Please bookmark our new website address - many thanks

http://www.valgraysbcrescue.org.uk

VAL PHILLIPS

We have to start with Val herself,

Val Founded Valgrays Border Collie Rescue back in the 70's,

single handed she runs, organises, chief poop picker-upper,

dogs body, drives, grooms, sits for hours with whelping/and

coaxing terrified dogs, Val in general is mad about her dogs

and the care she gives to these dogs is wonderful, to watch her work

with the most ferral/neglected/beaten/terrified dogs and turn them around is a gift that not many

people have. Val has a small selection of very dear close friends who

support her and the rescue who she loves dearly because they love

mans best friend.

The 'Family'

VIKKI

Val's wonderful supportive daughter who has had to put up with coming 2nd to dogs all her life!

Vikki is also a Trustee of the charity, helps with the general up keep of the website,

and in her spare time enjoys competing her horse Specs.......

 

 

 

KEITH

Val's long suffering partner, who puts up with dogs,phone calls and all the long hours Val puts in with the rescue work, this is Keith with Teddy Tum Tum who was a neglect case when he came into Valgrays, but Keith fell in love with him and decided he can stay and is now friend to Keith's other gsd Bella who also was a poundie saved from PTS......

thanks Keith, you are a Star, but tell Teddy to stop chewing everything he see's and also to stop growing as he is as tall as me now....LOL...

 

 

The 'Sidekicks'

CHRIS MAY

Right Hand man to Val, being the Treasurer and also a Trustee, its his job to make sure its only dogs and not wolves at Val's door I met Chris many years ago when he asked me to walk his dogs, Tosca & Tasmin both English Setters, and over the years I grew to love them both, but they have since sadly passed away. When Tamsin started to go downhill Chris said he would probably like a Gordon Setter, as he has previously had English and Irish Setters over the years. Well, you do not say to me you want or are thinking about getting another dog, cuz the next day you will get one!! I found a Gordon Setter for Chris, and arranged for 'Molly' to come and visit him. I then suddenly thought I had better tell Chris what I had done. Anyway I am not sure if I broke the news in an email or just quickly told him and ran!! But Chris fell in love with Molly and also along the way Rosie, another looney Gordon Setter has also joined the Mad May family!!!! I tried very hard to get a collie into his ownership .. I even left him with an old age pensioner of a collie to foster until he went to Rainbow Bridge, but his love for Setters is too deep routed. God knows why!!!???

 

MARIAN O'NEILL - Marian is Val's dear friend who had the most wonderful collie from Valgrays - Tia.

Val says that Marian is like her left and right hand, she keeps Val up to date with show entries, closing dates, etc., comes and helps at a moments notice in grooming, and fostering and when Val deserves a break Marian looks after the dogs..

Thanks Marian for just being you and being my mate and passenger on the long journeys we both make together - dog show or collecting dogs.... and keeping me awake.

 

 

 

NICOLA BELL

Has helped this lovely charity with their web site,

she has been a star to the charity and has help re build our website up again,

so a massive thanks to Nic,

from all at Valgrays x

 

MARIAN SHEPHARD (lives in Petersfield with loads of dogs)

I (Val) met Marian via a phone call re her wanting a collie & she took on a little, approx 1 year old, bitch called Muffin. Unknown to us Muffin was expecting! Marian called to say Muffin was getting bigger, and could she be in pup? I said I doubt it! Anyway Muffin came back to me & produced her puppies, sadly not wanting to know the pups from day 1 (this I put down to her being so young herself). So I became mum & hand reared these pups, occasionally convincing Muffin to let them have some of her milk! I slept many a night in the puppy pen. So with that Marian later took on a Blue Merle bitch 'Penny' who turned out to be the bitch from hell, but Marian worked wonders with her & from then she became interesting in helping & is now my 'Left Hand' in Petersfield (& around the country!). Word of warning though - don't cross Marian as she is not a lover of people who don't like dogs!!!! But I love her to bits!

 

GINA ROCKEY - Gina is Valgrays Dog Groomer and also Val's friend...you may remember the little blue merle bitch we had in - who was deaf..well Gina gave her a lovely home and Libby is in charge of all Gina's dogs.:o)) Gina has a superb dog grooming business in Crawley Down, West Sussex.

K9 Kuts. is a gentle approach to grooming your best friend and Gina is one of the best groomers I have had the pleasure to deal with and watch...

So if you want you best friend groomed or clipped then give

Gina a Call on: 01342 718356 / 07974-198439

 

 

 

 

 

 

WENDY & JOHN BARKER (live in Harlow, Essex with Roz their son and the dogs)

Again I met both John & Wendy via them wanting a dog & they currently have 3 Valgrays dogs

. As now both of them work they cannot take in anymore dogs due to limited time/space, but they do take the phone calls from in & around Essex.

Wendy & John have become super friends to me & my family, & when I am with them I feel like I am protected by the Harlow Mafia family >te he<.

They have helped me home many a collie via friends & family.

 

 

LYNDA STANGLE (lives in Banbury with hubby John and her beloved dogs)

I cannot remember how many years Lynda & I have known each other, but it must go back to dooms day!

We met via dogs/agility & have stayed mates. Lynda offered to help with Valgrays & took in the odd dog & yes they stayed with her (I think Lynda ended up with 3 from me & a new one pending soon?!).

Lynda deals with phoned calls & forwards onto me any enquiries or dogs that need help,

as she also works all day & cannot take in any more foster dogs.

 

 

CAROL HUGHES (now lives in Spain)

Carol also deserves to be mentioned here. For many many years when she lived in England she took on loads of Valgrays Collies & rehomed so many.

When she first started she said 'I don't know how you do it, it is so upsetting', I told her you have to become detached & treat every case differently.

In time Carol managed to take my advice & got on brilliantly with the rescue work, & although she left to live in Spain she is still doing rescue work there!

Carol was the first Mini Agility handler to get a MINI AGILITY CHAMPION & Valgrays are VERY PROUD to say that this was with a Valgrays dog!

 

 

Ladies that Rescue Award

Trover & Animal Friends Insurance Present First ‘Ladies That Rescue’ Award at Crufts

Trover ® Enterprises Ltd and Animal Friends Insurance are delighted to be presenting their first ‘Ladies That Rescue’ award at Crufts to Val Philips of Valgrays Border Collie Rescue. Animal Friends Insurance Founder MD, Elaine Fairfax and Agility and Obedience expert Donelda Guy will present the £500.00 prize to the winner. Val will be accompanied by Red, one of her rescue dogs who will be proudly wearing his bespoke Trover® Coat in style.

Celebrating and recognising the positive work achieved by women in rescue, this Award was conceived in response to staggering figures that reveal that 101, 586 stray dogs were found in the UK last year and that 7, 743 dogs were destroyed for want of a home. Trover ® and Animal Friends Insurance are keen to acknowledge the valuable rescue work achieved by women volunteers without whom these figures would be higher. Inundated with entries all of which were extremely worthy, it is the aim to make this an annual competition, which will heighten awareness for women in rescue and the on-going recognition that they deserve. Elaine Fairfax commented. 'It’s been a pleasure to collaborate with Jane Aireton and Toni Cherrett of Trover®. Together we hope to make others aware that literally hundreds of women, often single handed, contribute to helping animals in need, through their generosity of spirit and genuine love of creatures who don’t have a voice.'

Jane Aireton of Trover ® Enterprises Ltd added, 'We have been deeply moved by the women who have entered the ‘Ladies That Rescue’ competition. Their heartbreaking stories, which tell of 150% commitment, compassion and care for animals, whilst fighting for funds and working against incredible odds, are inspiring and deserve to be told.'

Article taken with permission from www.agilitynet.com

(Agilitynet 18/11/07)

About Val (note: article was written in around 2000)

The First Lady of Collie Rescue If you have anything to do with the agility circuit, you cannot have missed hearing the name Valgray. One very fiery lady called Val Phillips (‘Auntie Val’ to her dogs) runs Valgrays Border Collie Rescue. This petite, blonde human dynamo has done more for the welfare of collies than most of us can imagine. Heather Noddle had a long chat with this tenacious lady who is responsible for some of the best known dogs in the sport.

It was a very hot day indeed; far too hot in fact for an agility show. An extraordinarily long queue for a class watched in dismay as the ring party lapsed into a protracted tea break. With silent resignation the queue relocated itself to the shade of a very large tree nearby, sitting around its wide trunk in a deceptively disorganised heap of humans and dogs. By the time half an hour had passed, the population of the queue was quite well acquainted. After forty-five minutes, some were almost related. Such a queue is not an uncommon occurrence in agility, but this particular one stands out in my memory for the conversation that ran through it and eventually united it.

Mine's a Valgray, too

The topic of conversation, which started at the head of the queue, was not in itself unusual because it was about dogs and in particular the dogs we were queuing with. Mine was a ‘rescue’ collie (from the NCDL, as it happens.) In having an all-white face he is fairly unusual and inevitably attracts attention, firstly for his looks and subsequently for his legendary titbit-locating-and-scrounging abilities.

The lady sitting behind me was having her trouser pockets expertly emptied by my professional scavenger so I commenced my well-worn monologue of apology for my thieving hound. The lady, however, seemed quite at ease with having her pockets picked so the conversation turned instead to her collie lying patiently beside her. Her collie was also a rescue, but from Valgray Border Collie Rescue. I have two Vallgrays collies as well, and chuckling, we compared notes on how we had found ourselves owning extra collies we previously neither realised we wanted nor needed.

Hearing this, the lady behind the lady behind me, joined in because she had a Valgray collie too. So did the man behind her, and the lady behind him. Beyond her was another lady who had a Valgray, although not a collie. It was a hairy sort of crossbred mutt with character oozing out of every bristly fibre, but a Valgrays nonetheless. The lady behind her also had a Valgray but it was retired, as had the next lady down. And so it went on. Like a game of Chinese whispers, the Valgrays conversation spread down the queue snaking its way around the crowd. And so it gradually emerged that of the 30-or-so people sitting under the tree that afternoon, there was just one who did not own a Valgrays dog. As if an alien had materialised amongst us, we all turned to stare at this unfortunate man who had not been so blessed. 'It’s okay,' offered a voice, soothingly. 'It’s just a matter of time.'

If you are anything to do with the agility circuit, you cannot have missed hearing the name ‘Valgray.' Look on any results list and the chances are there’ll be a Valgray in it somewhere. Look on the league tables in the agility magazines; listen to the class presentations at shows. (Look in my lounge!) You’ll find a Valgray.

An unenviable task

Val doesn’t waste much time smiling but then in her job she doesn’t often have much to smile about. Once a month a vanload of homeless collies is ferried to her door from all over the country and she has the odious task of selecting the tragically few that she can take in to her limited kennel space. It is like playing God. For those she chooses, she will find permanent, loving, working homes. For those many more that lack of space forces her to turn away, the prospects are grim. They will have to take their chances in national rescue centres where the particular needs of an already-distressed collie can rarely be met. Driven to mental extremes by the boredom of kennelling and the legacy of past problems, many will be destroyed. Val admits to lying awake for hours, wondering what happens to the dogs she can’t take in. Faced with such a regular task, little wonder that the public face of this most genuine of dog-lovers is usually inscrutably but firmly set.

Little wonder either, that there was general agreement from the queue under the tree about one of the most worrying things that can happen to you at an agility show: suddenly, gently, you feel your arm being firmly gripped. In conspiratorial tones, Val’s voice reaches your ear. 'Come and look at what I’ve got in my van.' It’s nothing to do with looking at etchings and it’s certainly not a request. It’s an order of the nicest possible sort. Val is a single-minded, driven, re-homer of dogs; in her line of business, she has to be. You know, with that peculiar blend of a sinking heart and a rush of excitement, that you are a potential target destination for yet another homeless collie. 'No, no, no, no-no-no-no-no-no-no NO, Val. I’m not looking in your darned van again.' But resistance is futile, and she knows it. Five minutes later, you hear the words falling out of your mouth, unbidden, 'Oh, alright, I’ll have him/her/it/them.' (Delete as appropriate.) You’ve got a bit less space on the fireside carpet, your spouse has got one more reason to file for divorce and Val’s got another space in her kennels to take another lost soul from next month’s collection van. It was a routine the entire queue -bar one- knew only too well. And as we said, for him, acquiring his first Valgray was purely a matter of time.

A lifetime of dogs

Her parents ran a family business called ‘Valgrays Pet Store’. Bucking the trend of the day and concerned for the welfare of animals, the family prided itself in selling pet provisions but not the animals themselves. During this time Val’s parents bred and showed Samoyeds and later Border Collies. The Affix ‘Valgray’ (constructed from their children’s names) was registered just after the war. On leaving school, Val trained and worked as a veterinary nurse. Her interest in Border Collies grew and by 1978, when she set up Valgrays Border Collie Rescue, Val was already an experienced Obedience and Working Trials competitor.

A top handler

Many agility people today link her name exclusively with rehoming dogs, but agility history reveals that Val has been a highly successful agility competitor too. Since 1978 she has worked no less than six dogs at Advanced level, each one of which has qualified for Olympia. Motor Mouse CDX (see left) won the Pedigree Chum Agility Stakes in August 1980. Other dogs that qualified included Motor Girl, Tessa Tees of Valgray, Valvicks Border Bess, Rockswood Fillie of Valgray and Valgrays Marmaduke Gingerbits who died recently, setting a record which she believes has only been equalled by Mary Ray. Many of these qualified for Olympia on more than one occasion (one year Val qualified three dogs for the semi-finals) and several also competed in agility at Crufts. This achievement is all the more impressive when you realise that five of these six dogs were rescues. Val admits that she doesn’t compete nearly as much these days. ' I’ve rehomed all the ‘good’ dogs onto the agility circuit – all I’ve got left to work with are the ‘bad’ ones in my kennels!' she adds with typical dry humour. In the next breath she’s offering to rehome her daughter even though 'She’s not KC Working Trials registered, because she hates working!' (Find me a teenager who does…)

In 1995 Val topped her agility career when she was invited to judge the range of agility finals at Crufts. Along the way she has qualified as a member of the Federation of Dog Trainers, Canine Behaviourists (FDTCB), a member of the Institute of Professional Dog Trainers (MIPDT) and is an Agility Club Approved Instructor. She’s been on the Agility Club Committee, the Kennel Club Agility Liaison Council and more recently was appointed a Kennel Club Field Officer. It’s a formidable background to one formidable lady, who takes her beloved collies very seriously.

What's in a name?

It was Val's mother Dot (pictured right with Val and her brother Graham) made up the Valgray name, combining her two children's names - Val and Graham. Following the death of Val's father in 1991, the Valgrays affix transferred to Val and her mother. At that point Val decided to use the name to register not only the collies she bred herself who have Valgrays as a prefix, but also every dog the service helped to rehome (who have Valgray as a suffix.) 'It helps a great deal in keeping track of the dogs, especially at shows, in prizegiving,' she says.

At shows, Val can hear a ‘Valgrays’ name being read out in the placings from miles away, and her conversations are often punctuated with long pauses whilst she listens intently for evidence of her rescue dogs doing well on the circuit. 'My ears always prick up and I say quietly to myself ‘Great!’ ' It may be said quietly, but the rare smile on her face and the occasional involuntary punch of the air speak much louder.

Pet rescue

With the assistance of a small team of dedicated friends and helpers, over the years Valgrays Border Collie Rescue has expanded to eight branches across the country. The centres have a combined capacity for up to 1,400 dogs but amazingly this is nowhere near enough. (Edited 2007: Please note that this is no longer correct - Valgrays is now a tiny rescue with very limited space for dogs). Whilst the nation celebrated the 2000 Millennium, all the centres were full and a further 300 dogs were on a waiting list.

The situation is as bad as Val has ever seen in 22 years of rescue. Summer 1999 saw a previous all-time high for homeless collies, but in the New Year calls reached a peak of 35 a day from people wanting to rehome their dog.

Other specialist collie rescue organisations reflected the same picture. It seemed that as fast as one avenue of collie provision was highlighted and reduced, another opened up. Last summer much of the problem was due to the downturn in the fortunes of the farming community, which resulted in working homes no longer being able to support their upkeep. Farm collies were being abandoned or shot and rehoming centres were swamped with record numbers of dogs. Not all the calls at this time were from farmers. Many came from people who, reacting to publicity, had tried to help the situation by buying farm dogs and placing them in a domestic pet environment. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t working out. This January saw a different problem when the popularity of a ‘talking’ collie on a children’s TV programme coincided with an epidemic of unwanted young dogs. Val commented 'It was like 101 Dalmatians all over again. One little girl, aged about four, told me she had been disappointed with the dog because she had expected it to talk.' In an article in a Sunday newspaper, the TV company denied any connection between the programme and the irresponsible purchase of pets. In fairness to the TV company, no one programme can be held responsible for the problem in its entirety. It takes two to tango; the parents who bought the puppies and the breeders who sold them must also shoulder their fair share of the blame. Wherever you apportion blame for a problem like this though, it’s still people like Val who get to pick up the pieces.

Homes wanted

The vagary of fashion and agricultural economics aside, there is a constant stream of collies in need of rehoming. The popular public perception of the breed is that they are born ready-trained. It’s not surprising that the public has come up with this idea. Even experienced non-collie handlers on the agility circuit, surrounded by these dogs most weekends of their lives, are prone to propagating the same myth. The truth is that collies are born with a phenomenal capacity to learn and if you don’t fill that sponge of a brain with the right things pretty quickly, it will just as soon sop up all the wrong things instead. Collies are specialist dogs that in the last 30 years have been brought from the sheepdog world into the pet dog world. It is not automatically an easy or trouble-free transition.

Val is a dedicated single parent and is also devoted to her own, ill mother. Her ailing Transit van is on first name terms with the boys of Green Flag Rescue, and she is by her own admission, 'just crazy about my dogs.' You wonder where she gets the energy to keep going. Her sheer grit and determination however is not without personal price, her forthright no-nonsense manner does not endear her to everyone. Occasionally bandaged, her hands are scarred from close encounters with antisocial canines; her soul too, must be battered from encounters with equally antisocial humans.

Labour of love

For its entire existence, Valgrays Border Collie Rescue has been run on a purely voluntary basis. It remains Val’s dream to put her rescue service on a firmer financial footing and to obtain extra land on which to build a rehoming centre which would simultaneously rehome more dogs and offer to educate more people about responsible ownership. In practical terms however, vaccinating, neutering, worming, micro chipping, retraining where necessary and finally rehoming consumes all her limited funds. Her plea is the same as that of so many small charities who must constantly overstretch their capacities. 'So many dogs need assistance. They are being dumped, put in pounds, locked up in kennels. I need bigger facilities, funds, blankets and food. I know I could help more dogs if I had enough money or some land near me in Surrey that I could use for the dogs. I just need someone with a heart to come forward and help.

Thankfully in 1999 alone, many hundreds of dog lovers did just that and took on a Valgray dog. A large proportion went to agility homes. Another rare smile crosses Val’s face. 'These dogs do have such a great life now. Many success stories are to be told around the show circuit.' One of the few times that the vast extent of her work comes to light is at the annual presentation of trophies for the ‘Valgrays Agility Dog of the Year’.

Valgray Dog of the Year

This year the awards were presented at Wallingford DTC’s Agility show in April at Newbury Showground. Valgray dogs have been rehomed to some of the top handlers in the country and are performing at the very highest levels in agility. Others are simply just happily working their socks off for their new owners, at whatever level of agility they happen to have attained. The Junior award was the most memorable as Bethany List (right) is only eight years old. Remarkable! Val positively puffs up with pride with each trophy handed out. After the presentations I watch as she walks away into the crowd. Progress is slow, for every few yards she is stopped by handlers accompanied by their Valgrays dogs, keen to pass on progress reports and updates. I once asked Val how many dogs she had rehomed over the years. 'Oh, Christ knows' was the typically frank reply. And without being irreverent, I suspect He probably does. There are very few people out there working as hard for the welfare of ‘mans best friend’ as Val and the fact that she doesn’t have time to count her successes is the least of her problems.

'It obviously isn’t financially rewarding, but seeing these dogs happy again is, Val says. My telephone never stops ringing and what really galls me is the number of dogs that I have to turn away. My ideal is to get this rescue service financial support, to make it work on a larger scale. If I sit and do nothing, nothing will be done. My father used to say to me ‘If you don’t ask you don’t get, but at least if you ask, you have tried.'

Val’s father was a man of powerful words, his daughter is a woman of powerful deeds. I think back to that long line of handlers sitting in the shade of a tree, waiting their turn in the ring. If someone had shouted ‘Hands up, who’s got a Valgray?’ we’d all have been sitting there with our hands in the air looking like a disorganised Mexican wave. It seems to me that Valgrays Border Collie Rescue is doing a lot more than just trying. For the thousands of dogs - collies and otherwise - it has placed with loving homes over the last two decades, it has most definitely succeeded.

Article taken with permission from http://www.agilitynet.com/