Here come the Cavaliers… 200 of them

 

What does it take to organise a Cavalier Mega Meet? Plenty of volunteers, water bowls and poo bags but Julie Jarvis wouldn’t miss it for the world

 

 

Saving Cavaliers UK (SCUK) holds a “mega meet” annually. Our members arrange smaller Cavalier meet ups at various places around the country throughout the year but the admin team and all our members love the big one in September! The mega meet is in its third year and this time we raised £2,000. Every single penny goes towards our fund to help Cavaliers needing special help.

 

SCUK is a Facebook group that was formed in 2013. It was originally called Raising Awareness Of Farm Bred Cavaliers. We aim to help vulnerable Cavaliers and those needing new homes through no fault of their own.

To date we have assisted over 350 Cavaliers we call “special” rescues because they need veterinary care and rehabilitation before going on to their forever homes. SCUK now has over 3,500 members and, despite the name change, still actively raises awareness of puppy farming as well as supporting campaigns for mandatory health testing by breeders.

Our mega meet is always held at Worcester Woods Country Park. It is not only a central location but is easily accessible by car or train and is so enormous that there is problem with us setting up a ring for our fun dog show and, new this year, an agility course.

 

We also make sure to hire two function rooms at the venue as a back-up but we find that Cavaliers and their families are hardy sorts. However, these also serve as somewhere to hold the raffle and auction. One very generous member provides a full buffet for us in one of the rooms plus tea, coffee and other goodies.

As SCUK is a Facebook group our members “know” each other extremely well online but with so many faces and dogs, name badges are an absolute must-have. These are handed on as people arrive and hand over their £1 entry fee.

Without doubt, one of the favourite events is the fun dog show. Who doesn’t love a ring full of Cavaliers in all sizes, colours and ages? We have rosettes, trophies and certificates for the winners and runners up, and every dog that enters receives a goody bag. As entry is £1 per dog per class, the dog show is a big fundraiser on the day.

This year we also had a professional photographer Phil Hargreaves taking pictures of members’ dogs that were available to purchase with a percentage going to funds. It was a big success and we’re thinking of a fully equipped photo booth for next year!

Our members really excel themselves with their generosity in donating wonderful prizes for our tombola and raffle. The afternoon ends with an auction of goods also donated by members. Proceedings are overseen by our sole male admin member who certainly adds his own unique style to the auction and does a brilliant job in persuading people to bid and making it a fun and popular event.

There’s nothing quite like looking around you and seeing well over 200 Cavaliers all in one place, many of whom are dogs saved by the group and subsequently adopted from the rescues we work with by our members. It makes us so proud of the group and, of course, our wonderful members who support us so much at these events.

The Country Park is large enough that having so many dogs in one place doesn’t pose any real challenges. We can gather without impeding other visitors but organisation and a timetable is a must, as is a plentiful supply of water bowls and poo bags.

As the last of our members leaves around 5pm, we tidy up the rooms, gather the equipment and our own Cavaliers and head off to our “home” for the night: The Blue Inn, Redditch, which looks after us really well and allows the dogs to stay in our rooms. It’s a great chance for all the admin team to relax over a meal and drinks, catch up and reflect on the day’s HUGE event. Many of our members also stay at the same hotel, which was lovely.

So, as darkness falls and the evening chill sets in, lots of very weary legs (of the two- and four-legged variety) head off to bed exhausted but very happy. And we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Thank you to SCUK member Andy Borg for the photographs