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By JO GREEN, EASTERN DAILY PRESS
June 28, 2001
Coats were groomed and paws polished, as the National Canine
Defence League’s new re-homing centre at Snetterton prepared
for its official opening by the Princess Royal.
As a small crowd gathered outside, the Princess, who had
arrived by helicopter, was driven up to the doors.
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The Princess Royal chats to the new NCDL re-homing
centre manager Diane McLelland-Taylor, and Clarissa
Baldwin (left), chief executive officer, at Snetterton.
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There she met Sir Timothy Colman, Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk;
the Duke of Wellington, president of the NCDL and other dignitaries
including centre manager Diane McLelland-Taylor; Wilf Matthews,
Breckland District Council chairman; Theresa Courtauld, High
Sheriff of Norfolk and Dr Jim Norris, chairman of Norfolk
County Council.
Chelsea Bales, aged 10, a pupil at Wensum County Middle School,
Norwich, presented the Princess with a bouquet.
Instead of living inside large cages, the dogs are kept in
kennels with glass fronts, each of which is slanted so that
the dogs can see each other, but are not eye-to-eye – which
is confrontational and stresses them.
“I’ve never been to a kennel where the dogs are so quiet
and the reason is they’re calm,” explained NCDL spokesman
Deana Selby.
“That’s ideal for us because if they’re calm and relaxed,
potential owners see them as they really are and there’s more
chance that they will be offered a home.”
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The kennel area.
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The centre is one of the largest of the 16 NCDL centres nationwide
and can house up to 70 dogs in 43 kennels. There is a vet’s
room, a nursery for puppies, and a real-life room – it looks
like an ordinary sitting room, with telephone, tables and
chairs but has a two-way mirror, giving staff the chance to
monitor dogs in a home environment.
“One of the commonest reasons why dogs come to us is that
their owners are fed up of them shredding the curtains or
wrecking the furniture. This room lets us observe them before
we re-home them so we can spot any potential problems,” said
Ms Selby.
The Princess toured the specialist rooms and halfway through
her visit, watched collie Maxi, who is deaf, give a special
performance of tricks – taught to her through sign language.
She then went on to watch former stray George be micro-chipped
in the NCDL’s mobile unit, and unveiled a plaque commemorating
the opening.
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