Archived News - Appledown
Meet an expert TV Dog Trainer
Expert dog trainer Lynne Davies will be making a personal appearance at Totternhoe Memorial Hall on Tuesday 2nd December.
Lynne Davies, one of the human stars of BBC Three's Dog Borstal, will be helping to raise money for the Appledown Boarding Kennels in Eaton Bray.
One of the many canine concerns Lynne is asked for help with is sheep worrying, and she has been talking to a sheep farmer with a view to helping more dog owners with this problem.
Advance tickets are available by telephoning 01582 601987, or to find out about the work that Lynne does, see her website www.lynnedavies.co.uk.
Appledown Boarding Kennels & Cattery
Appledown, run by Julie Shelton, was established in 1993 and is located in Eaton Bray, Bedfordshire.
The accommodation kennels were completely rebuilt in 2001/02 and in line with current standards, all the dog kennels and cat pens are individually heated and large enough to house a minimum of 2 pets.
Julie and her dedicated team of animal lovers take care of a variety of pets for long or short stays. They also offer additional services such as animal care advice, animal rehabilitation, rehoming services to name but a few. They have been involved in re-homing dogs for the last 6 years and have successfully re-homed between 400 and 500 dogs and are recognised within this field.
Appledown additionally takes in stray dogs on behalf of South Bedfordshire District Council, so they are the first point of contact if you have lost your pet within this area.
With so many animals to take care of, Julie is happy to welcome another pair of hands. So, if you've every fancied walking a dog, please drop by the Appledown Kennels. Providing you provide adequate proof if identity, you will be able to take a dog for a walk around the local area, just contact Julie for more information. Telephone 01525 220383.
Appledown Kennels will be running this year's Dog Show at the Carnival.
Paws for thought when buying a dog
As thoughts turn to warmer weather and evening strolls, you may be considering the patter of tiny puppy feet - but don't be taken for a ride when it comes to picking a pooch.
Julie Shelton from Appledown Kennels in Eaton Bray warns dog lovers to take extra caution when buying for the first time.
She said: "Definitely don't buy one on the Internet. If you're looking to buy a dog then really the only sensible way to do it is to go to a rescue centre or to go to a recognised breeder.
Appledown kennels are open seven days a week from 10am - 4pm.
Stray Dogs New Rules
From 6th April, Mid Beds District Council will be responsible for accepting stray dogs found by members of the public.
New rules mean the Police no longer have responsibility for accepting stray dogs but they will continue to be responsible for dealing with dangerous dogs.
Anyone reporting a stray dog can continue to call Mid Beds on 01462 611222 (or 08452 30 40 40) during normal office hours and our Dog Warden will collect it as soon as she can.
In addition, Mid Beds now provide an out-of-hours service, meaning that anyone holding a stray dog can call us on 07850 032360 from 5.00pm to 10.30pm Monday to Friday and from 8.00am to 10.30pm on weekends and Bank Holidays.
The Dog Warden will only collect a stray dog held at a specific address out of hours - we cannot offer to search an area.
All dogs found straying are taken to Appledown Kennels in Eaton Bray near Dunstable. Owners can arrange to collect their dogs from the kennels and will be asked to prove their identity and to pay a fee of £35.00 plus a kennelling charge of £8.00 per night.
People in receipt of means tested benefit will be required to pay £25.00 plus any kennelling charge above the first £8.00. Payment can be made by cash or cheque direct to the kennels - debit and credit cards are not accepted.
Steve Whittaker, Contract Services Manager at Mid Beds said: "Dog owners must take full responsibility and ensure that their dogs do not get out and stray. This would save them not only a trip to the kennels and kennel charges but also a lot of worry. We would strongly recommend that dogs are micro-chipped so that time can be saved in tracing owners and the costs to the owners of kenneling are reduced."
Source: Mid Beds District Council
Blaze-hit kennels hoping to rebuild
A boarding kennel in Eaton Bray is ready to rise from the ashes again after a devastating fire that struck last summer.
Appledown Kennels, in Harling Road, hit the headlines in August when an early morning blaze broke out in a boarding block and prompted a huge rescue operation.
Nearly 40 dogs were pulled to safety by brave firefighters and staff, but sadly three pets perished after being overcome by flames.
Since then the past six months have been a struggle for everyone working at the kennels, and they now hope to put the sorry incident behind them.
A planning application has been put forward by the kennels to open a new block to replace the building devastated by the blaze.
This week, Appledown owner Julie Shelton told the Gazette: "Hopefully, if this goes through smoothly, we'll be back to normal by the summer."
As a result of the blaze, Julie said the kennel's capacity had been seriously reduced, and staff have had to work hard to steer the business through a difficult time.
She said: "It's hit us, obviously, particularly over Christmas and the really busy periods.
"What we've done is said our priority is to our regular customers, so we haven't had to turn them away."
And Julie said she had been bowled over by the response from members of the public.
"It's just brilliant, people have been great," she said. "It's one of those things that people understand, fires do seem to just happen.
"You can't predict it, but it brings out the best in people, and they've been sympathetic and understanding."
She also praised her staff who, she said, were devastated by the blaze.
A fire investigation absolved the kennel of any blame for the fire, and police confirmed at the time that it was not viewed as suspicious.
Julie now hopes that the building work can bring back a sense of normality to the kennels.
She said an end wall needs to be replaced, and work needs to be done on the roof of the building, but, surprisingly, the rest of the boarding house is still structurally sound.
After the flames were quelled back in August, firefighters said they had never had to deal with so many animals in one fire.
Four dogs were unconscious when firefighters arrived, but two were dramatically revived using oxygen masks.
Appledown offers boarding kennels for pets whose owners are on holiday, as well as a home for dogs in need of rehousing.
Over the past year, the number of dogs in need of a new home has shot up dramatically, and another boarding house was recently set aside for them.
Julie said: "This last 12 months has been much, much worse than the other previous years.
"I think it's partly because of people being nervous about a recession. I think we've got some of that. Also there's been a lot of dog attacks in the news. I think that's had an effect."
The kennel owner added that many people buy pets without thinking about the amount of work and care they require, and often end up abandoning them.
At the moment Appledown has 55 dogs hoping to find new homes. Julie said that all sorts of breeds find their way to the kennels and urged anyone who thinks they can provide a home for a dog to get in touch.
The kennel can be contacted on 01525 220383, or by emailing appledown.kennels@btinternet.com. Alternatively, people interested in finding out more can pop by between 10am and 4pm each day.
For the latest news from Eaton Bray and beyond, get the Dunstable Gazette every Wednesday and make a daily date with Dunstable Today.
Source: Dunstable Gazette, 27 February 2008