Death defying jump for MCC, Anne tells us why!

Anne Hamilton Black

"Are you mad" has been the most common reply I get when I tell them what I am doing tomorrow....so far I haven’t really seen what they have been fussed about. Some friends have done sky dives in Oz or New Zealand while travelling and not too many have done them in Ireland or for charity, so I suppose it might seem somewhat crazy to consider jumping out of a plane and hurtling towards earth at around 140mph.....hmmm did I really think this through??

 

After I injured myself just before the mini marathon last year and was unable to partake, I’ve been looking for a way to do some sort of fundraising for an Autism related cause, so when I heard the idea of a skydive, I think I may have been one of the first to say I would do it. It’s a coincidence that my niece Katelynns dog Rosie is off with My Canine Companion at the moment doing her training. Katelynn is a very important part of my life and Rosie is now a very important part of hers, so it makes scene for me to do something to help another child get the same opportunity as Katelynn.

I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to go about getting enough sponsorship together to be able to do the jump, it seemed like an awful lot at the start, and knowing how stuck people are at the moment, it seemed quite daunting to go around asking, so I was delighted when they set up the iDonate page so I didn’t have to go around collecting cash which I knew would be hard. I have really been overwhelmed by the support I’ve received from friends and family sponsoring me for the event, I think people are becoming more aware of Autism and how a little bit of help and acceptance from everyone can change an Autistic person’s life for the better.

Anne & Katelynn 

Needless to say, as I am a very accident prone person, when I told my close family and friends I was doing the jump their first reaction was NOOOOO, we will have to wrap you in bubble wrap! Considering I fell down the stairs in the cinema last year and damaged my ankle, broke my toe putting my knickers on, broke my coccyx ice skating, cracked my chin and broke my two front teeth on my hen night.....I’m not surprised my husband is looking for my life assurance policy tonight!

 

Just about to set my alarm for 6.30, enough time to wake up properly and get ready, I'll have some family and friends there as a support which will be nice, my little boy Ryan wants to come on the dive with me, not just watch!lol

 

I’m not quite nervous yet, still a little excited I think, I’ve been so busy this week that when people asked me if I was nervous I was being honest when I answered no, cos I hadn’t really had time to think about it too much,, tomorrow I'm sure will be a different story. I don’t have a fear of heights, I wonder will I develop one tomorrow? Imagine that in a few years, "Anne why are you afraid of heights? - oh someone tried to push me out of a plane once!"

 

I’m looking forward to meeting my fellow jumpers tomorrow; it will be nice to have a bit of company. I generally a bit of an adrenaline junkie, and I love doing dangerous things, but this is a bit more than dangerous....

 

"If you haven’t got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble" - Bob Hope

 

Looks like I'll be jumping out of a plane tomorrow so...and its going to be Legen....wait for it.... Dary!!! Just a few hours left before we suit up ladies and of course Gents!!!

 

Read Annes after jump update tomorrow evening along with pictures. 

 

D litter update.

We are delighted to report that Polly and her pups are doing great. They have all had their first food and their first worm dose. We are told that their eyes are beginning to open and we hope to bring you individual pictures of them shortly. Sadly Polly only has 10 pups now due to the death of one of them but the other ten, as you can see from the picture, are doing just great.

It is hard to believe that all ten pups will be joining our puppy training programme and will go on to become fully trained assistance dogs in two years time.



D Litter 

Boots makes us sweat but its worth it.

Well after an eventful start to the month with Polly's new pups attention turned to Boots who was due to deliver her little joys any day, That day arrived yesterday when labour started and her first four pups, all girls, arrived into the word. 




The first four are girls.

 Boots gave birth to just one more pup unassisted before having to be rushed to the local vet where she had a csection at 4am. From a total litter of 11 pups we now have 9 live puppy's one of who may not survive due to his tiny size. All in all a good result 8 good strong puppy's and one little guy who may not make it.Polly acted as wet nurse for a little while this morning until Boots recovered and arrived home. 

Mum and pups all doing well.

In one extraordinary gesture of kindness and generosity Rose O'Driscoll and the team at BrTafs Labradoodles  Have donated both Polly and Boots litters to our puppy training programme. Polly's litter will be known as the D litter and Boots as the E litter. Once they are old enough to leave Mum and come to our kennels here in Cork we will be asking your help in finding suitable names for our new recruits. 
We will keep you posted on how both litters are doing over the coming days and months so be sure to add this blog to your favourites.  

Polly's nine life changing puppies

Polly's 9 little puppies. two girls and the rest boys

Here is a picture of the nine pups that Polly has given birth to over the past few hours. We are told number ten is on the way so be prepared for a late addition. Mum and pups are doing great.

As you all know BrTafs Labradoodles have kindly donated Polly's puppies to our puppy training programme, once they are old enough to leave Mum. These pups will be known as the D litter.

We can not even begin to tell you the difference that these pups will make to the lives of children living with Autism once they have trained and graduated into fully trained assistance dogs in 18 months time.

It is the generosity of people like Rose and the gang at BrTafs that allow us to continue our work and change the lives of children and young adults living with Autism.

Proud Mum Polly looks on.

A late arrival pup number 10

An even later arrival pup number 11

Say hello to Pollys first born!

Here it comes

Well Polly has been having a busy morning. Just a short while ago she gave birth to her first pup, a bitch. As you can see by the pic she is a dote.

Polly has delivered three more pups so far but we are going to wait until the rest of the pups are born before we post up more pics.

Polly is doing great and the pups are all fine so far.



Just one more push.

First puppy, a bitch.



First feed.

Polly starts to deliver

For all of you waiting for news on Polly, we can tell you that as we type Polly is in labour and we expect her first pup any moment now.