Joanna Taylor

My husband and I have shared our lives with a number of schnauzers since 1990 and apart from a bit of a sad break after we lost Lily at the end of 2019 and before Mungo came into our lives at the beginning of 2021, we have never been without at least one.

 With Mungo, we experienced at first hand the results of the breeding industry on dogs. Mungo was a significantly traumatised and shut-down little boy who came to us thanks to the help of Schnauzerfest friends.

 As a psychotherapist, I could see the connections between the historic trauma of the puppy farm and Mungo’s behaviours – trauma that is not so evident in our other rescue schnauzer, Winnie, who was only in a breeding facility for the first 18 months of her life - and although she is more well-adjusted than Mungo, she remains a very anxious girl.

It is a profound honour to be a Trustee for Schnauzerfest and help to facilitate the raising and sharing of funds to help other little souls like Mungo and Winnie, for whom life has been hard, and bring some joy back to them. And to those needing expensive veterinary care; maybe to restore sight or indeed to save their lives. Being part of a team working to make a difference to the lives of dogs in this way really does mean so much.

 

Anne Barlow

Anne Barlow

Schnauzerfest came into my life in 2017 and I learnt a lot on my first walk. Some of the Diana Brimblecombe Animal Rescue Centre (DBARC) team were there with puppy farm survivors, each with their own story. I was aware of puppy farms but naive to the horrors breeding dogs endure, surviving and often dying a few feet from where they are born. I won a raffle prize that day, and chose a book written by Janetta Harvey about Susie-Belle, the inspiration behind Schnauzerfest, reading it cover to cover that day.

Camilla Kinton

Camilla Kinton

I have a lifelong love of dogs and Archie was my first schnauzer after losing a standard poodle and a Welsh terrier in the same week. After watching a shocking TV programme on puppy farming, the details of which stayed with me and really brought home how horrific the industry is, I adopted Isla, one of the fortunate few who get out of puppy farms.