The Three Amigos

An article written by Mark Foster for the Irish Newborn Screening newsletter

It’s a bit of a busman’s holiday but these pups are our world

I am an Audiologist and work with children diagnosing and treating deafness, I work in Ireland as an Audiologist (and have done for 29 years now). So audiology and supporting the parents and their children is in my blood. But I also have a deep love for Boxer dogs and in my spare time volunteer for Notts and Yorkshire Boxer rescue over here in England.

I have 3 boxer dogs, Mollie, Kendal and Ollie (all rescues) so let me tell you a bit about them and how special they are.

Collectively known by all my friends as “the Three Amigo’s”, they all get on really well these days. However Mollie and Ollie are both profoundly deaf. Kendal is the ears of the gang and very much leader of his pack.

It works really well having a hearing dog, as they will follow his lead. All three are able to be off lead (in safe spaces of course) and Mollie and Ollie will always check back visually or follow their leader Kendal, if we call him in

How can you tell if your dog is deaf?

Obviously you may suspect that they are deaf but the only conclusive proof is by taking your dog to a specialist…….and you’ve guessed it they will perform an Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) test, just the same as we do to diagnose our deaf children!

How do you train the deaf ones?

Easy...we use sign language.

They are both very clever and rely on eye contact to communicate. With lots of positive reinforcement they now know 10-20 different signs. We don’t use normal sign language, but have our own signs. The key is to be consistent. They also rely on Kendal to tell them things, such as the doorbell, people arriving or that treats may be happening

In fact I’d say that Mollie and Ollie have been easier to train than Kendal!

It’s hard work but it’s a real privilege to have these pups in our lives

So there you have it

Mark, Gaby and the pups

Michael Luck

I will be riding the Notts 100 mile bike ride on 24th June for Notts and Yorkshire Boxer Rescue. Cycling this distance will not be an easy challenge and I am currently in training to achieve this goal.

This is a charity that's very close to my heart as I have seen first-hand the work that they do through owning my own boxer dog, Millie, who we unfortunately lost in December. Since then, on the 21st March, we fostered Rocky. The charity have worked with us to ensure Rocky is settled and doing well. We are planning on adopting him very soon and if it was not for the charity, we would have never had the chance to fall in love with such a comical boy. I would appreciate it if you could help me in my journey and support me as i take part in this adventure

The charity is made up of dedicated volunteers who have a passion for the breed. They work on rescuing and re-homing boxer dogs all over the UK and have re-homed over 60 dogs in the last year.

No donation is too small and even £1 can make a huge difference.

To go to my fund raising page click here

Thank you! Michael

Now hear this...

For many years NAYBR has relied on borrowing whatever PA equipment it could at the many events and shows we attend.

At a good number of these events it would have been almost impossible without some form of broadcast equipment to make announcements or play music. At the Aztec shows, where we manage the fun dog shows, we relied on the event organisers loaning PA equipment. For the annual fun day Andy Sumner very generously allowed us to borrow his PA equipment.

Sometimes though, even with all of this generosity, it was a struggle. Something which Heather Brennan noticed at one particular event last year. For those of you who haven't heard, Heather is a musician and performer, so knows a thing or two about speakers and amplifiers.

This year all of our previous problems have been solved, thanks to a very generous donation from Heather. At the Santa Paws event in December Heather presented NAYBR with its very own fully portable PA equipment comprising 2 self-contained wireless powered speakers with cordless microphones and professional stands.

A huge thank-you has to go out to Heather. We always try to give a professional image at the shows and events we attend, however this new PA equipment is going to give our events and shows an even greater professionalism.

Thanks Heather..!

A Volunteer’s Tale.....

...as told by Mark Fenton

“Help needed” is the cry. ”Help needed” so the start of another rescue show year was fast approaching.

Scanned the diary, yep I was around...mmm needed Friday/Saturday and Sunday...well the weekend is fine...and I can probably get annual leave (or work the extra hours to make up the time)…..and Gabby is here and I really want to help…..all went through my mind.

Great, I’ll shout out to see if I can help, thinking maybe it would already be covered (pigs might fly), but then it hit me... so I made the offer

Show weekend

Friday 4pm The lovely Jules and Andy offered to drive me down with them and the very handsome Barclay. At least I knew 2 people and a dog! Who else was going?

Jules gave me a run down: 10 bodies for 2 days (one of those a show virgin) and all the dog shows to run and judge, the rescue stall to run and also the amazing new “Dog Obstacle Tombola”. Forgot to mention that setting up all the stalls and obstacle course and laying out all the stock is also the responsibility of the same people.

7:00 PM arrive Newbury...dump stuff and head to pub for dinner, beer and a chat with my travel companions.

Oh my god, it’s 1 AM.....SLEEP

Saturday 8 AM And we are off (Oh god what had I done) During the previous evenings conviviality I had been told that, not only was I helping with the dog show, but I was JUDGING too.

9:00 AM The public start arriving...loadsa pups and their humans and it seems like they’ve all made a beeline to the dog show registration where my team mates were showing me the ropes.

12:30 First of the dog shows...such fun, walking around, fussing pups, talking to their owners and children.

15:45 Last show of the day...the end is in sight, pups have won, lots of chatting, rosettes have been given and now it’s time to start winding down.

17:00 Back to the Travelodge, shower, power nap relax….. for some a few beers and a laugh over dinner.

Day 2 is a repeat except the stall has to be broken down, vans loaded and a drive home.

My thoughts... It would be so much easier if the day could be split up into teams/sessions, but that needs US, the supporters of the rescue and our fabulous Boxer pups, to step up to the plate and offer our time and bodies.

WOULD I DO IT ALL AGAIN.....hell yes! I was made to feel so welcome, I left Newbury feeling part of a fabulous team, had a fabulous time with all the pups and laughed a lot.

Mark’s full storey and more photos will soon be available in this year’s newsletter; fancy joining us..?