with, and that's the bit that we value, like yourself doing photography, taking photographs of the pets that then we can use on the website, which will help promote them, get a new home. But there's, there's housekeeping, there's laundry. We also run a pet food bank here, and we constantly need help with that. We store for food banks and then we distribute it, and we're always looking for people to help us with that. So there's a whole range of things that people can do that that doesn't directly involve the actual pets, um, and that's sort of something that people should be aware of. You know, there's there's a lot of different roles.

Roy Player 6:33

Do you do a certain amount of training then when it comes to things like because I had no idea about how to work with the animals or if you wanted to go into the shop or something, do you offer training for people?

Sue Macaulay 6:44

Yeah, there's a certain amount of online training, which a lot of people just find that a little bit daunting, but it's more just about like our procedures and things like that. But we very much, particularly when you first start, we we call it like a buddy system, so we make sure that a member of our team is with you and they're directing you and helping you to know the ins and outs and where to go, where not to go. We also offer a lot of online courses, which volunteers are also entitled to do as well. We have drivers that volunteer for us, gardeners. You're still helping the pets, even though you're not maybe directly involved with them. It all makes that difference.

Roy Player 7:27

And one of the things as well we talked about ages ago was was social media as well, the importance of the role of social media, and that is something that you're constantly looking forward to keep updating your website, keeps updating the Blue Cross's presence on social media as well. So, can people help out with that?

Sue Macaulay 7:45

Yes, it's , it's probably one of our areas that actually we're not maybe quite as strong on as we could be. I think that's maybe just sort of more of um a historical thing. We do have Facebook page, we do have um Instagram, but we probably don't use it to the value that we should, and we're definitely always looking for people who know more about it than us.

Roy Player 8:10

There's a fantastic thing that I saw on the website about the fact that you quite often encourage people to go out and educate younger people about, now is that about I mean animals are such a crucial part of so many people's lives. There are various reasons why animals need to be rehomed, but sometimes it's because people don't understand perhaps the the how much work it takes to have an animal. I mean, we've got three, four well, three dogs now, and it they're probably harder to raise and look after than the kids, you know. There's a lot to do with that. Is there is there a case where younger people being educated and about what it's like having an animal? Is that important?

Sue Macaulay 8:49

Yeah, I think so. We've got an education department and we actually take on volunteers to do that. So we have people who go into schools and talk about looking after pets. The I think just like the responsibility and making children aware of what that responsibility is and how it's an ongoing responsibility.

Roy Player 9:08

One of the crucial things about having a pet as well, is that mental support that they give. I mean, they become well, my you know, best friends, companions, exercise, all those things, and one of the aspects that we found as a as a team putting these podcasts together was that having retired, having a lot of time on one's hands and things, but then sometimes you wake up on a dull morning and think, What am I gonna do today? What can I do? That role for mental help for both the people who have in that position about suddenly finding themselves with a lot of time on their hands, how fantastic it is to get involved with animals.

Sue Macaulay 9:49

Oh, absolutely. I mean, I mean, you know, pets are probably one of the one thing that are not really asking anything of you in in lots of respects from a mental um health point of view, but it can be very, very soothing. You know, we do we do have some volunteers that come here to the centre that you know have highlighted to us their struggles with mental health and they find it very relaxing. You know, just I think also having a purpose, and that's maybe the biggest thing. If you just have a purpose and feel valued and part of a team. One of the things about volunteering, it's for all ages. I think that's the thing I would stress. You know, from younger people to older people, everyone has something to give, and you're not always maybe aware of what you've got to give, you know. Like sometimes it can just come out from coming along and having a look and seeing things, oh yeah, I could I could be pretty good at that. But yeah, I, I think it's the emphasis is honestly like when we tell people that you're coming in, Roy, they're like, Oh, good. So yeah, and

Roy Player 11:00

Its only because I bring biscuits and change, yeah,

Sue Macaulay 11:03

Ulterior motives, but, but no, the difference that's made, you know, because you know, when you send in those photographs that you've spent time taking, genuinely the team are like, oh my god, that's amazing. And it makes them feel like it's it's so worthwhile. And we've definitely re-homed more pets on the back of those photographs. So those are the things for me as a volunteer coordinator, I feel it's really important to make that volunteer appreciated, thanked, all those things that it might have just been a little thing, but to us it's massive, you know, because it makes that difference, and I think that's one thing that volunteering does, it just makes a difference. I think the emphasis is that we are here to re-home pets, that is that is our ultimate aim. We don't want a pet to be in a pen or a kennel any longer than necessary, so it's our duty of care and to make sure that they find as as good a home as they can, and I think that's why we're here, that's what we're here for. Every day is different, and the same, you know. If you come to volunteer, it might not be the same every time you come, but you'll there'll always be something, and there's just such a buzz, there's a positivity. Yeah, we have some down days because that's life, that's reality. But I think that makes the good days even better.

Roy Player 12:30

Obviously, some people haven't necessarily got a huge amount of time, or they can't go into a site, either a centre like this or a or a charity shop, for example, for various reasons, but they would like to get involved. Are there other ways that people can help out?

Sue Macaulay 12:46

Yes, definitely, we definitely, we have a team of volunteers who constantly bring us in wonderful knitted blankets. One of the other ways people can get involved if they can't actually go to a centre or a shop is we have a pet loss support group and that's run completely by volunteers, and it's just run from home, and it's just there as a backup for people who have lost a pet, somebody to talk to, and again, you know, that is an amazing and that's been going for 30 years, run by Blue Cross. It doesn't have to be anyone that's lost a pet connected to Blue Cross, it's available to anyone outside of the organisation as well, and it is an amazing thing, and totally run by volunteers, so that is invaluable.

Roy Player 13:33

The other thing is as well that there are people who are very good at organising things and organising events, and would is is that of some use to you? Do you have fundraising days?

Sue Macaulay 13:44

Absolutely, yeah. We, we would love to get a fundraising team together. We try to go to local events. We've recently been to "B eDale Dog Show" and to "Knaresborough Dog Show", and we had volunteers came along and helped us. But we we had a team of people who could just help with the fundraising, that would be amazing. And so maybe you're not available on a regular basis, but maybe you could come along two or three times a year and help at a fundraising event. Again, there's just lots of scope, lots of different scope, yeah, of how, to how to help.

Roy Player 14:22

So, one of the areas that I first of all came into when I was looking to take photographs, you said to me, Okay, there are cats, this lovely area where the cats are, and so we've come back here now to come out of the office to have a look, and this is where a lot of the work gets done. Yes, so what happens here then if you're a member of the Blue Cross or if you're trying to help out?

Sue Macaulay 14:44

Well, what we do, we've got we were just along at the cat kennels at the moment, so we've got all these fantastic pens set up for the cats.

Roy Player 14:51

Now these are quite these are quite light and airy, and they've got plenty of well, they've got plenty of toys, plenty of blankets in as well. So I mean, where do they they come from? Do people

Sue Macaulay 15:01

Yeah, so again, a lot of a lot of these are sort of things that have been donated. We've got cat trees. We what we do is we make sure that the cats have got plenty of different areas to go, high, low, where they can go under a blanket if they want. We make sure they've always got a couple of litter trays, toys, like you said, food, water at all times. So a lot of what we have here is what people have donated to us, which is amazing. So we're you know, we're very lucky that people do know donate, but yeah, they're fantastic pens, and we just set them up differently for different cats. So maybe some cats are a bit more nervous, so they just need a few more places to kind of hide away a little bit, but that's part of the team, part of what the team do is to get every of these pens ready and organised, and that's all again what volunteers can help with organising them, setting them up, all that sort of thing. So, yeah, it's really invaluable.

Roy Player 15:56

I mean, this is amazing down here. The pens are enclosed, they're not sort of steel frames, glass doors, cats can see out. Important to get the animal, not just we're talking about our welfare as volunteers and retired people, but obviously very important to get the animal welfare correct as well.

Sue Macaulay 16:13

Yeah, definitely. I mean we we want the pens to be you know airy and bright, and we can see through them. There's all the glass, but equally we don't want people walking past every minute of the day for maybe some cats that are a little bit nervous, so we just have ways of maybe just cutting off a certain area for a little period of time or putting up maybe some blankets or or curtains or something, and just making sure that they're quiet. Sometimes we put the radio on for them, just depends. We we do it cat per cat, really, and see what they're comfortable with.

Roy Player 16:46

I mean, there is a beauty in here. Who's this in here?

Sue Macaulay 16:49

This is a so this this is Presley that's come in. Right. Yep, so named after someone very famous, I think. I think, but yeah, so yeah, just enjoying life at the moment, just looking at us a little bit cautiously, but but yeah, beautiful, beautiful.

Roy Player 17:06

And this is the sort of thing I've noticed as coming here to take photographs. You don't just come in and go, I'm gonna take a photograph of that and dump, do it, and walk away. It's really important, again, from my point of view as well. It's that connection with the animal, and the animal connects with you, and my goodness, that is so good for for up here in the mental state again that you don't just you're not rushing around, nothing has to be rushed.

Sue Macaulay 17:30

Yeah, definitely. I and I think like what a lot of the volunteers that go in with the cats particularly like to socialise with them, you know, is you you can literally just sit in the pen, not move, just sit there and let the cat come to you, and it's just so and maybe you may have come along two or three weeks, and this particular cat may have not come near you at any point, and then suddenly this cat's decided to come, and that's really exciting, and then you're just sort of interacting with them in a very slow, measured way, t hat then eventually brings them out of the shelf. So, yeah, it's really great, really great to see the progress as well as a team member and as certainly as a volunteer, it is, yeah.

Lynn 18:10

It's Lynn, and I'm a cat fosterer for the Blue Cross. up in Nunthorpe, so I travel down to pick up a cat or bring one back, and that's it, really.

Roy Player 18:21

You've probably retired, and what have then got you involved with volunteering for the Blue Cross?

Lynn 18:28

I saw an advert on the TV, they were talking about it. Now I live in an over 55s complex, and I thought I could do that. I've had pets all my life. I can't commit to a you know a full-time dog or cat, and I thought, yes, I could have a cat, look after it, nurture it, make it happy again, ready for its forever home.

Roy Player 18:55

And what would you say to people if they were sort of thinking about fostering animals but weren't sure about the commitment? What advice would you give to people so that they will actually come along and attempt to get involved with the Blue Cross and other organisations where they can foster animals?

Lynn 19:12

The Blue Cross for me have been just fabulous. There was you know some some training involved, that they ensure diversity. That's the thing that really because I was thinking, wow, this is I'm only volunteering. You can just say I need you to take cat back, or you know, I've got a panic on down south, or whatever, like that. So there's always cover for you. You just send a 'WhatsApp' to say this cat is doing this strange odd thing, and within hours you've got an answer, you know, that they give you total backup, total backup, it's lovely.

Roy Player 19:51

Why do you think the role is important then from your point of view, first of all?

Lynn 19:56

Yeah, definitely, when they're here, they're in like cages, they're not in a home environment, so they don't know the noise of a washing machine, they don't know the ringing of the doorbell, or the TVs. Some I've had the TV is like, whoa, what's going on there? So you can actually settle them right down into a home environment so that again when they go to their forever home, they're a little bit more relaxed. For me, it's just like you've got a troubled soul in and you've helped repair them, and so to send that away is just so nice for me. So I do get sad. I do get sad when they hand him back, but you know they're going to something better and they've got the rest of their lives then, and then I can go on and look after somebody else that needs it. I think that's what it is. It's just like looking after. I always say to them, they say, Oh, do you want this one? or you could have that, and I say, just give me the one that needs it the most.

Natalie Boss 20:59

My name is Natalie Boss, and I work Monday to Friday. So I've offered my services as a pet fosterer with the Blue Cross. When I lost my little dog back in April, I felt my life was a little bit empty and in June I saw an advert from the Blue Cross on Facebook looking for volunteers, the pet fosterer, and I thought this sounds like the best idea at the moment because I'm not ready to have my own dog again at the moment. But I thought this could be a a a good option to help out other animals that need a bit of home loving care, you know. So I put up and kind of completed the application and here I am.

Roy Player 21:46

What do you think it means or mean to your good self about being able to foster animals and and also what importance does that role take or undertake as far as the blue cross is concerned, do you think?

Natalie Boss 22:00

For me it's like a personal achievement really 'cause when I just think when you help an animal it just makes you feel so good because you you've helped a little creature. And for the blue cross, well to have volunteers it's a huge help because it saves the animal to be locked up in kennels and they go into a home where they've got a home environment, they get used to people where or children. It it's a much more positive action.

Roy Player 22:31

I mean it's just such an important way of I mean we we've fostered dogs in the past but they haven't had not fostered. We were meant to foster them and then we ended up keeping them. But the thing was that they'd not had that home environment and it was really difficult, especially when you're not particularly savvy as far as working with dogs is concerned. So we just expected oh we let them off the lead and the most dangerous thing is them running off into the distance, but you control all that, but then you realise there's lots of other things that they need to get used to, and you know, people forget that they don't just sort of sit in your home and that's it, they're they're an individual character, they're fantastic and couldn't be without them. So when do you start fostering?

Natalie Boss 23:14

I've I've started already, but at the moment because I'm working I can only foster small animals like guinea pigs, mice, and that sort of thing, because or rabbits, because um with me working basically.

Roy Player 23:26

There's nothing wrong with guinea pigs. We love guinea pigs.

Natalie Boss 23:28

I mean I love I mean I've had guinea pigs and my daughter ha has two guinea pigs that I look after when she goes on holiday, so I'm never really away from it, you know. So but no, I just think it's, it's just a a great idea to foster. Because just to, to give an example, my late little dog, she was a rescue dog, and I got it from the RSPCA, and they've all warned me that oh she's a small dog, she she cries a lot and everything else, and when I took her home, it took a lot of patience, but she stopped crying and of course she's been with me for 14 years, but you know, but it's just I think it's just important to give them the, the comfort and and the love that they need before they find their forever home.

Roy Player 24:22

And it was it was such a, a special thing talking to Sue, who actually works at the Blue Cross and that team that I've met there, and it's been it's been lovely meeting all these like-minded people who absolutely will do anything for the animals, and oh you know, it's it's really very emotional, I must admit. And then talking to those volunteers, oh, it's great to meet other people that are incredibly you know like-minded, and what I, I couldn't I couldn't believe it, but there's something 28,000 animals have been helped over the year, which is absolutely extraordinary. You think about 28,000, 8,000 have been re-homed and fostered, and that's the thing as well. Even if you can't take an animal full-time, you can get involved with fostering an animal and looking after an animal for a short time.

Derm Tanner 25:10

But I didn't know about that, I had no idea that that was a thing, and in hearing you know, the, the cat fosterer and all that goes on there, that's fantastic. I'm more of a cat person than a dog person, so when we were amongst the cats, it was quite difficult not to take one back. But I know that my cat at home would not have it.

Roy Player 25:29

I know I've met your cat very briefly because it always runs out as you smell of dogs.

Chris Wiltshire 25:36

Same with our Eddie our Matt Tibetan Terrier, yeah, he wouldn't allow another animal anywhere near him. But, it was really good, really interesting, and I'm just amazed that you didn't bring a few more dogs home with you.

Roy Player 25:48

Honestly, my missus said to me, If you if you start bringing animals home every time you go there, that's it. I'm back on the plains of the States, you know, where I live. But I think that the thing again with animals is that again, an incredible amount of opportunities to help an animal without necessarily sort of having to have an animal at home. You can be a part of sort of giving an animal a new opportunity in life, and I also think that animals can give us new opportunities in life as well. They don't like make a home.

Derm Tanner 26:18

You've been listening to the Grey Matters podcast, produced by Roy Player, Chris Wiltshire, and Derm Tanner.