The 27th of November saw the eagerly awaited ‘An Evening with All Dogs Matter’ at the historic and beautiful Burgh House in Hampstead. Hosted by the charismatic Phil Lassmass, with delightful music from The Haywood Sisters, I truly felt like I’d been catapulted back to the 1930’s – 50’s…wow! I attended with my dear friend and ethical beauty author Cindy Jackson, who like me, is a great animal lover.
There were some wonderful guests who had come along to pay tribute to the work this rescue does including comedian and dog lover Ricky Gervais and his lovely partner and author Jane Fallon. Actor and ‘All Dog’s Matter’ Chairman Peter Egan was on hand to co-host the evening and also explain why he has such a connection to the rescue.
In 2008, ‘All Dogs Matter’ (ADM) was founded by three friends (Ira Moss, Alec Burns, with help from actor Peter Egan) with a common interest in dog welfare who were aware of the growing demand for dog rescue services. It became a registered charity in November 2009 and a year later an office was acquired. Prior to that time, the staff operated solely from mobile phones and computers without having an official base, in fact when it first started, actor Peter Egan invited the founders to use his house as a base, so the early years of ‘All Dogs Matter’s operated from inside Peter’s house and led on to Peter adopting many dogs from the rescue and becoming chairman for the charity.
Other guests attending that evening included the wonderful animal lover and author Angela Humphrey who took part with other supporters including Wendy Henry, Peter Egan, Stefanie Marsh and Ira Moss in an onstage ‘Would We Lie to You?’ which was so funny to watch and I must say, was very well acted by everyone.
The musical act The Haywood Sisters went through a historical recount of many ‘sister act’ tributes from the 20’s through to the 50’s and it was a joy to listen to, not only were their singing ‘pitch perfect’ but was so beautifully accurate ‘audibly’ to those times in history. These lovely sisters not only support the rescue, but have also adopted dogs from All Dogs Matter, so everyone involved had a personal connection to the rescue which was delightful.
There was a silent auction and a raffle and donations from the night amounted to a staggering £3000, which I am told is a record for this charity.
The four dogs that Humane Society International brought over from the Yulin dog meat trade have also now been homed by All Dogs Matter which is wonderful news, Ira Moss happily informed me. That made me feel really good as its great to watch charities collaborate together to make something amazing happen.
If you would like to support All Dogs Matter by means of volunteering, donating or adopting one of their dogs or cats, please do drop by their website by clicking their logo:
To watch an extract from the evening please click below: