Join the club - Strictly Staffies!

RSPCA Blackberry Farm's Staffy Club is a year old 

17.11.11

The RSPCA Blackberry Farm Animal Centre's club for Staffordshire bull terrier owners and people interested in the breed is now a year old and getting bigger and better all the time.

The Staffordshire bull terrier Club has grown from just one or two registered members when it was formed in October 2010 to more than 50 members today!
 
It was formed by Staffy owners who wanted to get together to hold events, raise money and show how Staffy ownership can be a rewarding experience.

Changing the way people think about Staffies

The club is now run by Kirsty Spittles and Liane Tiffany, both animal care assistants at Blackberry Farm.

It aims to challenge the negative perceptions which people have of the breed. In recent years Staffies have tended to fall into the wrong hands and often been mistreated, leaving some with behavioural problems which are wrongly attributed to all Staffies.

About the Staffy club 

The club meets weekly or fortnightly in and around Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, to walk the dogs and gets together every month at the animal centre in Quainton, near Aylesbury.

Activities to date have included fun agility and even heelwork to music, leading to the Strictly Come Dancing comparison!

Club members are also very active in arranging fundraising events for the animal centre.

There are hundreds of Staffies in need of good homes

Our 13 regional animal centres rehomed 398 Staffies in 2010. However, Staffies still represented 22 per cent of the total dogs coming into RSPCA care in 2010, a rise of four per cent on the previous year.

Kirsty said:

Over the years, the 'Staffy' has been unfairly deemed untrustworthy and aggressive.

Our club sets out to prove to people that the Staffordshire bull terrier and Staffy-crosses can be the loving and faithful family pets that everyone yearns for.

Many Staffies end up in rescue centres simply because their owners mistreat them or abandon them through no fault of their own.

The club is calling for as much support as possible from Staffy owners and others to change misconceptions about the breed, which we think will help to rehome some of the hundreds of Staffies in rescue centres throughout the country.

 

'They are actually great family pets'

Club member, Debra Appleby, from Aylesbury, owns two Staffies, 12-year-old Taz and four-year-old Jodie, both of whom were rescue dogs.

She heard about the club earlier this year and got involved with fundraising before training her Staffies to do heelwork to music.

Debra said:

We used to have collies and spaniels, which were great, but then a relative took on a Staffy and we realised how much we like them and have owned them ever since.

They have so much character, they're like little people!

We just wanted to let people know that it's such a shame that they're seen as a standard pet for trouble causers, as they are actually great family pets and they really don't deserve to have a bad reputation.

 

Join or support Blackberry Farm's Staffy Club!

To find out how you can get involved with Blackberry Farm's Staffordshire bull terrier Club, please contact:
 

RSPCA Blackberry Farm Animal Centre

Telephone: 0300 123 0752

Email: blackberryfarm@rspca.org.uk

Facebook page: RSPCA Blackberry Farm Staffordshire bull terrier Club

If you're interested in giving a Staffy a second chance at life, take a look at our get to know a dog pages where you can find out more about the breed and find Staffies for adoption in your area.
 

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Related information

Listen to our latest All About Animals podcast episode - The Staffy Club.
 

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