Oldies Club is a volunteer-run charity that rescues and rehomes older dogs in the UK. Our vet bills are our primary expense, reaching almost £42,000 total for just the three months August to October 2022, which is a lot of money for a little charity to find. We hope by launching this campaign to raise additional funds to help us through the coming months and enable us to welcome more older dogs into the warmth of our care this winter, and that those of you who can donate, will, to help us reach our appeal target.

The veterinary treatment we provide for the dogs in our care often transforms their lives physically and enables them to go onto their forever homes to enjoy their lives for years to come. Alongside the physical transformations that can be readily observed though, there is another transformation, perfectly illustrated in the photos chosen to launch this campaign, where an older dog finds joy in their life again, when they blossom in Oldies Club care. This isn't something we can put a price on in the way we can with any physical ailments that are treated, but it represents such a positive change for those dogs and, like the veterinary care, is something we can't enable without the financial support that allows us to bring these dogs into Oldies Club in the first place.

Oldies Club operates in such a way that ensures we have the money to meet the needs of the dogs in our care. Sadly this means that due to financial constraints, impacted by the current cost-of-living crisis, we have in recent months had to turn away numerous older dogs whose people reached out for our help. This is upsetting for our rehoming co-ordinators, who deal first-hand with requests for help, and for the rest of our small team, when we all give up our time each week to help older dogs in need, and we find ourselves worrying about the future of those dogs we've been unable to help.

It is particularly upsetting to have to turn away a dog in urgent need, who cannot wait weeks/months for a chance to come into rescue. The dog featured in our campaign photos found themselves in desperate need one winter, having come very close to being PTS, but Oldies Club was thankfully in a position then to be able to find a last-minute foster home. It breaks my heart to think that other dogs who find themselves in a similar situation now may not be so fortunate, because that beautiful dog came to me as an emergency foster, and stayed for the rest of their life, and I saw for myself when the joy came back into their eyes and how much they embraced their second chance at life. The wonder of Oldies Club was summed up, in one very lovely little black-and-tan crossbreed.

We welcome older dogs into our care from varying situations. Some recent arrivals have come to us because their person was very sadly terminally ill or had passed away, or had moved to accommodation where they were not permitted to have an animal companion living with them. Others have faced job and/or financial changes that have meant they are unable to provide their dog with the time they need, or they lack the financial ability to continue caring for them. We believe the cost-of-living crisis the UK is currently experiencing is only exacerbating the situation, meaning more dogs are in need of new homes at a time when charities like Oldies Club are facing increasing financial challenges themselves.

We so appreciate every one of our supporters who has donated to us and we urge anyone who is in a position to, to make a donation to our Winter Appeal, to help us keep our doors open and bring more older dogs in need in 'out of the cold', so to speak, and into a warm and loving foster home this winter. Donations made to this campaign will be used to ensure the wellbeing, predominantly in the form of veterinary treatment, of older dogs in Oldies Club care.