Fantastic Easter Monday afternoon spent with my son Chris, Jess and of cos the dogs!
Your dog is welcome at Kingston Lacy.
Take time to explore the Kingston Lacy estate with your four legged friend. We have plenty of walks for you to enjoy and dogs are welcome in the Stables courtyard too when you stop for a well-earned slice of cake. Dogs are welcome.
All day, every day from 10.30am–6pm (10.30am–4pm from November to March)
In the car park, woodland walks, parkland and the Stables courtyard
Whether you are a local dog walker who visits regularly or a visitor from further afield, we welcome all types of dogs. With miles of paths to explore, trees to sniff and grass to roll in we think you’ll both have a great day.
Assistance dogs.
Dogs assisting visitors with disabilities are welcome throughout Kingston Lacy. They can come into in the shop, restaurant, house and gardens.
Please make sure they are wearing their identity tag.
Doggie dos and don’ts.
To help us ensure our visitors, dogs and wildlife get along, please can you:
Keep your dog under control on a short fixed lead at all times
Pick up your dog’s mess and place it in the bins provided
Only bring assistance dogs into our buildings
Avoid leaving dogs in cars on hot days
All dogs are welcome to sit outside in the Stables courtyard but not on top of chairs and tables
Enjoy a bite to eat.
After your walk, sit back and relax in the Stables courtyard with a cup of tea and slice of cake. Don’t forget to ask for a special doggy treat when you order.
Explore further.
With 8,500 acres of estate and 72 miles of footpaths, cycle trails and bridleways there is plenty to explore with your furry friend. Discover the estate villages of Shapwick and Pamphill or uncover the history of Badbury Rings and Holt Heath.
Easter Egg Hunt at Kingston Lacy today!
Are you all as eggcited for the start of our 2 week Easter egg hunt as we are?
Get ready to scramble around the trail. Make sure you wear appropriate clothing though as we’re not sure you’ll be boiled by the end of it. It’s no yolk, get your little soldiers ready and head down to Kingston Lacy.
25 March – 10 April
11am- 4pm everyday
£2.50 per trail
Normal admission applies
Let’s get cracking.
Wishing all my two and four legged friends at Four Paws Dorset a very enjoyable Easter!
Cats get a look in too!
Wishing all my two and four legged friends at Four Paws Dorset a very enjoyable Easter!
Hoping you all have a wonderful day spent with the ones you love!
Suggested Dog walk for Today! Castleman Trail from Wimborne to Broadstone.
As the weather isn’t too good today I think this is a perfect walk for dog owners and dogs alike!
There is plenty of over head tree cover and dogs can be off the lead safely and enjoy themselves exploring.
Parking is easiest in the Willett Arms Pub car park, 2 Oakley Ln, Oakley, Wimborne BH21 1RN.
To access the trail way go down the slope at the end of the car park and you’re on it!
If you wish, you can go as far as the Broadstone with its shops or continue on to Upton Country Park but this is quite a distance and probably more suited to a bike ride rather than on foot.
*UPDATE OF THE DOG THIEFS*
The drivers name is Lewis Longstaffe. His car registration is R646 EAW.
He is known to police as a poacher and dog thief. He put his car for sale on a website last night but I believe he has taken it off now.
Please share to everyone who owns a dog in and around the Wimborne area!
At 6pm this evening whilst walking back along the stour to Wimborne from Eyebridge, 2 men in there early 20’s driving a mid 90’s VW Passat drove straight across the training pitch next to Wimborne football club. They were blatantly trying to steal my dogs. Fortunately I had a feeling that was what they were after so put my spaniels on a lead. They are abusive and potentially aggressive. I tried taking a photo as they sped away across the field.
I’m a 40 year old firefighter and found the situation quite frightening that this could happen to anyone. East Dorset Rural Neighbourhood Policing Team
Another way to rinse the Sandbanks millionaires: Automatic DOG WASH opens by the beach in upmarket resort for people who don’t want their pampered pets to dirty up their cars
The Evolution Dog Wash is proving a hit with well-heeled dog owners
Self-contained unit costs £2 for two minutes, and has a blow-dry setting
Machine already popular in US but Mark Whittaker and Tracy Black have set up UK’s first
In the first three days of the dog wash being open, 100 owners have used it
A state-of-the-art dog wash machine that turns a mucky mutt into a pampered pooch in minutes has been set up on a British beach for the first time – just in time for National Puppy Day.
The self-contained unit costs £2 for two minutes and has options to rinse, shampoo, condition, de-flea and blow-dry your pet rather than take it home in a wet and filthy state.
The ‘Evolution Dog Wash’ is already proving a hit with well-heeled dog walkers since it was introduced on ‘millionaire’s paradise’ Sandbanks beach in Poole, Dorset.
A state of the art dog wash machine has opened in millionaire’s playground Sandbanks Beach in Dorset
Owners pay £2 to give their pampered pooches a good wash – like 9-year-old Standard Poodle Mottoe, seen here being washed by his owner Jane Fletcher
The machine is widely used in America but now British entrepreneurs Mark Whittaker and Tracy Black have launched the first in the UK.
Mr Whittaker, from Poole, thought of the idea after noticing the number of people putting their dirty dogs into the backs of their luxury cars at Sandbanks beach.
Spotting a gap in the market, he found a company to supply the unit and is now the distributor for the UK, with plans to roll the Evolution Dog Wash out across the country.
There are a myriad of options available for those who want to pamper their dogs – including a ‘blow dry’ setting
The 49-year-old, who also runs a private equity company in London, said: ‘I was walking along Sandbanks last year and I saw a lot of wet, sandy dogs and then noticed people were putting them straight in the back of their cars.
‘I thought there was a need for a dog-wash facility so I looked online and found Evolution in America.
‘I thought Sandbanks seemed like a very good place for one and when I spoke to Poole council they were keen to try it out.
‘And after just a few days it is already proving very popular. In the first three days it did over 100 dog washes.
‘This is hopefully the first of many. We would love to roll them out across the country.
‘We’re looking for new sites as we speak.’
The Sandbanks unit is maintained by Evolution Dogwash Ltd and the company pays the local council to rent the site.
The machine costs customers £2 for every two minutes and you can use your time to perform whichever function you wish or switch between them.
The unit is over 6ft in length with sides high enough that most pets cannot jump out, but there are also tether points to secure any unruly dogs.
All people have to do is secure their dog inside, insert coins and select which option they wish to use, then pick up the nozzle and get started.
The products, which are natural and environmentally friendly, are infused into the warm water stream, making it easier to wash the animal in just a few minutes.
The unit is over 6ft in length with sides high enough that most pets cannot jump out, but there are also tether points to secure any unruly dogs.
The huge dog-wash offers options far more sophisticated than the average bath – perfect for residents of Sandbanks
The system also comes with a disinfectant option to clean the unit after use.
Dogs of all shapes and sizes are invited to come down to King George V playing fields in Ferndown on Good Friday 25 March.
From 1pm to 4pm there will be a community event aimed at dog lovers with stalls, an opportunity to ‘Ask the Vet’ and free dog chipping carried out by East Dorset District Council officers.
There will also be a Dog Show with awards in a number of categories including most handsome dog, prettiest bitch, best veteran over 10 years, waggiest tail and dog the judge would most like to take home!
Shocking RSPCA figures reveal 249 animal cruelty cases in Dorset in a year – and 26 convictions.
The RSPCA’s annual figures for 2014 show that the charity has dealt with 249 complaints of direct cruelty in the county- and 26 people were convicted.
Overall there were 28,800 complaints in the South West and central England in 2014. It is an increase year-on-year.
A shocking 3,594 of these complaints involved alleged deliberate and often violent cruelty being inflicted upon animals.
John Grant, RSPCA superintendent for the South West said: “It is extremely concerning that we are still receiving so many complaints about animals being deliberately caused to suffer.
“Most of the complaints we receive involve animals being neglected or not receiving the right care and often we can put that right by offering welfare advice. However, it is shocking that in 2014 people are still being deliberately cruel in what can be disturbingly inventive ways.”
One Dorset case study involved the RSPCA appealing to find the owners of a starving whippet who was found severely underweight and covered in sores last November.
Bramble, the three-year-old whippet, was discovered by a member of the public in Abbotsbury and was so underweight her bones could be clearly seen and she had painful sores over her body and tail.
RSPCA inspector John Pollock said: “Poor Bramble was so thin, she was just skin and bones and had sores all over her body.
“This poor girl needed plenty of tender loving care as she was so thin and the sores were deep and infected. It was desperately sad to see.
“We do not know how long she had been like this and was picked up as a stray. She was in a bad way and despite appeals we never managed to track down her owner.”
Bramble did recover and was re-homed and was even a finalist in the RSPCA Ruffs awards earlier this year, which celebrate the lives of amazing rescue dogs.
The pets most likely to fall victim to cruelty nationally in 2014 were dogs, with 21,084 cases being reported, the majority of which were beatings.
However, the number of animal owners who were offered and accepted welfare advice increased from 76,810 in 2013 to 82,746 in 2014.
James Yeates, the RSPCA chief veterinary officer, said: “Where cruelty is still happening there will be a need to prosecute in the most serious cases and it is upsetting that so many people are still mistreating animals by deliberately causing them harm or by not providing them with the care they deserve.”
RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre are pleased to say they have just released these 2 seal pups back into the wild!
Here’s their seal pup guide:
It’s not unusual to see a seal pup by itself. Seal mums leave their pups very early on in life, when they are weaned at 3 to 4 weeks old.
If you find a seal pup that looks fit and healthy and shows no signs of distress, monitor it first from a safe distance for 24 hours. Too many seal pups are taken into captivity because people mistakenly think they have been abandoned.
However, some pups can be separated from their mothers by storms and others may not feed properly for some reason and need help. A healthy pup looks like a big, stuffed maggot without a neck. A thin pup looks thin (but not bony) and has a visible neck, like a dog.
If the mother does not return within 24 hours, or you think that the pup is sick or injured – please keep a safe distance and call our 24-hour cruelty line on 0300 1234 999 or report here.
Caution!
Please do not touch the seal! They can give a nasty bite, which will become infected by the bacteria that live in a seal’s mouth.
Do not allow dogs or other animals to harass a seal – it could be scared back into the water and washed out to sea by strong currents.
Never put a seal pup back in the sea as it may get into difficulty.
