This year we have had more events than ever before - thank you to everybody who has supported us! We have had countless street and store collections, and below are details of our three biggest events this year. 

Carsington 7+

In June we held our 2nd annual run at Carsington Water. This year the distance had been upped to 7.76 miles (12.5km)! The number of entrants flew through the roof and, with great weather forecast, we eagerly anticipated the day. 

Rather than horizontal rain we were blessed with overcast skies followed by glorious sunshine, which was the perfect weather for this event!

331 runners finished the race, with the winner finishing in an astonishing 45 minutes. We were amazed at the amount of interest we had in the race - there were 200 more runners than last year.  Additionally 45 youngsters, mainly with grandparents, entered the fun run.  We can’t wait to see what next year brings!

We want to say a massive thank you to everybody who supported this race. Firstly, thank you to Flint Bishop who sponsored the race and enabled us to make it bigger and better than last year. Secondly, thank you to all the volunteers who gave up their Sunday morning (and got up extremely early!) to help us out. Lastly, and certainly not least, thank you to all the runners who signed up. Thank you all for supporting us, particularly those runners who raised money for us.

Bark in the Park

On the 7th July we held our third annual dog show, this year at Markeaton Park. We decided to introduce a special 'Staffy' category to celebrate how incredible Staffies are. It was a great success, having almost the top number of entrants in the category - it really showed how loving, loyal and beautiful Staffy and Staffy crosses are. 

The dogs had a great time taking part in the Waggiest Tail, Happiest Vintage and Egg & Spoon Race, amongst others! It was a very hot day (the opposite problem to the year before when torrential rain resulted in a postpone-ment) but with our 'Doggy Hydration Station', roaming Animal Welfare Officers and gallons and gallons of water all the dogs were well hydrated throughout the day.

Thank you to all our supporters and dog adopters who came along on the day. We really appreciate all of your help! 

Wine Quiz & Auction

This year we held our third Wine Quiz and, like the others before it, everybody had a great night! A big thank you to Smith Partnership, who sponsored the event, and to Derby County Cricket Club for allowing us to use their marquee.

The evening started with an introduction by Victoria Leeming, the Income Generation Manager, before she passed over the microphone to her husband, Andy, who was compering the evening. The first wine to taste was handed out along with cheese and biscuit platters and the quiz began! Due to the level of cheating in previous years a red card penalty was announced for any tables found to be using smartphones - and surprisingly, for the first year ever we recorded no cheating!

Many bottles of wine later, the evening ended with an auction and a raffle. We had fabulous prizes donated for the auction, including a week's holiday in a condo in Longboat Key, Florida, a Renishaw Hall Wine Tour, a golf tour and an overnight stay at Makeney Hall. Thank you to all who donated prizes. A big thank you also to Craig from SilverPride for acting as auctioneer for the night and keeping the raucous crowd in order!

We raised lots of money which help us to rehabilitate and rehome the animals in our care and we can't wait to do it all again!