“You don’t have to love dogs – just respect them”

Respect, Kathy! And we love you too.

When we met Kathy Trout at Crufts it was the first time that had learned about the works she has been doing for the West Yorkshire Dog Rescue

It’s been ten years since Kathy decided to get involved with dog rescue, and there have been many heartbreaking stories she could tell but there was one story that stuck out in her mind. So while the humans stopped for coffee, she told us the story of Bentley.

On February 8th this year, Kathy found herself with a 3-year-old white Shih Tzu with fur that was smelly, long, tangled, and coated in oil and chemicals.

Little Bentley was so frightened he flinched when touched and would get aggressive when stroked.

Kathy said Bentley’s neglected state reduced her to tears, adding “he couldn’t even drink water because his own fur would poison him”.

“His fur was very, very long and matted like felt and all his legs were like tree trunks with chemical smelling fur.

“It looked like he was thick with oil, fuel or petrol. He really, really stank.

“Bentley was handed to me by the owner. This woman drove up in her new clean shiny 4×4 and handed over this stinking mess – she handed him over on a lead because she wouldn’t even touch him. It is clear he has never been groomed.

“Leaving him in this state is a prosecutable offence but I’m not interested in going to the police – all I want to do is make sure Bentley recovers.”

It took the vet more than five hours to shave off two kilograms of the matted petrol smelling fur.

Since March, Bentley has been adopted by a loving family, Matt and Catherine.  He is slowly regaining trust in humans. Bentley is one of the many rescues that West Yorkshire Dog Rescue takes in to rehome.  

After meeting Kathy, I am very proud to be on Sara Abbott‘s most recent flyers in support of West Yorkshire Dog Rescue.  Sara who painted my oil portrait donates £100 from each of her £490 fee to charities that she supports through her program – Art Helps.

So amidst all the controversies circling around Crufts this year, this is a positive that came out of it. 🙂

May’s comment:  It was an honour to meet someone like Kathy Trout – who works relentlessly to give abandoned dogs a chance in life. They are a small charity and relies totally on the public to help them with their mission.

Former IT manager Kathy has set up this non-profit organisation ten years ago.  Even then “Nothing prepares you for the heartache of taking in abandoned and abused dogs.”

“Cases like this keep me awake at night and in tears – we are not trained to handle the emotional strain of taking in rescue dogs.

“You don’t have to love dogs – just respect them.”

That is just it – we don’t expect everyone to be dog-obsessed or crazy in love, but to just simply respect them as living beings.  They did not ask to come into our world – for hundreds of years we have domesticated them – and they need us to stay alive.  Respect them as living beings and whatever the debate is – these living beings have feelings.

This is the story of Bentley … how he was dropped off by his humans at Kathy’s, his journey to his new home.

For more information about West Yorkshire Dogs Rescue – West Yorkshire Dogs Rescue

For more information about Sara Abbott’s Art Helps – Click Here