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THE British Embassy is responding to Tony the Dogfather's plea for help with a fundraising dog show and family day out to be held within its stately grounds, normally the venue for entertaining royalty, VIPS and visiting dignitaries.
The event, which will take place on May 2, will raise much needed cash for the Dogfather and his soon-to-be homeless pooches and felines, not to mention Farid the ferret, Bert the bunny and a whole flock of birds.
Tony Waters, who became known as the Dogfather following a front page article in GulfWeekly, and his 100-plus family of furry friends, have to leave their current home in
Karranah in June as their compound has been sold.
When British Ambassador Jamie Bowden's wife Sarah read about Tony's plight in last week's issue, she looked at their own dogs - George, an English bull terrier, and Daisy, the bulldog, who is herself a former Tony foundling - and decided she wanted to do something to help.
So, in association with the Dogfather and the Cat Society of Bahrain and Pet Animals, a family day and dog show within the embassy has been organised. Sarah said: "I grew up with animals and we currently have three rescued cats, two dogs, hamsters and green turtles.
"We got Daisy after I convinced Jamie that George was lonely and desperately in need of canine company. Sometimes when we have guests we let the dogs in - George is a bit too boisterous to say hello but Daisy just slowly wanders around and is an ideal representative of a British breed!
"So when we saw that Tony needed to find a new place we wanted to do something to help and at the same time open up the embassy gardens for a family event that will celebrate dog ownership."
Tony said: "I'm absolutely delighted that Daisy has really landed on her paws with such a lovely family. This will be a great day to raise awareness about dog ownership on the island and I hope lots of people, with and without dogs, will come and support us."
Details are still being confirmed but the event will include a dog show with classes such as 'Dog With the Waggiest Tail' and junior handler and there will be stalls, refreshments and a grand raffle with prizes with stay at the sumptous Banyan Tree Al Areen - the first high-profile supporter.
Entry will be charged on the gate.
All are welcome but, for security purposes, anyone wishing to attend needs to register in advance at bahraindogshow@yahoo.com giving the names and CPR/passport details of all guests and a phone number. Limited parking is available at the embassy and will be available on a first come, first served basis.
See next week's GulfWeekly for further details.
