Dog lovers all set for "Howlowe’en" sleepover

Pictured (from left to right) are, Nyree Bartholomew, Cathy Rushton, Sarah Dobbs, Juliette Wilson, Laura Pearce and Joanne Snaith with dog Misty. 171768

But at least they will have some protection in the form of rescued four-legged friends for whom they will be raising money.

Cathy Ruston (47) is one of the volunteers from dog rescue charity, Helping Yorkshire Poundies (HYPS), who will be sleeping over at Brinsworth Boarding Kennels on Saturday, October 28, to raise much-needed funds.

Cathy, of Manvers, said: “At the minute, there’s a large vet’s bill that we need to pay off of £3,000 which has come in over the last few months.

“Vet bills take a large proportion of our donations - last year we spent around £20,000 in total.”

Last year’s kennel sleepover raised £2,700 and the group has decided to make it tougher.

Cathy said: “Last year we did it in summer, but we thought we needed to be braver this year, so we have given it a Hallowe’en theme and will be wearing Hallowe’en pyjamas as well.

“It will be cold, but we will have sleeping bags and the dogs will have infra-red lights on.

“Last year, I think the dogs probably found us quite noisy.

“We didn’t get much sleep on the concrete floor and we don’t expect to this year - the dogs were too excited to see us.”

Pharmacy worker Cathy said she had been volunteering at HYPS for five years and the charity rehomed more than 100 dogs annually.

“We take in all types, we get a lot of Staffordshire bull terriers,” she said.

“We pay for all of the dogs’ food, vet bills, vaccinations and medical treatment until they find their forever home.”

Cathy said seeing the dogs’ transformation was what spurred her on to help the pooches.

“When you see them come in and they are really frightened, they’ve been abused - it’s heartbreaking,” she added.

“But when they have been with us a few weeks you can really see them blossom.

“It’s so rewarding to see them move on as we try to match them as best we can with their new owner.”

The eight volunteers will be bedding down with the ten dogs that are currently looking for new homes.

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