RSPCA Dogs

For the volunteering section of my Duke of Edinburgh, I am volunteering at a local kennels, who also take RSPCA dogs. Some of these are stray dogs, some are court case dogs.

I have noticed a substantial difference between rescue dogs and domestic dogs. Although the rescue dogs have lived in a house before, it doesn't always seem that way. It is not unusual to have a RSPCA dog with a lot of 'emotional baggage'. The reasons differ for each dog, but many struggle behaving appropriately around new people and other dogs. Sometimes, they don't like dogs or humans, no matter who they are, due to horrible treatment in their past. For this reason, with many rescue dogs, it's a good idea not to directly address the dog; no eye contact or talking to the dog. If a dog is treated well as a puppy, with friendly company and good food, the dog is much more likely to be more sociable with dogs and other people. If a dog is left alone for long periods of time with nothing to do, it will really suffer behavior wise. 

Dogs in RSPCA kennels are always well looked after; they get plenty of company, regular meals, substantial walks and plenty of love and attention from volunteers as well as staff, and medication if required as sometimes dogs come in underweight, or with cuts, bruises or other issues the require medical attention. All of this is in the hope that the dog will improve it's behavior and 'social skills' and hopefully begin to trust its companions and surroundings, after any possible upset in the past.

Many dogs, when re-homed, go to loving families who give the dog everything it needs, including cuddles!

The RSPCA doesn't just look after and help dogs; they also take in and re-home cats, rabbits, rodents and even snakes! There are of course many other domestic pets, some more exotic than others, that they take in, but cats and dogs are the most common in the UK, with an estimated 8 million dogs and 8 million cats in Britain as pets.

I think the work the RSPCA do all over Britain is amazing, and very worthwhile as without the volunteers putting in the effort, there would be many unhappy cats and dogs out there. I have really enjoyed my experience so far, and I'm super happy the RSPCA allowed me to help them! As part of my D of E, I have to volunteer for a minimum of 6 months, but I hope to continue for much longer than that!

Husky puppy in a RSPCA shelter

History of Journalism in Britain

Wikipedia Definition: The history of journalism spans the growth of technology and trade, marked by the advent of specialized techniques for gathering and disseminating information on a regular basis that has caused, as one history of journalism surmises, the steady increase of "the scope of news available to us and the speed with which it is transmitted."

What do I understand by this?

As technology has developed, so has journalism. In the beginning, journalism was simply just word of mouth, but as printing machines were invented and developed, news and information became more widely spread and more easily too. Also, the time in which an event occurred and it being reported to a large amount of people became smaller over time; decades a go, a road may have flooded and people would only know the day after when it appeared in the newspaper. Today, however, thanks to news broadcasts on the TV, radio and on the internet (Twitter, Facebook, news websites), we can know about a road flooding within a few hours, or even minutes of this specific event occurring.

The first British newspaper was the Oxford Gazette, now known as the London Gazette, and has been published regularly ever since 1665. It was originally first published in Oxford, where the government was placed to avoid the plague in London. When the court moved back to London, so did the paper. The name was changed, but was still published twice a week. The first daily newspaper, the Daily Courant, was first published in 1702 and carried on being printed for more than 30 years. Its first editor was also the first woman in journalism, but was replaced after only a few weeks at the job.

I think without journalism, the whole world would be completely different, for better and for worse. Journalism now comes in many forms, the traditional form of course being newspaper articles. But now, in a more modern world, we have gossip magazines, documentaries and radio shows, that all have some form of journalism linked in with them. Gossip magazines generally have a negative connotation, telling the world about the latest celebrity scandal. But without documentaries such as Channel 4's Unreported World, outlining some of the third world problems, a lot of people in richer, 'first world' countries would know next to nothing about these issues.

"By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community." 

Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900