Community Pages
George
Please help George - this is his story.
George is a young German Shepherd Dog who is in need of special, costly
treatment and care.
George is just 8 months old - he is blind in one eye and going blind
in the other eye due to cataracts.
He has been to the vet and there is hope!
He is booked in to visit the specialist vet so we
will know more later, but the cost will be between
£3,000 and £4,000 and George will have to go to the Veterinary College to
have the operation.
George has the nicest nature and he is learning very quickly. He has been very loved but his owners just could not afford the vet costs as they have a new baby. They tried several charities and we have been the only one to offer to help. We are now desperately trying to raise extra funding for George - if you can help in any way then please contact us.
Below are some pictures of George, an article from the North Devon Journal and some fundraising events for him, including Tamsin Ball's Concert for George and Tamsin's Eyes for George CD
This is George:
From the North Devon Journal - Thursday, February 18, 2010, 06:54
A BLIND German Shepherd dog called George from Cornwall has found solace in North Devon.
The owners of the eight-month-old puppy from Redruth were unable to afford his treatment and claimed no one else was interested in George other than the Devon German Shepherd Rescue team. The group is based in Okehampton but co-ordinator Lin Lines works from her home near Bideford. She said: "I had a phone call about a blind eight-month-old German Shepherd from Redruth that no-one wanted. The owners couldn't afford the treatment and were devastated. He has travelled so far because none of the other charities were interested."
Lin said George has cataracts in both eyes which will cost between £3,000 to £4,000 to treat. She added: "He is so sweet and came to be called George because he is gorgeous - 'Gorgeous George'. "We are a tiny charity and don't turn anything away. If we can help them, we will." Lin said she didn't estimate the high cost of the treatment but is happy to foster George at her home in Northam until he recovers and is re-homed. They were due to visit an eye specialist yesterday and Lin is optimistic the operation will go ahead and George will regain his sight.
To meet the cost of the operation the group has started an additional fundraising campaign specifically for George. Lin said: "We are appealing to people and will be organising fund-raising events especially for George."
The charity has re-homed more than 100 German Shepherd dogs since it started two years ago. It has just a handful of volunteers and anyone interested in volunteering or fostering is encouraged to get in touch. Lin said: "The last six months have been crazy. At one point we had more dogs than we knew what to do with. We are desperate for foster homes and homes for the dogs."
Anyone able to help can contact Lin on 01237 425354.
George & Lin
The Devon GSD Rescue held a Coffee morning to help with George's
fund raising.
George's tail never stopped wagging as he met all the visitors who
helped us raise money towards his vet bills.
Here is George with some of his new friends:
Singing for George's sight
This is George with singer Tamsin Ball
Teenage classical singer Tamsin Ball and her grandfather Maurice Heather are staging a charity concert to raise cash for the blind German Shepherd dog George.
To read the full story click here
Flyer for the concert is here
Tamsin's Eyes for George CD here
Details of the concert and how to obtain tickets are also here
"Virtual Dog Show"
George has been entered in the 'Virtual Dog Show 2010' on the Barnstaple People website.
To read the full story click here
"Thank You" letter
Due to the outstanding generosity of our
supporters, we have now reached the target for George's fund. A letter of thanks has been sent to all the people who kindly donated money to the fund for George's expensive
and ongoing treatment. Please see the letter
here.
For a PDF version of the letter, click
here.
George receives his cheque from Tamsin
From the North Devon Gazette - Thursday 17th June 2010
A young North Devon singer has hit all the right notes to help save the sight of a German Shepherd dog.
Tamsin Ball, 16, from Northam, staged a charity concert at the Elizabethan in Westward Ho! in April after reading that 11-month-old George needed a cataracts operation. On Sunday, the teenager handed over a cheque for £2,252.81 to George's new owners Eric and Marion Williams, of the Devon German Shepherd Rescue charity, who re-homed the pup after his previous owners were unable to afford to keep him.
The money was raised at the concert Tamsin organised with the help of her grandfather Maurice Heather. Money also came in from the sale of her debut six-track CD album and from a number of spin-off fund-raising events including a sponsored walk by Bideford great-grandmother Liz Watkins.
George's new owner Eric said: "We are overwhelmed by the efforts of so many people in such a short space of time; to raise that amount of money so quickly is unbelievable. George is extremely privileged that people in North Devon cared enough to help him.
"The money will pay for a lifetime of treatment for George; it will increase his chances of retaining his sight and immensely improve the quality of his life." Eric and Marion have decided to hold off with the cataracts operation, which only has a 15 per cent success rate. Instead, they will use the money - secured in a trust in George's name - to pay for lifelong treatment, including thrice-daily eye drops and visits to an eye specialist every eight or 10 weeks.
"We've re-homed 14 German Shepherds and George is the best yet," added Eric. "He's a brilliant dog - so friendly and full of life and we want to say a massive thank-you to all the people who supported him in whatever way they could."
The small team of volunteers at Devon German Shepherd Rescue has rescued and re-homed more than 200 dogs in the last two years.
Great Grandmother on walk to help save sight of dog
On Friday 30th April 2010 Liz Watkins, who walks on crutches, did a sponsored six mile Tarka Trail trek (Bideford to Torrington) to raise money to help save the sight of George, an eight month old German Shepherd Dog. Liz suffers from a worn spine so to get to Torrington was a personal challenge for her.
George, his owner Marion and Linda attended a presentation to receive a cheque for £400 – see photographs below.
Our belated thanks go to Liz for her stupendous effort on our behalf.
George Report on 17th January 2011 by Mrs Kathy Ward, Consultant Ophthalmologist
George is doing really well, with the cataracts essentially unchanged.
Right eye has the most dense and extensive lens changes, these do compromise his central vision in this eye, especially in fast moving circumstance, where there is insufficient time to move his head position to get a good view of things.
Left eye the lens changes remain very small and not very dense, indeed he may experience little if any alteration of vision because of it.
The uveitis (inflammation with the eye) has subsided with the continued use of acular, and for now I am happy for him to continue on this treatment as before. The intra ocular pressures have improved as a result of treatment to R12 L14.
A further check every two months is recommended.
If you would like to help George and other unfortunate German Shepherd Dogs, please click on the button below to make a secure donation to our Charity (Registered Charity No. 1121874).
Registered Charity Number 1121874