News - IRISH WOLFHOUND HEALTH GROUP

On behalf of all at the IWHG, I'd like to say a big thank you to the team at DeWolf Dog Training for their fantastic donation of £596. DeWolf's volunteer team raise money from sales of cakes and blankets at their various courses throughout the year and at their annual charity quiz night. So thank you to all who dedicated their time and talents to raising this wonderful sum, it's hugely appreciated.

Please note prices for these tests are currently under review with IDEXX and will be confirmed as soon as we have them. In the meantime, the prices quoted on the forms may not apply.

2017 has seen another full year of heart testing sessions throughout the UK and Ireland. In summary, total numbers of dogs seen remain at roughly the same level as last year and most sessions were full, though a few were short on numbers – these will be reviewed in the new year to ensure that these sessions continue to be viable. We were pleased to be able to continue to offer appointments at £45.00 per dog and to be able to continue to subsidise the Super Veterans sessions. The Irish Wolfhound Rescue Trust also continued to cover the cost of the Rescue hounds sessions.

We will be giving a full report on the year’s activity in the Spring Newsletter, but in the meantime we’d like to thank all our cardiologists again for making another year of the scheme possible, so thank you to Sheena Milne, Serena Brownlie-Sykes and a huge thank you to Angela Bodey, who covers the majority of the sessions. A big thank you as well to all those that have hosted the sessions and provided venues and helped to manage and organise the days – it’s a great team effort spread between many people.

As the Regional Heart Testing Scheme continues to grow and develop we regularly review the ways in which we can improve it. Organising and managing the scheme requires a great deal of time and effort and is a full time job for those closely involved. As Heart Testing Co-ordinator, Wendy Heather spends most days, including weekends, dealing with the admin required, whether that’s bookings, organising hosts and venues or liaising with the cardiologists. It really is like a full time job, but, as with all IWHG roles, it is purely voluntary and has to be fitted in around real work!

So we have decided that the Scheme could really do with two people and we’re delighted to announce that Anne Vaudin will be taking on the role of Heart Testing Administrator from January 1st. Most people already know Anne as our website manager and also as the IW Club’s Archivist, but she has agreed to take on the role of organising and managing the heart testing bookings. She will be the main point of contact for the day to day administration of the Scheme.

Wendy will remain as Heart Testing Co-ordinator and she will retain her top line responsibilities of organising the diary of sessions for the year, liaising with the cardiologists and the hosts, organising the venues and the overall reporting and management of the Scheme. 

As part of streamlining our communications, we have introduced new email addresses for both of them from the New Year:

We will also be introducing an online form for heart test bookings which we hope you will find quicker, more efficient and easier than printing-and-posting. Please give it  try and let us know what you think.

Dates and venues for 2018 will be published early in January and will be announced on Facebook and published here.  Meanwhile, please let us know if you would like to book in advance.

The Irish Wolfhound Health Group held its biennial seminar on Sunday November 11th 2017. The seminar was chaired by IWHG chairman, Rebecca Peek.

We are pleased to issue an updated set of accounts for the year to 31st December 2016. With our new Treasurer coming on board, we've taken the opportunity to review our accounting practices and policies and made the decision to move from a cash basis of accounting to an accruals basis, which allocates transactions to the financial period to which they relate rather than the financial period in which they occur. This has resulted in a further £495 of income being taken into 2016 for which transactions didn't occur until 2017 due to the timing of cash receipts. Following a query on the allocation of a Heart Testing donation and the establishment of a specific Pneumonia Fund, we have also taken the opportunity to reallocate a small number of transactions from the general Project Development Fund to the Heart Testing and Pneumonia Funds.

The IWHG would like to offer their sincere thanks to Tim, who has held the role of Chairman for six years. Tim, a founder member and former Secretary, has steered the Group through some challenging times and his input has been invaluable. We’re glad to say that Tim will continue to be part of the Group and is delighted to support his successor, Rebecca Peek. Rebecca, another founder member and former Treasurer and Secretary also has considerable experience within the Group.

Jackie has been Treasurer of the Group for nearly three years, having taken over the role following the sudden, sad loss of Jean Malley. This was a very challenging role to take on which Jackie ably managed and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to Jackie for all the time and hard work that she put into the role.

We are delighted to welcome Steven Ritchie to the Group, where he will take on the office of Treasurer. Steven, a qualified Chartered Accountant, is actively involved with wolfhounds and recently started campaigning his young dog. He lives in Aberdeenshire with his wife Denise and two children. Look out for more about Steven in our next newsletter!